Interview

Yesterday, I had sent off my portfolio to Anglia Ruskin to go along with my application around 12:30 during my lunch hour. Two hours later I had an email inviting me for an interview. The interview is on the 3rd of May at 10:20 with the course tutor Robert Klenner as well as the Senior Lecturer for the Film and Television course; finding that out has really turned my tummy I know that this is 6 weeks away but I'm already incredibly nervous! I really want to get an offer or something for this course. I hope they like me. I'm going to have to start preparing now for this interview, although I have no idea what sorts of things they will be asking me about which will make it difficult.

You can view my submissions by looking at my other posts that have the portfolio tag. 

Gone so young

Last summer my dad took us to the Binham Priory which is partly church ruins. I went out to the graveyard on my own and there was an area of overgrown grass of which I found this grave stone. Broke my heart.

'In the Memory of
Emma Elizabeth
The beloved child of Robert and Susan Smith
Who fell asleep in Jesus
October 3rd 1874
Aged 5 years
and 9 months'

Svengali

'The movie tells the story of Dixie, a small town guy with a big dream, leaving the Welsh Valleys for the bright lights of London intent on becoming the manager of the best band in the world. The film is still in the process of being filmed and editing; a release date has not yet been revealed. Svengali is a feel good British comedy with the soundtrack to match.'

The film is currently still at the filming stage but editing will start taking place in the next 2-3 months. 

Director: John Hardwich
Actor/Writer/Producer: Jonny Owen
Actor: Martin Freeman
Actress: Vicky McClure

Here are some links to check out and find out more information about the film:
Official website: http://svengalimovie.com/
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2262175/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/svengalipage
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SvengaliMovie
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/svengalimovie
Tumblr: http://www.svengalimovie.tumblr.com
Google+ : http://www.gplus.to/SvengaliMovie
First webisode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZaYParM3im4

Keep checking back for updates as I will be posting more about this. Share it around and let's get a hyper going.

Portfolio: Final Storyboard

As you may have read on the last post, I submitted my portfolio this afternoon. These photos are screen shots of the final storyboard that I submitted. Fingers crossed, eh? I've already got an email back saying that they will be inviting me for an interview soon. I'm already nervous and I don't even have a date for the interview! 

Portfolio: Essay

As you may have read I had to submit an essay as part of my portfolio to Anglia Ruskin. This is the essay that I sent off this afternoon.

'The documentary I watched was I’m in a boy band on BBC 3 because it appeals to a wide audience and is linked to music. It was about the experiences a boy gains when he is a boy band member. The audience is drawn in from the start; this is executed by a humorous analogy of boy band members as creations of God. The programme used interviews of past and present boy band members giving an anecdotic insight into the life of a member. Archive footage from concerts of various bands was used which allowed the viewer to relive the events they may have been a part of; I found this to be my favourite feature as this connected the viewer to the programme. The programme made use of quick-paced editing which was effective because it engaged the viewer’s attention through cutting between clips of concert footage, interviews and music videos. Whilst this made for stimulating television, a weakness of the production was the lack of variety in camera angles.  On the whole though, the documentary was informative and an enjoyable viewing experience.

I think that a good documentary should be both informative, entertaining and, where appropriate, aesthetically pleasing. Viewers’ emotions must be taken into account throughout the programme and the narrative should strive to create empathy with the subject. A variety of angles and shots can help to tell the story effectively.

If I was making a documentary, I would aim to use humour, drama, music and sound effects to enhance the narrative. However, while the above are important, I would strive to let the camera tell the story through a wide variety of footage, in order to maximise the viewing experience.'

Portfolio: Shot 10

Portfolio: Shot 9

Portfolio: Shot 8

Portfolio: Shot 7

Portfolio: Shot 6

Portfolio: Shot 5

Portfolio: Shot 4

Portfolio: Shot 3

Portfolio Shots

The photos that follow this post will be photos I took last week on Friday for my university portfolio submission. Some shots have more than one photo because I wanted to have a choice. 

Portfolio: Shot 2

Portfolio: Shot 1

Challenge

I was reading an article on the Daily Mail website, which you can read here. The article is about a family where the parents are both carriers of the gene that causes albinism. There was a one in 4 chance of their children having albinism but three of their five children were born with albinism; they also adopted a little girl from India. Now, one of the children is Amy who was declared legally blind. Today Amy is a mother, wife and a photographer. There was a link to here blog which you will find here. Amy is doing a 1,000 day challenge which is where she has taken a photo a day but 1,000 days; she's nearly finished with this challenge. This has inspired me to take the challenge on myself. With circumstances at the moment this is not actually possible because I do have exams to focus on. This means that I'm going to keep this challenge in mind, possibly start this off during the summer once I've broken up from college. This should keep me occupied. 1,000 days worth of photos, each having to be pretty different. I think it is a challenge I will be accepting as my love for photograph will definitely flourish. Gives me a reason to get off the sofa and get outside!

Sunny day

Here's a couple of photos Adam took of me today. He isn't too bad with a camera, eh? I would much rather be on the other side of the lens but never-mind. I'm loving the sunshine!

Dog is a man's bestfriend

The weather today was absolutely gorgeous! It must have been around 17 degrees today, if not higher. The sun was shining and it was nice and hot sitting in the sun. I could not pass up the opportunity to take photos of Adam and Mungo. Both gorgeous beings.

'Dogs are miracles with paws'

-Attributed to Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy

Mungo

This is Mungo, one of the most gorgeous black labradors out there. I absolutely adore him!

Portfolio: Gang photos

These are some group shots of Vanessa's gang. I had asked the girls to wear dark clothing and make-up, I loved how they had interpreted what I said. Veronika would play a great girl gang leader, she definitely has that look about her. I think the choice of gang members is a good mix because each girl looks like they're their own person although they are part of one group.

Portfolio: Cast photos

The girls who have volunteered to be my cast are in year 9 which means they are 14/15 years old.

Head shot: Veronika

Character shot

Head shot: Alejandra

Character shot

Head shot: Luca

Character shot

Head shot: Marta

Character shot

Head shot: Helena

Character shot

Portfolio: Characters

Rosaline: A young girl who is quite shy and timid.

Vanessa: A rebelious young girl, around the same age as Rosaline. Leader of the dominant girl group of boarding.

Clarissa: A girl who is Vanessa's messenger, does whatever Vanessa tells her to do.

Portfolio: Delay

I've had to delay taking the photographs for my University application. This is because one of the girls who told me that she would help out last weekend was actually away on a CCF trip. I am going to take the photos tomorrow afternoon after school. I shall be spending my evening coming up with the final plans and making notes on the exact shots I want. 

Portfolio - Location Shots

Girl's boarding corridor

Portfolio: The weekend

This weekend I plan on taking the photographs that I need to create my storyboard for the portfolio. I'll be spending the next few days creating and developing the characters, how they should look like and what they'd be like. I'll be doing this so that the cast will know what kind of a person their character is so that they will be able to play the part better. Even though I will only be photographing them, they still need to be in character. I plan on spending Saturday drawing sketches for the storyboard and then spend a majority of Sunday afternoon taking photos. Sunday evening will most likely be spent editing those photos taken earlier on in the day. 

Portfolio: Story

Seeing as the requirement for the portfolio is that the storyboard is of a narrative drama, I've decided to take a Skins take on this, also I am currently attending a boarding school. Being at this location gives me an advantage that many girls are full time boarders and therefore are around in the evenings and are willing to take part. The story is from the girls' point of view and what may happen which people may think only happens in the male side of boarding school. None of this happens here though.

Story:
A girl, Rosaline, arrives at a boarding school, brand new. She is greeted by Matron, a woman who looks after you, and is taken up to her room. As she's walking down the corridor with Matron there is a girl, Vanessa, down the corridor watching them. They enter her  room which is very bare and quite uncomfortable because it is rather empty, with exception of a desk, bed and a wardrobe. Matron leaves Rosaline to sort her things out. Rosaline sits on her bed looking around the room and then a girl, Clarissa, takes her by the arm and pulls her off the bed, taking her to Vanessa's room. In this room there are cups lined up on the desk with a bottle of alcohol at the end of this line of 10 cups, or a water bottle with water that's supposed to be vodka. There's a group of girls standing against the wall opposite to the desk, arms crossed with a smug look on their faces. The reason why there are cups on the desk is that Rosaline needs to prove that she's worthy enough to be part of Vanessa's gang and not be picked on for the duration of her time at the boarding school. Rosaline starts to drink the alcohol in the cups and it goes right through her system as she's quite a small girl. As she gets towards the 7th cup the alcohol is starting to get to her system. Vanessa then assists Rosaline by holding her head back by pulling on her back and forcing her to open her mouth. Vanessa pours the alcohol into Rosaline's mouth. Matron walks in when Rosaline is taking her last cup of alcohol. Matron pulls Rosaline out of Vanessa's room by her arm and that is when Rosaline is sick right by Matron's shoes.

This may not be the most complicated of story lines but it has potential. It is easy to picture but being able to take photos capturing the facial expressions and the actions could be challenging. The smug looks, the scowl, the fear etc. 

Music video feedback

Last night at 9PM GMT I posted the music video for Dreaming of Yesterday's Answer Machine online for the world to see.In just under 12 hours the video has gotten 47 views and 5 likes. Not bad in my opinion. 


I've sent a link to a couple of band members, Ethan Rose from The Summer Switch gave me some feedback today. 
'Vocals could have synced a little better when they were outside singing, but that's minor. As far as the song goes, it's too long and a little repetitive but not bad at all, talented guys. The lyrics are a little cliche but it works. I like the performance shots, and the black and white, and slow downed shots were nice. It's hard making this storyline credible with young actors but I understand you're limited. But the editing was pretty solid, cuts were smooth, transitions were nice. Overall productions was real nice. Good job'


Jordan from Bow in Astoria said:
'Watched the video and it is really good :) I was very impressed :o GOOD WORK!!!!! :)'


Some feedback from other people:


'Great stuff guys, keep it up :D'
'My room mate and I watched it. We both liked it. He said that he'd listen to them and he only listens to rap and dubstep'
'My son's first music video with his mate Ryan Bosley. Can't wait for more to come. In the summer perhaps?'


People have been sharing the video round which is good, very happy.


I'm really pleased with that feedback. I shot the footage for the video on the 15th of February and was able to release it on the 9th of March, so that's under a month of editing. Also had to create an album cover (front and back) as well as a poster so this means I wasn't totally focused on the video.


I'm hoping that I'll be making more music videos or even short films in the near future! This was too much fun not to do it again, granted it was stressful and frustrating but the feedback makes it all worth it!

Final A2 Media Studies Music Video

This is the music video for Dreaming of Yesterday's Answer Machine that I produced for my A2 Media Studies coursework.

Check out their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/dreamingofyesterdayband and their YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/theDOYband

Portfolio task: The beginning

I've decided that I want to study Film and Television Production at university. This interest was brought on by my passion for photography and working on my Media Studies coursework. For my application, a portfolio is required and one of the tasks is '10 photographic stills which form a narrative for a drama'. I've decided that I'm really going to go for this project. I'm going to blog about each step I'll be taking from the location shots, to the cast photos to the finished photos. I'll be writing a mini synopsis, creating a sketch storyboard, speaking to potential cast, taking location photos, costumes and then the photographic storyboard. This will be done within the next two weeks. Best get started now! Watch this space! 

Nails

I like painting my nails. I use a combination of nail varnish and acrylic paint. 

Life's not all what it seems

There isn't much I want to say about this photograph. His eyes are open which I found a little odd as he did go in to kiss her but I may have caught him at the wrong time. They weren't too happy about me taking a photo I don't think because she gave me a funny look when they turned around to continue their artistic journey.

I suppose what I like its that both love and hate feature in the photograph; love being the love between the couple and hate being the two birds pinned against the wall with arrows. Thinking about it, the way that I've interpreted this piece of art is that its the opposite of life. What grabs your attention when you see this is the fact that the birds are dead due to the fact that they've been struck by arrows. Once you get over the initial shock, you then notice the drawing of the buildings in the background. We always notice buildings around us but we don't see the destruction that we're doing; we may think we're doing the best and have the best intentions at heart but we need to look at the wider scheme of things.

Mirror, mirror on the wall..

Standing on the other side of the corridor at the Tate and watching people pass this mirror amused me. This is purely because a lot of people seemed to stop, look at themselves and adjust their image. I said to Adam, I bet the next woman who passes the mirror will fix herself; which of course did happen, she fussed with her hair and make-up and then carried on. I think having just a mirror on the wall is actually a clever idea, as I said in one of my earlier posts, 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. Beauty is all around us, even within ourselves; we just need to find it.

Little photographer

In one of the rooms at the Tate Museum this little girl was going around with, what I presume was her parent's, digital camera. She was taking photos of all the pieces of art, crouching down to get a better photos; possibly because she didn't know how to use the zoom. I'm not too sure whether this piece of 'artwork' can really be called art but it was being exhibited so it must be. The simplicity of this photo is what catches my eye; also the fact that this little girl was so keen on getting as many photos as possible. I love seeing younger people take an interest, especially in something that I share the same interest in. Saying young people makes me feel old. 

Art knows no age

I have already posted a photo of this piece of art but it was this little girl. Prior to taking this photo I had tried taking a photo of a mother talking to her daughter about it but it didn't come out too well. However, this one was perfect. You can see the thoughtful and puzzled look on this little girl's face. I'm not entirely sure what she was doing at the museum as it is not a place where children would normally go as they tire their parents very quickly if they're bored. I stood in the corner of the room and watched people trying to capture their reactions as they came across this particular piece of artwork but I think this is the best one I was able to capture.

Stairs

When you walk into this room at the Tate Museum there is a slight pink tint to the room and you look up and this is what you see. It's mesh fabric make into stairs going up to the floor above; the detail on this is incredible. A fuse box, a pipe, the banister, the switch, it was all there. This is as if you've got x-ray vision that's red as you are able to see through the ceiling/floor and there's all the detail of the banisters up at the top. Simple yet complicated at the same time.