First lesson with Delta as our (temp) Tutor. She informed us about the first unit of our course, and what we would do with the skills that we would learn through the unit.

When we got our assignment of the day, which was creating two mood boards about technical skills that is used in media production. I chose to focus on different types of camera shots and how to use Photoshop software.

Purpose:

The purpose of the lessons aim was for us to start thinking about what we would like to do in order to fill the assignment brief

WWW (What Went Well):

My first mood board went well as it was an easy to research and use photos, tutorial vids, and use articles found on the web to help create and expand my unknown knowledge about camera shots.

WDGW (What Didn't Go Well):

My second mood board on Adobe Photoshop was a challenge as there were many vids about how to use the software, however it was a struggle to upload them all to my Padlet mood board, so I had to use the old-fashioned way of copy and pasting the link into the post rather than link it through adding it as an attachment.

How did you overcome the challenge(s) you encountered?:

I found that there were more videos about how to use Adobe Photoshop than there were articles or photo tutorials, so I featured the resources that I found were useful to feature on the moodboard.

Another challenge I encountered was the trouble with uploading the videos. For some reason, just using a link was not enough, as it was clear to me that there was a malfunction. To overcome this, I just copied and pasted the links; this was time-consuming, but I was able to complete the task in the end.

What Did You Learn?:

I learnt many things about film production/photography and the types of shots used, as well as how these shots are used in film and photography production. I was also able to learn about the various things that can be done to a photograph when Adobe Photoshop is used, for example how using different tools on the program can the hue and saturation of a photograph.

What do you need to do for the next session?:

I need to complete my third moodboard, or to start looking up things that I could put onto my third moodboard.

What still needs completing? How will you do this?:

My third moodboard needs to be completed, however Delta told us that we had to do it as homework.

Do you feel confident in what you've already done?:

Yes, I do feel confident, as I was able to show my effectiveness in producing work that is asked of by the tutor, as well as showing my research skills when researching things for my moodboards.

Development:

I need to develop on my skills about trying to use ranges of media rather than focus on just using videos or just using photographs. I may need to expand my research on Photoshop as it was not as detailed as I would have liked it.

Second lesson with Delta. She reminded us about our assignment brief and handed out said assignment brief to us, and explained the later parts of the assignment.

Main part of today was to complete our Padlet mood boards (if we hadn't already for homework) and make a start on our Blendspace work, where we created a tutorial about a specific mood board (in my case: types of shots).

After creating my Blendspace mood board, we all went into the motion room to learn how to effectively create a mind-map with a video from Tony Burzan. The class were told to make mind-maps about their chosen mood board work.

Purpose:

Purpose of today's lesson was to start us brainstorming what we would include in our filling of the assignment brief; and also to understand how to effectively create an mindmap that is able to let us see all of the ideas we could use to fill the assignment brief.

WWW (What Went Well):

Overall, the day went very well, as I was able to complete most of my work within our time limits.

EBI (Even Better If):

N/A

Challenges to overcome:

I found that there were no challenges to overcome in today's lesson, as our work and tasks for the day were clearly explained to us.

What did you learn?:

I learnt how to create a mindmap that is effective in letting us have all our ideas down in a melee of colours and patterns that let us be expressive in learning.

What do you need to do for the next session?:

I need to complete my mindmap or create a new mindmap from the draft created in the lesson.

Is there anything that needs to be completed?:

Nothing outstanding needs to be completed.

Feeling confidnet about your work from today?:

Yes, as the work was able to be completed with ease and efficiency.

Development:

I do need to improve the look of my mind map, but I am able to reproduce my mind map at home.

Third week with Delta. She reminded us of the importance of our assignment briefs, and how we should be bringing them in every lesson.

Main part of today was editing and finalising our mind-maps so that we can use them as display work, and start some workshops in editing (with Cory), how to set up basic DSLR camera, and watch a few tutorial videos about different types of shots that could be taken with a camera/video camera.

With Delta's tutorial, we watched some videos, and he explained to us the techniques that each video uses in order to get its point across. One video used only audio and visuals, with no dialogue, so it was easy to gee us the basics about camera shots.

In a second workshop, we were split into small groups and were asked to work as a team in order to set up a basic video camera. It was a timed by another group, who knew how to set it up.

In the workshop with Cory, we learnt how to use Adobe Premier in order to edit videos, which will be useful when creating digital videos for our Blendspace or our podcasts for our assignment. I found the workshop useful, as i would like to use Adobe Premier for future uses.

Purpose:

The purpose of today's lesson was to improve our mindmaps (if they needed improving) and to see how Adobe Premier works (through a wokrshop) and how to set up a DSLR camera as a team.

WWW (What Went Well):

Overall, the workshops and finalising our mind maps went well, as I able to improve my previous piece of work, and I was able to effectively learn from the workshops that were held today.

EBI (Even Better If):

N/A

Challenges to overcome:

How to work as a team in order to set up a DSLR camera and tripod when under timed conditions. This was ineffectively done, as only one of the group knew how to set the camera up.

What did you learn?:

I learnt how to effectively set up a DSLR camera; also I was able to understand the basics in how to use Adobe Premier.

What needs to be done for the next session?:

As far as I am aware, nothing.

What still needs completing?:

As far as I am aware, nothing.

Feeling confident about your work so far?:

Yes, as I was able to make improvements to my mindmap and I was able to learn new skills through the workshops in today's lesson.

Development:

I need to, when placed in a workshop that has a participation element, participate more then just stand there and give a mediocre effort when helping the others in my group

Fourth week with Delta. Today's assignment was to start drafting or creating our storyboard that we would later use when we are creating our digital videos.

The significant part of the day was planning and preparing our storyboards for when we create out final project videos. The whole class was told to use the practice storyboard to create a video based on different types of shots. I found this useful because it gave me a base for what I needed to do for further reference. I found that doing a storyboard in pencil is a lot easier than creating a digital storyboard, as there are fewer problems with a storyboard in pencil than on a computer.

WWW (What Went Well):

Creating the draft storyboard with a pencil was quite straightforward, so it was easy to complete the task. Also, Delta's explanation of the importance and how to complete the storyboard effectively was really good: everything was made clear and was to the point, which made completing the task a lot easier.

EBI (Even Better If):

I really struggled with completing a digital storyboard, as the formatting kept changing and messing everything up.

Fifth week with Delta. Our main aim for today was to complete our pre-production proposal and download the other documents needed for our digital video and such. We were also introduced to how to use Dropbox when uploading things like our proposal, contingency plan, equipment booking log, and pre-production plan; also during the lesson, we were taught the importance of these documents.

Purpose:

the purpose of today's lesson was to understand the at importance of having a proposal for the project, as well as the correct permission slips filled and the imperative need of a contingency plan, in case something goes wrong.

WWW (What Went Well):

Delta's explanation of today's task was clear, and we all understood what our aims for the day were.

EBI (Even Better If):

Problems were encountered, such as the IPad software lagging, or us having problems with uploading documents to Dropbox/Blendspace. I think that some of us have come to the conclusion that it's better to upload documents from a computer rather than an IPad

Challenges to Overcome:

The main challenge that I had to overcome was the struggle to upload documents onto Blendspace through an IPad from either Pages or a Word Document.

I overcame these challenges by downloading the documents on my laptop at home, completing and uploading them from a laptop, as is this is an easier method.

What did you learn:

I learnt about the importance of having a proposal so that your fill of the assignment brief has been organised throughly. Also I have learnt of the imperative nature of a contingency plan, so if anything goes wrong, you have a back-up plan to match the situation.

What still needs to be completed?:

All the documents that have not yet been completed have been set to be completed for homework.

Feeling confident about your work so far?:

Yes, as I am sure that my work has been completed to the best of my ability.

Development:

N/A

Sixth week with Delta. Today was mainly a tweaking day, where we all made sure that we had everything uploaded to Padlet/Blenspace, and 'tweaked' anything that we felt needed a little tweaking.

We were split into large groups and were taken to the TV Studio, where we had a basic lesson in the use of camera used in media productions such as the news. Some had the chance to use the cameras, be a director, etc.

The purpose of the lesson today was for us make any changes that we felt needed to be made, and how to use a professional camera and hoe production companies use a green-screen.

I felt like that there were no challenges that we as a class faced in today's session, so there was nothing to overcome.

Today, I learnt how a professional camera is used.

Seventh week with Delta. Today was a day were we all could record or edit our videos that were made during the half-term. As my video was already completed and edited, I was helping out some other students with the producing of their videos; I helped Alix, Kaylee, and Jaleigh with their videos.

The purpose of the lesson today was to finalise any of our videos, and clean anything that we think needs to be tidied up.

There were no challenges to overcome in today's session, as everything was explained to us clearly and in a straightforward manner.

Eighth week with Delta. Today we were given our target grades and our formative feedback, also, today was a 'clear-up' day, were the class was to finalise any pre-production paperwork and make any changes to our original plan.

The 'clear-up' occurred during the first hour before lunch, however what happened in the afternoon was everyone still editing or finalising their videos ahead of the draft viewing next week.

The purpose of today's lesson was to clean-up and make any changes to our paperwork, as Delta is very determined in all of us passing this unit.

I felt like that there were no challenges that happened over the course of the day, therefore there were no challenges to overcome. Everything explained to us by Delta and Leila was understandable and to the point, highlighting the importance of the 'clean-up' day.

Ninth week with Delta. Today was the day were the class were to required to have uploaded their first draft of their final production to a Padlet page that Delta had set up. We were also required to view the completed videos and give feedback for the producer, so they can use the feedback for their evaluation.

It was useful to receive the feedback, as it can be used to make any final edits before final submission next week.

The purpose of today's lesson was to have everything to do with the production of our videos to be completed, so we can complete the unit next week.

Delta, Jack, and others were constructively critical, and this critical analysis of the videos was useful for me, as I could use this feedback for my evaluation.

No challenges were faced today, meaning that there was nothing to overcome.

Final week with Delta. Today was our final day, and we were required to complete all of the documentation needed for the class to be signed off and have us completed with the unit.

The main purpose of today was to complete all documents needed so that we can submit our final production of our video.

The only challenges that were faced today were PCs that were not working, and the Mac version of Microsoft Word that was continually crashing, meaning that I had lost parts of my evaluation.