The Future of Media Technologies

Hardware changes - 

In my opinion, the first pieces of hardware that should definitely be upgraded and changed are the cameras.

Here is my opinion on what should be purchased -

 

Year 1 -

 

 This camera costs about £1100. In the plan, between 3-7 could be purchased to increase availability to student.

I feel that the most suitable thing to do is purchase more cameras such as the canon XA10 to widen the amount available to be distributed to students to use. This would increase the quality of work in ways that the people hiring these would have more of a chance to film in a way that they will not have to worry as much about unavailability and therefore increase the quality of what they do. By having more time with a camera, the amount of filming time is increased and then mistakes can be fixed and there will never be problems of a shortage of clips when it comes to editing.

 

Year 2/3 -

 

 

 This is the Canon EOS-1D C. These cost roughly £8000 each but this price would drop when more of it's kind get released or when later models are released.

The main reason that I think this camera should be purchased is because it can film in 4k. Slowly falling into the industry are these type of 4k cameras and they are professional in a way that they produce super high quality footage suitable for professional films.

 

I also feel that this solution would be suitable for 2 years as the industry grows ever closer to using cameras like this on a regular basis. I also feel that the price of these cameras could drop significantly across time as more companies start producing and selling them.

 

 

Year 4 -

 

 This is a RED camera. This is an example of what I feel can be invested in and saved financially for in year 4. This particular example costs roughly £57,000. Other models are available for cheaper prices.

 

In the penultimate year of this plan I feel that there should be an aim for a very professional camera to be available for use in the live studio. A camera that shoots in 4k+ would be essential and this camera could cost a large amount of money to ensure that quality is high and of a professional level. This could be used alongside current cameras or to replace one in a show or any live production. The only problem that the department would face is the financial aspect of buying a camera such as the one pictured above, as these could cost in advance of £50,000.

 



 

Year 5 -

 

In year 5, if financially viable, I would suggest buying some accessories for the camera mentioned above. These could involve displays, lenses, cables and much more. I feel like this would be suitable because this could mean that more can be done with the very expensive camera and the department could also produce more effective products.

 

Another thing that this could lead to is industry standard pieces of work that can be produced either for or with companies. This could help fundraise for other expensive pieces of equipment and lead to a lot more professional work and real life experience for students. This could therefore lead to positives for both students, lecturers and definitely the college and the media department.

 

http://www.red.com/products/accessories - This link will take you to a page that shows the accessories you can buy for RED cameras.

 

 

 

Software Changes -

 

Year 1/2 - Final Cut Pro X - $299.99

 

I feel that the first software change should be the upgrade in Final Cut Pro. As we are currently using Final Cut Pro 7, I feel that the upgrade will be needed across 2 years. The software we currently use in the Media Department suits all the needs of the course and therefore we can get an upgraded version to replace this slowly.

 

Year 3/4/5 - Adobe Premiere Pro CS5/CS6

 

This program would be a good upgrade for the college as it is an advanced piece of software that would be suitable for use by all students and this could also be used throughout the college and further than just the media department. Currently on the Mac's at college we have Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 but it is not in use as much as it could be. With this upgrade we could introduce the program further into the learning areas. Also after this software might be getting out of date, the upgrade into CS6 could happen in the 4th year for the same reasons that I have just explained for CS5. I feel this transformation could be done across 3 years due to the amount of copies needed and also the amount of time it will take for the programs to be installed on the many Mac's at college.

 

 

 

 

Developing a Career Plan

LinkedIn Profile - https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=342676528&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic

Vizualize Me Profile - http://vizualize.me/nathanb28#

Job 1 - Videographer

I am interested in this job because I want to advance my career in a way that involves both filming and editing. I feel like this is a job that would suit me because I enjoy both filming, editing and all the planning involved. I also feel like I would progress well with a job like a Videographer because I am both focused and determined to make an impact on viewers and I also would enjoy learning about equipment that I would need to study before getting this job. I also enjoy the general technical focus aspect of the job.

The application process for this job is to send a CV to the recruiter and also add some content or a portfolio to show what you can do in the industry. You would have to make sure your products shown are rich with content and show your maximum potential. The position that is being offered is a permanent contract and full time. 

Necessary Skills include -

1. A talent creating short films.

2. Experience in corporal environments.

3. Talent in camera operating.

4. Extensive knowledge in essential editing software.

5. Budget control.

Qualifications needed - 

1. Advanced degree in Film/TV

2. At least five years experience in the industry.

3. Multitasking Capabilities.

4. Project Management skills.

5. Willingness to travel extensively worldwide.

These are the very basics you would need for a job as a Videographer. You will also need other things such as a lot of creativity and an eye for potential projects. 

Example - http://www.mandy.com/1/jobs3.cfm?v=59923915


Job 2 - Creative Director/Visual Journalism

I am interested in this job because I feel like I can control what needs to be done in this role and therefore based on this alone, I feel the job would be suited to me. The job would entail leading the digital output of a team. The job role would suit me well in a way that I would not be affected by the workload or the standard of the people I am working with because I generally stay calm in potentially stressful situations.

The application process is the same as the first job that I analysed in a way that you need to apply to a company/person from the internet. In this instance you would apply to BBC recruitment sending your CV and possibly a portfolio.

What the ideal candidate would have -
- Track record in inspiring and delivering outstanding editorial design.
- Have experience of this through all formats (Mobile, Tablet, Desktop etc.)
- Ability to support a fast paced environment
- Challenge people to get the best out of them.
- Resilience
- Ability to balance the needs of the company and the audience.

Example - http://www.mandy.com/1/jobs3.cfm?v=59940911


Job 3 - Broadcast Assistant

I am interested in this job because I like working as part of a team and enjoy the fact that I will be providing information everyday to listeners. I feel that the characteristics and traits you need to do well in this job suit me and my personality.

For this job, you would need to send off a CV to BBC Recruitment or someone similar. Usually after sending your CV, it will be reviewed and then successful applicants will be taken to the next stage of the process which is usually interviews and during interviews you may have to show portfolios or something similar to show what you can do in the industry.

Ideal Candidate -
- Creativity
- Awareness of the audiences
- Knowledge of topical issues (and up to date)
- Confidence in operating technical equipment
- Knowledge of studio and location equipment
- Keen to learn about technology
- Excellent telephone manner
- Able to take control in situations under pressure
- Persuasion to get people on Air

Example - http://www.mandy.com/1/jobs3.cfm?v=60080130

News Stories Research Techniques

For news stories, a lot of research is conducted. For each news story, everything has to be factually correct so it abides by the contract to the viewer.

Primary Research -
Throughout the primary research for news stories, a researcher/reporter will get a lot of information from their own sources such as witnesses or actually people involved. They will also get information from owners if possible. The main way that a reporter would get stories for a news show would be interviews. When conducting interviews, they can get a lot of information if they ask the right questions.

For example, for my group's news show, we used a lot of different methods for gaining primary research. We conducted 2 sets of interviews that saw us get opinions on the current state of Southend United including their form and some opinions on players.

Secondary Research -
A lot of information gained for news stories is usually secondary research. This is a fairly easy option for news companies because it is usually reliable but they also need to be careful what information they use because it could be fake. The stories have to have factually correct information to abide by the contract with the viewers. Another thing that they have to be careful with is pictures. When using pictures to show things in news stories, if they are not taken by the company that is showing the story, there could be copyright issues.

For our news show, we only used secondary research from trusted sites that we can be sure have the correct information. These websites were the official Southend United website and the Echo Newspaper website.

Conclusion -
In my opinion, I think that it is more beneficial and 'safe' to conduct primary research rather than secondary research due to the issues that could arise. If you are conducting primary research then there will not be any copyright issues and the information is almost guaranteed to be accurate.

The Commissioning Process

Writers - 

A writer would need a literary agent. The literary agent would help in all aspects of the writer's career in a way that they do everything from assisting the production to presenting the work to all publishers and maybe even theatres. The agent would typically get a percentage of the earnings of the writer. If I was a writer, I would like to have an agent because it takes some of the pressure off of me and would let me concentrate on the piece of work rather than having to split time and potentially wasting a lot of time.

BBC Commissioning Editor - 

Lindsay Bradbury.

What she does - Identifies different media products in order to determine whether they should go on her publishers list. The commissioning editors earn their money by finding authors or responding to book proposal.

The BBC aren't interested. But maybe Warner Brothers are?

One of the senior members of the company would decide whether your short film will be adapted into a  movie and this would be either an important director and agents surrounding them. There may also be decisions made from agents in general because they essentially scout potentially successful films. When I researched about this, I found that the main decision maker for Warner Brothers is Kevin Tsujihara.

How does stuff at Warner Brothers get green lit?

Usually, after the pitch of the film, the senior members of the company will have 3 or 4 meetings to discuss the film and then they will make a decision. It is rare that a film gets greenlit before a few meetings to discuss.


Warners don't buy it, but an independent film company do.

Independent film companies will generally buy the rights to the film and then set up their own crew and cast. The writers and other people involved may still have involvement but they generally hire others to take their place for certain reasons. One of the main reasons that an independent film company might keep the writer employed is due to the fact that they know exactly what the idea is and the best way to execute it.

Sometimes independent film companies will be worries about errors and omissions insurance. This is when the script is covered by errors and will stop the company getting sued for not following certain guidelines such as the quality of the final product. It will generally cover court costs and a certain claims amount stated in the contract. The independent film company will want to make sure that your script is covered incase there is any issues and therefore they would not have to pay out a large sum of money that could potentially bankrupt a small company (most independent film companies are small).

Video CV Link

http://youtu.be/wK2_WnSmTWQ

Soundtrack Worksheets Notes

Worksheet 1 - 

You have a character that is feeling stressed. Think of as many ways you can to tell the audience this through sound alone.

1. The Audience -

The audience usually listen to soundtracks alongside films and TV programmes using either speakers or headphones. When listening through headphones (usually in the home) people will get a realistic sound because most of the background sound in the room will be kept out. As with all speakers and headphones, the quality and build will play a big part in the way the soundtrack is interpreted by the audience. Obviously the better built, not necessarily more expensive, headphones and speakers are going to have the most impact. One thing that would play a big part in creating the best sound quality through headphones is the area around the ear being closed off in a way that your ear would fit in and the padding/edge enclose the area to stop sound getting out easily. This would increase the realistic sound and make for a better feeling atmosphere. Another major thing that would affect the viewers experience through headphones is the wattage and dB levels. The audience should take time before purchasing headphones to research suitable wattage, dB levels, bass levels and suitable design to find the optimum features to experience the best quality sound for their budget.

Moving on to speakers. The speakers that most people have will be either 2.1 or 5.1, with the option of 7.1 for the sound fanatics. 2.1 Speakers are generally used as PC speakers and consist of 2 speakers and sometimes a subwoofer, depending on the value of the speakers. These are often also classed as Stereo speakers. 5.1 speakers consist of 5 speakers and almost always have a subwoofer included in the setup. 7.1 speakers are the same as 5.1 speakers but have 7 speakers instead of 5. The 5.1/7.1 setups are generally classed as surround sound and will give the audience the best experience when it comes to watching films or TV shows. The idea of the 5.1/7.1 setup is that the sound is experienced from all corners of the venue or at least from many different points in the venue. When the speakers are spread out or around the audience, they get a feel of what it is like to be in the action because the 5.1/7.1 speakers really bring the room to life. Generally, 2.1 speakers will not give a very good level of sound quality compared to the 5.1/7.1 speakers. You will also be able to hear a lot of detail in the 5.1/7.1 speakers due to the higher quality in the speakers in general and also with the added effect of the significantly higher bass compared to smaller speaker setups.

The environment in which the sound was experienced also plays a huge part in the effectiveness. If the room is very large and the speakers are generally of not a very high quality, you might not be able to experience the soundtrack as you had wished but in smaller rooms with regular 5.1/7.1 speakers you should be able to have a very good experience in general and be able to hear every detail in the soundtrack. Larger rooms such as cinemas will need a very powerful and expensive sound system to get the same experience as a regular set of speakers in a small room because you need the sound to project more but still have the same effect on the audience. Cinemas have very different sound setups in a way that they use very big speakers and they can produce a much higher wattage, giving off more power and subsequently giving more sound and therefore better sound quality.

As to the situation explained at the start of the post, the audience would always be best off going to the cinema due to the incredibly expensive and professional sound system but this might not always be convenient, financially viable or practical but they will always get the best interpretation of the characters feelings through sound. In my opinion, the audience will also get an incredibly good quality of sound when they use a 5.1/7.1 surround sound speaker setup in their own home. Using these speakers and environment, you can easily get across the characters feelings and thoughts using a soundtrack as it would be very clear using this type of speaker setup. Through personal experience, 5.1 surround sound speakers are very clear when it comes to listening to detail such as breathing, footsteps and other quiet sound effects that may not have been able to be heard when it comes to smaller speaker setups. All foley added in to these clips are easily spotted in 5.1/7.1 speakers and make for an overall better experience.

There are many ways that you can show a character being stressed through sound alone, mainly through foley sound, speech and sound effects in general. Some of the most popular ways of showing a character being stressed is heavy, quick breathing to show both panic and urgency, using the character's speech to show urgency and panic such as them losing their temper at somebody that tries to help them. Another way to show stress through sound is to have sound effects of some things that they are doing such as tapping, scratching or natural sounds from the environment around them that could show an unhappy atmosphere such as storms or rain.

2. Find a video clip and write about it -

The video clip that I will write about is the opening to Saving Private Ryan. The sounds that we hear in the start of the film are mainly added in editing but some would have been recorded on scene probably using boom or shotgun microphones. Sounds such as the waves and things like the boat door opening would have been recorded on scene. These things were recorded on scene because in that way, they are accurate to the scenery and what is going on. If these were added using sound effects afterwards, it would be challenging to fit the sounds with the scenery and pace of the clip compared to the effort needed to record the sounds on set.

The main sound effects that we can hear in the start scene of Saving Private Ryan are general war sounds such as gun shots, explosions, orders being given and waves from the beach where the boat is docking. We learn a lot about the genre of the film right from the beginning by the sounds effects that we hear and the soundtrack in general. The impact they have on us is very important and relevant because we get the impression that the film will be very energetic and have a lot of action, which makes us want to watch the film throughout. In a way, the way the sounds were recorded had a great effect and worked very well and I don't feel like the sounds could have been more effective if they were recorded in a different way.

For Reference - 

Definitions

Diegetic sound: It is sound that the characters can hear as well as the audience, and usually implies a reaction from the character. Also called "literal sound" or "actual sound".

Non-diegetic sound: It is sound which is represented as coming from a source outside the story space, i.e. its source is neither visible on the screen, nor has been implied to be present in the action. Also called "non-literal sound" or "commentary sound".

External diegetic sound: sound represented as coming from a physical source within the story space and which we assume characters in the scene also hear. See internal diegetic sound.

Internal diegetic sound: Sound represented as coming from the mind of character within the story space. Although we and the character can hear it, we assume that the other characters cannot. See external diegetic sound.

Worksheet 2 - 

Four words I will make my soundtrack around - 

- Intense

- Eerie

- Mysterious

- Uncomfortable

I have chosen these four words to build a sense of mystery and intensity for my soundtrack because it will fit in well with my storyline. In my story, something imaginary is 'chasing' my two main characters and this is where most of the criteria will fit in. I want an eerie type sound for this because it gives a sense that something will happen in the near future and leaves the viewer on the edge of their seats. The sound I will use will build anticipation at different moments and although it will be simple, it will also be very effective. I want my soundtrack to be noticeable as well. I do not plan on making the sounds myself and I will use freesound.org to find some effective and suitable sounds for the general of my soundtrack and also a couple of sound effects that will be added in, but I plan to use sound recorded on scene because it is of good enough quality and suitable. Some of the sounds that I have recorded on scene may need emphasising therefore I will find and use some sound effects that I would not be able to record myself. The sounds I want to use that would not be able to be recorded by myself would include things like windows smashing, as this would not be suitable to do at home. 

Worksheet 3 - 

 1. Summarise the ways you might be asked to devise a soundtrack -

The people that decide on the soundtrack are the producers, director and editors. The first thing that would happen before the soundtrack is made/added is the picture lock. This is basically when the picture is finalised and from this point on, it will not be changed at all unless something very important is wrong. Once the picture lock has happened, the main focus will be the soundtrack and it is the second most important thing other than the picture and the speech in productions. 

The best way to produce the soundtrack is to produce the sound clips yourself. This means that you will get an accurate sound as you had wished and would not have to spend so much time looking around for the correct sounds. Another thing that makes it easier to record sounds yourself is the subject of copyright. If you record sounds yourself then there will be no problems surrounding copyright and this would make the process a lot easier. If you take sound effects from the internet or other sources free of charge, you may occur some copyright problems and this could not only affect the amount of time it takes to produce the soundtrack, it could affect the company badly financially. 

2. Establishing the sounds I want - 

- Firstly I would like the sound of a window smashing for the table scene in my clip to add to the atmosphere and make the scene more realistic,

- A major thing that I will include in my soundtrack is a tense sound. This could be used throughout just  to compliment the picture.

- I would like to add other sounds to the soundtrack such as loud noises that could resemble the 'thing' that is chasing the two characters in one of their heads.

As these sounds would not be possible to record at home, I will more than likely find them on free sound.org 

3. Sounds On Location - 

The majority of the sound you will hear in my production will be filmed on set using a shotgun microphone. These sounds include speech and general sounds on set such as movement and surroundings. The most evident part of the sound throughout my production will obviously be my speech and then the scenery around the characters. The microphone will easily pick up sound from things like the doors shutting and curtains closing so I should have no issues with that and therefore I should not have to add these in for my soundtrack. 

4. Relevant Issues - 

Some issues that I might face when it comes to making parts of my soundtrack could include copyright. This could be an issue when it comes to downloading off the internet from sits such as youtube. To avoid copyright issues, you could either create the sound effects yourself or get them from a copyright free site such as freesoung.org like I am going to do. 

SCD Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmLRNyFh6EU