Video evaluation

On reflection of my video assessment, I feel that I managed to produce an interesting and informative multimedia package including vox pops and my own video diary. As the brief needed the video to be newsworthy, I think I managed to link both videos in well with the news story I chose about the government’s proposal to monitor all web and phone usage in the UK. Also, because of the topic of the story, it would be relevant for everyone reading about it.

I have used video cameras before but I have only had very minimal experience with using Final Cut Pro. The tutorials we had were extremely useful though and although it seemed difficult at first, I found it fairly easy to navigate when we edited our first practice videos. Using the hardware was more difficult than using the software, I found, because shooting and recording with the microphone was difficult without another person to help hold one or the other. I also had to think about getting the right framing of the subject for the videos and that the sound quality was ok – not too loud or quiet and kept at the same levels throughout the video.

For the actual practical work, I needed to produce two videos: one video diary and one vox pop video. For the vox pops, I was able to record each interview in one take which made the whole process easier. I think I was able to do this because I had learnt from my audio assessment that as an interviewer, I should be prepared with questions and get all the relevant information I need in one go, as there may not be a chance to record again. The video diary was more difficult to do because I found it awkward and uncomfortable to record myself alone talking to the camera. However, because I was alone and recording myself, I was able to do a few takes before using one I felt ok with.

From this assessment I have learn the importance of balancing good editing with good video footage and sound to create a good video. For example, if footage was shaky or had poor sound quality, even good editing skills would not be able to compensate and produce a good quality video. Watching the videos back, I feel that the clips do not run together as smoothly as I’d like and I think this is because they were not taken from one continuous shot so lighting or sound levels weren’t kept the same. I think it is also extremely important to have a good enough story that makes the video newsworthy, otherwise it would not be interesting enough to watch and if it were published online in real life, it would not attract many page views. I am pleased that I have learnt the skills to use Final Cut Pro as these are transferable for any future video I might have to do.

Multimedia package video

When does data collection go too far? Apparently when the government decide to monitor all web, email and phone usage in the UK. It hasn’t been implemented yet but this is what is being proposed by the government at the moment. They are considering including this bill in the Queen’s Speech next month and it would mean that police and the government would have access to who we speak and when, online and on the phone. Naturally, I’m against this.

It’s one thing for the authorities to have access to private data when needed, for example in a criminal investigation, but when unwarranted, it raises the question about the necessity of it. I asked some people to give their views on the matter:

Whether or not this bill does go through, there’s no doubt that nothing we do online or on the phone is completely private. Even in real life we are being watched by CCTV cameras, so if we have nothing to hide, perhaps we should just accept this government monitoring and hope that it does pay off in finding out sensitive information that may be a threat to our national security.

If you strongly disagree with this proposal you can sign an e-petition here.

Documenting the video assessment

Similarly to my audio piece, the aim of the video was to make it current and newsworthy. Of the different types of videos we could do, I chose to make a multimedia package focussing on one story, including vox pops and a short video diary of myself giving my own views to the camera.

My idea stemmed from a number of different people posting on Facebook about the news story that the government are planning a proposal to monitor all email, web and phone use, so they would be able to know exactly who we speak to and when. Because people were talking about the story anyway, I thought it would be good to capture people’s views for my video assessment. As I chose a multimedia package, one of the videos had to be a video diary and so I thought it would be easiest and most relevant to give my own opinion. So it was not just a monotonous one minute video of myself, I broke it up with short clips of other footage with my voice over.

I am happy with the news story I chose because it is still a current ongoing topic of news and it is relevant to almost anyone I could have interviewed for the vox pops, so it was easier to find people to share their opinions.

Audio evaluation

On reflection of my audio work, I feel that I managed to find two newsworthy topics, which was one of the main aims of the brief. I was lucky that London Fashion Week came around the same time and that I have interest in it enough to conduct what hopefully turned out to be an interesting interview. I was even luckier that I managed to secure my podcast interview following my initial practice audio interview before the assessment.

This was my first time working with the Zoom kits and Audacity but I think I managed to get to grips with it fairly quickly. The difficult part was keeping the levels just right when interviewing someone, as I had to concentrate on asking questions and listening to their answers as well as keeping an eye on the Zoom recorder to make sure that the audio wouldn’t be too loud or quiet.

In terms of conducting both pieces, it was not a one-take thing that I thought it would be. I was initially happy with how the interviews were but when it came to editing and cutting the audio for smoother answers, the pieces were either two short or I did not feel that they were addressing the question in the way that I wanted. Luckily, I was able to go back to the people and add on an extra recorded question or two and edit it in. But I know that in a real life situation I would most likely not be able to have a second chance at re-interviewing. Therefore in the future I would improve by perhaps making my interview longer and asking more questions to ensure that I would have everything covered.

I found the podcast more difficult to edit because for the interview it was essentially done once recorded, with minimal editing to cut down answers. For the podcast I had to include background music and commentary in between the interview. Because the music must be royalty and copyright free, I thought it might be a nice touch to use a track that the person I was interviewed had produced himself. Because the music fitted the topic of the podcast, I was pleased with how it turned out and I don’t feel that it distracted from the audio.

From this assessment I have learnt that there is more to audio that just pressing record and publishing the outcome. To produce something fit to publish online, as well as having worthy content, the editing must be smooth and keep to the specified time frame. Also, when conducting interviews, the questions must be carefully planned so that the outcome meets the aim of the piece originally set. Without proper organisation, there’s a risk of producing a substandard piece and in a real life situation, this wouldn’t be acceptable.

Documenting the audio assessment

The idea of the audio pieces was to make them newsworthy and link them to something current. I wanted to put together an interview and podcast that I would be interested in listening to myself, so I chose the topics of music and fashion.

For my interview, I focused on London Fashion Week, as the assessment came about at the same time, so it seemed like an obvious choice. Luckily, I knew someone who attended fashion week and a couple of the shows, so I thought I would be able to get a good insider’s perspective of the event. Especially as street style photographers photographed the person I interviewed, I thought it would be interesting to see what London Fashion Week is like from both sides of the camera. On reflection, I think I would have perhaps narrowed down the news link to the story and tried to find maybe a specific newsworthy event that occurred during LFW to talk about.

My podcast idea stemmed from the original practice interview we had to conduct before our assessment pieces. I interviewed a music student who produces dubstep about what he thought about breaking into the music industry, touching a little on what it is that he actually does. From this interview, I found out that he produces it differently to regular dubstep and I thought there was something in this that could be newsworthy, as the genre of music seems to be going more mainstream. Incidentally, the Grammy Awards took place soon after and the dubstep producer, Skrillex, won three awards. From there my idea developed and I was able to incorporate this news story into the podcast, as I knew that there is somewhat of a debate between mainstream and underground producers over him.

Mainstream Dubstep Podcast

Last year you might be forgiven for thinking that Skrillex is a type of Pokemon but now that he has three Grammys under his belt, including Best Dance Recording, he’s slipped into the mainstream, so there’s no excuse for not having heard of the 24 year old Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites producer. In this podcast, Jade Fung speaks to producer and music student, Ollie Roberts, about a new category of Dubstep he’s producing and whether he thinks Skrillex deserved those Grammys.

Skrillex picks up awards for Best Dance Recording, Best Electronic/Dance Album and Best Remixed Recording.

LFW Interview

Twice a year, London’s most stylish gather at Somerset House for London Fashion Week. Designers showcase their best work for the coming season and the city’s fashion pack show off their take on the latest trends, hoping to get photographed by street style bloggers such as The Style Scout. Jade Fung speaks to fashion design student, Sinead Devlin, about this sartorial event which took place this month and asks how important it actually is.

Jacket – Vintage | Dress – Cos | Leggings – ASOS | Shoes – Topshop | Bag – Accessorize

Dubstep Producer Interview

Short interview with a Dubstep producer studying Commercial Music.

What’s your secret?

I have a very irrational fear of papercuts.

Sounds stupid but that’s my weird secret. Welcome to the world of PostSecret, an online project where anonymity is your best friend and judgement isn’t allowed in the club. Readers send in their deepest and sometimes darkest secrets to be published online for anyone to see.

This great concept created by Frank Warren has been taken out from the computer screen and onto the streets, as he asks people to share their secrets with a camera.

Multimedia Shooter lists this as one of their 8 Multimedia Projects You MUST Experience and I completely agree.

Being a regular reader of PostSecret, there’s something quite intimate about knowing a complete stranger’s secret and it works just as well in video form, if not better. It has its light-hearted moments, such as one girl sharing that she likes to eat cereal from the box alone in her room and more poignant moments, like seeing the regret when someone reveals that they couldn’t be with their grandmother when she died.

This video is a great example of how such a simple concept can be shared to touch so many people across the internet.

If you found this interesting then you might like these similar videos: Fifty People, One Question.

Adele will sing at the Grammys

Adele has confirmed that she will be performing at the Grammy Awards 2012, after taking a break at the beginning of December.

She underwent surgery last November for a vocal cord haemorrhage and was advised by doctors to rest her voice for a while.

Though she is performing, she has said that she will not be releasing a new album anytime soon.

“I imagine I’ll be 25 or 26 by the time my next record comes out, as I haven’t even thought about my third record yet,” Adele told Billboard magazine. “I’ll disappear and come back with a record when it’s good enough. There will be no new music until it’s good enough and until I’m ready.”

The singer tweeted: “Ima be, Ima be singing at the Grammys. It’s been so long I started to forget I was a singer! I can’t wait, speak soon xx (sic).”

She has been nominated for six awards this year, including Song of the Year for Rolling In The Deep and Album of the Year.

Other artists confirmed to perform are Coldplay, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna.