i have managed to do a rough edit of one of our films. it needs to be tidied up a bit but the group seems to like it.
This weekend also saw our flashmob executed with mixed success. The Bournemouth Echo very kindly featured a small article about it and agreed to write a story on it. me and Matt (a group member) managed to distribute 100 flyers to different groups of 14-24 year olds in bournemouth gardens (two minutes away from bournemouth square where the flashmob took place) in the 15 minutes leading up to the flashmob. we seemed to generate a lot of interest and as the flashmob started, it was clear that a lot of these youths had turned up to see what was going on. unfortunately, a lot of them and the surrounding people became shy as soon as the cameras started to come out and so we didn't have that many people join in the actual march. i still believe that this was a success though because the whole point of the flashmob was to raise awareness of our campaign and i think we did just that. ok not many people marched but a lot of people watched us and saw the t-shirts, the flyers and the banners. job done.
usually in news bulletins there comes a lighter news segment towards the end. "and in other news..". that sort of thing. here's one for this blog entry. i cleverly managed to forget my ID in london which means that i have been grounded to nights in for a little while. i started to fill out an application form for my provisional driver's license 3 years ago and have nearly finished it so yeah, there's no backup ID from that route. being the 'filmmaker' that i am, i have decided to be a little constructive and creative and so i have started a simple animation using just iMovie, paintbrush and Gimp. it's actually going fairly well and it's hella fun too =]
Tuesday 19 May 2009
Backlog 17: The Summer Project - Week Three
On the whole, i think this week went well. one of our shoots was ruined by the quality of our sound. having written down everything from the sound tutorial last week and connected everything up as they should be, me and (fellow group member) Lee felt that it should be ok. it turned out that this wasnt the case so a reshoot is on the cards. thankfully the sound went well with every other shoot. unfortunately, one of our actors couldn't complete one of our shoots as he had to go to hospital (don't worry, he's fine) and so we may have to shoot this again also.
we managed to create a few snappy adverts which have gone onto out newly made Youtube channel and they seem to have gone down well.
we managed to create a few snappy adverts which have gone onto out newly made Youtube channel and they seem to have gone down well.
Backlog 16: The Summer Project - Week Two
Week two went pretty darn well also. we managed to recee (i still do not know the correct spelling) our chosen locations, the script for our film pieces have been prepared, and i attended a sound workshop ready for filming. we're having a bit of trouble with permissions which would allow us to film so we might have to slightly tweak our script. we have planned and organised a 'flashmob' (see current t-mobile adverts for details on what a flashmob is) for May 16th in which we will march on the spot for two minutes. we're even having custom designed t-shirts. swish.
Backlog 15: The Summer Project - Week One
the first week was a fruitful one for me and my group. we got to know each other, decided on a campaign, created a (very good) logo, created a highly joined facebook group and made a twitter account. our campaign aims to prevent political apathy from a young age as we feel that politics isn't adequately taught at school level. a lot of people within the target age range of 14-24 know little about politics and consequently vote without really knowing what they voted for or even worse..don't vote at all. our twitter has been followed by a few political parties which was pleasing to see so yeah....hopefully the rest of the project will go well.
Backlog 14: The Independent Project - Putting it together
The filming went....well. the actors and i had a laugh and a friend very generously offered to help monitor sound. i went to edit straightaway and i think i have my shot =] a few hours later, i left weymouth house having completed my independent project. good times to be honest
Backlog 13: The Independent Project - Easter Planning Part II
I've managed to create my script. i've asked a scriptwriter friend to check it and he seems to like it. my actors have been sorted so i'll just check dates with them now. i should have done this earlier to be honest. hurrah i have managed to book a camera for me independent :] the ball is rolling...
Backlog 12: The Independent Project - Easter Planning Part I
It's the Easter holiday (Merry Easter everyone) and I need to properly plan my 'Perform!' piece. From what i've heard the cameras have been booked like hot buns (it's only 'hot cakes' if they've been sold - "they sold like hot cakes" and 'hot buns' if they've merely been booked - "they were booked like hot buns". yep you're confused)
Backlog 11: The Independent Project - Lizzie's response
She seems to like it :] i've been given the go-ahead to try it out
Backlog 10: The Independent Project
I am assuming that you have already read about 70 blogs detailing the nature of BATV1's independent project. to sum it up, we had to create a one minute film consisting of one shot and based on the theme 'Peform!'.
as expected, i dreamt up a few clichéd ideas at first involving dancing, singing, sports bla bla bla. i then had a slightly less obvious idea which i was fairly pleased with but found out that a friend was going to do something very similar. i put my thinking cap on again and that night came up with an idea that i was pretty happy with. i imagined a 'point-of-view' of a balloon in which we see it get blown up from the inside of the balloon. the balloon would then be released by it's blower/blowee/blowist and we would see it whiz around the room. the idea of a dead, inanimate object such as a balloon being able to go faster and higher than most humans (without the aid of technology) is how i see this piece as a 'Perform!'. i hope Lizzie likes it. i've set up a meeting with her, wish me luck =p
as expected, i dreamt up a few clichéd ideas at first involving dancing, singing, sports bla bla bla. i then had a slightly less obvious idea which i was fairly pleased with but found out that a friend was going to do something very similar. i put my thinking cap on again and that night came up with an idea that i was pretty happy with. i imagined a 'point-of-view' of a balloon in which we see it get blown up from the inside of the balloon. the balloon would then be released by it's blower/blowee/blowist and we would see it whiz around the room. the idea of a dead, inanimate object such as a balloon being able to go faster and higher than most humans (without the aid of technology) is how i see this piece as a 'Perform!'. i hope Lizzie likes it. i've set up a meeting with her, wish me luck =p
Backlog 9: Comedy Panel Show - The Pilot
Why hello thar, um yeah..panel show. I contacted a friend who I knew was interested in sound to see if he would be interested in helping out on the show. Fortunately he was and so our growing team got together and planned what we could do with audio. We were restricted to two boom mics and one tie clip. [end punctuation/spelling/grammar correctness to increase speed] we had no mixer which was a bit of a problem as we only had 2 DVC 30 cameras which would be reach the teams if we were to connect the microphones directly to the camera. a lack of microphone ports on the cameras and the fact that no microphone could reach our presenter from our camera positions meant that we had an issue.
wearing our friendliest smiles, we approached a couple of very helpful fellows who had access to a sound desk to see what we might be able to get. a legendary half hour later, we had secured ourselves a sound desk and four lollipop mics. we were pleased.
our last rehearsal came and we had a really fun 5 hours (originally meant to be 2) in which our presenter nailed her lines, the set was set and markers were put down for us to be able to reassemble it on the night. we did this also for our camera tripod positions and we managed to learn how to turn on, change, and set our lighting design. we were on form, the lighting was good, presenter was happy and confident and the crew had bonded greatly. it was a good night.
the pilot finally arrived and our crew had assembled. i managed to find 8 willing TV students to help out with camera operating and a few scriptwriters took on the role of welcoming our audience with wine, biscuits and cakes (hyper audiences - ftw). the crew had just 30 minutes to set up everything and i had this time to brief and remind everyone of their duties on the night. our first problem arrived when we discovered that our lollipop mics had no grips. a lot of sellotaping later and the issue was resolved. our next problem arrived again in sound with the simplest yet nontheless panic-inducing of issues. our sound op's headphones didnt have the required jack to plug into the mixer meaning that he had no way of listening to the audio. no one had a jack on them and so i tested my jogging abilities by running all the way home and back again just in time to give Mr Sound his jack with a few minutes to spare. we set our lighting up according to the design we had constructed in our rehearsal. however, it was different. not right. (it transpired that the lighting rig had been moved by someone) and so our lighting didnt look right. none of us were lighting experts and so we had to make do with what we had. the show started...
it went well thankfully. the audience laughed, the VT worked and we finished on time. many handshakes and pats on the backs took place as the audience slowly filed out. one audience member asked me if i had made the show, i replied that i had directed and he said "that was amazing" with a facial expression lacking in forced politeness. that was nice.
a few celebratory drinks followed and we all went to bed rather pleased with ourselves.
wearing our friendliest smiles, we approached a couple of very helpful fellows who had access to a sound desk to see what we might be able to get. a legendary half hour later, we had secured ourselves a sound desk and four lollipop mics. we were pleased.
our last rehearsal came and we had a really fun 5 hours (originally meant to be 2) in which our presenter nailed her lines, the set was set and markers were put down for us to be able to reassemble it on the night. we did this also for our camera tripod positions and we managed to learn how to turn on, change, and set our lighting design. we were on form, the lighting was good, presenter was happy and confident and the crew had bonded greatly. it was a good night.
the pilot finally arrived and our crew had assembled. i managed to find 8 willing TV students to help out with camera operating and a few scriptwriters took on the role of welcoming our audience with wine, biscuits and cakes (hyper audiences - ftw). the crew had just 30 minutes to set up everything and i had this time to brief and remind everyone of their duties on the night. our first problem arrived when we discovered that our lollipop mics had no grips. a lot of sellotaping later and the issue was resolved. our next problem arrived again in sound with the simplest yet nontheless panic-inducing of issues. our sound op's headphones didnt have the required jack to plug into the mixer meaning that he had no way of listening to the audio. no one had a jack on them and so i tested my jogging abilities by running all the way home and back again just in time to give Mr Sound his jack with a few minutes to spare. we set our lighting up according to the design we had constructed in our rehearsal. however, it was different. not right. (it transpired that the lighting rig had been moved by someone) and so our lighting didnt look right. none of us were lighting experts and so we had to make do with what we had. the show started...
it went well thankfully. the audience laughed, the VT worked and we finished on time. many handshakes and pats on the backs took place as the audience slowly filed out. one audience member asked me if i had made the show, i replied that i had directed and he said "that was amazing" with a facial expression lacking in forced politeness. that was nice.
a few celebratory drinks followed and we all went to bed rather pleased with ourselves.
Tuesday 3 March 2009
Backlog 8: Comedy Panel Show Introduction
I have suddenly realised that i have yet to blog about a side project that i've been working on all year >.<
A few months ago, as Nerve began to recruit new members, I attended a Nerve TV meeting in which people were given the chance to air ideas for new shows on the channel. one of the ideas was to have a comedy panel show which seemed to go down well. i put myself forward to be a camera operator but soon after chatting away to the producer, Scott (the guy who suggested it), I found myself with the role of director.
Over the next few months we planned, then stalled (mainly down to work), planned some more and then stalled some more as we began to piece together our beginners' comedy panel show.
Eventually we had a final script, I knew what I wanted in terms of camerawork, we had panellists, and a venue in The Allsebrook Lecture Theatre. We also gave ourselves a 2 week deadline to get everything finalised and prepared before we would finally shoot. Posters were printed, the date was confirmed as Thursday February 26th 2009 from 6-8 and so we duly pulled our socks up. However, we still were unsure of what to do with regards to lighting and sound which is where I will end this introduction and begin more detailed backlogs of what happened next...
A few months ago, as Nerve began to recruit new members, I attended a Nerve TV meeting in which people were given the chance to air ideas for new shows on the channel. one of the ideas was to have a comedy panel show which seemed to go down well. i put myself forward to be a camera operator but soon after chatting away to the producer, Scott (the guy who suggested it), I found myself with the role of director.
Over the next few months we planned, then stalled (mainly down to work), planned some more and then stalled some more as we began to piece together our beginners' comedy panel show.
Eventually we had a final script, I knew what I wanted in terms of camerawork, we had panellists, and a venue in The Allsebrook Lecture Theatre. We also gave ourselves a 2 week deadline to get everything finalised and prepared before we would finally shoot. Posters were printed, the date was confirmed as Thursday February 26th 2009 from 6-8 and so we duly pulled our socks up. However, we still were unsure of what to do with regards to lighting and sound which is where I will end this introduction and begin more detailed backlogs of what happened next...
Backlog 7: Sci-Fi convention, day 2 review
This has been the best weekend I've had for a looong time. If yesterday was good, this was even better...
We did some more of the same with the whole filming/vision mixing for talks in addition to wondering around with gleeful expressions whilst holding a camera and rubbing shoulders with international actors.
i was honoured to be asked to film an interview with Caroline Munro - ex Bond girl - and the director, producer and actors of an upcoming sci-fi show (I have unforgivably forgotten the show's name at this moment in time). it went well. we got to talk with the guys after the interview and the director was generous enough to spend 10 minutes with me talking about the industry and feeding me well with advice. i will find out the name of the show soon and the director's name because i really owe him a hell of a lot of gratitude. afterwards, Caroline remarked of me and Reece, "I love these guys" so I will forever claim truthfully that a Bond girl has said that she loves me. hey...some things are worth milking..
after the final event of the weekend finished (a sci-fi version of Family Fortunes), we wrapped and finished with "the dead dog's dinner". here, the technical crew were treated to a tasty roast dinner with the stars. i sat opposite Peter Jurasik and we chatted. again, the man was a diamond and he happily gave advice, a picture and personal autographed message to a young, enthusiastic student hoping to work within the film/television industries. i won't forget that soon. Mary McDonnell graciously apologised to me, Reece and Liz for not having enough time to give an interview to us earlier and the night ended with karaoke. We made our departure as Robert Picardo took to the stage...
On reflection, this weekend was quite simply, brilliant. i was given the chance to work with professional actors, a suitable amount of real-life pressure (filming knowing that hundreds of people might be watching) as opposed to having the comfort of filming say on a studio day where we'd just be making programs for us to see and all of this within a ridiculously friendly environment. there was a real sense of community and everyone seemed to see one another as family whether they were from Bournemouth, Manchester, Denmark or even Australia. i have no doubts that when various visitors said to us that the weekend was "the highlight of my year", they were telling the truth. i must confess that i feel a bit bad that i had access to their heroes for free when they literally had to fork our hundreds to be here. I also have no doubt that next year, I would like to come back even if I had to work 126 hours.
We did some more of the same with the whole filming/vision mixing for talks in addition to wondering around with gleeful expressions whilst holding a camera and rubbing shoulders with international actors.
i was honoured to be asked to film an interview with Caroline Munro - ex Bond girl - and the director, producer and actors of an upcoming sci-fi show (I have unforgivably forgotten the show's name at this moment in time). it went well. we got to talk with the guys after the interview and the director was generous enough to spend 10 minutes with me talking about the industry and feeding me well with advice. i will find out the name of the show soon and the director's name because i really owe him a hell of a lot of gratitude. afterwards, Caroline remarked of me and Reece, "I love these guys" so I will forever claim truthfully that a Bond girl has said that she loves me. hey...some things are worth milking..
after the final event of the weekend finished (a sci-fi version of Family Fortunes), we wrapped and finished with "the dead dog's dinner". here, the technical crew were treated to a tasty roast dinner with the stars. i sat opposite Peter Jurasik and we chatted. again, the man was a diamond and he happily gave advice, a picture and personal autographed message to a young, enthusiastic student hoping to work within the film/television industries. i won't forget that soon. Mary McDonnell graciously apologised to me, Reece and Liz for not having enough time to give an interview to us earlier and the night ended with karaoke. We made our departure as Robert Picardo took to the stage...
On reflection, this weekend was quite simply, brilliant. i was given the chance to work with professional actors, a suitable amount of real-life pressure (filming knowing that hundreds of people might be watching) as opposed to having the comfort of filming say on a studio day where we'd just be making programs for us to see and all of this within a ridiculously friendly environment. there was a real sense of community and everyone seemed to see one another as family whether they were from Bournemouth, Manchester, Denmark or even Australia. i have no doubts that when various visitors said to us that the weekend was "the highlight of my year", they were telling the truth. i must confess that i feel a bit bad that i had access to their heroes for free when they literally had to fork our hundreds to be here. I also have no doubt that next year, I would like to come back even if I had to work 126 hours.
Backlog 6: Sci-Fi convention, day 1 review
What...a...day!! =0
(before i proceed i with the rest of my backlogging i'd just like to warn that i've given up on "proper English" so excuse the lack of capitals, apostrophies, spelling, grammar and sense)
i was a little bit apprehensive of this weekend. i was a fool. today has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable saturdays i've had for a while. i'm so glad i put my name down to take part in this project...
the day started with me and the guys (Reece, Liz, Ollie and Laura) being briefed on what we are to do shortly before the first talk of the day commenced. up came Neil Roberts, an actor who's been in Charmed, Love Soup, Beverly Hills 90210, Babylon 5 and old coffee adverts. he's the closest that Britain has to Hugh Grant apart from Hugh Grant. the man was filthy (jokes wise) as a remarkable amount of inuendos poured out of his rather posh mouth. i worked with Liz on one of the three cameras and it went pleasantly smoothly to help settle nerves.
the day rolled on and we took it in turns to operate the live cameras that stream onto the large television screens placed next to the stage and around the hotel as well as vision mix for guest speakers including, Robert Picardo, Peter Jurasik, Stephen Furst and Mary McDonnell, all stars of various sci-fi shows.
in between talks we were given a very nice camera and microphone to wonder around with and capture anything that we wanted to from around the hotel in all its sci-fi conventiony glory. we started out by interviewing some very friendly and enthusiastic visitors and asked them to re-enact any favourite death scenes from anything Science-Fictiony. that went well and was enjoyable. we soon found out something even more satisfying. if you walk around with a flashy camera complete with flashy microphone, you get...privileges. we were actually allowed to get into the green room where the stars stayed and didnt need to queue up for access to the autograph room. this meant that we could actually film professional, internationally known actors that hundreds of people had paid hundreds of pounds to see for free. the actors were great and we got an interview from everyone of them apart from Mary McDonnell or Mary as i think of her now (we count as friends now in my opinion) who was the star of the weekend and understandably busy at all times. We shared eye contact for a few seconds during the meal which is something i'm secretly chuffed about.
The evening saw perhaps my personal highlight of the day. I got to work with a Bond girl. Caroline Munro to be precise who played as Naomi in The Spy Who Loved Me *shivers from realising how much of an honour it is to have done this in my life*. I followed her on camera as she interviewed various visitors (fans) and celebs and it was (to take a copyrighted cereal slogan) grrrreeeeeattttt (apologies to Tony the tiger and everyone connected with Frosties breakfast cereal). our hands briefly touched as she wanted to see how the camera felt so I, Adrian Permata Scanlon, have touched a Bond girl *shivers again*. (these shivers are the "Oh my Gosh how amazing is this" variety of shiver as opposed to the "eww gross" line of shivers. i'm making sense to me which is all i care about mwahahaha >:D
I also managed to achieve a personal target that I created for myself, I managed to make every famous person I saw laugh (with me). Happy days.
(before i proceed i with the rest of my backlogging i'd just like to warn that i've given up on "proper English" so excuse the lack of capitals, apostrophies, spelling, grammar and sense)
i was a little bit apprehensive of this weekend. i was a fool. today has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable saturdays i've had for a while. i'm so glad i put my name down to take part in this project...
the day started with me and the guys (Reece, Liz, Ollie and Laura) being briefed on what we are to do shortly before the first talk of the day commenced. up came Neil Roberts, an actor who's been in Charmed, Love Soup, Beverly Hills 90210, Babylon 5 and old coffee adverts. he's the closest that Britain has to Hugh Grant apart from Hugh Grant. the man was filthy (jokes wise) as a remarkable amount of inuendos poured out of his rather posh mouth. i worked with Liz on one of the three cameras and it went pleasantly smoothly to help settle nerves.
the day rolled on and we took it in turns to operate the live cameras that stream onto the large television screens placed next to the stage and around the hotel as well as vision mix for guest speakers including, Robert Picardo, Peter Jurasik, Stephen Furst and Mary McDonnell, all stars of various sci-fi shows.
in between talks we were given a very nice camera and microphone to wonder around with and capture anything that we wanted to from around the hotel in all its sci-fi conventiony glory. we started out by interviewing some very friendly and enthusiastic visitors and asked them to re-enact any favourite death scenes from anything Science-Fictiony. that went well and was enjoyable. we soon found out something even more satisfying. if you walk around with a flashy camera complete with flashy microphone, you get...privileges. we were actually allowed to get into the green room where the stars stayed and didnt need to queue up for access to the autograph room. this meant that we could actually film professional, internationally known actors that hundreds of people had paid hundreds of pounds to see for free. the actors were great and we got an interview from everyone of them apart from Mary McDonnell or Mary as i think of her now (we count as friends now in my opinion) who was the star of the weekend and understandably busy at all times. We shared eye contact for a few seconds during the meal which is something i'm secretly chuffed about.
The evening saw perhaps my personal highlight of the day. I got to work with a Bond girl. Caroline Munro to be precise who played as Naomi in The Spy Who Loved Me *shivers from realising how much of an honour it is to have done this in my life*. I followed her on camera as she interviewed various visitors (fans) and celebs and it was (to take a copyrighted cereal slogan) grrrreeeeeattttt (apologies to Tony the tiger and everyone connected with Frosties breakfast cereal). our hands briefly touched as she wanted to see how the camera felt so I, Adrian Permata Scanlon, have touched a Bond girl *shivers again*. (these shivers are the "Oh my Gosh how amazing is this" variety of shiver as opposed to the "eww gross" line of shivers. i'm making sense to me which is all i care about mwahahaha >:D
I also managed to achieve a personal target that I created for myself, I managed to make every famous person I saw laugh (with me). Happy days.
Backlog 5: 26 hours of work in two days isn't THAT long...........oh who am i kidding?
I've put myself forward to film at a Sci-Fi convention in a Bournemouth hotel this weekend which should provide useful experience and a welcome addition to the ol' CV. One thing though...I'll be working for 26 hours ;_;
If I'm being honest I'm a little bit apprehensive of this as it's going to be a whole weekend working for more than a complete day so its off to bed nice and pre-midnight for me, hope its good!
If I'm being honest I'm a little bit apprehensive of this as it's going to be a whole weekend working for more than a complete day so its off to bed nice and pre-midnight for me, hope its good!
Backlog 4: Mama, I don't think I want to work on sound
Just to start things off, I don't actually call my mum, girlfriend (ew) or anyone else 'Mama' but thought it would make for a nice, mildly amusing title.
Today, my group and I filmed our Narratives assessed piece which was a response to the program Extras. Having not yet worked on sound I put myself forward for the role which will act as the focus of my mumblings. The boom pole with the mic on isn't very heavy if you were to pick it up right now. If you were to hold it for the best part of 6 hours, your opinions may change. I have to say I've a new found respect for sound recordists (is that a real term??) because it was one of the toughest production roles I've had so far. As well as the achey nature of holding it up for a while at a time, you also have to ensure that you are safe with the thing. On more than one occasion today I found myself bumping into crew and very nearly cast, especially in the long-shot takes in which I had to extend the pole. You also have to multi-task as you keep an eye on sound levels whilst following the script to be able to twist the mic to the correct direction with increasingly shaky arms.
In spite of our camera operator turning up an hour late, the shoot went well, the cast were on form and we wrapped in time to return the equipment to a human as opposed to a close door.
Today, my group and I filmed our Narratives assessed piece which was a response to the program Extras. Having not yet worked on sound I put myself forward for the role which will act as the focus of my mumblings. The boom pole with the mic on isn't very heavy if you were to pick it up right now. If you were to hold it for the best part of 6 hours, your opinions may change. I have to say I've a new found respect for sound recordists (is that a real term??) because it was one of the toughest production roles I've had so far. As well as the achey nature of holding it up for a while at a time, you also have to ensure that you are safe with the thing. On more than one occasion today I found myself bumping into crew and very nearly cast, especially in the long-shot takes in which I had to extend the pole. You also have to multi-task as you keep an eye on sound levels whilst following the script to be able to twist the mic to the correct direction with increasingly shaky arms.
In spite of our camera operator turning up an hour late, the shoot went well, the cast were on form and we wrapped in time to return the equipment to a human as opposed to a close door.
Saturday 24 January 2009
cut the crap
i'm sat here feeling stressed, annoyed, frustrated and worried about an upcoming assignment. as it stands, i feel like a bit of an idiot for not understanding what it is that i actually have to write about which in my honest opinion could have been prevented. i'm not going to be biased and say that this isn't down to me, obviously i could probably have done a few things better myself but i feel that a large part of me not knowing what i need to know is down to the way that i've been made to learn them. there will undoubtedly be new, long and complicated words for me and my piers to grasp as we continue on our journey but that isn't the problem. it would be worrying if we didnt learn new things otherwise we'd be departing with a big wad of money and 3 years of our lives for things that we already knew. the thing that pisses me off is the fact that i am being taught complicated things with unnecessarily complicated words and sentences.
i have a little sister who is currently in secondary school and have on many occasions helped her out with school work. without meaning to sound big headed in any way, on virtually all occassions i have been successful. if there is something new for her to learn that she just can't get her head around, i would explain it to her in terms that she understands. i wouldn't use complicated and wordy sentences to explain in spite of the fact that i would be able to if i wanted to. this is so she doesn't have to use her brain to think about the words that i use to teach her - the nothing words. i use words that she naturally and instantly recognises and understands in terms of the context that they have been used so that as i say, she doesnt have to spend a few seconds trying to figure out what i mean. this allows for her entire attention to go towards actually learning what it is that she needs to know. this, to me is the goal of learning and education. teaching in a way that makes the student understand.
this has not been the case for me. the books, websites and people that have taught me have explained in a deliberately intellectual way. using long words, complicated grammar and the assumption that i know a lot more than i actually do (e.g. that i know all about marxism, cubism and other philisophical/political ideas and that if they make throw-away comments about them i'd instantly know what they were on about) all lead to me having to go through things over and over again repeatedly whereas if they were put in a different way a lot less of this would be required. its worse in lectures because if i didnt understand something that somebody said, that was it, no chance to rewind and i don't have enough time to think about what they just said otherwise i'd miss another couple of points and end up being lost in a ridiculously big sea of words. its true that what i am being taught is of a more complex and difficult nature to that of my little sister but in terms of the difficulty of my task matched up with my abilities and the difficulty of my sister's task and her abilites, i don't think the ratio would be much different.
i am sure that there are less complicated ways of putting forward an explanation. this would lead in my opinion to more people being able to learn what is needed to be learnt and less feelings of preventable stress, worry and misery. don't make yourself sound intellectual just for the sake of it or to make a subject seem more difficult than it already is. this will only lead to more failures and angry blogs...
i have a little sister who is currently in secondary school and have on many occasions helped her out with school work. without meaning to sound big headed in any way, on virtually all occassions i have been successful. if there is something new for her to learn that she just can't get her head around, i would explain it to her in terms that she understands. i wouldn't use complicated and wordy sentences to explain in spite of the fact that i would be able to if i wanted to. this is so she doesn't have to use her brain to think about the words that i use to teach her - the nothing words. i use words that she naturally and instantly recognises and understands in terms of the context that they have been used so that as i say, she doesnt have to spend a few seconds trying to figure out what i mean. this allows for her entire attention to go towards actually learning what it is that she needs to know. this, to me is the goal of learning and education. teaching in a way that makes the student understand.
this has not been the case for me. the books, websites and people that have taught me have explained in a deliberately intellectual way. using long words, complicated grammar and the assumption that i know a lot more than i actually do (e.g. that i know all about marxism, cubism and other philisophical/political ideas and that if they make throw-away comments about them i'd instantly know what they were on about) all lead to me having to go through things over and over again repeatedly whereas if they were put in a different way a lot less of this would be required. its worse in lectures because if i didnt understand something that somebody said, that was it, no chance to rewind and i don't have enough time to think about what they just said otherwise i'd miss another couple of points and end up being lost in a ridiculously big sea of words. its true that what i am being taught is of a more complex and difficult nature to that of my little sister but in terms of the difficulty of my task matched up with my abilities and the difficulty of my sister's task and her abilites, i don't think the ratio would be much different.
i am sure that there are less complicated ways of putting forward an explanation. this would lead in my opinion to more people being able to learn what is needed to be learnt and less feelings of preventable stress, worry and misery. don't make yourself sound intellectual just for the sake of it or to make a subject seem more difficult than it already is. this will only lead to more failures and angry blogs...
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