Project Diary

Reflections

14/03/22 - Start of Fmp

Today I have been starting and developing my ideas for my final major project. I have decided on creating a news website that will focus on representation, this will help me create a link to my unit 12 report, which also focused on the representation in print and digital journalism. I also started my proposal, and action plan.

21/03/22

I have started my research on articles and developing the information I have. I researched typography and also looked at the colour schemes of Newspapers and Newsround. Throughout that research, I found that most of the newspapers looked at tended to have either blue, white or black for something. I think that this would be because blue and white are often seen as friendly or familiar colours, as they are also used for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Tumblr. For typography, I have found that ‘Serif’ and ‘Sans’ are also used on the websites for the newspapers.

25/03/22

Today I have changed some things on my project action plan, because I realised, I needed time to create the initial website itself. I also wanted more time to research, and investigate colour schemes, typography and other design aspects needed. Originally the plan was to start filming week commencing, the 28th of march, but after thinking about what exactly I needed to do, I did realise I'd probably need another week to find out more and prepare for the actual website. Now the plan is to start experimenting throughout half term, so that when we come back afterwards, I can just get started with filming, article writing and anything else such as evaluations.

I have also been creating logos for my website as well as settling on the name ‘The Manchester Journal’, I experimented as much as I could with my logos. However, as I am not familiar with photoshop I did start creating my logo’s using a website called Canva. I have been asked to put my logo into photoshop and take away the square that surrounds it, so I can develop my skills. I am feeling hopeful that my project will start to come together shortly.

30/03/22- 18/04/22 (easter half term)

Over Easter half term, I have been watching the news and keeping an eye on key stories I could use for my fmp. On the 12th of April on ITV Central news, a couple of stories caught my eye:

A Ukrainian refugee, named Bohdan Bilokur, being taken in by a man in Coventry

ITV Central West | Catch up on the latest programme for the West Midlands | ITV News Central

Even though this isn't what I planned, there are a lot of reasons why I wasn’t as productive as initially planned. Starting with my mum not wanting to be in the interview I was filming, which would cause issues with the consent forms, I also wasn’t able to get to Manchester over the holidays to film with any of my friends.

I did manage to start the layout of my website but got stuck because I have had a lot of problems with the colour schemes of my logo.

26/04/22

Today, I filmed experiments. I am not familiar with the cameras, so I started with trying to make the footage focused. Eventually I was happy with it and began filming a short interview style video, I gave an article to each person to read before the video and then asked them their thoughts and opinions on the subject. After filming the footage, I realised it was over-saturated, but I am still happy with the overall footage, as I can now learn and play around with different settings.

Now I am more on track with my proposal, as it changed due to not knowing when half term ended. I should be able to film within a week or so.

29/04/22

After working on experiments, earlier in the week, I have begun to put myself back on track for my action plan. I do not have the footage yet, so I cannot edit it in the style I want too. I think that my project is slowly coming together but I will probably have less articles/videos than initially planned due to delay in filming experiments. I am hoping this will make the project a little bit more manageable overall, as now I should have around 6 videos/articles, instead of 8.

Bob- box of broadcast. Website to use footage from news, films etc.

03/05/22

I had a 1-1 with my tutor today, and we were discussing how I was going to go about filming my final major project, as I am struggling to find people to film as well as news stories that are based in just Manchester. I decided that I would change the meaning of The Manchester Journal’s name to make it so the ‘Manchester’ within it would mean where its written instead of where the news stories are based on. This way I am not limiting myself as much and I also don’t have to go back and change the name. As for the people I'm filming, I can still focus on representation as that is the aim for my project, but I can have slightly more freedom with who I film for different reasons. We also talked about what subjects I would put on my website, and I settled on news, opinion, entertainment, games and possibly lifestyle.

I would say I am now back on schedule as I have an idea of what I am going to film.

06/05/22

I began experimenting with the camera even more, using settings such as iso and aperture. Although both photos are very dark, the second photo is a lot better than the first and also did look brighter on the camera itself. This has been a learning curve for me as a few weeks ago I barely knew how to record.

I recorded short clips so I could use the focus, iso and aperture features of the camera. I found this quite difficult as at this point, I wasn’t using a tripod, so I was holding the camera at the same time as pressing buttons, and surprisingly trying not to drop an expensive camera is difficult to do. However, with slightly more practise, I got used to multitasking with the buttons, and it has developed a little more, as you can see in the footage with Liz.

I then went on to start filming the actual footage, for my fmp. The process started well, and I managed to set up the tripod and camera. I recorded a short interview but then realised after I had stopped filming that I hadn't set up the rode mic. Luckily the camera has its own audio, and although it is echo-y and has a clock ticking in the background, I think the audio will be good enough and will just have to be lowered so it doesn’t peak the speakers/headphones.

After recording the first interview, I then went on to record the second one. This time with a rode mic, but after attempting to press record I found that it didn’t work, this then resulted in me running back upstairs to get a new SD card. I was on a time limit as the camera’s battery was also due to die and I was filming before lunch.

Eventually, I managed to get a SD card that would work, and I went back downstairs to record again, with better audio, or so I thought. When reviewing the audio recording, I found that it didn’t start recording the audio as planned, but I still think the footage is usable, just without the better audio. From this I have learnt to check the equipment before recording and to make sure I have enough time to record.

Finally, I think that I have managed to put myself on track with my schedule, I have officially started filming and I can start writing articles/reviews. I might not get as many videos as I planned originally, but I do think that some articles may be okay without one, for example: Games.

13/05/22

Over the weekend I am planning on filming my introductions for my Newsround inspired videos. I borrowed a camera and rode microphone off the college and I'm going to be filming at home so I can have help sorting the camera from my mum. I have a New York themed room divider, that I am planning to use as the background for the video as the room I'm filming in doesn’t have much blank space on the walls.

14/05/22 (Saturday)

I spent the morning setting up the DSLR camera I had brought home the previous day. I used my own tripod, but it didn’t really fit the camera, so I had to find a work around and ended up using this extension that was a small ball with a flat bit that holds the camera. I tried my best to get the camera to sit level, but because of the ball, it kept moving no matter how much I tightened the extension.

After getting the tripod set up, I realised it wouldn’t hold the camera if I had it at its full height. This was because the tripod pole gets thinner the higher it goes, probably because it's made for a ring light and phones and not a heavy camera. So, this required me to use the tripod at its shortest height and on the coffee table, so it was high enough to be aimed at my face.

I began to set the background up, using the New York divider I talked about previously, we set it up so that you could see the background. The natural lighting from the windows was shining through the gaps of the divider so we tried to straighten it out as much as we could without it falling over. I also brough a chair in so I had something to sit down on, as I am almost taller than the divider and because of the tripod issue. I also had to teach my mum different how to focus the camera as she knew even less about it then I did. So once that was done, I wrote my script and started filming.

Between filming and setting up, we were waiting for deliveries, so to minimise disruption I tried to wait until stuff been delivered. Whilst we were waiting, my mum came up with the idea of printing my website logo off to display behind me, to make it so that the Empire State Building was covered as it was in the background and to also make it known that it is ‘The Manchester Journal’.

After reviewing the footage on both the camera and my laptop, I did think that the footage was a bit dark, and a little far from perfect, but I didn't really have much option because by this point it was late in the day and we had other things to do.

17/05/22

After reflecting on the footage, I have realised that it doesn’t look that great. I have made plans to refilm on Thursday (19th) in the studio, with the proper lighting, cameras, tripod etc. It is better to do it at college because then I will not have to take all the equipment home on public transport. Even though I would prefer to film at home, I don’t have the ideal space to film or the easily accessible equipment. As we only have 2 weeks left, I am a lot more stressed after today because now I have to redo everything and have even more to do.

I have also prepared to do an interview with one of my mum’s colleagues, so hopefully that will go well. I only have 30 minutes to film so I’m hoping that it will be straight forward.

19/05/22

Today I re-filmed the footage, that I had filmed at home, in the studio. I also used the green screen that is in the studio which is something I have been wanting to learn for a long time. After looking at the footage it is a lot better quality and looks more professional. Editing is going to start on Tuesday 24th May and should be completed on or before Friday 27th May. After editing is complete, articles on the same stories asked about in the videos, will be written and will be released not long after.

24/05/22

I have been looking at the footage I filmed with the green screen, and I have added in my logo in the background, I think there is a big difference between what I filmed at home and the edited version of what I filmed in the studio.

One of my classmates, Elizabeth, offered to help edit the videos I had filmed, so that is now edited as well. This means that my project is getting very close to being done.

27/05/22

Today is the release of the first article with a video. A YouTube channel has been made specifically for ‘The Manchester Journal’ and that is where the video will be uploaded too.

30/05/22

I have 3 articles with videos releasing this week, the last ones. The reaction has been positive, and some of them are doing better than others. I am happy the project is almost over, but I think it is something I want to continue in university.

20/05/22

After hearing about the rail strikes and it impacting me, I decided I needed to write an article about it on The Manchester Journal. During my research to find an article on it, I found a BBC news article. After reading it and writing my own article, I noticed a ‘Get in Touch’ option on the article. So, I entered my information and not long after, I received an email, asking if I'd be willing to do an interview. Now I am talking back and forth with a journalist to arrange an interview!!