NEA Task

Since beginning the NEA task on the 18th June, I have received performance, website and technical training, which have helped develop my skills in directing, teamwork and choreography.

I have so far been able to complete my own music video version of Sigala's 'Give Me Your Love,' using shots directed and performed in by me and other members of my NEA music video group. On the Studio day, I was direct some shots and perform in others, as well as take some promo shots for my artist, and help with the others' promo shots.

I will continue to use the current project in the future, but I will be changing various aspects of it in September. I will not shoot any shots in the summer, but instead I will scouting out areas for possible locations for narrative, and also focus on taking new and improved shots in September. I will use more variation across my shots, with CU, LS and wide shots being more prominent. I will also put a focus on shooting dance shots, as I feel there should be more dancing and well choreographed movement within my project. I will also aim to reshoot some of the lipsync shots that I am in, as I feel my lipsyncing skills must improve for the final project.

13. Closing post

Dear Examiner,
Thank you for reading and reviewing my work. All posts associated with this NEA project can be found under the tag 'AS Research and Planning', located on the tab on the right hand side of the page.

This blog is now closed.

12. My Final Production

Wave Advert 1

Wave Advert 2

11. Production Review: My Production and My Intended Improvements

In order  to recognise flaws in my advert and improve upon them, I received criticism through a review, from four different sources, Mrs Blackborow, Mrs Dymioti, the media technician, Sam, and a few non-media students, representative of the target audience.

Advert 1
Mrs Dymioti: Commented on three main issues: a slow, prolonged shot 2, a lack of face time for the female actor and a poorly made deodorant bottle. Shot 2 was originally prolonged for two reasons: to fit runtime of 30 seconds, and to help fix continuity between shots 2 and 3, as my female actor only moved into position after she received the ball, which is a mistake I made during shooting. However, the timing of the shot transition also fits well with the soundtrack, and due to a lack of time to reshoot, I will not be changing this feature.

Lack of face time for the female actor is another mistake I made during shooting, but I do not have time to reshoot that, so I will be unable to change this. I have changed the deodorant bottle though, reshooting the pack shot and replacing the old one with the new one.

Non-media student: A few different angles and more shots required. Continuity was also an issue, with positions of actors changing between shot transitions. Unable to fix extra shot and angle as I did not have time to carry out a reshoot. However, I was able to improve on continuity by extending the time period at the start and end of particular shots.

Mrs Blackborow:  Issues with the pack shot, ident and timing. Pack shot was too wobbly, as a result of camera not being mounted on the tripod. As well as this, there was no text during the pack shot. I proceeded to add text to the pack shot, all to the right of the bottle. To remove the shaking of the camera, I slowed down the shot to 0.02%of original speed, and cut together the same first few frames of the shot. The result was as I intended, with the shaking completely gone.

The ident was unnecessary and didn't fit, as it seemed very forced in the advert, and there was no ident in the other advert. I proceeded to remove it. With the removal of the ident, the length of the advert was too short, so I extended some of the shots towards the end, and included a bit of slow-motion in one of the shots.

Another issue was a lack of diegetic sound at the beginning of the advert. To fix this, I set the music volume to low, allowing it to build up over time, as well as unmuting each clip.

Advert 2
Technician: Advert too lengthy, and music too loud at several points. I adjusted the music accordingly, and cut down several clips to fit specified runtime of 30 seconds.

Mrs Blackborow: Commented on lack of diegetic sound in the beginning, and no text to accompany the pack shot. I set the music volume to low, allowing it to build up over time, as well as unmuting each clip, in order to fix the diegetic sound issue, whilst adding text to the right of the can in the pack shot  to fix the text issue.

10. My planning evidence

During production, I have carried out several planning steps to help organise and improve my shoot.

Cast, character and costume list

Logo ideas and drafts

Advert 1 storyboard

Advert 2 storyboard

Risk assessment

My planning and initial ideas may be subject to change due to impracticality or improvements. 

9. The practicalities of filming: when and where production will take place and with who

Shoot schedule

My shoot schedule is shown above. I have included information about the date of the shoot, where it is taking place, the props that will be used and the actors that will be in it. This helps me to keep organised and inform others involved with the shoot more easily.

8. The planning I intend to complete in order to ensure a successful outcome for my production

I intend to create various plans through research, to use as resources when carrying out the shoot, in order to reduce the chance of encountering problems, and ultimately to help the shoot to be carryed out in successful process.

The planning I intend to carry out includes:
Storyboard- 9th February
Brand name and design- 8th February
Actor list- 20th February
Risk assessment- 9th February
Shot list- 20th February

All of these planning steps will be achieved by their stated deadlines, in time for the actual shoot.