Research:

To prepare for filming we first had to do research. Most of the information I used was taken from Stirling Castle's official website.

Links to information about documentary makers:

http://www.wernerherzog.com/

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

http://www.downanddirtydv.com/home.html

Display and Storage methods:

Videos can be displayed on monitors, televisions and through a projector.

Videos can be stored on hard-drives, CD's and memory cards.

Processes used by video artists:

Video art relies on moving pictures and is made up of video and/or audio.

Exhibits are commonly displayed by projection for larger audiences, or in small kiosks for individuals.

The process of creating a video:

The first step of creating a video, as mentioned above, is research on the subject. The next step is to write a script, and possibly a storyboard. Once these are completed, filming can begin. After shooting is finished all video is transferred to a computer to be edited. This involves choosing which scenes you want to be in the final film, adding effects and transitions, fixing and adding audio, and exporting and compressing the result into an appropriate codec.

CV

Name: Michael Kelly

Address: Airlie House (Upper flat), Carronvale Rd, Larbert.
Home Phone: 01324555338
Mobile: 07792830994
E-mail: mi_ke_lly@live.com
D.O.B: 27/06/1993

Personal Profile:

Conscientious hardworking individual who likes working in a team environment but is not afraid to take the initiative in order to get work done.

Education:

2009 - present: NQ Access to Creative Industries, Forth Valley College.

Home schooled.

Work History:

2007 (6 months) - Helping out at "Skylark" art school in southern India, cleaning, assisting with classes.

2007 (6 months) - "Coconut Grove" cafe, also in India, cleaning and sometimes waiting tables.

Miscellaneous Experience:

Spent a lot of time travelling between the ages of 3 – 15. Gained social and cultural experience in countries across Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

During this time I gained a lot of experience interacting with people of all different types.

Interests/Hobbies:

Cinema, photography, reading/writing, cycling, rowing, travel.

References:

James Kellie: 07545385007

Colin Gunning – Curriculum and quality leader, Sound Production, Creative Industries Department, Forth Valley College: 01324403000

Tuesday, 25th of May

Since going to the castle to film we have finished most of the editing. We should have the documentary completed by next week. We also have to create packaging for the finished DVD, as well as a four-page booklet.

Filming at the castle

Today we were on location at Stirling castle to do all the filimg and stills photography for the documentary.

We were split into groups and sent to different parts of the castle to film. I was teamed up with James Kellie. Our areas were the dungeons and the great hall, although we filmed as much of everything as we could. We also had to do some presenting.

Project Four

Since being assigned our sections of the castle that we will be covering in our individual segments for the documentary, I have done some research on my area and have written a short script. We will be going to the castle to film next Thursday.

The Great Hall (Stirling Castle)

Built in 1503 for James IV to impress his new queen, Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England, the great hall is the largest banquet hall in Scotland. And with two elegantly designed oriel windows, five enourmous fireplaces and great a hammerbeam roof to declare its stateliness the hall really is an impressive sight to behold.

Since its construction the hall has been used for many different purposes, as well as hosting banquets. In the 19th century the hall was converted into a barracks; the roof was replaced and the large interior subdivided until 1964 when the military's use of the building ceased.

Since then the hall has been restored to its former glory thanks to a thirty-five year renovation project that was completed in 1999. And in November of that year the great hall of Stirling castle was declared open by Queen Elizabeth.

Tuesday, 23 March

Today in Brian's class our pages were converted to PDF format and printed out in full color so that we could make a test version of what will become the complete magazine.

In Taylor's class we were asked to create a theme park based on a country or city of our choosing. My group chose Venice and came up with a few initial ideas for rides.

Tuesday, 16th of March

Today, while some other people finished off their articles, I was asked to create a contents page for the magazine. Because there were going to be some blank pages left in the magazine, we decided to have a page with photos of the class in it; so Brian took us around the campus taking photos of the whole class. I'll upload them on to this blog next week.

Documentary preperations.

Our next project is to make a documentary about Stirling Castle. Each of us has been assigned a different area of the Castle. This means that we all have our individual parts to do research on a then write a script for, as we will all be doing a bit a presenting.

Here is a list of our assigned areas...



Here are some links to information about the Great Hall (my area)

http://www.stirlingcastle.gov.uk/home/explore/seeanddo/greathallhighlight.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_Castle

Tuesday, 9th of March

Today in Brian's class we finished off our articles. We did this by taking the text that we had already written and putting it into Scribus. To complete the page we had to include images and have some color schemes incorporated into it as well.

Article for Class Magazine.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Set in the Wild West of America during the civil war, but filmed in the deserts of Spain in 1966, The Good the Bad and the Ugly tells the story of three very different men with one thing in common, the desire for gold, who are on a quest for buried treasure.

The first is Blondie - the "Good". Played by Clint Eastwood, he is the ultimate hero of the Western genre. Tall dark and silent he speaks only when it is needed and is the fastest gunslinger in the West

The second is Tuco - the "Ugly". Played by Eli Wallach, he is the foul-mouthed, dirty, scheming rogue. Although everything he does is for personal gain, he is the emotional centre of the film, and by the time it is finished he is the character we know most about.

The third is Angel Eyes - the "Bad". Played by Lee Van Cleef, he is the heartless, cunning, almost robotic mercenary who would kill anyone for money.

In the beginning these three characters have seemingly no connection to each other. Until Blondie and Tuco team up for a while to make some easy money by scamming the local authorities, which seems to be going well until Blondie tires of Tuco's company. And so begins the main story of the film. Blondie betrays Tuco and leaves him stranded in the desert with no horse, no weapon and nothing to drink, where, swearing revenge, he slowly makes his way to the nearest town and gun store.

Meanwhile Angel Eyes is on the hunt for a Confederate soldier named Bill Carson who knows the location of a hidden case of treasure, and he is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way.

But then Tuco catches up with Blondie and exacts his revenge. He takes him into the middle of the desert where he taunts and tortures him. Until, just as Blondie seems about to die, a lone stagecoach full of dead and dying Confederate soldiers appears. Bill Carson, one of the soldiers in the wagon, injured and dying of dehydration convinces Tuco to give him some water in exchange for the location of a large amount of hidden gold (the same gold that Angel Eyes is on the hunt for). So Carson gives Tuco the name of the graveyard where the treasure is buried, but begs for water before he will give the name on the grave. But as Tuco leaves Carson alone to get the water, he succumbs to his wounds, but not before giving the name on the grave to Blondie.

This creates another tenuous partnership between Blondie and Tuco. Each needing to keep the other alive so that they can reach the treasure. Tuco has the name and location of the graveyard, and Blondie the name on the headstone. And once Angel Eyes learns of this development, the chase is on for the treasure.

Filmed in typical Sergio Leone style, and widely regarded as his best film, The Good the Bad and The Ugly, is a bleak and epic exploration of greed, morality and the lengths that people will go to for money. With brilliant photography and a classic and instantly recognisable theme by Ennio Morricone, this film is a must-see for all those with a love of cinema.

As the third and final film in Sergio Leone's "Dollars" trilogy, which includes A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, The Good The Bad and the Ugly can be viewed completely separate to them, as the only connection between the three films is Clint Eastwood and his character, commonly known as "The Man With No Name".

Thursday, 4th March

Today with John, we were meant to make a short infomercial about our course, but there were no tapes for the cameras, so we couldn't film.

Instead we were given a demonstration of Pro Tools.

With Rob we looked at the difference between Fiction and Non-Fiction. We first had to look at tonight's TV schedule and write down which shows were fiction and Non-Fiction and explain why. We then had to pick three Non-Fiction programs and write about them and describe what makes them Non-Fiction. We were also asked to come up with our own idea for a Non-Fiction program.

Non-Fiction analysis.

The One Show

This is a non-fiction program because it involves real people dealing with real issues. Two presenters and several reporters examine current issues, some serious and some more light-hearted. We know that this is non-fiction because the hosts are not actors, they are trained presenters, but they are not portraying fictional characters. Like a lot of non-fiction or news based programs it is filmed in a studio in front of a live audience.

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2Ck_i9tJBs

BBC News

Like The One Show, news programs have presenters and reporters and are filmed in studios. But they usually deal with current events, which are generally serious in nature and only sometimes light-hearted. The news is presented in a direct and straightforward manner, the presenter, or Anchor speaks directly to the audience in an informative way. It is not meant to entertain, but to inform.

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZr9ztQPNXA

American idol

Unlike the previous two shows, American Idol is not meant to inform. It is simply for entertainment purposes. Like them though, it has a presenter who addresses the audience directly, and is filmed live in a studio with a live audience. Apart from the presenter, the other participants of the program, such as the judges and the contestants are all real people.

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MoEsz42fnw

Tuesday, 2nd of March

Today in Brian's class we had another production meeting, this time it was recorded on film, and we finally decided that our magazine would be called M, as well as assigning David and James K to design the masthead (title/logo on the magazine cover) and cover, with David and Jennifer being made chief editors. We also picked a template for each page of the magazine. After that we continued writing our articles. At this point my first one is half finished, and I have yet to start the second, although I should be finishing them both in my own time.

With Taylor we did a sort of quiz in which instead of figuring out the answers you just had to look them up online. And we were told to try and think of a good setting for a themepark, because we will be designing on each next week. I'm not really sure of the details of what it's for, so I'll give more information next week.

Tuesday, 16th of Febuary

Today we were shown how to use Scribus, the desktop publishing program that we will be using to create our magazine.

Our task was to recreate an article on Pop Art using different text styles and incorporating images. Although each step was precisely guided it did give us a good look at the program.

Tuesday, 9th of Febuary

Today we continued planning our magazine. We downloaded a template that we used to fill in a basic draft of our articles. My articles will be a review of The Good the Bad and the Ugly and an overview of the work we do throughout the week in all of our classes.

We're also doing product design with Taylor, today.

Pop Art

Our new art project is to create an Andy Warhol style self-portrait.

We started off by having our pictures taken. We then traced the main features onto a clear sheet of plastic that was put into an overhead projector. Once the image was projected onto a large piece of paper or card we used a pencil to transfer the image. The pencil lines were then filled in with a marker.

Each of us is trying to relate the portrait to our own personalities and interests. I'm doing this by putting the names of some of my favourite movies and filmakers in the background. I'm doing this the same way we transfered the photo to the paper. I've downloaded the film logos from the internet and transfered them onto the plastic. Next week I'll start putting them onto the piece.

Tuesday 26th, January

Today we began our next project with a new lecturer, Brian Smith.

Our task is to create a creative Industries based magazine for people who are considering signing up to the course. Each of us will have to choose a subject and write an article about it. For basic research on the project we learned about page layouts, and what the different parts of them are called.

To help us understand and learn about layouts we were asked to trace a Double Page Layout from a magazine and outline the "skeleton" of the page, as well as labeling each part of it.

John's Class

One of the first things we did for this class was make a short podcast about ourselves. We made these on GarageBand. To create them we brought in pictures of the places we grew up in and of things that meant something in our lives, like our families and friends. We set the pictures up as a slide-show and then recorded narration describing what the pictures meant.

Also in GarageBand we made short pieces of music from the royalty free samples supplied by the program.

Another program we learned to use was iMovie, a simple video editing program designed for Macs.