H - AS LIVE - PROJECT EVALUATION

Researcher and Pre-Production 

I really enjoyed this part of the unit as it allowed me to look into a role that I hadn't before. As I had never been a researcher before I was excited to see what is entailed. This was also a brilliant way to allow me to really work on my organizational and people skills. 

What Went well?

I felt it went really well for me being able to do paperwork, conducting the advertisement and liaising with potential cast members as this allowed me to work on my professionalism while speaking to candidates. Through research I had learned how important it was to remain professional but carry your personality in a way that put the candidate at ease and not on edge. By doing this, I felt I got the best out of the candidates and we had some really successful interviews, so this was definitely a positive. 

Overall, I feel taking charge of the auditions and also working on the game show questions allowed me to give the producers the research they needed to then go onto the  next steps, I was the person who gave them the initial research so that it would save time for them having to look for it. I had some great feedback from the producers and they liked how organised I was and how I provided my information, as I always wanted to ensure they were able to comment on anything easily and pass back notes and changes if needed. 

What didn't go well and what I would change?

Although I had felt extremely organised and on top of everything, there was one key thing I had missed. When we conducted both the first and second stage interview, I was the one dealing with liaising between everyone and once we had picked our two presenters, I should have gone on to tell other candidates they were not successful. Unfortunately, I feel I got caught up in the whole production, this was a stage that I had missed as I then moved onto my next task. This is extremely unprofessional and unfair on everyone who took their time to apply and was then told they would find out if they were successful on a certain date and then never was told.  

I also found it difficult when the producers took over the second stage interview and I felt it fell slightly flat. As I had conducted the first stage interviews in an upbeat and positive setting which research had shown me was important to make the candidate feel comfortable. When holding the second stage interviews I felt the producers were slightly underprepared and were not as welcoming. 

If I was to do this again, I can see now how important it was for me to have contacted the people who were also unsuccesful, as they would have just waited around for a response they never got which makes me seem unproffesional and as if they didn't matter. I also feel this puts a bad light on Trending as a whole, when it was solely my fault. Next time I would ensure responses were sent out to everyone, or within the interviews the candidates were told if they didn't hear back by a specific date they were unsucceful. If I had also worked on managing my time better, I may of been in a position where I hadn't forgot to reply to everyone back. 

Production 

What went well?

As a whole I felt the production turned out really well, apart from some mistakes with graphics and also camera movement, the live show was definitely the best we had ever done it. I also felt we worked well as a team to be able in different departments to be able to come together and be able to pull it of, was an amazing feeling. Once I had learnt about being a camera operator and tips used to help, like marking out the camera, staggering shots and also watching/listening actively, I felt this put me in a great position to be able to perform well, which I believe I did. 

I also felt we were organised as a camera team and helped each other when needed, I can agree everyone within the camera team did a great job in helping each other and bringing out the best. 

What didn't go well and what I would change?

Although I felt we worked well as a team, I felt at time morale was low, one person in particular seemed to take charge when they're position was to be more of a people person and relay information, instead they came across quite harsh and monotone, which put people on edge. On occasions where things could have been said in a more polite manor, they weren't and this sometimes caused peoples morale to be low. There was also a lot of standing around on cameras, which was nobody's fault and was something we got used to as other departments had to set up and had issues they needed to resolve. 

We also didn't do many production meetings or a script read through which I feel would have been beneficial as I didn't feel confident in what was coming next within the script. This was of my own fault as I should have prepared a printed out script I could make notes on. As rehearsals went on, it seemed each time shots would also change and I think there became confusion on which cameras they had used for which shot previously. This wasn't a big issue as I was happy to adapt and be whatever shot but it would have been nice to of been on the same shot each rehearsal so we were extra prepared for the live show; however, once we had got to the main stagger through and dress rehearsal, at this point we were now routinely doing the same shots which felt good and rehearsed.

If I were to do this again, I would ensure that I had done my own research into the shot lists and also the script without waiting for them to be provided to me. If I had done this I wouldn't of wondered what part of the show was coming next and would have felt full prepared in myself. Now that I know how important it is to mark your camera positions, this is something I definitely also would have done sooner to save any confusion for myself. At points I was getting confused where my next shot was as I was having to pick up my camera/tripod and move it around and as I hadn't marked my positions on the floor, each time it wasn't the exact shot. Once I had marked out my positioning on the floor, there was no issue and it was easy to spot my marker and exactly where my camera needed to be. 

Overall

Overall, I feel it went really well as a team and as a production. On the whole I am so glad we had the producers and director we did as I felt they were extremely reliable, approachable and organised  and this definitely put me at ease and filled me with confidence which was great. 

This unit has also given me an insight into what jobs are out there and has given me new skills in relation to being a camera operator and also a researcher, skills I can now go on and take into different units and the industry with me which is great too. 

If I were to do it again, I would focus on time management of myself, as I mentioned If I had more time, I would have been able to reply back to the candidates that weren't chosen and also to have remembered to do that. That was definitely a learning curve and something I would never let happen again as it was unfair on the people who had applied.

I also think I should have put myself in a position when standing around waiting, that I was offering to do more to help. I should of offered to help block through positions with actors or stand ins to help when as a camera operator I was doing nothing and set up, this is something I would definitely do next time. 

Overall, I think we did a brilliant job, at times it did feel rushed an unprepared however we pulled it of as a team and everyone should be proud.