Tees Active Production Diary

 Working to a Brief Blog

Thursday 9^th November 2012

The first meeting took place at the Tees Active building in Stockton on Tees. All 2^nd year media students apart from David and Kirsty who were interviewing the new principle attended the meeting to discuss the brief and meet the clients. The client gave a detailed discussion on what they expected and what the brief entailed. Everyone spoke about ideas that had been thought about and could be used.

Thursday 15^th November

Following the meeting with Tees Active a meeting with all of the 2^nd year media students was organised. Notes from the previous meeting with Tees Active were discussed.  We then broke down the different roles that would be needed for this production. We started with pre- production and gave everyone a job role that they would have to complete.  I took on the lead of communication   with the client. This role gave me the responsibility of contacting the client whenever we to discuss any ideas, organise anymore meetings and schedule filming with the clients and venue.

Monday 19^th November

I emailed Kerry from Tees Active to give her my contact details and give her an overview of what pre- production stage we’re up to.

Thursday 22^nd November

Another meeting with all the media students was organised to go over the notes and brief from Tees Active. We looked at the different sections that Tees Active wanted on the DVD and went through the original induction power point. We came up with an action plan that would contain information from the induction power-point/ talk and created a structure of our ideas and who we thought we would require for the different sections.

Once the action plan for each subject was completed, it was typed up in a table so it was easy to understand. I then attached this to Kerry (from Tees Active) asking if she could get back to me if the plan required any changes or they had any other ideas for the brief.

Kerry replied back soon after  saying she would forward the email/ plan on to Steve and Jeremy so they could give us their comments and feedback.

Monday 21^st January

Me, Jack and Dylan went to Redheugh House to film the main parts of the induction DVD. We interviewed staff managers from each venue who gave an overview of their venue and what it offered to new staff/ customers. We also spoke with various members of staff that work within Tees Active, they all gave an overview of their job and covered a section of the DVD. We tried to position each interviewee somewhere different so each time there was a different background that would link to their title or Tees Active company. Filming was expected to take all day, however we finished fairly quickly finishing around 2pm. The managing director couldn’t make the interview so it was rescheduled for a different date.

Wednesday 23^rd January

M e and Jack went back to Redheugh House to capture some of the first aid training on camera. Employees were going through the basic health and safety training that they required and were trained up in how to react in certain situations. The footage would be used as cutaways so we would be able to intercut the interview (With Dennis) and the footage together. After this we then went over to Splash to talk to Emma the venue manager. Emma was previously interviewed at Redheugh House on Monday but was asked to do the interview again so that the venue was in the background. We did the interview with the swimming pool and lifeguard in the background so the audience watching knew what venue they were in (Splash).

Thursday 31^st January

A lot of people were off this week, so the shooting schedule changed round, due to people being off and filming other venues today me, Dylan and James went to Splash to film so of the classes and interview some more staff members. We met just before 9am to get the equipment sorted and set up so we could start filming as soon as possible. When the camera was set up and we were ready to film we had a problem with the camera so had to go back to college to get the cleaning tape and a spare camera just in case that wouldn’t work. I got back to Splash around 9:40am where we set up the cameras again and got ready for filming. We missed an interview with one of the staff so we re- arranged it till later that day so we could capture everything.

Once we were back on track with filming, we attended the classes and interviews we were meant to so that we had everything for the induction DVD. We captured lots of different classes, interviewed staff and customers as well as getting footage from the venue. 

We finished filming at Splash around 3pm. At around 6pm I went to Thornaby Pool to film there. I was meant to go filming with Abbie and Nathan but because of travel arrangements they weren’t able to attend filming, I went to Thornaby Pool to film on my own to get the footage that was needed. When I arrived a few classes were taking place so I gathered different footage of what was going on. I also gathered different cut aways of the venue that would be useful to use in the final edits.

Thursday 21^st February

Before half term, all the footage was captured and looked over to make sure that everything we needed was there. We then gave everyone a section of the DVD to edit and make sure it flowed, looked and sounded right.

I started editing the sections of the DVD I was given. I edited all the footage to make sure it flowed right and made sense as well as making sure all the sound levels were consistent and not too loud or quiet.

Thursday 18^th April

I watched over my edits to make sure that everything worked proper, looked consistant and flowed how it should. The DVD was getting prepared to be burnt so all the sections had to be completely edited.  The DVD was sent over to Redheugh House so they were able to watch the finished product and give us feedback where needed.

Wednesday 1^st May

Kerry came this morning with the DVD and feedback they had prepared after watching the DVD. We talked over the final DVD we had developed and talked over some notes they had. We then all watched the DVD and pointed out any changes that needed to be made. I took notes so that we were able to come back and re-edit sections were needed. Kerry left and each of us went back to our edits with notes to change what needed to be done.

Monday 3^rd June

I went over my edits to make sure all changes had been made and that all the sections flowed how they were supposed to.

Tuesday 4^th June

A re-shoot was filmed yesterday for one of my sections I was editing. I re-edited the section and included cutaways that were relevant to the interview. I finished editing and made sure that the sound levels were all equal and as consistent as the other sections.

I gave my sections to Jack so that he was able to put them on to the new DVD.

Working to a Brief Tips!

Most work undertaken by media companies or freelancers are mainly produced for a client.  The media companies or freelancers normally have a client brief to work with, the client may be very certain about their ideas which will make the brief very rigid and un-negotiable however some clients maybe very negotiable and open to any ideas from the company or freelancer. The client may give the employee a budget to work with, the employee has to stick to this budget and make sure they can complete the project with the specified amount.

There are a number of different types of briefs in the media industry; the most common types are;

Contractual - a contract between the commissioner and the producer is present in this brief.

Negotiated - the content or cost of the production can be negotiated between the commissioner and the producer.

Formal - these briefs are written using professional and precise language and often to strict legal guidelines.

Informal - these briefs are written very informal so that it is open for the client and producer can discuss and develop ideas in a very relaxed environment.

Commission - this is where the client asks the contractor to submit ideas for a project to a specified cost.

Tender - several prospective contractors provide an estimated and discuss how the product might be produced. The proposals are discussed by the commissioner and one of the tenders chosen.

Co- operative - this brief is shared with other producers, they each take charge of one section of the project.

Competition - this brief provides details of what you have to do by a certain time, there is usually a prize awarded for be product.

 

Pre- Production

 

It is important that you understand the brief given so that when producing the product it is exactly what the client wants and can use.  In order to finish the brief you will need to go through 3 different stages;

·         Pre - Production (Planning the production and making sure all paper work such as risk assessments and call sheets for artists are complete)

·         Production (filming the clients project)

·         Post - Production (Editing and adding effects to make the final outcome)

 

Once you have found out what the client wants in the brief, you can start to discuss and negotiate ideas. Sometimes you may need to come up with other ideas or come up with a different approach to the client’s original idea to make it work. From the beginning of the project, you need to ensure that the client understands the implications of issues such as; copyright, post production time, insufficient budget, over ambitious expectations and any other practical problems you may face.

It is also essential you plan your production carefully and to a organised schedule to make sure that the client receives the product finished and on time.

A successful production relies heavily on pre- production to make sure everything is in place and on time, this may include actors, props, locations etc. During the pre-production stages it is important that health and safety is taken in to consideration. Risk assessments must be completed for a production to take place; cast, costumes, locations and make up must be reviewed to make sure there are no health and safety regulations during the filming process. Risk assessments may include;

·         Assessing when and where team members might be at risk

·         How these risks could be minimised

·         What precautions should be considered prior to production and post-production

·         Who will be responsible for health and safety on and off set

 

Communicating with the client

You must communicate with your client throughout the production process to make sure that you are doing everything right and sticking to their brief, they need to be informed of progress and any potential problems you may face.

 

There are a number of ways a brief can be communicated with you and the client, you may;

·         Have an initial meeting with the client or broadcaster

·         Communicate verbally by telephone

·         Communicate with the client by email or post

·         Meetings can be arranged throughout the production process

 

Broadcasters such as the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV and Sky sometimes hold briefing days where they give presentations about what they are looking for and what type of companies or freelancers they need to work on the brief. Having a professional relationship between you and the client is essential because they reply on you to make the finished product how they imagine to it be and achieve what it is originally set out to do. It is important to ask questions about the brief, at the briefing day or initial meeting, and listen carefully to the client to understand what success they want to achieve.

 

Recruiting the right team

Recruiting the right team when working to a brief is essential. To achieve the best final product for the client it is important you recruit the right people to work with you to, sometimes you may consider;

·         Working with people you have worked with before

·         Advertising and interviewing individuals you may think are suitable for the brief

·         Employ freelance personnel

·         Working with people who have been recommended

·         Choosing people to work with because of their knowledge or experience

 

The crew’s requirements on a brief can vary a lot. In television, there will often be a core team working on the project to make sure that all aspects run smoothly. As the production progresses, more team members and experts will generally be recruited at various stages to help with any aspects of the project. Each member of the team will bring a different skill to the project to make sure that it is completed the way the client wants.

 

 

When working to a brief you may come across a lot of limitations and requirements which may force you to change ideas or come up with different approaches for the chosen idea. Keeping in contact throughout the project is very important to make sure they know what stage the brief is up to as well as making sure you are achieving what the clients what’s the product to be like.