Testing in the green screen room

 

Today Adam, Callum and myself went down to the television studio to do some tests and get footage that we may be able to use in the title sequence of our pilot. This involved booking out a camera and tripod and getting shot of the show's host (Callum) striking various poses and making exaggerated movements as well as introducing the show. 

Adam and I took it in turns to film and get the right type of shot we needed (mainly long and mid/medium shots) using the green screen as a backdrop so that we can key in graphics in post production. We both gave Callum direction in how to move, where to stand (marking it with tape) and how to deliver any dialog. Which he took onboard and adde his own styling to. Adam also experimented with the lighting though due to technical faults we weren't able to get the strobes working. This isn't a setback though as we just wanted to try them out to see if they added anything unique to the footage. 

Notes from today's pre production

Today we as a group pitched our pilot 'The Blind Matchmaker' to our tutors and class. This was recorded on a video camera and will be marked and we'll be given feedback. We had considered the feedback given in our practice pitch on board and made some changes to the existing presentation and pitch. One of these changes was the addition of a demonstration of the show. Previously we'd explained the show's format in the form of a power point presentation, this method was not the best way of explaining how the show works and what each of the three rounds entails. So we decided a more visual aid would better display them. Our tutors gave us good initial feedback on this so I feel it was a good idea on our part.

We made a few inquiries today regarding booking filming time and equipment. Our tutors hadn't sorted out the booking of the television studio for filming yet so our group took the proactive decision to speak to the tutors, Mike in particular and get a spreadsheet sorted whereby all of the students could write their names next to the dates and times they want to film. We then spoke to Chris who is in charge of the media stores and asked about clip on microphones and the logistics of filming our pilot. We found out we'd be using the handheld DV cameras and a HD vision mixer.

We discussed the set and lighting setup at length with those roles belonging to Adam and Callum who have both been in charge of the design and setup. They have produced floor plans and the production schedule for the day as well as spoken to the drama department regarding sourcing talent for our production.

2nd Group Meeting - New Members and Pitch Discussion

Prior to our second meeting we (Leia and I) were told by our tutor that our group was going to be changed and our new members would be Adam and Callum. We convened for a meeting and I introduced them both to the idea and concepts of the The Blind Matchmaker.
They contributed some great ideas to the production and we also discussed the pitch we're going to have to make on Monday.

Topics that came up include:

• How we're going to present the VTs (Video Tapes) whilst we film- ideas that we came up with include using a green screen or employing chroma key in the post production edit, playing the videos on the television screen that is mounted to the wall in the college's TV studio. We are unclear as a group as to whether we'll be producing the show live in which case we can simply cut to the VT footage using a vision mixer and have the cast act as if they are watching the clips in the studio. 
• The Pitch/Presentation- We discussed this at length and decided to do a demonstration to best explain our idea and engage our potential investors. We're considering asking audience members up so that we may get them involved and help them to understand better. We will produce a powerpoint to accompany this and each having a speaking part in the presentation.

1st Group Meeting- Deciding Roles and Introducing Concept

We had been informed of the successful  pilot proposals chosen by the teachers to go into production and were sorted into groups to have our first production meeting. As two members of our group were absent it was just Leia and myself.I introduced and explained my TV pilot idea to Leia via a powerpoint I'd made and the diagram you can see at the bottom of the scanned meeting action sheet.

We discussed staying in contact, as communication skills are incredibly important to have in the making of a production. I noted down Leia's email address so that I could reach her beyond the classroom and send over any documents necessary.

We agreed that the genre of television programme calls for a multi camera to capture wide shots, mid shots and close ups. We endeavoured to talk more at length about this when we met with the other members of the group. 

The next topic of our meeting was how we were going to get the cast to appear in The Blind Matchmaker (the title of our production). This saw us deciding to produce a poster and put it up on the notice board near the drama department in the hope aspiring actors will get in contact. We also entertained the idea of also asking if anyone in the class would like to get involved. When we come to production we may be able to invite fellow class members to be part of the studio audience or get involved in the show as talent or crew. This will be subject to their availability though and we must not rely on it. 

I showed Leia what I had in mind for a the logo and prompt card designs and we agreed that she would form the art department and design the prompt cards. I emailed her the show logo I had come up with myself. 

Thinking about the filming of The Blind Matchmaker we turned our minds to the possibility of using clip on microphones and therefore vowed to enquire with Alex and/or Chris about their availability. 

We also briefly touched on set design and talked about getting a barrier of sorts for the parts of the show where the single people are separated so they cannot see one another and decided to look around college to see if there was anything that would be suited for this job. 

We both decided that we'd create a production schedule once we knew specific filming dates. I feel that our meeting was a productive one and that we covered a lot of bases considering we were two members down.