Josh Stevenson's Media Blog: Question 1- Did You Enjoy The Workshop Day? What Were Your Best Bits And Why?

The workshop day was extremely enjoyable, it was cool seeing how all of the staff's prior planning and the crew's rehearsals came together in a practical sense on the day. In all honesty I though that everyone, cast and crew, would be pushed to the limit in terms of our stress levels. However, because of the relaxed atmosphere and organised day created by our crew, in particular our director Dom and 1st AD Chris on the day, we were all able to focus on the task at hand and get the best performances out of each and everyone.

Cast are calm and relaxed while not on set. Spending time watching others performances and providing support when they are not needed.

It was was really interesting seeing how all of the set was created on such a minuscule budget and still managed to look so close to that in the professional video. While helping with some of the set we came into some troubles with getting the look just right, but because we had no other choice but to make most of the set, I got to see how the crew got past these problems by using what was made available to them.

One of the sets that required the most work was that for the poolside scenes. It was really bright and full of colour, meaning that if anything from the set was missing it would be noticed straight away. However I think that our version of the set (below) looks extremely similar to the version from the video (left).

So much attention went into the smallest of details, one our producers even went to the extent of folding the towels seen just in the left of the shot, because she felt they weren't folded in just the right way. Which I found to be quite amusing, if it were my video would have been left the way it was. However, it just goes to show how thoroughly you need to scrutinise your set in order to make a video of decent quality.

The most enjoyable part of media for me is getting stuck in with the more practical an technical side of production. Even though my role in the prelim task was as a cast member and I couldn't have had more fun in that role if I tried; I still got the chance to see how the crew made their decisions on lighting and cinematography as well as what the end results were.