George Wing Television Blog

I believe that the key to being a director is to really be original in my approach to ensure quality.  This is something the entire production team needs to ensure. In production, a quality assurance plan will always take place wether big or small. Having low resolution images and videos would instantly bring the aesthetic quality down. “A video production can go from top quality to a cheap video.” ('Importance of Lighting in Video Production', 2014). An obstacle I came across when trying to commit to this was the old to new section. I had the idea to do how Churchills Siren Suit has evolved into other clothes like jump suits etc. In order to show this in a VT, we would need permission to get images or videos of Churchill in the Siren Suit which could be very costly and difficult to get hold of. On top of that, copyright laws can be very complex and could be more trouble than what it's worth. "Copyright law is one of the greyest areas on the internet" (Sm...

Research and development- Pre Production Research, Research and more research.  Content, contributors and locations. Sorts of people looking for: Presenters/actors Contributors  Audience  Artists/ guests  Events, fashion orientated  Don't restrict out search to UCA  Maybe they aren't good on performance and charizma  Independent stores  Trade Press Every industry will have its own specific magazine or journal We have our glossy magazines Start point at collecting numbers  Finding Talent: Good Contacts  We have agents that specialise in different fields, there are specific agents who represent experts. If we are dealing with an agent we need to ensure we get it for free. Scouting- visit talent performing elsewhere e.g. comedians or actors, check out other programming.  Talent websites/journals- e.g. 'spotlight', 'mandy.com'.  Issues- Scouting  You can look for new talent j...

Critical Analysis Component for Studio Unit 30% Production Role Critical Analysis (2000 words) Alongside the practical project you will be required to write a 2000 word project analysis Crucially it should include research into studio production and the specific professional role you have undertaken and how the research informed your actual role and the production. Think of it s a piece of writing that teaches the reader about your role and uses experience of this production as anecdotal evidence to illustrate typical tasks, issues and skills. Can start writing now as its all about researching the role. You don't know how to do the roles as you haven't been doing them long enough. Cant get all skills form that so will add to those workshops and add to that knowledge. Show that I can critically evaluate my work, otherwise just gonna work it out in my head. Lighting is a very complex part of film making so research lighting if needed. Finding the sources. All decisions ...

As part of VT research I thought it would be worthwhile reflecting on work I have done on a BBC television show where I have seen what happens on set when a VT is playing and helped film some VT's/transcribe some.  Being able to work on such a professional, high end 'live' production I was able to pick up many new skills and an understanding of the environment, which would feed back into this studio production unit. Throughout the show they would cut to pre-recorded VT's which would cover a story in relation to what the team are talking about in live. This cutaway added to a chunk of the programme and gave myself and other runners time to move the set around for the next section when returning to live. An example of this was with the airplane chairs when talking abut Ryanair's plane seating policies. These wouldn't have been moved on set it it wasn't for the VT's. This shows me that it is possible for our show 'Steal the Style' to also change...

VT's are used to inform and provide additional information for an audience.  Usually they will be on location somewhere that the studio can't provide.  VT's work very much as an edition to the show to help give it context. Dependant on the genre of the show, VT's can be more important in some genres than others. For example, 'Take me Out' uses VT's to display information from friends and family about an individual. They are also used to show the audience what happens on a couples date in the Isle of Fernando's,  somewhere that is in a different country and can't be filmed in studio.  A VT can help the crew and cast of the live production as it can allow time for them to move around in the set freely. Whilst the VT's are being shown, the transmission of the set is off. VT script: -Accurate time-frame - IQ (in words- 'in cue') and OQ (out words) are written at the start and finish of the script to make clear. - Each piece...

The style and era of a show can very much be shown in its aesthetic appearance. In our VT's it would be good to portray an era based on the age/style of clothing through the colours used, location, lighting, camera angles/lens and aspect ratio. 80s Example "Set in a showroom in Essex in the mid-80s, charismatic salesman Vincent Swan leads his unscrupulous sales team. Smart, handsome and confident, Vincent will happily break the rules if it guarantees a sale." Given the era this show is set in (80's) it doesn't mean everything in it is stereotypical of the era. So people here are still waring suits and not walking around in bright, bold contrast color outfits. While the suits are of the era, they're still clean and smart and not as baggy with fat ties as you may expect.  Bruno Mars Music Video has a 70's theme in the musics sound and videos style/aesthetic created through lighting and the camera lens. Lens Holga lens The Holga len...

As director, it was my job to sit-down with the editor and go over with them my vision behind the piece and how I would like it to be edited together. Me and Alex went over the edit together to see what we wanted put in place and where. Above is the final practice VT outcome. I think we really made the most of our location and used it to improve the stylistic qualities of the piece. However, there is a lot I would change for our final VT Shoot. The first being the setting. I would ideally like somewhere more appropriate to really show off the outfits and era. I would also ideally like to get more coverage, but because of time and problems in planning from our producer, I was left to improvise on the final shoot day with ideas. I knew roughly the sort of thing I wanted so it wasn't a complete issue and me and the producer worked well together in overcoming this. This is what practicing is all about and we have all learned form the mistakes here, which we will hopefully be ...

Programme Output Programme Practice 1. Shape societal views Or 2. Reflect, reinforce, break with, societal views and practices. Analysing... To what extent... Both establish what you're going to talk about in the question. 4 Most common aims: To measure/gauge something  To challenge an existing view/practice To update or re- contextualise a view/practice To evaluate a view/practice.  What do you think is the aim of this enquiry? Why                                      Reasons for an occurrence or approach How/in what way                Methods and approaches To what extent                    Measuring/gaugaing Comparative analysis          Comparing phenomena Critique/ analyse                 ...

VT's VT's are a familiar part of may As Lives and Lives. They can perform a number of roles Adding value to the studio production How e use them really depends on the genre News, VT Packages Something that helps us practically. Should be informative and add variety Keep the quality up for the VTs Good Vs Bad VT Style bible- purpose and what its for. Entertaining and creative Comprehensible and comprehensive (complete package) Quality should be consistent with the rest of the programme. Best possible story, person and place. Producers, directors- something to chose from Organising, development and Research What makes something a good VT? Winter Watch Que cards Shot handheld Improvised but rehearsed Ident 'Live' Bit more energy from those ad-libs Close up uses tripod Cut to VT - Ducks surviving the weather in Scotland- Able to survive in the cold. VT Top-line The One Show- VTs of what they're talking about- Maybe VT of there guest....

This week we had Del's first session with use where we looked into the varieties of fashion programmes. This ranged from stylistic shows to telly shopping.  The examples we looked at included  Lorraine, This Morning,  Fashion TV, QVC Style, and The Clothing Show. Some I had seen before and others are new to me. One that surprised me was 'Fashion TV' which is just a 24 hour stream of cinematic of people showing off fashion, something very different to the style of show we were going for for 'Steal the Style'. Lorraine Lorraine is a daytime television chat show that covers various normal elements of everyday life. Lorraine leads the show and discusses storylines with professionals, has a segment for food as well as fashion. Given the time its broadcast, the target audience is daytime telly viewers, typically middle-aged and above who will be available at that time (often stay at home moms). Looking at one particular fashion segment, we can see what features they us...

Cinematography Framing Composition Frame Rate Narration (and narratology- Bordwell, David (1985) Story and Plot Characterisation Sound- Michel Chion Bordwell, David Realism, social realism Documentary The Sociology of Urban Spaces The essence of cinema is that it can record reality as its meant to be (fly on the wall). Auteur theory- As a head of collaboration with actors, producers, screenwriter, branding etc. Regardless of the authors intentions we are to learn. Allegory and Metaphor National Cinemas, Art Movements, Transnational Cinema British New Wave (1959-63)- Billy Liar) French Impressionism and Surrealism (1918-1930) Soviet Montage Italian Neorealism German Expressionism French New Wave New German Cinema New Mexican Cinema New Hollywood and Independent American Cinema Hong Kong Cinema Iranian New Wave Mainstream Hollywood companies wouldn't talk about something like the prostitution in LA because it isn't family friendly. With Gl...

Today was the shoot day for our practice VT’s. Now, initially we were due to film one VT practice as the whole VT group. However, because the roles will be split into A and B (I would Direct half the VT’s) Helen suggested we film two separate practice VT’s. Whilst this was more difficult as we had only planned one VT and scripted it, we needed to come up with a practice for old to new. I volunteered to direct this one to see just how good I would be t directing an improvised piece. After brainstorming a few ideas as a group, I suggested to film one of us walking down the road showing off vintage clothes of an era (80’s) and it the aspect ratio and color would change from old to new. This was inspired by mine and Alexes research yesterday. Alex found a clip form 'Dr. Who' where they film the 1st doctor regenerating by refilling with new equipment and paying homage to the old by fading new footage into the old footage: This is something that has very much inspired my d...

In research for this show we needed to look into multiple ideas to see if they have the potential to be separate sections. One of these sections was music and how music has inspired fashion. Now, music plays an important role on our culture in general, it can affect our personalities and emotions and express how a person is feeling. Thats why music is such a global industry. "Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, and life to everything... Without music, life would be an error. "(Plato) (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180973/DFE-00086-2011.pdf) So given it influences so much of our lives its only natural that it should breed a culture amongst people, and culture is often reflected by the way an individual or group of individuals dress. Some styles: HIP HOP: The hip hop (rap) scene has been responsible for a lot of trends in recent years. -Musicians often create distinct stage looks fo...

In today's workshop we set up an interview scenario and mocked up a Live TV scenario, so everyone could have a go at all studio roles, including ones they aren't doing for the final product. I felt this was a good thing given we wouldn't otherwise get the opportunity to discover other roles to see if we like them or not. A role I really enjoyed which I didn't thin k much of before was being the gallery director. This included determining what goes on screen and making sure all the cameras were set up accordingly for each shot. At first I really struggled with this as it involved a lot of multi-tasking. The correct terminology also confused me. However, I wasn't willing to give up the easily and I saw potential in myself for such a role. So I spoke to Del and asked him if I would be able to have another go as I feel I could do a lot better and I wouldn't learn otherwise. The second time around I was a lot better and learned how to multitask more. However its alwa...

The Bomber Jacket     Much like a lot of menswear, we owe the bomber jacket to our military history. “The bomber jacket—or MA-1 if we're being technical—has a longstanding history that stretches from the middle of the 20th Century into today.” ( http://www.complex.com/style/2015/03/a-history-of-the-bomber-jacket/ ). With the advent of air combat in World War II, pilots needed outerwear that was going to be functional in high-altitude cold weather, while still being streamlined enough to stay out of the way of plane operation. As flight tech advanced, cockpits became more cramped with tech, and planes could fly faster and higher. It's these details that spurred innovation from leather and fur, to wool and waterproofed nylon. The bomber jacket as we know it today would not have existed without the influence of two jackets that came before: the A-2 and the B-15. The A-2 is a horsehide leather jacket with snap button closure, a neck flap, and two...

During todays lecture, Helen set us up to plan and shoot a practice run for our sections within our production teams (mine being the VT's). We need to create a mock up of an item that relates to our job role. This mean the people doing promotion needed to do a practice run of making a promotional video for the show. Im looking forward to this practice run and feel it will be beneficial for us all to learn from. Its better for us to make mistakes now (and learn from them) than it is to make those mistakes for our final studio project. "Testing is a really important thing to do especially when you’re starting your freelance career. Not only does it allow you to expand your portfolio and try out different styles, but it is also a great way to network and expand your contact list." After this task was set, the class decided to sit down in their groups to discuss their ideas for the mock ups. Within the VT group, this is what we discussed: Group A: Sonia, Jason, Aimee...

In todays Workshop we were getting to grips with the camera setup in the studio, which was a good refresher on the Sony Ex cameras we will be using (recently I've been using the Panasonics so am now better trained on them). We practiced track, jib, handheld and tripod shots. After this session I had refreshed my memory and knew what I was doing. It was good to start a fresh like this given I will be camera man in the studio production. There are plenty of good ways to test and practice with a camera, and practicing i the studio that we would be producing our show in was ideal.   "Set up a little still life in typical living room light, and (presuming your camera supports it), try it in various automatic and manual modes, changing settings like white balance, exposure compensation, ISO sensitivity setting, and so on." (Grunin, 2014) Also, we went over a colour chart which is used in studio productions to ensure all cameras are set to the same color. He used termino...

Analyse how British society and class is represented and has evolved through the medium comedy, with reference to examples of Only Fools and Horses.  Ability to make you laugh and tug on you heart strings at the same time. 1996- society at the time post thaturism- local businesses undercut Best of British: Cinema and Society from 1930 to Present By Anthony Aldgate, Jeffrey Richards Only Fools and Horses: The Story of Britain's Favourite Comedy By Graham McCann "Recently...too many TV comedies were about middle-class people." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jan/30/danny-cohen-middle-class-comedy Danny Cohen "wondered where the next Only Fools and Horses, the next Norman Stanley Fletcher, the next working-class comedy hero, was going to come from." Shameless dark humour but does touch on working class John Sullivan grew up in similar surroundings to Only Fools. Gambling episode (His dad would have friends o...

Production Management Organising schedules  Managing people  Budget  Release forms/contracts  Hammering down the best deal for the studio/location Rights negotiation/deal memo's/contracts Insurance/health and safety/risk assessments Keeping across the latest technology and channel tech specs Cross-Platform considerations (frame rates/graphics/green screen) Intellectual Property (IP), Archive clearneces music/paintings etc. Production Mistakes Never leave things to the last minute Not delegating Over delegating Hoarding information Not knowing the role Not working with their team When they think they know best Bloopers Often things can go wrong in production and a big part of that is due to the lack of organisation. Production DO's Risk assessments/safety Contact List Tech Specs Collate floor plans/lighting plans Will they sign a release form?  Lighting- Can you film on location? Contingensies? How are you going to feed your ...