Professional Practice: Editing

I have been in contact with Craig and he agreed that the washed out look better fits the tone of the film than the vibrant colours. I also added a vignette to make the edges darker and make the viewer focus on the centre of the action. The overall tone of the piece is very gritty and fits my objective of being a cinematic piece. The narrative is told through picture, no dialogue. I think it is successful as it has a beginning middle and end. The film starts with an establishing shot of some punch bags to give us an idea of the location, we then meet Craig and see him in the ring. There is an element of mystery as there is a pull focus and we do not immediately see him. We then see Craig during various stages of his training routune and cut away to profile shots of him to break up the action. The end shows Craig out of focus in the ring, he then steps forwards into the camera and comes into focus and stares straigh into the lens. I am very pleased with the structure of the film and how strong the images are.

Professional Practice: Problems I faced

During my time filming Craig we encountered multiple problems, the first gym we booked disregarded our reservation and wanted to close when we arrived. We have to re book another gym later that week but we were not guaranteed the gym would be empty. When we arrived the gym was full of public users and was very noisy. There was music that we were un able to turn off and had to do our best to stay away from the speakers.

During the editing process i had to cut alot of sound and build ambiance to make it sound natural. I put emphasis on the noises Craig made when punching and breathing etc. I used a low bass track to vcreate a darker mood, which helped me to cut out the harsh noises from the gym.

I also found that the colour was too vibrant for the tone of the film, I used a black and white filter and reduced the amount so that the colour was still visible but looked very washed out. The look and sound of the film fit the mood of the piece and had a very gritty vibe.

The plan was to have a voice over much like in Blooms work, but after listening to the recordings we found that the voiceover was a little too upbeat for the tone of the film and so we left it out.

Professional Practice: Inspiration

For my comission piece I took alot of inspiration from a director named Philip Bloom. He has created a film of a boxer (shown below) that has a very cinematic feel and dramtic approach.



I looked at the type of shots he used to capture the strength and power of the boxer and tried to mimic the angles in my own shoot. Bloom mixes action shots with static shots of the boxer looking into the camera, almost looking at the viewer. I used the same technique to break up my shot sequence and create a greater dramatic effect.

Professional Practice Unit: Commission Piece - Update

I have found a new commissioner for my Professional Practice piece! I am going to be making a promotional video for a recently turned pro boxer named Craig. I have worked with Craig in the past and he has been in contact with me regularly ever since asking if I would be interested in working with him again.

He wants me to make a promotional video that he can use almost like a showreel on his website. It will feature his strengths and attributes, so that it almost sells him as a professional boxer.

Profession Practice Unit: Commission Piece - Update

Unfortunately, due to a lack of input from my commissioner I made the decision to stop my work with him on the music video he requested. I had been persistent in asking for the songs he would like me to work with yet had no response at all. He asked for a music video but didn't know what he wanted and lacked any enthusiasm or willingness to collaborate on ideas, and expected me to come up with the concept individually with no song to work with. I feel I cant work for someone who is unsure of what they want themselves and so decided to look for a new commissioner.

Professional Practice Unit: Commission Piece

For my Professional Practice unit this term, I will be working for an up and coming music artist know as Manish K. He is a self taught producer/rapper from Essex looking to make his break in the music scene. He currently has a backlog of music he wants to push out but hasnt got a platform to release or showcase it.

Manish approached me asking if I could produce a music video for his new song, and also a website that he can use to promote his music and use to showcase the video. He is currently recording his new track and is deciding on a concept he wants to use in the video.

I have been watching alot of music videos on youtube of the same genre to try and gain as much knowledge as I can but cannot really come up with a strong idea until we know the type of song we are working on.

Im looking forward to working with Manish as its the first time I have shot a music video and know its going to be a challenge but hopefully fun at the same time.

Major Production Unit: My Idea

For my Major Production Unit I am going to be making a series of documentaries (3 x 5mins). I am calling on a contact we met during our documentary unit last year. I will be venturing into the boxing world once again to explore what its like to be a trainer/manager in todays boxing world. I have spoken to Ross Woolgrove, who I interviewed in my last documentary and he has agreed to be interviewed for this project also.

I want to explore the role a trainer/manager of a boxer and show that even though they are often overlooked, that they are a vital part of the boxers career and the sport itself. I will explore what the role consists of, why it isnt credited as much as it should, why it is so important and also some other topics more relative to Ross and his boxers specifically.

Ross himself is a particularly good subject. He has been nominated for three national awards, the pride of Britain and is often featured in local newspapers for his work. He works with youngsters in the community and currently trains two young brothers aged 17 and 10 who are both terminally ill. I want to find out more about his work not just professionally but also personal level.

I am choosing to have three episodes. The first will be informative, the second will cover more action and the third will focus on emotion.

The first will be a general insight to his job role, what he does, why he does it etc. I will do a lot of actuality filming with some sit down interviews to gain as much information as I can, along with some of Ross' own opinions.

The second episode will focus more on before and after fights. I have been given access to an event Ross is holding and will be able to capture exactly what he does to motivate a man to get into the ring and fight. I will be able to watch Ross as the fight takes place and he watches all his hard work and planning go into action. This will show more of the before and after effect boxing on the team rather than the boxer.

The third episode will focus on Ross' personal relationships with his boxers. Why does he choose to manage them? How does he recognise potential? Does he class them as friends or colleagues? I also want to ask him about training two brothers who are both terminally ill. I am working on getting permission to interview them also, as Ross has recommended I do.

He is currently working on getting some of his boxers involved, and also permission for his youngsters to be filmed. He owns the gym I will be filming at so permission will not be a problem when it comes to location.