BMX world champs!

Just got back from three days of probably the most intense but realistic shooting days which I've done whilst on this course. We were filming the world BMX championships in Birmingham from Thursday- Saturday, getting up at 6am to be there for 8am and filming pretty much constantly (especially saturday) until 10pm and then getting home and in bed by midnight.

I had to think a lot on my toes because we didn't know what to expect and at times I felt the pressure and felt a little bit intimidated by the olympic riders, filming alongside other production companies and generally running from race track side to the underground parking to get the reactions of the riders immediately after.

Even with these 3 tense days of not knowing what to do it has been a very amazing experience and I have learnt to cope in more stressful situations. There were some amazing riders and I have seen some awful crashes. It's made me experience more of this long driving and early starts which I can expect when I become a camera operator. Everything was constantly changing and it was an exciting environment to be in. On the plus we met people that could help us with this documentary and it's much easier when they can put a face to a name. Also got to meet the people we will be making this documentary about in person so it's helping us to build up these relationships to build up their confidence on camera.

Here is a picture of me filming by the track side

The green light!

Today was the final pitching stage, I felt the pressure more this time and I was nervous last time but there were more questions because there needed to be no holes, or at least less holes in the pitch. With the UFO doc, we pitched as the whole team we wanted it strong as it's something I'm quite attached to. Me and the producer though seem to be on separate pages, so need to get on the same page so this doc is as strong as it can be.

James pitched the bionic man, which is the one I'm camera on. The pitch was clear but again our lecturers were looking for holes in the pitches to pick out the strongest ones from the rest.

I'm technically, on 4 productions at the moment, which is the UFO doc, Bionic man, BMX and the cusp of madness. Cusp of madness is a new one that was brought to the table, about artists trying to reach the goal of fame, looking at ryan keen and also using the access of gaining an interview with the drummer from madness. So, I shouldn't be worried about what gets made but I still felt the pressure incase they all got made.

The UFO doc and the BMX got greenlit, which at first I was a little bit disappointed about because I wanted to do a camera role and those were the roles on the other documentaries. In the end I backed down as producer on the BMX and took on the role as 2nd camera in order to get a camera role. Not as fortunate this time to get a main camera role but I see any experience as being important and I will continue this out of  my studies as well. Now the making begins!!

Recce

Yesterday was the first of two recces before the final pitch. We drove to shropshire to meet Phil Hoyle who is the co founder of the APFU, which is one of the contributors for the UFO doc that I'm directing. He was very inviting and a perfect host. Very well spoken normal guy, who off camera was much more relaxed but was still very good on camera. The information he was saying was interesting but at times a bit too much for me to understand but I definitely felt he was a really good contributor when we left his. This is my first time directing so at first I was nervous but my team is strong and I had the support I needed and I started to picture what we would film next time so directors hat is on.

Yesterday, I realised how important it is to have a good team, driving 10 hours with the sound man and camera man (to shropshire and then to Taunton) means your stuck in a car, with the heater stuck on hot air (my faulty car) on a sunny day trying to find the place. Definitely need to get along and the team was brilliant.

Today, we met David Follett for the extraordinary me brief, this time I was camera so less pressure was felt. He was lovely, and this was harder than yesterday because we didn't know how open he'd be about his accident. He was really co operative and helpful and had such an interesting story. So overall, a positive couple of days.

Now back to cornwall, after what felt like a long couple of days but definitely worth it..lets see what get's green lit.

Here's some stills from the recces.

Dissertation begins

I'm starting to research into my dissertation, which is hard because it has to tie into our practical work. The problem is we won't know what's getting made until the 16th May, which ultimately will also effect this piece of work.

For my research, I'm looking into why there is a lack of women camera operators. More for curiosity because this is a career I want to go into when I finish University and wanted to know more about this occupation before I start my battle to get into the industry. This dissertation has encouraged me to get in touch with female camera operators and I have had some amazing bits of advice which I didn't expect at first. I'm starting to understand the role a bit better and also realise it will be tough no matter whether I'm female or male..best bit of advice was fitness is the key. I better get back on the monkey bars at Uni then.

Pitching begins!

First pitch was today, which made me feel nervous and none the wiser. It was nice to hear about the other projects that we're being made and what everyone was getting up to. However, feedback helped us know what they felt but whether it fits the brief or is possible to get made I haven't got a clue. All we know is we need access and recces by the next pitching session, but if we have the access and it misses the brief then it still won't get green lit. Fingers crossed!!! Only dilemma is if all the projects I'm working on get green lit I have decisions to make on which I feel is stronger.

Recces are now booked so will get to meet the contributors in person next week, let's hope they are as good in reality than on paper.

Bionic Man

The camera man I'm working with for the ufo documentary has found an amazing story that fits the extraordinary me brief for BBC3. This guy that he had mentioned to me in previous conversations, he was trying to get hold of before he found the APFU, has agreed to be filmed.

His name is David, and he is 1 of 3 people in the UK to be testing the esko exoskeleton suit, as well as this he is on the GB team in badminton for the paralympics, and will be an Olympic torch bearer. His story is inspirational as his determination and enthusiasm is why he was put forward for the ekso suit.

This is David's story:-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2132059/Britains-bionic-man-Robot-suit-allows-Olympic-torch-bearer-22-walk-again.html

On this documentary I will be the camera operator. I'm excited because I get to gain more experience in this role and again work with a strong team..lets just see what get's green lit though to what happens.

The hunt for the unexplained...

I have recently been developing ideas with the director of the BMX doc because we both need second roles and need more ideas rather than less. This will help us have plan a, b and even c. He came across an organisation called the APFU, they look at animal mutilations due to UFOs. I personally found this amazing to read about, and very unusual at the same time, being a sceptic I wanted to find out more about how they connected these dots.

After starting to research this idea in more depth, I became very attached to this idea and realised if I took the role as camera on this project I probably would want more input so have decided to have my first go at directing. It may seem slightly crazy for a final major project but I believe my team is strong, with a strong camera man who is the guy who introduced me to this project and has been having phone calls with the founder who is on board, and with also having a strong producer at my side. I look at things visually and from the skills I have learnt from doing camera on most projects I feel I can carve a story out of this extraordinary and unusual topic.