After completing the website im really happy with the end result. Going through the creative process has been a successful one. Although Ive constantly changed what I had produced I now have a finished product that I can be proud of, and feel that it could be seen as a professional site.
Overall I really enjoyed making the website and hopefully the hard work is reflected in how well the site content is relatable and how the site itself flows.
In a previous post I have discussed how we planned to get the audience involved with our programme. We wanted them to send us in 
videos of themselves performing magic tricks, and if we had a good enough turn out, we would use these videos for the countdown on the show. Unfortunately although I posted on endless amounts of magic forums and websites, we didn’t get a response. However a number of our crew members (including myself), sent in our videos, hopefully to get the ball rolling. By the time serious rehearsals had started for the show, we hadn’t got a response, therefore we used video clips found on Youtube and featured them in our show.
However as the time grew closer, all my endless forum posting had payed off! We received a tweet from a young magician called “Steve Bishop” aka “The Magic SB” who sent us one on his magic tricks, I then messaged him asking for permition to feature his videos on our websites and he graciously said yes. Therefore although all our efforts didn’t make a great turnout, we still had outside audience participation!!
This is when I started creating the Get Involved & Videos section of my website.
Ill discuss the Get Involved Part of the website first. The reason I am discussing this part first is because initially the “Get Involved” page and the “Videos” page were the same page.
Above is my original “Get Involved” page which features both details of how to get involved and examples of other videos sent to us. At first I thought this page was great, however as the rest of my site progressed I felt that the audience interactivity information should be more in depth and should have more focus.
Therefore I separated the pages and created the “Get Involved” section, which would primarily be the main focus for our audience participation, as it would have all the details of how to get involved with the show.
I am really proud of this page as it does everything it needs to, its informative, its magical and it fills all the space on the page. Once again the twitter feed widget features, although some people may think using this widget on more than one page is a bit too much, I just felt like it was a key element to our show and a great visual to get our audience motivated.
This then takes me on to the new page, the “Videos” section. I found that the way the videos had featured on the original idea felt lazy, unattractive and amateur. Therefore I had a look at the Wix features and found a “Video Playlist” option, which allowed the page to feature a number of videos in an organized and constructed manner. It may look like a simple page, but in fact it was probably the hardest page to construct.
The reason for this was that all the files had to be on Youtube, and seeing as all the content was spread across various peoples Youtube channels, it made them very hard to locate on the search feature on Wix.
Therefore I took it upon myself to acquire all the videos from various people’s channels and upload them onto one “MagicNetTV” channel. Sorting this channel out too around a day to do, but it allowed all of our group members to easily access the videos for their websites.
Overall I think the changes that I have made to these pages make a massive difference to the flow of the website, hopefully so the audience have a clear indication of what information they can take from where.
On the day of recording everyone’s nerves seemed quite high, especially mine. Although I wasn’t so much concerned about how the programme would run (because weve rehearsed so much) I was more apprehensive about having technical difficulties such as the programme not recording or something. When setting up the equipment it became apparent that my apprehensions had come true. For the past three weeks we have been putting our programmes twitter address at the bottom of the screen when the presenters mentioned it. However when setting up for some reason the Chroma key function on the vision mixer wasn’t working. I’d like to think that this wasn’t because I didn’t know what I was doing as our Lecturer Ross also tried to get it to work and failed. After speaking with Karen, she told me that the technical difficulties would not affect my/the group’s mark, so I felt slightly more at ease.
While setting up, the cameramen and the floor manager were left to their own devices to set up the talkback system. Therefore this was my chance to help out with setting up the set.
The set consisted of four wooden flats, which we spread apart and covered, in white sheets, in gaps we hung black sheets and afterwards stapled playing cards to the backdrop. Delissa and Wura were in charge of the set, but because I had helped them to set it up in previous rehearsals, I took it upon myself to help them this time. While putting the sheets up I grew slightly annoyed at the rest of the group as they just sat around not really helping, but occasionally giving the odd piece of advice about the sheets being creased. Although it was slightly annoying it wasn’t the end of the world and we set up the set in probably our best time. However if certain members of the group had helped that were just sitting round I think we would have had time for more run throughs.
Personally I felt the set looked really good and give credit to Delissa and Wura for that. Delissa had spent time at home producing A2 playing cards to put on the set and I also brought in a pack of jumbo playing cards to be used on the board, I think it really illustrated to the audience what the show was about.
Once we had finished the set I then returned to my post In the gallery and set up the VT’s for Josh and Stacey, after checking that they were coming through okay I waited for the group to be ready to start recording. It took us around 50 minutes to set up the set/equipment which personally I believe could have been done quicker.
We then started recording and only got a short way through the first take because of errors. I think this was just down to everyone’s nerves, especially the poor presenters! On the second take everything was going perfectly, the presenters were confident, the camera men were in the right places at the right time, but just as we got to the end of a perfect run through, our magician messed up his trick, dropping the “secret magic” part of the trick on the floor for the audience to see. This was quite gutting, as apart from this, the take was really good.
We then continued to do one more take, which we finished, however the presenters timings and confidence weren’t as good as the previous one. However there was also one other error in this take, and that was that for 2 seconds a camera can be seen in shot. As the vision mixer I spotted the camera straight away in recording, and seeing as the director hadn’t noticed it, I took it upon myself to cut to another shot, although the camera can be seen for a short space of time, I don’t think it will affect our programme too much. Unfortunately this was all the takes we had time for, and although I was confident that we had two takes to choose from, they both had their issues.
At the moment our group Is in a discussion as to which take to submit. Do we go with the one where the trick goes wrong, but until then is perfect? Or do we go with the average take which has no major floors? This is quite a in depth discussion taking place on our Facebook group at the moment, and Katie has set up a Poll, so people can vote on which one they think we should use. At the moment the second take seems to be winning.
Overall I think that as a group the run through went quite well and Im happy that we have two useable takes. I think I contributed well to the programme both with my job and assisting others with theirs and I am happy with what I have learnt in this process, both learning about the TV studio and how to work in such a large group.
My role as Vision Mixer was a fun one, I really enjoyed the role and found that I adapted quite well to it. I believe I had also adapted well to the technical skills of the Mixer such as Chroma keying, however unfortunately no evidence of this is there seeing as both myself and Ross (the lecturer) couldn’t get the function working on the day of recording.
If I were to pick a fault with how I acted as a vision mixer, I would say that sometimes I changed shots without the instruction of the director. I soon learnt to control myself and by the time we recorded found myself more able to take the direction of the director.
Although VT’s were a separate job role I found myself very involved with the VT’s as I felt the two jobs were related. Also the people in charge of producing the VTs asked me to make them, as they didn’t know how too.
I would say my strongest skill doing the job was being able to stick to timings under the P.A’s instruction and produced smooth transitions between shots so the audience didn’t notice the camera shot being changed. It was really great being involved in the gallery and being part of the team, and I felt that myself, the P.A and the director worked really well together and our communication skills were very good.
Towards the start of rehearsals I found myself in a difficult position, because when the director and Producer were making decisions about the show I found myself being part of the conversation and being quite passionate about my ideas. Our producer then told me that the choices weren’t mine to worry about. When being told this I found it quite difficult as im the type of person who likes to get stuck in and help out/give my opinion as much as I can. However I realsied that when working in a large group like this, if everyone had their opinion’s heard nothing would ever get done, therefore I realised my mistake and stuck to my job and tried to do the best job I could within my role.
If I was to do this process again I think I would put myself up for producer. Although I loved being a Vision Mixer, I am quite a passionate person and sometimes consider myself to be a leader, so eventually I would defiantly like to try this role.
Overall I loved being Vision Mixer and found that it was quite an important job as at the end of the day im pretty much editing the show live.
Progress in the group sessions has come leaps and bounds in the last few weeks.
Once certain elements like the script and the VT’s had been produced, it was clear that our show had more of a narrative and it was easier to have more of a professional run through.
Adnaan our producer has been doing a great job and has been dedicated to make the show succeed, by pulling together everyone’s individual skills.
The one thing our show has been lacking in previous weeks is a guest. This was a difficult dilemma, as we had to practice the interview part with an available crew member. However last week we required a local magician who appears confident and comfortable on camera. But also he adds a bit of humour to the show due to his wit.
Being the Vision mixer I feel that I have had a front row seat to see what the finished show could potentially be like, and at the moment I believe its going to be a success. The only issue we are having at the moment is that the presenters aren’t perfect at their timings yet or where they should be in the script, but I don’t believe this is an issue, as it just requires a bit of practicing.
Ive really been enjoying the role of vision mixer, but have felt at times that there are certain elements that I struggle with, such as Chroma keying titles to go at the bottom. However im not worried about this too much, because If I cant get to grips with it, then we will just have to take them out of the show. However I am going to try my hardest to master the technique.
As a whole I think our group has been working really well together, but as always there are certain people that pull their weight a lot more than others.
Personally im quite proud with my contribution to the show so far, as ive been going beyond my means and doing tasks that a vision mixer shouldn’t actually be doing. But this doesn’t bother me, as I have actually quite enjoyed producing ALL the title VT’s.
One element within our show we have had to change is that we didn’t refer to the show as “Fantasy” as much as we should have been because we were focusing more on the magic aspect, however James (the presenter) has altered the script, and the theme is mentioned a lot more now than before.
As a whole everything is all pretty much finished, it just needs to be rehearsed. Although the one thing that hasn’t been finished yet is setting up the set, which is worrying me, as this is a crucial visual element to the show, and without it, the show will look really amateurish.
Overall I have really been enjoying the module so far and I am quite confident that we will produce a show that we can be proud of.
After doing research into existing magazine programmes websites. I then began to think about what I wanted to include in my website.
The key element I wanted to include, was to carry the theme over from the TV show to the site, so the audience can identify that they are both related because of the branding.
But first I needed to decide what I was going to include in the site, so I could start colleting videos and photographs from our TV sessions to make up these pages.
Therefore I drew up a type of map, similar to a mind map that would not just help me know what I am going to include, but also helps me know what pages need to be linked up to what.
This is the map that I drew up and as you can see, at the moment, I plan to have seven main pages with numerous sub pages. Although it is a very simple map it allows me to know what kinds of things I can include on these different pages.
Going back to the theme of the site, I have tried to draw up a sketch of what my homepage will look like. Personally I think that this sketch is the most important bit of planning I can produce. This is because, once I have a template for my site (i.e. a background image, the Logo/Slogan, font type), this will then be used as a base for all the other pages on the site, adding continuity.
I think researching existing sites really helped me to realise this, as websites such as “This Morning” have the same layout and branding throughout all of their pages, so this is defiantly one element I should produce on my website as well.
Once I had sketched a rough design of the layout of the homepage, I sketched up a more detailed design of my homepage, which would help me identify my colourings, positioning’s and content. However the only thing I could not show on the design is what colour I plan to have my font, which will be white. Once I actually create the page, I believe that I may have to slightly reposition some of my elements. One thing I didn’t show on my design is what element would be links. One thing I do really want to do, is to make sure that navigating my site is just as easy as navigating a professional website. Therefore I plan that 80% of my homepages content will be linked to the relevant pages.
Overall I am happy with the way I have begun to plan my site, however I do feel that with something like a website, it is better to experiment with different layouts and content while producing the pages. Therefore I am not going to go in too much more depth with planning pages, as I feel that I may then restrict myself to be more creative during the production process. The main thing I have accomplished with planning out my homepage is the template for all of my other pages, which I believe is key!
I figured that seeing as ive made the other VT’s I would have a go at doing the title sequence. Within the group, some of us discussed how we want the credits. We have two options, firstly we could have them scrolling along the bottom as the presenters say goodbye. The second option would be to have a completely sepearte VT.
For the first option we would have to use the chroma key tool on the vision mixer. After playing with it for a couple of practice sessions I don’t feel very confident on it, as personally I feel its really over complicated. Therefore to avoid mess ups on the day of filming, we decided to produce the credits as a VT.
After thinking about how they could be done, I was initially planning to do them in the same style as the Titles and Menu VT’s. However I wanted to try something different, something more modern.
If we were producing a programme for television then I would follow a basic template such as the credits they produce. However because were airing our programme on a more modern platform (the internet), I thought that we could be a bit more inventive with the way we credit the hardworking members of our group. Also, seeing as we have built up and interaction with our audience via. Social media, I feel that the audience should visually see our crew members.
Therefore I produced a rough draft of the kind of credits we could use, and have showed them to the group for feedback.
Whats makes these credits different is that it shows pictures of our crew going about their roles, and that way the audience can feel like they’ve seen some behind the scenes footage while watching the programme. But also, when watching tv programmes, I often want to put a face to the name.
Therefore this credits draft shows the audience their name, their role and also a picture of themselves.
My only problem I have with the set up is that it doesn’t match the colour scheme. This is because the software only allows the format to have the preset colours. But after some thinking, I feel that because it will be shown at the end of the show, it will give the viewers a nice break from constant red and black. But I have just posted the video to the group facebook page and await feedback from them when we meet tomorrow, obviously this is only a draft, but it all gives us a Credits VT to practice with, while waiting for the finised piece.
I really like the modern twist on the credits, however our downfall could be that it isn’t professional looking enough.
After making the title sequence, I was asked by the group to create the “Contents Page VT” for the programme. Once again, although it wasn’t my job as vision mixer to produce this, I didn’t mind, as it allowed me to explore the software I had previously used for the title sequence in more depth.
The main thing I really wanted to do, was to tie the contents VT in with the Title Sequence. Therefore I used the same template, but in a slightly different style. I refereed to the Running Order page we had all been handed in rehearsals, and incorporated into the video, what would be coming up on the show.
After completion, once again I am happy with it, and it is exactly 15 seconds long like it needed to be.
However at a later date, I may add some pictures to it, to make it look nicer to look at. What I mean by this, is what “This Morning” do for their contents page, therefore it illustrates what’s going to happen to keep the audience engaged.
Here is my video, as you can see it does follow the same theme as the Title Sequence.
Ironically because the people in charge of the VT’s don’t know how to make VT’s I have been given the job of creating the title sequence for the television show. In all fairness I really didn’t mind being given this task, because I got to explore new areas of software that I have never used before.
To begin with I first downloaded Adobe After Effects, I spent over 2 days trying to work out the software following endless tutorial and lessons, and unfortunately still don’t understand it, especially with the short space of time we have.
Therefore I took a risk and looked at a whole new piece of software, which is apple’s version of after effects, “Motion”. Although I found this piece of software difficult to use, I got to grips with the basic tools a lot quicker, as many of its functions and layouts are similar to Final Cut Pro x.
After watching a couple of tutorials, I began to form the basic skills to be able to create a title sequence.
Firstly I took into consideration the theme and style of the show, therefore I had to produce something quite different and out of the norm, for the theme fantasy to become apparent.
Secondly I began thinking about our programmes colour scheme which is red and black, therefore I wanted something that would really stand out and compliment our programmes set, so the programme looked like it flowed together quite well through the VT’s and in the studio.
It took me a day to produce the very specifically timed 10 second title sequence, and I am really happy with the end result. Once I was happy with it, I then showed it to the group via our Facebook group and received positive reactions.
However after meeting the group face to face today, I have been told that all of a sudden the VT producers have sketches and plans for the Title sequence, so I am now going to have to go over their plans and adjust the Title sequence to the way they want it. Obviously if I had been told about these “plans” before hand, it would have been a lot more straight forward, however I don’t mind, because at least now we have a template to work from.
After watching it back, I realised that it lacked sound. Therefore I recycled a royalty free sound which I used in our previous “Fairytale” project as it fitted perfectly with the sense of magic our programme our film is trying to put across.
Unfortunately I did find that making the video “TV Size” I lost some of the quality of the video, so this is an issue that I need to take up with Bex.
Below is the Title sequence that I produced, and in all honesty, Im actually quite proud of it.
Since I have been asked to produce the Opening sequence/Contents VT, I decided to do some research into existing magazine programmes.
I looked at programmes such as “The One Show”, “This Morning” and “The Graham Norton Show”.
Firstly I analysed “The One Shows” title sequence. The element that immediately hit me were the choice of colour, because at first I thought that too many colours had been used and it would sync with their studio, however when the programme began I could see a clear link between the title sequence and their set, as it contained all of the colours used. Another thing that struck me, was that the title sequence was quite modern. This is because of the interesting choice of font, and the way the letters zoom around everywhere. I think I found it quite modern because of the speed of the titles, it seemed like such a lot was going on, in such a short space of time. In all honesty, I don’t know whether this is a good or bad thing, however one thing it did do was keep me entertained. I think that is the reason why these titles are successful, because there is so much going on, that you get quite pulled in from the offset.
Secondly I looked at “This Morning”. The first thing that struck me was how opposite the title sequence was in comparison to “The One Show”. I think this is because they are rival channels/television programmes on at the same time, therefore if they looked the same, then neither of them would have an audience as they’re not individual. Personally I think “This Mornings” title sequence is my favourite. Purely because there is a lot going on, in a very illustrative way, and almost has a feel good factor, to pick you up for the rest of the day. One thing that I have noticed with both clips is that there is a lot of movement, there is constantly something going on, and normally fast paced, therefore I really need to take this in mind when producing my own.
Thirdly I looked at “The Graham Norton Show”. Personally I love this programme, however the one thing I dislike about it, is the title sequence. I think this is because it has been the same for such a long time. But after thinking about it for a while I thought, well is this a good thing or a bad thing? It could be bad, because of it being repetitive for the audience, and is most certainly not modern. But on the other hand, most people don’t like change and when people see the sequence they immediately know what show they’re watching. In modern media its all about BRANDING, and I suppose this sequence certainly does that, for both the programme and Graham Norton himself, therefore in reflection, I suppose that it is quite an effective title sequence.
Also after reviewing all three clips I did notice that the audio used was all-relevant to the programmes. The tone and style reflected the theme and genre of the show and helped build up excitement and anticipation for what was going to be on the show today. Therefore one thing I most defiantly need to include in our title sequence is music relevant to our theme. Another element I have taken on board, is that I want to produce a VT that is fast paced like the existing sequences, to grab the audiences attention straight away, and keep it! Overall researching existing forms has helped my thought process a lot.
. David Bird Media . 