Reflective Learning Journal









26th September 11





UNIT: Contextual Study’s Two
Today we started our first day for the second year, Paul delivered a new Unit where I would have to produce a 3 day video blog, because this project was given to us in summer to film Paul asked us not to edit any of the footage taken, this was because he wants us to swap it all over with the group so we all received the footage taken by everyone, this was a lot of footage to handle and I believe that this will be difficult but Paul doesn’t want a long film made for each day, only three minuets. I felt happy about this project because I just wanted to get started and stuck into something new, plus I was very interested to see what my other class mates has produced, on the other hand I have to rely a lot on my class mates so im hoping all the footage they have taken is good, quality I work with. I won’t know until I see it and there is only so much an edit can help footage.
Also for the whole year we have been asked to write blogs rather than keeping paper work, this is such a great thing for me as I cant afford to keep printing off work. Something bad what could happen though is that I could forget to type my blogs when I need to or I could mess up the order in posting. I can over come this problem by keeping recorded of my posts and keeping a planner about when I should complete work.
When I filmed I feel I could of prepared more but I do believe that it all went well. I could make two copies of what Paul wants me to do and then whatever one is the best that could be the one I post into the blog. I am looking forward to editing and pitch planning and also researching more into the project as I feel I could learn new things to, improve my video bloging style.

30th September 11
UNIT: Contextual Study’s Two
Today I found out that every one in my course has not filmed a single thing, this bothers me greatly as I cannot link my work to anyone else and it makes completing the task impossible. I need a film so I can intercut from mine to theirs, not to mention to create a 3 day story. 
Hearing this news today angered me and upset me and made me feel worried, I felt that I had a possibility of failing the course for something that wasn’t even my fault, but was defiantly my problem. Its made me not rely on any of the students and also makes me feel exiled as I am the only one that seems a clear distance of passing this course. Today was the first down slide of the projects but im guessing as the year goes by it keep on going down hill, I will always try my best while they will stay mediocre.
 I spoke to my tutor also today and he was saying that the only way to complete this task was to FAKE! The film and make the students film something I can peace together with mine. This was because it was unfair to me to restart my whole project just because the others didn’t do the work, all of this made my day full of anger and frustration. Making me look to desperation when I should be succeeding at my full limits, it just makes me sad. 
A good side to all of this is the fact we managed to spring a new way on how to complete the task and also makes me see how I can be toward the students in my class, a positive outlook also is no matter what I do in the class I am no where near the downfall as some of the students that show an attitude for no work. If I could avoid this problem I would of messaged all the guys to film and make sure they did it even though that is not my job and they shouldn’t have to be spoon fed into the course.
So yeah as you can tell, it wasn’t the best day.





10th October 11
UNIT: Contextual Study’s Two
I have started to develop my editing for “The Three Day Film” I found getting the data to be a challenge, this is because one of the students has taken my hard drive with my footage on it. I believe that this is a big down fall on the project for my but I am over coming this challenge by processing the dater onto a college hard drive and taking it home and transferring it, a problem to this is that its very time consuming. If my hard drive wasn’t taken by a fellow student it would be easier to do. Hopefully I can get my hard drive back ASAP because with out it I will keep on struggling, In the future this has taught me not to be as trust worthy to my fellow students and to keep my precessions to my self, Unless I fully trust them, Because faults like this puts me down and makes me struggles more,
With my editing I have completed half of the project. I find I can do this quickly Due to the fact I can edit at home, so it’s easier for me to get the project done. So as time has been wasted I have also gained it with doing the project at home, In the future this will always be the case because I fined it easier to get work done and edit at home just because I have the software and I have all my home time to edit, I look forward to completing this task and moving on to my next project.







13th October 11
UNIT: Contextual Study’s Two
I have been editing all week, Even though it has been hard with one of the students steeling my hard drive i have managed to over come this problem due to my youtube channel, I have videos posted up there with footage from my holiday and i have found that most useful to me at my desperate time of need. I feel very angry and rushed when everything was suppose to be simple, This was due to the theft of my hard drive but not only that, The fact that every one in my year hasn't completed the work or footage with less than five days to go. 
i Know i will get my work done and that i will be clear but i cannot say the same for my fellow pupils, I believe they really need to sort there act together f they want to pass, I have realised and understood to take all this on board and when i comes to my next project i will film on my own and do everything independently Because this experience has made me run down and untrusting of people. This was not something i wanted on the first term back, On a lighter note i am moving forward and also proceeding very well with my editing coming to an end and just tidying up everything on blogger, I have found blogger so much more easier to display than the paper work from last year and this makes me very happy because i have something at a professional standard to show people.






18th October 11
UNIT: Contextual Study’s Two


This is the last day of the production, all the work has been submitted and im on now to start my next project, even though the project was a failure from the start i feel proud of my self because i was able to turn it around. Now i can relax and take the next project by my self and do what i want to do with it, im exited to have my own editing and filming rights and it will be good to do something on m own again. I do like group work but not with the group i am with. a good pat of this project is i have seen the potential of my self and also i have found techniques i have never used before. 


For my next project i will have to make a music video and also a film trailer, This is always something i wanted to do so im very exited to do this because i have always wanted to do this and its something i would love to do when im more developed 




4th November
UNDERSTANDING THE MEDIA 2
Today I have been researching many different film trailers for my first half of my project, I have been viewing how I can link mine to there’s and how I can use techniques they used in there their film. I have been looking at how the mood in a trailer get your emotions hyped up for the film and exited to go see it and this is something I would like my trailer to do to people. Also today the college has kindly lent me a hard drive as I have not had mine returned yet, this makes things far more easier for me. With work and other things I can now transfer data and items that are essential to my work and it helps me keep on top of my deadline, I am happy with the way things are going in the class this week and I can only hope they stay at the best state there in as I would like to get through this year as smoothly as possible. A down side to today was the fact not many people turned up to class what means most of them are behind, as this is not a concern for me im not entirely fussed but I do also wish the best for my fellow class mates and hope they also stay on top of there work. As a hole I am pleased and am looking forward to planning my production for a trailer and music video.
14th November
UNDERSTANDING THE MEDIA 2
This have been a week where i am trying to turn every thing around, after the week of being ill im having to catch up with pre production work, but i still feel that i have a big week and it could all be done quite easily. Today i have produced lots of new documents for my music video so i have everything planned i also have completed storyboards and pitch but still need time to place it onto my blog. I feel very happy at the moment with my work because its started to turn around from the un-productive week i had a week ago and now everything seems more planed and scheduled. A bad thing about all this is that im a week down and still need to get my work done in a smaller time scale but a good thing about this project is that i get to see how fast i can plan and produce productions. the situation was manic but im now understanding what i have to do more and more with my music video and film trailer, another way i could of done this is by using my time at the start week more, i could of produced more pre-production work so if i am sick in the future i wouldn't be in much of a rush when i get back onto the project.


28th November
UNDERSTANDING THE MEDIA 2
Im finding it very hard to keep up to date with this reflective learning journal, i think that it is mainly because of the time scale that i have to complete two videos, i thought that i would be on top of my work and i didn't  think i would suffer from procrastination and not get anything done, This upsets me in a way because i feel that i should be more focused on my work and that i should guide my self a lot better than what i am actually doing, but now that the deadline if so close i feel i will get on top of this and over come the big hurdles of work. The good thing about this is that i can now see how easy it is to fall behind and it can prepare me for harder work in the future, but this is also a negative thing, Harder work in the future makes me more behind. 
I am starting to feel more motivated though and i do enjoy the thrills of rushing for deadlines although i try not to recommend this to my self every time, the situation is a bad one and i feel that something has to change so i can keep on top of my social,work and uni work all together and have equal doses of all,rather than more than one and less of the others. (More of social needs to be cut down). I am still hopefull and feel i will compleat this deadline all tho the rush is getting to me i feel more inclined to do more work and faster work, as for some of the class mates of my year i feel they need to catch up or they wont meet any of the deadlines


8th December
UNDERSTANDING THE MEDIA 2
I have finished my music video and iv decided to change my idea at the last minuet, this wasn't because of time or actors but mainly the fact i felt that the images i used in the film where so strong and compelling that they didn't need to be explained by words or titles, the only words i used where twice in the film and they read "Home Is Where The Heart Is" i felt happy that i have made this change because i think that sentence is the only one you really need to read to get the film, bad parts to the filming is the fact i was rushing to get it done but a good thing is even though i was rushing i still feel that i got a really good out come out of my music video and i still feel proud of my work. I have uploaded it onto youtube already and i have been receiving diffrent type of criticisms and I feel this is good because i can look on what the audiance is saying and reflect on it in deeper detail, As for the Film trailer i have a few more things i need to edit but it is coming along how i want it, i feel as a whole the project was stressful but i am starting to complete loose ends of the project and its all coming together i feel that next monday is an easy target for me and ill be happy to start the next one after christmas.





12th December
UNDERSTANDING THE MEDIA 2
Today i have finally finished editing both music and film trailer's i am really happy about this because i have made the deadlines and i think im the only person in my group that actually did it at the moment hopefully though the rest of the group will do it. I also feel that this week has been the most stressful as o terms of editing and styles to place on my films, I feel very strongly about my work though and i am still happy with what i have done because i took a bad edit because my music video didn't make any scenes and re-edited it into something that flowed and was easier to understand. There can still be some tweaks to be made but as a whole its really good. I am looking forward to christmas and having a holiday from uni work but when we come back im really exited and nervous at the same time, im looking forward to be leading a team and also to get to be in full control of the production.




6th January: Personal Development In Specialist Pathway
Today was the first day of the live studio production. As a Director I had to take control and try organise who’s doing what in the group. This was really hard as I couldn’t fined amazing quality’s in some people so I didn’t know where to place them, at the same time I was getting angry act the fact it took so many hours trying to decided what type of film we where going to make. Every one in the group wanted it there own way and I struggled to fined something positive to say about the time wasted on the squabbling.

A good out come of today was the positive attitude that the group was giving to me. They seemed like they really wanted to get a good grade out of this project and was willing to put a lot of effort into this,

As we went on to the studio room some people didn’t know what to do so this first lesion was like an introduction to the live studio I am not worried about my team so far because they are trying there best to work and commit to the group.

13th January: Personal Development In Specialist Pathway
Well the first things I can say about this week was, I am upset about the lack of CIQ responses I gained this week and last week and I am finding it hard when people wont respond to them at all. I feel angry that some people in the group are just plain lazy. But there where some comment in the CIQ I found what helped me address issues,

For example some one commented about headroom on cameras, so I spend a good 10 minuets with the class demonstrating dead space on a camera and bad shots and good shots I believe some understood but still a certain silence from the group made me unsure.

Another issue I found was when I gave people leeway with some designs to set or to graphics they made them tacky and cheep to look at, this just put me off people I wanted a technical show and not something that reminded me of channel 5 work.

Other than these issues everything went quite well, I am finding it a little hard to get on with my assessments because I am becoming stressed from this project already.

20TH January: Personal Development In Specialist Pathway
Today was a good day despite the absence from one of my presenters, John my other presenter did an amazing job and was trying to learn the script with out it in his hand what was very impressive. Good shots where being used and the timing on the visual mixer was really good.

Communication is our biggest weakness and we are getting better each time we go for a new take. Its something that the group is getting used to but it is all getting better. I am getting less stressed because my assistant director is taking some of that off my shoulders by helping out the little issues, and now I just get to look at the full big picture of the show what is good.
I hope we generate more days like today as nothing bad really happened.

The only issue I can possibly think was the travel from the bus. It was late what ment we only had 2 hours in the studio but still I believe we used our time well and worked well as a team.

I am still struggling to get the CIQ’s off people but me and Paul has mentioned in more that one occasion but still no luck what is being posted is good because im reading responses from the group about problems and I take them on bored for next week.

27th January: Personal Development In Specialist Pathway
It is the last week before the final show the weeks have been dropping by so fast and we are still struggling a little about issues with set and timings, Im finding it harder to control the group as they all want to do there own thing. But I am telling my self no matter how mad I get I have to still manage and try organise.

It feels like some people in the group just don’t care when others really want this, and it’s hard for me to say you do this and do that when they don’t even want to be there.

Another problem that has occurred is the absence of my presenter again, with this happening the second time in vital days I am going to have to fire her as a presenter and move her down to PA of guests, she new the consequences for not attending so I have to follow through on my actions. I believe doing this sends a message to the others that I am not to be walked over and even with one week to go I will fire them if I have to. I am getting nervous we have one week left and a lot still needs to be done.

3rd February: Personal Development In Specialist Pathway
Nerves where kicking in today as I started what seemed to be a really hard day, it was the last day of the live studio production and my managing skills where going down with nerves. In the morning the group all helped out in making the set and running through the show. I felt this was good for john as he understood his lines more and more and when it came down the live shoot he may not even need his queue cards.

Then after the predictive morning we got into the film studio room and attempted to get everything set up as quick as possible, I was getting really nervous and noticed that everything started to go down hill. We missed our first time slot and with that we couldn’t use our practice take as our real one.

So when it came down to our live footage everything had to be perfect. This was not the case, their where things wrong with the sound, some cameras where taking there time to re line shots some where out of focus, and also the visual mixing was really slow. There was no pace it all went down hill.

The positives from this whole production where that I managed a team and tried to get them to work at their full ability, its just a shame some of their full ability is hardily anything, I wouldn’t like to do this again as controlling a group isn’t a strong point of mine, and also the work that was made was poor and I am disappointed in it. 



20th February Exploring Specialist Pathway 2
Today I was given a brief on our new project today; it was to make a short film no longer than 15 minuets. It is part of Ridley Scott’s competition where he wants to see the style on how to tell a story. I am really exited to start this project as I have had ideas for short film and also a small documentary stile film. I am anxious to see what the people in my class create too as they are working together and I want to view the ideas they have together. Over all I have read through the brief and decided to start my paper work early and try to manage my time excessively well.

27th February Exploring Specialist Pathway 2
One week has past from receiving the project and I have now decided on my idea. I am going to start scripting my work and I think I want to try documentary stile as I have a great story in mined and a good location to film at. I want to make the best out of this opportunity and I feel happy that I am doing this on my own and trying to make it happen. The other group hasn’t turned up as much this week so I don’t know if they are still working together but at the same time it makes me confused about the situation of do they really want to be here.



2nd March Exploring specialist pathway 2
Today I have been given my new brief. I have to use this film for a film competition online hosted by Riddly Scott. I feel really exited to start my new project and I can’t wait to make a short film. What’s good about this is that I can expand on what I want to do and there are no limits with this. The bad faults to this is I will be a one man band and because people in my Corse aren’t as organised as me when it comes to filming days, I am going to start working on a story in the week and should be interesting to see what I come up with.
9th march Exploring specialist pathway 2
Today I have given my first idea to Paul; I told him that I was planning on making a film about an ice skater that has a terrible accident after a session. He seemed interested to my idea and we expanded on plot theme and story. I was thought today the many uses of creating a story, but not I have my idea and twist I feel that this story is becoming something that I will film. I just need to go ask for certain permission off people, if worst comes to worst I will make a different version to fit my story.
16th March 12 Exploring specialist pathway 2
I have just got back from looking around for permission to film in ice rinks, but no place’s will allow it due to health and safety. This is making me really worried as I only have 3 weeks left and now I have to re-edit my film. I think I know how I am going to do this but it is getting on top of me a bit. I may even have to miss a few days of university lectures because I will have to film. Think over this week ill try make my film into something I can be aloud to film in certain areas. I also and concerned for the rest of my class mates as non of my year are turning up for lectures and I don’t think they will meet this deadline.
23rd march Exploring specialist pathway 2
Today was my first film day I have organised four for the next week, I have re-written the script and I have gain permission of all the places I will be filming. I also have organised my time well for editing and also paper work. I feel that this is something that is really positive and something I needed, as I am getting closer to the deadline day. Most of this week will just be editing and filming, I have devised a structure that is quick and sufficient where I film then asap get the work on the a time line and cut it down, This will save me time when editing and rendering. Over all im much happier than last week because I have organised my time well and feel I wont get anything late.
30th March 12 Exploring specialist pathway 2
It is the handing in date today, I have completed everything and I have also shown my film to Paul. He gave me really good constructive criticism and I think over all he was pleased with what I have done. There are minor technical problems but with the comments he has said, next time I make a sort film similar to this project I will take them tips on board and it will help my film making in the future. I believe that I have done a really good job and I am pleased with all of the results the other people in my class has not turned up, so I don’t know if that means that they have not done this or if they are running a bit late. At least I have finished for the Easter holiday on a well and true deserved film.


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