Rebecca Barrett - TV Production blog

In our first workshop of the year, we were given the chance to work with the new Sony A7 cameras and test them out, as well as see how to work them. Unfortunately the file size is too big, possible because I my have been recording for too long, but in this  recording test I did which had the focus adjusted so Sam and Logan where the focus (sharpest) images, while the tables and background were slightly blurred to given more attention to the two of them. It was a lot of fun to test these cameras out, as well seeing the quality they have compared to the other cameras we have previously used, as well as tis, we also learn't that they have capabilities for slow motion and low light, which can look incredible when done right.

As a result of lockdown, it meant I had to work entirely from home to get this unit down. Luckily for my role in this unit, a screenwriter, I wasn't affected too much as I was only writing (something which could easily be done from a laptop - unlike filming). . Throughout writing the script, I feel like I have shown the creative side of myself as I have not only taken the source material (the book) and placed it onto the script, but I have also added m own creative flair with it and given it my envisioning, something which I enjoy a lot about screenwriter, is that you are in control of how you envision the scene to be, and so you can show that to anyone who may read it. I also find it easier to communicate ideas of scenes more effectively than just explaining it, as screenwriting can also be a visual aid to the reader. Also a result of it being a script and not a filmed piece, I have sent a PDF to my tutor as I am unable to attach it here.

Vision statement For this unit, my project will be a 20-page script adaptation of the book ‘Learning Not To Drown’ by Anna Shinoda and it will show the aftermath of the confrontation between Clare and her brothers Peter and Luke as well as Peter revealing the history of Luke's imprisonment. I am creating a script for this as I am a big fan of the book as Anna has based this book on her personal experiences of her childhood as her brother was actually in and out of jail. I also enjoy writing scripts and adapting books or other source material into scripts. If this was turned into a film (even though I am just writing the script) it was would be aimed at a teen and adult audience as that is also the audience that Anna intended for her book. Of course, films have age ratings, unlike books. So, if this was to be made into a film, I would have to look at giving it probably a 12 rating as I don't want to be higher, in case I cut off quite a large chunk of my audience, but I

What does it mean to be a screenwriter in the industry? As a screenwriter, it is our job to write our own or other people’s ideas into a script, which would be taken into production to be turned into either a TV series of a film. We prepare our work in a way that “enables readers to envisage the setting, emotion and the way it will work on screen.” (Screenskills, 2020)   We also work together with the producers, directors and even actors to draft and redraft the script, often involving tight deadlines. Define the skill and its responsibilities in relation to the kind of production you are proposing. In order to become a screenwriter, you must be creative, if you aren’t, then ideas you have either won’t be conveyed in the way you want it to, or they won’t be written at all. Of course, creativity is not the most important skill in becoming a screenwriter, although it is a large part of screenwriting is based off of creativity. Being able to write and understand a screenplay i

Mood Boards VT Scripts: Storyboards:

What went well? After our jobs were decided myself and Sydney got together to first create the style bible for the show, this consisted of us creating the color scheme and fonts that would be used for the show. This went very well and we worked together really well, which gave both of us great chemistry for working together. Although I was in the graphics team, I didn't know how to create graphics as I had never used photoshop before, luckily, Sydney taught me and within a day I knew how to use the basic elements of Photoshop. Something which I've now downloaded at home and plan to use for my future projects, even after I leave uni. What didn't go well? Nothing really on the production side of graphics went wrong. We had a few stressful weeks towards the end of pre-production as some of the meetings we had with producers weren't clear enough or felt like we were going around in circles for a while, but we all worked through it as a team and we were able to create

For our test shoot, we did a simple staging shoot. This was done with Charley being our director, Ethan, Aodhan, James and Jack being our crew and myself, Sydney, Alyssa and Katie being the stand-ins. For this shoot, we did a basic version of the first act, which would be a test quiz in the bar, to earn some gold as part of the 'game'. It took about 15/20 minutes to set up the light and cameras and then 10/15 minutes to mark out the set on the floor as we had a very limited area. As stand-ins for the contestants, myself, Alyssa and Katie were not given a script (as that ould have the answers to the questions), whereas Reuben was as he played Malaghast. Sydney was also not given a script and was just told to improv as a barman (which meant just pretending to clean an invisible bar). From this experience as being a stand-in, I learned about how much work goes into blocking and rehearsing even a simple quiz scene, even with only a few cameras and lights as well as a non-exis

For our production, I was in the Graphics team with Sydney and our first task was to develop a style guide. This style guide is important to every aspect of the show, as not only will it give us colors for our characters, but also the fonts and logo ideas that we are going for with the show. This initial style bible wasn't discussed with the rest of the production team (including the producers). Myself and Sydney first came up with the color scheme for the logo, through basing it off of the original logo we were given, we decided on gold for our logo color. While we could have gone for orange like the logo was n the beginning, we decided to go for gold as that was a more common color during the Medieval times (in the world the game show is set). The next task we set ourselves was deciding on the color scheme for the show itself - the sets and characters. For the set design, we decided on mute yet realistic colors for all three sets, just so it would make sure that the cha

Research the Floor Manager hand signals and learn them.  Research the Sony MVS-6530 vision mixing desk and learn about keys and keying graphics on the screen. The Sony vision mixing desk comes is “a three mix effect (M/E) switcher with four keyers on each bus and eight keyers on the PP row.” (2020) Find out how to make a lower third graphics with an associated ALPHA channel. Then find out how we send this to the vision mixing desk (luminance, linear, chroma keys) When creating a lower third, the ALPHA channel is used to ‘key certain parts out certain portions of your graphics.’ (Hurguy, 2011), This is often shown as the keyed out part of an image being white and where there is black, is where the video will show through. Research TV sound audio mixing, find out what a PPM is and what it is used for with regard to audio monitoring. A PPM (known as a ‘Portable Programme Meter’) is used to measure how many

One of the shows I decided to look into for analysis was ‘Jungle Run’ a CITV show that ran from 1999 to 2006. This show followed three players as they work together to collect silver monkey statues in order to collect the grand prize: the Golden Monkey Statue. I decided to look at this show as I felt it fit the kind of tone and style of the show we were producing ‘Quest’. In Jungle Run, the host, Chris Jarvis , was, at times nice towards the contestants, however, due to his role as the Jungle Guide, he could quite tough and shouty at times. I feel this fits well with the character of Malaghast, our wizard who is our host and guide in this adventure. He is also quite pushy and harsh towards the contestants, a lot more than Chris Jarvis , but this is in tone with the show, much how Chris is with Jungle Run. The show also has the team of three contestants make their way through several puzzles to progress into the final round, where they have a time limit to collect all th

For Sydney’s idea of ‘Cheat Box’ we did our own research into similar shows that could influence ours. For myself, I decided to watch ‘Would I Lie To You?’, this show (aired on BBC One)   shows two teams going against one another as “are telling true stories from their weird and wonderful lives, or spinning a tall tale based on a lie given to them by the production team ” (Fullerton, 2016). The bit about the production team interested me as I always thought the guest made up their own lies, rather than a lie being handed to them. The host, Rob Brydon, is someone who seems to be straight to the point, yet clear and witty, being able to hold the audience. These were the kind of elements we were looking for in a host, someone who could hold the audience while also being engaging and captivating: “ H e’s a light entertainment fixture and cheeriness personified. ” (Preston, 2012) This quote tells us that Rob is the kind of guy for our show as our show is all about being enter

Video script: Risk assessments:

What went well? Shortly after our briefing, I went back to the messages Sebastian, which reminded me about a music video he was looking for someone to do to, and, as this was a unit where this would fit in, I decided to do it. As with commission, it was about what the client wanted, I asked Sebastien what ideas he wanted for the video, and after he gave me some thoughts about his vision, I took them further and created both a video script and storyboard. I showed him the video script at first to make sure he was happy with the detailed ideas I had come up with for the video. The story I had created was a girl who was suffering from mental health issues, who after a final straw, took her own life and ended in purgatory where she meets death, embracing him and accepting her own passing. However, we also both decided that the video wouldn't be too explicit in showing her passing away as we didn't want to video to trigger anyone. These ideas went really well with the briefi

Music video analysis: 'A narrative music video tells a story, logically or sequentially through a chain of events that are put together to run parallel to each other.' - (2014) For my music video analysis, I took a look at three different narrative music videos to help me create an idea or structure about the video I had to make. For my first analysis, I decided to pick my first video as 'Lost in the Echo' by Linkin Park. This was the video I picked as the way in which it was filmed was similar to the video I was making, in the way that it focused on performance or a story and didn't include the band singing or performing themselves. Screenshot from the video The video itself tells the story of a 'post-apocolyptic world' where 'photos don't exist anymore' (Wallace, 2012) a lone man with a briefcase walks through ruined buildings and distributes photos to numerous people within those buildings. The video then shows each of the p

Getting my commission: For this project, I initially began thinking about it back in September when our uni briefs came through. But I got a message from Sebastien Hal, who I now work for, that reminded me that he was still interested in having me create a music video for him. I was asked by Sebastien back in June 2019 by the leader and audio editor of the online animation studio, asking if I would be interested in creating a music video for him for a song he had already created. This song is called Nemophilist. This song follows the story of a young girl who has dreams of escaping from her reality as it is a nightmare, where she finds a forest, which becomes her escape. As said above, he reached out to me as he knew I was proud of advocating for mental health and wanting to change the conversation around it. I knew straight away that it was something I wanted to do as mental health is an extremely close and personal topic to me. I replied back that I was happy to do it,