Tuesday 25 November 2014

Unit 32 Assignment 1 Designing Idents







This ident is very suitable for sports fans because it shows lots of balls from different sports i.e. a football, tennis ball, rugby ball etc.




This ident clearly targets children due to the colours, the cartoons and there's a child in the clip having fun.



The purpose of an ident
-To keep you watching
-To promote/sell a product
-To be persuasive
-Creating a brand identity
-To break up the programmes
-To map out the TV schedule



How to make an ident


TCM
-footage-filmed
-post production-billboard transitions



Watch
-Practical set
-After Effects
-Pre visualisation-animate
-Text graphics and voice overs



BBC
-Green screen and crew
-Animals and cast
-Animate in post production
-SFX





This ident has been created in an animation software using text graphics, transitions and sound FX.






This ident has been filmed by a cast and crew at a certain location and then edited in post production to add effects such as freeze frames, slow motion, text/logo graphics etc. This specific ident is being used to promote a TV series.



Opportunities
A good ident design can create many benefits for both the designer and the channel. the designer will benefit from a well made ident because they will be paid very generously if it matches the channels requirements. It also means that other channels will be interested in your work and will want to hire you to create their ident, therefore earning you more money and making a name for yourself within the industry. The more idents you are commissioned to make the bigger your portfolio will become, which will impress future employers.A good ident also benefits the channel because it will increase viewing figures and keep them watching. It also allows the channel to change their aesthetics to appeal to a wider audience.



Limitations
There are many limitations you may come across when given an assignment by a company. The main one and most frustrating in my opinion is how vague the companies brief could be. They probably don't know anything about your editing software therefore wont know what you can create and wont go into a lot of detail when discussing their idea. They could also be vague when giving you feedback. If they don't like your ident they will tell you, but they might not tell you how you should change it because they don't know themselves. The timescale you're given could also be an issue. If you return to the employer with an ident which is longer or shorter than they required, they'll tell you to change it or they'll find someone else.

Rubbish idents


This ident would probably have been good quality in its time, but compared to the quality of modern day editing and software this is a very poor and un interesting ident. The effects used here are very limited which makes for a boring clip. Also the colours used are quite un appealing to look at.



This ITV ident is quite meaningless in my opinion because it doesnt have anything to do with the programmes that it plays, and it also uses very dull un interesting colours. The text graphics are quite hard to see due to them being the same colours as the background, and its also quite faint.

For me this ident is too simple and it doesn't have any 'eye catching' aspects, which is important if you want viewers to keep watching the channel and stay interested. This has clearly had a few difficult limitations, which is probably why it isn't very interesting and enticing.


Analysing a suit of idents-BBC 4


Design elements

1st Ident
2nd Ident
3rd Ident

  • Key colours-Lots of variation because of the different programs, mostly bright (8 secs), after every hand transition. Black and white colour scheme, very plain and simple. Black logo. Colours are bright but only blues and yellows used. The colour is from the bees and the sea instead of block colours.
  • Text-BBC 4 logo- Connotates the simplicity of life being straight forward and realistic. different colours shows the difference in variety of programs. The BBC logo was the only text in the ident. Again very basic and simple. Text consists of the logo in the centre of the screen and a roman numeral 4 in the corner. Font is simple.
  • Speed-Fast Moving. The birds in the background and the splashing water are fast paced and moving quickly but the logo in the centre is stationary but slowly increases in size. This ident was slow and had hardly any movement in it. this gave the viewers time to understand and work out what the images symbolised.
  • Space-Lots of space around the logo making you focus in on the channel name. Lots of space around the logo to show the clip in the background. Logo is still big enough to understand what it says. The space is used very well in this ident because you can see each image clearly and the logo is in the centre of the frame. I think the logo could've been made bigger as people with sight problems may find it hard to read the text.


Purpose
  • Whats it used for-made to sell a variety of programmes-because of footage-Style is unexpected-trying to prevent you from changing the channel. I think this ident is used to create a calming feeling within the viewer. Maybe to promote wildlife documentaries that the channel airs. Creates an element of confusion and anxiousness, makes you want to find out what sort of programmes they show. Its used to be witty and make the audience work out the pictogram. This is a clever way to keep the audience from changing the channel.
  • What audience is it targeting-Audience targeted is adults, educated. The audience targeted is 30+, wild life enthusiasts. This ident could be targeting a wide audience, but i would narrow it down to older people aged 40+.

Creative

  • Most creative elements-hand transitions are creative-lots of sound effects.To me the clip looks like a reflection off the water of the birds flying, due to the ripples and bubbles right at the beginning of the ident and throughout, and also because of the fact that the birds look like theyre flying upside down. The sound effects used i.e. the voices are very unusual. It is quite creative because it uses pictures to describe the letters in the logo text. Also the sound fx used are quite creative because they use the sounds of each picture. I think there couldve been more movement in this ident as it is a bit stationary with makes it a bit boring.
  • Brand identity-mature,different. Mature, random, simple, calm. Clever/witty, mature.
Compare
  • Which ident was most creative-I think the first ident was the most creative because it included a lot of clips/shots, colours and sounds which kept the audience interested and curious as to whats going on. I think that the second ident was probably the least creative because there wasnt much going on, it was quite confusing and also it didnt have any meaning behind it. It was also quite boring due to the shots and the colour scheme used which was very plain.
  • Which is better at targeting its audience- The first idewnt was best at targeting its audience because it shows lots of different aspects of the channel which will interedt different people therefore creating a wider target audience.
  • Suitable for a specific genre- The last ident would be best for targeting a specific audience because it seems quite formal which will interest older people.
Ident presentation-Dave
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_s_LVkV33WTZWxvYm1lUnlHVW8/view?usp=sharing



I certify this is my own work

Friday 7 November 2014

Unit 23 Assignment 1






A multi camera set up is a type of production where multiple video cameras film or broadcast a show simultaneously. It means that you can capture the action from more than one angle, giving you more footage to choose from.





A single camera production is when one camera is used to take all the shots one by one. This method of production is a lot cheaper than multi camera but it is more time consuming.







The following web links discuss the advantages and disadvantages of working in a multi camera production.







After looking at these websites, I have came to my own conclusions about the pros and cons of working on a multi camera production.


Pros
  • Time Saving-You will save masses of time if you use multi camera as not every shot has to be taken individually
  • Continuity-You will run in to less errors due to continuity as the scene you are shooting will only have to be acted once
  • Editing-You wont have to spend a huge section of your budget on editing as most of it will have been done during filming by the vision mixers
Cons

  • Less Flexibility-Due to the fact that there is so much camera/recording equipment around the set, you will be limited to a shorter shot list i.e. you may not be able to do an 'over the shoulder' shot in case you capture any of the equipment
  • Lighting-It will be harder and take longer to light a multi camera production as more of the set will be seen and the lighting has to look realistic on every camera. Also the lights will have to be places strategically in order to avoid any shadows being cast on the set
  • Expenses-A multi camera production is much more expensive to run than a single camera. This is down to the cost of things like location, crew, equipment etc. Although you may get a better result for your show, and it may be easier to shoot, the cost will set you back quite a bit and may prevent you from improving the quality of other aspects of your production such as actors/presenters, costume/set design

The following links are different types of multi camera production set ups:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIeFZCSrgKA
In shows like mock the week a multi camera set up is needed in order to show all the guests. We see at 0:37-0:40 that the camera switches from Dara O'Brian to one of the teams as he introduces them and the same again at 0:40-0:43 For the other team. For the vision mixers to switch between cameras in this way takes a lot of concentration because they need to get the cuts correct for it to be successful. Also most of the conversations during the show aren't scripted, meaning the vision mixers need to be on the ball and ready to follow the guests as they talk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2xdYQ2jB3s
During a football game the cameras have to constantly be switching to follow the action. The production companies have cameras set up all around the pitch and also above in order to capture everything they possibly can. We see from 3:29 the camera is set on the player taking the free kick and at 3:33 the camera switches to a wide shot of the rest of the players and the net so that they don't miss any action and have complete coverage of the game.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bHHryaNEfYw
Throughout this news channel the camera is mainly set up as a mid shot of the presenter, so she can talk directly to the camera about the news. Also she will be reading off an auto cue. However when another presenter is shown on the screen in a different location at 4:49, the camera switches in order for the viewers to see both people as they speak. This part of the report will also be partially improvised so she wont need the auto cue to read off.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASQ3m11W2N4&spfreload=10
On this show they have cameras set up on each of the participants so that when they talk the audience can see each person individually. we see at the very beginning, from 0:10 to 0:15 the camera switches onto the guests as the host introduces them. This will have been scripted aso that when he says their names the audience know who he's talking about. The hard thing about this show is that most of the discussion isn't scripted, so the vision mixers have to be ready to switch the camera onto the person talking at any moment.

I think that Mock the Week and The Talking Dead made the best use of multi camera production on their shows, as they have to be quick and precise about their camera changes in order to film the person who is talking. Also they use many different cameras in various angles which means the show isn't set on just a few simple shots and wont get boring and tedious to watch. I think the news report could possibly be shot using single camera production, due to the fact that there isn't much movement of the cameras and the programme isn't fast paced, so the production team have time to move the cameras and switch the shot if they want/have to.

I certify this is my own work

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Studio Sketches

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_s_LVkV33WTQlNFOFBpaWQtY2pSSUg5ZXVLczJvQS1GZG8w/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_s_LVkV33WTVHRhelV0aHJRSjdqbkdGU2VmOFNLR1lDbXJ3/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_s_LVkV33WTb0VBRUVFNzNMU05wSy1aMUo2ZEtUVWV3SDRJ/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_s_LVkV33WTc01SVEJFTHBJOU4xSmJ1ZW4wX2ZyZXB6Vml3/view?usp=sharing

Studio Production Presentation

Powerpoint
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_s_LVkV33WTNV9TTUp1RjF3d0E/view?usp=sharing

Script
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_s_LVkV33WTSEowSHRRMnpKaEU/view?usp=sharing