Evaluation

For this assignment we had six weeks to complete the task while working in groups of 4/5. We were asked to create our own BBC 2 ident. We had to create the number 2 ourselves, film and edit it as well as coming up with an idea we all agreed on. Teamwork was a major part of it so each person in the group was given a role, which they would follow throughout the assignment. We all helped each other when needed though. We had to use Flip Cameras to film our idents on, or if we wanted to do a stop motion video we could use a camera.

First we had to think of an idea that we all thought would work well, but at the same time was still realistic and could be completed in 6 weeks. We came up with several ideas and then chose the best one. Finally, we agreed on making four number 2’s and transforming them into the four different seasons and merging them all together when editing.

Really, we should have done test shots but we didn’t feel like we had enough time to spend an entire session making practise models and then filming them so we jumped straight into making our final number 2’s. Fiona and I went out and got the needed materials such as cotton wool and leaves while Jodie got straight to work on cutting out the number 2’s from foam board. Coral started making decorations and backgrounds while Lydia took photos of everyone working so that we had evidence to put on our blogs. It took us 3 weeks in total to complete the number 2 models, which in the end were fully decorated with backgrounds and extra decorations to add more of an atmosphere to the scene. We had to leave time for each layer of decoration to dry before adding more on top, which is what took a lot of the time up. We also added in things like cocktail umbrellas for summer and cut out some snowflakes from paper for winter.

We spent 2 weeks filming our idents and took several shots of each season so that we had a variation when it came to editing. We made the foolish mistake of having the camera at different angles each different season, which will make editing really difficult as the shots are different sizes. We didn’t realise until our studio time had run out, so we couldn’t reshoot. Some of us ended up doing a lot more work while others sat back and didn’t help a lot, but the issue wasn’t brought up as it was all under control and I think it was better for some people to do more than others as they had a clearer image of how it would look.

Overall I’m really happy with our idea and I think it looks and works really well. We didn’t get into any arguments over the assignment and we all agreed on most stuff, so we had fun along the way. I think this made the assignment a lot easier as it was stress free and we could just get on without any problems. I think that next time we do a project like this, the groups should be mixed up more so we can try and work with other people in our class rather than just sticking to our friendship groups.

Spring

For spring, we had to use Jodie's cardigan as the grass as there were no green material things. We used the same background as summer (blue board with cotton wool clouds stuck on).

We used the fan aswell to make the paper grass (which is stuck onto the number 2) look like it's blowing in the breeze. We tried to create some form of movement in every shot so that there's always something going on.

Summer

First we made the background for the Summer number 2, which was made from a painted sun and a painted sea.

I then stuck some clouds made from cotton wool onto a blue background in the studio.

We then made some 'sand' out of sandy coloured materials and some 'sea' from blue cloth. We used a cup to hold the 2 upright and we had to hold the background in place while someone else filmed the scene.

Autumn

While Jodie was cutting out the number 2 templates, Fiona and I went out and collected loads of brown/red leaves. We had to dry them out as they were really wet, but we put them on the radiator for too long and they went a bit too crunchy and kept braking when we tried to stick them onto the number 2.

The leaves weren't anywhere near as thick and bulky as the cotton wool which was a problem, so we decided to put some cotton wool on the number 2 and then cover it with leaves. This means we could use less leaves and still have a really thick model. 

We used PVA glue to stick the leaves down, which didn't work very well but it was all we had. We had to use loads of glue and had to let the thing leave on the radiator to dry for ages before we could stick anymore leaves on.

Winter

While Jodie was cutting out the number 2's,  Fiona and I went to the shop to buy some cotton wool which we would decorate the winter number 2 with. We chose cotton wool because snow is usually associated with winter and we could make the cotton wool look like fluffy snow if it was applied correctly.

We ripped up the cotton wool and used PVA glue which we borrow from the Art Department to stick it down. We applied it in really small amounts so that it would look thick and fluffy like fresh snow.

We ended up putting about 4 layers of cotton wool on the number 2 as it made it look really thick and would help it to stand up better. Jodie cut out some more foam in the shape of a number 2 and stuck it onto the winter number 2 for more stability as cotton wool isn't very heavy which means the 2 would fall over easily when filming.

We agreed that the background would need some decoration so Coral cut out some snowflakes and made a little snow man figurine. We will hang these off some thread which we hope to borrow from Textiles

Final Idea

We decided that for our final idea we could create 4 number two models, one for each season; Summer, Spring, Autumn, Winter. Different types of decoration would be used to cover the two’s such as leaves for Autumn, cotton wool as snow for Winter and little props and objects to make each season more recognisable and distinctive. We also thought of using music/sound effects over the footage which will help the audience grasp the idea.

Me and Fiona went out and collected some brown leaves and bought some cotton wool from the shop while Jodie started to cut out number 2’s from foam.

We borrowed the equipment from college to cut out the number 2’s. We had to get a metal ruler and a scalpel, and we also got a cutting board so that we weren’t cutting directly into the tables.

We used a previously made number 2 as a template so that all the sizes were the same and we could stick loads of the foam number 2's together to make them thicker and more stable.

Initial Ideas

·      Water and food colouring. We could make an open topped 3d number two, preferably made out of acrylic plastic, so that we could pour water and food colouring into the top of it. The indent would be filmed from a birdseye view (above) so that you can see the food colour being dropped into the top of the number 2

·      Makeup. Drawing a number 2 onto someone’s face using really bright make-up (eyeshadow) and it would be shooted as a stop frame video.

·      Leaves. We could stick down a number 2 made of leaves underneath loads of loose leaves and then use the fan to blow the loose leaves away to reveal a fixed number 2 underneath them

·      Fry up. Use food such as sausages, eggs, bacon, bread, and film the food being fryed into a number 2 shape.