I started out being the only one on my team, not knowing anyone. It was a bit difficult for me to find my place among people, but I found that people treated me nice and in general wanted to get to know me. I've been a bit scared about comming to another country, and start over from the begining knowing new people and getting to know them, but as far I feel I have started to progress. Roddy Gibbon had us do studiowork for the Middlesex Now Shows, which I found very interesting.
The Middlesex Now
We were given specific roles from Roddy, and in my case I was going to be a cameraman on one show, and a VT operator on the other. I had taken a tutorial on how to operate on both roles, but the whole thing was a bit scary at first.
Preparing for the first show
The first show I thought went well. We we operating on the cameras provided by Uni - the Sony XD Cam. The camera is particularly good for broadcasting, because of the high frame rate and in general the camera lives up to the broadcasting standard set by the BBC. I quickly found, that one I got to know my way around the camera, I automatic started to feel more confident about my work. Also, this was my first production ever, so I wanted to do a good job. I found out, that doing a good job is not something you can manage to do on your own when you're working on a team that shows up late, and expect to get good roles in the production. I also found, that being a director might be harder than I thought, since there were a lot of swearing and inappropriate use of the word "shit". Once in a while, I caught myself thinking "Who are these kindergarden kids I'm putting my faith into?", and all in all people acted really childish in the studio. That said, I thought my progress expanded further, because I learned a lot about the angles of the camera, and how you're supposed to frame an interview. I found that my framing was too profile-ish, and that the whole thing was looking rather bad on screen. I did a little research into the framing, and found that it is unacceptable to frame only one eye of the person you are filming (link 1, nd). Anyway, there is always room for improvement.
The Sony XD Cam (Pic 1)
The second show for Middlesex Now came out a lot better than the first one. For this show I was a VT Operator, and I got to work with another TVP Tech Arts guy by the name of Gavin. Gavin had some experience in the whole VT genre, and through out the day, we had a good teamwork going! Our main thing to do, was to make sure the cut-ins were playing at the right time in the show, and that went really well. Our timing was good, and there was a more professional atmosphere and tone through put the production. I actually felt really happy with the result afterwards. Actually so happy, that I went with the other guys from the production to the nearest pub! Finally I felt like I was making some progress in my studies, considered that when I came to England, I had never done anything like this before! I can't say it's easy work, but as long as you're felling that everyone is on a professional level, and really want to do the tasks they have been asked to do insted of having a "I can't be bothered" attitude, the production flows a lot easier, and the whole production-flow starts to get really fun!
Gavin operating in the VT Room
Internet Sources:
Link 1, ND - http://ohda.matrix.msu.edu/2012/08/quick-tips-for-better-interview-video/
Pictures:
Pic 1 - Sony XD Cam - http://simonwyndham.co.uk/assets/images/reviews/pdw-f330/body.jpg
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