Major collaborative one-shot project

H20/21/22 Learning Journal

In my learning journal, I will be showing you how we prepared and shot our production, 'The Protest' and how my job role contributes to this as a whole.

What is a ‘One Shot’ film?

A ‘One-shot’ film is a movie that is shot in a single shot with one camera, without any cuts. However, some ‘one-shots’ can have cuts in them which are well hidden to give the illusion it was shot in one take. This technique needs precise choreography and co-ordination among the cast and crew to capture the entire story in a continuous sequence, which is evidently shown in the movie ‘1917’.

My production: 'The Protest'

In this production, we have created a one-shot film called 'The Protest' which has been split into two scenes, both being fifteen minutes long each and lead after one another. The first scene begins outside, before the protest happens and the second scene takes place in a café that is close to where the protest is happening. Our one-shot film will show the perspectives of many different people and their opinions on the protest about air pollution. This production introduces a wide range of characters with various personalities and how they contribute to the protest in their own way.

My role and responsibilities in ‘The Protest’

In this terms major collaborative one-shot film project, I have applied for the role of assistant camera operator in the second scene of ‘The Protest' which I was successfully assigned for as I explained that I wanted to understand the technical side of acting so I can balance my skills. My job role is especially important in helping the camera operator in various tasks such as changing lenses, ensuring the camera is in focus whilst shooting and helping to set up the cameras. I personally believe that I have a huge responsibility in making sure that I stay focused during pre-production process and the shooting day so that I know exactly how I can help the camera operator with the different camera movements, so I know how to adjust the camera in certain ways. Moreover, I am responsible for conducting clear communication, which is being used through an app called Time Tree, with the camera operator, director, and other team members to execute or help with shots according to the director's vision. With responsibilities ranging from intense camera set up and maintenance to the critical task of ensuring precise focus and framing during shots, I believe I play a key role in maintaining technical excellence during this production.

My job description

Workshop 1- naturalistic scriptwriting focusing on authentic dialogue.

In this week's session, I learnt the main characteristics that are imbedded in natural script writing and how we can produce our own authentic dialogue.

In order to understand how scripts are written naturally, we learnt various techniques that will help us craft a script, not only to feel natural but to also resonate with the audience. For example, we gained insight into how authentic dialogue is produced through natural scriptwriting by watching a couple of scenes from ‘Manchester by The Sea’. In particular, the scene with Casey and Lee when they bump into each other is a unique and powerful scene which stood out to me personally, as I could see all of the different emotions that were flowing from each other in many ways creating that complex but natural element to it. Furthermore, whilst watching that scene, I realized that the two characters constantly spoke over each other when they felt passionate about something to say which is very realistic.

An individual action that I did to help contribute to the tasks set in this session was helping to write our own natural script and suggesting ideas. Firstly, I gave the idea of one of the characters in our script to be a 30-year-old Vet called Steve who is a very bubbly person. This helped us in our group to get an idea of what the plot could be about based on this character and what they are like. Furthermore, I also helped contribute during our collaborative task, by helping to write our mini scene on an argument between Steve and his wife Gaby. I suggested that during the argument, we keep Steve’s character quite chilled when writing his lines, as he is a compassionate character, however, Gabby is a very fiery character and does not care what he is saying as long as she gets her point across in the argument. I felt that having these two dynamic personalities in our script would help it be more natural as it creates that complexity of different emotions all built on top of each other and having different reactions from each other.

In addition, I further worked collaboratively with others in this workshop to help develop an initial script idea. For example, a technique we used to develop an idea was brainstorming our ideas. An idea that I recommended was the two characters, Steve and Gabby. I wrote down all the basic information about them, their age, names, their jobs, and their personalities, so that we could get a gist of what they are going to be like. Brainstorming these ideas allowed me to be more creative and generate diverse ideas about them.

Moreover, I also collaborated to help with an initial script idea by effectively communicating with my group on the possible ideas we could have for the plot. I personally thought it would be a good idea if we based the argument around a minor inconvenience so that we could make it more relatable with our audience as well as add an element of comedy into our script.

Workshop two- Basic Camera Operation- naturalistic lighting- recording audio

During today's session, I took part in a basic camera operation workshop to learn the basics of the different elements in a camera through the settings and different camera angles.

For example, a key function that I absorbed from Mr. Stevens was that we could twist the zoom ring around the Lense clockwise or anticlockwise to zoom in or out. This allowed me to understand how I can make subjects appear much closer or further away from the camera, which I did not know before. Another important technique that I acquired from this session was how I can use the ISO on the camera settings to change the exposure of light and digital noise. I worked collaboratively with others by recording each other Infront of the camera in bright lights and seeing how we can change the ISO by moving the camera Lenses in and out as well as going higher or lower on the ISO to make it appear much more natural and realistic on camera.

As a result, we collaboratively implemented all these styles that we learnt into our own camera work towards the end of the lesson. For instance, we put all our knowledge that we had learnt from this session together and listened to any ideas that people had in our group to make our camera work better. Personally, I was confident with using the zoom ring effectively, especially when we had to adjust the zooming when the light was affecting the camera Lense, so I suggested that I can operate the zoom ring. On the other hand, Lexie, who was in our group, felt more confident on tweaking the ISO when we had to change the lighting as well as moving people in different angles so that the light can focus more on the background rather than the object we were centering around.

Overall, understanding and using these techniques and functions has helped us develop our camera skills when using them to produce our work. However, in the future I am going to recommend that we all have a go at playing around and using the different camera elements rather than having one aspect to focus on for our camera work so that we can progress our understanding of camera techniques easier.

Workshop 3- Continued Basic Camera Operation

During today's session, we continued looking into different techniques that we can use to improve the shooting of our one-shot film, ‘The Protest.’

For example, we experimented with using different equipment's such as gimbals and Steadicams to capture more smooth and steady footage, rather than free handing the camera. Using this allowed me to understand and make notes on how I can create seamless transitions between scenes, especially when there are hidden cuts, so that there is a consistent level of professionalism during ‘The Protest.’

Moreover, I worked collaboratively with others whilst working with the gimbals and Steadicams by filming each other in front of the camera moving our body in the same way we want the camera to face instead of moving the camera in any direction we want it to. Whilst using the Steadicam with my partner, I could see the reduced number of vibrations and movements when I was filming them compared to when we did not use the Steadicam. Furthermore, I also worked collaboratively with others when using the gimbals too by coordinating with each other on where to stand so we could get the desired shots and movements.

This was very successful to learn and collaborate with each other on these techniques as we were able to work together by brainstorming ideas on how we can implement these functions into our camera work for the filming of ‘The Protest’ which was greatly beneficial.

In addition, I personally felt that during this session I was mainly confident when directing how the gimbal camera should move when filing each other as I had some good ideas that would help make the shots look more effective, for example, I felt that the camera should only move with the person so that we get the idea of being in their POV.

Workshop 4- The use of editing software's

Furthermore, in today's session we began learning how to use editing software's such as Premiere Pro, to edit our own mini one-shot films that we created.

In order to practice editing our own work for our one-shot film, ‘The Protest,’ we signed up to an editing software called Premiere Pro to edit all our small clips that we shot and edited together, making sure it still looked professional. Using our clips that we made from our previous lesson to use for our editing practices helped us to learn the basics of the hour we put all our clips in an organized folder and dragged them down in order to so that the film plays, instead of little clips. Using Premiere Pro has majorly helped me with more precise and flexible editing, as it has allowed me to learn how I can trim, cut, and arrange clips easier.

Furthermore, I also worked collaboratively during this session by working with the director, Shae, to get her input on how she wants our practice one-shot film to look like. For example, she thought it would be better if we made the lighting of our one-shot film lighter to cancel out the harsh shadows in the background. To do this, I learned how to use the color gradient on Premiere Pro to brighten the background and sharpen the image more so that the background is not more noticeable and focuses more on the actors, which turned out to be done very well.

This was also highly successful to learn and collaborate with each other on using Premiere Pro to edit our work, as I felt that we were able to give each other different ideas as well as use our own to show each other how we want our one-shots to look, which is helpful for us to know for our future one-shot and how we can edit it to our best ability.

Additionally, I did feel like personally I was more confident with trimming the clips so that the cuts were not so harsh, and it flowed more between each clip. This helped our mini film look more professional and cleaner.

Overall, understanding and using this editing software has majorly helped us to develop our editing skills as we have begun to learn the basics of combining clips together to create a film. However, in the future I am going to recommend that we also work by ourselves as well as working collaboratively when using editing software's so that we can understand for ourselves how to effectively use it rather than relying on what our partner knows.

Workshop 5- accent workshop

In this week's session, we began exploring our range of accents, especially the standard

American accent.

In order to begin developing our range of accents, we went around the room and individually gave our own impressions of any accents that we could do. For example, I did my best to do an Irish accent as I have had some experience using an Irish accent in shows last year. From this, we were able to identify what needed changing and how we can use our words differently when producing these accents which allowed us to progress and see what we can do better. I was given the feedback to soften the vowel sounds in each word to give a more Irish impression.

Moreover, I also worked collaboratively during this session by working with someone to perform an American duologue scene. We worked collaboratively by giving each other all of our knowledge that we already knew about the standard American accent and how we can use that in our performance. For instance, my partner knew that Americans tend to harshen the sound of the ‘Rs’ in words like ‘Park’ which was helpful for me to know as I had a lot of lines that had noticeable ‘R’ sounds in. Moreover, I also had the knowledge that Americans say ‘Thee’ instead of ‘The’ which I shared with my partner for our scene.

This was very successful to learn and collaborate with each other during our accent lesson as we were all able to give each other feedback and any knowledge that we already knew about the accents to each other. This was helpful for us so that we can develop our understanding and expand our range of accents for the future which may be needed for our one-shot film, ‘The Protest.’

Furthermore, I personally felt I gradually become more confident with the America accent as I felt that it was more neutral and monotone, making it easier to adapt to. I have also been exposed to a lot of American films and TV shows which had already gave me an idea of the standardized accent more than the others.

Overall, understanding and expanding our range of accents has definitely helped us develop our accent skills as we have adopted different techniques for different accents and how we can use these techniques to make them more suitable and easier for us to do. However, in the future I am going to suggest that watch movies or podcasts with various accents to copy exactly what that person Is saying so that our impression is more accurate.

Workshop 6- devising workshop for 'The Protest'

In today's session, we all worked on devising a scene for either the Café scene or the Protest scene.

To begin devising our scenes, we had to split into the chosen groups that we have been put in to begin producing scenarios for the scene. For example, in my scene, scene two, which is set in the Café, our director Dan gave us separate roles in a Café such as baristas, protesters and regular people sat in the café so that we could improvise this scene and see what ideas or inspiration we could gain from this.

This was highly successful as we got many ideas from this. One idea that I thought was good to keep in our actual scene was the argument between one of the baristas and protestors about how strongly they feel about what they are protesting about, however the barista does not take too much notice into this which angers the protestor, creating different character dynamics.

Moreover, I also worked collaboratively with others during this session by sharing and receiving different ideas from people in our scene by brainstorming ideas together. This was highly effective as it encouraged a lot of creativity from everyone as we were able to investigate different perspectives from the protestors compared to the regular people and therefore allowed us to explore various possibilities for the scene.

A personal idea that I recommended for the Café scene was that in the Café, I think some of the regular people that are sitting in the Café are intrigued by the protestors and want to be involved but fear what other people may think. I thought this was a good idea to add into the scene so that there were various personalities, making it more interesting to watch.

Overall, this devising session was immensely helpful for us to gain an insight into what our scene could be about. However, I felt that not everyone got a chance to share their ideas, so in the future I am going to suggest that we get everyone to include their ideas by going around individually.

Workshop 7- First production meeting

In today's session, scene two production team conducted a production meeting to gain an insight into where we were at with our Café scene.

In our production meeting today with Mrs. Tugwell, the different departments had to give feedback on where they were at with locations, technical equipment, and scripts. Our technical team were confident to say that we have begun creating a mind map on the various equipment that we preferably need for the one-shot and listed the pros and cons of each equipment. For instance, some cameras had a higher intensity with their lenses than others and we needed a camera with a higher intensity.

This was successful in doing this, as we kept our directors up to date with where we are in our technical team. This also gave the chance for them to tell us what our next steps are and how we can begin developing a budget for any rented equipment needed.

Furthermore, I also worked collaboratively with others during our production meeting by helping the production team look for Café locations. We worked together to see what Cafe's people have already looked at and already contacted so that I could investigate separate locations. I was able to find five different Cafes that we could potentially use which I thought could work since they were in the Centre of Birmingham.

From this research I created a PowerPoint of the various locations to show what they looked like on the outside and inside, as well as their addresses and contact information. I thought this would be helpful to create as I was able to share this with everyone in the production team and directors, so they know their location to contact or if they got any inspiration from the options.

Overall, this production meeting was greatly beneficial in my opinion as we all worked together to help each department out with where they were at. However, in the future I suggest we write everything down during the meeting, as our department did not do what caused us to have to ask the directors for their feedback again, creating setbacks.

Workshop 8- Improvisation workshop

In today's session, we focused on our improvisation skills, creating duologues and scenes, in preparation for our one-shot film project.

In our improvisation workshop today, we were put into pairs to begin improvising a mini scene. Fortunately, we were given scene idea prompts so that we could think of the main plot for our scene, which we decided to do it about a person not having enough money to buy food at the shops, whilst the cashier does not know what to do. My partner and I thought it would be an innovative idea to just get straight into the scene and improvise anything that would naturally come out.

This was very successful to get straight into the scene as it helped us create such a raw piece of acting that connected with the audience rather than forcing a situation. From this, we gained an insight into what the two characters were going to be like in our scene as I got the idea that my character, the cashier, was quite understanding of the other persons money problem, however she was too scared to do anything behind her managers back. On the other hand, my partner's character, who was the person struggling with money, found that she was getting quite frustrated when I would not help her, creating the distinctive character dynamics in the scene.

Moreover, I also worked collaboratively with others during this workshop by listening to other people's ideas as well as imputing my own on how we can create a meaningful improvisation scene. For instance, my partner suggested that for our scene, we need to establish the relationship between each character to add depth and emotional resonance to the scene which I thought was important before we began improvising a scene. Moreover, I also suggested that we add conflicts to each character in their own way which they need to overcome together depending on our relationship. This helped provide opportunities for growth and resolution for our characters.

Personally, I felt that it was important to improvise a scene using a lot of physical touch too so that it shows my partner and I’s relationship more clearly in the scene, which was a married couple working out their problems in the marriage. It also helped to not show any awkwardness in the scene and allowed it to seem more authentic and truer.

Overall, this improvisation workshop was very beneficial for us in preparation for our one-shot film as we were able to pick up new skills so that we felt more comfortable improvising on the spot. However, in the future, I am going to suggest that we should play some improvisation warm up games at the beginning of the session so that it has us thinking of ideas and allows us to feel more confident

Workshop 9- camera operation and equipment meeting

In this week's session, our technical team began looking at diverse types of camera equipment needed for the one-shot film and the benefits of using them.

In order to begin looking into various camera equipment's that we need; we decided it would be best to see what equipment our Academy already supplies us with so that we could get an idea of the equipment we already have and do not have. From this, we gathered that we already have a lot of equipment such as, shotgun microphones, boom poles, field mixer, etc... However, the only type of cameras that they have are Black Magic cameras which are not ideal for our one-shot since they are not lowlight cameras, so this is something we thought needed looking into to find a better camera.

Furthermore, we worked collaboratively by working in a group with our director to create a list of the pros and cons of distinct types of camera equipment. Firstly, we worked collaboratively by researching different cameras that would best fit our one-shot film so we could shoot ‘The protest’ with a proficient level of professionalism. From this, we thought the FX3 Sony camera would best suit our one-shot as it is lowlight and has a phase detection autofocus which is especially important when we shoot as we are constantly going to be moving the camera around for fifth teen minutes straight. However, we found that the only downfall to using this camera is that it lacks a shutter angle which we need so we can create specific moods and tones for our film.

Moreover, working as a collective to create a pros and cons list of different camera equipment was successful as it helped us make informed decisions. We were able to consider factors like image quality of cameras, our budget for when renting out any equipment, portability, and technical features, leading to a well-thought-out choice that aligns with our film making goals.

Personally, during this session, I recommended to the technical team that it would be beneficial to write down everything the director says in our production meeting so that we could make sure we find everything for our one-shot that he tells us, reducing any confusion.

Overall, researching various camera equipment’s was beneficial for our technical team to know so that we can produce the best quality one-shot film and to also be organized with everything that we need. However, I did feel that going through each camera equipment and doing a list on each of them was a lengthy process, so in the future I am going to suggest that each person has their own piece of equipment to research rather than all of us going through the equipment together.

Workshop 10- 'The Protest' audition preparation

In today's session, I began preparing for the in-person audition for ‘The Protest.’

In order to begin preparing for the audition, we were each given the different characters for each scene on a sheet of paper and a little about them. This was very helpful for us to know the background of the characters which helps us decide who we relate to more and potentially be. We were given the task to write the motivations and objectives of the characters we want to audition for so that we could understand the character in more depth and detail so I could perform the character with authenticity. This helped provide a foundation for character development, guiding my portrayal of their emotions in my audition.

Moreover, I also worked collaboratively when preparing for my audition by helping each other hot seat our characters. We took it in turns to ask each other questions about our character so that we could understand the character's perspective, motivations, and emotions more deeply. This immense experience allows for a more authentic portrayal and development of my character and my partner's character, enhancing the overall storytelling and performance.

Personally, I suggested that when coming up and asking the questions to our partners during the hot seating activity, I thought it would be better if we make the questions detailed so that we can be more precise with what we are asking about that character. Having detailed questions allows us to gain a further insight into the character's personality and how this leads to their motivations, which is important in the audition.

Furthermore, hot seating for our characters was successful as it enabled us to understand the characters much more clearly and therefore allowed us to write a more detailed motivation and objective about each character without misinterpreting it.

Overall, preparing for the in-person audition for the one-shot film was beneficial as it allowed us to get an introduction of the characters and understand them to enhance our performance. However, I did not feel that there was much time to spend researching our characters and complete any profile backgrounds on them, so in the future I am going to suggest that we do more independent study on them at home or after class so we can get further detail on each of them.

Workshop 11- audition for 'The Protest'

In today's session, I did my in-person audition for ‘The Protest.’

Before I completed my audition, I was given half an hour to practice my lines. Fortunately, we were all given a sheet of paper which prompted the lines we should say for each of our characters, which I believe was very helpful as it gave me an idea of what my character should say and how they are feeling.

Moreover, I also worked collaboratively during this by helping each other practice our lines. For example, after a couple of practices we took each other's scripts and made our partner say their lines off by heart. This allowed us to get any critiques on how we can make our performance better and what lines we missed, which I thought was very helpful as it enhanced my performance even more.

In my opinion, I felt that working together was very beneficial as I was able to gain a lot of feedback in the short amount of time rehearsing. For instance, my partner told me that it would be better if I added some sort of passion to some of my words since I was at a protest in the script. From this, I went back over my lines and added some aggression to some words that I thought needed more power too as I was trying to get a message across to the world. This helped enhance my performance to become more powerful and raw.

Furthermore, I personally felt that my partner's performance needed to be more physical and energetic throughout. I recommended that for her character, she needed to be waving her arms up and down and seem more out of breath when going through her lines so that we get the impression that her character is also deeply passionate about the protest and what she is saying.

Overall, I believe that that preparing for our audition was greatly beneficial and essential, however I believe that we could have done with just a little more rehearsal time so we could explore the characters even further or done another hot seating.

Workshop 12- Scripts for scene one and two of 'The Protest'

In today's session, we were all given a printed version of the first draft of ‘The protest’ scene one and two.

To begin looking over the first draft of the script, we all gathered in one large group and read over the whole thing. This was especially useful for us to do so that we could all gain an insight into the plot of the one-shot. Moreover, reading over the script also allowed us to understand the different characters in each scene and how they contribute to the protest in some sort of way.

We all worked collaboratively in our group whilst looking over the script by each giving feedback to the lead script writer on our thoughts of the script. For instance, a piece of feedback that I suggested was that at the end of scene one, there was no link that went from scene one to scene two as it is a one-shot film and need to follow straight off the ending of the first scene, so I thought it would be beneficial if it followed someone from the protest walk into the Cafe for second scene.

Moreover, I personally recommended that it would be a clever idea if we each wrote one piece of feedback that we had on some paper and then we could give that to our two lead script writers so then they would not forget the information that we have given them.

I felt that looking over the script in a group was very successful as we were all able to begin thinking about costumes, props, and the different camera angles that we could begin planning for the different shots. This also allowed us to think about the equipment we will need, especially for the Cafe scene in the second one, as it was described as a warm, cozy place.

Overall, working together to look over the script was highly successful as we were able to gain an insight into what characters we could all potentially be playing. However, I do believe that there was a lot of the same feedback being given, so in the future, I am going to suggest that we get separated into smaller groups and each group gives one piece of feedback rather than every single person giving one.

Workshop 13- Casting for scene one and two

In today's session, we were all given our chosen characters that we need to play for either scene one or two.

At the beginning of the session, we all saw a list of our names and characters next to it printed on a piece of paper outside our classroom so that we could see our roles. I was fortunately given the role of Alexis, triplet to Alex and Alexia in the podcast scene who is very lighthearted and positive. I was incredibly happy with my role as I feel that in some way, I do resonate with her as I have felt the same with feeling miss valued at times in my life, so I can use this to relate with her.

Moreover, I did also work collaboratively during this session by working with Liberty, who plays Jess, to do hot seating exercises so that I can understand more Indepth of my character. I was successfully able to understand the relationship between her and Jess and why Jess treats my character in such a neglected way even though they are supposed to be close friends. Jess is quite jealous of Amber as she is effortless and does not care what people think, that is why Jess is so mean to her all the time.

Furthermore, I personally recommended that we also create a mini character profile on our characters after our first read of them just to get an idea of their background and our first impressions of them overall.

This was greatly beneficial as I was able to look more into this character and see how I can relate to her in many more ways than just her personality. I got the impression that she is quite close with all her family, especially her mother so I did note down that she has a good relationship with everyone in her life.

Overall, I believe working collaboratively during this session with our characters was beneficial for all of us as we were able to see the type of person we were playing with and how they contributed to the protest. However, I did feel that during the hot seating exercise I did not fully understand my character as we asked generic questions, so in the future I suggest that we ask more in-depth questions about our characters.

Workshop 14- Understanding different camera angles for 'The Protest'

During this week's session, we continued looking at various camera angles and shots that we can use for the second scene of ‘The Protest’ with our director.

In order to begin thinking of different camera shots, I worked with Jack, our other scene one camera operator, to think of how we can place the camera in numerous ways so that it can smoothly follow behind people in the Cafe, especially the server, Willow. For example, we began walking through scene one and marking any areas in the script where the story shifts focus to different characters which is essential for us to know so that we can direct the camera to them fluidly without any mistakes.

I worked collaboratively with the first camera operator and director during our scene two camera rehearsal by walking through the whole of scene two with a small camera and writing down on our scripts the choreography for our camera as there is a lot of moving around in this scene as we had to follow behind the waitress, Willow, as well as spinning off to multiple different conversations and characters in the scene too. As a result of this, we had to work together to make sure the camera does not hit anyone and can also easily follow around each person with perfect timing as we only had a small amount of time for each character on camera.

Moreover, during our rehearsal, I personally suggested that whilst Jack, our first camera operator, followed everyone around with the camera, I could be behind him holding his back so that I could direct him around the scene without him bumping into anyone.

This was successful as we were able to dodge any hazards that may have been caused if I was not behind him, making sure he did not trip over with the camera and hurt anyone else. This was also beneficial as it helped maintain a steady frame, contributing to the overall quality of the footage for scene two.

Overall, I felt that working collaboratively for our camera operation rehearsal was very victorious as I was able to get an understanding of where I need to be when helping direct the camera around and how I can help move the camera. However, I did feel that that there was too much information being given to us from different people of how they want the camera to follow them which made it confusing, so in the future I am going to recommend that the camera operators and the director have a meeting so that we could work together without various inputs.

Workshop 15- Camera equipment meeting

During this session, our technical team held a production meeting on what camera equipment we have and need for ‘The Protest.’

During our production meeting, we all worked together to create a list of the camera equipment that we already have so that we could get a sense of what equipment is still missing and needs to be found before we film in January. For example, we do already have the Black Magic cameras that we wanted, and we have a lot of shotgun microphones as well as recording mixers which is important for us to use during our shooting so that we can listen to the audio and make sure we identify any mistakes quickly. However, one thing that we do not have is portable lights which we need for the second scene in the Cafe so that we can create a cozy warm look to the scene.

Furthermore, I worked collaboratively with others during our production meeting by looking around our academy in small groups to recognize any equipment that we have here and making a note of what there is. This allowed us to not mistake any equipment we do and do not have. As a result of noting down the equipment we have such as boom poles, lenses, tripod, gimbals, etc... We were able to see what we needed to get for the future.

Moreover, whilst creating a list of the equipment needed, I personally felt that it would be more beneficial if we also wrote down the pros and cons of each piece of equipment so that we could see which would benefit our footage the most. For instance, we wanted a shoulder rig as it is much easier to create a steady shoot whilst following subjects around, however, they are very bulky and uncomfortable to use.

Making lists of the pros and cons of various camera equipment was successful for our technical team as we understood the strengths and weaknesses of all of them, allowing us to choose the right tools to achieve the desired visual. It also allows us to make informed decisions that align with our budget, which is two hundred pounds.

Overall, I believe that working collaboratively to see what equipment we do and do not need was very useful for us to know how we can adapt to what we have as we wanted to use Sony cameras for lowlight vision, however the Black Magic cameras also do perform good lowlight footage too. However, I did feel that it was a slow process going around the Academy finding the camera equipment that we have, so in the future I am going to suggest that we keep these lists of what we have here so that we can now have all the equipment written down rather than looking everywhere again.

Workshop 16- Table read for scene one & 2 of 'The Protest'

During this week's session, we collaboratively conducted in a table read for both scenes of ‘The Protest.’

In order to begin our table, read, both directors as well as actors all had to gather to start going through both scripts. As we went through each script, we were all clearly able to see the vision our directors had for ‘The Protest’ and it gave them the opportunity as well to introduce any ideas they have or wanted to change as we read it.

For example, one thing the Director, Shae, wanted to change for scene one was the character of the news reporter. She felt that this character needed more to his personality, so we all collaboratively worked together to suggest any ideas that we had to make the news reporter more interesting. An idea that someone from scene two recommended was that he could be pro climate change and he wanted to encourage more people to join in with the protest by using certain phrases whilst he was reporting about it, which was took into consideration by both directors.

Moreover, personally I recommended that the character could possibly be a bit sarcastic about the protest as he secretly tries to hide that he does not really care/like the whole climate change enthusiasts and thinks that there are far huger problems he could be reporting about, leading to his personality coming across sarcastic and almost passive aggressive but hides it with his wittiness for his viewers.

I felt that looking over the script in a group was very successful as we were all able to begin thinking about costumes, props, and the different camera angles that we could begin planning for the different shots. For example, we were able to think about the specific camera equipment we need especially for certain scenes in scene two like the Cafe lighting that is described in the script as a cozy and calm setting.

Overall, working together to look over the script was highly successful as we were able to gain an insight into what characters we could all potentially be playing. However, I do believe that there was a lot of the same feedback being given for each script, especially about the characters, so in the future, I am going to suggest that we get separated into smaller groups and each group gives one piece of feedback rather than every single person giving one.

Workshop17- Table read for the podcast scene of 'The Protest'

In today's session, scene one performers and directors gathered again to do another read of ‘The Protest’ for the podcast scene.

In today's table read, it only consisted of the scene one group so that it was smaller and concise. This allowed our table read to be easier when pinpointing any areas of feedback in the script that we felt needed changing. For example, in the scene one script, we felt that the ending of the script where the server, Willow, lashes out at everyone in the Cafe for being so cruel to her at work, we wanted to make more impactful by linking it in some way to her shouting about the people who are in the protest, maybe she could be for or against it, but we wanted to make it more meaningful.

Furthermore, we also worked collaboratively as a group during our table read by actively listening to the directors' thoughts. For instance, our director suggested that it would be better if my character delivered their lines in a more bubbly and enthusiastic tone to better convey my character and her emotions which I thought was an innovative idea.

Moreover, I also personally suggested to the director that my character could also have more dynamic to her by having her get annoyed at times when her best friend mistreats her and only wants her there to take good pictures. I thought it would be good if my character were a bit sly behind her friend’s back but very happy and bubbly in front of her to give that impression that she thinks her best friend cares for her even though she does not.

Moreover, I felt that it was successful doing a table read with just the scene one group as it helped make our feedback more precise and allowed the director to individually gain our thoughts into what we wanted changing or adding. This further allowed our table read to conduct better communication and focus, giving us the opportunity to all contribute and express ideas, fostering a productive and collaborative environment.

Overall, working together to look over the first scene of ‘The Protest’ was beneficial for all of us to understand our character's purpose in this plot as well as everyone else’s purpose. However, during the collaborative task, I felt that we had already been through a lot of feedback previously when we all went through both scenes at the first table read, so in the future I am going to suggest that we do a smaller group of people for the table reads when we first begin.

Workshop18- first podcast scene rehearsal

In today's session, we focused on conducting a practical rehearsal for the first scene of ‘The Protest.’

In order to begin our first rehearsal, we all had to make sure that the director communicated with us that this is not the final draft of the script for our one-shot and wanted us to keep an open mind for any changes that they may suggest or change in the script as we were going through it. For example, one thing the director changed about the physicality of my character was to be more enthusiastic when taking pictures of her best friend, Jess, to show the happiness of my character, allowing the viewers to see more clearly her bubbly side.

Furthermore, I worked collaboratively with everyone in the rehearsal scene by listening to the director's notes and suggesting our own ideas. For instance, one thing our director recommended was that we need to sound more natural when delivering our lines so that we could pull off who we were playing. She suggested that we should change the dialogue in some way to match how we would say the lines in real life so we could create a rawer performance for the viewers.

Personally, I suggested that we could vary our tone and pace to make our dialogue sound more natural during our performances. I thought it would be beneficial if we mimicked a real-life conversation in our day-to-day lives and see how they adjust their pitch, speed and rhythm throughout the conversation.

This would be very successful for us to conduct in these techniques so that our dialogue sounds more natural as it will help make our performances seem rawer and emotional to the viewers.

Overall, indulging in a rehearsal for scene one of ‘The Protest’ was beneficial for all of us to gain an understanding of what the blocking of the scene may be as well as helping us practice our lines in many ways. However, I did feel that we need to work on building a chemistry with other people in the script so that we can create that connection for the audience, so in the future I am going to suggest that for the collaborative task we should practice actively listening to them during scenes.

Workshop 19- Creating character profiles

In this week's session, we focused on character development by creating character profiles for our characters.

Creating our character profiles is an essential element to our performances as the directors communicated to us that it would help make our characters believable and realistic. In order to develop my character, I began creating a character profile to allow me to understand every characteristic about my character and how they would act in front of different types of people in the script as it included every detail about them such as, fears, dreams, hopes, relationship with parents, etc...

Moreover, I also worked collaboratively with others during our character development session by participating in a hot seating exercise with my partner so that we could learn more about our characters. Using the hot seating exercise allowed us to embody our character and answer questions that our partners had in the way our character would, allowing us to understand our characters' motivations, fostering a more nuanced portrayal in our performances.

Personally, I recommended that we should ask very detailed questions in the hot seating exercise so that they could be more exact, and we could understand more in depth about our characters.

Furthermore, using this hot seating technique to help us understand our characters in further detail, helping me to complete a character profile about them as I was able to gain a deeper insight into my character understanding all her flaws and complexions about her.

Overall, creating a character profile for my character was very beneficial, as I was able to learn a lot about her, for example, I understood that she does not have a good relationship with her mother and that is possibly the reason she forces a good relationship with her friend. However, during the collaborative task of doing the hot seating exercise, I did feel that it became time consuming trying to come up with the questions to ask to each other, so in the future I am going to suggest that we already have questions prepared for next time and have them always written down.

My character Log

Workshop 20- Camera operation rehearsals for scene two

In today's session, our technical team focused on rehearsing scene two with a camera to mark any areas in our script where things may need to be changed or adjusted so that we could get an idea for the day of the shoot.

In order to begin a camera rehearsal for scene two, we wanted to be able to rehearse with some sort of camera so that we could understand any difficulties or amendments that need fixing. We were fortunately able to find a small hand-held camera that we could use to rehearse with which was beneficial. As a result, we identified areas in the script that needed re-thinking. For example, at the beginning of scene two, the camera gets passed over from 1st camera operator to assistant camera operator over a table in the cafe shop, which we found may be difficult as the camera will be much larger on the day of the shoot and it will need a lot of practicing as it can come across looking shaky on camera, which we do not want.

Overall, using a small camera for our rehearsal was successful as we were able to allow our technical team to fine-tune camera angles, for instance we changed the angle of when the camera follows the waitress from across the room around the cafe, we thought it would be better if we followed the camera right behind her the whole time to allow the audience to feel her stress. It also helped us ensure a smoother production process and enhances the overall quality of the final product.

Furthermore, I also worked collaboratively with the camera operator and director of scene two closely during this camera rehearsal. For instance, in the script, it implies that the camera switches from table to table to introduce the other characters right after each other, however the director thought it would look better if the camera jumped from table, to Willow, to another table and back to Willow to over-exaggerate the sense of stress in the scene. As a result, I worked with the camera operator to help make the directors vision come to life by changing this in the script and practicing with the camera.

Personally, I suggested that it would be a good idea that when the camera pans from table, to Willow, back to another table and the back to Willow, we should have it so there is no repeating order to make it seem even more chaotic on camera.

In conclusion, having a camera operation rehearsal for the scene of ‘The Protest’ was extremely helpful for our technical team when finalizing our changes or improvements. However, I do feel that we could have benefited with using a larger camera for our rehearsal so that we could exactly understand the measurements and the amount of space we could use for certain moments when the camera needs passing over tables or following Willow through small gaps.

Workshop 21- Continued podcast scene performance rehearsal

In today's session, we continued rehearsing for the first scene of ‘The Protest.’

In this rehearsal for scene one, we cantered our focus on improving our chants during the actual podcast so that we could show our different personalities and make the scene become more energetic as we lacked that element. To help boost our confidence and liveliness, the director thought it would be beneficial if we all contributed to an acting exercise before we began our rehearsals. For example, we played a lot of improv games, such as one-word stories, so that it could help spark our sense of spontaneity and humor which we could contribute into our rehearsals.

Moreover, I worked collaboratively during our rehearsals by actively listening to everybody's ideas as well as suggesting my own ideas on how we can improve our performances or the scene. For instance, an idea that someone suggested to make the scene more intense and energetic, was that the people who are running the protest should get in everyone's face and their personal space when they are chanting to make it seem livelier and more passionate. It also shows the type of character they are and their perspectives on the protest, which is important for the viewers to understand.

Personally, I suggested that that during the protest everyone could be doing their own thing that suits their character type, for example my character could be taking photos of the protest and her best friend Jess, so that there could be a range of different personalities being shown and shows a street of people minding their own business rather than everyone being involved with the protest.

I thought it would be successful suggesting this idea as it shows an element of realism and natural behavior being shown which is important for enhancing our scene as well as our own performances to the viewers.

Overall, I do believe that focusing on the enthusiastic element of our scene was beneficial for making the scene look more dynamic and showing various types of chemistry throughout. However, during the collaborative task when we were sharing our ideas to enhance the scene, not everyone shared their ideas or they had a creative block, so in the future I am going to suggest that we play a creative game to get our minds more focused and generated.

Workshop 22- Discovering my costume for my character Alexis.

During this workshop I worked on my characterization for my character to gain a deeper insight into her personality.

My character, Alexis, is a very lighthearted girl with high ambitions to stop violent protests. I wanted to be able to represent this clearly through her costume. I worked collaboratively with my director, Shae, by creating a mood board of the type of aesthetic my character is so that I could draw inspiration for her costume.

This was extreamly effective as I was successfully able to find the best color's that would coordinate with my character the best. For example, I found that light color's such as blue and pink really matched my character bubbly personality.

I also worked collaboratively when trying to find an idea for my characters costume by working with my director and seeing her understanding of what vision she had for my character. She thought it would be best if my character had a 'clean girl aesthetic' to her as she is quite a light-hearted girl who is bubbly and I wanted to be able to show that through her clothes.

From this, I personally got the idea that she wears brightly colored clothes who is quite clean and will dress up smart with her hair all neat to, to give the impression to the audience that on the outside she has everything figured it out but on the inside she is hurting especially with the loss of their friend, Jordan Anderson.

Filming the podcast scene for 'The Protest'

In my opinion, I believe that filming this one shot went very well as we were able to get all of the filming done on time making it a fast and easy process for us.

Throughout this process I majorly worked collaboratively with others by making sure that we were all responsible for being on time and bringing all our props so that we could begin the filming process as quick as possible so there were no delays for the first AD and director. This was done successfully as everyone did turn up on time which was shown on the call sheets, making the filming efficient and quick.

Throughout the filming for the podcast scene, I personally thought that I embodied my character, Alexis Yung, very well as I focused n portraying her voice with a lot of expression and quirkiness as you could not see her face but her voice in the podcast, so I did focus a lot of my energy on her voice.

I was fortunately given feedback from my director for this scene that I did present her voice very expressively. However, my director did say that it would of been more effective if I interacted with my other cast throughout the scene a lot more to show more of a bond and connection between them.

Personally, I felt that the filming of this scene was done very effectively and efficient as it was filmed in one take with no mistakes and it did really feel like we were all talking in a podcast because of how casual the filming was. We were able to set our camera up on a tripod, which was shot in three different angles. Our black magic camera was effective with showing the quality of us and also the lighting in the shot film, which made it appear a lot more professional. After our filming, we were all able to edit the three different angles and create our scene to add onto the end of 'The Protest'.

Final performance

To market my performance, I will create a 30-second-long advert to show the viewers a small snippet of 'The Protest' and what happens in the podcast scene which I am in.

I will be using a video syndication service like Adobe advertising which allows me to have my trailer appealing so that the viewers do not get bored with in the first five seconds of the video.

During the promotional period of 'The Protest' gave me a chance to also watch over the podcast scene and evaluate my own performance as a whole. This allowed me to look at what I could improve and how I could possibly do things differently like my acting techniques in the future to make it even better and professional.

Screening and audience feedback H22.3

After the screening of our project, 'The Protest', we were fortunately given audience feedback on our characters that we performed as.

For instance, some positive feedback that I received was that I was able to portray my character, Alexis, with meaning and show how lighthearted of a character she is as you could see how different her personality was to her triplets in the podcast scene who are quiet down characters. I did this by saying my lines with meaning and twisting the way I say them to sound more like how Alexis would say them rather than how the lines look on paper. This allowed an element of personality to shine through my character.

We worked collaboratively during our screening and audience feedback as the viewers were able to give our performances critique's as well as what we did well. A critique that I received was that I should put more thought into my characters costume as I just wore black which did not show my characters personality and in fact did the complete opposite. So, in the future I need to make sure I spend more time on the characterization of my characters costume.

Overall, watching my performance, I believe that I could have worked more on my characters physicality to make her seem livelier and warmer as I did notice that during the podcast, I did not move any of my arms or move a lot. So, in the future I need to work on my characterization exercises in more depth so that I can understand the way my characters body would move in certain situations rather than her not moving at all.

More screening and audience feedback

Feedback: " An entertaining and dynamic film that explores an interesting concept and displays a range of characters and relationships"

"Interesting plot"

"Sound was clearly an issue when watching"

Overall, these comments received by the audience was very successful in showing us performers what we can improve on in the future. For example, I believe that we should watch over the first take of our scenes before finishing so that we can make sure that the audio/sound is up to standard and will not slow down the post-production phase, slowing down the screening. Moreover, I also think that

H20/21/22 PowerPoint

Presentation h20 - Copy4.odp