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...
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
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...
Thursday, 11 December 2008
BACKLOG 3: pleeeeeeaaaaaassssseee don't make ken ill
on the whole i feel that my images assessed piece could have been a lot better. one of my main concerns was the ridiculous overexposure and brightness in some of the shots such as the tourist's POV. at the time of filming we weren't sure how to ease the problem which was something that on reflection we should have looked further into by spending more time in pre-production because these particular problems tend to arise from the shoot and are not easily fixable in 'post'.
now....
you may be wondering why i have mentioned ken in the title of this post. earlier in the week prior to our shoot we were scheduled to have a camera workshop with him but unfortunately, the good man was feeling unwell and so it was cancelled. we later had this workshop anyway as it was rescheduled to our reading week and guess what we learnt in the session?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I think that I used enough exclamation and question marks in that last sentence to not need to explain further.
ALSO...me needing to be in bournemouth on that day for the workshop led to me missing out on the opportunity to meet and speak to the woman of my dreams...Nicole Scherzinger ;__;
now....
you may be wondering why i have mentioned ken in the title of this post. earlier in the week prior to our shoot we were scheduled to have a camera workshop with him but unfortunately, the good man was feeling unwell and so it was cancelled. we later had this workshop anyway as it was rescheduled to our reading week and guess what we learnt in the session?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I think that I used enough exclamation and question marks in that last sentence to not need to explain further.
ALSO...me needing to be in bournemouth on that day for the workshop led to me missing out on the opportunity to meet and speak to the woman of my dreams...Nicole Scherzinger ;__;
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