DATE: 10th March 2007
LOCATION: Herrington Park, Sunderland following Jade Allen and Natalie Grant
FILMMAKER: Marie Dainty
When we first arrived at Sunderland I met Jade and Natalie and we started by doing some quick interviews with Jade and Natalie’s mum before the race. Just before the race I was given a camera and discussed with Dean what parts of the race we were going to film. We had to try and capture as many shots of Jade and Natalie throughout the race. This involved filming them set off from the start line, and then running across the field to find them through the race, and eventually run to the finish line to get any last shots of them both.
After the race we interviewed Jade and Natalie asking them how well they thought they got on, we also had an interview with their team coach.
After this, we had to wait for the presentations. The team had won gold for the best team and again carried out interviews and asked them how they felt. We filmed Jade and Natalie receiving their awards and after asked them what this achievement meant to them.
I found the whole day enjoyable, even though it was really windy it was still fun. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work on my own and I also liked working with the sound as well as the camera. I enjoyed filming on my own, even though I found it difficult to try and find two people out of a whole crowd, it was still good experience.
I also enjoyed interviewing people as I have never done that before. I enjoyed taking part in an exciting atmosphere and it was good to see the whole team supporting one another and their happiness from their achievement.
DATE: 15th and 16th December
LOCATION: Manchester Aquatic Centre for the British Diving Championships following Ben Swain and Megan Sylvester
FILMMAKER: Nicholas Morton
On the 15th of December, Yvonne, Lauren and myself went to the British Diving Championships in Manchester following Ben Swain and Megan Sylvester.
This was an important event for both of them, but for Ben more so as he was competing to qualify for the World Championships and to get a place in the British Squad for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. I can’t possibly imagine how he felt knowing that his place in the British Squad relies on several seconds in the air.
We set off from the C Media offices at about 12:30pm after we finished doing our video blogs, which in all honestly was loads of fun, but I hate being in front of camera! Getting to Manchester was pretty straight forward, even though the Tom-Tom did send us the longest way possible and then decided to cut out as soon as we got to Manchester City Centre. Hurrah for technology. So we had to relay on old-fashioned signs to guide us to the Aquatics Centre. We got there eventually, quicker than what we anticipated actually.
On the 15th December, Ben was competing in the 1m Preliminary. Not an important event for Ben but he still put everything he had into it and got into the final. On arrival we signed in and set up poolside so we could catch Ben in the final of the 1m Prelim. This event consisted of 6 rounds and 8 divers.
We used this day as a tester shoot, to see what shots worked, best places to do interviews and to become familiar with the stadium and the competition itself.
The first day went really well, even though it was a tester shoot, we still came out with some nice interesting shots. We used two cameras on this day which was necessary as one camera was shooting a wide shot of Bens dives and on the second camera I was asked to do some tracking shots. We also had the added bonus of Ben winning the 1m Springboard so we were able to get some shots of him receiving his medal.
When we got to the Aquatics Centre the next day we set up the cameras and got some GV’s of Ben training before his 3m Preliminary. I went up onto the second floor to set up a wide-angle shot of the event, but unfortunately it didn’t work out. Even so we still got some nice shots of the event, getting close ups of towels, Ben going through his routine before he dives and shots of feet walking across the diving board. As we did on the first day we got a wide-angle shot of the event and also a tracking shot of Bens dive. This event consisted of 19 divers over 6 rounds. At the end of the event Ben came out 3rd and was through to the finals.
After the 3m Prelim we got an interview with Ben, asking him how he felt and what went through his mind when he was about to do his last dive, and basically asking him for a break down of the event so far. We did the interview in a couple of locations – one interview was done outside the aquatics center and the other was done inside.
Megan was also diving today in the Women’s platform diving from 5m. This was an important event for Megan as it was her first major competition competing in the senior category. She looked really nervous and her first dive didn’t go so well, but she managed to pull it through and as her coach said “she showed she could do the dives she knows as a little girl really well”. Unfortunately Megan came 11th out of 11 divers, but it didn’t phase her one bit. We managed to get an interview with Megan as well asking her about her dives and how she found it competing against people much older than her.
At about 5:00pm Ben was diving in the finals. I was nervous just watching him so I cant imagine how he felt. In fact we were all nervous for him!
In the finals Ben came 4th, which, according to him means he doesn’t qualify for the World Championships. But his coach still thinks there is a chance as no one actually managed to get above the qualifying score. So it’s just a matter of waiting now to see who goes through to represent Britain.
At the end of this day we got a couple more interviews with Ben, his coach and Megan’s Dad.
The second day was really successful. We managed to get the interviews we wanted and we managed to get the shots that we wanted. It’s just a shame that Megan didn’t advance into the finals and that Ben may not have qualified for the Worlds.
After a long couple of days we were on our way home. It was a great weekend, with the added bonus of an unforgettable experience!
FILMMAKER: Nick Morton
LOCATION: Stuttgart, Germany – Park Cup
03/12/2006
On this day Toni and her training partner Kirsty were fighting. Like Luke’s fight, theirs were not until later in the afternoon, so we got some more GV’s and interviews.
Kirsty was the first to fight and she managed to win which was great considering she’s been on hiatus for a few years and has only just got back into serious training. For the fight, I set up the wide-angle shot and Paul got the close up shots of the fight.
Unfortunately Kirsty lost her second fight, but it was really close.
The next fight was Toni, and the fight was madness. Toni managed to pull out 6 points in the first minute and then her opponent managed to tie the game before punching her in the face. This knocked Toni for 6 but allowed her to have 1-minute recovery/coaching time. After this Toni went in and won the fight 11/7.
In the second fight Toni was still in tears from the first fight. Mike said it was just the adrenalin. Even so, she went into the fight and came out with a swollen foot, a swollen elbow and a win. It was really hard to film the fights, not because they were hard to frame up, its just that you get so into the fight you almost forget to hit record on the camera!
The 3rd fight was hard for Toni. Regardless of her injuries she still competed but the fight was cut short as she took a hit to her already swollen foot. She pulled out of the fight but still took Silver in the competition.
The last day of the Park Cup was a really good day. We got some great shots of the fights and quite a lot of footage yet again. We were also given Black Belts by Master Park so we are now Honorary Black Belt Film-Makers. What more could you ask for?
Over all the whole experience, for me personally was amazing. It was very tiring but still enjoyable and I learnt lots.
FILMMAKER: Nick Morton
LOCATION: Stuttgart, Germany – Park Cup
03/12/2006
On this day Toni and her training partner Kirsty were fighting. Like Luke’s fight, theirs were not until later in the afternoon, so we got some more GV’s and interviews.
Kirsty was the first to fight and she managed to win which was great considering she’s been on hiatus for a few years and has only just got back into serious training. For the fight, I set up the wide-angle shot and Paul got the close up shots of the fight.
Unfortunately Kirsty lost her second fight, but it was really close.
The next fight was Toni, and the fight was madness. Toni managed to pull out 6 points in the first minute and then her opponent managed to tie the game before punching her in the face. This knocked Toni for 6 but allowed her to have 1-minute recovery/coaching time. After this Toni went in and won the fight 11/7.
In the second fight Toni was still in tears from the first fight. Mike said it was just the adrenalin. Even so, she went into the fight and came out with a swollen foot, a swollen elbow and a win. It was really hard to film the fights, not because they were hard to frame up, its just that you get so into the fight you almost forget to hit record on the camera!
The 3rd fight was hard for Toni. Regardless of her injuries she still competed but the fight was cut short as she took a hit to her already swollen foot. She pulled out of the fight but still took Silver in the competition.
The last day of the Park Cup was a really good day. We got some great shots of the fights and quite a lot of footage yet again. We were also given Black Belts by Master Park so we are now Honorary Black Belt Film-Makers. What more could you ask for?
Over all the whole experience, for me personally was amazing. It was very tiring but still enjoyable and I learnt lots.
ILMMAKER: Nick Morton
LOCATION: Stuttgart, Germany – Park Cup
02/12/2006
On this day Luke was fighting and also his class training partners Will and Sarah. All of their fights were later on in the afternoon so we went around the stadium and shot some GV’s and also some interviews with Mike, Toni and Sarah. On this day we used the two Panasonic HD cameras and we must have shot at least 200 minutes of footage.
During the day I went around the Glaspalast stadium getting GV’s of other fights taking place, fighters training, the crowds and also some interior shots of the stadium itself.
Almost 2000 people from all around Europe turned up for this competition, even a few teams from USA and Korea turned up. It was madness, but at the same time the atmosphere and experience was fantastic.
On this day we filmed Will, Luke and Sarah’s fights. I shot a wide-angle shot of the fight while Paul got the close ups. We used the same set up for each fight. Unfortunately they all lost their fights and were out of the competition.
The first day was really successful; we got a lot of footage and we became familiar with the stadium. The only downside to the day was the fighters loosing their fights, which was a shame.
DATE: 01/12/2006 – 04/12/2006
FILMMAKER: Nick Morton
LOCATION: Stuttgart, Germany – Park Cup
01/12/06
From the 1st December to the 4th Paul, Yvonne, Clare and myself went to Stuttgart, Germany to film Toni and Luke in the Park Cup Taekwondo competition.
We departed from Manchester airport, but an hour and half later than expected. This was due to ‘foggy’ weather in Frankfurt. So this meant that we would miss our connecting flight to Stuttgart. Hurrah for us. But we did make the most out of this delay to get some shut eye, which Clare much needed as I kept her up the previous night with my snoring. Sorry…
When we did finally get to Frankfurt (sky very clear with no fog insight) Yvonne and Paul had to stand and wait in a queue for 2 hours to get our flight tickets changed for our connecting flight to Stuttgart. So yet again everyone was at a stand still, waiting and really tired. So I went and had a look round the duty free shops, ate some free chocolate and had a McDonalds. Oh and I also watched a Korean couple play cards.
2 hours later we had our tickets changed and we were off to Stuttgart. The flight didn’t take long and we were soon in our hotel. Clare went to bed, as she was very tired. Sorry again, and Paul, Yvonne and me met up with Mike, Toni and Luke’s coach where he introduced us to Master Park who organizes and runs the Park Cup tournament, and has done so for 21 years now.
Apparently he has a 7-inch scar on his thigh…but that’s another story.
DATE: 12/11/2006
FILMMAKER: Nick Morton
LOCATION: C Media Studio’s – producing athlete promos
Sunday 12th November brought to us another great day for a shoot where myself and 3 other filmmakers where to shoot some athlete promo movies.
Through out the day several athletes came to the office to be filmed doing stretches, motions, etc, things that where relevant to the athletes discipline. These were filmed against a black backdrop, using the Panasonic HD cameras. We also interviewed each athlete outside and created short introductions for their promos.
Personally I think the day went really well. We got what we needed and probably more. Some problems occurred but nothing that couldn’t be fixed, we filmed each athlete successfully, and also managed to get a few interviews.
DATE: 12.11.06
FILMMAKER: Frances Chitoriski
LOCATION: C Media Productions – Athlete Promos
I was invited to spend Sunday 12th of November at the C Media Productions studio. I arrived at 10am and was welcomed by the C Media team. I was told that several athletes were coming in throughout the day to be filmed performing some exercises relevant to their sport before being interviewed about themselves, their sport and any aspirations they had for the future. However, before getting involved with helping film/interview the athletes I was shown how to edit footage shot from Jade’s Birmingham race which I helped to film a couple of weeks ago. After being taught how to use the editing programme I was left to experiment with and edit the footage of the race to go with Jade’s story so far.
After a morning editing and a break for lunch, I went on to help some of the other trainees in the filming of the athletes. The athletes were filmed one at a time in the studio working on stretches, exercises and movements appropriate to their sport. I had the opportunity to use the camera on a number of occasions and shoot footage of the athletes performing their routine. I found it to be a good experience using the camera.
Once the filming of the athletes in the studio was complete they were interviewed. They were questioned about their sport, themselves and their ambitions for the future. I helped by doing the sound on one of the interviews which involved holding the boom close to the athlete speaking and wearing the headphones to check the sound was clear. I also asked the questions for another interview which required choosing the relevant things to ask the athlete and making sure the answers followed on to gain the precise information needed.
At 4:30pm all the filming was complete and I had once again found the day very interesting as well as fun! I had furthered my skills using a camera, learnt how to do basic editing using Final Cut Pro, and worked on sound as well as practicing interviewing technique. The hours in the day couldn’t have flown by any faster!
DATE: 30/10/2006
FILMMAKER: Nick Morton
LOCATION: Ponds Forge – Interview with Leon Taylor, Olympic Silver Medalist in Diving
Today we interviewed Leon Taylor, the Athens 04 Olympic Silver medalist in diving. The interview took place at Ponds Forge in Sheffield on top of the highest platform, which was 10metres high.
The day was really interesting, as I didn’t know that so much preparation and training had to be done just to dive off a board. That’s what my thoughts were anyway, but now when I take into consideration what it is you have to do to get that perfect dive, and at the speed you are traveling at, I realize that its something that isn’t as easy as I thought, in fact, its something that I wouldn’t be able to do.
The dedication that Leon has put into diving is incredible. 20 years of diving and training full time in dry land training (gymnastics and trampoline) and pool. This combined with weighing the amount off food he eats is something that amazes me.
The interview went really well. As said before we did this on the highest diving platform. I was put on the camera, Dean on sound and Yvonne asking the questions. With this I remembered my mistakes from the last shoot in Birmingham where the composition of my shots where off
DATE: 29/10/2006
FILMMAKER: Amy Drury
LOCATION: EIS, English Institution of Sport, Sheffield. Filming and Interviewing Toni Dye and Luke Hudson in a friendly Taekwondo championship.
Earlier on, Marie, Zara and I helped film Toni and Luke in a Taekwondo competition in Sheffield. I travelled there with Marie and we found the EIS straight away without getting lost…a fact both of us are very proud of! On arrival we started to set up the cameras and equipment and a little kid asked if we were from the BBC…very cute!
Not only did I learn more about media but a lot about Taekwondo which was also very interesting. I had another opportunity to interview our participants, I found it much easier this time round as I expanded on the questions I was given finding out more information, I also found it a lot easier talking to Toni and her family as we had met before and I think they were more comfortable with me.
Me and Marie were given the chance to set up a camera from scratch, I found it easier working with someone else as we reminded each other what the other had forgotten to do. I enjoyed the independence we were given with the camera as it enabled us to practice and develop what skills we have, and get some more experience in handling the equipment behind us. The day was a real success I thought as everyone co-operated and was really sensible around us and the equipment.
I found it difficult however, filming Toni’s fight as when I had framed the fight ring they would jump and move about making it hard to keep them in the shot. I tried panning to follow them but this looked really bad as the camera jolted. So in the end I just centred the ring and hoped for the best...the fight was only five minutes anyway…and after that I’m not messing with Toni!!
DATE: 29.10.06
FILMMAKER: Marie Dainty
LOCATION: English Institute of Sport – Sheffield, Taekwondo Open Championships
Throughout the day myself and Zara, another filmmaker, took it in turns to use the camera and sound equipment. We took shots of people doing Taekwondo and tried to get close up shots of peoples hands, feet, and different fighting moves. We also took shots of the contestants warming up and some long shots of all of the matches that were taking place. Throughout filming we had to make sure that we didn’t film anybody’s face unless we had their permission on consent forms. We took various different shots to hopefully use some of them in the documentary or at the start of the documentary to introduce Taekwondo and what the sport is about.
What I found hard was getting close-ups on the contestants hands and feet. As this sport is physical it involved a lot of movement and they were always moving so I couldn’t always get a perfect shot without having to pan and follow the contestants. I also found it difficult to make sure there faces were not shot. They wore head masks but because they were always moving they were times when there face did appear in the shot. I also found that because there were a lot of people in the sports hall I couldn’t pick up much sound as everyone was talking. As we were only filming at the side it was also hard because we had no control over the people and some people just walked past the camera which ruined the shot.
I really enjoyed the day having the opportunity working with the camera and the sound. As we were doing this in a pair it gave me more responsibility and independence as we could film what we thought was relevant and good. From this experience it gave me the opportunity to gain more experience with the camera and use sound which is something I haven’t really had much experience with. I really enjoyed the day just by working with the camera and the sound equipment and I enjoyed filming a sport as it is difficult but also challenging.
DATE: 27/10/2006
FILMMAKER: Amy Drury
LOCATION: Skegness - Interview with Toni Dye, Taekwondo
Today, we went to sunny Skeg-Vagas to do an interview with Toni about her dreams and aspirations for competing in the 2012 Olympics! I really enjoyed it (apart from getting lost on the way…) because this was my first professional chance to interview someone in a documentary fashion.
Throughout the day me and Lauren, another filmmaker, had the opportunity to interview Toni and her family on the topic of Toni’s sport, encouraging them to express their feelings and wishes. This was interesting as I feel I learnt new skills in communicating with people, to help them express themselves without being too intrusive. We also had the chance to use the cameras, which were the big Hi-Definition ones, and sound equipment (boom mics) to extend our skills in that area.
I found it quite difficult setting up shots as I was choosing the view and using the focus and zoom by myself, this made me a bit nervous as I didn’t want to ruin the shot. Although, I feel this helped me in becoming more independent and confident with the cameras, as I was shown what looks visually nice and what doesn’t (like big shadows and glares). I feel this will help me in the future with other shoots. I also found it difficult moving the cameras around a caravan! A two foot door, ten people and equipment that weighs more than me…a disaster waiting to happen!
All in all, I really enjoyed filming in a new location as it was a change of scenery and a new experience. We got some very nice shots of the beach…even though it was tempting to build a sandcastle…and some intriguing answers from the questions we asked, so I think the finished product will be really successful!
DATE: 26.10.06
FILMMAKER: Lauren Wood
LOCATION: Skegness – Interview with Toni Dye and family
I really enjoyed our trip down to Skegness to get a background story on Toni. It was a really interesting location to get the shots we needed of her. Toni and her family where great they all worked on camera really well and we managed to find some really interesting things out about her ambitions and her training. The weather wasn't so great as British costal weather isn't usually but the donuts and chips definitely made up for it. The 3 hour drive home meant me and Amy could get some much deserved sleep.
DATE: 22/10/2006
FILMMAKER: Nick Morton
LOCATION: Birmingham – Road Relay Race with the Rotherham Harriers
On the 22nd of October, Dean, Fran and myself where at the National Relay race in Birmingham following the Rotherham Harriers. What an eventful day that was. It was cold, and it wouldn’t stop raining. According to Jades Mum and Dad, they’ve never had rain like what we had on any race day.
Even though the weather wasn’t on our side, the day was great. We were fortunate enough to be there on the day that the Rotherham Harriers came out of the race with their first medal by coming second place. We didn’t get all the shots we were hoping to get, and apparently if the weather wasn’t as bad as it was we would have been able to set up on the start line so we could get some close up shots of the start and finish of the race. This was a bit of a downer but we got what we came for. We managed to get pre-race/after-race interviews of Jade, her Mum, her Dad and Dennis her coach. We also got some shots of the race and the added bonus of the Rotherham Harriers receiving their medals.
On this day we took along the Panasonic HD camera and also the Sony PD170. The plan of the day was for Fran and I to get some shots using the PD170 to make up a 20 second promotional video to put on the website, and for Dean to get pre-race interviews. This didn’t go to plan as the weather made it difficult for one person to operate the HD camera and sound equipment.
To sum up the day it was cold and wet but I had a great time regardless. I feel more comfortable with the HD cameras as I took stand-still moments as an opportunity to try and get some interesting shots of the race, even if we were limited to being under a tree or in a tent.
