Studio Production: Workshops with Del Brown

For the past couple of weeks we have been taking part in some creative workshops with Del Brown who is a freelance Director and Vision Mixer. For all of us, this has been the first time on the course that we have worked in the gallery and the studio floor simultaneously. Previously, we have been able to use the cameras in the studio space, however, we hadn't been able to work in the space as it would be used by a Television crew. For the past couple of weeks we have been having tutorials and exploring roles including the vision mixer. The vision mixer sits at the vision mixing desk next to the director and cuts between the cameras, therefore editing the show live. It was a really interesting experience using the desk and Del taught us his technique which makes it easy for you to access all of the buttons at the same time.
In terms of camera work, today we were using all 5 of the cameras that we will be using for the show and matched them up. It is very important for the show that all of the cameras look exactly the same as this will make the editing look seamless and give the overall appearance a professional, clean look. Del taught us how to do this using a greyscale chart. The chart is put in the centre of the set and all of the cameras must be lined up in front of it so they can be white balanced and adjusted. To assess this, some of the crew were in the gallery looking at the cameras on the monitors to give the camera team feedback on the colour. This was a really interesting learning experience as we haven't had to do that for any other projects and it was surprisingly challenging to match up all of the cameras. However, we were able to work as a team and experiment with the settings on the cameras to get them looking as close as we could.
We then got the opportunity to take on every role in the show. Rotating round, we went through the first three minutes of the script so that everyone was able to understand the demands of each role and what it entails. I found this workshop really interesting and it surprised me as some of the roles I thought I wouldn't enjoy, I really exciting. Directing was very challenging as there was a lot to remember and everyone is waiting for your cues. However, there was a real energy to this role and it was quite enjoyable after a few takes. In terms of the studio floor roles, I have liked being on camera. Using the talkback and listening to the director for shots was an interesting experience also. I found it just as exciting to be instructed by the director as you feel like you have responsibility to deliver what they want.

Studio Production: Trailer Concept + Development

As the main Director for the Trailer VT, I have come up with the concept for it and pitched it to the producer and the rest of the VT team. We had been struggling to come up with ideas for this VT, which will again be featuring our character Norman. The trailer will be a 'Norman-made' trailer which means that although we will be making it, Josh - the show's Producer wants it to look as if Norman has made it himself.
Norman's character is a failing actor and he believes that he has great acting talent. The trailer that he has supposedly made himself needs to look amateur and show off his rubbish acting ability and general film making skills.
I brainstormed some ideas for this VT and came up with several options including a super hero themed trailer. Norman will transform himself into his super hero alter ego 'Nor-man', who will go about his daily life, injecting himself into the lives of others. I imagine that we could play around with this and make it look very spoof-like, with Norman running around and attempting super hero tricks, giving it a comedic element which is very important. The idea is that he will be totally useless as both an actor and a super hero and the trailer will expose. I would like the rest of the trailer to include a quick montage section as he becomes a superhero and some low budget titles that will give it more of a trailer feel to it. Out of the ideas I had, the other team members thought this would be the best idea and will form the basis for this VT. I will then work from a script to bring it to life!

Studio Production: VT Idea Development/Adjustments

We have had several meetings now regarding the VTs and have decided to stick with one particular character - Norman Bates, who is a friend of the host. The timings of VTs have been changed so that the first VT will now be 3 1/2 mins and will be a mockumentary featuring Norman. The contestants will need to watch the mockumentary closely as they will be asked questions regarding the details of the film. We have decided to keep some of the original idea where Norman will be acting out elements from a well known film, such as a few lines or an action. He will still be recording this onto his own camera which we will edit to look poor quality and home video-esque. However, the mockumentary element will include two other cameras which will be the crew cameras who will be making the mockumentary about Norman. This decision was made because the audition tape alone didn't have much content and wasn't dynamic enough as a film in its own right. Therefore, Josh as the producer felt like adding the extra cameras would give the overall film more depth.
In terms of the other VTs, they will both be around 1m30 and will be used to set up for other rounds rather than featuring in rounds. One of them will be a trailer that will be shot as if Norman has made a trailer for his own film. The last VT will be a short film trivia featuring some surprising facts. We have already decided that this will take place at the studios and will be presented by the host of the show.

As a VT Team, we had a meeting after discussing the new vts with Josh. We decided to brainstorm ideas for the character of Norman. In conclusion, we decided his appearance would need to look geeky. He would also need to be incredibly interested in film and acting, but to the extent that it would appear humorous onscreen. Inspirations for Norman came from several influences including the character of 'Max', portrayed by Jamie Foxx from 'The Amazing Spiderman 2'. This character is completely obsessed with Spiderman and has filled his room with fan memorabilia. As a group we decided that Norman's room would be filled with film related objects and memorabilia as well as posters, of which he will have cut his own face out and stuck onto the posters. In terms of my role as a Director, I have been working with Saskia to assist Cheyenne in the process of brainstorming ideas so that we can come up with as many ideas as possible and choose the best concept for all of the VTs. Making the changes to the original ideas has allowed us to expand on them and develop them further to produce an outcome of the best possible standard.

Studio Production: Mockumentary: First Test Shoot and Idea Change

For the longest of the three VTs, we will be filming a mockumentary which will centre around the character of Norman. Originally, the VT was going to be a home video-esque, one take film that would be filmed as if Norman was doing it all from his camera at home. The contestants on the show would have to guess which films or characters he was acting out using a box of props and costumes. Since having a meeting with Josh and a first test shoot as part of a work shop, this has been altered. We were given the task to film a practice VT, we decided to use this time to film a first draft version of this VT with Helen featuring as Norman. After feedback we were told that the one take approach didn't give it enough excitement and it generally was a bit flat.
In reflection, Josh has composed the idea of a mockumentary which will feature another camera acting as the documentary crew. We have decided to keep Norman's camera in there as well to give the VT more depth and make it more exciting visually. This should also make the film more distracting for the contestants as they will be questioned on this VT and its important that it is challenging for them. The mockumentary will now be 3 1/2 minutes which will give us more time to extend it and allow for the extra material. In hindsight I think that the test shoot was a very positive thing to carry out as it highlighted issues with the original idea and has allowed us to re-think and come up with something that will hopefully improve the overall production value of the VTs.

Studio Production: Character Profile: Norman

The main character that will feature in the VTs is Norman. Norman or 'Normie', as nicknamed by his mum will be a friend of the show's host. Josh, the Producer wrote the character as a failed actor who is completely useless. He should have a clumsy, awkward demeanour and have a 'geeky' appearance. As a VT team we sat down and discussed how we thought Norman should look and what age group/actor type we should look for.
We decided that he should be middle aged. His most notable features would be greasy hair and glasses. He would also wear braces and high rise trousers, which will add to his appearance. In terms of the actor required. They would need to be male and be atleast 35 of age. I think the character should be very confident in his acting abilities and think that he has a real chance of becoming a successful actor so the audience at home almost pity him. This will give the character a comedic element and make him more likeable. We plan to look for actors on Casting Call Pro as well as ask the rest of the crew if they have any recommendations for this role. The actor would need to be a good actor in order to pull the character off and give it the comedic element we're looking for.

Studio Production: Character Research

We are currently in the process of developing the character for Norman who will feature in the VTs. We had a discussion as a group as about what the character should be and the requirements to look for in terms of actors. When I think of the character, I immediately envisioned the character of 'Max' from 'The Amazing Spiderman 2' who is portrayed by Jamie Foxx. The character is an engineer as Oscorp and has a very geeky persona. He is middle aged and lives with his mum, but is also completely obsessed with Spiderman. In the film we see his bedroom where every corner is filled with Spiderman memorabilia and posters. I think that this setting would be perfect for the VT and the character of Norman, but instead we would fill the room with film memorabilia and posters of some of his favourite films and actors. I imagine the room to look similar to the one in Spiderman, in that it would look den-like with only a few lamps giving it a dingy appearance as if no one else goes in there.

When I saw the character of Max I also thought his appearance was perfect for what we were looking for. He has the same greasy slicked back hair and glasses. He also wears his trousers really high and has ill fitting clothing. The character also often talks to himself in the mirror, which I thought would be a good characteristic for Norman. I showed the other girls - Cheyenne and Saskia who will be the producer and other Director for the VTs a clip from the film which introduces the character of Max. The scene starts with the lamps in his room flashing on, exposing the posters and photos he has on his walls. He then pops up at the mirror where he pretends to talk to Spiderman. I can imagine a reveal for the character Norman being done in s a similar style, where we show the audience some cutaways of his bedroom to give some context to the character and allow the audience to see who he is.

Studio Production: VT Meeting/Development - Character

The VT team have had a couple of meetings to discuss ideas and develop on the scripts for them. As we are in the early days of production, the ideas can be altered and amended. We have been setting ourselves research tasks to braoden our exploration and give us some material to work from. Originally, Josh wrote a character for the VTs called Steve who would be a friend of the host and a failing actor. The purpose of the character is to give the show a comedic element and provide a central focus for the VTs.
We have brainstormed and built up a character profile for 'Norman' which is the new name for Steve. We felt this was a better choice as Steve was a very normal name. Some of the references we included for his profile include 'Angelos' from the TV Show 'Shooting Stars' and 'Max', played by Jamie Foxx  from 'The Amazing Spiderman 2'. Having character references allows us to know what to look for when casting him. In terms of the main lcoation for the VTs, we had decided on the living room in Cheyenne and Saskia's house as it is a relatively big space and has a section in the corner that we can use for a desk, it will be posing as his bedroom. As he is a film fanatic, we wanted his room to be filled with posters and film related items that he has customized, for example - he would cut out images of his own face and stick these onto the faces of characters on film posters that will cover his bedroom walls. We also wanted the bedroom to be dimly lit and dingy, I think that we could achieve this by just having a few lamps rather than using the lighting kits from the studio.
In terms of the trivia VT, we decided that we wanted the 'film buff' to be appearing in different locations that would relate to the films he was talking about. Originally, we thought about the 'Hazlitt Theatre' as a posibility but thought that this might now work with some of the facts being said. Instead, we thought about using the studio space environment that we have ready access to at the studios. Having the film buff walk around the studio floor or the gallery will be exciting backgrounds for the VT and should relate to what is being said. We would also have fewer restrictions filming at the studios than we would in a public space. The inspiration for this VT was something like 'Movie Mistakes' featuring Robert Webb, who narrates the show and pops up throughout to tell us some facts about the films.

I have been researching some of the facts that we could use. I found a few for well known films including 'Psycho' and 'Jurassic Park' which should be interesting and recognisable for the viewers of the show. This VT in particular is to entertain audiences whilst the final round of the show is being set up, therefore it should be both visually stimulating and should have good content. The other VTs however, will be used for question rounds and so the focus of the content should be on that to ensure the contestants can answer the questions. However, we plan to give the sudience some background insight into the character of Norman to give the VTs more entertainment value.