Thursday, 18 June 2015

Leadership identification

Leadership Identification:
Time Management:
For our Dead Zone Video our time management wasn't as good as we thought it would of been. During the pre-production stages of finally getting to film make my self as the director made a few mistakes that seemed to slow tune down, for example when it came to sending the equipment booking form I didn't know how to send the email properly to one of the Middlesbrough College media staff. But then we finally figured it out and eventually got to finish our video for Josh to edit. However we did come up with many other solutions within our group which seemed to make a difference.

Communicational skills (So everyone knew what they needed to do.):
My communication skills I thought were pretty good, why I am saying this is because for example going back to the filming stages I made sure everybody knew what they needed to do before we started filming. Also I made sure things were running smoothly for example shutting everybody up so we couldn't capture their voices in the background when Ryan was capturing his audio.

Team working:
Working in a team with my cast and crew was very enjoyable and stressful at the same time. What I mean by this is that they was many things we needed to change within our pre-production documents such as we did not use some of our cast for the film making. Also working with my team, we had a real good time as everybody seemed to get involved in what we could do to improve. 

Under pressure working:
During our Dead Zone project it always seemed that we were under pressure. From this comment when it came to the faults we had to start again many time until we found the right scenes etc. Also especially when the equipment booking for wouldn't go though to an email and who we could ask to star as characters in our movie.

Wednesday, 17 June 2015

My Leadership skills

Proof of how well I carried out my part of the project (director of the production).
- During the pre production stages of being the director of Dead Zone, from my own opinion I thought I was a good director. Why I think this is because when it came to finally filming Dead Zone everybody seemed to listen to me and did what I told them what to do after we finished several  of the scenes. It was also very fun and enjoyable.



Proof on how well I thought we worked in a team

- From finally direction my Silver Arts Award video I thought we were very good in working as a team. Why I think this is because we worked hard in finally finishing our video and getting it in on time and came up with solutions when certain things didn't quite go to plan. For example shortening the script so it wasn't very long because we would of had time to do it all. 




Here is some proof from one of my pre-production crew saying about me being a director and how well we seemed to be in a team. From Ryan Atterton and Gemma Connor.

Research into examples of effective video and video editing

Here is research into examples of what I think show good video and video editing:


What I think makes a good video is defiantly the way is fits in with the audio, for example; 'WALK THE MOON - Shut up and dance'. What I like most about this music video is how they manage to color the main singers outfit, with the glowing in different colors and such. Why I think this makes the video better is because like I said at the beginning it fits nicely within the audio.

I think this is good video because it has various different scenes from two people dancing in front of several people in a night club. To another were there getting married, dancing behind different colored backgrounds.

Tuesday, 16 June 2015

Developing stages (2)

Developing stages (2)

How have your production skills been developing?
My developing stages have defiantly developed since I written my last Production skills review a few days ago. We have finally finished filming our Dead Zone that has not only developed my skills but my teams also. Like for an example making us all more comfortable working together and coming up with solutions and some of the equipment testing and working with them to produce DEAD ZONE!

Any problems this far into the Dead Zone project?
They was a few tiny problems while filming as when it came to me sending emails to book the different filming equipment out. I did not know how to send a email using the Middlesbrough College which was quite annoying.

Are you happy in how you think the project is coming along?
I am very happy with how the project is coming along as I am nearly finished.

Leadership Review

Leadership Review
How did your leadership skills develop?
My leadership skill developed from creating my video and completing my pre-production documents. I also think that my leadership for telling people what they need to do and also what could be improved if something did not go well with the video.

How well did your project plan work?
During the film making stages I didn't really think that we would finished as late as we did. Why I say this is because when we where using the equipment it took us quite a while to get it to work for example the boom mic. Also with using some of the characters for some of the people from my course was a big mistake because they seemed to let me down when it came to filming again. But if I get to do this again in the future I wouldn't make the same mistake again. 

Overall achievements. successes and challenges. 
Overall achievements - Some of my achievements came mainly from creating my video with the time we had to create it and also how we managed to come up with a solution to make it look more like a video by placing a 'too be continued' at the end of our video

Overall successes - My overall success are from finally completing my dead zone assignment. Why I say this is because during the course I have completely various different movie make and this has just topped it off as it was more fun then anything to complete it and also very enjoyable.

Overall Challenges - From my challenges I really wanted to show how I was with directing which I want to be when I am older also I wanted to become more confident when it came to working within a team with my my cast and crew.

What have you learnt from working efficiently with others?
What I have learnt from working efficiently with others is everything because we realized that we could work together without make faults and also had a good laugh creating the film.

What have you learnt from feedback? -
What I have learnt from my feedback is nothing really because from one of my feedback it basically says that I have done a good job with directing this production and it makes me very proud of myself with them saying that.

What would you do next time?
If I were to do this again I would immediately change the whole plot. Why I say this is because I don't really like working with such hard competitions as i am not at that stage yet. I mean this by my zombies didn't really look so realistic because we didn't have the make up to do that.

From the different job roles in my pre production stages I think that the script was good and very creative. I thought that my script writer (Keiren Dixon) did a fantastic job and I will look forward to work with him in future video assignments. 



Monday, 15 June 2015

Arts Award Leadership / Screenshots

When we first went out recording we decided to do a scene where Liam is sat on the floor gasping for breath and realizes quite quickly that there is a bag next to him and hen looks in to see if they is any dangerous object in to help him kill the zombies quicker. So firstly we made the camera look like a mid shot of our Character Nolan and clearly show reactions about things.








When it came to the scene for the zombie's I decided to make them look as if he had seen Liam running towards our main location 'Clock Tower' which is placed just next to Middlesbrough College, so he makes his way over there.




I decided to have this  scene when Liam and Jack first meet up together in the trailer/movie because it would give a good too be continued at the end as we did not as much scenes as we thought we would of had. From the shot me and my camera women Gemma Connor decided that it should be a long shot so we could see both of Liam and Jack about to attack each other. 



When it came to finally edit the films trailer we then decided on the color scheme and font so we came up with blue and courier, Why we chose this is because we thought they both went well together in the end.





Wednesday, 10 June 2015

What is a typical project , contract and working day?

What is a typical project , contract and working day?


Typical Contract- 


During the film process the filming director is the most important job in the production. From bringing the script to real life. Also to do various parts of the job they need to employ a producer to be a partner to take care of the financial and ministration parts. 

Piers Haggard. (n/a). Why publish Directors’ Contract Guidelines?.Available: http://www.filmdirectors.eu/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/guidelines_digital.pdf. Last accessed 12/06/15.



Typical Working day and project- 

For becoming a filming director a typical working day would vary from numerous jobs. For example you would need to be involved with the screen playing, working with the filming producer and get involved with the script writer and script writing. Also they have to work with releasing the film, promotion it, speaking finally with the media and attending festivals and award festivals.


Heather Buchan. (December 2011). What's a typical workday like for a director?.Available: http://careerbear.com/film-director/article/what’s-a-typical-workday-like-for-a-film-director. Last accessed 11/6/15.

Sunday, 7 June 2015

Review of mima's exhibitions

Introduction
What is a Review?
A review is written about different events where people talk about what hey think about the events and also what they don't like about it. Then you rate by how many star you think the event is non being the lowest and 5 being the most.

What was the Exhibition about?
I went to Mima the Middlesbrough Museum of Modern Arts. At Mima they was a exhibition where they showed work from three artists and a celebration of spanish and Portuguese art work.

My Review:

Pia Camil, Pablo Helguera, Pedro Reyes

When I went to review Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art I wasn't very impressed with exhibitions. I found the paintings were too abstract for me and seemed to be just boxes of colours with no attention paid to shapes. There didn't seem to be a lot of artistic skill on show! The work from the three artists on show  -  Pia Camil, Pablo Helguera and Reyes work, wasn't really the kind of art that I like. I prefer something where you can recognise what has been painted or produced - as in the work of Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci. I found the paintings on show at Mima were just abstract colour and didn't do a lot for me at all.

Although what I did like was the use of  colours that the three used in the art work - I found it certainly bright and colourful, but was hard to make out and understand just what the paintings were about.. 



Outside of Mima.








Modern Art Room.


Stairs




Modern Art Room

What I saw during my visit was the photo on the left. With this photo it isn't really what I like. As the type of art I like is more from Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci. Although what I do like about this piece of art s the use of colour that they have used to come up with it, to make it look more appealing and eye catching. Also it is very unusual.


How can their art work influence your work?
I don't really think that this type of art work can influence my work because I prefer working in video or digital imaging. Although this kind of work could be shown at an Art Gallery - there was certainly none on show at Mima!

Comments on my review are shown in the comments section which is at the bottom of this post

Tuesday, 2 June 2015

Silver Arts Award - Pathways

Explain who you are and your project you are working on?
I am Courtney Fleming and I am a creative media student at Middlesbrough College. For the project I am working on researching in different ,media job roles. Firstly I have been asked too visit the website 'Stage 32'and email one of the people applied on their about asked  them numerous of question about it. 

For my Arts Award Pathways I have been asked to research  a media industry and show in my assignment what they do in there job, why I have chosen to write about it and how I found out the contact details

Filming Industry:
Skills and qualifications:
If you are looking for a job in the media industry of film making for example your wanting to be a director you will need various skills.
The types of skills you will need are for example:
  • Have a deep and passionate interest in filmmaking.
  • Inspire and motivate all individuals involved.
  • Have great and brilliant self belief.
  • Be able to work for long hours.
  • Have an understanding in hoe the film industry work from the technical and creative points.
  •  Have unbelievable commitment.

If you want to be apart of the filming industry and wanting to become my chosen job role for this unit and media sector which is a film director you don’t need a formal qualification.  However they is a numerous of training and reference books on directing, also with studying art and craft of directing is important.

Methods of recruitment:
If you are wanting to become my chosen job role which is a director the best route to start in is too become a runner which starts off making coffees/tea and sending letter to other employees and make your way up to working on scene or in a production office. Don this way is a much higher and challenging path way to start in. 

What do directors do?
Directors take over the role of sending people such as the actors and crew in their right direction and tell them what to do or not to do. They are one of he main roles in film making and take part in siting with the script writers and also production team. 

Creative Skillset. (n/a). Director . Available: http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/film/job_roles/758_director. Last accessed 12/05/2015.

Saturday, 23 May 2015

developing stages (1)

Developing stages (1)

How have your production skills been developing?
From my pre-production I do think that my production skills are developing as I am finishing things that I have never heard of or never done before, which I think is great practice for in the future. What I have completing are my pre-production documents that are needed for you start film making and editing etc.

Any problems this far into the Dead Zone project?
Up to now they is no problems from the Dead Zone project which is good for me and team.

Are you happy in how you think the project is coming along?
I am very happy with the project so far although I am quite nervous when it come eventually producing the video/trailer.

Friday, 22 May 2015

Evaluation for my Animation

Evaluation for Creative Media Production Project Assignment.

How do you think it went, what could have been improved?
During my creative project assignment I really enjoyed creation my animation characters. They were very easy to create and they also go well with the location and with the situation it is a bit unusual than me using humans because with the use of penguins having deadly equipment and violence. Using the software such as I-stop motion and I-movie really helped me as well as it helped my put my different scenes such as when Alex is upset of the fact that the free penguins that where bullying him in the beginning killed the police man and then ran away from it so he wouldn’t get blamed for it. From my animation I think I would like to change a few things but apart from that I think it is quite good for my first time at animation.  What I would change in my animation is from my titles I wanted them to be one by one after each other instead putting their names on a same title from where their standing. It also would also be challenging for me as I think it would be better because then if I did something I had not done before than I can could use the same idea again if they may to be another time to create another animation. Also I think it would have been better if I made the lighting more sad and dark to show an upsetting atmosphere for my animation.

What did you feel you learnt from this project – discuss use of new software, and include skills such as time research, ideas generation, writing proposals, planning and pre-production, time management and independent working?
Within my animation I have learnt several things I did not know before using I-stop motion and I-Movie. Using I-stop motion was easy to use as I created my animation video, even though I already knew how animation works by moving your characters a little bit at a time it seems to be really time consuming because it isn’t as easy at deleting mistakes and take up to 2 or 3 years to complete. Also now that I know how to use the software it would be much easier for me to use it again in the future. However using I-Movie was more complicated.  When I was using I-Movie I found it much harder than using I-stop motion as I asked my teacher for help a few times. When I imported my penguins animation video into I-Movie I didn’t really know what I was doing such as; how to add different titles and effects into it as I have never used that software before. But now that I do know them skills I could use the software again and again. I just think I need more help until I get used to it. I also found the software very annoying at times because when I decided to change my idea about putting separate titles in my video after each other soon as my penguin introduced themselves in the beginning because I thought of been so much better, all I could do is put their names in one title together which is what I didn’t want to do and I think it has wrecked my animation a bit because they wasn’t much I could do with me not knowing how to do it.

Explain the decisions you made throughout all key stages your project providing reasons as to what you were trying to achieve.
From the beginning I had stuck with the same idea for my animation such as; when Ollie, Sophia and Perry started frightening Alex with a gun because him not having anybody to talk to and no friends and when the police penguin gets murdered by accident it was just mainly all the other parts that I was struggling to get my head around because for my titles I wanted them at the beginning the penguins names to come in titles after each other than on the same one as I thought it would be much more challenging for me plus it would look much more better when it will be finished. Also I wanted to change the lighting in my animation as well because I thought it was too bright for the situation and mood. I also wanted to achieve more new skills in animation also because it is a very interesting and time-keeping sector of the media industry like filming etc.  It’s just I wasn’t sure how to use the software’s. Also during the making of my animation I had changed my mind a few times to either change the direction to where they were walking or even the situation to where Alex runs away as that was a last moment thing I decided to put in my animation to make it sadder.

Using examples and extracts from your sequences evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your project. Show examples of work from other animations both from your peers and from professionals and make comparisons.
The difference between my animation and aardman is that a lot of time and effort had been put into it. What I mean by this is that when a animation movies that is going to be a big hit for the animation industry they will have to make it more realistic with the movement of the characters mouths, the way they move their bodies to fit the situation and also the different face exspecons. However like Wallace and Grommet curse of the ware rabbit they have a proper set to their animation as to mine where I only had a certain amount of space. But I do believe that if I get more used to creating animations I’ll get much better.  From my animation and Wallace and Grommet it just shows that theirs is much better because the use of location looks more real and professional and also there are more camera shots.

Also for my class project my friend Ryan Atterton made a paper animation where Brian May looks as if he is playing the guitar. The difference between mine and Ryan’s is that his is much more complicated and also from my opinion more better. I like the way he has used this technique because the way he’s done it looks professional and different than anybody else’s in my lesson. However mine looks more real because I have a fully moving image that lasts 17 seconds long where my penguins moves around with much more hand gestures where Ryan’s only moves the arm part of Brain Mays body.

(my penguin animation) 
                         


                                  (Ryan's Brian may work)








Explain what you would do differently if you were to do this project again.
If I were to start my animation from the beginning again I would make the animation much longer and humorous because I think it is a short video for my animation which when I see others in my lessons they were at least 1 minute longer than mine. I like the idea of putting humour in animations because it would be funnier to watch like from some of my favourites Toy Story and Iron Giant. Also when I didn’t really know how to use the software that I used to create it I wish to use different lighting to make the atmosphere of the animation more dark and grumpy as I think it would make it more effective. However I also think I would put a couple more characters into my animation too show when Perry, Ollie and Sophia ran away, Alex would get spotted going to the police man seeing if he is alive and then getting blamed for his death. Although I also think that my backgrounds are a bit dull so I would change that and also for the ground find a. image off the internet were it looks more like their walking on snow than on just a white piece of paper.




In this scene I would happily do again. I think the titles make my beginning horrible to see because with the the white background to what the names are in front of. I would change it by making the titles much clearer so that the titles are over the background but you can still see all the backgrounds. I think it would improve it and improve my skills in using this type of software.





I would also change this scene by adding some quotes or speaking to what the pengins to each other to making more easy for the viewers to understand the plot when watching it for the first time or it will just come across as a weird animation...



People have commented on my Silver Arts Challenge and you will find them at the bottom of the page.




Dead Zone Pre Production

Leadership Challenge


What is the project about?
Our project is about a survival zombie apocalypse...


What does a director do?
What directors do is that they read the script for the film and visualize into putting each scene into actual moving images and sound. They are mainly responsible for the films creativity side. 

For my Leadership challenge I want to?
For my Leadership Challenge I want to create a video involving zombies. Why I want zombies in my video is because it will be different for me to direct then my other videos I have produced in college which where people running away from bad situations

What is new about this Leadership challenge?
What is new about this Leadership challenge is that I will be involved in certain parts that I haven't done before such as putting make-up on certain individuals for example zombies to make them look a lot realistic.

Why it will be a challenge?
Why this project would be a challenge is because I will be getting more involved in certain things that I have never been involved with in before for example script writing with my script writer Kieren Dixon and Camera Girl, Gemma Connor.
  



What I will need to plan and prepare for my challenge?
What I will need to plan and prepare for my challenge will be a crew and characters for my production. Too gather my character I and my scriptwriter Kieren Dixon have produced posters and put them all around Middlesbrough College explaining that we need people to star in it and also where they should go for their auditions.




Location for DEAD ZONE.
The location for DEAD ZONE is on Middlesbrough College property. The main area that the film will be shot at  the Clock Tower just next to Middlesbrough College. Why I think this area will be good for our Dead Zone film is because it will give it a more scary and haunted feel to it. However there is other various locations within the College such as several rooms and corridors which would be booked during out pre production stages. Why we wanted to have several scenes in Middlesbrough College is because during the film we meet up with other character that are stuck and need immediate help.

What DEAD ZONE is about.
What the film is about is we met our main character Nolan which is wondering killing zombies as he moves outside near the clock tower next too Middlesbrough College. As he moves closer to the college he begins to feel paranoid and scared. Moments later Nolan looks up too see several people struggling to stay alive and immediate help and shout for assistance off Nolan. As Nolan is in the building he runs to where the other character are and starts to fight off the zombies too get closer to the other survivors are.



WHO'S INVOLVED IN MY PRE AND PRO PRODUCTION.

Cast
Sadiq Arshad - Morgan
Liam Jamerson  - Nolan
Charlotte Hines - Eve
Shannon McLean - Zombie
Nicole Swainton - Emma
Jack Brookes - Zombie

What I am in charge of.
What I am in charge of for Dead Zone is to direct my cast and crew in the right direction and visualize the script in real moving images. However to complete different pre production sheets. For example risk assessment and equipment booking form.



RISK ASSESSMENT FORM

Title of project
Name and Number
Address

Complete the following table rating
·         each risks severity on scale from Negligable (N), Low Risk (L), Moderate risk (M), Severe (S), Very severe (V)
·         each risks likelihood on scale from Very unlikely (VU), Unlikely (U), Possible (P), Likely (L), Very likely (VL)
·         Determine the risk factor from the table overleaf.

Hazard

Present?

Severity
Likelihood
Risk Factor
1
Alcohol/drugs




2
Animals/insects




3
Audiences




4
Camera cable/grip equipment




5
Confined spaces

L
U

6
Derelict buildings/dangerous structures




7
Electricity/gas (other than normal supplies)




8
Fatigue/long hours

L
U

9
Fire/flammable materials




10
Hazardous substances




11
Heat/Cold/extreme weather

M
P

12
Laser/strobe effects




13
Machinery/industrial/ crane/hoist




14
Materials - glass, non-fire retardant set materials

L
VU

15
Night operation




16
Noise – high sound levels




17
Non standard manual handling




18
Public/crowds




19
Radiation




20
Scaffold/Rostra




21
Smoking on set

L
U

22
Special effects/explosives




23
Special needs (elderly, disabled, inexperienced)




24
Specialised rescue/first aid

L
VU

25
Stunts, dangerous activities




26
Tall scenery/suspended ceilings




27
Vehicles/speed




28
Water/proximity to water




29
Weapons

M
P

30
Working at heights




31
Working overseas




32
Other risks




Calculate the Risk Factor:


Very Unlikely

Unlikely
Possible
Likely
Very Likely
Very severe
3
4
4
5
5
Severe
2
3
3
3
5
Moderate
2
2
3
3
3
Low risk
1
2
2
3
3
Negligible
1
1
2
2
3

Decide the action to take:

5
Very severe
Take immediate action
4
Severe
High priority
3
Moderate Risk
Programme for action
2
Low Risk
Action may be required
1
Negligible
Probably acceptable

Then list each risk identified

Hazard no:
5
Risk Factor (1-5)
2
Description
Confined Spaces
Person(s) exposed (detail if cast/crew (C), outside company (O) or public (P) )
Cast and Crew
Action to take
Make sure not many people are in rooms with confined spaces for example cast and crew.
Person/company responsible for action
Director
To be completed at agreed later date -
Exposed person(s) informed? (y/n)

Agreed action taken? (y/n)

Risk removed? (y/n)


Hazard no:
8
Risk Factor (1-5)
2
Description
Fatigue/long hours
Person(s) exposed (detail if cast/crew (C), outside company (O) or public (P) )
Cast and crew
Action to take
Tell them that creating the video will take several long hours to complete.
Person/company responsible for action

To be completed at agreed later date -
Exposed person(s) informed? (y/n)

Agreed action taken? (y/n)

Risk removed? (y/n)


Hazard no:
11
Risk Factor (1-5)
3
Description
Heat/Cold/Extreme weather
Person(s) exposed (detail if cast/crew (C), outside company (O) or public (P) )
Cast and crew
Action to take
Make sure they have warm clothing and suitable clothing if they were to have this chosen risk factor.
Person/company responsible for action

To be completed at agreed later date -
Exposed person(s) informed? (y/n)

Agreed action taken? (y/n)

Risk removed? (y/n)



Hazard no:
14
Risk Factor (1-5)
1
Description
Materials - glass, non-fire retardant set materials
Person(s) exposed (detail if cast/crew (C), outside company (O) or public (P) )
(C)
Action to take
Inspect area and make sure they know the risk of filming there.
Person/company responsible for action

To be completed at agreed later date -
Exposed person(s) informed? (y/n)

Agreed action taken? (y/n)

Risk removed? (y/n)


Hazard no:
21
Risk Factor (1-5)
2
Description
Smoking on set
Person(s) exposed (detail if cast/crew (C), outside company (O) or public (P) )
(c)
Action to take
Let cast and crew know they will be smoking on set.
Person/company responsible for action

To be completed at agreed later date -
Exposed person(s) informed? (y/n)

Agreed action taken? (y/n)

Risk removed? (y/n)



Hazard no:
24
Risk Factor (1-5)
1
Description
Specialised rescue/first aid
Person(s) exposed (detail if cast/crew (C), outside company (O) or public (P) )
(C)
Action to take
Take extra care so the cast and crew cannot get hurt.
Person/company responsible for action

To be completed at agreed later date -
Exposed person(s) informed? (y/n)

Agreed action taken? (y/n)

Risk removed? (y/n)




Hazard no:
24
Risk Factor (1-5)
1
Description
Specialised rescue/first aid
Person(s) exposed (detail if cast/crew (C), outside company (O) or public (P) )
(C)
Action to take
Take extra care so the cast and crew cannot get hurt.
Person/company responsible for action

To be completed at agreed later date -
Exposed person(s) informed? (y/n)

Agreed action taken? (y/n)

Risk removed? (y/n)

Hazard no:
29
Risk Factor (1-5)
3
Description
Weapons
Person(s) exposed (detail if cast/crew (C), outside company (O) or public (P) )
Cast
Action to take
Make sure they use the weapons appropriate.
Person/company responsible for action

To be completed at agreed later date -
Exposed person(s) informed? (y/n)

Agreed action taken? (y/n)

Risk removed? (y/n)



Completed by:  Courtney Fleming                                    Position: Producer


Signature      C.Fleming                                                      Date: 08.05/15



Countersigned by:                                                             PRODUCER – Courtney Fleming



Signature     C.Fleming                                                     Date: 08/05/15