Autocue and Presentation

For the last two weeks on Fridays we had been doing presentations on specific jobs in the broadcasting industry. These were recorded on the Sony HDV Z1 and we used two lamps to light the presenter correctly. We had to write the presentation on the job and give it in a electronic format so that it can be loaded up onto the autocue and laptop. We were organised into pairs for this so we all had a go at presenting and technical experience behind the camera by operating the autocue. My presentation was on the cameraman. http://www.divshare.com/download/6276932-aef

Eric the Cameraman

Eric Hoyton is a cameraman who has done work on programmes including Dr Who Confidential, Eating with the enemy and various adverisments. When Eric came in to talk to us he tried to hammer home the point that being a cameraman requires you to be very imaginitive and be able to improvise on the spot. Eric told us that the working day of a cameraman can frequently be as long as 12 hours or maybe longer on some occasions. As a freelance cameraman, nearly all the jobs are at the last minute and you will never know till then what or where the job is. This was of partitular interest to me because this is what I would love to be once I have finished my degree. He demonstrated that the cameraman has to be able to learn quickly when he was presented with the Sony HDV Z1 which was brought up for him to use. He admitted he had never worked with that camera model before. This act allowed him to demostrate the basic skills needed for when he works with a camera he has never used before.

Visit of Paul Applebee

Paul Applebee has been a producer for the BBC for the last 25 years, working on many projects such as the Saving Planet Earth series and was the first employer of Susan. When Paul came to speak to us it was mostly about Interactive Broadcasting, as he seem to be driven a lot by the experince of the audience and is interested in how the interactive mediums of broadcasting are involving the public more in making choices in programming.

When Paul was asked about the transformation of broadcasting, he replied with how he saw the changes as evolutionary. The format is used until it becomes the standard, then over time it is adapted as the situation changes and then the newer format is used more and more often till it is the standard. After more changes the program is adapted in another way and so the process is constently in motion, much like evolution, but it always keeps it roots in one way or another. This fact is used as an arguement against the opinion by some that television is going to disappear.

Random Video of the week!!!

I have decided to spice up my blog by adding a random video of the week I found on youtube. This weeks random video is Shut Me Up by Punk/Rock band Mindless Self Indulgence. Hope you enjoy!

Personal Learning

On Friday we had a session about Notebooks and The Futurists. I already knew a little about them but the lecturer covered the painters rather than the musicians such as Luigi and Antonio Russolo. On my previous course I had a lecture about the Russolo brothers and Dadaists such as Kurt Schwitters. The Futurists and the Dadaists were all about the new and getting away from the norms and traditions.

The Real Nicholas White Interview

On the 24th of October, several of us had a phone interview with Mark Fox who is an experenced editor who has edited programs such as Big Cat Diary and Heatwave. While other members of the group were taking their turns to interview, we had a showreel to watch which highlighted some of the projects that he had worked on. After we had finished the phone interviews a producer and director called Nicholas White came in to talk to us about what he does and his experinces in the multimedia industry. When we asked him questions he give us a lot of detail and explained everything relevant to that question and subject. One thing he brought up every chance he got was that you have to have social skills in this industry. He seems to have a quite relaxed leadership style, and would tell whoever he is working with what he wants and lets the person use thier own skills and creativity to give the required outcome. I'm going to upoad the interviews onto here soon.

Radio Package

This is my first attempted for a radio program, this one is all about poetry and opions on poetry, including a small sextion of Howl by Allen Ginsberg