Module/Group Thoughts and Evaluation

Overall this module has gone really well and I am pleased with the whole groups weekly improvements and development both in terms of the production and team work. At first I was a bit worried about working in such a big group of people but after settling down in the studio/gallery and getting to know how each other work this became a lot less daunting.

After the role decisions I got the role of Producer which was nominated by the group without my say to begin with and I can honestly say I am glad they did so. My role basically is the over see the whole production to make sure all that all goes to plan and to keep the whole process running smoothly. Also to communicate well with the group and creatively think how to plan the production, negotiating and playing around with ideas and bringing the whole production under a costly budget and if not raising the funds to do so. I think that I have proved myself to myself and the rest of the group that I can take the role under my control and perceive it well. I was constantly in communication with the group whether this was through e-mail, Facebook, Ringing or Texting. I have listened and taken in everyone’s different ideas and tried to bring everyone’s thoughts together to create the ultimate programme that each of us wanted to create. I dealt with budget for set and general costliness of the production and each team member gave £3 so that as a grand total we had £48 to work with, which was very well estimated. Not only have I taken my role under my wing and made the most of the role I got and enjoyed doing so, I also helped with numerous other peoples rolls to ensure that the task that they were given, or in some cases those who did not live up to their rolls, made decisions for them also due to their inability to turn up to meetings or lack of input into the group for that particular aspect they were nominated to work on.

I have had such a big part in the teams progression in terms of the production and have worked closely with namely Mick, James and Lydia in particular in some of the decisions that had to be made without necessarily approaching the whole group and this was down to peoples individual roles and them not taking the opportunity for fulfil them meaning that added pressure was put on the group. This was mostly found in the set and lighting department and graphics where on group discussion days the people under this title did not make any suggestions neither help 100% with the overall development of this section. Quite early on I brought up in a group discussion about set because it was important we started to think about colours and bring in set so that the lights could be well rehearsing and the cameras would be well-practiced moving them around to light the studio correctly. As a group decision we thought about using wallpaper and after shopping around patterned paper was too busy therefore we had to have a re-think. This was open for the whole group yet Yidan on set design still did not come up with anything and it came down to a brain wave from Lydia and development by me and Kirsty that the actual set design came about. After pitching this to the group we went and bought the paint and all the equipment we needed ready to paint the following day. Again for the preparation Yidan was not there but joined in on painting the set on one day. This was similarly the case with the lighting and each time in the studio it would be a mentor or another member of the group who would deal with the block lighting and shadows instead of her even when asked/reminded to do so.The graphics were another issue and after time and time again asking for them to practice with it came down to the final rehearsal and they were in the wrong format. So at this point Me and Mick made an executive decision that the credits we would do ourselves as they were important to wrap up the programme properly and the titles assistant graphic designer Alex had already done to our delight. Also the ident was a ‘no show’ and the name inserts too which with so much to do prior to the day of recording and only one day to go we had a talk and thought that they would be re-saved over night. However when we came back in the next day they still had not been changed and when we tried to key the background out on the vision mixing desk the whole image went grey or colours from the set disappeared too with the colours on the image being so similar. Then Me and Mick had to make the final decision of not to use them which was disappointing that we could not rely on a group member who job was only to do them to complete them. This was also the case with the fashion item where the script was not properly written until the week before and we thought about using our back-up item and scrapping the fashion due to it not been written. However it was eventually and when Karine went through this her mannerisms were all wrong and the cheery presenter was not which then caused a few more problems and we suggested she learnt her script and came back in fresh the next day.

When in the studio 99% of the time there was full attendance from all (not including the mentors) which was brilliant as it meant that the group could work together in a much closer fashion. This was organised by me and my mailing the group system where each day I would send an e-mail to the whole group letting them know what was to be done, when the next meeting was and who was to attend at what time (this was applicable when we split in to small groups for VT’s). Then those who could not attend would reply to my message or text me. This was fine in the beginning and for all studio sessions like I said 99% of the time there was full attendance however during the last 3 weeks less and less people started turning up to group meetings which meant that decisions had to be made without them and in fact some ended up having a lot more input into the production than others.

Although there were a few mishaps with certain members in the group I am proud to say that the overall outcome of our Magazine Programme was just how I had imagined it. In fact the team work was really good too and communication through Mick directing and Lydia floor managing could not have been better both during a take and after who acted as the guides for the rest of the team in the gallery and studio, which I over saw and never once was there a problem with this. I also felt that the cameras worked well together creating different shots particularly on items like fashion and the music performance because there would be so many different shots to choose from each of them working really well. Also the sound team Nasiso and Brian were great at their jobs and once the sound was set up they slipped into place which allowed for the smooth flow and communication skills throughout the programmes takes both at the beginning and for the final one.