Weeks 1-3 (11,18,25 Nov)

 week 1 

We had an introduction to other people on the course as well as being taught about equipment such as cameras and lighting and the techniques that come with them. We looked at the exposure triangle which gave us a better idea on how to operate a camera by utilising light, exposure and focus to make shots more interesting.

Throughout the course I hope I will be able to be more confident with film equipment like lights, cameras and microphone. However I think hands on experience will help me a lot more than theory and guidance from people who are more confident with it to help me with any issues I have in following this plan. I will ask for guidance from the teachers on the course and other students who have more experience with the equipment than me. To follow this plan I'm going to try and take up as many roles as I can so I have experience with each part of the documentary I am interested in.

week 2

We looked at different documentary genres and which ones could be applied to our documentaries. The one that interested me most was Supersize Me which is a participatory documentary that means that there is someone from the crew being part of the documentary. In this case it was a presenter eating supersized food to show the negative effects of fast food.

Watching other documentaries and knowing more about the styles helped develop my documentary skills. However I am looking forward to getting more practical experience as I find it challenging to take in this information without any hands on documentary experience. Once we start using equipment I'm sure I will follow my action plan well.

week 3

We got insiders to talk about their experience in the industry and learned how to go into the industry and how to stay in it. One of these speakers was David Leon who gave us valuable advice about the projects he’s been in like Vera.