Just a few documents to help our rehersal tomorrow run smoothly.

I would like to start with these cameras and operators:

Camera 1 - Main hand held  - ALEX

Camera 2 - Second Hand Held behind stage - NEIL

Camera 3 - Track in front of stage - JANE

Camera 4 - Fixed Tripod Left of stage - DAVE

Camera 5 - Fixed Tripod Right of stage - NIKKI

Camera 6 - Fixed HIGH ANGLE Tripod behind audience. - SAM ELLIS

The camera shots are just to help with framing, obviously we won't achieve the look due to lack of audience, lights etc. But it just gives you an idea of what I'm looking for tomorrow and for the record day :)

Avaliable Shots for Rehersal Rehersal Shot Sizes

Adaptation - Finished Product

Wow it's all over! So glad we had this unit! The freedom to truely create what ever we felt the poem meant to us, was so freeing and creatively liberating. I was so impressed with EVERYONES work, so many beautiful films and we have all stepped up our game! I really think the cannon 7D has made the world of difference, the films are just in another class to some of our previous work, simply because the quality of the footage. I particular love the filmic quality of Alex's, Zee and Dan's, there shots and stories are fantastic, and would make for excellent show reels! I also love Lauren Woodfall's and think she has achieved so much with her photography skills and patience for editing perfection!

Overall I couldn't be happier with this unit, I started out a bit distant from it, mainly because I was so focused on AS LIVE, but I really feel I have found my experiemental side, and learning things from each other has been vital. Watching others' work today has really spurred me on to learn and develop more!

The Listeners

Adaptation - Bringing it all together

With most of my work, I have always found the editing to be the most rewarding. I love being able to take images, and transform them into something better with music, cuts, effects, colour correction and transitions. This piece of work, has been by far the most fun to edit. I really went for it, and experimented with all types of effects and colors.

I started by rough cutting, and placing the clips in the order I had roughly sketched on my storyboard. I then started to play with colour correction. For the nightmare and dream sequences I decided to add plenty of contrast, and pinks, green and blues, to create a fantasy effect. For the shots of my character drinking and have DT's in his room, I didn't need to do much, as I had spent time lighting these well during my shoot, I just added my contrast and smoothed out some of the grain in the darker clips. I also used effects like mirror and negative, in order to create a more surreal feel, 

One of the hardest tasks was making my tracking shots in the Bearsted wood and with the candles look as smooth as possible. I started by making sure I took my time when shooting, and used the tripod and Figrig, but this did not eliminate all of the shaking. I therefore decided to slow the clips down in the edit and place the steady cam effect over the top. If there is a lot of shaking, this effect sometimes makes it worse, but I was really lucky that it gave me the desired effect. With lots of colour correction and changing of contrast and brightness, I really feel these shots are the best cinematography I've achieved to date. 

Adaptation - Creating Sound

I've been working really hard on building my soundtrack recently. Right from the very start I always had the song in mind I was going to use, Hurt. But I found the original Nine Inch nails version instead of the Johnny Cash one, really fitted my piece, especially when I applied more strings and drones to it. 

The song makes for the base of the sound, creating the mood, tension and drama. I have also added some sound effects to make the images come to life, such as the bird qwarking and the breathlessness of the man as he is running through the woods.

My main challenge was the voice over. I decided that the poem was quite dramatically visually and I didn't want to take that away from the piece with my original idea of on screen text. So instead I decided to use voiceover, but as I had my heart set on the music, I needed to record it and edit it to make the two work well together.

I started by recording my actor, Phil reading the poem. It was a good recording, but his tone of voice did not fir the tone of my poem. It didn't have underlying pain or torment or even the haggard emotion I was looking for. I therefore decided to import the song into Garageband and see what elements could be changed to make it work. First I decided to lower the pitch of Phil's voice, my changing it down a major third, then adding a "Southern Voice" effect and slight "monsters effect". I then decided to overlay it with another track. This would be the same recording but changed to a panning echo of multiple voices, that repeat elements of the poem's words throughout. I really felt this added to the atmosphere of my poem, relating to the "listeners" and different voices in the man's head. However I still felt both these tracks overlaid were missing something, they were fighting each other, and didn't seem rounded enough. I therefore decided again to take the original recording and use the "male to female" effect, so that I was actually left with a reading of the poem by a "women".  I feel this really completed the voiceover, and all three tracks work well together, creating a three dimensional voice, similar to what the alcoholic would hear, "himself, the need to stop and the want to carry on"

I was also happy that the new tones, had slowed the pace down slightly, and created dramatic tension and sadness at the key points in the poem and song, so in my mind all elements are in harmony, the score, voice over and visuals. 

Here is what the tracks looked like on garage band:

Adaptation - Working on the narrative

I am changing the way the poem is perceived, by adding my own personal experiences and relating it to someone suffering with alcoholism. Any poem will always have a different meaning to different people, but there are guy lines and themes in the poem that made me relate it to the struggles, nightmares, guilt, broken promises, loneliness, DT's, withdraws and demons,  that an alcoholic must battle throughout their lives, especially when they try to put down the bottle or relapse. Key lines of the poem stood out for me: 
"Is there anybody there?"
"Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken"
"By the lonely Traveller's call"
"'Tell them I came, and no one answered, that I kept my word', he said"
"From the one man left awake"


I will use these as key moments of tension and drama in my piece. I want my film to have a "mood" rather then a strong narrative. This is because an alcoholic's mind is a very dark, lonely and abstract place, it often makes no sense and they suffer extreme withdrawal symptoms which cause hallucinations and terrifying nightmares. I want to capture this in my piece, and so have drawn up some more story boards to help with the development and editing. 

AS LIVE - Lighting Research

 I'm making a start on Lighting, by doing plenty of research and getting to know the ins and outs of lighting a studio, especially for music. Below are notes and pictures of what I want to achieve.

Notes:

1. Light for the camera, not your eye. Your eye can handle a huge range of detail in contrasting light. Standard definition NTSC video can reproduce a contrast ratio of about 10:1. That means if you hope to have any detail in the shadow side of a person, you'll need more light on it than you probably suspect at first glance.

2. When lighting a person set a key light, at about a 45 degree angle up and to one side of the nose. Use a fill light to minimize the shadows caused by the key. Back lights are used to separate subject from the background, adding three dimensionality to a shot.

3. A focused source like a fresnel produces a hard light. Aim it first with the carriage pulled back in the housing then flood it to create the desired effect by sliding the carriage closer to the lens. Lamps like broads or soft lights are more diffused and are used as fill lights. Lekos are hard spots that can project a pattern called a cookie or cucalorus on a background.

I really like this video on Jools Holland, as it sums up the back lighting I want for the acoustic stage, (where is shines on the singer form behind), as well as the uplit floor lighting that will reflect on our transparent hanging material. I also like the small lights the have placed on the stage, to add another dimension. I like the use of blue and white. 

 
This video of Labrinth, is not the style of music or pace that will be on Unsigned Live. However when I saw this on Johnathon Ross the other day, I really enjoyed it, and wanted to use some of the elements. I really like the use of spotlights behind the ensemble (We could use our studio kits for this) as well as the spolights on the floor. I'm not sure if we can get these from the studio themselves, but even if they are ones that are fixed, four or five at the front of the stage would give a great effect! I also like the shot used right at the end, where the camera is slightly above Labrinth, and he comes into shot on a MCU, it really brings the audience in on the action, and would like to try this with one of our cameras! 

This performance of Ellie Golding, is very similar to the look myself and Lauren are trying to achieve. We want to have the smoke machine, the twinkly lights at the back are being made by our set designers, I like the use of them on the floor, and the colors are exactly what I wants, Orange, Blue, Purple, Turquoise. It creates such a nice mood and atmosphere, and I will be studying it to try and get the ideas and lights that we need! 

 


This Coldplay performance is just insane! The lighting is the best I have EVER seen for live music. We would never be able to get anything close to this, but I couldn't help showing everyone and it is a source of inspiration. 

Here are a few performances from Orange and T4's unsigned act. I have chosen these ones in terms of the closeness to our set and lighting designs. The first video is very similar to our set, quite simple, with "Balls" hanging down. We will have transparent curtains and more lighting and colors, but it gives you and idea: 

This video also shows how the space they have, which is quite similar to ours, and how well they use it!

AS LIVE SOUND QUOTE

I've been in contact with Rory, a friend from long ago, who would be excellent for our sound engineer! He has ALL the equipment we need, and would be charging us night time rates, instead of full days. With all the hire and his time he has quoted us £435, which is brilliant. I just need to know from Helen or Simon if we can go ahead and book him? I don't want to email them over Easter because I don't think it is fair, any ideas? I've included the full quote on our Gmail Documents, and Paul is going over it with me to double check we don't need anything else :)

AS LIve - Directors Check List

This is a list of everything I know/ need to know/ want to make the show work well and look visually AMAZING on the day. (of course this will swap and change as we go)

Music:

Source music, lyrics and good recording of songs, to start breaking down chords changes/ bars, and prepare shot list and camera script.

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Floor Plans:

I need to get a floor plan of the studios and place the dimensions of the set on it. I will need to talk to the CAFT team and Lauren W to get the measurements 

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Lighting:

Emma has suggested that we will need a rigger/electraician ( That was Danny last year) and a consultant op to programme the lights and operate them on the day.

She said we shouldn't need to hire things in as long as it isn't over complicated, and I don't think lights thats "move" are available.

What We Know We Need So Far:

Smoke Machine ( From Fergus at Campus)

Floor Up Lights - To reflect onto transparent curtains, in Turquoise and Purple

ALL of our 9 x Studio lights ( Kits in Base Room) To create "Industrail/Loft" atmosphere.

CAFT are making "fairy light" style pieces to create more style and effect

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Sound:

1 x Radio Mic and Ear Piece for presenter.

2 x Mic to interview bands with, one to be passed round, one to be fixed on coffee table.

3 x Mics on Audience (Possibly one on a boom?) 

Talk Backs: 

5 x Camera ops

2 x Floor manager and Assistant. Fran is to use her talk back to communicate between gallery and ALL runners. 

1 x  Assistant Producer

Equipment Needed For Each Band:

Charlie Rivers Band:

3 x DI boxes for 2 acoustic guitars and 1 bass

3 x Vocal Mics

1 x Mic for Cajan and Percussion.

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Cameras:

List of Cameras and their equipment:

Camera 1 - Lock of high/ Wide Angle Lense Attached / Master/ Safety Shot

Camera 2 - Fixed Camera - Tripod attached to Wheeled Base ( Available from studio)

Camera 3 - Fixed Camera - Tripod attached to Wheeled Base ( Available from studio)

Camera 4 - Camera on Track/ Dolly ( Pick up from Campus) -Wide Angles Lense Attached - In front of the Main Stage

Camera 5 - Master Handheld to follow presenter, pick ups from presenter/ in audience/ track hand held shots of acoustic stage.

Camera 6 - Handheld - To get amongst the action, follow the band from behind, nice shots of audience, quick pans

I also want EVERY camera to have a cable basher/ assistant to always make sure settings are correct, white balence, frame rate, SD (We don't have ability to shoot HD), and from . This is EXTREMELY important for the hand held cameras and dolly camera. The ONLY camera to stay in the same postition for the whole show is the one locked off on the rig, so it is important we rehearse positions over and over again. 

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Questions I need to ask/ get done:

1. Emma would like a list of the weights of ALL the things we would like to hang from the rigging

2. Emma has also requested floor plans and lighting plans.

3. Paul our sound guy wants to know if we are recording on multi track for sound, to help us edit, but not sure if this is possible due to memory card being used?

4. Paul also has suggested that we need him to mix the record in the gallery, but someone to mix the sound and the PA for in the studio.

5. Contact Fergus about smoke machine

6. Get dolly booked for rehersral and record from campus

7. Get list of ALL sound equipment needed from bands

8. Find out from Emma/ Alistar 

9. List of lighting changes 

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For List For Budget (To be Worked on):

1. Floor Lighting

2. Staging for The Drummer / Interview area.

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My Contacts

Standing on Giants Simon: 07792445162

The Soundcasters Tom: 07990 872303

Charlie Rivers, Steve (guitarist) 07838933647

Adaptation - Thinking about the final product

Whilst I've been filming over the weekend, I've really been focusing on the direction my piece is going.

 I wanted to make a sad piece, showing the effects of alcohol. But I don't think that is going to quite fit with the poem anymore. Instead it's going to be more slanted towards the horror genre, which is the original genre of the piece. I want to create the fear the alcoholic goes through when they pick up the bottle, the ghosts and demons that haunt them, and the feeling of being utterly alone. I also want to show the effect of D and T's, (the shakes and nervousness an alcoholic goes through when they are trying to give up), and the restlessness of going cold turkey, as well as the constent flashbacks of haunting images and the fear of drinking again. I've been looking at the style I want to achieve which is similar to some of these trailers, in terms of editing and post production. Plenty of "Jump" cuts, and "bad video" effects:

AS Live - Director Update

Director Update

First of all I really agree with Lauren about the rehearsal date, making a music video would be an excellent idea!
We need to get the dolly over too for that day,  so the camera operators learn how to use that properly. I also want to audition camera operators for the dolly, and the two hand helds. In the real world a director employs a camera supervisor and they employ the camera ops, so I would like to work with Alex and Jane, in selecting the camera ops. I think it would be good practice for the first years if they draw up some kind of mock media resume, or record some test shoots for us to look at, and then audition them on the day of the rehearsal. So I will place a notice on our broadcast media wall for all those interested in applying.

 I think it is important we have some kind of lighting, so we should book out the studio lighting kits, and start sampling colour gels, as this will help give me a better understanding of how to achieve the look I want.

I'm going through lighting as we speak, and starting to get familiar with the names of different lights and the effects I want to achieve. I'm going to make a list of the equipment I would like with the help of Fergus, including a smoke machine.

I am also in the process of emailing Paul, to get some advice in regards to sound, what we need and what’s achievable. I’ll keep you posted 

I went with Lauren, Hennie, Maddie and our presenter Jess to meet some of the guys from standing on giants on Thursday, I am confident they have good camera presence, and will be able to bulk out the V.T and interviews. They are really interesting guys, with lots of opinions about the world and philosophy!

Adatation - Shoot Day Two

Today I went to three different locations, Whistable, The North Downs and Thurnham Castle. I'm going to make my footage look very eerie in post production, and want to experiment with elements of the horror genre, with shock elements and effects.

The Downs at Sunset

Adaptation - First Test Shoot

I went out today in the beautiful sunshine, to the haunting Bearsted Woods to capture some nice footage of the trees and forest floor for my adaptation The Listeners. My video is going to be very abstract, a "sense" of the mind set and mental state of an alcoholic whilst they are drinking and reach their rock bottom. It will be very lonely, atmospheric, scary, a sense of despair and insanity.

A few stills from my shoot today

As Live - Audition

This is one of the other candidates who had great energy and really fitted the style of the show, but struggled to interview and deliver links to camera. The reason I have uploaded this is to show very basic difference between film quality in the Cannon 7D and the Sony XDCAM. I really believe the Cannon is all I will ever shoot on now!

As Live- Auditions

We've had a great two days of auditions, and I really enjoyed filming them to see what they are like on camera. The producers felt Jessica Coote would be the best female presenter, due to her experience, delivery and ability to lead interviews and remember links to camera.

Here's what she did in her audition:

Fiction Adaptation - Story Boarding

As my shoot draws nearer this weekend, I have been looking into the style and mood I want to create for my film. It will be very much a "sense" of the effect of alcoholism, and more about the emotions that surround problem drinking. It will be very abstract and use the poem as a starting point.

I will be using certain elements in the poems as metaphors, such as The Horse as Alcohol, The Bird as Cigarette smoke, The Listeners as a home movie etc. I think this creates more atmosphere and sadness, when the words are not used in the literal sense.

I will be shooting on a Cannon 7D, to create a much sharper and impressive image. I also hope to use lots of slow motion and reverse frame in post-production, to create a sense of a man losing his mind, family and the will to carry on.

Here are some videos I will be using for inspiration:

This song has real personal meaning to me, as it sums up the emotions felt by an alcoholic in my life at the time of his drinking, and the effect it had on my relationship with him. It came out in 2002, the year I began to fully appreciate the disease, and made a choice to try and reach out and make amends with the person suffering in my family. Therefore it makes sense for me to use this song, and no other as inspiration and music throughout my piece. 

What have I become,

My sweetest friend,

Everyone I know,

Goes away in the end,

And you could have it all,

My empire of dirt,

I will let you down,

I will make you hurt

The original song was by Nine Inch Nails, and I have found a version of their song that has been stripped down and produced again with just piano/string and synths

It is simply beautiful in my mind and even made me shed a tear, so it is what I will be using in my piece.

ADAPTION- Music Video

Really enjoyed this workshop. This is my take on the "Feeling Good" By Muse. It's really given me some ideas for my own adaptation.



Please watch in full HD :)

AS LIVE - Off to a great start!

So this week so far:


Sunday - Lauren, Dean and Myself went to an open mic night at the White Horse, to look at some bands and presenters. We had a weird experience with the band the Niltones, and due to their attitude have decided not to take them further. However Ben, who runs the event, seems PERFECT, for our presenter role. He seems really confident, quirky and interesting. He is the exact look I think myself and Lauren are after, and he seems committed to the show. I think he will be great at interviewing the bands, and will really work hard to get the best out of them, so that's great!


Monday - We had our production meeting which went well. I'm glad the promo team know exactly what is needed, and we have set deadlines which will hopefully get the ball rolling. I have already seen one of Dan's designs for the logo, and am very confident his team can achieve something brilliant!


Wednesday - Myself and Lauren spent the whole day looking at textures, fonts, colors, lighting and atmosphere for the show. It was great day and I thing we got a great sense of what we like and what we don't. We created a rough mood board for the Promo Team and CAFT, which I hope they use to start to see what we are imagining. We also had some great news that our first band we have chosen is confirmed and booked! They are a great band with a fantastic story, having already appeared on Channel 4 for a prgramme about the Amish. We have seen them out and about recently, and believe they have very outlandish and interesting personalities!


Tomorrow we are going to visit FISH TANK at the BBC introducing show. They have pencilled in the date for our show and have confirmed they are viable and committed, so if we like the sound of them, they are good to go! They seem really interesting characters to, and very friendly. They have done a lot of work in the industry already so have a lot to talk about.... I'll keep you posted!


Next week we will be working on our presenters and talking with staff and the studios to get a grip on the lighting and sound facilities etc.


I hope everyone is getting on well with this project and are enjoying it as much as I am!

As Live - Scouting For Bands

 Last night, Lauren, Jo and myself went to a lovely evening at The Grey Lady in Tunbridge Wells, for a music night with Paul Dunton and Guests.
We went there initially to listen to the headline acts The Soundcasters, but were really impressed  by the WHOLE line up!


My favorite band of the night were The Standard Lamps (Have a look for them!). They were formed in late 2009 by Mike Wilton and can be described as a mixture of melodic tunes with a raw blues edge, which is right up my street! They played a VERY impressive Beatles cover, I think myself and Jo fell a little bit in love with them at that point! So we are going to their album launch at the Trinity Theatre in April!


Anyway..... The Soundcastors! They really are impressive, extremely tight musicians and very old beyond their years as far as song writing and talent is concerned. They infuse 60's pop with, blues, country rock and russian riffs. They are heavily influenced by The Beatles, The Animals and The Arctic Monkeys, but bring something new and edgy which is just what we are looking for. There are three songs that really stood out for me, and I think they would make a great opening act for our show, especially with hits like Pauline. I also LOVE their song "French Habit", which is full of energy, grabbing the audience and pulling them in, even with a little Russian groove. 
The Soundcasters will need to wait a week to confirm with us, due to a possible booking in Liverpool, but onwards and upwards, we still have plenty of options!


The manager from Fish Tank got in touch with me, about the yearly BBC introducing gig at the Marlowe Theatre, which should be VERY GOOD! Even if we don't in the end like this band, it would be great to see how a show of this size is put on, how the audience react, lighting and potential shots. Here's the write up for it, I think myself Jo and Lauren are going on the 10th March, but of course anyone else can come too! 

 Kent Introducing, the on-air showcase of the county’s best new musical talent, presents a night of live bands to celebrate four years of weekly shows on BBC Radio Kent.

On the bill are Canterbury natives SAM SURE & GIACOMO, with a unique blend of hip-hop and atmospheric pop songs backed by live drums and synths, as seen live on the BBC Introducing stage at Reading & Leeds.

STORY BOOKS, a six-piece from Sittingbourne & Sheppey, are new on the scene but already have radio support from Radio 1 and 6 Music under their belt. Their songs have a tender and mellow feel, with the epic quality of bands like Snow Patrol and Death Cab For Cutie.

STERLING HAYDEN, from Tunbridge Wells, play 80s-esque pop-rock with a hybrid of samples, live instruments and visuals.

FISH TANK, from Broadstairs, are a young trio whose raucous guitar and experimental off-beat percussion sound is best likened to Tubelord or Biffy Clyro.

CHUTES, from Folkestone, make fun guitar pop songs reminiscent of Two Door Cinema Club or Local Natives.


Also playing are WE ARE TIDES from Canterbury, an upbeat indie four-piece. This will be their first gig as a reformed band!