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KTA1: Topic of Research:
Photography is the basis
of most modern industries such as Graphic design, film and the magazine
industry. I have chosen to research the production roles in a Photography
organisation such as lighting, photographer, make up artist, developer, set
designer, event manager for the exhibition and wardrobe design. I am focusing
on consist of Development and Photography. Within the industry there are many
types of photography such as wedding, sport, fashion and many more. I chose
this organisation as I have an interest in this industry and I hope to carry my
education in the industry further. I chose these roles specifically as the
industry has limited roles because most independent photographers will carry
out these roles alone to save expense. The pre-production team includes: the
lighting professional, make-up artist, set designer and the wardrobe designer.
This ensures that the content of the images are in order before the shoot
begins so that there are minimal interruptions throughout the shoot. The
photographer is then the main job in the production of the shoot and the models
(if necessary). The post-production team includes: the photographer, who will
edit any images, which they feel, are suitable to meet the brief they are
working to. The developer will then take the edited images and by using
equipment:
The equipment will include safelights,
enlargers, EM10 exposure monitors and multigrade filters.
·
The EM10 exposure monitor
determines exposure from one slide to another, from black to white or colour to
negative. This is simply measuring the level of light of a particular area on
the image.
·
Safe-lighting depends on 3
major things- the colour of the light, the exposure time and the intensity,
which depends on the strength of the illuminating source, density of the filter
ad the distance between the filter and the material. These factors all
contribute towards ensuring safety.
·
Multigrade filters provide the
simplest way of controlling contrast through the whole of the range achievable
depending on the type of the filter:
-Contrast control for
multigrade papers
-Current multigrande
filters
-Older multigrade filters
·
Enlargers - there are several
types of enlargers, varying the way they handle the light they project:
- Contrast control for multigrade papers
-
Colour enlargers
-
Multigrade heads
-
Diffuser vs. condenser
enlargers
-
Digital enlargers
Once the images are ready to be printed the
exhibitionist and event manager can organise alongside the photographer how the
images are to be presented to the public.
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KTA2: Roles in the Industry:
A
Professional Photographer shoots images and
displays them with the purpose of making money whereas an amateur photographer
takes photos for personal enjoyment.
Professional photographers can work either independently, and choose
their own style of photography where they work to contracts to cover events
such as weddings or sport; or for companies such as newspapers where they will
have to take photos that meet a specific brief or criteria.
The responsibilities within being a
photographer require you to know all the camera settings and which would be
appropriate for the shoot resulting in the best quality photo. This depends
entities such as light, weather or time of day. If a photographer has studied
the subject at higher education and has qualifications in the subject, then they
tend to know how to do development, as it is included in the course. However
photography companies employ people specifically for development. A
photographer tends to have a specific camera make, which they work with most of
the time, depending on the photographers personal style and preferences. Being
a photographer requires skills in communication both verbally and written as
being able to communicate with the customer is crucial. Written skills are
needed to carry out tasks such as health and safety forms, location reccee and
call sheets. Verbally, a photographer must be able to communicate with a
client, as they need to make sure the photos are comfortable and if that
includes models then they need to appear confident in front of the camera for
the best result. Being able to communicate with people well verbally also helps
in this industry as the job includes negotiating with people to use their
equipment and space.
A
Film Developer creates printed images in high
quality from raw film footage. A film developer must know how to use the
correct chemicals on the printed images, highly technical instruments, darkroom
equipment and photographic processing machines. Certain careers in the
photography industry require different abilities when it comes to film
development. Photographers who work in Black and White tend to stick to the
more traditional development in darkrooms whereas photographers who work in
fashion and retail tend to operate computers, printers and high quality
machinery. A developer must have the skill to use this equipment and treat the
work with delicacy, as it is art. The equipment they use depends on their
personal preferences and abilities but the more equipment they are able to use
the better as it allows a broader range of outcomes from the images.
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KTA3: My Suitability for the role:
Photographer:
To have assessed my skills to carry out the
role of a Photographer and I think I am suitable to work in this industry
because I have good communication skills both written and verbally. In written
communication I am able to write health and safety reports for all
circumstances as well as fill a location reccee to a great standard. Also I am
able to make call sheets and release forms for all people who will be involved,
as well as this I have the full ability to email all team members and keep
everyone organised and aware on any changes that could happen. I have previous
experience making production and contingency plans, so in conclusion I am fully
capable to handle all written communications in the industry. In the practical
production side of photography I am able to; operate the settings on a Cannon 650DSLR
camera, assemble a tripod securely and use image-editing software such as
Photoshop. In the creative aspect of the role I am able to come up with my own
ideas and making a shoot unique and eye-catching. Through my college course I
have met a local professional photographer Chis Saunders, who has shown me his
personal work and who has given me critical feed back to improve my work.
Development:
My skills are less in development of
photography than photography its self, however throughout the next two years I
will be developing these skills as I progress through my A level of
photography. Through out the course I will be learning how to use all equipment
in the traditional development of images in a dark room and I can carry my
education on to study photography at a degree standard where you learn to use
all chemicals and advanced equipment in photographic development.
Areas
for further development:
Although we used a lot of equipment, I did
not get the chance to use equipment such as a crane or a dolly, which are used
to stable the camera on to get a smooth pan motion in filming. If I was to carry out this role in the
production of film development again, I would aim to be more organised with my
time as I believe some of the work was left to last minute and as a team we
could have been better prepared. I would try and use less time filming because
I believe that some time was wasted due to work getting repetitive and the cast
loosing enthusiasm because the filming days were very time consuming and
required focus throughout.
To learn the skills in order to take this
further and make it into a career I will be able to go to Hallam University to
study further film and editing at a degree standard.
The course includes:
Key areas of study
Key areas include
• film form, narrative and style
• different types of film, including documentary and alternative cinemas
• a variety of film genres, film makers and film movements
• a range of films from around the world, including America, Britain, East Asia and Europe.
Key areas include
• film form, narrative and style
• different types of film, including documentary and alternative cinemas
• a variety of film genres, film makers and film movements
• a range of films from around the world, including America, Britain, East Asia and Europe.
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KTA4: My contribution to a production:
Role
and Responsibilities:
Previously in the course when I was
required to work in a group and create an audio-visual promo either in the form
of a movie trailer or a music video, unit 46: Audio Visual Promos - http://sophiebirksunit46thesherlocks.blogspot.co.uk
In my group we chose to create a music video for a local band, The Sherlocks.
My role in the group was Camera Operating and Editing, using pre-production and
shot plans, following instructions from my teammates so that we all agreed on
the end result. Filming required creating call sheets and having all members of
the cast sign a release form so that they could take part. I had to be very
organised in order to have all the equipment I needed prior to filming and have
all the footage finished in a limited time period. In total we spent 26 hours
with the cast and band members filming in various locations from Sheffield centre to Bolton on Derne.
Examples
of pre-production work such as:
Marketing criteria
Marketing criteria
Risk Assessments
Model Call sheets
Production Process work:
Post-production
work & feedback:
Contribution
to media product:
My contribution to the post production of
the filming was organising shot plans of all scenes, making sure all members of
the cast were dressed correctly and in the right place at the right time,
filming along with my two team members, organising all equipment borrowed from
college and returning it.
In the post-production of the video, I had
to edit the footage by making it Black and White, cutting it on the beats to
the music and lip sinking the footage to the music. My skills and qualities in this role require
me to be very organised as a personal quality and have good people skills both
verbally and written in order to communicate with all the people involved in
the production of the video.
Interaction
with my team:
My two-team members and I all had to work
together throughout the whole production of the video as all our roles affected
each other. On a regular basis we could meet and discuss the progress made in
the editing and what we all believed worked and what should be changes. In the
pre production of the video we all had specific roles in paperwork such as
location reccees, shot plans, risk assessments, call sheets etc. which we would
have to relate who was in what shot therefore the shot plans had to coincide with
the call sheets. In the production of the video both my team members and I
filmed, as it was a requirement of our criteria. This was also the requirement
in editing however I focused mainly on the editing in my role with the
additional help from my team. I believe that my team worked well together as no
one dominated the work or others in the group, everyone pulled their weight
equally and no one let our team down. If I was to work in a group again I would
happily work with my team members from this unit because I think that we worked
well together and were very organised through out the production and completed
the task with in the deadline.
Development
of skills:
In my role I utilized my skills with the
cannon camera as I had minor previous experience with the DSLR’s as I had used
them in other units however I had never filmed on them, or learnt how to sure
the setting on them manually. Therefore my skill development in the production
of the video required me to learn a lot about the software and equipment very
quickly.
Before this unit I was unable to use
editing software confidently as I had never had experience with it in the past.
Also I had never used the specific camera models that were available at my
college, therefore the whole unit was a new experience to me and I developed my
skills throughout from the help of my team members and my teacher. I learnt how
to use the Sony camera, which was a lot bigger than the standard sized DSLR’s
we used in other unit of the course such as photography.
Lo2
KTA5: Overall suitability
My overall suitability for this role in the
industry I believe is good because I understand thoroughly what is needed to
make a production successful and the amount of dedication it takes to the pre
and post production of the product. Although I am at a student level of
qualification, if I carry on to degree level I believe I will be suitable
confidently in the industry.
Bibliography
Motor Sport Photography:
Photojournalism:
Darkroom equipment:
