Finished Recording and Review

Finished Podcast

https://soundcloud.com/liam-mathias-jamison/cowboys-mixdown

I would have uploaded this to podomatic but for some reason it wouldn't let me or work, I didn't know what I had done wrong so I put it into SoundCloud instead. 

This is the final recording made together.I thought that it worked very well and I liked working with everyone doing the recording. I think that Sarah had made a very good script (which I don't have) was really good and it gave a good story line for us to do. I think the microphone work with the actors had been done really good and everything has been put into it that we needed.


I think that the part that I had to do was great  I think that I did a good job at editing the recording because we got the different takes of recordings we had done, and then when I edited into Audition, I made sure that I did a professional job in setting out the different clips of audio that was recorded and cutting out the bits where there was laughter or some sort of disturbance, then mixing the audio up so that it had a special effect that I had downloaded off the internet, as well as music that I had put into it. 

At first when I started Middlesbrough College I didn't know how to use Adobe Audition or how to edit. I have learnt so much more about using the editing software and how to edit recordings or videos in such a way that I could replace them with different audio so that it, in my opinion sounded a lot better. This has give me more of an experience in the editing side of media and will most probably help me for the future.

I think this part gives a good idea of when I had been editing the recordings in Audition, as it shows all of the little breaks I did and shows how I let the sound die out towards the ending of this clip.

We produced this a part of a group discussion. I have also included this little mind map that was made to help get our ideas together:

Feedback That I had gotten from people

Here I have posted to multiple people as well as the people in my group on what I had done, asking for some feedback.

Here I have sent a request to Owen for feedback on my Leadership.

Here I have finally got some feedback from the Director in the making of this podcast. This is some feedback that I had got. The feedback that I got I thought was pretty good. Although I thought that I would of get different feedback to what I would have got. But this is the feedback.

Below are some emails between me and my tutor on how I was getting on with the work:

Final Review on My Project:

Did you achieve everything you wanted?

I think I have achieved everything I wanted as I have really enjoyed this project and have been able to use editing software, because when I signed up for this course one of the things I really wanted to do was to be able to and learn how to edit video and/or music or a piece of audio. I'm really glad I have been able to do this course, as it has prepared me for the future I think and I have learned lots on editing especially for the Arts Award. Also working in a group such as this and having my own role as editor has given me such joy to do, as it made me think that this is what I want to do in the future - become a Editor. I really enjoyed being able to listen to the finished edit of what I did as when I finished this I just had to show my friends and family. I had also shared it to my Facebook account where my parents were amazed with what I had accomplished and really happy that I had made them proud, which is what I had wanted, mainly for my dad to be proud of me. Overall I'm really happy with it and hope that anyone else that listens to it, enjoys it too.

This is a screenshot of the podcast without the edits all over the place, it has the audio all in one. 

How have your leadership skills developed?

My communication skills within the group I think were very good as we are all good friends and being paired up to do something like this, with that as a good addition and advantage it was easy to make sure each one of us knew what we had to do in the planning stage at the start and in the final stages of making the audio.

My team working skills were pretty good as when we were working together in this group, we all got on, and it was very enjoyable. So this all helped when planning our work because with the pre-production it all went very well. When working with this group, we had a really good time as everybody seemed to get involved in what we could and then what else we could do to improve it. When working together in this group, as we all got on, and it was very enjoyable. So this all helped when planning our work because with the pre-production it all went very well. When working with this group, we had a really good time as everybody seemed to get involved in what we could and then what else we could do to improve it. We had to change some of the ideas around with the pre-production documents so I stepped in to shorten it down as it was pretty long with some parts that didn't need to be there. Whereas everyone thought it was a good idea.

What do you think of the feedback you have received?

I think that the feedback that I received was very positive and I was very happy with what Owen had said this had given me a great confidence boost, as going into the project I didn't have much confidence into editing a piece of audio to make it sound good, so with that said and people saying they liked it (I had shown the piece of audio to my parents, which were really pleased with me) it made me proud with what I had produced and has made me look to the future more openly. I have really enjoyed my course, it has been really fun and a true experience to behold. I am hoping to be on the Level 3 course afterwards.

The proof on how well I had performed my role is below:

The feedback that I got from Owen, on how he thought I did in my role as editor and carried out the project with how I edited the podcast/recording that we set out to do. 

How do you think you worked as a team?

I'm really happy with the work we have produced as a team and also that it is really different working with other people but in a good way as in a sense of being able to get feedback from people in your team rather than other people that aren't in your team, because people in your team know whats going on and what it is about, and that's what happened, whilst producing the editing I had gotten tips from people in my group on cutting out some of the audio, or turning the volume down, little things like that, letting them hear what I had done, so they could say what in their mind could be improved and what they liked about it. Working as a team, put things on a twist as usually when doing projects I'm on my own, so it was a challenge to actually work part as part of team. Overall I found it extremely fun.

What went well?

Things that I thought went well are things like teamwork and being able to focus on the planning and production of the podcast, as when doing the pre-production side of this there were a lot of people doing different things or talking about life outside of college, but as I say we kept focused and made sure we did everything properly without distraction, so that we could meet deadlines we set ourselves. 

What was difficult?

What I found most difficult was editing the video, because before I had researched on Google on how to use Adobe Audition I didn't really understand how to use all the tools or even how to import and export audio files , then after I read up on Audition and found out how to use it, I was able to edit the audio to a good standard where my group, friends and family would like it and be pleased with it.

What did I learn from it?

What I learned from doing this was how to be in the Editorial role and be able to feel confident enough to get my point across in the group in a way that people would agree with, as well as gaining new skills with Audition. Although with real editors I bet they don't use the same sort of software. It was really good being in a important role such as this as I love doing the practical side of filming or recording a podcast of some sort. To me that's always the fun bit. Being the lead role it was also fun to choose what sort of effect of my choice that I was able to put into the audio.

How could the project have been improved?

There's nothing that I can think of that could be improved, as we have put tons of effort into the making of this project and I have done the best that I can do. All I have to say now is that I have a open mind than what I did have before this course and know what I want to be doing after this course - Level 3 Media! :) 

Silver Arts Award Leadership

Silver Arts Award Leadership

For the Silver Arts Award Leadership I have been asked to produce something as a group and will each have a role to perform with our own skills and techniques for that role. 

What is your Project about?

My project is about a piece of sound design/audio that I will be doing in a group of 3 including me. The project is a podcast about a spin off on Cowboy's vs aliens, and has been called Cowboy's vs Cats - with Owen Colby and Sarah Lemmon.

Action Plan

Owen - Will be directing us on what we will have to do, at different stages and our roles.

Sarah - Will be making the script for people to read on the podcast. 

Me - I will be editing the podcast and adding sound effects. 

This is the evidence of the action planning and pre-production to do before actually making the project.

Minutes of the Meeting for the Arts Leadership project Jan 12 2015

Those present: 

Owen Colby, Sarah Lemmon and myself

Agenda: 

The purpose of this group discussion is to follow the action plan and get technical with the equipment needed to make the project.

Aims of the project: 

to research other podcasts and other researches as well as practicing with the microphones.

Planning and resources needed: 

What we will need is access to Google to research podcasts as well as how to work Adobe Audition as well as what the special effects do.

Contributions required for each member

Owen: To practice with the microphones and make sure everyone is doing what they should be doing. 

Sarah: Research other types of podcasts and what they entail

Liam: To research how to use Adobe Audition and what makes a good podcast.

Key Stages of the project will be:

Making sure that we get all the pre-production done as well as booking out the equipment for the day we need to use it. As well as finding a room that is suitable to record and work in, that will be quiet with no disturbances.

On the day of production, get prepared for the day, testing the microphone to see if it works and getting things ready in the room that we are recording in.

After recording making sure we get it onto the computer ASAP so that if the microphone dies we won't lose all of the files and recordings we have.

When we edit, make sure we do a good job. Then get it sent off for the tutor/teacher to see what he makes of it, as well as seeing if it needs tweaking before we properly finish.

Review of my leadership project so far:

The planning of the project so far has been going really well. We have all put some great ideas towards the table for this project, with researching other podcasts that we have seen and listened to so that we could plan out what would be said on the Podcast. I have been helping others in my group with what they needed to do, like Owen had to work the microphones, and as we had never used them before, needed help with simple things like switching it on and off, pausing and playing, clicking record. Things like that, then we could actually practice using the mics and see how they would play out on the screen. 

Also we are doing really well with getting things in on time, doing everything with effort and perseverance making sure that everything is done properly and not rushing work. So far we are working really well as a group. 

What skills I need to be improved?

Good time management skills

So I'll need to make sure that I am keeping up with everyone else in the group, especially if I miss a lesson, and making sure all stages of this project are completed on time.

Working as A Team

This means making sure everyone gets on okay, and being able to communicate with others to see who needs to catch up and finish they're work on time, helping one another with bits and bobs, and help each-other finish for the deadlines. 

My leadership skills for the project:

Communication skills

Communication skills within the group, this means that when we get decided on the planning and what roles we will be taking, we will have to make a point towards one another and make sure everyone knows what they're doing and what they need help on or making sure we hit the deadlines.

Working as a Team

When working together in this group, we will have to be able to get on with one another and be able to come to a decision, making ideas and passing them around to one another - and at the end of planning making sure we all have an idea of what we are doing. 

Time Management

How we were set for time, was each time we either planned out what we were going to do, the production of the podcast and finally the editing of the podcast. So we had a sort of agreement of a sort as to each session we had for the Arts award, we had to finish something at a set time. 

My own responsibility for the project is by being in charge of the editing and special effects/sound effect usage. This will mean deciding on what bits of the podcast we should cut down and what effects and sounds I should add to the podcast, as well as some input from Owen on what theme song should be used. 
This means that I will have to get to grips with editing a podcast in Adobe Audition and inserting different sounds, and the time frame that we would have to do each section of the audio. 

I will need to follow the instructions given to me by the Director (Owen) - which wont be difficult as me and Owen have a great friendship. We will have to make sure we work as a team and that everyone knows what needs to be done. As well as letting people know what they need to catch up on and if so help them if they miss a day. A thing I need to work on is that I need to get more organized and make sure that all my planning and pre-production is in order before we begin the production of the podcast. The easiest part for me will be the communication in the group as we get on really well and the finding good sound effects. The hardest part will be the recording of the podcast as, I've always found that challenging.

Review of my leadership project so far:

During this time I have developed my communication and team working skills more so, as we followed each others instructions on what we were upto. I also finally got the chance to work with recording other voice clips to practice editing and inserting effects. Unfortunately I don't have the files to show this, but hopefully with the finishing of this project people will be able to see how well I have done. I have taken an interest into editing more so than before, because I love the technical side of playing around with different settings and seeing how it would pan out afterwards. This should help me in the future ahead. I had learnt how to get things much quicker and how things would work out as I researched how to use Audition and what other features it has hidden away. I also made sure everything was okay with what they had to do. 

Research on other Podcasts

Above is a podcast from a artist called Monstercat who records his music as he makes it. His genre is mainly Electronic. 

Stages of the Making of the Podcast

Here I am importing the files to create the video, this all the effects and the recordings we had done. 

Here I am inserting each of the recordings with each-other. These were recordings we did in a separate room from everyone else, as the recording studio already had people in. 

This is the finished product, with all the edits done to it and sound effects added. Effects that were in the podcast were things like a ice blast sound effect, the 'dun-dun-dun' sound effect and the tune of Nyan Cat.

When I had finished it I had listened to it, proof reading it so to speak making sure everything was alright. When listening to it, I was proud of what I had produced and so did the others in my team.

Review of my leadership skills so far:

I have been helping Sarah and Owen work the microphones so that I could edit, as they didnt know if the recordings had saved. As I was editing the podcast because I came into a problem with the recordings as the sound that I had downloaded wouldn't slot into Audition, so instead of asking the teacher I took it into my own initiative to either finding another track or finding out how to convert the file so that it would be able to go into the recording as I edited.

So that you can listen to it here is the podcast below, seen as Podomatic isn't working 

https://soundcloud.com/liam-mathias-jamison/cowboys-mixdown

Visit to BBC Newcastle

BBC Newcastle

Now I am going to write about the visit to BBC Newcastle and put it down for the silver arts award as we have to put in something of the job industry in media. We had taken photos in groups and below are some images that were taken. 

We went to BBC Newcastle to ask questions when meeting some of the presenters, also to get information on how they worked and what it is like.

 This was the first photo that was at the beginning of the trip where we could see all the people that worked at BBC Newcastle

Here we were taken to a wall of information that had the history of the BBC and their station. It was very interesting and fun to read up on.

Then we were taken to the news studio where we met the news presenter for Look North.

We had then got shown some props that the BBC use for shows like Cbeebies and CBBC.

Finally they showed us the control room to see how they operate behind the actual newsroom.

How do you begin finding work in your chosen area?

I would begin finding work in this area by looking at job sites of this particular area in the UK.

What qualifications and education do you need?

Qualifications that you would need are English and Maths as well as some sort of degree in that subject.

What other qualities as a person would you need to succeed in this area?

They would need some past experience in this sort of subject, like work experience or a past job/apprenticeship. So they would know what they would be doing if they got the job.

What kind of careers, pathways and opportunities are available in this area of media?

There are a lot of job opportunities and careers that are available in this media industry as it is very popular and there has been a lot of jobs going like this with a lot of people being involved in it. 

Arts Award Review

Silver Arts Award Event

For this part of the Arts Award, I have been asked to make a review of the event that took place on the ground floor. I am going to review the images I have taken at the event. There were a couple of tables set out in the street for people to look at whilst some students worked as well as some work they had created. Then we had to take photos of the work they had done and put them into our blogs in Blogger.

In this image there is a few girls drawing a lot of models, there was also a fair amount of other things on the table that they had made that you can see in the photo.

This photo is of a persons drawing that they had made also it has annotations on it. It made me think that it was a good piece of work and one of the best things that had been drawn that were out on the display. 

I thought that this image was really good and very creative. It was really good to admire it. Also the attention to detail on it was very good, this had shown me that there had been a lot of effort and hard work put into this and that it wasn't rushed.

After we had looked at all of the display of the other students it was time to go and write some feedback on their 'Feedback wall', where as you can see 2 of our classes own students writing their opinions on the wall. Either giving them advice on their work to improve it or telling them how good or bad their work is.

Review

When I had got to the event and had seen what was at the display and in my opinion I think that with all the work produced that it was really good overall and the attention to detail and quality of the work was amazing. I think that the event made me want to join in and be a part of it, it also motivated me to do my own work and be proud of what I had done, as for meeting the students, they seemed really enthusiastic and proud of what they had done. Seeing all this has made me want to progress even more and go onto the Level 3 Media course.

My review has been shared with others as well as my parents and friends outside of college to comment on, here are some of the replies:

This is the comments on my Arts Award Festival Review.

Here are the comments for the Arts award Challenge. 

Arts Award Challenge

What is new about the project

For my project I am doing a video with a group of friends that are on my course. The project is that I will be doing is a video in Albert Park with Nicole Swainston, a student in my class, as the actor walking around taking photos of the scenery, with some of the parks favourite sites. I will be the director for the making of the video. I will be calling in assistance from other members of the class to act as part of the production crew: Sarah Lemmon will be the Camera-girl, Nicole Swainston will be the actor and Marc Robinson will be the editor.

As the director, I will be in charge of which shots are required, making sure everything needed is filmed, and coordinating the whole production. I have never made a video as being in charge of a production team before, so this is all very new to me.

What are my strengths and weaknesses in this area

My strengths in this area are:

• that I can give good ideas to the rest of the team on where we should shoot and around how long we should shoot for on each shot that we will take

• I have good time keeping and organizing how long things are going to take, and how many times we would have to do the shots before I am happy with the final work

My weaknesses in this area are:

• I am not really sure if we will be able to stick to the original idea because of lack of time available, or if we will need to develop a different idea. 

What am I going to produce

I am going to direct a video showing some of the sites of Albert Park with Nicole, Marc and Sarah from my class.  Each one of us will put our own ideas into the making of this video, welding together to make the video look and sound as good as it should. However, as director I will have final say on the finished version of the video. In this video there will be no speaking as the video is just Nicole walking around taking photos of the park. When we edit the video it will have some calming and tranquil music in the background. 

Stages of planning and preparation

For the planning and preparation of the video, we made a mind-map type of thing to jot down all of our ideas.  

Here is a screenshot of the mind map:

Here is the original idea:

My original idea was to do a ghost girl wandering around in the park, but with the limited time and material we had to use. We could not produce what we wanted, so quickly we decided to do something we had seen on YouTube, where no one would talk. A silent video.

Here are the stages needed to produce the video:

1. Come up with the original idea

2. Develop this idea with mind maps and through talking go others in the group.

3. Pre-production: Risk Assessment, Call Sheet, Equipment Booking

4. Produce the movie

5. Post -production - editing from Marc

6. Upload edited video

7. Get feedback on video

8. Review work produced for my challenge

Pre-Production

Producing the Project

This is how we will be producing the video. First of all we each need to plan out ideas on what we want to do for the group video. Using mind-maps and brainstorming ideas together and writing them down. We then have to create pre-production documents to organize ourselves before we actually produce the video.
Afterwards we have to book out equipment, but all we need is a camera which will be good as it will be easy to book it. With that being the only thing needed to book, we should be able to get straight on with making the video.

Sharing it with others

How I will be sharing the video is by posting it in a group chat on Facebook to friends and people that are on the course, or I shall do it to individual people and ask for feedback. I could send the link to the students and ask if they could give me feedback on the video itself when I upload it to YouTube.

How the filming went

When we went to Albert park to actually film what we had planned we didn't have the things we wanted to use on the day so we had to quickly plan a short film of something totally different from what we originally planned. 

Every time we take a shot either people walked past or something or someone obstructed things, as the park was very busy. 

This shot above took a while to take but in the short amount of time we had to film, we had to push on and work on where Nicole would move to, although in this scene Sarah (camera-girl) was walking behind Nicole so then the camera was wobbling all over the place, making the shot no as steady as it was needed to. We should've zoomed in slowly instead of walking and filming behind her. Nearly all of the film was shaky, but if only we had more time to shoot it, I think that the film would have looked a lot better overall and we would have been able to take better shots.  

The main program we used to edit this video was Adobe Premier Pro. 

It was really easy to use and get the handle of it. As in it was easy to learn how

 to use it to edit the film.

This is the edited video from my YouTube channel.

Here I have sent out a request to everyone on the course through Facebook to get feedback/reviews from others.

Feedback

Here above is the feedback from 3 of the students on my course. Looking at the feedback they have given my some positive comments.

Review

The things I got out of this challenge are things like being able to work as part of a team and also being able to get my point across with others in my group with confidence and being able to agree on things with others. In the making of this video I think I have achieved what I wanted with having being able to experience an important role in our team as the Director. Our group got along and did well in the making of the video, there were no mishaps or any uncomfortable issues as everyone had their say on matters and were able to contribute with anything they wanted to, either to make it better or to do something differently. 

In my opinion with the limited amount of time we had to do the video I felt that we wouldn't be able to produce the video in time, but with that said we pulled through and after we finished the video it felt good and more importantly we felt that the video looked really good, as it was only the real first and proper go we had at making a film. After we had finished it we were proud with everything we had done and with each of our roles. The video had then got shown at Cineworld with all the different Levels of Media to look at every-ones work throughout the year and what people had to show everything off. So which must of meant the teachers must of liked what we had done.

What did I learn from it?

What I had learnt from it is was how to be able to direct a team of how to angle to shot, how to keep everyone together, making sure everyone knew what they were doing and when to cut the shots. Maybe not how a real director would be like in making a real film but in the sense of that I got to try some of the job roles that a proper director would be like.

What went well?

I think the things that went well the most was our teamwork and ability to concentrate on the task at hand, as everyone was busy and no one was messing on, we were all so focused which also helped getting the job done on time. 

What was difficult?

What I found difficult was the planning, when we started to plan it out with all of our ideas it seemed great but then on the day when we needed other things like sheets amongst other things we couldn't do what we originally wanted to do. So then on the day we had to quickly plan and improvise on what we were going to do - but we finally pulled through and made a great video.

What would I do differently if I did this challenge again?

If I did this challenge again what I would do differently is get better organized and make sure we have all the materials needed for the film we planned to do. If I wasn't so caught up in my own emotions with personal life then maybe we would have been able to produce something better. Also I would of taken the time to learn about the different roles as well as learning how to use the different equipment that was there to be used. I may also change my idea to something different completely like making a moving image with a 3D waveform which would take a lot longer to do and more time - but it would be worth it. 

Stage 32 - Arts Award Pathways

The Kind of Media I am interested in finding out more about:

The kind of media I am interested in finding more about is Animation.

What kind of people are involved in this kind of media:

An animator has to a good idea of using specialist software to produce three-dimensional images which, in sequence, create the illusion of movement. Have a feel for movement and timing. Possess creative and artistic qualities, along with the appropriate technical skills; they have to have good observational skills and acting talent, for character work. As well as good communication skills and have good team-working skills.

Show examples of three people's work in this area
Examples of work in this area are things like Shrek, Avatar and Adventure Time.

What jobs are available in this area

Animator (3D computer animation)

Skills, interests and qualities

To become an animator, you will need to have:

•   creativity and imagination
•   good drawing or modelling skills
•   patience and concentration
•   acting skills to bring characters to life
•   accuracy and attention to detail
•   the ability to take direction
•   good computer skills, preferably including graphics and animation software
•   communication and presentation skills
•   the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
•   good teamwork skills

Where do you go to see their work:

To be able to see an Animators work you are able to go to places like Cinema's, and exhibitions that could be on, as well as seeing their work online on sites like YouTube and film sites that let you watch movies online like Netflix. 

How to get in touch with some of these people:

What is Stage 32?

Stage 32 is a type of social media that links professionals in the entertainment and media industry. This includes directors, writers, actors and entertainment staff. It has people such as film industry professionals with featured bloggers, news from Hollywood and a projects page that allows other members to connect with other sorts of people on different film ventures, as well as basic social media functions. 

Find someone who works in the area of media that you have described above

I had found a random person that works in this area and sent him this message below, although it was short I got a response too.

Letter to anyone on Stage 32

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you to explain who I am and the project I am working on. I am Liam Mathias Jamison and coming up 19. I am on a Creative Media course for Level 2 at Middlesbrough College.
The area I'm looking at is Animation.

What is it like working in this area?

What are the hours like?

What is the pay like?

How would I begin working in this type of area?

Above is an image of the replies I got from people. I had to search for people that were in this area on Stage 32 and then send them a message asking a variety of questions. Although I didn't get much of a reply it shows that people are active on this site and willing to take the time to reply to anything that is asked.

Here is an image of me searching for animators throughout the years old and new. These are what came up and at the top of the screen with different websites that I could look at.

Here I am searching the job of Animator to see what it entails. It had lost of information as it shows what skills you would need for this job as well as qualifications and what you would have to do to become one.