In this week of Zephyr, our group was able to submit the assignment on time with all of the required work in the A1 folder. We were able to have a better understanding of folder organisation in class for the other assignments but also how a production company would organise their work too. 

The main objective of our next assignment is to design a production workflow inorder to get us ready for our final video assignment. My understanding of a video production workflow is a document that gives a step to step guide of what we need to bring to the shoot, how to use the camera equipment, different tests with images and more. The objective is for the production team to be better prepared for the shoot as well as understand their roles and responsibilities. Additionally, the team benefits from this because tasks are in sequence, errors are minimised and the client brief is successfully fulfilled. A VPW can come in many forms; use slides, a word document or a cloud, as shown by the examples in class from previous students.   

We were taught the importance of the testing process. This was highlighted by the Roger Deakins Blade Runner video breakdown by Angus Davies. This video helped me understand the complexities needed in completing a movie, such as equipment, lighting, planning ahead, problem solving, sound design, artistic vision and even a bit of engineering. Although a movie is high production, there were many takeaways we could apply to our small scale group project. One takeaway is to plan ahead. Deakins uses different shots to allude to an emotion that the character is experiencing. In order to show this he needed to understand the storyline, the character’s feelings in the moment and portray that through his cinematography. This is why a VPW is an important step in the process. 

In regards to the second studio we were able to practise more practical skills around the FX3, more than just audio but video skills. The ‘Digital Cinematography Techniques with the Sony FX3’ Cheat sheet was very useful to me because it helped me put meaning to the different camera settings that I knew of but never fully understood; frame rates, white balance, exposure and aperture.

We were able to see other student video portraits which gave us an example of what our work could look like but also how we could improve our own. For example audio levels in some works fluctuate from high to low and therefore we need to focus on getting an even audio level. 

Overall, a very successful week of both practical and theory skills helping me understand the importance of a VPW.