MCC327 Conclusion

This post is mainly for James Dalby, the course leader, but of course, anyone can read it - I couldn't alter that if I wanted to!

We only managed to get two pieces done, despite plans for more. This is, at least on my part, due to the ever encroaching deadlines to do with other modules. As a group, it would also have been better had we been able to meet more often, agreeing to get work done by certain times as a group rather than individually. I think if we had decided that everyone gets to write, direct, edit and shoot a piece, no matter how long or short, it would have been better, then everyone would have been involved in it rather than feeling they were working on someone else's idea. 

My main involvement with the videos was the writing and editing, and would have liked to have a hand a t directing a piece too. Given more time on the existing videos, I would spend more time with the editing on both of the pieces, but as I said, other deadlines loom. I will consider going back to the Gary character, as I think there is more there, especially as the local papers can't seem to let it go. I was initially worried that we'd missed the boat with that concept, but it seems the public in Gloucestershire can't get enough, or at least the papers think they can't!

Crappy Advert - An Evaluation

So, this was an advert for Imodium. No, they didn't pay us, and I doubt they know. However, if you want the idea, I'm all ears!

The idea behind the project was mine - an idea I came up with a couple of years ago - a guy who appears to have been shot keeps getting eye balled by people as he walks down the street. We as an audience are not sure what has happened, and we don't see any blood, but there is something wrong with the man and he is acting suspicious. He then runs into a public toilet and slams the door of a cubicle behind him. The pay off is text on the screen 'Why be paranoid?' and the Imodium logo appearing, letting the viewer know what is going on.

Part of the influence stylistically for this was an advert for sports shoes which I saw years ago. I can't remember who directed it, which company it was for, but after looking through lists and lists on Imdb.com I finally came across Blair Underwood as the guy who was in it by recognising him. ANYWAY the advert (which I can't find) was a man running around New York following clues to find something. It kept on repeating as each clue would lead back to the beginning. It was black and white, and thanks to the quality of the internet clip years ago, quite grainy. That was the look I wanted to go for, with a filmic quality giving it some credibility.

So when it came to editing, I used the desaturate and sharpening tools to make the piece black and white, and to make the edges of the shapes crisper, adding in a grainy effect. Added to the compression YouTube uses, I think it looks quite good, and fairly similar to the original piece.

As well as the look, the advert used city sounds as it was set in New York. Originally, Leo and I planned to use sound effects from the BBC effects library the university has access to. We were lacking in any memory sticks, so we thought we'd be clever and print the sound to tape, yet when it came to capture these sounds back onto the editing computer we were using, it didn't want to work, so thanks to the time constraints, I had to resort to finding free sound clips on the internet, which means they aren't of the best quality. The same goes for the breathing sound. In retrospect, I think it would have been better if I or someone in my group had decided to record the sound of the breathing ourselves to better match up the sound with the image track.

So, to conclude, I'm fairly happy with the piece considering the time we had given ourselves, but I will go back and sort out the audio issues if I'm given the chance.

Attached are links to the shot list, a storyboard which I started but didn't finish (I'm terrible at drawing) and the risk assessment sheet for the university (hi James!) :

- Risk assessment form
- Storyboard
- Shot list

Crappy Advert

Our second video:

Here it is! You will have to excuse the very bad sound sync at the end - it was fine before I uploaded it, and now it's too late to change. Hope you enjoy nonetheless!

Credits are as follows:

Director : Ciara
Actor/Editor : Leo
Writing/Editor : John
Camera : Rob

Gloucestershire Big Cat Hunt - Follow up

So, it has been two months give or take since the video went up, and it has been viewed just over 500 times! I'd say that wasn't too bad considering we were expecting nothing!

So, conclusions about the video. Firstly, the planning of the video went well. We got all the footage we needed (whether on purpose or not) and achieved the amateur look we were after (proved by my friends saying it looked badly filmed!). The filming didn't take very long, and once we had remembered how to use Final Cut Express, the editing went smoothly, helped along by not needing to add a soundtrack. There were also a couple of dirty sound edits I liked, such as adding in the word 'cat' from an outtake as it sounded like I said 'hat' in the shot we decided to use. Always fun.

In terms of things I would have changed - I think using the characters of Gary and Maurice could have been taken further, in terms of space (i.e. taking Gary away to places so far removed from where a big cat would be hiding out) and in terms of concept. I think it would have made a fine short series of films, which takes Gary around Gloucestershire investigating the whereabouts of this cat and showing off the things which Gloucestershire has to offer for tourists rather than just around Cheltenham.

This could have finally included interviews with the self proclaimed expert Frank Tunbridge who Gary is perhaps partly (although subconsciously!) based, and others who claim to have seen evidence of the cat or the actual cat itself.

Included below are the notes taken as a group concerning the genesis of Gary and his adventures as well as the risk assessment sheets we have to do for the university, as well as the short screenplay.

- Screenplay
- Notes on the video
- Risk Assessment

Coming next - a very Crappy Advert!