Group Project Pre-production Mark 2

So a bit of a blow came to our project. We found out that the theatre did not not have any productions on during the three weeks in which we wanted to film. The theatre suggested we make a series of two or three three minute mini documentaries regarding various aspects of the theatre and that would appeal to an audience of teenagers.

After an initial set of phone calls between the University and the theatre, it was agreed that this was the best idea to take forward. Regrettably, the communications with the theatre fell through and it was decided with the amount of time we had left (two weeks at this point) to change our idea drastically, to something we could achieve in a couple of days. We decided after a very brief production meeting to change our idea to something we could film on campus with limited script.

Group Project Pre-production

So our group project actually got off to quite a good start. Our original idea was to utilize the relationship we had forged with the Bath Theatre Royal. We were going to document a production in the final week of rehearsal in an attempt to show our audience the trials and tribulations (and rewards) of putting on a play. During various a couple of production meetings, we discussed ideas regarding style, length and what aspects of outing on a show the documentary would focus on.

We decided on an edgy, youthful style to bring across the hectic backstage atmosphere before a show.

Individual Project - 'The Egg Theatre'

So I recently completed my Individual project. I decided to do a documentary on The Egg Theatre in Bath. Due to the performances we had filmed their before Easter, we had built up a relationship with the management and it seemed a secure idea to follow.

I decided to base my documentary on the workings of the theatre, keeping the style simple using a mixture of vox pop and interview setup styles. I was taken on a tour of the theatre so have interlaced the interviews with footage in and around the theatre to add depth and reinforce the content of the interviews.

I am pleased with the final result. I think one of the strongest features of the piece is the pace. I incorporated sped up footage of my tour round the theatre and though it is slightly overused, I believe it injects a youthful style and anchors the documentary to its youth based content.

One aspect I would definitely consider changing would be the sound mix. I know I did not spend enough time on the final mix and that is evident when interviewing Lyndsey. I would also change the soundtrack at some point or maybe lose music altogether for the main body of the piece so as to focus the audiences attention on what is being said by the people I am interviewing.

His Dark Materials at The Theatre Royal Bath

Similar to the last post really. Myself and a couple of peeps from my media course at Uni took three cameras to The Theatre Royal Bath to shoot a production of His Dark Materials, performed by the Bath Young People's Theatre group.

We brought with us two Sony Z1 cameras and a Panasonic. We used one Z1 to capture stage right and the other as a safety shot from the back of the auditorium. I was manning the Panasonic capturing stage left.

The performance was difficult to shoot as it was full of action that occurred throughout the show. It was difficult to decide whether or not to capture the dialog or the action going on behind.

A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Egg

Just before Easter, a few members of my course were invited by the Bath Theatre Royal to film a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Egg Theatre.

We used two hand-held Panasonic cameras to capture the action stage left and right an zoom in and out at relevant parts in the show. We also used a Sony Z1 camera set up at the back capturing the whole performance as a safety shot and to capture scenes where the action spread across the whole stage. We also took along a directional microphone which we angled directly at the stage which did a great job of picking up the voices and soundtrack.

The show was staged at the Egg Theatre, a children's theatre attached to the Bath Theatre Royal. There were only four cast members who all took on multiple roles and as a result, the show was quick and fun for young people being introduced to 'The Bard'.

After a little hassle pre-show regarding lighting levels and which white balance setting was best to use, the footage we shot looks great. We are currently in the process of editing the show using multi camera editing in Final Cut Pro.

Ooooh we need a Montage!!!!

So...Montage assignment done and dusted thanks to the help of my wonderful friend Asha Gill and her driving skills. I had a sort of epiphany during this project. (Like the moment in the Hollywood action flick where the hero realises he can save the world using the Moon's gravitational pull and a paperclip!)

There was a point when I was deciding the style I wanted to edit the piece in when it hit me exactly what montage was. I had been confusing it with simple time compression. Montage is similar to collage in the sense that it involves different shots interlaced in a way that changes the meaning of the imagery, the pace and even makes the mundane interesting. In many respects it lies very close to editing.

I wanted to turn someone parking their car into a fun little sequence. To achieve this I used several different techniques. The first was to edit my imagery to the beat of the music I was using. the piece I chose eventually was 'Thick Ear' by my favorite artist 'bent'. The piece is light hearted and consist mainly of tinkling piano and crisp snare drums so it was ideal for the mood I wanted to create. In regards to the style of the edit, there are lots of edits on the beat in which the car suddenly changes position. There are also points in which the footage is flipped upside down to add a quirky aspect to the montage.

One of my cats added a fun unexpected break to the shots of the car as he playfully roles on the pavement next to the car. I decided to intersect the montage with clips of him and it seems to add a strange tranquility to the piece. However, he also manages to change the mood as in one section it looks like he is being run over.

Below is the montage in question. What do you think?



I'm happy with my montage. It reflects the sort of projects I enjoy making, quirky, good music and full of interest. I have also enjoyed experimenting with the idea of montage. I had difficulty grasping the concept of montage, but rather than let this put me off, I expect I will experiment with montage in future projects to try and improve my understanding of it and it's place in film media.

Incidently, montage was parodied in the 2004 puppet action flick 'Team America: World Police' 'Montage' song .

I spoke too soon...

Hey everyone, so me thinking that this was the end of my Uni blogging experience was way off the mark as it turns out we'll be blogging in this semester as well! So to start this semester's blogging, I'll just brief ya'll on my up and coming projects.

Firstly, a montage. We have to create a montage based on a chosen theme between 60 and 90 seconds. I've so far thought of a couple of ideas. I'm thinking maybe youth and beauty, young love or my life. I'll use a mixture of moving image and stills and choose a piece of music or soundscape to create tempo and help me develop an interesting editing technique.

"A montage sequence is a technique in film editing in which a series of short shots is edited into a sequence to condense narrative. It is usually used to advance the story as a whole (often to suggest the passage of time), rather than to create symbolic meaning as it does in Soviet montage theory.

From the 1930s to the 1950s, montage sequences often combined numerous short shots with special optical effects (fades, dissolves, split screens, double and triple exposures) and music. They were usually assembled by someone other than the director and editor of the specific movie."
(Wikipedia)

So below to demonstrate montage is a clip from the visually rich Russian revolutionary masterpiece 'Battleship Potemkin'. The film experimented with time manipulation and imagery to emphasise and create meaning in relation to the subject matter.





Next on the list is another individual project in the form of either an instructional video or a documentary. It needs to be between 3 and 5 minutes and ideally worked from some sort of script. I have had one idea for this assignment but will keep it under wraps for now.

Another assignment due in before summer will be a group video project. This project will be provided to us in the form of a brief from a client which we have to achieve and deliver to a professional standard. It looks like our client is going to be the Bath Theatre Royal so hopefully it should be an exciting opportunity to mix video and theatre.

Finally, the manipulation of provided material into a suitable edit which demonstrates our ability to make sense of the material using editing.

So yeah, that's about it for our first year. Updates will follow regarding how each project is going.