Teaser trailer for 3rd episode

After Matt had edited the 2nd episode and uploaded it on youtube, he set to work on editing together a teaser trailer for our 3rd episode (which the group managed to get filmed on the shoot of episode 2. Which means that we have more time to advertise the launch of episode three on monday evening.

Shown below is the teaser trailer for thee 3rd episode of Lines:

Views / Comments on 2nd Episode

After looking at the 2nd episode of 'Lines'. I then looked into the views it has recieved since Friday 29th (7pm).

This is what I found:

Since Friday we have recieved 221 views on episode 2 which is good progress so far, and I am sure that it will increase as time goes on. The down side is of course that it is no where near as many views as we had on our 1st episode, but I believe this is beacuse people have maybe lost interest or maybe they are late looking at the 2nd episode, but as far as I know we as a group advertised the launch in exactly the same was as we did for episode 1, which was to place up an event on facebook and also to place posters in and around our college, so I am slightly confused as to why we have a slight drop in the number of views, but as I said beofore, I am sure that they will pick up as time goes on.

(This photo shows episode 2 and the amount of views it has had so far)

Here are some graphs which show the number of views which the 2nd episode we have had so far:

(This graph shows the amount of views and also where our viewers are comming from - which you can see is the United Kingdom)

(This graph shows the amount of views which we have had and also the sources where people have viewed them. for example facebook)

(This graph shows the amount of views we have had on episode 2 and also the date of which episode 2 was released - which was 29th friday)

2nd Episode Launch

On friday 29th Jaunary our 2nd episode of Lines was launched, with great success!

After viewing it for the first time this evening, I personally think that this episode is allot better than the 1st episode, I believe that this is becuase everyone in the group / people on the shoot of the 2nd episode were much more organized which meant that the completed video turned out better than the 1st episode, also it is down to Matts editing which I believe works very well within this 2nd episode.

Shown below is the 2nd episode:



Before Episode 2 was launched we created a teaser trailer for episode 2, which is shown below:

Advertising the 2nd episode launch

In todays session, Tim and Tara decided to put up the posters they had created around the college, to advertise the upcoming 2nd episode of our webseries 'Lines'.

Shown below are some photos I took today of Tim & Tara putting up the posters:

Shooting the 3rd episode

The group has organized all the request forms / risk assessment and also the cast have been contacted about the shoot tonight, so everything is set and ready for tonight shooting.


I cannot attend the shoot tonight as I have a concert to attend, but the role switch has meant that I am covered. The new director for episode 3 is Mike. The group decided that Mike would be capable of being the new director and Mike wanted to take the role up as he felt he needed the role / work to do as he feels a bit left out in the project, so I personally put Mike into the role of director for the 3rd episode.

I will discuss with the group about how the shoot went when we are all together in the next session / lesson.

Plan for todays lesson (Pre-shoot for 3rd episode)

In todays session, everyone in the group has been working towards either completing the 2nd episode or getting set for the filming of the 3rd episode tonight after college (4.10). 

Shown below is a list of each individual and also what they will be doing in todays lesson: 

Dave - Preparing the script for the filming & helping matt with editing 

Mike - Contact the cast to make sure they are free 

Tim - Organize the room and make sure we can still use it for filming 

Tara - Find additional music to be put into the 2nd & 3rd episode 

Matt - Edit the 2nd episode and get it complete by end of the lesson 

Ash - Sort his personal blog out and update all progress 

I am personally organizing the paper work (once competed by Tara) into the group folder and make sure that everyone is on track with what they are doing in order to make this evenings shoot goes as-well as possible. I am also going to organize any more paper work which his needed for the blog or my group individually. 

Episode 1 'Lines' (Views) (22nd january - 28th January 2010)

Shown below are some visual graphs / images which shows more information on the views we have had on episode one of 'lines'. (Taken from episode one)

(This is a screen grab which shows episode 1 and also the amount of of views) 

(The screen shot below shows a graph which is presenting the amount of views episode one has had so far) 

(Shown below is another graph which is presenting the views which all our videos have had (auditions, title sequence, episode one etc)

(This graph is showing the places which people have viewed are videos so far)

(The most apparent place is the UK, but other countries include USA and also Spain)

(This graph is showing the different sources which people have used in order to watch our first episode) 

Youtube views (resource found on website)

I have recently found this resource on a website. Which explains how to gain more views on youtube and also how to view the progress of your youtube views and also how to examine them.

Here is a link to the website: http://www.squidoo.com/youtube-super-star

Shown below is the information I found on the website:

Overview

Two scientists have recently collected and researched many months worth of statistics on millions of YouTube videos. They've discovered any video belongs to one of four categories based on the number of views. The two categories you're interested in are viral and quality.

Once you understand how these categories work you can use this knowledge to your advantage and become a YouTube super star.

The essense

Videos on YouTube become popular because they get a lot of views. The total amount of views can be traced back to views per day. If you look at how these views per day evolve starting from the day you've posted your video you can estimate whether you video is viral or quality.

Once you get the hang of it you'll be able to hone in to the viral or quality 'effect' and actually trigger it for all your future videos.

What you'll need/who this is for

YouTube has the perfect tool for tracking the daily number of views your video gets. It's hidden behind the 'Insight' button on youtube.com/my_videos.

Open the Insight panel of your most viewed video now. What you'll see is a graph showing a history of daily views. You'll work with this graph in the next steps.

Step 1: determine peak day

Look at the graph that shows the history of views per day (or just 'views') and try to determine the peak day. This is the day that has gotten the most views since the day your video was posted.

You may find there are multiple peak days. If this is the case your video is neither viral nor quality. Check out the graph for you second most popular video.

Step 2: determine the category

Now that you've found peak day and you're sure there's only one you can determine the category your video belongs to. There are two important categories (I'm ignoring the two others because they tend not to generate a lot of views).

These two categories are:

•Viral or exogenous critical (EX-C): in this category videos rise to peak day very quickly. They rise anywhere from a few days to two week (rising in one day is not viral!).

•Quality or endogenous critical (EN-C): in this category videos rise to peak day slowly. They rise over the course of multiple weeks to months.

Rising refers to the period starting with the day traffic starts to pick up to peak day. In this period each day or week gets more views than the day or week before up until peak day.

Note: if your video is still fresh peak day may not have happened yet! If your video has been posted more than one week ago and views are still rising you most likely have a quality or EN-C on your hands. Congrats! However, in that case you won't be able to accurately predict how many views you'll gets.

You can do the calculation but you have to remember that the actual number of views will be higher, probably much higher!

Step 3: calculate how many views your video will get

Now that you know if you video is viral or quality you're almost ready to calculated how many views you video will get starting from peak day.

You only need to look up one more detail: the approximate number of views on peak day. You can find this on the Insight graph of your video. Try to be as specific as possible but don't hurt yourself.

Now click on this link and enter these variables:

•Peak day
•The number of views on peak day
•viral or quality

Click 'Calculate' and you'll know how many views your video will get starting from peak day. The number is an approximation, it can be off by as much as 20% in either direction. Still, it will give you an idea.


With the above resource I hope to investigate the views we have recieved so far on are episodes / videos, and to expland on the information of each view. Another thing which I wish to do with this resource is to monitor the amount of views each episode gains, by using charts, graphs and statistics.

Progress report sheets

My role as group manager / producer is to organise the group and make sure that all members of the group know what needs doing and also most important of all is that they all keep track of their progress, including my own personal progress (which I keep a track of).

After having a discussion with the group last week, they agreed that they would each produce an individual progress report, which they all managed to produce over the weekend, but I decided that to help my group out with their individual tasks and also the group work, I would set the specific questions which relate to the progress reporting for the past tasks / days working on this project.

So on tuesday I presented each member of my group with a sheet of questions, which I then asked them to answer in their own time. After each person has completed the sheet I will then place it into the group folder.

The aim of the sheet it to provide evidence of how the group has improved and to also clear up any troubles that anyone has within the group, which I could possible help them with, inorder to create a more positive working atmosphere.

Shown below are some photos which show the reports sheets I created for the group:

(This is a screen shot from when I was producing the question sheets)



(This photo is showing the finished sheets, ready to hand out to my group)



( In this photo you can see Alie who is holding a finished form, which shows clearly how she feels the project is going so far, this is now in the group folder along with other question sheets which everyone has completed )

Preparation for filming the 2nd episode

After the group feedback session, Pete gave Tara (Project producer) a memo from CRaM creatives (sponsors of our project). Which basically explained what was good and bad about the 1st episode, and what needed changing before and during the production of our 2nd episode of 'Lines'.

This photo shows the Memo we recieved from the CRaM creatives (Pete & Nick) :



Also on the memo it stated the following:

That they have some concerns which were as follows:

- Poor acting
- Poor camerawork
- Over-long episodes and disjointed
- Bad language still apparent n one series (Not ours)
- Failure to meet deadlines for quicktime of the program (Not ours)

Another thing which was mentioned was that they wanted us as a group to film a short preview clip for the 2nd episode, which will basically show the fans / audience that the showing of the 2nd episode will be put online friday instead of tomorrow (tuesday).

The final suggested deadlines are as follows:

Friday = 2nd episode (7pm)
Tuesday = Preview of 2nd episode (7pm)

The plan for today is to film the 2nd and 3rd episode aswell as the promo video (10 secconds) to advertise the up-coming 2nd episode.

The people who are going to be involved with todays filming are:

Dave - Director
Matt - Assistant director
Tim - Camera man
Sam - Sound
Mike - Casting

I will not be able to attend todays shoot as I have to attend my part-time job, but I have disussed this with my group and they have said it is ok as they will be ok with the amount of people they have on the set.

During tomorrows session I will discuss with the group how the shoot went, and to note down the advantages of the role reversal and the dis-advantages. Also I will note down what went well and what didnt go so well etc, as to create an account of what happened without being there.

In todays lesson I personally noted down the group feedback which we recieved for our first episode and I also collected in everyones feedback on our video. I then typed up the feedback on the group blog so that everyone in my group could access it and expland apon it.

While I was typing up the feedback onto both the group blog and my own blog, the rest of my group was working on a variety of tasks, which Dave set them, instead off me, as I was busy typing up the feedback so I was not available to give people tasks to do within the session today.

Shown below are some photos I took in todays session:

This photo shows the feedback which we recieved on our 1st episode



In this photo you can see Tara and Tim. Who are both working on the 2nd poster to advertise the 2nd episode of 'lines'



In this photo you can see Alie, Matt, and Dave, who are discussing the storyboards, shot lists, and the script for episode 2



In this photo you can see Dave & Mike, who are discussing possible changes to the script for episode 2 / 3 before the shoot of the 2nd episode

Peer / teacher feedback on our 1st episode

We have received feedback on our 1st episode for or web series 'lines'

Here is a list of the peer feedback we received from the class:

• Sound levels need improving (some bits louder than others) (Mentioned 5 times)
• CD films logo to long (Mentioned 4 times)
• Credits are to fast at the end (Mentioned 3 times)
• Poor acting
• Opening sequence is to repetitive
• Editing of the video is good & works well
• Nice logos, they look well made and effective to the audience
• Poorly recorded narration
• Inappropriate music used throughout the video (including the opening sequence)
• Camera work could be better
• Too many cuts
• Script is too basic
• Poor cuts used
• Poorly planned
• The actors need rehearsals before acting in next video as they don't seem very confident in the first episode (Mentioned 3 times)
• Catchy song works well (Mentioned 3 times)
• The stereotypes are not clearly shown in the 1st episode
• Need more close ups
• Need more core content
• Visual gags of skeleton work well
• Need more comedy rather than drama to make it more comedic
• Continuity issues need improving (Mentioned 3 times)

Here is the feedback we received from Pete (Teacher):

• When the character is holding the polos, there could of been a close up
• While I was watching the 1st episode, it felt as if I was in a theater, there needs to be more use of close ups and shot changes
• Voice over explaining each character works well, needs to be more narration
• Cut to show different characters
• More planning is needed prior to next shoot (rehearsals etc) to avoid bad acting
• High angle show works well, but panning shot doesn't work within the same shot
• Sound levels need improving / editing

Reflection on feedback:

After looking back at the feedback we have received today, I can clearly see that there are some strong points which need improvement, these main things are as follows:

Sound levels need improving / editing (We had 5 people who commented on this)

The CD films logo is too lengthy (We had 4 people comment on this)

Credit sequence is too fast (We had 3 people comment on this)

Continuity needs work (We had 2 people comment on this)

The video did not explain each character well enough (We had 3 people comment on this)

As you can see above, these are the main things which were mentioned in the feedback session today by both our peers and our teacher. As a group we have discussed the possible changes in order to ensure that the 2nd episode is more of a success than the 1st.

The changes which we are planning to put into place are as follows:

• Organize the crew better, and also ensure that they have rehearsed their lines BEFORE the shoot
• Make sure that a boom-mic pole is used in order to create better sound, and to make sure their is no back ground noise
• Slow down the credits at the end of the video
• Also the logos (CD films and CRaM logo) will be speeded up
• Continuity issues will be resolved, during the shoot, by sticking to the storyboards and shot list
• The characters which were not mentioned in the first episode narration, will be mentioned in the 2nd episode to avoid confusion about the characters

All the above will be put into place for the filming of the 2nd and 3rd episode

Feedback / views on first episode

After looking into the video / 1st episode on youtube, I have seen that already since friday it has recieved alot of views so far. (433 views). Considering that it has only been a few days, I believe that number of views is very good, and the fact that this is the 1st episode, from the comments that have been left, I can see that it is already generating some keen interest in the series, comments such as "pretty decent, I think I have a new way to kill time, so yeah, thumbs up!" and "Looking good - I'm definitely up for following all the episodes :)" Show that there is some keen interest in the series, and there will be some followers to the series, which is once again a very positive factor, which will mean that our web-series will be more succesful with the fans / people that watch the series.

Shown below is a screen shot from the youtube page and the comments on the 1st episode

Comments on the 1st episode:



Youtube page (1st episode 'Lines')

Preperation for 1st showing

Before we posted the finished 1st episode of Lines onto the internet, Tara, Tim & Alie worked on a 'Lines' poster to promote the showing of the 1st episode.

shown below is the finished poster:



This poster was placed onto Facebook in order to attract more views for the 1st episode of 'lines'.
On the poster it shows the web adress for the main website and also the youtube site where the actual 1st episode will be uploaded.

Another thing that was set up by Tara & Tim was a facebook 'event'. The event was created on friday during the class session, before the video was posted onto youtube that night. The event was created in order to draw in more views for the 1st episode.

(Shown below is a screen shot which shows the event that Tara & Tim set up)

1st episode - 'Lines' webisode

Here is our 1st episode for 'Lines' (On youtube) :

Feedback on 1st episode (Before being put online)

Matt & Sam showed the 1st episode to Nick (Sponsor of the project) for him to give us feedback on it, so that we could improve things for the 2nd episode. 

This is what Nick said: 

• The actors clearly needed more time to rehearse so, keep that in mind for the and episode 
  
• Overall if your personally happy with it then im happy 
  
• Need more angles and shot changes used 
  
• There is some background noise which needs sorting out 
  
• There is not enough scenes / interesting content within the episode 
  
• Save footage as you go along 
• Check the scenes before leaving the shoot 
• Make sure that everyone knows what is going on 
• Make it more comedic 
• More energy is needed 
• There needs to be more visual gags in it 
• The characters need to be more stylized on their actually character base 
• Organize it much better, (rehearsals are a MUST!) 
• Nothing technically wrong with script etc but just needs more preparation 
• Great introduction, but it is a bit all over the place in the middle but good start!
• On track, keep the momentum going 
• Overall well done! 

From the feedback Nick gave us today, we are going to all together going to consider the things which were good and bad about our 1st episode, and we will consider possible changes, in order to make sure that the 2nd episode is better than the 1st. 

Todays lesson review

In todays lesson, each member of the group have worked well, and communication has increased dramatically which I am very pleased with, because it meant that the working atmosphere was made much more positive which meant every one was relaxed and the work was easier to produce within the lesson, and due to the deadline being tonight (7pm) that it was even better that the group worked well today.

My personal work achieved within todays lesson, was that I organized everyone in the group and made sure that the all knew what was going on with the project so far. After everyone in the group was organized and informed about what needed doing, then I set each individual their tasks for the session. The work that was produced within todays lesson / the tasks which were completed are shown below:

• Place posters online to advertise the airing of the 1st episode (Tara) - Completed
  Edit the photo for the poster, and also create credit reel (Tim) - Completed
• Edit the footage of the 1st episode and get it ready to be put online tonight at 7pm (Matt) - Completed

Shown in this photo is Matt (editing the 1st episode ) and Tara (putting posters online)



In this photo you can see Tim, who is updating facebook, and creating a facebook group ready for when the 1st episode is uploaded at 7pm tonight

• Create a CD Films Ident to be placed onto each episode (Dave) - Completed
  
• Create story boards for the 2nd episode (Alie) - Completed

Shown in this photo is Alie who is completeing the storyboards for the 2nd episode

• Organize the shot lists, and finish them off for Alie to create the story boards (Ash) - Completed
• Sort out some music from the chosen bands we found to be placed in the middle of the 1st episodes (Sam) - Completed

Shown below is a photo showing Ash & Sam. Ash is working on the shotlist for episode 2 and Sam is working on the other sound tracks to use for the 1st episode, (to be placed in the middle of the video, during the 'action' scenes) Ash is also giving Sam feedback on his chosen songs

• Make an animatic for the 1st episode storyboard (Sam & Mike) - Not completed
• Research into other websites where we can upload the 1st episode (Mike) - Complete

Shown below is a photo of Mike who is researching into other webpages where we can upload the video (1st episode) onto

• Contact the crew / cast and ensure that everything is ok for monday (Mike) - Completed
• Put progress report onto each individual blog (everyone in group) - In progress (weekend)

The tasks which were not completed in lesson today will be set for each individual to do over the weekend or complete next week, but as far as the progress so far, I am pleased with the work load produced today , By each person in the group, including myself.

Progress report 2

The project so far is going well, and we are close to the deadline for the 1st episode which is tonight at 7pm. After the recent role change their has been a big change in the way people are working, we are more organized, and also the team is working /communicating together much more effectively which means the amount of work being produced has increased, and is being produced at a much faster rate. 

My personal input into this project so far, has mainly been to organize all the group and ensure that they have tasks to do each lesson. One major task which I have done myself has been to supply the story board templates to members in the group, in order for them to create the story boards for each episode, so this has helped the group a great deal, and meant that we could continue with the project, this also meant that filming the 1st episode was easier than it would of been without producing storyboards. 

I have also tried my best to keep a positive atmosphere for the group to work in, as i believe that the working status of the group would be greatly effected if there is not a positive atmosphere and a negative one, so my job as manager so far has been to keep the group and the material for the project organized, and ensure every one has a task to do each lesson they attend, also that their work is done to schedule in order to proceed productively that it is done to a good standard, so that they can achieve their own personal goals. (Which is mainly to achieve a personal state where each member feels they have worked 100% and are happy with their own personal achievement within the project) 

The main task which I have done during this project so far is to take photos of the group working productively on each of their own tasks, which they can later put onto their blogs, and also so I can add it to my own to show evidence of the group and myself working productively to get each task complete. 

Overall so far I believe that this project is going well, and we are well on the way to getting the 1st episode completed and uploaded to facebook, youtube, etc to market our 'Lines' web-series. 

The tasks that we need to do before the next episode is to remain as organized as we are now, promote the screening of the 2nd episode which is next tuesday, and also to ensure everyone is doing their tasks on time, and to schedule. I believe personally that if we remain as organised and productive as e are now, and that I can gather as much evidence as possible, then we are well on the way to success! 

Todays lesson plan

I have set each member within the group their individual tasks for todays session, the tasks which  I set where as follows: 

Place posters online to advertise the airing of the 1st episode (Tara) 

Edit the photo for the poster, and also create credit reel (Tim) 

Edit the footage of the 1st episode and get it ready to be put online tonight at 7pm (Matt) 

Create a CD Films Ident to be placed onto each episode (Dave) 

Create story boards for the 2nd episode (Alie) 

Organize the shot lists, and finish them off for Alie to create the story boards (Ash) 

Sort out some music from the chosen bands we found to be placed in the middle of the 1st episodes (Sam) 

Make an animatic for the 1st episode storyboard (Sam & Mike) 

Research into other websites where we can upload the 1st episode (Mike) 

Contact the crew / cast and ensure that everything is ok for monday (Mike) 

Put progress report onto each individual blog (everyone in group) 

My personal plan for today is to ensure that every one is working productively and that the environment they are working in is positive and productive. My other task for today is to ensure that everyone has tasks to do and no one is in the stage where they 'have nothing to do', as this is in m mind unproductive and will mean we get behind schedule, and considering the deadline for the 1st episode is tonight at , I need to make sure everyone is working ok and to target. 

Yesterdays lesson review / minutes from the 10th meeting

Due to a group meeting which was planned by our teacher / the leader of the project. we were unable to shoot our 2nd episode, another factor which meant had effected the plan to shoot the 2nd episode, was communication issues between myself and the director and also the group with each other. Due to communication issues the director had no idea that the shooting was going to take place at lunch time and he had already contacted all the cast with a new script and also told them that the filming was for after college times, but this was actually not true, but as I said this was due to group communication issues.

Before the lesson could start the group gathered together for a brief meeting whereby we discussed what needed changing in order for us to progress in a positive manner with this project. We all agreed as a group that the oles would now stay as the same and these roles are as follows:

Dave - Director
Myself - Project manager
Tim - Camera operator
Matt - Editor
Ash - Marketing
Tara - Production manager / Marketing
Alie - Marketing
Sam - Sound / Equipment  

After the group discussion we decided that from now on these roles are going to remain how they are. Another thing that was discussed was the fact that the communication issues need to be sorted before we can continue forward in this project, so we have all promised as a group to organize our communication better between each other to ensure that we can progress positively through the final stages of this project. 

After the meeting we set to work on our different tasks which Dave set people, the tasks which were completed in yesterdays lesson were as follows: 

Editing the footage for the first episode (Matt) 

Organize when we can next shoot the 2nd episode (Dave) 

Contacted the cast about when we are next filming and make sure they have copies of the new script (Mike) 

Plan & Make the poster to advertise the release of the 1st episode online (Tara & Alie) 

Take cast photos / screen shot of each character from the youtube video of the opening sequence (Tim) 

I personally did not do many tasks yesterday due to feeling ill, but i still communicated with the rest of the group to make sure everyone else was ok with what they were doing and answer any questions they had for me, about the project. 

Plan for todays filming shoot (2nd episode)

For today we as a group are planning to film the 2nd episode at 12:20. There are a number of things which we have to get sorted before the shoot today, those things are as follows :

• Complete shot list & storyboard to use for the shoot
• Make sure that the camera is all ready to use and is booked for us to use
• Ensure that the room is booked for us to use, and make sure that everything is confirmed
• Make sure that all cast are informed about the shoot and also make sure that they are in correct costume
• Ensure that the props / costumes are organised for the cast to wear during the shoot (including the secret agent guy costume)

Today there will be a limited amount of people on the set of the second episode, these people are as follows:

Mike - Script / casting

Tara - On-set photographer

Tim - Camera operator

Dave - Director

Sam - Sound

Myself - Manager of project

I will personally be on the set of the shoot to overlook what everyone is doing (cast & crew) to ensure everything is running smoothly and that everyone is sure what they need to do, and also remind them of their roles if need be. Also I will be on set to help with any problems that the cast/ crew have, also I will be there to ensure that there is a positive atmoshere, in order for every one to work at the best of their ability.

Overall I believe that aslong as the above things are done and that everyone is in a positive mood, that this video shoot should go well.

Yesterdays lesson report

In yesterdays lesson after I had discussed with every one in the group about the meeting I the nset to work on setting tasks for everyone to get on with, but as I was planning on tasks to assign for people i realised that everyone was already working so instead I went round each person in the group individually and aksed them what it was they were doing, and also for the people that were not doing anything or were close to finishing their curent task I decided to assign them another task to do,

shown below is a list of what I assigned people to do yesterday:

Uploading of photos to facebook / blog (Sam)
Organising cast to see if they are free tomorrow for shooting episode 2 (Tim & Tara)
Making a face punch page & planning adjustments to website (Ash)
Assiting with editing / editing (Dave & Matt)
Uploading photos to fliker page (Alie)
Research into other bands / music we could use for during the episodes (Sam)
Sort out storyboards / shot list for episode - 2 (Ash)

My personal tasks within the lesson yesterday were as follows:

• I organised tasks for everyone to do
• I ensured that everyone knew what was going on with the project so far
• I questioned everyone on what they were doing and also asked them about the meeting and took notes
• I overall organised what the group was doing and made sure everyone was ok with what was said within the meeting
• I tried my best to keeo the moral up within the group by making sure every ones points of view where wrote down in my not book in order to adjust any negative views any one had

Here is the video which Matt edited in the lesson:

('Lines' - Opening sequence)

Show project - Minutes from the 9th meeting

At the start of the lesson yesterday, the group had a brief group meeting which I unfortunatly missed due to running late for the lesson. So this is the reason why I went around the group asking them about what was said within the meeting, here is what I found out from the group:

The first thing that was brought up in the group meeting was the comunication issues within the group, and the fact that we are not comunicated good enough as a group, in order to proceed forward with the project. The group decission was to change the roles around, and see if this improves the comunication issues within the group.

The first person who I spoke to was Sam and he informed me that there was many things discussed within the meeting, but the two main things which were role changes and also the lack of comunication within the group, both these issues where considerd as the reasons behind the fact that progress may be slower than it should.

After I spoke to Sam, I then went and spoke with the other members within the group to get their views of the meeting, and they all confirmed for me that the roles had indeed been changed or at least discussed, it was at this moment I decided to change my own personal role from director to group manager, I decided to change my own personal role, because I strongly think that throughtout this project so far I have been in a more manger mind set rather than director, and of course I am aware that these things are closely linked, but the changing factor bewteen the two is the fact that there is the directiorial role within the filming of the episode, and due to the fact that I got confused and slightly bewilderd as to what people where doing, I have decided to change my role from director to manager of the project. Orthough there will not be a change in my position within the group, I belive the pressure of directing & managing the group is too much for me, hence why I have changed my role to manger as it is to much pressure for me to do both jobs, and I am 100% confident that the group will work better together with this set up. (Dave is now director for the group as from today)

My new role as group / project manger will involve the following tasks:

• Organising tasks for everyone to do each lesson
• Make sure that everyone know what they have to do
• Ensure that everyone is working together in a positive enviroment
• Organise the group into their roles, and make sure they stick to working within their own roles
• Note down everyones views or opinions either negative or positive, then try and adapt them into the project in order to make things better
• Make sure that everyone has the material they need for their blogs, and also to be placed in the group folder
• Keep every one in a positive mind set, in order to make sure the tasks are completed to the best of their ability
• Make sure that I am available to everyone in the group if they need help with anything

Review of filming the 1st episode

Before we could start filming, we had to set up the room which did not take too long as all we had to do was to move the tables into more of a classroom set up, and by this i mean to place them in rooms in stead of in bunches as they were before we moved them, as this looks more formal and much like a detention room.

When we got round to actually filming the 1st episode, we decided as a group that at the start of the filming that we would film the opening sequence first, so that was done so we could place it at the start of the episode. Once the opening sequence was filmed and completed, I set to work on organising the cast, But I soon realised that Mike would be best at placing the cast in their correct places as he has a clear image of what he wants the webisode to look like, so I decided to ask him to place the people into the correct places within the class room.

Once all the characters where in their places I set to work on directing tim (camera) as to what he had to film, and I asked Mike to remind the characters what their lines where and what it was they had to say etc, but unfortunatly I soon realised that the story board was not in the correct order so I quickly had to organise that back into order, and while I was doing this Mike & Tara took on the role of director and directed the filming for me as I was busy sorting out the story board, as I belived without the story board as a guidline the filming would be increasingly difficult to proceed with and do, but considering the story board was in the wrong order we still managed to stick with it very and the team worked well together which I am proud of.

When the filming started we 1st thought we only had an hour to film (4.10 - 5.10) But Nick (teacher) came in to inform us that we had a time extension due to the fact that we were slightly behind scedule, mainly because we were organising the chracters and making sure they knew their lines etc.

While the filming was going on I set Tara & Matt the task of taking photos during the filming of the 1st episode, for us to place on our marketing sites (facebook, myspace, etc).

Once the filming was complete, we had managed to complete the 1st episode, orthough it was a bit rushed and dis-organised I believe we done the best we possibly could in the time that we had available.

Overall I belive that the filming went well, but with my input it could of gone a lot smoother and my personal sense of achievement would of been greater, but due to my own lack of involvement meant that the group was a bit confused, much like I was. I believe that another factor that effected my own personal performance is that it was shot at the end of the day which meant I was not in the correct mind set to direct and was tierd from the day at college. If I have the chance to direct the next video shoot, I wil aim to be more involved and ensure that everyone in my group knows exactly what is going on before the shoot happens, I was rushing to get the paper work organised while the shoot was happening because there was not enough time before the shoot in order to organise our paper work such as (story boards etc) and also it would of been a great help if we had a 20 minute rehersal session before the shoot or even just for us a group to look over the script and story board so we knew what we had to do during the shoot, but it is down to me why it was slightly dis-organised so I belive I will try even harder to organise time, tasks, and material alot better before the shoot / activity / lesson.

Shown below are some photos of todays shoot (Taken by me, Tara, & Matt)

In this photo you can see Sam & Matt setting up to film the opening sequence



In this photo you can see two of the characters waiting to be filmed for the 1st episode (Tom & JJ)



In this photo you can see Tim filming a scene in the 1st episode



In this photo you can see me, Tim and Sam In this photo I am organising the story boards / shot lists, Tim is setting the camera up for the next scene, and Sam is checking the sound levels.



In this photo you can see Tim, Mike, Myself, and Elliot (Character). having a discussion of what to do for the next shot



In this photo you can see Mike, Tim, Tara, Grant, and Catherine, who are setting up for the next shot



In this photo you can see the folder of our story boards, and other paper work which we used on the shoot. Also you can see the prop packaging (Shirts) which Tim purchased for each character to ware within the webisode.

Todays lesson (prep for shoot) / 8th meeting

In todays lesson, the main tasks set where in order to prepare for the shooting of the 1st episode for our web-series 'lines'. The first thing which happend today was a brief discussion / meeting with our teacher, who discussed with us about the things that went wrong within the group so far and also the consequences of these things. The main thing that we were consulted about was the simple fact of Mike, whom last week did not attend the lesson because he was preparing for his holiday and had all the contact details for the people whom auditioned for the parts within our webseries, or though this was not a majour set back for us as a group, because we could easily access the contact details online.

Our teacher saw it nessesary to cut our budget to just £30 instead of £50, which wasnt a big draw back for us but was of course something we could of done without, but we still managed to buy the props we needed on the budget we had so overall nothing was realy effected by this budget cut. Another task which was mentiond was that we each individually have to update the groups faccebook, myspace, & twitter pages more regulary in order to get more followers / audience for our web-series.

After the brief discussion I set the group up with a variety of tasks which are shown below:

• Record narratation for video ( Mike & Matt)
• Sort out / complete story boards (Matt & Tara)
• Organise cast / crew for the video (Mike)
• Organise / complete the request for the shoot (Tara)
• Organise the budget sheet (Tim)
• Place photos of the crew (us) onto face book (Sam / Alie)
• Upload naratations to laptop (Matt)
• Contact teacher to see if we can use room for filming (Tim)
• Sort out the camera & equipment & tape (Matt & Sam)
• Make sure taht every one knows their roles for the filming shoot (Myself)
• Organise the group and make sure they know what tasks they need to do (Myself)

The roles for the filming are as follows:

Mike: Script / casting

Sam: Sound / equipment

Tim: Camera Operator

Myself: Director

Tara: On-Set Assistant / Photographer

Matt: On-set photographer (stepping in for Alie)

Here are some photos I took during the prep session before the filming:

In this photo you can see the rquest form which Tara completed today ready for the shoot

In this photo you can see the story boards which Matt and Tara completed today

In this photo you can see Matt, Mike and JJ (Recording the voice over)

In this photo you can see Matt who is setting up the Camera ready for the shoot

In this photo you can see the story boards for the webseries

Shooting the 1st episode of 'Lines'

After a group discussion after reflecting on the new deadlines we all decided that it would be a good idea to organise for us to shoot the 1st episode tomorrow, at the end of college. We realised that during teh end of college is the only time that each actor for our webseries is available. I asked Tara and Tim weather they could send an email to our actors / characters to see weather they would be available to act in our first episode at the end of college tomorrow, Tara has recently informed me via text that the actors have replied to her saying that they are free, apart from one actor who is yet to respond, but im sure she will respond early tomorrow, so we will be able to extend the plans for the shoot / discuss about it tomorrow.

Here is a screen shot of the email which Tara & Tim sent to the cast:




Shown below is a list of things that we will need to get completed as a group before the shoot can begin:

• Ensure that all the actors have been informed about the shoot, and aks weather they are free
• Make sure that the request forms are complete for the use of the room for the shoot tomorrow
• Ensure that Mike has all our paper work (such as scripts, model relase forms, contact numbers for actors etc) because he has a number of important documents for the group
• Make a back-up plan / date for thr shoot just in case it doesnt go to plan
• Make sure that every one in my group knows what their individual task is for the session before and during teh shoot itself.
• Make sure that all documents are in place / complete for the shoot tomorrow (such as storyboards and script etc)

Show Project - Minutes from the 7th meeting

In todays session we were informed by our teacher that we had to finish the videos (1st episode) by at least wednesday this week. Due to this being an unreachable target for our group, we decided to discuss this issue with Pete (teacher) and ask weather we could extend the deadline to a later date, after a short discussion we all decided that friday would be a good deadline for the 1st episode to be completed and uploaded to youtube. We also discussed the possible deadline for the 2nd episode, which is for next monday/tuesday. We as a group have decided that this is a more reasonable deadline and we should be able to get the videos completed by these new deadlines.

Another task which I personally set my group was to work on the story boards. On sunday I printed out some story board templates (30+) which I though would be perfect for us to use for the story boards for the first few episodes, ready for filming. I set this task for Matt, Tara, and Tim to do, as they have access to the script, and also to shot list (Which Matt and Tara) worked on over the weekend.

Here are some photos of Matt, Tara, & Tim working on the story Boards:



I personally directed each person in my group today and made sure that everyone knew what it was they have to do in todays session. For example I informed the group of the story boards I had printed off and also made sure that Matt, Tara, and Tim knew what it was I wanted them to do.

Dave was working on the Facebook webpage today, and also made sure that all the websites were up to date and full of all the information of our progress with the project.

Sam and Alie were the 'project' photographers today and took photos during the session, so that we could place the photos onto our webpages (facebook etc) and also onto our groups main blog page.

Progress report of the project so far

I believe that I have done my very best as director to keep up with the tasks and also to organize the group and to sort out what tasks need doing and when etc. I feel as if each lesson goes by it gets harder to organize jobs for each individual / pair within the group to work on. I am trying my very hardest in order to allocate each person with their individual jobs to work on in each session we are together as a group.

The marketing side of this project is going well, or though I believe I have not had as much input as I personally could of done within the marketing side of things, due to my directing role being my major role within this group I have spent most of my time organizing to-do lists and also jobs to do in each lesson.

As far as planning/ scripting & shooting is going so far I believe it is going well, or though I believe that my personal plans set out for each lesson are not usually stuck too, in other words I usually change my original plans for the lesson or me and my group are faced with different tasks set by our teacher. The script is written out and ready for the rehearsals / shooting which we will organize as a group soon.

As far as the schedule goes we have not had a well structured schedule, but this is down to the fact that we have been given a tight time frame to work within, and also the work load varies from lesson to lesson. My job as director is to organize a schedule and also make sure that every one knows what is happening when, this involves discussion with the group and also communication, and overall the communication within the group greatly occurs within the class room and not outside, and of course this does cause some problems, as allot of the work does happen outside of lesson, and without communication it is quite hard to work on the tasks.

The schedule system of working lesson by lesson (i.e. planning each lesson at the start of it) is working ok so far, but of course is not without its problems, such as people not knowing exactly what needs doing and by what time etc, and also the lack of work to give out to people, because I personally do not know what needs doing, due to the lack of communication between the group outside of lesson.

Overall I believe that the project is going well so far, and the group is well informed about the work that needs doing and by what deadline, and I personally know what I need to do in order to improve this project.

What I need to do:

- Place links to ALL the marketing websites for 'Lines' on my blog (Facebook, myspace, twitter, etc)

- Make sure that the group has decided on a final date for us to film the 1st /2nd episode

- Ensure that ALL information about the chosen characters are on my blog

- Place the t-shirt designs onto my blog

- Make sure that my blog is updated with what I have done in each lesson / group meeting

Times when everyone is free (characters / actors)

Mike sent out an email after the auditions asking what times people are free and when they would be available to act within our first 2 episodes. shown below are the times that Mike was sent:

Elliot Hickey

Monday 9:00 - 10:50
Tuesday 2:40 - 4:10
Wednesday 9:00 - 12:00
Thursday 12:20 - 4:10

Catherine Montgomery

Monday 10:50 - 12:20
Tuesday 10:30 - 2:40
Thursday 9:00 - 10:50
Friday 12:20 - 4:10

Grant Cole

Monday - 12:20 - 4:10
Tuesday - 10:30 - 2:40
Wednesday - 9:00 - 10:50, 13:00 - 13:35, 13:55 - 2:40
Thursday - 9:00 - 2:40
Friday - 9:00 - 10:50, 13:55 - 4:10

Tom Jakes

Monday - 1:00 - 4:10
Tuesday - 1:00 - 4:10
Friday - 10:30 - 2:40

Josef James

Monday - 10:50 - 12:20
Tuesday - 10:50 - 4:10
Wednesday - 12:20 - 2:35
Thursday - 9:00 - 12:20
Friday - 9:00 - 10:50 then 1:05 - 4:10

We have realized that the characters are not available at the same time, which of course poses a problem for us, and we will have to decided as a group what will be the best way for us to gather the characters together in order to film the 1st & 2nd episode. I will organize a group meeting where we can discuss what would be the best to do for ways of the actors and filming.