ABOUT IZZY'S PORTFOLIO

PODCAST

- During week 1, in pairs, we were asked to brainstorm ideas for a radio show. We had to be realistic on the subjects we were going to discuss in our show and if it was going to be enjoyable for our target audience. The timings our show was to air also had to be taken into consideration as it had to be at appropriate times that our target audience hopefully would be available.

To get a better idea of what the radio world is like, I researched 3 radio shows and who they were aimed at. I found out who aired on the show, what the shows discussed and the timings that these shows were aired. I also found out about what live shows are and what pre-recorded shows are and how this can impact a radio show/ station and how it also impacts the listeners.

- Our tasks in week 2 consisted of research on different types of mics. I made notes on the three main types of mics that are seen in the radio/ podcast industry. I learnt how different mics pick up sound patterns from different angles and what ones are better for certain tasks. To exercise the things i found i went around the college campus and recorded a range of sounds. This allowed me to gather more information on how mics pick up sound patterns.

To develop my skills further for creating a podcast, I did research on how to set up a radio station and what equipment is needed. I also had to learn how to write a script as the podcast I was creating was interviewed based.

- In week 3 I had to plan the podcast project I wanted to create. To ensure I that my podcast would be interesting and successful to the target audience, I decided to get feedback on my podcast ideas. If the response I got back was overall positive then I would go ahead and develop my ideas further and record my podcast.

Towards the end of the week, I looked into what jobs the radio industry had to offer. On top of this, I took notes on what qualifications were needed to go into those specific jobs. This was useful information to learn in order to create the podcast I wanted to create.

- In week 4 and 5 I had to create a podcast clock that I would follow whilst I recorded. Many successful podcasts follow a specific time schedule that has been proven to engage listeners for a longer period of time. I followed this schedule as I want my listeners to be interested for as long they can whilst listening to my podcast and with this I hope it will be successful.

To get facts correct in our topics my group and I wrote a script that we would roughly follow throughout the show. Overall we knew we wouldn't follow the scrip line by line as we wanted our podcast to sound realistic and genuine.

To get a good idea on what we wanted our podcast to be like, we listened to a range of different podcasts that discussed the same topics ours did. We took notes on how the topics were spoken about and we decided to mimic that in our final recording.

- In weeks 6 and 7 is when the recordings and final editing took place. Harry and Jess (people in my group) stood in the booth whilst I recorded. My job was to make sure that the sound was smooth and to correct anything that sounded off. Some of the speech was not correct in the first takes and so I had to communicate that with my group. We then went back to recording with different dialogue that fitted the topic better.

After recording our final product, the editing began. We used adobe production to edit our audio track. With this we cut out any mistakes and added in sound effects like music. We listen through our finished editing piece multiple times and made final editing tweaks to anything that either was not needed or to anything that didn't sound correct.

PHOTOGRAPHY

- For week one, our task was to get into a group of 4 and go around the campus using a digital camera. We had to use the camera in different environments with different lighting to get a range of different photos.

The feedback we got for our pictures was positive overall. We used the camera in creative ways where we took photos based on lighting, focus, scale, shape, colour, and texture.

- During week 2 we learnt camera terminology. We then had to take photos that showed we understood the terms learnt. Below shows the photos I took based on horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. The photo experimenting with lighting also explores depth of field.

- In this task we learnt and practiced aperture and depth of field. To do this, we had to change the AV settings on the camera. We explored the campus with a camera and had to take pictures of different and random objects. When we changed the aperture on the camera, the lighting would drastically change. The photo would either become overexposed or underexposed depending on the AV setting.

- In this weeks task, we were in a group of 4 exploring shutter speed on a camera. In order to change the shutter speed setting you have to change the TV setting. It is better to use the TV setting when there is darker lighting with a lot of flashy lights. This is because this setting has a timer that allows fast lights to enter and be captured together in the final image.

We went into a dark room and set up our camera with a tripod and played around with different timers and different glow sticks. We wanted to see what lights would 'pop' in the dark - and upon taking the pictures it seems that all of the lights have a 'pop' in the dark.

- During week 5, we practiced and learnt about lighting. In our group of 4 we had to set up 3 lighting rigs and a tripod with a camera. Whilst taking these pictures, we had to experiment with lighting and see the effects different lighting can have on a subject. The pictures below represent and show our findings as they all have different lighting in each picture.

All of the lighting rigs where situated at different distances from the subject and either had a white or orange overlay. The white overlay creates a softer light on the subject whereas orange gives a warm texture; when used correctly these lights can compliment each other and the subject well.

- For week six, we had to practise the skills we had learnt during class, at home. I have created a Christmas mood board to help to inspire me when I take the pictures. If I were to struggle to see a good picture, I would go back and look at my mood board so I can have inspiration on what would make my images good.

DOCUMENTARY

- Week 1 was the introduction to documentary work. I learnt what the 6 modes of documentaries are and also how to identify them. As an exercise to use this skill, I watched a range of documentaries and linked them up to what mode they seemed to fit in.

Another exercise that I did to get familiar to filming was going around college to interview students on what their favourite film is and why. They were very simple questions which didn't take a lot of thinking to answer and so it was less stress for the person being interviewed. I then edited the clips I got from around college and then created a short video.

- The exercise I did during week 2 was filming a review on a documentary of my choice. I decided to research and make my video on the documentary "Don't F**k with Cats - Hunting an internet killer". To get my facts correct I had to research the subject and also write up a script. On top of this I watched the documentary and took notes on the things people were saying, who was being interviewed and specific parts of the documentary that stood out to me.