Danny Hewitt's Television Production Blog

I have been researching different title sequences to get inspiration for our major project, after careful analysis I've found some I believe will work for our project, and others that wouldn't at all:

Desperate Housewives is a very popular programme in both America and the UK, however the title sequence seems very dated and would take away the modern theme of our project if we were to choose to make something similar. I believe the non-diegetic soundtrack is quite slow, which would eliminate the dynamic feel we want the show to have.

I found this one which I believe could work well with our theme:


As you can see in the video above, the screen gets split up into different sections, showing different parts of the characters. This would work well for our project, as we have characters on and off the pitch, therefore showing different characteristics in different locations. One segment could be their life on the pitch, while another can be their everyday life.

I also like the parallel non-diegetic soundtrack, which I believe could help get our genre across if we find something similar.

After this research, I can safely say that we need to make a dynamic title sequence which contains clips of both football and everyday life so we can reinforce the theme of our project.

After realising that our major project is similar to the popular TV series "The Inbetweeners" I have decided to look into the main director - Ben Palmer. He directed 11 episodes between 2009 and 2010 making him the most used director on the programme.

He has also directed TV series like "Bo Selecta" and "Star Stories" which are all of a similar genre as our project. Im hoping his comedic directing style will help me achieve what I want in our project; therefore I emailed his agent to see if I can get some tips.

Im hoping to get a response soon so I can put these experienced tips to the test and improve on past projects

I've been researching into the role of directing and how important teamwork is on completing a successful project. I have learnt that listening to the talent I'm filming is just as important as communicating with my production team, as they are the ones producing the goods on screen. The relationship between actors and directors are key, and it needs to be strong/positive to get the best out of both roles:

“The director is the person who calls all of the camera shots and gives direction to the cameras. The really good directors listen to their talent and follow what they are talking about and relay that message to the camera operators instead of just cutting a show the way the director wants to. TV is all about collaboration.” Fanguy, School Video News

Not only am I in charge of all the camera shots, but making sure my crew and talent know exactly what they're doing and at the right times. Doing this research has made me realise that even though I'm in charge and know what I want, it's still valuable to listen to the actors and their opinions, otherwise they may not feel comfortable and therefore not perform to the best of their abilities.

When we come to shoot the pilot, as well as the opening titles and trailers.. I'm going to make sure I use this research by listening to all my team including the talent, as this would create a good team morale and therefore enhance the team ethic.

In conclusion, this project has given me a real insight on what it is like to work for an employer, rather than myself. One of the biggest challenges I faced creating a video for someone else was the fact that I had to constantly think about what they wanted, even if I didn’t agree with some requests. This adds more pressure when filming as you’re ultimately recording and creating a video to please employers, and if you don’t get it right or accurate, then you would receive negative feedback that could lead to a drop in self-confidence. I have gained a lot of experience working for ACT, improving my social as well as technical skills that I will definitely take with me into future productions. This project has made me realise how important planning, time management and teamwork is to creating a successful production, and how difficult it can be without them

We planned our shoot heavily leading up to the Cambridge trip, as we learnt from our mistakes from the French production. This time we were given more detailed instructions including what exactly our client wanted from the interviews. I was very happy with this, as it meant we knew what it took to impress Amie (the client), which ultimately is the aim when creating a video for someone else. Another major difference in our favour was the fact we were given a lot more time to film the interviews. This made my role slightly easier to the French trip, as it meant I didn’t have to rush with each interviewee and could get the best answers out of them. My director role played a big part again, as I told everyone what I wanted prior to the shoot. I used my people skills to not only inform, but also motivate my team who have now formed a close bond. I have always believed in having high team morale, as I believe work gets finished quickly and accurately when everyone is pulling together as a team and enjoying it at the same time. We got to the location early so we had time to scout the place and work out where was most ideal to film the interviews. The room we were given was quite small and plain, however I asked someone to go and get us some posters so we could make the background of the frame a bit more interesting for the audience. We filmed most of the interviews before the show, which was great as it meant we didn’t have to chase after many people afterwards (when they want to go home after a busy day). We still had the director, executive director and conductor to interview after the show, so I decided to film them on stage. This gave us a very interesting background for each interview, which not only made the film more aesthetically pleasing for the viewers, but also helped to highlight the important characters in the production. One problem with doing this was the sound. Audience members were still leaving and therefore chatting amongst themselves, which in-turn created a horrible background noise when recording the after-show interviews. I checked with Chris if the sound was manageable, and we both agreed that it was easily going to be fixed in the editing process. Overall it was a very successful trip, and I am very happy with the footage we got. I believe we all worked really well as a team, and improved from the last trip due to more planning and teamwork.

If the sound on a live production is not perfect, then people will pick up on it. My mentor, Paul Brice, who has been a sound assistant for years on Sky Sports, drummed this kind of information into me. Paul made it clear to me how important timing and levels are to producing perfect sound. Paul had set up all the studio mics prior to the show, however it was my job on the day to set up the clip mics with the presenter and panelists. I did my research beforehand so I knew exactly where to place the mics to get the best quality sound possible.

 Unfortunately one of the panelists had a dress on, so I struggled to find a place to clip the mic on without it being too far away from her mouth. With the help of Paul, we managed to compromise and all the checks came in loud and clear.

 I only had two days in the sound gallery to learn all the details I needed as well as practicing the transitions between VT’s and the studio. The main aspect I learnt from Paul was the use of levels and how they affect the quality of the sound when being transmitted. I learnt that turning down the people who weren’t talking, gave the person who was talking a much cleaner output that meant the voices were a lot clearer. This meant having a great deal of concentration as the panelists, as well as the presenter, would talk at any point meaning I had to change the levels quickly in a controlled manner. I felt quite confident prior to the live show as I managed to perfect the transitions in the rehearsals beforehand; however as soon as the show started, the nerves and adrenaline kicked in, as I knew that it only took one small mistake on my part that could affect the whole show.

During the show, the nerves settled as I was performing like I was in the rehearsals, with all the levels being spot on, and the transitions working great. I ended up finishing the show with no mistakes, and Paul was very complimentary about my performance afterwards. I learnt a lot about sound after this production, mainly appreciating how difficult it is, and how vital it is to a successful show. When I work on projects in the future, I will make sure I carry out multiple checks to see if the levels are right, and whether the microphones are placed in the best position.