George Wing Television Blog

Today was our first rehearsal with our final presenters, which made the show feel all the more real.We had planned previously hat cameras each of us were on (I was sharing camera three with Jason. I'm filming the second half and assisting him in the first). When we reached the studio it was back to the routine of setting everything up. Given we had done this before in our rehearsal last week we all seemed to know what we were doing and who was on what role. It was then a case of laying out the studio set mockup using tape which Jack brought. Everyone had the same version of the script, meaning everyone was more prepared and had a clear idea of what would be required of them. The directors felt that we should rehearse a different section of the script. The advantage of this was that we had some mock up/rough cut VT's prepared and we knew exactly how long we had between segments and the gallery/VT operators could practice the running of these clips. This gave the VT mockups w...

Today my crew went to shoot our second VT. Due to unforeseen circumstances I was unable to make it long to the shoot which was a massive setback fro the rest of my group However, I wanted to insure they were not left in the dark with this at all and so went ahead and planned the shoot down to detail with a detailed shot list. I also showed the group some clips of a similar themed programme and the way thats filmed/edited so they would have an idea on the visual aesthetic and what to aim for.  "The very best directors always push for the very best. They motivate and cajole their actors and their crew to push for the very best. " ( http://colmomurchu.com/?p=676).  I also made it clear to get as much actuality as possible to avoid it being a plain static interview (something that would usually be aimed towards an older target audience). Shot List: Here is an example of the style videos I showed my team for style: Unlike the previous shoot, the entire VT contain...

Today was our VT shoot day for 'Old to New'. As a shoot I found this was very successful given the three hour period we were permitted to film in the UCA Rochester shoot space. There was a last minute change of plan as the previous models got were given the wrong shoot date and they couldn't make the aural day. This meant finding new models to take part on really short notice. Luckily we managed to get tow people willing to and free to take part which was really lucky and we can't thank them enough. We had a photographer with us to help with the story telling of the shoot. Unfortunately they couldn't get theirs or Alex H's DSLR to work which was had a really low chance of being the case but fortunately George Nicholls brought his along as a backup. The first thing I did when I reached the location (art studio) was to refresh myself with the shot list and start setting up the shoot space. I wanted to film the photographer setting up the shoot lighting etc so ...

Director Farren Blackburn who came in to give us a masterclass said he doesn’t use shot-lists or storyboards unless it's something big, visual effect.  "I know my blocking and I know my action. I know what I want when I go on the floor and work with the actors, but I'm also flexible if they have any inputs. The reason why I don't do shot list and storyboards is to avoid being locked to a set up.”  This is very unique for a director, as storyboarding can be key. However, I wanted to have a shot list on shoot with me not as something to be locked down to but as a guide if we got stuck and to keep things moving. There were still a few ideas that were improvised on the day like the projector for the 90's, something that happened to be there and made the shoot way more effective. Having a shot list gave me some structure to follow which was important for the limited amount of time we had in the studio. I also added a few pictures for each era at the bottom as a mini ...

Common to many of these films is the theme of escape: escape from the commotion and surfeit of the city into surrounding country or abroad. Escapism is very popular in the period. Scene from 1966 film 'Blow Up' Vintage Film Look Edit Use vinyl records and scatter them across the floor 1960s mod look This is a recent music video literally released today (14th March) that goes through all different eras and its shown visually throughout the camera color and the clothing worn by people. We had a guest speaker Farren Blackburn come in to talk to us about directing last year. This talk really stuck with me and he said he doesn’t use shot-lists or storyboards unless it's something big, visual effect.  "I know my blocking and I know my action. I know what I want when I go on the floor and work with the actors, but I'm also flexible if they have any inputs. The reason why I don't do shot list and storyboards is to avoid be...

The transition unit seeks to help you decide the role you want to specialise in for your third year project. A unit brought in as a result of feedback from previous years. For this unit you are tasked with re-creating/re-imagining an existing piece of work, which will be different depending on your production role. Knowledge of:   A focussed production role and project format.  Understanding through application of: Critical research of a chosen production role and chosen format. Understanding through application of: Developed technical and creative skills in the production of an audio visual output. Critically reflect: Enhanced independent learning. Assessments:  Who? What? How? When?

Something thats really inspired my directing was a masterclass I had last year where British award-winning director for film and TV is screenwriter Farren Blackburn came in and discussed his professional career in directing. I felt very inspired by what he had to say and it influenced my 'Directions Unit' Project at the time. When having meetings to discuss new projects, Blackburn often uses mood boards to show how he wants things to look like and refers to different movies, but he never uses stills from movies to say exactly how he'll do it. He also said “you can’t force a ‘style’ it sort of comes naturally.” Whilst I believe this to be true, I also believe a style of my own can come from influence and inspiration. Thus, a direction/editing style I am really inspired by is that of Amazon Primes’s ‘The Grand Tour’. The way its filmed and edited is nothing short of captivating. They use quick cuts for a modernistic look. They use a style called 'Outils Wolf' w...