Filming at St Pancras International

The next location to be filmed was St Pancras International.



The purpose of filming at St Pancras International, is to show the very strong links to Nottingham that the station has, with East Midlands trains stationing there, and the international links with the Eurostar also residing at the station.









After arriving at the station, I headed outside to filming some of the very large building from the outside.



Heading back inside, it was only too clear that the building contained amazing architecture which could be seen all around the station.

Approaches to Learning and Studying

This questionnaire asks you to indicate your relative agreement or disagreement with comments about studying that have been made by other students. Please respond truthfully, so that the answers you give represent accurately your real ways of studying. Answer quickly but carefully, and above all honestly. Avoid using the “unsure” response wherever possible. The whole questionnaire will take about 15 minutes to complete. Please choose only one number for each question.

The codes (they are not scores) are used to indicate the following meanings:

5 = agree; 4 = agree somewhat; 2 = disagree somewhat; 1 = disagree

Try not to use 3 = unsure unless you really have to, or if the statement really does not apply.


1. I’m not prepared just to accept things I’m told: I have to think them out for myself 4

2. One way or another I manage to get hold of books or whatever I need for studying 2

3. Often I feel I’m drowning in the sheer amount of material we’re having to cope with
on this course 4

4. So far, I seem to have a good grasp of the subjects I am studying 3

5. Sometimes I find myself thinking about ideas from the course when I’m doing other
things 1

6. I often have trouble in making sense of the things I have to remember 2

7. Often I lie awake worrying about work I think I won’t be able to do 2

8. Generally, I find the set work easy to do 2

9. Although I can remember facts and details, I often can’t see the overall picture 4

10. I make sure I find conditions for studying which let me get on with my work easily 1

11. When I look back, I sometimes wonder why I ever decided to come here 4

12. I seem to be able to grasp things for myself pretty well on the whole 4

13. I try to relate ideas I came across to other topics or other courses whenever possible 2

14. I put a lot of effort into making sure I have the most important details at my fingertips 2

15. Coming here wasn’t really my choice: more other people’s expectations and no
obvious alternative 2

16. I don’t usually have much difficulty in making sense of new information or ideas 2

17. Sometimes I worry about whether I’ll ever be able to cope with the work properly 4

18. I organise my study time carefully to make the best use of it 3

19. When I’m reading an article or book, I try to work out for myself exactly what’s
being said 1

20. I spend quite a lot of time repeating or copying out things to help me remember them 2

21. I know what I want to get out of this course and I’m determined to achieve it 4

22. Often I find myself reading things without really trying to understand them 4

23. I usually set out to understand for myself the meaning of what we have to learn 4

24. I’m not really sure what’s important, so I try to get down just as much as I can in
Lectures 1

25. I work hard when I’m studying and generally manage to keep my mind on what I’m
Doing 5

26. When I’m working on a new topic, I try to see in my own mind how all the ideas fit
together 2

27. I find I have to concentrate on memorising a good deal of what I have to learn 1

28. It’s important to me to feel I’m doing as well as I really can on the courses here 4

29. Ideas in course books or articles often set me off on long chains of thought about
what I’m reading 1

30. I rather drifted into higher education without deciding for myself what I really wanted
to do 5

31. I think I’m quite systematic and organised in the way I go about studying 4

32. When I’m reading, I examine the details carefully to see how they fit in with what’s
being said 2

33. I often seem to panic if I get behind with my work 4

34. I generally try to make good use of my time during the day 5

35. It’s important to me to be able to follow the argument or see the reasoning behind
something 2

36. I think I’m on this course more to please other people than because I really wanted
it myself 1

37. I work steadily throughout the course, rather than leaving everything until the last
minute 5

38. I look at the evidence carefully and then try to reach my own conclusion about things
I’m studying 2




Personal profile of your individual approach to learning

Now, look back at the Questionnaire on Approaches to Learning and Studying then select the same number that you chose in the questionnaire.

Do not alter your original response. A pattern of your learning profile should soon emerge by looking where you scored the most 4s and 5s.


DEEP APPROACH to learning

LOOKING FOR MEANING
23. I usually set out to understand for myself the meaning of what we have to learn 4

19. When I’m reading an article or book, I try to work out for myself exactly what’s
being said 1

ACTIVE INTEREST/CRITICAL STANCE
5. Sometimes I find myself thinking about ideas from the course when I’m doing
other things 1

1. I’m not prepared just to accept things I’m told: I have to think them out for myself 4

RELATING AND ORGANISING IDEAS
13. I try to relate ideas I came across to other topics or other courses whenever
possible 2

26. When I’m working on a new topic, I try to see in my own mind how all the ideas fit
together 2

29. Ideas in course books or articles often set me off on long chains of thought about
what I’m reading 1

USING EVIDENCE AND LOGIC
38. I look at the evidence carefully and then try to reach my own conclusion about
things I’m studying 2

32. When I’m reading, I examine the details carefully to see how they fit in with what’s
being said 2

35. It’s important to me to be able to follow the argument or see the reasoning behind
something 2


SURFACE APPROACH to learning

RELYING ON MEMORISING
27. I find I have to concentrate on memorising a good deal of what I have to learn 1

20. I spend quite a lot of time repeating or copying out things to help me remember
them 2

DIFFICULTY IN MAKING SENSE
22. Often I find myself reading things without really trying to understand them 4

6. I often have trouble in making sense of the things I have to remember 2

UNRELATEDNESS
9. Although I can remember facts and details, I often can’t see the overall picture 4

24. I’m not really sure what’s important, so I try to get down just as much as I can in
lectures 1

CONCERN ABOUT COPING
17. Sometimes I worry about whether I’ll ever be able to cope with the work properly 4

3. Often I feel I’m drowning in the sheer amount of material we’re having to cope
with on this course 4

33. I often seem to panic if I get behind with my work 4

7. Often I lie awake worrying about work I think I won’t be able to do 2


STRATEGIC APPROACH to learning

DETERMINATION TO EXCEL
28. It’s important to me to feel I’m doing as well as I really can on the courses here 4

21. I know what I want to get out of this course and I’m determined to achieve it 4

EFFORT IN STUDYING
14. I put a lot of effort into making sure I have the most important details at my
fingertips 2

25. I work hard when I’m studying and generally manage to keep my mind on what
I’m doing 5

ORGANISED STUDYING
10. I make sure I find conditions for studying which let me get on with my work easily 1

2. One way or another I manage to get hold of books or whatever I need for studying 2

31. I think I’m quite systematic and organised in the way I go about studying 7

TIME MANAGEMENT
18. I organise my study time carefully to make the best use of it 3

34. I generally try to make good use of my time during the day 5

37. I work steadily throughout the course, rather than leaving everything until the
last minute 5


LACK OF DIRECTION
30. I rather drifted into higher education without deciding for myself what I really
wanted to do 5

36. I think I’m on this course more to please other people than because I really
wanted it myself 1

11. When I look back, I sometimes wonder why I ever decided to come here 4

15. Coming here wasn’t really my choice: more other people’s expectations and no
obvious alternative 2


ACADEMIC SELF-CONFIDENCE
4. So far, I seem to have a good grasp of the subjects I am studying 3

8. Generally, I find the set work easy to do 2

16. I don’t usually have much difficulty in making sense of new information or ideas 2

12. I seem to be able to grasp things for myself pretty well on the whole 4

Artefact: One Evaluation Submitted Online

Artefact: One shows broadcast news from the early 1980s. A particular news story had been chosen and this artefact attempted to show how the news article would have been produced in the early 1980s.

The artefact was filmed (due to the university not having the correct equipment) using an S-VHS camera and edited using a ‘crash editing’ technique, which involved playing the recorded footage on one VHS player and editing the footage onto another VHS player.
In an exact replica, the footage would have been recorded on reversal stock using Beta High Band video tape and a Beta SP camera, and edited manually using physical splicing. Audio would have been recorded from a separate magnetic film and edited in sync.

The role of the news gatherer returning the story to the news room, involved the news gatherer having to hand the article in by hand to the office.

The editing of the footage was very difficult. If a mistake was made on the edit, it would usually result in having to re-start the edit in its entirety from the beginning, this was because it was be too difficult to edit over already edited footage in sync. This meant that the time taken to edit the news story was a very lengthy process, because when mistakes were made, starting from the beginning added a lot of time. It took 150 minutes to edit the article.

This could have meant the production of better news articles as the content of the story was planned and predefined in extreme detail during the pre-production phase.

The news was held in an extremely high regard in this period. The news would be broadcast only a couple of times in the evening, and people would plan their evenings around the news in order to watch it. The news was one of the most popular programmes on television, as it presented the actual current news and was one of the only mediums it could be seen.

Filming Interview with Client Confirmed (AGAIN)

Filming in light of today's events has once again been confirmed for AN interview for the client of this project.

Filming will commence at 11:00 on Friday, 7th March.

Fortunately, I just had to bite the bullet and explain the situation for the client's PA, who passed me on to the client, and after doing so another interview was agreed to.

Filming The First Interview - Disaster Strikes!

The first interview to be filmed was with the client of this project.

The interview was filmed in the trophy room at the City Ground, and whilst there were two large tables which were not going to be moved, space was found for the interviewee to sit in front of the Trophy cabinet, which was very aesthetically pleasing through the camera.

The interview seemingly went well, the questions were answered very directly and with a broad amount of knowledge and precision in each answer.

HOWEVER... upon arriving back to my property, the camera was attached to the computer ready to capture the footage taken from this interview, and a very disturbing error is noticed.

The footage appears to have thick black lines all across the picture, and along with the picture being jittery, the audio is very stop / start.



Unable to understand what has happened, I contact the crew that came with on the shoot, and it was agreed that the equipment appeared to be working on location, and we are unable to determine what had happened to the footage.

A visit into University was in order to see the technician from whom the equipment was received. the footage is once more attempting to be captured (this time directly from the DV tape onto the computer) it becomes apparent that there is no way this will be achieved successfully, and it is decided that the camera is at fault and was faulty.

This is an absolute disaster!!

Whilst the university has rightly accepted responsibility for supplying faulty equipment (which appeared to be in working order when it was picked up), this has potentially ruined the client project for me, and has at the very best, set the project completion date back.

Contact will be made with the client's PA right away, and it will become apparent if another interview will be able to take place with my client, with deadlines running ever closer...

Artefact: Three Evaluation Submitted Online

Artefact: Three shows broadcast news moving into the digital age. With the news story remaining the same, this artefact attempted to see what impact digital technology had on making the news.

The artefact was recorded using a Digital Video camera, and edited using non-linear editing on a computer.

DV Cameras were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors, this allowed some filming of places that were previously not assessable or plausible. This also altered the role of a news gatherer, who where now becoming increasing expected to use the technology to produce their own news report, whilst previously a larger crew would be in control of the equipment with the news reporter only being involved on camera.

The main finding for this artefact was that the time taken to edit the footage using non-linear editing was considerably less than the first two artefacts edited using linear editing. The main time saver during the editing process was that if a mistake was made during the editing, as opposed to starting again with the edit, by just manoeuvring other footage elsewhere on the timeline, the mistake can be corrected without re-starting.

The different clips within this news report run smoother than in the previous artefacts, however the first two artefacts were produced in a variation to how they would have been produced at that time.
Digital technology made it possible for the news gatherer (whilst on location), to send the recorded footage back to the newsroom via satellite transmission devices, this was more convenient for the news gatherer as opposed to previously having to hand the hard copy of the news article into the news room by hand.

The artefact could have focussed more on the difference of specific roles within the news making process, this would of lead to a greater in depth and broader understanding of how digital technology changed the whole news process for individual roles as opposed to the technological process of the main news making process.

Key Strengths

1. A key strength for me is...
My audio production skills shown with the podcasts produced and the audience

A source of feedback that supports this is...
The audience figures email feedback and comments about the shows

Specific quotations include...
“A very professional podcast”, “A much needed and impressive podcast”, both from the audience

This relates to the following area of knowledge and skills:
Audio software, Creativity, Production, Organisation


2. A key strength for me is...
My video editing skills

A source of feedback that supports this is...
The comments I received from my client project

This relates to the following area of knowledge and skills:
Premier Pro CS3, Creativity, Decisiveness, Production, Organisation


3. A key strength for me is...
Organisation and documenting the working processes

A source of feedback that supports this is...
Handing in all work in on time or before the deadline and the end product of my online journal

This relates to the following area of knowledge and skills:
Organisation, Time management

Conversation with Tales of Robin Hood Contact

This being the day after I met a contact at The Tales of Robin Hood, I decided to get back in contact with Matt just to speak to him in a little more detail about what I was in need of for my project, and to see if he was as suitable as first thought.

It turns out Matt's vast knowledge of the (his) city of Nottingham has lead to him running city tours in the near distance future, which he is calibrating with the local council. Not only is he very much suited for this job, his clear passion for the city will make others as excited about the city as he is...and the very best of luck to him on this new venture!!

The discussion also lead to me finding out he is the drummer in a local music band called the 13th hour. I was given the band's MySpace page to listen to their music, and after doing so, I was very impressed with their music, so much so that I feel some of it might well be suitable for the project.

After speaking to a fellow band member who was present with him, they agreed that if I did decide to use any of the music for my project, that there would be no problem at all, and they would be delighted if their music was used.

The music would obviously be credited, and it has been kindly offered that if music was required without the lyrics, that could be done as well for me.

Filming at Nottingham Playhouse

The next location to be filmed was The Tales of Robin Hood.



This venue is all indoor, and the lighting is not great but at the same time cannot be boosted or altered, so it had to make do.



The Tales of Robin Hood is a big walk through exhibition of all things Robin Hood.



A lot of Robin Hood memorabilia and artefacts were on display, everything from movie posters, to clothing and even a collection of Robin Hood music.





The exhibition tied quite closely to Nottingham Castle, and with one shot taken inparticular will be used and linked with the Nottingham Castle Footage. This was a close up pan shot of a model of Nottingham Castle from yester year...



After filming had ended, I got speak to an employee at the venue, and after describing my project and why I was filming, he embarked on telling me of his love of the city, and many facts and information about the city. What was being said was very interesting, so much so that I decided to ask if he would be willing to let me interview him for the project, and he was more than willing to oblige.

The interview will commence at 12pm on Sunday, 9th March.

Filming at Nottingham Playhouse

The next location to be filmed was Nottingham Playhouse.



On arrival, I was earlier instructed to go to the Stage Door entrance which I did, and then speaking to the receptionist, it was a case of signing into the arrival book, and receiving a badge which enabled me to roam around the concourse in the building.



Filming continued around the limited access I was granted to inside of the building.



After signing out and handing the badge back into the Stage Door reception, filming of outside the impressive building was done.

Filming Confirmed at The Tales of Robin Hood

Filming today has been confirmed at The Tales of Robin Hood. Filming will take places from within the building and exhibitions, and the manager of the Tales of Robin Hood has kindly agreed to waive the entrance fee.

The manager also kindly allowed me to have a look around the building just to get an idea of what shots would be needed, and the feasibility of the filming.

Filming will commence at 11am Saturday, 23rd February.

Filming at East Midlands Airport

The next location to be filmed was East Midlands Airport.



Unfortunately no filming of inside the terminal or any part of the airport were permitted, so shots were recorded from outside of the buildings.



The weather was very poor, and it was extremely windy which meant the time taken to record good footage was increased.

Filming Confirmed of Trams

Filming today has been confirmed of trams ‘in motion’. Trams will be recorded as part of the travel section of the promotional video, and will be merged of artistic impressions of the extension of the tram lines.

Filming can commence at any stage, but will coincide with the interview with the client at 11 am Wednesday 27th February.

Filming at Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem

The next location to be filmed was the country’s oldest Inn; Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem.



Unfortunately the inside of the public house was too dark to film, and rather than take in lighting equipment, which would of been quite hazardous due to the small width of the building, it was decided that filming would commence only of the outside of the building.



The weather was freezing, but this did add a little ambience within the shots on camera, as the background looked very fresh.

Filming Robin Hood

The famous Robin Hood statue which is featured on the regional BBC news and is recognised throughout the city, was recorded on the walk to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem.

Filming at Nottingham Arena

The next location to be filmed was Nottingham Arena.

Filming within the main arena itself was not permitted, so therefore the main filming from inside the arena was of the Ice Rink next to the main arena hall.

The first shot was to be taken from a raised balcony central above one end of the ice rink, however there was a protective net in front of the camera, so it was decided to film from another position.



The main shot of the ice rink was from a more side on position, and at a level closer to the ice.



In the literally freezing weather conditions outside, a pan shot was taken of the outside of the Arena.

Filming Confirmed at Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem

Filming today has been confirmed at the worlds oldest inn; ye Old Trip to Jerusalem. Filming will be done of the outside of the building.

Filming will commence tomorrow at 13:00 (on Wednesday, 19th February).

Filming Confirmed at Nottingham Arena

Filming today has been confirmed at Nottingham Arena, filming will be done of the outside of the main entrance to the building, and from within the building.

Filming will commence tomorrow at 12:00 (on Wednesday, 6th February).

Filming Confirmed with Client

Filming today has been confirmed at Nottingham Forest, filming will be of an interview with the Client of this project.

Filming will commence at 11:00 on Wednesday, 27th February.

Filming Confirmed at Nottingham Playhouse

Filming today has been confirmed at Nottingham's Playhouse, filming will be done of the outside of the building, and from within the concourse, filming within the auditorium is not permitted.

Filming will commence at 09:00 on Saturday, 23rd February.

Work Experience

Filming at Nottingham Castle

The next location to be filmed was Nottingham Castle.

The first shots were taken from outside looking onto the exterior of Nottingham Castle.





This position was the best angle to shoot the exterior of the castle from, as there was a wide area which could be moved around on, and the whole castle would fit in centrally of the shot.



After the shots were taken from this position, shots were taken from the other side of the castle by the entrance.

Shots were also taken from inside of the castle, which will not be displayed in the public domain.

Filming at Town Hall

The first location to be filmed at was Town Hall on Market Square.

The first shots upon arriving at Town Hall were taken from outside the balcony, overlooking market square.



The view from the balcony is a very clear one Market Square, and the weather on day of the shoot was perfect.



The one problem with the day of shooting, was that Nottingham's equivalent to the London Eye (One third of the size) had been erected in the middle of Market Square, and it was a bit of an eye saw.



Being director of the shoot, it was imperil to get the right shots from the balcony.



The assistant camera man for the shoot, was very necessary, and was useful for a second opinion on what shots should be done from the balcony.



After shots from the balcony onto Market Square, shots were taken from inside of Town Hall, which will not be displayed in the public domain.

Filming Confirmed at St Pancras International

Filming today has been confirmed at St Pancras International, filming will be done of the outside of the building and from within the building.

St Pancras International is being filmed for it's strong links with worldwide travel and close links with Nottingham and East Midlands trains.

Filming will commence at 13:00 on Friday, 29th February.