Evaluation

Reflection is a way of studying your own experiences to improve the way you work.  Rolfe et al’s Reflective Framework (2001) for self-reflection is based around three simple questions:

1.    What? – describe a particular situation, then focus on achievements, consequences, responses, feelings and any problems.

2.    So what? – discuss what you have learnt about yourself, relationships, models, attitudes, cultures, actions, thoughts, understanding and any improvements.

3.    Now what? – identify what you need to do in the future in order to improve future outcomes and develop your learning.

This reflective model is simple. However, this does not mean that the reflections should remain superficial. I will use this model to guide me through the reflective process.

 

Ideas

 

Initially I had 3 ideas for my multi-cam piece.  The one I chose was the one closest to me heart as dance plays a huge part in my life.  Letting my heart rule my decision did create huge challenges during production due to COVID-19 restrictions.  Filming would have been more straightforward if I had done the cookery show or talk show. In future I would think each idea through to completion to help identify production issues.

 

Research

For my quantitative research I constructed a questionnaire.  I took advantage of my worldwide following of 4.3k on TikTok to reach people in different parts of the world and I think this added an understanding of different cultures.  This is something that I would definitely aim to do in any future surveys that I may construct.

 

For my qualitative research I organised a focus group.  It proved really helpful when identifying my target audience, but I only made notes.  I feel that I some of the comments and points of views may not have been written down.  If I had obtained permission from the group to record the meeting, then I would have been assured that I had not missed anything 

 

 

Planning

When planning my piece, I had to adjust the paper to fit my location. I found the risk assessment most helpful as it helped highlight the dangers on dancing on a carpet. This has reinforced the importance of risk on any location. Next time I would assess the location before deciding to film this kind of piece. The shot list didn't help as much as I thought as I hadn't taken into account the size of the room.

 

 

I had to use small lights used on construction sites, a ring light and the natural light from the window due to covid and lack of equipment. So, the lighting was not as good as I wanted it to be, next time I will learn how to use lighting properly and if possible film where the lighting is better.

I used a green screen to show a dance studio in the background, the shadows showed throughout the whole thing and after taking advice from my peers and some online tutorials I still couldn't remove the shadows I feel that I was at college I could of got advice from the professionals. If I use a greenscreen gain I will make sure I know how to eliminate the shadows.

Due to covid 19 restrictions and the lockdown, I had to film at home, all of our rooms have carpet except the kitchen meaning I had to film in a bedroom, this caused danger to myself as doing pointe on a carpet is very dangerous, So I took extra care when dancing to make sure I was a safe as possible and causing injury was very low. Next time I will try and plan accordingly and try to film in a dance studio to reduce the risk of injury. Due to this I had to cut out a lot of the pointe work demonstration I was hoping to use slow motion to really show the foot work

I had my dad's work colleague make me a ballet barre for my piece, This was the only prop I needed when filming at home 

I attempted to meet the needs of my Target Audience in the following ways:

 

Cameras:  I used different camera angles and close up shots to help show the pointe shoe at its best.  I also used a small amount of stock footage to help set the scene.  Plan A would have given me access to high quality camera equipment which would have allowed me to use better camera angles and crisper images.

 

Naturalistic Acting:  The way language was used helped my audience understand the subject by making the text seem natural and realistic.  The dancer didn’t always look directly at the camera in Plan B due to difficulties filming on a phone.  In Plan A this would not have been a problem

 

Mise en Scene:  The set would have used an actual dance studio in Plan A.  The dressing room scene was planned to be filmed at home for both Plan A and Plan B.  The use of a real dressing room would have helped it have a realistic look.  The dancer’s costume created a stereotypical image of a ballet dancer.  This set the scene from the start but as my audience already had an interest in dance it was properly not necessary to us a stereotypical costume  

 

Editing:  The pace of the shots allowed time for the audience to understand what was being said and was presented in the correct sequence for it to flow.  

 

Lighting:  In Plan A additional lighting would have complimented the dance studios normal lighting so as to maintain the ambience of the studio.  The dressing room scene used coloured lights to recreate the atmosphere.  I think it would have looked better in a proper dressing room and been more believable to the audience some of whom would already be aware of what a dressing room should look like.

 

Sound:  The piece used both diegetic (actual) and nondiegetic (commentary) sound.  The actual sound included the dialogue and some sounds from the shoes being banged together.  Nondiegetic sound included a voice over as a liaison between the action on screen and the audience

Feedback from peers

I really liked that, I loved that you have the sky arts logo on the top right which makes this realistic, I also liked how this was structured where you gave the history of pointe shoes which is helpful to those who don’t know a lot about them like myself and then it cuts to the main part of your multi cam

The show is very informative, and it has a well-structured script. Multi-camera section was done well with the limitation you had the time. Nice work Darcy! Also as a minor point I would say, if you had memorise your script, rather than looking at it every time you speak it would be more engaging with us as the audience, And, I'm just wondering did you use greenscreen effect or something for the background? 

Wow I really enjoyed this educational, historical piece Darcey, It really does show how much of a passion for Dance and I loved the classical pieces in the background, in fact it is stuck in my head now as you really glued me to the screen wanting to hear what was gonna be said next. For what you had available I'd say you utilized what you had quite effectively, very nice job 

Its really good Darcey, I like the added touch of Sky Arts logo and the use of Multi-camera was fantastic and a good use of the green screen as well.

Great video Darcey very informative. Great use of green screen considering the restrictions you had well done.

I think it was really really good! I loved the use of the space you had by using editing to make it look like you were in an actual studio. I like that you included some of the history of pointe shoes to give more context. For constructive criticism, i think that trying to memeorise the script, or having your script written and displayed directly behind the camera would help with audiemce engagement so that you wouldnt be looking away as much while talking would of helped and in future maybe see about the lighting if possible as some shots were a little dark im not sure if you filmed at night, if so, maybe filming earlier in day might have improved this

Really good at getting the information across as I didn’t know much about the topic. Great use of multi cam. Just a tip for green screen just so it slightly enhances it , change it from composite to aggressive when you apply the ultra key. Great project though.

Upon reading my feedback I have taken into account to learn the script and to experiment with the greenscreen prior to filming

https://padlet.com/jamesfox2/uwrogkllw1hxa87s 

Both my qualitative and quantitative data identified a target audience that would benefit from background knowledge of dance to enhance their enjoyment. In my piece I gave basic information the origin, structure and use of pointe shoes, I believe this underpinning of knowledge would meet target audience. Other than the COVID,  restrictions my piece was filmed as I originally planned it without making any changes.

Overall I think his project went well as I was able to film it and was lucky enough to have access to lighting and had help filming. However, it had to change location due to covid I resolved this by removing the furniture in a room in my bungalow and filming it in there having to tape a green screen up as there was no studio background. I have learnt how to properly use a greenscreen and how to set lighting up. I have learnt not to stand to close to the green screen to prevent shadows, I will take this forward to my FMP to make sure I do not make the same mistakes.

Upon receiving my feedback I do not feel as if it went as well as I wanted due to covid-19, I will apply any tips I have been given and apply them to my future projects.  Unit 10 has also helped reiterate my love of editing and I am hoping to pursue this  further with some online courses to help enhance my FMP