The First and Only Unsigned Live

Heres the first and only Unsigned Live episode. We all worked really hard in our individual roles.

What I Have Learnt from doing AS Live

I have learnt a lot from doing this AS Live project. I have learnt that when producing a VT I need to produce a good solid shooting script which makes sense and tells the viewer everything they need to know in 1"30. I need to make sure that I get as much useful footage as I can so that I have enough GVs to cover my edit.

I have also learnt that even though I enjoyed the experience of being the Vision Mixer in the gallery I have realised that this is a very stressful job and I would much rather be on the floor with the talent and the action. On the day I had a lot of fun with it and tried my very hardest to do the best I could and I hope that I did a good enough job to make the show look amazing.

AS Live VT: Editing Continued

Today we have added the footage from last night and begun editing again. The VT has changed from being a gig guide to a VT about the Maidstone Fringe Festival. The whole thing is cutting together nicely but we are running a bit over time and finding it hard to cut it down. We will try our best to get it to time but if we can't then we will have to ask Lauren' the producer, if we can have some more time.

AS Live VT: Helen's Oppinion

Today we showed our edit to Helen and she gave some very constructive criticism. She told us how she thought the VT should be laid out and gave us some advice for future shoots such as the subjects need to be set up and so we need to get a sequence to show who the subject is before we start seeing them speak/ interview them.

We are re-shooting a few things tonight and hopefully what we film will change our VT and make it a better.

As Live Vt: Re-shoot

We had planned to re-film over the weekend but the camera was not working properly and so there was nothing we could do about it. We wanted to re-record the interview, some of Jess's pieces to camera and a few voice overs. Luckily have been able to get Jess on board to re shoot one of the PTCs and the voices overs on Monday once we have a different camera. We won't have time to re-shoot the interview so we will have to deal with what we have.

The content of the footage isn't bad its just the picture quality which lets it down a bit. The shots and music we do have fit together nicely and I think we have done a good job with the clips we have got.

AS Live VT: The Edit

I put all the footage on the computer today and for some reason it is all quite grainy and I'm not sure why as it was on low gain. I have also realised that the lighting on Zoe in the interview is not excellent which is really annoying as her answers are so good.

Abbi and I will try our best to edit the footage the best we can but hopefully we can arrange to re-shoot at some point.

AS Live VT: The Shoot

Yesterday we had a shoot inside and outside Earls which I think went pretty well. Jess, the presenter, was really easy to work and get along with and was very professional. We shot a few pieces to camera and I also shot a few acts performing.

Today we had a shoot at the Style and Winch and again Jess was very professional and easy to work with. We filmed a few pieces to camera, GV's, shots of the bands and an interview with Zoe explaining what the fringe festival was all about.

Tomorrow I am hopefully going to upload the footage and start editing.

Being a Vision Mixer

Watching this video really helped me understand my role as vision mixer even more. I found it so helpful.

As Live Workshop

Today we had a chance to set up the studio with 3 cameras and a microphone and link them up to the gallery. We were then all able to get into our job roles and practice the jobs we will be doing on the day and so I quickly jumped in the gallery and took my position as Vision Mixer. I never realised how much creative input the Vision Mixer had but now I know that if I see a good shot then I can cut to it without the Directors say so and I can also compensate for a shot not being ready by cutting to something else instead. I really enjoyed getting the practice with the mixing desk and even though on the day it maybe stressful as long as we've rehearsed and I concentrate I know I can do a good job.

VT Practice

We all got into groups of 4 and we had to make a specially shot VT working to the brief:

"Maidstone is a thriving commuter town within easy reach of major motorways to London and access to europe via Dover"

Before we went out filming we wrote a script and thought of locations we wanted to film at. We also thought about specially shot sequences and GVs we could use in the VT.

When we got out on location we realised we had forgotten a tripod so to compensate for this we made sure alot of our shots were moving so that you couldnt really notice that the shots were unsteady.

We recorded a voice over for the VT and gathered some archive and then began editing.

Here is our final cut.

We learnt alot from this project and so now we can make sure our VTs for the show are perfect.
What we learnt:

• Always take a tripod
• Always take a wild track
• Make sure every shot is in focus and exposed correctly
• Make sure moves are smooth and follows the action
• Make sure the shots are intresting and framed nicely

First Production Meeting

Once we were all told our jobs we got into our teams and started thinking about what we needed to do. We looked at Lauren's pitch for the show to find out what she wanted to get out of the shows VTs.

"In each episode, the first VT features another presenter informing the audience of a guide to the area in which they are broadcasting from; this includes places to see music, venue guide and quirky facts about the area. The second VT is an 'On the Road With...', whereby the presenter meets up with one of the bands and explores their routines and traveling to a venue, possibly including pieces about roadies and fans. The third VT may look into the band members day jobs, or special pieces on 'Inside the Recording Studio' with a producer."

The rest of the VT team and I started to think about ideas for the VTs. We knew that from Lauren's pitch that the only one VT we could properly start thinking about was the 'Guide to the Area' one so we began thinking of what music venues we knew of in Maidstone as these would be potential places to film the VTs. We are all going to research Maidstone facts and find out more about what unsigned bands really are and where would you find them.

We then had a production meeting with the whole group and we all need to come up with a title for the show by Monday. A Facebook page also been set up so that we can all communicate easily and find out when bands are playing so that we can all start thinking about who we want on the show and what we could put in the VTs.

I think this project is going to be really fun but alot of hard work but if we all pull together and work as a team I think we can make a show that we are all proud of.

My Job Title

Today we were all given our jobs for the As Live production. I was put in the VT team and on the record day I will be the vision mixer in the gallery. This was the job I wanted and I can't wait to take on the challenge. I know that being the vision mixer will be a stressful job and I will need to be able to think on my feet and work well under pressure but I think I can do it. I'm also looking forward to working in the team for the VTs as I think we will all work well together but we will all have to work really hard to make sure the VTs fit the style and standard of the show.

As Live News Interview Practice

Today we worked in teams and I was with Maddie, Dean and Dan. We had to record a news interview about fuel prices as if it was live, I was on camera and heres what we came up with.

Pitch Day

Today was the pitch day and I was so nervous but I felt confident in my pitch and thought I had prepared well. In the pitch I got across all the point I wanted to make and was able to answer any questions that Helen, Hans and Colin had. Pitching my idea made me really excited about my programme and made me think that I would like mine to be the one to be commissioned. When the winner was announced I was a little disappointed but I was very pleased for Lauren as she had a very good idea and it was quite similar to mine. I look forward to working on Lauren's show and I have put my name down for Assistant Produce, Vision Mixer and also to work on the VT teams. I'm really excited about this project and I'm hoping that as a team we can produce a programme we are all proud of and is even better than last years Pub Game.

My As Live Pitch

I've been working hard on developing my idea and I've started to produce my pitch for Thursday. I think I have answered all the questions which were brought to my attention in the tutorial and I think my pitch is quite solid. I'm going to present it as a Powerpoint presentation but I have scripted what I am going to say.

Next Big Thing Pitch

As Live Tutorial

I had a tutorial with Helen today and I explained my idea to her and she liked it but I still have a lot of work to do on my idea to flesh it out and make sure I know what would be happening at every point in the programme.

The questions I need to answer

• Who are the Judges?
• Who are the talent?
• What will the prize be?
• What will the VTs show?
• What channel will it be shown on and at what time and why?
• How long do I imagine the series would be?
• What are the multi platform opportunities?
• What will the audience be doing?
• What will the set look like? 

As Live Ideas

I've been really struggling for ideas and I went through a lot of rubbish ones to get one which I think would be achievable with the budget and space we have and will also be appealing to the audience.

My idea is to have a Youtube talent show. It will be called "Next Big Thing" and I will have 3 judges and 3 or 4 undiscovered acts from Youtube who will then audition to these judges in hope to win the prize (which I haven't decided on yet). The VTs will show the acts at home doing their videos and showing their sob stories so we get to know the talent.

I've began thinking of some acts I know who live locally and could possible be potential contestants but I'm going to keep looking so that I have a wide selection to choose from.

I still have a lot to think about but at least now I have an idea.

"As Live" Brainstorm

I've had a brainstorm for ideas for "As Live" and this is what I came up with.



I've had a few ideas sprout off from this brainstorm but a lot of them are not achieveable with our resources. I think I've got 1 or 2 ideas I can develop into something which is more achieveable, fits the brief and would be entertaing.

'As Live' Brief

The Idea
IMPORTANT!!
Your idea should be for an As Live studio production.
It can take the form of whatever you want but you must be original!!
Your idea should be studio based and include the need for a live studio audience.

Your idea should include the need for 3 VT inserts (these are segments that are recorded and edited before the programme and then slotted in)

Your idea should include the need for a set, costumes and props. (These elements will be made by Creative Arts for Film & Theatre students at UCA Rochester)

The idea should include ideas for viral marketing and reaching an audience outside that of the live audience.

When pitching we must include:

The idea

Title

Format (ie As Live, 30 mins)

The Channel / broadcaster / target audience / schedule

Once we have all pitched an idea one will be chosen and the person whos idea it is will automatically become the producer and specific roles will be given out to all of the 2nd years and some of the 1st years.

This year we want the production to take on a bigger scope than the Pub Game did. So we will be looking for students to make:
A proper title sequence,
Compose music
Advertising material
Viral Marketing
And Making of documentary
All to be uploaded to a dedicated website.