DVD Authoring evaluation

DVD Authoring evaluation

To start this project I had to design some menus that would be a plan for making the menus themselves. When it came to the planning stage I looked at other DVDs which were both professionally made and made by other students in the past. After looking at the other menus and deciding what menus I can make given my skills with Photoshop, Encore and Premiere pro. In the end I decided on simple designs which would be enough to look professional and enough to get me the grade that I wanted.

I started by making a flowchart of what I wanted to create. The flowchart was going to map out my DVD and show me where everything would go for example I devised my scene selection into 5 different points and then decided what times they would match up with on the film and subsequently on the DVD.  The flowchart was going to have a few changes here and there by the time I’d finished the project and I would add any changes at the end.

Once my flowchart was finished I then decided to sketch out my designs onto a piece of A4 which will be used as evidence. My drawing skills aren’t great but I still know that my drawings are accurate and anyone can tell what I’m trying to make at the end of the project. To start I drew my DVD cover which would consist of the main image on the front and back with the two images being cut by the spine which I struggled for a design for so I settled on black and that meant that I kept an colour scheme going although it was dull to just keep a black spine but yellow and black seemed to work.

 

Then I worked on my DVD menu and this meant also working out which image I would put on the background and then work out what button would go where. I began by putting the picture which I had used on the front cover on my DVD as the menu screen.  The picture would feature the name of the film on the top with the options to play, go to scene selection and then to the extras below it and that seemed to work because it kept the screen tidy and in order.

I started the DVD label last because it seemed like the easiest thing to do because it was the smallest and there would be fewer details on the disc. The image that I had chosen for this piece of art work would be the stage at the Fleckt pets gig before they went on. The image worked well and then I added a BBFC rating at 12 because my film contained some bad language and I didn’t fancy making something that would be only a PG.

 

The difficulty’s I experienced were minimal. One problem that I had was that I never took any pictures while I was out filming so that meant that all the photos that I needed had to come from the footage I had got. There were no real difficulties while I was making these menus and this meant that I was able to complete them at a fair pace.

Using Photoshop, Encore and Premier pro

I did the majority of my menu design using encore but in the early stages of the design I used Photoshop to tidy up some images and then to put them into encore I needed them to be Photoshop files. In the early stages of using encore I was running like the rest of the class at a basic level but after watching some tutorials on YouTube I was able to grasp more of the basic and was free to have a bit more freedom on the software I was using.

 

Encore was the real challenge for me on this project as my lack of knowledge about the software hindered me. Once I had my basic menus which had been made using Photoshop I imported them into the program and then started adding text which would later become buttons and one I had one page done I could just continue onto other pages and get them done. Once all of my pages where set up I then continued onto making the buttons for all my material I would be using.

Once my buttons and pages where all set up that’s when I decided to bring in the content that I would be needing for the project and this meant that all the material would have to be exported on premier pro in the MPEG DVD file format so they could be put onto the DVD. I had to also export all of my extras as well as my main film to be put onto the project.

Once all the files where on the Encore project I could then add them to the buttons that were set up already and then once I’d linked the footage to the buttons and once I got all of the DVD working and going to the right links and into the right places.  After everything was set up I could then take the DVD up to a more advanced level and to try and raise the bar for the menu.

Linking up buttons to the rights pieces of footage and then sound was the most difficult part of the whole project and the most difficult part of the whole project was when it came to rerouting the directors commentary because we couldn’t put the film on the disc twice so we had to set the sound to match two separate pieces of audio to one piece of film. I have managed to do it over the space of just an hour and a half after watching the tutorial which was on the VLE.

The finished project

In my evaluation of my final project is that my project is good as it works and it is a fully functioning DVD that works with its entire links and has some music to give the menu some life. During this project I learned a lot about the different pieces of software that I used for example I used encore and Photoshop to a good level and these skills will be useful to me in the future.

Once i had the DVD back I made another normal copy and went down to the green room to test the DVD on the TV to make sure it worked on another piece of technology other than the computer. I have made sure that the DVD that will be handed in works and that the case and label are on properly and that it looks good enough to hand in.

 

Understanding the applications and practice of DVD menu design and authoring

Conventions

+R- DVD+R are recordable only once so once they have content on them they can’t be used again.

+RW- DVD+RW are rewritable which means can be used multiple times by the user.

-R and -RW- DVD–R and –RW have a quicker write speed. Apart from this they are fairly similar to the other plus DVDs.

Dual Layer: This is an upgraded disc with a higher capacity of storage size within the DVD. Storage is up to 8.5GB per disc which is almost double the amount on a standard disc. Although because these discs can store more information they don’t burn as fast as the other formats may.

Writing Speed – Writing speed is the speed that the disc will burn at for example a disc could burn information at so many megabits per second. Writing speeds differ on what format you use for example if you use a DVD or CD the information will burn faster than a Blu-Ray.

Audio – There are a few formats of audio. The most popular are Mono or Stereo or Surround Sound. Mono is routed through one channel, stereo is routed through two. The quality of the DVD is key to the quality of sound.

Video –Depending on the quality of the film and the size of the DVD the film may need a higher sized format. For example the more information being put on the DVD will affect the quality of the film.

Menus – When you play a DVD you are handed options for example there are the play button, scene selection, extras and in some cases an interactive side of the DVD (This is more common on children’s DVDs). They are created to help sell the film and to offer more to the DVD buyer.

Additional Features – Things like subtitles are common place now on most DVDs if not all and allows the viewer who may be hard of hearing of if the film is in a different language to at least enjoy the film like everyone else. Different languages are something that would take a lot of time for the production company to do but it has the advantage of selling the film on an international scale. Easter Eggs are little surprises placed into a DVD by the film maker maybe the director and are like a reward to the customer for buying the DVD. Animations are the first thing that you see when a DVD menu comes up – The animation can be anything from the animation of the ‘play’ and other buttons available for you to press, or what’s going on in the background. Animations can be used to keep the audience interested before the start of the film. Digital Theatre Systems The first commercial use of digital sound on a large scale, this was first used during the release of Jurassic Park. It’s a digital surround system that offers up to six channels HD audio. The first use for this technology was in the film Jurassic Park, but since then the technology has been applied to DVDs and Blu-Ray. Dolby is the sound used to bring a DVD menu to life. This is a sound system that makes the sound quality much better, reducing unwanted noise or ‘hiss’. Printable discs are a common place on all DVDs that are professional produced; any movie that you buy from the store will more than likely have a print already of them showing the poster of the DVD itself. Regional codes were designed for Film Distributors to protect content, release dates, and change prices according to a certain region. For example a film bought in the US can’t be played on a UK DVD player as the American DVD is Region 1 and the UK is region 2. Copyright protection is put in place by the makers of the film to prevent thief’s having their work for free and this means that the film can be protected by law. Parental Controls are a relatively new thing and are used now there is even a special DVD player specifically designed to stop anything you don’t want your child to see.

Functions and elements within DVD menus

I have started my DVD analysis using the DVD menus for Inglorious Bastards and No Country for old men. All the screenshots have all have decriptions of why there are there along with the different functions the buttons offer.

 

 

 

 

Unit 31 Task 5 - The Evaluation

Unit 31; Task 5

My Contribution

Over this project I was in the roles of first assistant director and camera operator. My first contribution to this project was in the idea generation process because as a group two of us had similar ideas but none of us could have agreed on one set idea. Once we had a basic idea we all decided to make into a comedy sketch sort of video which was to prove to be a good idea but it all depended on whether or not we could make a funny video. My contribution to this part of the work was to make several comedy sketches that we could put into the film and make it funny but serious at the same time.

Once we had a few ideas on what we were going to do us then had to put them into some sort of order and make sure that they are all making a point and are making sense. After that we had to knock out a few problems most notably if we were doing a grim reaper style comedy we needed a grim reaper outfit, which lead to my next contribution to this project as I knew a friend who had one and this meant all that was left to solve were locations. We didn’t have to use locations in and around the college or its grounds it was just that they were there and it would have been pointless to look for somewhere we didn’t need.

When it came to filming as a camera operator I worked closely with our director to make sure that we get the best quality film. We have made sure that the shots look nice enough and that all the shots are carefully shot.

When it came to the finished product I had to work on getting music along with editing the film. Finding the right music was the hardest part of the whole project.

The first survey

I started by posting a survey on Survey Monkey to see what might make people quit/not start smoking. I gathered a total of 17 responses to this survey and the results that we got helped to plan what we would include in the video. This research was also quantitative research and not qualitative since it was a survey. 

The research showed that the majority of people knew different signs and way that smoking effects health which is good because then we can put more messages into the film and this means that the film has more of an effect.
 

What did the final survey show?

The film has been placed on YouTube and using social networking site Facebook I am going to gather more research using survey monkey, which will gather quantitative research for my film. So far the film on YouTube has achieved over 100 views on the master copy online but my survey has got 11 responses.

When I look at my research I can see that almost all the people who watched my anti-smoking film found that they could tell all of the messages presented in the film. This is good because it tells us that what we set out to do worked and the audience could clearly tell every point we were trying to make.

In the research we could see that there was a fairly even split between male and female that took the survey. This is good because it gives more of a variety to the survey. We can also tell form the survey that the majority of people who filled it out were in our target audience and this means that we get more of a split in the audience.

 

Matching the Cut films criteria

Relevance to theme – I think that the film is relevant to the theme because it’s a smoking film obviously. I would say that the message is clear as you can tell that ‘death follows the smoker’. From the research we have we can tell that the film dos persuade people not to smoke. The film doesn’t contain anything about the financial cost of smoking but it does include the physical cost of smoking.

Impact – The films effect is stretched out over the film and this has worked for us as we can tell from the survey research. The film I think does grab the attention of the viewer and makes the viewer think about smoking and its actions. I think that the comedy of the film stays with the viewer and I found this out using the survey in which people did say the film had a lasting effect on them. We have taken an original way of looking at smoking and make it into an unoriginal idea.

Appeal to target audience – The majority of people who filled out the survey were of the age of our target audience as they were aged between 17–21 and the results showed they understood and enjoyed the film. I feel young people would share it again, although we got no research on this from my personal experience people are more likely to share something they enjoy and the survey showed young people enjoyed the film.

Technical experience – The quality of the filming was to a regular standard in some shots it’s a little dark or a bit grainy and they should have been shot in a better way and better thought through. The storyline is clear and the idea comes across well on the screen and the structure follows a linear set up from when he starts smoking to following him through his day. We only used music in our film so sound quality wasn’t an issue for us. The imagery was given added value with us deciding not to use sound on our production and I think that the imagery provides a good enough message to the viewer.

Research – We researched enough to make the film and some more. With the film we felt that we needed to show the effects of smoking on the body and we found these by going on to the NHS website and reading some of the books in the library but the books used can be trusted as they might be American books and not relevant to UK research.

My Conclusion

In conclusion I would say that if I judge the film’s success on the results received on the survey I can concluded that the film delivered the right message to the right audience. Although only qualitative research was carried out it gathered a fair amount of responses which means that the research carried out is more accurate to what the audience thought of the film.

Unit 31: Social action and community media

Task 1

Task 1

Introduction

Social action and community media is used to promote a community and increase public understanding and awareness of different social concerns.Social action media then brings these problems to the public’s attention which would then encourage the public to take action to the problems. Using things like videos and adverts to get the audience’s attention which may possibly persuade them to make a change in either their lifestyle or the life of others around them. Although we know through research that only a small amount of the population will actually act thanks to the effects of this advert. As part of this unit I will be making an anti-smoking video to persuade an audience to stop smoking.

Purpose

The purpose of this media is to bring about local change and it does this by working with the community by going to events and raising the profile of events in the local area. The purpose of making an anti-smoking video is too making an audience quit smoking and too persuade an audience not to start smoking. There are many things that are used to make people to stop or start smoking including adverts by the NHS. They also do newsletters, radio and television broadcasts and they offer quitting help to patients and to help them.

Different social action groups have different effects on different topics of social media. An example of this is the organisation World Wildlife Fund which is an international organisation or a local organisation such as the Butterwick hospice. We see the difference in the videos just by watching them for example the world wildlife fund makes its videos to appeal to an international organisation. 

The idea is that a film or a picture will deliver some sort of impact to an audience and that it will make an audience do something.  If the result of the media presented to that audience is that they don’t do anything about your cause then your message has been lost or was never there in the first place and this means that the media product as a concept has failed.

Another use of these videos is to raise awareness of a campaign or a cause for example a charity may use it to raise awareness of their campaign or a political party may make a film to promote their causes.

Now the media is used by all kinds of organisations and charities. Examples of these are political parties and unions, which use media to fight their cause more. Political party’s employee several tactics in their videos and will often make many different ones to appeal to many different demographics. Unions often try to encourage an action for example the NUS is currently encouraging students and young people to vote in the next general elections and even if they don’t then they show young people the other options of what to do.

Another use of social action media is to challenge mainstream media for example in Stockton on tees an media group set up the loudest whisper which was used to show the other side to a Channel 4 show called Benefits street which was set in the town. This is a prime example of the community media challenging the mainstream media in their ideas of the town.

What is community media?

Community media can be defined as media produced and circulated within a particular community to help the community. The media produced by such companies or organisations in a local area are usually produced for the local area by the people of the local community. Community media is often associated with Radio but there has been a recent rise in television stations in local communities. There are many radio stations that operate for the community around the country and in my case in the north east region. Such radio stations often invite locals to participate in the production of shows and allow them to discuss issues relating to the area. An example of local radio is ignition radio in Stockton on tees which has recently been set up and works with the community.

Community media can also be used to bring the community together and make a community interact with each other. It can also strengthen community ties for example if there is a dysfunctional community or there is a mixed community. It can also inform and educate a community, which can bring a community together, and also I can solve many problems and this can use for example by charities to show their cause to the world and give it a bit more backing.

What is the impact?

People can change their lives after just one viewing of one of these videos for example the NHS in Britain runs campaigns against smoking and we can see the effect of these videos for example the amount of people who have cut down on smoking cigarettes since the first introduction of these videos, posters and radio campaigns has been huge.

Of course, these videos are just made by organisations such as the NHS. Organisations and charities make videos for example Zoe's place in Middlesbrough is a hospital for young children and they make media (usually videos) to encourage financial backing from the general public or just wealthy backers from around the local area or on an international scale.

In my final statement, I would say that social action media could have a big effect if made in the right way; proof of this is in many charity campaigns because if they didn’t generate any funding then the campaign would fall flat and end up costing the charity. I have also seen how community media brings a community closer together and how it takes on the media giants in the field of representation. The videos I have seen from the examples that I have used have shown me what I need to do to make a good and persuasive anti smoking film.

Anti smoking project production blog

03/03/2015 – Today we have started the production of our anti-smoking films. At the start of the day we didn’t have a clue because our ideas all fell down as far as pitching was concerned. After a hour or two we had worked out a plan and we had an idea that needed refining. When it came to thinking up the idea we decided to have a comedic take on smoking and this meant that we had to come up with several scenarios where comedy could emerge. Now it’s the end of the day and we have an idea so crystal clear it’s hard to believe. We also have makeup artists, one actor and we have sent out an advert for actors to be auditioned in a few days.
 
04/03/2015 - We have worked out a schedule and we will be doing casting tomorrow. Today has been a real Jekyll and Hyde day because at the start of the day we have so much work that needed to be done before we could even consider filming but not we are set and this film is looking really promising for my team. We have got all the paperwork done and now we only have to do the auditions tomorrow and we should be ready to film on Tuesday. This unit is meant to be a quick one since we have another two projects on the go at the same time.

10/03/2015 - today was our first day of filming and its got off to a good start all the actors and make up artists turned out on time and were ready to work. We also had the costume and everything that we could have possibly needed was in place, i can only hope that if we shot again we plan as well as we have today.

13/03/2015 - We are now planning for the seconds day shooting which will take place next week all the actors and make up artists are on broad and our locations are pinned down this shoot isn't looking bad at all. All the planning has been done be the team to make sure we get this right first time so we don't have to do it again or we will fall behind.

17/3/2015 – Today we were filming for the for the second time and this meant we had to plan especially well for example we were using locations in and around the college and then finding new locations because there possibly be restrictions on the locations. As the picture below shows we only had a few extras so some of the production team had to step in as extras to fill up a quite empty cinema.

 

24/3/2015 – Today we completed the film. I’m a lot more content with the film now that it has been finished as I was worried what the finished product may turn out to be. We only had to pick the music for today but after about 3 hours of searching we settled on Mozart which surprisingly worked out really well. Below is the finished product which i have to say im quite proud off and I can see it doing we at the Cut Films festival if we can cu tit down to size.

25/03/2015 - The film has been uploaded to a DVD and now its hand in day i myself am confident that the work is up to scratch and it looks professional. I have made a survey to gather information on what an audience thinks of our film from which i will collect responses soon to put into my final evaluation.

Production management project - Prodcution Blog and DVD authoring Blog

Pre Production

5/2/2015 - Is the first day of the project and I have got my idea about a football club and its history. Now I have to prepare my pitch and my proposal and I will make my idea an idea no one can say no to this whole project depends on the idea that the football club says yes and gives my permission to use the club in this video. I am confident that if I get a meeting then I would be able to get the go ahead and I have confidence that I can get a team together to make a documentary worthy of this club.

10/2/2015 - I have had a few more ideas and decided that doing a short film isn't what i want to do because its not what ill be doing at university but its still on the table because i keep having ideas. Another factual film seems definitely on the cards as I have three ideas for that and they will need developing before the end of the week.

12/2/2015 - I have made a set decision on what idea to do and I've been spending the morning researching the idea and gathering contact details for all involved. My new idea is about bands who are up and coming in the music industry and i will follow a band called 'John and the Rag-men' when they perform at 'Stockton Calling' a festival for local bands.  I Will also interview several other people such as the event organisers and the venues owners and a local critic.

17/2/2015 - I've spoken to the event organiser and i hope to get permission to film the festival later this week. I have also shown my near complete pitch to the band and they have said that it looks like a promising idea and i hope that i can get my proposal done by the end of the week ready for when i go back and run the pitch past a few other people too.

21/02/2015 - I've been working on my pitch and my proposal trying to make my idea as presentable as possible which hasn't been too hard since i know what I'm aiming for and i know my idea inside out and i want this idea to happen so the passion to sell it will always be there. I've told the band who ill be working with the further developments on my idea and they feel that its developing well but they are not the people that i must convince.

25/02/2015 - Today i have been finalising my pitch and my proposal to get ready for the pitch tomorrow. At this point everything is in check and there aren't any spelling mistakes and nothings in there that isn't supposed to be. I have rehearsed my pitch and read through my proposal and all is looking good. I will be continuing research into my topic as I almost fell down last time because of my lack of research but i am feeling confident.

03/03/2015 - Over the past few days i have been thinking of possible interviews and different locations to film. Communication between me and my contact that the festival has broken down and I'm trying to reestablish contact between me and them. I have given some thought to possible locations and i would like to speak to some other venues in the local area. This topic is proving harder than my other because I'm relying on another company to help me out i have to move fast now or I risk losing the idea.

05/03/2015 - today i have been gathering information on different people and groups I can speak to about interviews and its looking like a good list. I have also set up a Face book page for my production 'Breaking through: Making it in the music indsutry' which will help to raise the profile of my production for myself. I have also made a schedule what i aim to achieve over this production and i aim to start as soon as possible.

09/03/2015 - I have spoken to several people today including one event organiser and the secretary of the other organiser. I have also got the first of many interviews set in stone now with one of the event organisers and the other organiser will be getting back to me tomorrow because he is currently on his way to Manchester to meet Noel Gallagher, Its clear to me at this point that I need this guy because hes even bigger than I first thought. I'm really excited now and I feel really up for this production. The future is looking really bright of me at this stage.

12/03/2015 - I have been trying to tie down another interview with the other organiser and i have also talked to the band that i will be interviewing and they have said that they are willing to do a rehearsal before the event.
 
19/03/2015 - Today I have arranged yet more interviews and I have made my voice overs as I prepare to start filming next week. We may be starting on Monday or Tuesday depending if I can get an interview arranged next week but it all hangs in the balance until I’m certain.

Production

24/03/2015 - Today we started filming which turned out to be much more eventful that first anticipated. It all started once we had the equipment and on the walk to the interview it started raining setting the day off to a bad start. Once we made it out of the rain and to the interview i was then told that one of two of my interviewees hadn't turned up due to business issues that couldn't be helped. Since there was a valid reason for his absence i took it on the chin and moved on. Then while setting up we found that the camera appeared to be unwilling to accept my tapes but it was just that the tapes were at the end and needed rewinding. Today has been a real Jekyll and Hyde day but it has all worked out in the end i have good footage and to me the day was a success.

26/3/2015 - Today I interviewed John Harrison which didn't turn out all the best because I hadn't made sure I had all avenues covered and problems came form every corner. To start the day since he didn't know where the college was I had to go and get him but first I had to set up the green room so it looked somewhat professional. Then when he arrived i couldn't find my questions and the room was hot so i was desperately looking for my questions in a hot and stuffy room. After 5 minutes of looking i decided I couldn't find them and i would have to get them off my email so that's what i did. Once the interview had begun it was plain sailing and we got the job done in a swift and easy manner. We packed up the room and left with the equipment we would need for the filming of the festival on the next Saturday.

4/4/2015 - This was the day of the filming and i was taking no chances i brought 3 tapes for an in case of emergency situation, 3 batteries and a crew of top professionals. The first problem we encountered was one of the tapes which wasn't working int the camera for some reason which made me more nervous than i already was but then we fixed it by simply putting in another tape. I had foiled the cameras evil plan to ruin my film and that was a win for me. After we had got some footage around the town centre we went to the gig we had been invited to at the Georgian Theatre in Stockton and we simply got out the camera and the day played out nicely form there on in really.

8/4/2015 - Today was the final day of filming at ARC in Stockton with Chris the vent organiser and this would be me finished if nothing goes wrong with capturing then we would be home and dry. Chris was 10 minutes late for which i could have killed him for but he was there and that was all that mattered. We got underway with the interview and the filming was done after just 10 minutes so i got a few cutaways and a bit of footage of me asking the questions to Chris. It's all down to the edit now though so we are crossing everything.

Post Producion

13/4/2015 - Today every was captured and everything was fine with the footage but there was a problem with the story. Originally the documentary was about rising music talent but now it was about Stockton calling and the festival itself. No matter though i will re script and come up with a new plan.

16/4/2015 - I have a new plan finally after long deliberation i have a new film for my self to do and focus on. The new film would need new script and new voice overs along with a whole new story line and this means working out what footage i have and working our what i can get from this footage.

23/4/2015 - Today after 2 weeks of waiting I got my voice overs done and this is great news because this means that i can go from having a film on the edge of being finished to the film actually being finished. The voice over were done in about 15 minutes which is good going for me and the film is now scheduled to be done by the 30th May to give me time to get feedback and make any changes if necessary

27/4/2015 - FILM FINISHED. The film is finally complete and even before most people have even started filming now to get any other projects done and to focus on the DVD menu, label and cover which shouldn't be too difficult with the finished film and then once that's done I'm done.

6/5/2015 - I have a modest but professional looking DVD cover done and i am happy with it isn't not that most gripping but it has a tag line and a film description along with a eye catching front cover its simple but it does the job.

7/5/2015 - I have exported the film in all the different ways that i need to export it on Premiere pro, it has been exported into AVI, Quick time and the Mpeg DVD 2 format that we will need for DVD authoring some time in the future. Now I'm going to post the film onto social media on my Twitter, Face book and You tube account along with a survey to gather any audience feedback that may come from the film.

12/5/2015 - I have made a few changes to my film for example I have put in a few more stabilisers on the film to make the footage we got which was handheld look nicer. I have also finished the DVD menu, cover and label for the disc itself although I still have yet to add some animation to my DVD menu which will be added at a later date.

Team Reviews

Sam - Sam performed excellently as I expected of her. I picked Sam because she is great at camera and her reliability is exceptional at arriving on time and at the right location. Sam's keen eye was something i picked up on when i made my first documentary and her talent has shone through on the second attempt. Sam is a great person to have on set and she used her abilities to make myself another great factual film.

Liam - Liam was a very helpful person during his time working on my film. I picked Liam because he's competent and he has the ability to really offer something to a production. Liam performed the role of sound operator and performed it to a high standard he made sure everything worked and that if anything broke he was there to fix the problem. Overall Liam was a useful tool in my production and his work was greatly appreciated.

Problem solving

On the first day of filming with Chris in Stockton there was a problem with the tapes and the camera. A message appeared on the screen saying the tape slot in the camera needed to be cleaned. We had this problem for several minutes but when we tried a new tape the problem went away and we continued as normal.

The second problem was on the day of Stockton calling and I had seceded to take the fig-rig to get some steady shots of the event and so the handheld shots would look better. The problem that arose from this situation was that the plate for the fig-rig hadn’t been put in the bag. The solution to this problem was we just went handheld and I fixed the problem at the editing stage.

The third problem was on the same day with the same problem as before with the tape and the camera scenario and this was fixed in the same way the fact that I had brought 3 tapes with me on both days really saved me.

Working on other peoples productions

Tak – The work I done on Taks PMP was fairly easy work. The first time we just went to the gazette offices in Middlesbrough to interview on of the editors at the offices and his interview went well but there were no serious problems. The second day was getting vox pops from around the college which I was happy to do and they were good and fast interviews which were well carried out.

Overall Review
I would say for an overall review of the project that the whole production was that the production went well in all departments.

Starting from the pre-production stage of the project I started by coming up with a few ideas using the gazette online Face book page and I came across a few different stories and in the end I settled on two for final pitches. The first was to do a documentary on the 20th anniversary of Middlesbrough football club moving to their new home on the banks of the river tees. The second idea was to do about raising stars of the musical scene in the local area which was a product of the local music festival Stockton Calling of which the story would be about. I also had a few other ideas for music videos and short films that I would pitch if my documentary ideas weren’t accepted.

I then decided I was going to do the documentary on Stockton Calling and this meant that now I had my idea I could now begin getting research and deciding what I would put in the documentary along with the style. I also had to decide what crew I would need to help me on the project.

By the production stage I had all my interviews planned out and I had made arrangements for my team too. My whole production was planned out to start and finish before everyone else had started their productions and this was a good thing from my point of view because then if there were any mistakes I could come back and re-film. My first interview was with Chris Cobain an event organiser and I took place on a rainy day and this meant we weren’t all in the happiest mood when we got there. The interview through up a few problems but in all went well.

The majority of filming went well and there were no problems with the equipment while we were out filming and this means that we were able to move at a steady pace through the film and got it done in good time. After filming at Stockton calling I arranged an interview with Chris for the last time and although Sam couldn’t make the interview I and Liam got it done easily.

When it came to the post production there was no problem capturing footage and I got the edit done in good time along with dealing with any problems that came my way. It took me a while to get my voice overs sorted but once they were done my film was complete and I released it for 3 days to get some audience feedback and then removed the film. The film is due to be re-released in early June with all finishing touches made by then.

In a full round up of how I think my film went I would say it was a good, quick and clear production that has led to a very good production and an excellent final project.

Unit 8 Understanding Film and TV industries Task 4

In this blog I will be researching all the different types of developing technologies like satellite, cable, analogue, digital, film-based, interactive, Internet, high definition, consumer products, streaming content, on-demand viewing, digital recorders and pay per view. These technologies fuel the media industry is so many ways one of which is amount of content being made because all of these platforms work tirelessly to produce content. These technologies bring the content to the customer too which means that people don’t need to go to the cinema when they can just stay at home and watch the same film, But this new technology has its down sides with piracy websites and websites like YouTube breaking all kinds of copyright laws.

I will start by talking about satellite TV. Satellite television allows subscribers to get channels and shows streamed to their homes via a satellite dish. Satellite gives the access to hundreds of channels worldwide. Satellite TV providers obtain channels like Sky, Comedy central and UK TV, with satellite you also have a wider geographical coverage. Because of the wider reach of satellite technology, Because satellite TV is sent out via satellites orbiting the earth and this helps broadcast shows all over the world and broadcast them live to every country. However satellite TV can malfunction in bad weather. Since the satellite dish is usually outside, it becomes susceptible to malfunction because of weather conditions like snow, very strong winds and lightning. 

Cable TV is one of many ways for viewers to watch the television. How the viewers watch is that cables go underground through to the houses of the customers. Customers that use cable TV have to pay for it and subscribe for it. Cable television has fewer channels than satellite TV but its cheaper for people to subscribe too. Cable television has more than just television to offer it customers and with things like high speed Internet and voice calls to entice customers. Cable TV is far more reliable than satellite which only works when the weather is good. An prime example of a cable television provider is HBO an American broadcaster who have given out shows such as The Sopranos and True Blood which have been a hit in the UK too.

In this age films are being remade over and over again and Film Based content has grew so much in recent times. New technologies have given old films and new lease of life when being remade and have shown life long loved of certain films that technologies like CGI can have a great impact on the look of a film. An example of a film that i have chosen is Planet of the Apes which has had a life of being remade starting in 1968 and continuing to the latest one in 2014. Using these new technologies the film has evolved into one of the best film franchises ever. 

Technologies are constantly chancing and with television becoming more and more Interactive for example on free view television the introduction of the red button service which allows viewers to access even more content that normally available. Interacting with an audience is good for a program because the viewer will stay interested for longer for example channels like BBC 1, ITV and Sky have a red button service to provide extra content for viewers. Also sports channels and programs such as Formula 1 on the BBC offers a service to be on board with a car and on Sky Sports you can press the red button to get all sorts of statistics and data. This service is for the more experienced fans of the sport.

The Internet has become one of the most popular forms of media distribution with sites like YouTube or Vimeo anyone can become a filmmaker but with these sites programs are also put onto these sites although its again a countless number of copyright laws. The Internet has gave birth to so many different platforms with things like BBC iplayer, ITV player and 4oD becoming such big sites because of the Internet and people wanting to watch TV when they want via Streaming from the Internet. Also there are sources like Netflix and Apple TV which provides an incredible range of television and films to people whenever they want it and this provides people with all the content they desire. There is also a huge downside to the Internet and its a curse that costs the industry hundreds of millions of pounds a year it is of course pirating and it is a bad problem for the industry. Although many say its on the way down  its still a problem.

High Definition television is something that many people have now in this digital age of television in the UK. On TV there are a lot of channels that are in HD, for example BBC, ITV, most Sky channels are some of just a few broadcasters offering this service.  For viewers to view things in HD they need to have certain amount of pixels on their TV screen so that they can watch their programs and films in either 720p or 1080p. High Definition has developed so much that viewer do not only have the choice to have a HD TV they can have other HD things such as HD DVD player or a Blu-Ray. High Definition television is soon to become a thing of the past with the invention of the new 4K service which is brand new and still has some flaws like any new technology but the Brazil World Cup final was the first ever program to be broadcast in 4K by Sony. 

On Demand services are a huge way of getting more viewers for your program and this links back to the way of getting viewers to watch television when they want rather than watching scheduled programming. On demand is an interactive TV technology. On demand allows the user to view programming in real-time, this means that the user can watch these programs while they are being shown on TV. Services and software like Tivo by Virgin and the Sky On Demand service which allows views to control their viewing habits with tools like pause, rewind and fast forwarding television this is also a Digital Recorder. Which is recorded by the viewer to watch at a time that suits them and they tell the device to record the show and then it will and it'll be saved for later.

Pay Per View is a service were a viewer pay purchase a short term subscription for just a program viewing. This service is offered by Sky Sports for football weekends. There is also Pay Per View for Sky in the Sky  Box Office for films which works out how much they have gained form each view of their TV Show. This is better for some viewers who don't have the funds or just don't want to pay for a full subscription to a channel or set of channels and this means that they can view the shows they want.

Analogue signal was the first ever transmission technology for television. Analogue is no longer in use in most of the UK with only Milton Keynes the only place still transmitted to in analogue, the rest of the UK receives Digital television. Digital signals can be either 0 or 1. When a digital signal is 0 it means that it is off and when it is 1 it means that it is on. This is because the waves are very close together and this is how TV Box-Sets get so many channels. The analogue signals really only broadcast 5 channels to British homes and this is why digital television over took analogue so quickly with viewers wanting more from their media providers.