6B
How have you worked to try to achieve what you set out to do - explain decisions made with detailed examples from own work
(Ese)
As a production team, we were very set on using stop-motion animation for our idents. To achieve the best results, we practiced the technique of stop-motion animation before working on our final product. For example, We created Plasticine test models and paper/card sets for our rough edits. We did this because we wanted to familiarise ourselves with stop-motion, before attempting to create our final suite of idents. Our initial goal was to create a suite of idents that conveyed the creativity of Christ the king students. The theme of our idents was “things come to life” and “creativity”. We needed to show this theme throughout. I think we have worked very well to achieve this in our idents.
One way in which we worked to try and achieve this was planning. We, as a production team, planned how we're going to shoot the idents. We planned out what locations we were going to use and how we were going to animation certain things. For example, for our science ident, we had to think about how we were going to make the plasticine model morph into something else. We also had to change some of our initial ideas to make them more creative. One example of this was our football ident. Originally we decided to use footage of actual students playing football. But we opted to use plasticine models. It was much easier to create and use plasticine models. It was also more aesthetically pleasing. As you can see below we ended up incorporating the idea of using actors.We used the actors to create a crowd of fans. We did this to create realism.
We wanted our idents to look professional and well presented. To achieve this,we made a number of creative decisions. One major creative decision was the creation of on-screen graphics. for some of the idents. For example, The art ident, We created on-screen graphics that provided scheduling details, regarding the type of content that would be shown on the channel.
The image on the left, is an example of the on-screen graphics we used for the art ident above. As you can see, the colours of the graphics, are the colours that ctk use to brand the college. These are also the colours that the client recommended that we use. We decided to animate the on-screen graphics to show the ctk logo, aswell as the content that was coming up next.
Although we started this production with a set plan, we had to make changes and improvise during certain parts of the production. For example, we had to change the way we planned the editing of the idents. This was due to members of the production team being absent. Instead of giving everyone one ident to work on, we decided that the two people who were less likely to be absent during the production, would do the editing. This was somewhat of an effective method. However, it was exhausting and stressful for me and the director of photography (Kenny). The actual filming of the idents, went really well, everyone contributed.
There were also times, when we could not use certain locations, because they were being used. So, we had to film a different ident or postpone filming until the next day.
The image on the left, is an example of the on-screen graphics we used for the art ident above. As you can see, the colours of the graphics, are the colours that ctk use to brand the college. These are also the colours that the client recommended that we use. We decided to animate the on-screen graphics to show the ctk logo, aswell as the content that was coming up next.
Although we started this production with a set plan, we had to make changes and improvise during certain parts of the production. For example, we had to change the way we planned the editing of the idents. This was due to members of the production team being absent. Instead of giving everyone one ident to work on, we decided that the two people who were less likely to be absent during the production, would do the editing. This was somewhat of an effective method. However, it was exhausting and stressful for me and the director of photography (Kenny). The actual filming of the idents, went really well, everyone contributed.
There were also times, when we could not use certain locations, because they were being used. So, we had to film a different ident or postpone filming until the next day.
Evaluate how you conducted your roles (Individual) (Ese)
As assistant director and editor, i think i was successfully able to complete the necessary tasks in which these roles entail. I felt like i conducted myself well in these roles. As editor and assistant director, it was responsibility to assist in the completion of the suite of idents. It was my job to create the final product to professional standards. I was also in charge of some pre-production tasks, such as the selection of technical and performance crew along with the producer. I made a lot of positive contributions towards this production. One positive contribution was my technical knowledge and advanced animation skillset. I think this was a positive contribution to the production because i was able to bring more creativity to the final product. My technical knowledge and skillset allowed me to co-operate with other members of the production team, specifically the director of photography. This was important because me and the director of photography had to work together to edit the idents. We had to plan out which effects and transitions to use.
I think one of the weaknesses we had as a production team, was leaving sufficient amount of time to refine our final product. We were able to finish the final product before the deadline. This shows that our time management skills were good. We were able to successfully create a suite of idents, that meet the specifications of the brief.However, i felt like we should have left some time to evaluate our idents. We could have planned a period of time to improve our idents more. For example, the science ident needed improving. The lighting was inconsistent and some shots were out of focus. Had we left time to address this issue, our suite of idents would have looked much better.
Another weakness i think we had as a team, was the control and management of the workload, in terms of post-production. As mentioned above, we were very good at planning out the production process and booking resources and locations. This is the reason why we were able to produce successful idents. However, i do think the post-production process of the production could have been better. We had initially said that each member of the team would be responsible for editing one ident. We had planned this out to make the workload easier. However, there were days when, some, if not half of the production team were absent. This was an issue because we had limited time to edit the idents to professional standards. This was a big setback because, it meant that most of the idents would not be completed on time. To avoid this potential issue, we decided to split the editing workload between two people. Me and the director of photography. It made sense at the time because i was really never absent from the production. I was also the editor. The director of photography (kenny) had a rough idea of how the idents should look visually. I was responsible for the editing of two idents, while the DOP (kenny) was responsible for the other two. Although this method somewhat helped with the editing process, it was really exhausting. As a result, the editing of some of the idents became lackadaisical. I think It was a trade-off that had to be made, considering the circumstances. If we were to do this again,i one thing i would change would be the way the post-production was handled.
Overall, i think the rest of the production team did a solid job.Eunice (producer) and Ugo (Director) did a good job at organising the pre-production documents. Ugo specifically was good a conveying his idea and how he wanted it work. This made it easier for Kenny and me to come up with the visual concept. Jordan helped book out equipment and set up the props we needed for filming.He also helped make the Plasticine models for the idents. We were all involved in the shooting of the idents. I can confidently say, We achieved what we set out to do.
I think one of the weaknesses we had as a production team, was leaving sufficient amount of time to refine our final product. We were able to finish the final product before the deadline. This shows that our time management skills were good. We were able to successfully create a suite of idents, that meet the specifications of the brief.However, i felt like we should have left some time to evaluate our idents. We could have planned a period of time to improve our idents more. For example, the science ident needed improving. The lighting was inconsistent and some shots were out of focus. Had we left time to address this issue, our suite of idents would have looked much better.
Another weakness i think we had as a team, was the control and management of the workload, in terms of post-production. As mentioned above, we were very good at planning out the production process and booking resources and locations. This is the reason why we were able to produce successful idents. However, i do think the post-production process of the production could have been better. We had initially said that each member of the team would be responsible for editing one ident. We had planned this out to make the workload easier. However, there were days when, some, if not half of the production team were absent. This was an issue because we had limited time to edit the idents to professional standards. This was a big setback because, it meant that most of the idents would not be completed on time. To avoid this potential issue, we decided to split the editing workload between two people. Me and the director of photography. It made sense at the time because i was really never absent from the production. I was also the editor. The director of photography (kenny) had a rough idea of how the idents should look visually. I was responsible for the editing of two idents, while the DOP (kenny) was responsible for the other two. Although this method somewhat helped with the editing process, it was really exhausting. As a result, the editing of some of the idents became lackadaisical. I think It was a trade-off that had to be made, considering the circumstances. If we were to do this again,i one thing i would change would be the way the post-production was handled.
Overall, i think the rest of the production team did a solid job.Eunice (producer) and Ugo (Director) did a good job at organising the pre-production documents. Ugo specifically was good a conveying his idea and how he wanted it work. This made it easier for Kenny and me to come up with the visual concept. Jordan helped book out equipment and set up the props we needed for filming.He also helped make the Plasticine models for the idents. We were all involved in the shooting of the idents. I can confidently say, We achieved what we set out to do.
Explain the changes made to the ident resulting from various legal and ethical and financial constraints and unforeseen challenges (Kenny)
The changes we made to our ident idea resulting from various legal, financial and ethical constraints led to the improvements and final decisions for our suit of idents. One of the constraints we faced was colour as it needed to represent the school while relating to its theme and house colours in which target audiences are able to recognise without seeing the CTK logo.
A legal Constraints we acknowledged whilst in the process of creating and distributing our media product. we as a group made sure that our ideas and themes did not offend people's ethnic backgrounds, gender or religious beliefs. We also had to make sure that we did not discriminate against minority groups.The reason for this is to make sure that all media products that are distributed are not breaking the law. Another reason is to make sure that products are suitable for its intended audience. A financial constraint we faced when set this task, was buying the equipment needed to bring our idea to life which was costly as we needed to keep on buying more materials to do retakes of footage. This had a big impact on our ident as no further work would be able to be done as we were lacking materials and essential props and tools needed in the production of our product. The equipment needed for this stop motion production to work was: playdoh, stencils, baking soda, vinegar, science lab test tubes, lab coat as these were needed across our suit. The play-doh was a huge constraint as it was seen as the continuity across the suit of idents. In the beginning we used black to represent our idents but later discovered that it was not appropriate as it didn't apply to the college channel we our advertising for so to fix this we had to go and purchase more play-doh and choose a colour that suited the CTK house design.
A legal constraint that we faced was copy right through the music we used as at first we wanted to use latest track for the backing of our dents but then realised that we needed permission which was a long process. so we decided that it was in our best interests to use royalty free music as permission is not needed . A ethical constraint we faced was making sure that the ident does not alienate any ethnic minority group so we decided to do stop motion which has a wide audience share allow us to bare in mind all the audiences not just the students but the likes of the colleges governors and parents.
A legal Constraints we acknowledged whilst in the process of creating and distributing our media product. we as a group made sure that our ideas and themes did not offend people's ethnic backgrounds, gender or religious beliefs. We also had to make sure that we did not discriminate against minority groups.The reason for this is to make sure that all media products that are distributed are not breaking the law. Another reason is to make sure that products are suitable for its intended audience. A financial constraint we faced when set this task, was buying the equipment needed to bring our idea to life which was costly as we needed to keep on buying more materials to do retakes of footage. This had a big impact on our ident as no further work would be able to be done as we were lacking materials and essential props and tools needed in the production of our product. The equipment needed for this stop motion production to work was: playdoh, stencils, baking soda, vinegar, science lab test tubes, lab coat as these were needed across our suit. The play-doh was a huge constraint as it was seen as the continuity across the suit of idents. In the beginning we used black to represent our idents but later discovered that it was not appropriate as it didn't apply to the college channel we our advertising for so to fix this we had to go and purchase more play-doh and choose a colour that suited the CTK house design.
A legal constraint that we faced was copy right through the music we used as at first we wanted to use latest track for the backing of our dents but then realised that we needed permission which was a long process. so we decided that it was in our best interests to use royalty free music as permission is not needed . A ethical constraint we faced was making sure that the ident does not alienate any ethnic minority group so we decided to do stop motion which has a wide audience share allow us to bare in mind all the audiences not just the students but the likes of the colleges governors and parents.
3) Evaluate how you conduct your roles (Kenny)
In this production i was placed under the role of Camera Operator/Director of photography in which i was responsible for how the footage will look and turn out, my role i would say is the most important role as i am trying to capture the best appreciated side of what the director wants to see on screen. I also helped the editor with the editing as two hands working on the editing was more effect as it saved us more time and allowed us to go back and treat those idents that were not shot and needed improvements. I also did the storyboards and animatic which helps the group, audiences and client to understand what the suit of idents will be about and to also give them an idea on what the finished product will look like.
However, it’s also used to point us in the right direction when we go off task. One of my weaknesses while tackling this role was when me and Ese was editing the footage the colour grading and controlling the lighting another was using the green screen via one of our idents as we had to change the pitch of the football ident to grass which was easy but was hard placing it as the actual footage recorded was distorted in which gathered to be a stressful process but in the end we tackled the problem but after just tackling that problem the door opened to yet another in which was placing audiences at a slanted l to show them cheering to give a feel of a sense of realism. But we surpassed this issue to by making use of teamwork in which i confided in Ese for help with this ident which made production more faster and also added more creativity as two minds were really stronger than one. In addition, my strengths in this production was also when i was editing as i was able to help the editor with the editing to make the process faster, stress free in order of we to achieve what we are after and to also meet the set deadline on time.
Another strength in this production was being organised and helping with organising the group whilst also motivating them to work. For example i would ask the group if they want to do tasks individually or in a group, if any work was outstanding i would remind them what needs to be completed. However, at times i also had a moment in which i held back my team in which when we were doing our production plan i didn't fill one of my section to a sufficient amount of detail.
Explain what you have tried to accomplish through the suite of idents
(EUNICE)
What we tried to accomplish through our suite of idents is to show the creativity of the CTK students and the ethos of the college. By showing the creativity of the CTK students, we decided to have an art based ident, music, science and also sports, to show the different types of innovation students have in the college. We had a chosen theme which was ‘Things come to life’, this meant that within the idents we are trying to showcase the different activities that the college has, that adds to self-development as a student of the college.
From the first meeting with the client, we were able to plan out our ideas based on the information he gave us. One being the colour scheme which is purple, we decided to use purple plasticine, as it is useful to keep the brand identity. A strength of this is that we were able to effectively follow the client’s demands. Another strength is that we tried to show an accurate reflection of what the college is about, and how everyone will see it. This is because we chose to show the artistic side of the college, because there are a wide number of creative students in the college itself.
A weakness of this is that we couldn’t use a lot of discretion because we didn’t have a lot of freedom when it came to planning out our ideas. However, when it came to negotiating with the client, we were able to use different colours, but we stuck with the colour scheme of the college which is purple and white.
Evaluate how you conducted your roles
(EUNICE)
I had the role of a producer. As a producer, I ensured that all of the pre-production documents such as licenses, permissions are completed before the deadline. I was responsible for the budget, risk assessments, reccees, booking out the equipment (such as the camera, tripods). In my opinion I feel that I was able to successfully fulfil the role as a producer because I was able to make sure everyone was on track with what needed to be done and also meet our intended deadlines. However, I have also gained a new skill which is stop motion, as at times I helped with taking the pictures for our idents. During the production period, I feel that I was able to contribute positively because I had to scout for locations, recce them and also do a risk assessment for each classroom. One of my personal strengths of being a producer I also have to be organised and make sure everyone is doing their assigned job.
In my opinion I think that there were a number of positives and also weaknesses as a production team. An advantage of this is that we were able to successfully complete the suite of idents before the deadline date, and also had enough time to amend or tweak anything in the idents. Another advantage is that as a production team, we worked really well because as a group, we were able to solve all of the problems we encountered together.
One weakness we had was with the art ident, where there were red dots which made the ident look quite messy, but we didn’t have any time to re-shoot or try to find a way to cover the red dots to make it look more professional.
Evaluate how you conducted your roles
My Role- executive producer (Jordan)
When it came to roles, as an individual i was an executive producer which as a role made me responsible for the process of forming ideas and making them into a product further more as the executive producer i would spend a lot of my time working along side the director of photography and the director while working on the shoot. Also i was responsible for sourcing all permissions and all props needed for the shoot, As i worked in this role i found that you have to be very organised and you would have to collects ways of improving the shoot for example when it came to an issue we had regarding lighting as the executive producer i would have to be a step ahead and i would have to source a lighting kit.
When it came to the strengths of my role ,i enjoyed the fact that i had the control over the visual style During the shoots. i spent a lot of my time working with the DOP and the director, so when it came to trying to put our ideas to life i made sure that we spent a week getting familiar with stop motion due to it being very time consuming and very easy to bump into errors so during this week we experimented and we created mock ups, which really helped us gather the stop motion technique.
When it came to the strengths of my role ,i enjoyed the fact that i had the control over the visual style During the shoots. i spent a lot of my time working with the DOP and the director, so when it came to trying to put our ideas to life i made sure that we spent a week getting familiar with stop motion due to it being very time consuming and very easy to bump into errors so during this week we experimented and we created mock ups, which really helped us gather the stop motion technique.
However i found there was a weakness of being an executive director was because i had to do a lot for example my team made me responsible for sourcing all of the props and equipment, which was quite cost effective so if we was to do this again i would hope to share the cost and the contribution of sourcing props and equipment.
Consultation
In terms of my role, we were firstly given a brief to review and look at and then we arranged our initial first meeting with the client who had set a live brief. when meeting the client we recorded a brainstorm with the client negotiating or settling any conditions within the brief that may be variable. while we was still with the client we decided to share our ideas that we have come up with just by viewing the brief , the client gave us feedback based upon his own desires and preferences. as the executive producer i had to consult the director and we discussed and studied the client and his specifications and we wanted to build a concept that would give us the opportunity to add more flair creatively.
Pitching
when it came to pitching the final idea to the client,one idea was finalized being the " Things come to Life" and as the executive producer i worked with my team and we pitched to the client as to how we was to put together these idents with the time and budget we had.
Production budget
Treatment
Production Plan
Designs
Potential Problems with Health and Safety, Budget, Practical skills and Resources
Possible Solutions
In terms of my role, we were firstly given a brief to review and look at and then we arranged our initial first meeting with the client who had set a live brief. when meeting the client we recorded a brainstorm with the client negotiating or settling any conditions within the brief that may be variable. while we was still with the client we decided to share our ideas that we have come up with just by viewing the brief , the client gave us feedback based upon his own desires and preferences. as the executive producer i had to consult the director and we discussed and studied the client and his specifications and we wanted to build a concept that would give us the opportunity to add more flair creatively.
Pitching
when it came to pitching the final idea to the client,one idea was finalized being the " Things come to Life" and as the executive producer i worked with my team and we pitched to the client as to how we was to put together these idents with the time and budget we had.
Production budget
Treatment
Production Plan
Designs
Potential Problems with Health and Safety, Budget, Practical skills and Resources
Possible Solutions
Production
when it came to production we arranged everything correctly because we gave ourselves a week to work with stop motion and get the jist of it so we created 2 mock up idents as the executive producer i watched over my team and worked very closely with the DOP and the director and then the next week we managed to film all 4 idents however we ran into some issues that were fixable in post production.
when it came to production we arranged everything correctly because we gave ourselves a week to work with stop motion and get the jist of it so we created 2 mock up idents as the executive producer i watched over my team and worked very closely with the DOP and the director and then the next week we managed to film all 4 idents however we ran into some issues that were fixable in post production.
Evaluate the success of the process or responding to the brief and the effectiveness of your group organisation - informed by the feedback of others
(Jordan)
Then a week later we began to film the actual final idents, as a team i would say we all came together for example for every single shoot all 5 members of our team was there and if we had a situation where a member of the team was unable to come to college, they will be very quick to communicate via whatsapp asking what they can do to help the team move forward. when we began shooting we were unable to gain access to one of the rooms so we had set up a contingency plan so we could not let this setback affect or jeopardize us from hitting our deadline. so as a team i would say we were successful within the process and we managed to hit our final deadline.
The process was successful because as a team we all worked successfully and communicated well which overall gave us more time to work on the idents further our preparation was very organized which helped enhance the success of our product. From reviewing the client's feedback we acted on things such as the lens flares and things such a colour correction which could fortunately be fixed in pre-production.
6B) Evaluate how you conduct your roles
Ugonna
My role director controls the artistic and dramatic aspects of the idents, and visualizes the script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision. As a director i have a key role in choosing the cast members and production design. I have to make sure that the production team understands my creative vision.On one hand i feel like i was able to brainstorm and portray my ideas clearly to my group. Also i made a valid effort to communicate with my group with weekly updates.However on the other hand i feel like i could've improved on executing my the ideas while filming for example one of the new skills i was getting used to was stop motion. Sometimes during filming i would need to stop filming to re do the shoot because of minor mistakes.
This mistake could be partly caused by our teacher being absent at the start of the unit for a few weeks, as he was not able to teach us about stop motion properly. This resulted in a minor delay. However this delay was solved by doing independent research about stop motion. As a result I was able to have some sort of knowledge in stop motion , even though my limitations were evident.
