Lucy Bradley A2 Advanced Portfolio: 2015

Sunday, 3 May 2015

Saturday, 2 May 2015

Evaluation Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

As my documentary does not have a specific target audience I wanted this to be reflected within my audience feedback by collecting feedback from people of all ages. At first, I shared my work with my classmates and as a result only gained feedback from students aged 17-20.

As a result, I then shared my work and the questionnaire on Facebook as I don't only have people of my own age on Facebook, but family friends and family members.

Below is what I found:

Thursday, 30 April 2015

Evaluation Question 4

How did you use media technologies in the research and planning, construction and evaluation stages?

I used various different media technologies throughout all stages of my A2 Advanced Portfolio, some of which I had also utilised at AS, however others were new to me for this year.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING

I used SlideShare to upload my initial ideas presentation, pitch & audience feedback and newspaper advertisement deconstructions to my blog. This website allows you to upload PowerPoints and embed them into blogposts and was something I familiarised myself with during my AS course. I found it useful and therefore decided to continue using this during my work at A2.

I was also introduced to Prezi at AS and found it suitable to use at A2. It is a presentation software which I used to organise my institutional research.

I created an online questionnaire using SurveyMonkey in order to complete some audience research. This allowed me to create a documentary which appealed to the audience by gathering information such as whether they prefer the interviewer on screen with the interviewee or simply the interviewee talking to the camera. In the same way as the above, I became aware of this website at AS.

I used Photoshop to create my newspaper advertisement and double page spread flat plans. At AS, I used Paint to create the flat plans and Photoshop to create the final piece. However, I decided to use Photoshop for the flat plans at A2 so I could use the international paper sizes of A4 for the advertisement and A3 for the double page spread to keep it to scale.

CONSTRUCTION

I also used Photoshop within the construction process in order to create my newspaper advertisement and production company logo. I found this a lot easier to use second time round, as I had familiarised myself with how to use it and its features at AS.

The majority of my construction work was the creation of my documentary, and this was done on Premiere Pro. Prior to the beginning of editing my filming I had never used this software before and had simply tried out a simpler editing software, Final Cut, during my time at AS. However, it didn't take me long to learn how to navigate the software and I simply used Youtube tutorials if I needed further assistance.

I used InDesign to create my double page spread. At AS, I created the double page spread of my music magazine using Photoshop, however I decided to use a more appropriate and professional software at A2.

EVALUATION

For my first evaluation question I chose to once again use Prezi. I felt this organised my response into consecutive paragraphs which don't appear as too tedious to read.

I used Stupeflix for my response to the second evaluation question, a website I also used for my evaluations at AS. I chose to re-use this website as it is simple, various themes can be chosen for the videos and an appropriate soundtrack can be added.

The final media technology I used was Soundcloud in order to create a voice recording for my response to evaluation question 3. I felt this was a question which would involve too much text for one of the previously mentioned technologies (e.g. Prezi) and so felt Soundcloud was an appropriate way to present my response.

Monday, 27 April 2015

Evaluation Question 2

I maintained a clear focus throughout all of my tasks, as stated above. I have intentionally adopted the aesthetics of a stereotypical 'biker' to make it clear what the topic of my documentary is, however also to make the documentary and article within the double page spread more interesting, as the audience learn that this stereotype is in fact turned on its head.

Friday, 24 April 2015

Evaluation Question 1

Monday, 13 April 2015

Update: Making Sound Louder/Quieter

I wanted to increase the volume of the interview responses audio as I felt that even with the volume of my laptop as high as it would go, the audio was not particularly loud. In order to do this I right clicked on the audio I wanted to make louder and clicked 'audio gain'.

I then went to 'set gain to' and played around with this until I felt it was a suitable volume. I settled on 10dB.

I used this same technique in order to reduce the volume on a part of the video where there is a motorbike noise at the same time as an interview response. In this instance, I set the gain to -25dB.

Update: Inserting a Title Card

I added 3 title cards to my film; The first the title of the documentary 'A Day In The Life: Bike Culture', the second a name card 'John Bradley, Harley Davidson Rider' and the final 'End of Part One'.

To do this I chose where I wanted the title card to go and then went to Final>New>Title.

This opened up a smaller window where I was able to change the font and positioning of the title card.

Update: Creating the Opening Sequence

To create the opening sequence I used two pieces of filming; One of John walking towards the camera wearing his helmet, and one without.

I then cut these into 2 second clips and rearranged them so it played as 2 seconds with the helmet, two seconds without. To finalise this I used the dissolve video transition.

Thursday, 19 March 2015

Extra Audience Feedback

Although I have not finished creating my video, I presented the film so far to my class in order to gain feedback on elements they like and anything they feel could be improved. Overall, they seemed to enjoy my film and idea however I have gathered the following things need to be improved:

- In the opening sequence when John is walking towards the camera, the camera goes off at an angle at the end. This could be improved by re-filming this section and making it longer. I could do this by filming it out in the street rather than just down the drive.
- I am already planning on adding music behind my finished film however my class picked up on the lack of music and silence in parts such as where he is cleaning his bike.
- There are blank spaces which I am yet to fill in.
- Near the end when John is getting on his bike you can see my shadow and this ruins the shot.

Sunday, 8 March 2015

Location Recce - 08/03/2015

As my shoot will take place in a moving car, this could be a risk to John on his motorbike. I will have to pre-warn him to focus on the road and not to be distracted by the camera alongside him. I will also ensure Bernie does not lose focus due to the presence of a camera in the car.

I will try and keep the camera within the car, perhaps with the lense outside of the window but no more. This is to avoid distracting other drivers or causing an accident such as dropping he camera.

The time of day and weather would affect the outcome of this filming, not only due to the footage itself but the safety of John. If it is raining the filming will not go ahead as paint on the road may go slippery and pose a danger to motorbike riders. As a result, I will simply have to allocate another day for filming if this turns out to be the case.

Other cars would interfere with the filming if I was unable to drive alongside John. This is why I have chosen to film early on a Sunday morning when I feel the roads will be relatively clear.

I am reliant on my mother to drive the car and she has agreed to do so. However, just in case something crops up and she is unable to do so I have also recruited my sister as a back up plan driver.

Daily Call Sheet - 08/03/2015

Date: 08/03/2015 Location: In the car/on the move

Cast
John Bradley

Crew
Lucy Bradley (Myself)
Bernie Bradley

Equipment
Panasonic video camera

Within this filming session John will be riding his motorbike and I will be alongside him in the car with Bernie, my mother, behind the wheel.

Tuesday, 3 March 2015

Music Permission

I would like to use the song Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple within my documentary. However, as this is a copyrighted song I have contacted Warner Music Group in an attempt to gain permission to do so.

Below is the request I have submitted:

Production Company Logo

I have created a production company logo for LB productions on Photoshop simply using my initials and the word 'productions'. This will not appear on my main task as within documentaries the production company logo usually appears at the end and I am creating the first 5 minutes. However, I will include this within my ancillary task poster.

Thursday, 26 February 2015

Opening Sequence Storyboard

I have created the below storyboard for the opening sequence of my documentary. All of the shots are long shots.

The captions read as follows:

1. John will be walking towards the camera wearing his biking clothing with his helmet in his hand.

2. It will flicker between the previous image and the above of him walking towards the camera, this time wearing his helmet.

3. The screen will then go black for a very short period.

4. John standing infant of the bike with a voiceover of him talking.

5. The image of John infant of his bike will lose focus as the title card fades in.

Sunday, 1 February 2015

Location Recce - 01/02/2015

Potential hazards during filming on my driveway/in my street mainly stem from vehicles and roads. Although I am planning on simply filming John cleaning and polishing his bike, I am aware that sometimes after cleaning it he rides it up and down the street in an attempt to shake off any excess water. As a result, I will ensure that he is wearing his protective biking clothing if he does this and pays close attention to look for oncoming vehicles or pedestrians.

This filming will not be able to take place if it is raining because:
- He would not be cleaning his bike in the rain
- The footage would be dull and not aesthetically pleasing
Therefore, if unfortunately the weather is dull I will have to postpone the filming of this part.

The last time I attempted to film outside when taking test footage the lighting was not good and the footage was unusable. I was unable to see the screen due to the Sun shining on it and as a result was unaware of the bad colouring on the film until I watched it back. Due to this, I will ensure that I can see the screen and check that the camera is on all of the correct settings (gain etc.) in order to create usable and worthwhile footage.

Other people may be an issue when filming in this place. For example, if one of my neighbours came out of their house they may strike up a conversation with my dad or I. However, as I only want to utilise small snippets of this filming this shouldn’t be a major problem as I could simply cut these parts out. On the other hand, I could inform my neighbours of the filming and request that they bare this in mind when leaving/entering their homes.

Daily Call Sheet - 01/02/2015

Date: 0102/2015 Location: My driveway

Cast
John Bradley

Crew
Lucy Bradley (Myself)

Equipment
- Panasonic video camera
- Tripod

Within this filming session I am going to record John cleaning and polishing his bike to use these clips in between the interview questions. I may also do some filming by hand rather than using the tripod.

Tuesday, 27 January 2015

Filming Update

I have completed the filming of the 'talking head' interview questions. This filming lasts for around 8.5 minutes and my whole task only needs to be around 5 minutes. As a result, this allows me to pick out the responses which are most interesting and which I feel would be found within the first 5 minutes of a documentary.

As I want the narration to come from the responses of these questions, I will use these answers throughout the film whilst changing the image which appears on screen.

Sunday, 25 January 2015

Behind The Scenes

Below is an image of the set-up I used when filming my the interview questions. I used a tripod in order to ensure I captured a steady and consistent image and felt my conservatory was the best place for bright and natural lighting.

Location Recce - 25/01/2015

The only thing I feel may pose a risk is smoking on set. Other than this, there will be no trailing cables and the setting is safe due to taking place within a home. In order to minimise this risk I will allow smoking breaks to take place.

The time of day and weather would have a large effect on the filming due to the fact that it is taking place within a conservatory. As a result, if it was dark outside it would be dark within the conservatory as there is a lack of artificial lighting and I wanted to utilise natural lighting. Due to this I will film at a time of the day when it is light outside.

The conservatory is made solely of planes of glass and so the lighting will be bright and natural. There should be no problems with this unless it is streaming through the window directly behind/infront of the subject. If this is the case I will simply move the seating position of the interviewee.

However, filming will not be able to take place if it is raining outside. The sound of rain on the conservatory is enhanced compared to any other room in the house and would interrupt the responses to the interview questions.Therefore if it is raining I will film within a different room of the house.

I do not require permission to film within this venue as it is my own home. I will simply have to check with my parents that this is OK and inform my mother and sister when filming is taking place to avoid them walking in mid-filming.

The only other problem I may encounter is due to the fact that I live directly beside a Metro line and trains run past regularly. This causes my house to shake and the noise is loud. As a result, when I hear a metro coming I will simply pause filming until it has passed and cut this bit out of the final cut.

Daily Call Sheet: 25/01/2015

Date: 25/01/2015 Location: My conservatory

Cast
John Bradley

Crew
Lucy Bradley (Myself)

Equipment
- Panasonic video camera
- Tripod

Within this filming session I am going to record my previously posted interview questions.

Risk Assessment: 25/01/2015

Before I begin filming in my conservatory I have completed a risk assessment in order to identify and overcome any hazards.

Thursday, 22 January 2015

Photoshoot Images

I carried out a photoshoot to gather the images for my two ancillary tasks. Below are a few of these photographs.

Double Page Spread from a Listings Magazine:

Although I prefer how natural the first image appears, I believe I will be using the second one as my main image for my double page spread. This is due to the fact that the positioning of John within the frame is better for the layout of my page. However, I may attempt to fit the first image into my DPS and decide upon which looks more aesthetically pleasing once constructed.

Newspaper Advertisement:

I liked a lot of the images I took for the newspaper advertisement, but the above are my favourites. However, on reflection I believe I should have taken these photographs portrait in order for them to be suitable for one page of a newspaper. I will attempt to use one of the above images but will bare in mind that I may have to carry out another photoshoot in order to change the orientation of the images.

Wednesday, 21 January 2015

Photoshoot Planning

I am carrying out a photoshoot in order to acquire the photographs for my two ancillary tasks. I have decided that I want the images to be in the following format:

Double page spread from a listings magazine:

For this image I want John to be standing to the left with his motorbike beside him. This allows me to follow my already created flat plan for my double page spread. You will be able to see John down the left hand side of the page and part of his mororbike but the rest will be covered by the article.

Newspaper advertisement:

I will take this with John standing either in front or behind the motorbike. During the photoshoot I will take both and decide upon which I feel is most aesthetically pleasing.

I am simply going to carry out this photoshoot on my driveway as since it is 'A Day In The Life' programme I want it to appear as personal and homely. However, if after constructing my ancillary tasks I feel that the photographs taken in a different location would work better, I will be able to take more photos with ease.

No further lighting, apart from the natural lighting from outside, will be used. I will not plan an outfit for him to wear and will simply allow him to wear his usual biking clothing.

Constructing My Double Page Spread

I have put my article onto my double page spread but, upon doing so, it is clear that it is not long enough.

As a result, I am going to add a substantial amount to my existing article in order to make it the correct length.

Tuesday, 20 January 2015

Ancillary Task Article

Below is the article I have created for my double page spread from a listings magazine:

The life of a biker as never seen before

The stereotypical view of bikers and ‘gang culture’ is turned on its head in this documentary, offering the insight into the life of 52 year old biker, John Bradley. This episode is one of the eleven-part series ‘A Day In The Life’, on every Tuesday.

The father-of-two shows that biking is not all Hell’s Angels and conflict, but a hobby to be enjoyed communally or alone. “I love getting up early and going on a long ride out by myself. When the roads are empty and the only company I have is the sound of my engine, that’s when I’m most content.” Not to be mistaken for only going out alone, John adds “In the Summer I love attending bike rallys and festivals: Stormin’ The Castle, The Wickerman Festival and whatever else I have time for. The atmosphere is amazing and it’s great to have a walk around admiring all of the bikes.”

The hour-long episode takes you to the North East where John and his Harley Davidson become second nature to you. He is aware of the dangers of biking and feels more motorists need to take looking for motorbikes on the road more seriously, “It doesn’t take long to take a second look, especially at junctions. The window panels can easily obstruct a driver’s view and bikers shouldn’t have to have such a fear of carelessness.”

Despite the obvious dangers, the documentary shows the excitement and addictive rush of adrenaline biking supplies. In fact, the pleasure is so great one of John’s friends beat a more dangerous addiction by taking up biking instead, “A man I met at Stormin’ The Castle last year told me about his battle with drugs growing up, which had eventually led to heroin abuse. His brother-in-law convinced him to take up biking and now he’s three years clean. Cold turkey, just like that.”

More incredible stories are revealed within the episode as well as a factual perspective on all involved in keeping and maintaining a motorbike.

Although it’s not all fresh air and chrome for John, whose wife Bernadette looks at biking a little differently, especially when their daughters are involved. “I’ve known John since I was 18 and he had a motorbike even then. I would never stop him doing something he enjoys but when he first started taking the girls out on the back I would be on edge until they returned. Luckily for me as they’ve gotten older they don’t go with him as much, I’m just dreading the day one of them comes in and tells me they want their own!”

Bikers or non-bikers, this is not a one worth missing. With a full tank of petrol anything is possible.

----- END -----

I may have to either lengthen or shorten the article when I add it to the double page spread I have created on InDesign, depending on how well it fits in. However, I feel this is generally what my finished article will look like.

Plan For This Week

By Thursday I will have:
- Created the title for my documentary
- Wrote the article for my DPS
- Completed my newspaper advertisement and double page spread, excluding the images

At the weekend I will:
- Film the interview questions
- Do more filming
- Take the photographs for my double page spread and newspaper advertisement

Following this, my ancillary tasks will be complete and I can continue to edit, and complete, my main task.

Tuesday, 13 January 2015

Creating My Double Page Spread

I have re-created my flat plan for a double page spread from a listings magazine in InDesign. As a result, I now have the general outline of my DPS and it will be a relatively quick and easy process in order to fill it in.

I am now going to focus on creating the article and taking the relevant photographs.