I was very excited on Monday, as I was aware that we were getting to meet one of the new tutors Kim Millar. I was not really sure what to expect from this lesson but I really enjoyable. It was really great to talk to Kim as she is obviously very successful and I found it really interesting to hear her talk about the television industry and liked the fact that we were able to ask her whatever we wanted. It was interesting to hear about Kim’s career path, as it was not the typical path you would expect to follow. First working in journalism then gradually moving through to television. However I did find it slightly reassuring that when Kim started out working in television she did not have definite idea of what job within the industry. This makes me feel slightly better as sometimes it feels like most people in my class have a very clear idea of what job they want to do when they graduate. I am still unsure of what exactly I want to do when I leave the academy. When talking to Kim it made me realize that there are so many jobs within the film and television industry that I haven’t even heard of yet. I think that once I progress further on the course and get experience within the industry it will hopefully help me find my niche. Another reason why I really enjoyed the lesson was because we got to hear Kim talk about story lining for Coronation Street, River City and Hollyoaks. This was really interesting to me because I have previously watched both Coronation Street and Hollyoaks and it was really insightful to hear Kim talk about writing for characters and creating storylines that I have previously watched and enjoyed.
On Tuesday we had a technical class with Ray. The focus of the lesson was lighting and we explored white balance in more detail. Although I find Ray’s classes the most challenging out of all the classes, I still enjoy the lessons. Usually we are being told a lot of information and sometimes it is difficult to piece all the facts together and apply it to actually using the camera. It is still slightly nerve racking when using the camera however I am hoping to take the camera out within the next couple of weeks which should help me get some more hands on time to practice everything and give me more confidence when using the equipment.
Andy’s television class took place on Wednesday and I have to say that I found it to be one of the most interesting classes we have had with Andy so far. We mostly discussed reality television. This was something that I found very interesting, as it is a very popular phenomenon at the moment, and I am also a fan of some programs within the genre. At the start of the lesson we were asked to write down the names of two people, one had to be a celebrity and the other should be someone who is famous. I wrote down Paris Hilton’s name as someone who is a celebrity and Barack Obama for a person who is famous. It was interesting to see that when everyone was asked to read out the names they had written down the same peoples names emerged again and again. For example almost the entire class either said Jordan or Paris Hilton for the name of someone who is a celebrity. I think that the difference between a celebrity and someone who is famous is that a celebrity is someone who gets lots of attention from the media and is widely recognized by the general public. They are typically seen on television and in tabloid newspapers and magazines. However I think this is different than someone who is famous. I would regard someone who is famous as someone who has achieved something, and so are better respected. For example Paris Hilton has never actually achieved anything of substance and so would not be regarded as being on the same level as a famous person such as Obama, who has achieved a great deal by becoming the president of the United States.
We then went back and looked at some of the major reality TV shows that have made an impact on television. It was interesting to discuss the authorship of reality TV as it linked back well to our lesson the previous week. I think that one of the big appeals of this genre of television is that the audience feels involved; they think they are in control of the destiny of the participants. This is could be a reason why reality TV is watched religiously every week by the viewed. Because the audience is voting to save someone, maybe they feel more of an emotional attachment to program and will watch with others that also like the program. For example the Xfactor is often watched by groups of friends or families, as it is a very interactive medium. However I found it quite sad to learn that the producers have a lot more control of a program than the audience thinks they do. They allow the audience to believe they are influencing the outcome of a show despite the fact they are actually giving them very little control. Obviously I was already aware of this before the lesson, but I think when you are watching a reality show that you like, for example “I’m a celebrity get me out of here” you don’t want to think of the celebrities being taken out of the jungle at night and being taken to a fancy hotel or being given extra food without the audience knowing. It would spoil the program for me slightly if I acknowledged this, because it means that the audience has lost control and no longer have that investment within the show. Overall I really enjoyed the lesson, as there seemed to be quite a lot of discussion, which I enjoy, and I found the topic to be really interesting.
On Thursdays lesson some of the group had tutorials with Adam, however mine was not scheduled until the following week so I had the day off. A group of us also went to see the opera ‘War and Peace’ in the evening. This was a totally new experience and I found it interesting to watch a piece of entertainment totally than what I am used to.
This was followed the next day by watching the German expressionistic film Nosfreatu on Friday, which I really enjoyed.
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