This is a reflection and evaluation for the third artefact that I prepared as part of Module 360MC, on the theme ‘memory’. I filmed the artefact at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The artefact was filmed during the Remembrance Day memorial event.
During the pre-production stage of this artefact, I spent hours researching around the theme and the possible extensions to the topic. I also watched video’s to see how others have treated the theme of memory. This search has helped shape my understanding of the topic. Watching how others have treated the subject has also helped me focus my artefact a lot more.
During the production stage, I filmed at the Arboretum. The mood on the day was sombre and emotional. People looked very sad and focused on the ceremony. One of the challenges was to find someone to interview. It was a struggle as I tried to get eye contact with different people to get someone who was willing to talk to me. I tried to ask people but some declined to be filmed as they felt it was inappropriate. Finally, I managed to interview three people, including a war veteran and a member of staff.
Another challenge was to transport the equipment from Coventry University to the Arboretum. I don’t have a car; therefore I had to catch the train with the equipment. A further challenge was that the ceremony was starting at 10.45am on Sunday morning. The first direct train from Stafford was at 12.18pm. I considered renting a car for the day but that would have been too expensive. Therefore, I had to spend the night in Birmingham and catch the earliest train at 9.06am, arriving into Lichfield Trent Valley at 9.47am. This would have allowed me to arrive at the Arboretum for 10am and gave me about 45 minutes to prepare and set up.
In reflection, I learned a lot from preparing this artefact. Through the research process, I learned a great deal about memory in general, cultural and personal memory and the development of commemorative events and war memorials. This task also helped me improve my research techniques greatly.
I feel I have improved my technical skills greatly as I have used voice over for the first time. In the previous task on ‘spectacle’, I tried to use voice over but I had difficulty. In this task I had some success in using this technique. This has meant that I had to write the script for my voice actor to read out.
EVALUATION
I feel that the memory artefact has some strengths and weakness. In this section I will discuss both the strengths and weaknesses and decide on improvements.
Strengths
- I feel that the story has a strong content. The content was well developed and thought out. I did a thorough research to support this content.
- I feel that the artefact has been filmed well and also edited well.
- In this artefact the interview sound was very clear.
- The artefact was shot using a high definition video camera (HDV 10801 50i PAL). This has helped the artefact have a high quality finish.
- The seminar feedback was that the video was well put together.
The Weaknesses
- One of the weaknesses of the video is the unclear background music. The background then feels noisy.
- One of the clips contains an interview of a war veteran; this is then immediately followed by another interview with a member of staff. The veteran’s interview was emotional and would have benefitted from having more time and a smoother transition.
- The artefact would have benefitted from having the voice over introducing the theme’s the interviewee’s would be talking about. Currently the voice over introduces the overall theme.
- I also feel that the titles used had some weaknesses.
Improvements:
- I could have improved the introduction background music. I can do that in the future by using a wireless microphone.
- The voice over narrative can be improved next time by adding an introduction to the various speakers.
This is Peter Woodbrige’s feedback on my artefact.
In conclusion, I feel that I have improved both my research and technical skills greatly. I have used several techniques such as voice over for the first time and now I feel more confident to use those techniques in the future.
Abdiaziz E Yusuf
Media Production
Level 3
