Pitching
We started off in small groups and we were told to come up with an idea for a 30 minute live TV show. Myself, Drey and Jemma first of all broke down the brief to understand what was fully required of us. This was a great move as we could understand all the logistics of what to work out for when it came to pitching. We first of all had the idea of a dating show but after feedback, we all agreed that this show was beginning to become more and more difficult to what was required to get the show commissioned. We decided that the idea was not doable anymore and started afresh. We next had the idea to look at something to do with fear. We have done a few projects in the past under this topic with good success so this was something we felt could progress us forward into a game show. After long discussions and trying to come up structure, we came to the conclusion that this would not be a viable idea and again went back to the drawing board. At this point we had lost a lot of time and needed something that would work. We finally settled on a game show called 'Prove Them Wrong' which we all felt we could work with. We came up with solid rounds and felt the show had a good structure that we developed into our final pitch. When it came to pitching it went very well as we were told we were confident in our idea and very clear as well as a lot of detail that was covered. Although we were not commissioned I am still proud of what we had achieved and feel we all worked hard to deliver a good, strong pitch. My only negative for this part of the unit was I feel we didn't have as much time as we would have liked due to the fact we changed our idea twice but I stand by the belief that its better to change it to something more viable and workable that everyone is confident in than to pitch something we were not happy about. We managed our time efficiently towards the end in order to provide the content and the logistics of the show when it came to pitching.
Studio Pre Production
As director I wanted be prepared as much as I possibly could. I had done a lot of research into what is expected from me for my job role and how multi cam shows are directed. I was very involved in elevating the ideas that the producers had already came up with and putting my vision across. We had several meeting to generate a structure although this was quite difficult as we all kept hitting dead ends about the shows direction in terms of content. When we had our first lecture with del, the structure was put into place and we then knew what bits needed more research to have content for the show. Once this was established we all went away and researched more into fashion. I wanted to make sure that If I was directing a show about fashion that I knew about it as much as I could so I took the time to research its background. I also looked into trends of whats coming up as I know this is a vital part of my show. Through several production meetings and relaying to the group, we were all moving forward and could start piecing a show together. I would have liked to do more research into this but I was trying to concentrate more on the shows aesthetic and how I was going to run it. I feel I contributed a lot to the meetings and was able to lead the team in the right direction.
Once the show was in place, the producers started to put a rough script together. This was great as I was able to start testing my ideas. I organised with Melissa, Laura, Jason and alex to do a mock up in on of the lecture rooms to go through a basic run through of camera movements and blocking. We hired 3 cameras and tripods as well as taping a catwalk to the floor and moved sofas all into the room so we could get the layout of the set as much as possible. I had also produced a shot list with all the camera movements and the shot types as well as a camera plan for the 3 cameras. Overall I was very happy with how this went as the crew were able to understand where I was heading and we were able to roughly see how it would work. There were a few issues with shot types and the way the cameras moved round each other which I had not foreseen but I was able to see what worked and what didn't.
Over the next coming weeks I was able to liaise with different departments with the producers and the other director on how we wanted the show to look in terms of VT's, Graphics and promotion as well as talk to the researchers about where they were with contributors and location approvals. I felt I handled this well and made sure each department was happy with what we were going for.
The next main thing I needed to sort was the script. The producers had finished their dialogue and I needed to put my visuals on the left hand side. I had done a lot of research into the format and how I needed to lay it out and I feel I produced a great script that had all the information on it and to a professional standard. I was also working with a camera plan alongside so that I could visualise the space and where they would all need to go. Another thing I had to think about was the presenters and where they were going to be at each point. This was also added onto the script. After several versions, we were all happy by the 5th one and this is the one we used in the final show.
Myself and the other director Gavin worked on a lighting plan as this was something that was needed in order to make sure the set would be lit properly. We discussed what we wanted with a professional lighting engineer called Jon who was helpful when we expressed our ideas. Once we knew how everything worked, we sat down together and drew up several plans together including a floor plan, set plan and then the lighting plan of where the lights would go. We wanted it to be as professional as possible so we looked at some diagrams from books showing us what lighting plans looked like. Once these were drawn up and we were happy with them, we sent them off to Jon so he knew exactly what we wanted. The negative to this section was that I didn't really know a great deal about lighting plans and although we had done some research, I wish that I had looked into it in more depth so I could go beyond just what we had planned.
With casting, I wanted to make sure the presenters fitted the tone that I was envisioning for the show. After Jack had given us profile sheets of all the presenters that had applied, myself and Gavin arrange Skype interviews to see who was suitable for an audition. We went to a coffee shop and Skyped some of the applicants that we arranged for that day. We wrote notes and had long discussions about each one as we was aware that there expenses would have to be paid and it would come out of the group budget so we only wanted people to come for an audition if we felt they had potential. Unfortunately I couldn't make the next day of Skype interviews as I had a family funeral to attend but Gavin ensured me that the remaining interviews would be recorded so I could look at them. Once the interviews were over we decided on 3 boys and 2 girls that we would take forward to the auditions. One girl dropped out and we hadn't planned for a back up so this was a downfall on my part as I should have considered this might happen. When moving forward to the audition it was on the same day as a workshop so we had to split it into halves with myself, Katie and Jemma taking the first half of the auditions and Gavin, Melissa and Victoria taking the second half. We did this so that we would have one director, one producer, and one production manager in each half. This was important as when we came to the end of it we all discussed who we liked and who we thought worked well as a pair for chemistry. We settled on Alfie and Adeline to be our two presenters for the show and I am very happy about this decision as I feel they had great chemistry between them and were the strongest out of everyone.
Production
When it came to the rehearsals, this is where the problems started for me. Although I knew the script inside out and had matched all the visuals together, putting it into practice was a lot more challenging than I first thought. Multi tasking was the hardest thing I had to get to grips with. There was a lot going on with looking at the monitors to see the camera shots, cueing the graphics in at the right time, rolling the VT's at the right moment, checking the sound was in at the right points and cueing the presenters in. Whilst I was focusing on one thing, I found myself forgetting to remember other bits and this lead to me losing my place on the script not knowing where I was. After several rehearsals I finally got to grips with it and started to get the hang of things but one of the rehearsals near the end became all too much as there was yet more to concentrate on and the script had changed. I became stressed and frustrated with myself which only lead to things getting worse. Although I was still calm and respectful towards all my crew, It took me the time to step away from the whole thing to realise that the stress was only making things worse. After realising my errors I read my script over several times and turned up to the next rehearsal very calm. By the end of the day, the rehearsals were running really well and I noticed a major improvement in my directing. I was being patient and calm but also more assertive with the crew to what I wanted and this helped a lot.
When It came to transmission day I was a little nervous on the day but I felt I knew the script well and had good run throughs with the last rehearsal. The set had also been rigged at this point so all issues like making sure cameras were not capturing off the set had all been ironed out. When it came to the live broadcast, I felt I delivered a really clean show that looked as professional as I could get it to the time I had. There were a few little errors but everything ran well and to schedule. I also made sure I attended to every department to make sure they were all ready when it came to the transmission. If I had more time I would have liked to have more movement like using the track and dolly or the Jib but I felt I had worked well with the time I had and the standard I got it to.
This Unit is one of the hardest challenges I have ever had to take on but it has taught me a lot about the role and me as a person. With confidence and commitment as well as patience and perseverance, I was able to direct a something I had never done before and do it to a good standard that I am very proud of.
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