fridays session - finishing edit

today me and laurence came in early to finish the second episode. we filmed some missed footage and we also recorded some sound effects such as snapping branches and thuds from stamping on the floor and such. we also uploaded the new credits and put the title sequence on the timeline. it was all finished by 12.20 so it look us an hour to finish the editing for the second episode. after that, i had to go to the junction to film the fiver night. i wanted to leave the group some work to do so alex edited the teaser trailer for episode 3. matt and hayden wrote the script for episode 3 and they also started on the effects and storyboard. they got a lot of productive work done which was good.

thursday - the shoot for episode 2

today was the second attempt to shoot episode 2. the first time we have problems with time because we had to have a class meeting, the problems we had on this shoot were that we couldn't find a room to film in. when ever we found a room and got permission, somebody else walked in and said we couldn't use it. it was a lot of hassle and we spent about an hour looking for a room. when we finally found a room we got to work straight away. the set for this episode was a lot more relaxed. we also got it filmed quicker this time round as well. the first episode took about 2 hours with constant disruption. this episode took about an hour and a half to shoot.

on the shoot i was directing and laurence was in charge of sound and camera. everyone else had creative input but they were acting mostly. laurence did a great job considering he had so much to do. the reason why he was in charge of sound was because philippa didn't turn up. everyone else was infront of the camera so he was the only other person who could do it. he didn't mind. the stunts this time around were more fun as well. theres a scene when i need to punch hayden in the face. we simply just made it look believable and we added a sound effect over it. it turned out really great though. we also wanted this episode to be simpler than the first. so therefore we kept the shots simple and we stuck to the 180 degree rule.

after shooting me and laurence uploaded to final cut and we began editing. it took about 40minutes to edit the footage in sequence. the 1st episode took hayden and alex a lot longer to edit. me and laurence both agreed that we'd come in the next day and do some final touches to make it better.

reflection of the lesson

today we rehearsed and me and matt edited the script slightly to make it shorter. then me matt and hayden concentrated on finding non-offensive words that we can use for episode 2 and 3. we found a list of words that we could use:

gick - shit

turd

apache

twanger

wazzock

flange

shut up you brain donor

nail clipper

oxygen theif

sad act

div

mug

muppet

cretin

pleb

facicious

merc

ladies front bottom

doody face

vegetarian

log

donkey milker

butt breath

flap

knackers

gazungas

rehearsals today

today me and the rest of the cast are doing rehearsals getting ready for the second episode filming tommorrow.

overview of project

so far the project has had ups and downs, the ups being that we all get on well as a group, the downs consisting mostly of bad communication and bad timing for filming due to things coming up. the things that worked well were the title sequence and the credits. the casting was really good and the scripting has been good. equally there are issues with all of that though. some people didnt remember the script well enough, some of the cast can only act on certain days. the swearing in the script was an issue and for the second episode its going to be scrapped. we all thought it would be beneficial.

so far in the project ive had numerous roles. i've been the scriptwriter, the director and an actor. i've also filmed for the teaser trailers, audition and test footage, the title sequence and generally just helping out with the filming of the episode and such. i've also been organising everyone to get the work done. in order to make the next episode better, me and laurence are going to direct together. i believed that i had a lot of stress on me and if i directed the episode and characters, laurence could direct everyone else to ge the work done and watch over the editing. this would help release stress and the set would be calmer i think.

we also think that laurence should edit and then after he's edited the sequence, hayden and alex should return and tweek it, editing sound and adding effects. i think this would be more beneficial and laurence would get more of it done if he worked alone i reckon. the problem with the 1st ep is that it was cut too much. the second episode is going to be shorter as well, but due to the script, its impossible to cut it to 90seconds. we all agreed that 2minutes 30 would be a better time for the episode. it would be quick, funny and there would be enough going on to keep it interesting.

work done over the weekend

today we had a discusion over facebook as to what we all thought after the first episode. we reflected on the good points and bad points. changes we should make to the group and who worked well in their roles.

we all agreed that the title sequence and end credits looked brilliant. i honestly think their better than the actual episode. the music over them works really well as well. we agreed that the next episodes should have little or no swearing in them as well. the censors beeping all the time doesn't work very well and we got audience feedback about the beeping being annoying as well. this will be something we will change due to feedback from the audience.

we also got feedback that the characters are great. someone commented me saying sonny and vince were really funny characters. this is the kind of response we want and need. though i wasnt happy with the overall final episode, i was pleased that we got positive as well as negative feedback. we also got quite a lot of views as well.

fridays session

today was spent finishing everything. we finished the gag reel ready for airing after the episode. we finished the credits and title sequence which both looked really good. the first episode however needed a lot of work doing to it. there were gaps, the swearing hadnt been censored and it needed cleaning up as well. alex and hayden are brilliant at editing, however i don't think they know how to edit comedy. some of the jokes in the script were ruined by the editing. hopefully the second episode will turn out better. also, the editing was a little too quick for my liking. the cuts shouldn't be so quick because you lose the humour that the actors and script are expressing. it just looks like a short film at the moment. i think that the storyboard should be followed more accuratly next time, and by that i mean, it should be followed next time.

we all worked really hard though today to get it finished. towards the end we were all helping eachother efficiently. we met the deadline of 7.00pm as well.

shooting episode 2

today we planned to shoot for episode 2 put things didn't go according to plan. i got into college at 10.50, we were shooting at 12.20. i got in early so i could plan for filming by drawing the storyboard and shot list. everyone else started to arrive and at 12 o'clock we went to go pick up the equipment. nick told us that we had to be back at the classroom at 1.05. dispite this we went to shoot in G11 like last week. we set up and began filming, we didn't get much done in the 30minutes we had. we went back to the classroom and realised that we were having a group therapy session. though this session helped sort out problems in the group, it made more problems for my group. we didn't have enough time to go film. instead me and matt went and filmed the last of the title sequence. we got work done today but we didn't get the episode filmed. the deadline for it is on tuesday next week and we arent going to make it.

production forms and risk assessments for second shoot.

production forms for episode 2

we needed evidence of what we were filming before going off so as a group we needed to gather paperwork together that stated where we would be, how long filming would take, what equipment we'd have and what we were filming. this covered health and safety as teachers must know where we are at all times. if there were any problems with what we had written, we'd have to change it before shooting. philippa was in charge of gathering paperwork for our group. here is the evidence.

action plan for group for wednesday

i want philippa to download the song and then matt and joe can get to work on the title sequence. i want hayden to help them to begin with though so he can explain how to cut with whip cuts. then it's up to them. i also want the credits to be finished as well.

alex and hayden need to get as close to finishing the 1st episode by the end of the lesson.

i'm going to type up the script because my printer isn't working and im having issues with my email. it won't take long, and that way i can also print it at colleridge.

i want laurence to play around with footage we have and make an image to promote the show. using the title and the characters.

action plan for this week

finish script for 2nd episode
make sure everyone is working to the best of their abilities and push people to work harder
edit gag reel footage ready for showing after the episode is aired
update my blog nightly

self assessment

how well have you kept up with tasks. blogging etc ..
-okay, i could do more but i concentrate more on making sure our microseries is more successful. i should put time aside for blogging more too though. i think i'll get better once we've finished the first episode.i need to add visuals to my blog as well because it looks like mostly words at the moment. i do keep up to date with my work, i should just do more.

how well has marketing gone?
- so far its gone well. we currently have a facebook, twitter and blogger page that we update everyday or every other day. we need to keep people interested. on facebook we have over 100 fans already.

how well has scripting, planning gone etc...
-scripting has gone very well, im glad everyones comfortable with me doing it. it seems that they trust me and because of that, i just get on and write ideas down. plannings gone well, except we need a better storyboard next time, i think it'll be easier now because we know the room we're shooting in and we know the actors.shooting went well except for interruptions from teachers when they knew we were filming.

how close to schedule are you?
- we currently have 3 days until the day we show it and we have all of our footage, we just need to edit it together and get a move on. we'll make it

casino, whip cut scene

todays lesson

today we filmed most of the title sequence and we filmed the missing bits from the first episode that we will then upload at colleridge on wednesday. the footage we got was of the flashback scene where sonny throws a frijj at damien. laurence played the part of damien. i directed him so that when the frijj hits him, it's as if it's a brick. he understood what i meant and acted very well. couldn't have asked for more really. the impact shots we got were great. we looked ver the footage afterwards and it came out really well. hayden changed the lighting on the camera so it didn't look as cheap. it looked quite professional i thought.

during the second lesson hayden pieced together the final storyboard for the title sequence in his book, or at least in his head, we're all clear now what we title sequence will be like and we're all happy with it. we're taking inspiration from the film casino. whip cuts were used in casino to give the film extra energy, we thought that it would work well in the title sequence.

mondays lesson

today we all got given different jobs to do for the remainder of the day. alex and hayden were given the job to edit the 1st episode. matthew hornby and joe were given the job to write out the final credits and put them in the correct order. they also wrote down ideas for the title sequence. me and laurence were editing the gag reel footage. that was my action plan for the day, unfortuantly it didn't go according to plan.

for a start, hayden didn't turn up with the footage which was on a hard drive. we missed a whole lesson because he missed it and alex couldn't edit anything. he turned up eventually and they got to work editing it. they both agreed that the footage alone wasn't funny but when it was in sequence it worked really well. by the end of the lesson they had edited 30seconds and it was brillaint. due to the fact that the work he did was good and pleased me, i didn't break haydens kneecaps. all joking apart, i did talk to him and told him about commitment to the project and he understood. he won't be doing that again. alex got on really well with it as well, he told me that him and hayden work really well together so i trust them to get on and finish it hopefully on wednesday.

matt and joe did a really good job as well. they wrote out all of the cresdits and it looked great. they were in a good clear order, starting with cast and moving towards producers and such. the ideas matt had for the title sequence were good too. he looked up fonts that we could use for the names of the characters.

me and laurence got on well as well, most of the time however was spent helping the rest of the group with various different jobs. philippa was in charge of handling paperwork and sorting out the music. she managed to sort out the music for the credits but she couldn't find a download for the title song. i'll help her do that on wednesday.

marketing detention deficit

we now have a facebook group, a twitter, a blog, a vimeo account and other video sites. the facebook and twitter sites are the most vital because there the ones that attract the audience. our audience are 16-22 year olds and due to the fact that most people to fit in that age group use them, it would be foolish not to have them. our facebook and twitter are updated everyday and are slowly but surely looking quite good. i've helped out on the facebook group page. i wrote most of the information including character profiles and crew. another thing we're doing is posting events such as filming and trailer release dates and such. just to keep people interested.

it was alexanders idea to have the characters write something everynow and then on the page. i did it for when the trailer came out, advertising it as if i was pier. the reason why i think this is a good idea is because it makes the microseries different. and the characters start to get more noticed as well which is vital for success.

the trailer was my idea and though people have mixed feelings about the final trailer, i think it works quite well. its only short so people don't get frustrated with it. it's snappy and includes the idea that the regulars argue a lot and it doesn't show any of the characters, keeping it a secret. this aspect of the trasiler makes the viewers want to tune in and find out what it's all about.

how to market our microseries

there a several ways to market things online, all with different approaches. the guild for example, which is a microseries about a group of geeks who play together on a game and call themselves the guild, uses an interesting way to appraoch an audience. firstly, the microseries is about a group of people who always sit infront of a computer. the audience of the series are going to be people at a computer because that's where it's shown. so in a way, the audience can relate to the characters better, making it instandly more appealing to watch. living with the infadels is successful also but isnt about a group of people going on the computer all day. therefore it doesn't have the same appeal.

another thing that the guild does is it has dvd's now as well. you can buy the series on dvd's and watch them when ever you like. this is good because it widens the audience. you don't have to have a computer now to watch it. the guild is a very popular microseries. microsoft have sponsered them in fact and that is probably why their market campaign is so successful. their website is very good and looks professional as well. and it had facebook and xbox live links as well. social ntwork sites are good because they too bring in more audiences. social ntworking sites such as facebook and bebo are mostly younger people. if the guild are trying to attract such an audience, it would be foolish not to advertise on social networking sites that they go on. xbox live and playstation network have become more popular now as well. the guild advertise on xbox live and you can also watch the episodes on there as well. all of these things enable the guild to attract a certain audience.

our target audience are 16-22 year olds so the best way to advertise would be on social networking sites such as facebook. twitter is becoming more popular so that would also be another good way to advertise.

15th january

today we did most of the paperwork for the project, we made a group folder to keep it all in. we all got it done so we could concentrate on editing the episode and move onto the next set of issues. the teacher didn't want it trailing behind. i made sure that the footage was uploaded okay and i also made sure everyone knew what they were doing over the weekend. after checking on the footage i did a shot log as well so we could confirm footage we had and such. after looking over the footage i realised that some of our footage was in peep show format. it was in first person and it looked really great. me and hayden talked about the use of it but it struck me as an overcomplicated idea. the use of first person and the rest of the footage mixed together looks really good and hopefully will add something to our final product.

filming the first episode

today was the day of the shoot and i was acting as well as directing the first episode. today was slightly stressful but it worked out in the end. to begin with, i told everyone to get into college for 11 so we could set up for filming at 12. we already had a room sorted out but we needed teacher clarification if we were going to use it. we went to the class and nick came down and let us use the room. we went to the room and started setting up, at this point though it was only me, joe, hayden and laurence. i contacted alex and matt and they were both on their way. i wasn't too concerned by that though because i knew when we were expecting them. aimee, who's playing valerie, didn't finish until 12.20 so i knew when to expect her as well. after setting up a teacher came into the room and told us to leave because there was a lesson on soon. i wasn't happy by this stage but apologised to her for the inconvenience and we went scouting for a different room. i had a word with my old english teacher and he told me that there was a room we could use that was free for an hour and a half. we quickly realised that we had to work really hard to get it all filmed in time. when we got to the new room matt and alex turned up and then we began shooting. amiee turned up at about 11.50, so i asked her if there was anything she wasnt sure about. she seemed really happy with the script and what we expected from her which was good.

the filming was a slow process at the beginning because people were having a little too much fun but after we all decided that we had to pick up the pase, we got to work. luckily we shot it all with in the gap we had. there were only a few shots that we had to film later on.
shots we have to film:
close up of cans
frijj scene
outside shot of door
clock

problems on set
everyone was trying to take the lead role. i was explaining to everyone that they had creative input but the reason why i was acting so strongly and agressive at times was because i knew that we had to get it all done by 2.40. we were running out of time. we had some fall outs along the way but by the end of it everyone realised that it was for the best and everyone was happy with the shoot.

a teacher kept on coming in and bringing in students. we asked her nicely at first and explained that we were filming and that it wasn't possible for the students to be in there but she wasn't listening so we asked the students if they wouldn't mind staying to one sid of the room and it worked out okay in the end. teachers walking in though was aggrivating though because they didn't care if they got in the way. i could tell that everyone in my group were just being civil but i stood my ground and faught back.

in one of the scenes i had to throw a pencil case at hayden, on the third take he got a nose bleed. we had laurence though who was acting as supervisor and he is first aid trained as well so he helped hayden out. he was fine and laughing about it oddly. i felt quite bad though. it shows that accidents happen, im just glad we had someone on set to supervise and help.

production forms for first shoot - episode 1

model release forms for actors

in any production that is boradcasted, you need permission from the people involved and permission from the people starring in the production. here is a list of our model release forms that we gathered throughout the filming of the episodes.

model release form for hayden martin, who played keith


model release form for alexander whitcombe, who played pier



model release form for matthew hornby who played vince



model release form for laurence smith who played damien



model release form for aimee who played valorie

model release form for tim hodson who played cheif

model release form for josh lucas who played chris

model release form for me who played sonny

reflection of this morning

what we need to do today:

today we have a few things that need to get done before we film tomorrow. we need to upload the footage of the teaser trailer, record sound for it and then upload it to facebook. after that people will then know what to expect and it will get people interested.

we also need to upload the test footage for the character personas and then edit it. then upload it to our blog page for detention deficit. after this is all done we can then prepare for the shoot tomorrow.

the casting director is going to meet the person who is willing to play valerie. the rest of the cast has been sorted out.

8th january

today we as a group were told that instead of working in one big group, we'd be divided into 2 groups and make 2 individual mini-series. to begin with i wasn't that concerned because i knew that we weren't working as productively as was nessessary. then i was informed that it was decided the day before and that some of the students were informed as well. after we were told that we were being split into different groups, the other group got out a script. to me, it was as if that's what they intended to do all along. and it bothered me that the casting director had written a script when it wasn't his job. that was the issue when we were a big group. everone was trying to do everyone elses jobs. i can safely say that i was one of the few who didn't. i thought that the marketing teams ideas were fine and that the storyboarder was getting some good ideas to paper. some people in the class just don't understand that if you work as a team, your part of that team. you don't go and do things behind the teams back without informing us. i just hope that the other team know what they're doing because almost all the ideas that we came up with for the miniseries, my group had thought of.

after this, my group sat down and I discussed what had to be done as we had an even tighter deadline now that so much time had been wasted. we all got set specific things to do over the weekend. my job was to finish the script. matt's job was to finish the detention deficits logo and title tag. then we decided that on monday we would do all that was nessessary to preper for filming either on tuesday or thursday.

research for project: the young ones

the young ones works the same way the breakfast club works, including stereotypes. each character is completely different. ones a punk and ones an anarchist. the conflict in the young ones is so good because of the characters and there beliefs and stereotypes. the thing i like about the young ones though is that it doesn't work on the characters good qualities, it works on their bad qualities. this is something i want to include in my script. i want the viewer to hate as well as love my characters.

research for project: stand by me

stand by me is another example of a group of people who interact a certain way. though stand by me doesn't work on stereotypes like the breakfast club, each character brings someone new to it which creates great interaction. i liked the idea that if you lined up the characters from stand by me, you could easily point out the strongest character, as well as the weekest. it's the way the characters were established at the beginning of the film. i wanted to have that with my characters as well. i wanted people watching to know who the strongest and most dominant character was. i wanted the viewer to realise how someone felt about someone else. i think it's important, especially in the pilot episode, to establish how everone feels and how the respond to one another. stand by me does this brilliantly.

research for project

while writing it occured to me that i was writing it a certain way. we wanted to have conflict between the 'regulars' and we wanted them to interact a specific way to make it funny. i took inspiration from a number of different films and television shows. while coming up with the pitch (the detention room) i thought of 'the breakfast club'. in a way, it too follows the same concept of a detention room with 5 different people who interact but don't nessessarily get along. i didn't want the characters to in any way resemble the characters in the breakfast club though. i thnik that if we stuck to 5 different stereotypes people wouldn't be as interested because they'd straight away refer to the breakfast club. also, when your working with stereotypes, people know what to expect. i wanted to keep the miniseries we were making fresh and slightly more real than the breakfast club. the thing that makes the breakfast club interesting is the fact that after a while, the characters change.
















the thing i did like about the breakfast club was that each character had different qualities that made the characters more enjoyable to watch, and made each person different. sometimes, characters can seem similar and it just doesn't work as well to my mind. one thing i did take from the breakfast club was the way it was written. i needed to find a way to write that would incorporate each character, and keep it interesting. the way the breakfast club is written is brilliant. two characters might be talking and then another one joins in, creating conflict. after that the other characters respond to the conflict. i used this technique in my script. i used the characters by their talking ( 2 characters talking) and then when someone else joins in a causes conflict, their qualities are shown.

different ways in which creative practitioners have exhibited their work in different media/art forms

there are many different ways of exibiting work. whether it's a blockbuster at the cinema or a grafitti tag on a street lamp, it's still a way of exibiting. other ways of exibiting work is through television, radio, film, music, newspapers, posters, billboards and others. there are so many ways to exibit work, and that's what people do. the most used way of exibiting work these days though is through the internet. 20 years ago the only people who could excibit work were the ones who could afford to. now though all you need is creative talent and access to the internet.


it's interesting to think that if the internet was widely available 20 years ago, would things have been different. when quentin tarantino made his first feature film, resouvior dogs, he excibited the film at a film festival and luckily got finance from a friend of his who was a producer. if he had access to youtube and public boradcasting sites similar to youtube, would he have still shown it at the film festival? would it have got made? would people have taken him as seriously? these days, absalutely anybody can put up a video to youtube and show off their work. it takes someone with real creative talent to get noticed though. due to the uprise in people producing work and showing it online, films and music and other means of work has to be of a higher standard before. could you imagine if a video on youtube that my neighbour made was better than martin scorsese's new film?



james cameron has exibited his work in an interesting way. his new film that was recently released called, 'avatar' is a good example. one reason why it;s a good example is because he spent 12 years on the project. he worte the script in 1999, 2 years after titanic, and bwliwved that the technology after wasn't capable of his vision for the movie; so what he did was he put the script away and said that he'd get it out once he thought that the technology was right. shortly after lord the rings two came out, james cameron saw it and saw gollums character. after seeing that he believed the film was ready to be made;so he got it out and began turning into a film. this is one way of exibiting because peoples excitement grew as time went on and people were curious as to what it would be like. it is also the most expensive film ever made, i know a few people who only saw it for that reason. people want to see good quality films and they believe that the more expensive, the better the quality.

due to the delay on avatar as a script, James Cameron waited until the technolgy capable for cinema was ready for his vision. The film avatar was made to be viewed in 3D. This means that the cinema showing the film needs 3D capablities, such as a 3D projection. The IMAX was popular as well. The IMAX has a longer screen and is one of the largest cinema screens in the world. This just reflects on james camerons huge scope. He wanted a big picture, and he made one. This therefore is how james cameron wanted to exhibit his film then. He made it for 3D. The only down side to having to show it in 3D is that the ticket prices are more expensive. why should someone spent more money on a 3D version when they could go see the available 2D version which is the same price as a normal ticket? why did james cameron produce a 3D film when some people would be reluctant to spend more money on it? The reason being is that the film is an experience. James cameron wanted to exhibit an experience, best seen in 3D. The reviews said that the 3D version was better as well. James cameron thought that his film was worth that little bit extra. That's why he chose to exhibit in a 3D cinema which is more expensive. This is one way to exhibit work. through the cinema, but some films made don't even get to be shown at the cinema. They go straight to DVD. does that mean that James camerons film is better simply because it's in the best quality and has a better experience? Does it have a better experience?

A group of people made their own version of 'lord of the rings' and published it online and it got a lot of attention. It was filmed in cambridge which is where I'm from so i heard about it. It got a lot of media coverage. It was on the news and was written about in newspapers. It got so popular it even has it's own fan base. People ask them to make more films in the same style. It sounds great, but does it mean that just because it isn't an original idea, it doesn't compare against Peter Jacksons version of 'lord of the rings'? Peter Jackson got a lot of media coverage as well and won a lot of awards including oscars. This too has it's own fan base and is hugely popular. But does that mean that it's bettee than the fan made video filmed in cambridge. It's a different way of exhibiting work, through the internet. And the fact that it isn't an original idea is interesting as well. It was made as a homage to the Lord of the rings film. Peter jacksons version was at the cinema and then went to DVD, when ever it's on television it's advertised a lot in advance. The film made in cambridge is just online. It never went through the cinema.

Their are many different ways practitioners have exhibited work, but how do you determine which way is best. They all have good and bad points. Avatar is an amazing experience, but it's quite expensive. ticket prices have been over 10 pounds for 3D showings. IMAX is more than that. But this was the way James cameron wanted it to be exhibited. The Lord of the rings filmed in cambridge was a great film, but it was only shown online. The thing about that is although it was only shown online, almost everybody has access to the internet nowadays. It technically has a wider range of audience. Not everyone can afford to go to the cinema. All ways of exhibiting work are appreciated but don't appeal to everyone. But they all hold the same value. They are ways of showing someones work.

meeting 6th january

today we discussed ways to market this product and write the script. the class was split into two groups, in was part of the scripting group. we went to a seperate classroom and begin finalizing character profile. we had several different ideas for characters; each having a character concept that would work in a short comedy show. the only problem was we hadnt discussed names for everyone yet. the casting director made the point in the meeting that if there's going to be a new person in detention each episode, he'll need to know them in order to cast them. what me and the group did was we gave the class a rough outline as to which characters would appear, though we aren't completely sure which characters they'll be using. after the scripts finished they'll be able to see which characters appear. also, reading how they act could help casting. the script shouldn't take long. the first episode will be done in time definatly.

in the end, after discussing it, I chose the five regular characters in my group. I listed their names and their value to the sitcom.

characters:

keith:
caffiene addict, drinks coffee when ever he can
stressed, quite jumpy
occationally has anxiety attacks with cause him to rash out
talks to much and talks very quickly, hard to make out at times
doesn't have a main character they talk to or disscuss, talks to everyone
sonny doesn't like keith

sonny:
each episode contains a flashback of how sonny got the detention
the detention in the flashback is riciculous
can get agressive at times. very agressive
each episode has a rumour about him. each rumour will be ludicrous
each rumour will have it's own nickname which sonny will react to
sonny doesn't get on will anyone really, but doesn't get on with valerie at all


pier:
known as the great escape guy
draws up crazy schemes to escape detention, he'll always think his idea is better than going through the door
qoutes prison films: the great escape,
quotes a line from shawshank redemption each episode that bugs keith

valerie:
rotten punk character, trouble maker
doesn't respond well to others being around her
she doesn't enjoy sonny's company very much
likes getting people in trouble

vince:
vince is a paranoid pesemistic
he talks mostly to pier, he responds badly to pier's escape plans
dismissing them as dangerous
wears a strainer on his head with tin foil to protect himself
very calm with his approach
believes spies are after him

after I decided the main characters I came up with an idea for the first episode. i only had the ideas in note form so I wrote them out and put the episode in order to give the group an idea of the episode structure. it was very simple. we decided to base the first episode on the 5 regular characters so that the audience then know what the sitcom is souly about. this draws attention to what sells the sitcom, or gets the most views.

i managed to get several quotes from prison films that we could incorporate. I also wrote down other references we could make. we went round as a group and saw if we had any ideas that could work. an idea hayden came up with was that pier could explain that he found his gold watch that he lost. he then explains that it's been lodged up his arse for 5 years. the reference of course being to 'pulp fiction' when christopher walken talks to butch about him and his dad being in a POW camp during the war in vietnam. therefore the reference works because he qoutes prison films. matt's idea was for vince to have the collinder on his head. although it's such a simple thing, it changed the writing because we pictured him a different way. he looked completely more insane with it on.

I took our draft for a basic first episode, I began to write up the script with the dialogue. I didn't get very far when we as a group were called in for a meeting. what happened was that the meeting we had already had was pointless, because some people didn't vote and then have an oppinion afterwards. communication was a problem and we sorted it out by coming around and being blunt as to how we felt about the ideas. we then all came to a comprimise.

through out the lesson we were thinking for a title. after thinking we came up with 2 names for the title. the first was THE REGULARS and the second was DETENTION DEFICIT. when we voted there wasn't enough votes to sicure the winner. at the end we came on a comprimise. we took the THE out of the regulars and put it with the other title giving you THE DETENTION DEFICIT. i was happy with the title in the end put the meeting to frustrate me slightly because people werent voting fairly. people voted for a name when they didn't even know the meaning of the word deficit. to me, this seems slightly odd. anyway, thats the title we're sticking with. towards the end of the lesson the marketing team started to think og how they could approach this. i believe they're using facebook and other social sites to gain interest.

todays meeting

today in the lesson we were given roles for the rest of the project and we had a meeting discussing our ideas for the project. the first thing we did was elect chairs who would run the meetings held. the way we did this was we elected people and then had a vote to see who got the most. after deciding for a while I voted for alex and tim to be the chairs. considering the importance of the role, i believe that this took far too long to decide and that we didn't discuss it properly. to my mind we don't speak as a whole, there are several different groups of people who are reluctant to participate in group activities. though this was a problem alex and tim did a very good job running the meeting and i believe it was a wise decision electing them.

the next thing the group did was we discussed ideas for the webisodes. the way we did it was we wrote ideas on a post it note and then talked about which ones worked well. we came up with several different ideas but in the end we decided that mine and haydens idea would work the best. my idea was that the webisode is based in a detention room after school and the same 5 people (regulars) are always there. each episode though I introduce a new character for that episode. theres conflict between the people in the room and we wanted to incorporate flashbacks as well so that, for a moment, it wouldn't just be filmed in one room. this would make it more interesting. the genre we chose was comedy. we believed this would be easier and a lot more fun to do. we then discussed characters that could be involved but the teacher rightly suggested that the roles for the class was more important, so we moved on.

the way we elected roles was the same way we elected chairs, people voted for who they thought would be best suited and then the person with the most votes got assigned the job. in the end i got the job of writer which i was happy with because i had some good strong ideas to work with my concept which we went with too. i was going to be working with alex, hayden and matt hornby which i was pleased about because we all get on really well and we all had some great ideas as to how it could go.

some people weren't even talking. then at the end of discussing the roles, they were asked what they wanted to do and they weren't interested. then some of us were shouted at due to the fact the our shouting stopped others from talking. i'm afraid that this wasn't true, though at times i was talking over people. there was nothing stopping them from joining in the discussion. in order to get the best end result, people need to embrace the idea and have fun.

roles:
directors: kirk, dave
editor: laurence
cameramen: matt L, tara, alex
title designer: matt H, hayden
casting director: mike
sound: philippa, sam
money handler: dave
writers: james, hayden, ales, matt h, alie
marketing: dave, alie
interweb: ashley

though we all got jobs in the end, the meeting to my mind didn't go so well. people were shouting to get heard and people were not being listened to. philippa and hayden tried several times to make a point but it was dismissed and then outruled before they'd even said it. i must say, to begin with i was acting as the chair purely because nothing was getting done and i didn't want to waste time; but other people in the class weren't even listening to alex at times. there's conflict in the class anyway. i believe that if people don't bite their tongue at times and work together with the rest of the group, nothing will get done. i only hope that it goes well. i have confidence in most of the roles. i know that dave and kirk will be brilliant directors.

todays session

today in class I watched some webisodes online and talked about what features they have that makes them appeal to an audience. I watched 'chad vader' which was about a guy who was the floor manager of a grocery shop. the concept being that chad is related to darth vader in some way. the thing that makes it appealing is that is has an active audience. all of the jokes in the webisode are parodys of star wars so they are easily identified. each episode ending with something that would make you want to return as well. in the one we watched, chad got a date. i believe that that's the most crucial part of making a webisode popular. there needs to be something that makes the viewer come back and watch more. with cliff hangers or unfinished endings, it gains popularity.



I also watched a webisode called 'living with the infidels'. it's about 5 asian guys living in a flat in yorkshire who want to be terrorists so that they can claim there 72 virgins in heaven. this too follows the same structure as chad vader in the sense that it finishes with something that makes you want ton return. for example, with one of the episodes, the guys get invited to a party. the next episode is of the party. people will want to see what happens next to satisfy their needs.

another one I watched was called 'the guild' which was far more simple in terms of how it was filmed. the entire thing was filmed in a webcam like format. the concept of it being that there are a group of gamer friends who have their own guild online. again each episode had something that needed to be solved in one way or another. it even has it's own t'shirts and dvd's that you can buy online. this is a good way to market something.



this is another one that i found. it's based on the television series, scrubs. it doesnt quite follow the same structure as the ones we looked at in class but it has comedy invloved and has likeable characters as well. in this webisode below, it's about how these two people feel about eachother. but instead of just talking, they sing a song. it's really funny and that's what makes you want to watch more.

link to show blog

www.cmdiplomashow.blogspot.com

what is the purpose of a show

moving on from shows that are about an experience, television is another medium in which shows are broadcasted to an audience. the difference is the interaction with the audience and the audience themselves. it isnt a case of going somewhere to see a show, it's in the comfort of your own home. the shows are different as well. a good example would be a sitcom such as 'the young ones'. at the time when it was being organised and broadcasted, the main cast and most of the guest stars were stand up comedians from 'comedy store' which was in london. they were cast becuase they were classified as the next generation of comedy and the young ones was trying to create a new fresh idea on television, moving away from the classic 'the good life' set up.



the problem was that stand up didn't tranfer well to television so they had to act differently to the way they'd have been used to doing live standup. this shows that television is completely different to sother shows such as stand up and street performances. it isn't just a case of filming a show at a comedy venue and then playing it on BBC. the reason being that it doesn't transfer. it's a completely different experience and therefore a different type of show. television is more personal, abit like cinema, except it's in the comfort of your own house. the show develops an intimacy with the viewer because it's a personal screening in a way.

what is the purpose of a show

another example of a show is street performances. the thing that seperates street performance from theatre and such is that the performers and confined. they're free to wonder round and interact with different people. there's a lot of diversity as well. there's a street performance that appeals to everyone, from jugglers to singers. at alton towers when i last went there were performers walking around on pogo stilts wearing scary costumes in aid to promote a new ride. this is an example of a street performer who isn't confined by space and interacts with people and doesn't nessesarily wait for the audience to come to them. in this case, the purpose of the show is to advertise and protmote the theme park ride.

other examples are living statues. living statues do wait for the audience to come to them. they don't move unless you give them some money. the site of one is always amusing and gives the audience a few laughs. the purpose for this show is to humour people and to make money. making money is obviously a big part as people have to make money in order to survive. not everyone put on shows to make money though. kareoke at a pub for example is putting on a show, put for pure entertainment purposes.

what is the purpose of a show

there are several different ways to put on a show. a show in simple terms is showing somebodies talent off for profit or for fun. there could be other purposes that apply to an individual show. cinema for example is a way of showing somebodies film. it shows not only the film makers talent, but the actors, editors and everyone else invlolved who feature in the credits. the atmosphere in a cinema is often the same. it's dark so the emphasis is on the screen and there's no distractions around. you're concentrating completley on the screen while you're in the cinema. the sound in a cinema is what my mum would call extremely loud. the reason for it's loud volume is again so there aren't any distractions, either out of the cinema or inside the cinema, and so you're completely absorbed into the story of the film. because it's loud and because it's big, it's a personal experience for the viewer. the film connects with you, which is what makes a film either scary or funny. if you didn't connect you wouldn't be able to construct a purpose for the film. going to the cinema is an experience and a show.

welcome to show

the new project I'm starting is called show. in a group I need to make a 1 minute (minimum) webisode. Each of us in the group will have different roles. I then need to market it and try and get as many views as possible. i've spoken to my friends in my class and I have some priliminary ideas to start off with. it should be a good project. I'm looking forward to learning from the experience of having creative control while sticking to roles in a group.