Nominated

Coming to the end of our post production module every student was asked to nominate a piece of their best work and showcase their finest editing skills. I decided to nominate my experimental for this task as I believe it was my best piece of editing to date. As mentioned in the experimental post earlier the footage was filmed from the making of a promotion video for company 'Ninebot'. Being able to the first people hands on and film the product itself was an amazing experience.

I feel this is my best edited piece of work this year as I've added a certain type of feel and style to it to make it come to life, we could say it's an uplifting one due to the use of music within it. All shots were filmed hand held which again tested me to my limit as it all had to be perfect not only for myself but the viewers itself.

Experimental

And so it comes down to this our last practice assessment for avid, aim is to create a short video where it is totally experimental. We obviously had the option to choose what aspects we wanted to play around with being the narrative, effects, avid tools, techniques behind editing and the themes/structures. The task was to be completed by every individual, I decided to go with some footage which I recorded over the holidays. A promotion of 'Ninebot' which is a self balancing short walking robot. Being an experimental task I was able to enjoy myself whilst editing by using the reverse speed duration and effects to make my video come to life and engage the audience within it.

Propaganda

In production groups of 3/4 people we was required to film and edit a 5 minute propaganda film. So the basic idea was to incorporate some sort of message across and to promote bigotry on the basis of race, religion, culture and gender. I based my film on a boxer, reason being I was able to show the audience about how the young generation can escape violence and gang culture through the power of boxing.

I particularly enjoyed filming this because not only do I take up the sport myself I was able to film AJ one of the students at repton and his journey over the four years of his training, he was able to give us an indepth view on his training and how it got him out of it.

BVE Exhibition

BVE was an amazing experience to go to, I had so much fun exploring the exhibition because not only did it feature over 250 of the leading manufacturers, distributors and resellers of professional production and broadcast equipment and systems, but it covered everything from accessories of a camera to 360 workflow solutions. BVE was well how can we put it an unforgettable moment? Being the most essential broadcasting and production technology event made it extra special because I have never actually been to an exhibit before so it was a good experience overall to get hands on with the different/various types of cameras I witnessed before me.

Work Experience

Nearing the end of my second year at university I plan to go out and find myself work experience opportunities within the media sector. Living in the heart of Waterloo has made things somewhat easier for me, as I only live a short distance from the ITV and Channel 4 studios’. By creating a media CV and a cover letter, will enable me to email them asking about for potential vacancies on work experience and to also pop in and give a hard copy of both if unsuccessful via email. With a place hopefully secured in due time fingers crossed I plan to use this to my advantage after attaining my degree. With the potential experience gained this could see me as a potential candidate in the near future and open me to a lot of doors.

My communication I would say has not been extremely great with my tutors this term. This has lacked me in excelling myself to the best of my advantage. If my communication within my module leaders were great then my work would be at a good standard however within my peers it is fantastic. Working well with them and constantly on the ball has made teamwork a key skill and quality this semester.

Research assignment

As I mentioned in my first blog I’m not very keen on the theory side of things and writing up essays in particular so my interest levels doesn’t soar to a level I would expect. In terms of understanding the assignments I find it quite clear to me but somewhat struggle when it comes to the end product. The deconstruction assignment in particular made me show an interest towards writing up an essay and show my passion for it. Analysing a specific scene, which I enjoyed in the movie made me able to write and expand my knowledge on it. This engaged me more and enabled me to write quite a few words about the scene.

For me to improve myself in academic writing form and be strong in this area I plan to look at more research methods such as journals, books and articles. By referencing everything this will support my writing and build a stronger end product. I’d hope to answer my question of “does it interest me in the way it should?” by building my confidence in essay writing and being more stronger at it will drive me towards making contacts with the industry out there, giving me opportunities to open my eyes up to the world of media and what it has to offer.

Silent Movie

In groups of 3 and 4 we were asked to film and edit a three minute cuts – only silent movie. This proved to be a challenging task as were not allowed to use transitions no sounds and no title. Come to editing it proved to be quite straightforward once I sat down and got to grips with it. Teamwork/communication was crucial in this production of the movie. Producer was able to organise and bring the team together and film in one full day. Only problem we had was the weather not being on our side but this didn’t stop us from filming.

What went well for our silent movie was the variety use of shots that we used to give our movie a cinematic type of feel, which I feel went spectacularly well. However every group member was required to edit their own version of the film to see if we had the skill and capability to use avid to its highest standard possible. For me personally the positive side of things was the clear continuity of the narrative, which was shown quite well during the video. Negatively speaking the use of soundtrack did not fit well with the actual video itself with a fast paced and tense build up would make the audience think something big is about to take place when in fact that is not the case. What can I do better next time? Well to start I would choose a suitable soundtrack to go with my narrative and make it more appealing to the audience in order for them to be more engaged and involved.