Ready Camera One

In my own studio Ready Camera One, ‘Are you Smart Even?’ was able to effectively combine the genres of comedy and game show to create a rigged game show to ensure the success of one participant, and the failure of another participant. I believe the group, Emman, Alice, Cassie, Connor, Max, Jacky, George and Kawai made excellent use of the studio space as they employed coloured lighting to communicate the correct and incorrect answers. Through effective staging and planning, they were able to position the light of the studio perfectly on participants to effectively recreate the game show lighting conventions we have seen before. This was particularly impressive at the time as it was a skill we really hadn’t been taught yet.

What I believe was the strongest success of the show was the writing and team communication. The host, Connor, and the rest of the team hid the concept from Charlie and myself until the final take, producing real life reactions to understanding that the show was rigged. In rehearsals, the monitor showing Emman’s expertly made graphics was hidden from us contestants to ensure not to spoil the show. However, in the final take, it was vital that Charlie and I were able to see this monitor for the ‘what is worth more’ segment as the questions relied heavily on the representation of the object presented to the audience (which is shown on the screen). Upon reflection, the coordination between the team mates to ensure this ran smoothly was well executed as they were able to use the studio space to their advantage in unison to keep Charlie and I in the dark.

The ‘live’ nature of our studio productions was expertly demonstrated with ‘Mr Matchmaker’ and the idea that the show must go on. In the show description, the production crew acknowledge that there were imperfections in their taping. I felt this adaptability was key to the studio’s success as it was vital to complete the task in the final take. Maya, Aileen, Sabrina, Liz, Fraser, Simon, Erika, and Tessa’s show was hilarious with many characters breaking character, and with many technical difficulties, however the resilience and commitment to the ‘Live production’ is something I admire. 

Moreover, much like ‘Are You Smart Even’, the crew of Mr Matchmaker were able to employ many set pieces to aid in the communication of the ‘dating show’ genre. The divider used to separate the contestants was perfectly aligned with the multi camera set up to ensure for audiences, it felt like two separate spaces, despite having the contestants on the same stage. I felt that using the mostly one sided perspective of the multi camera setup to create the illusion of separate spaces demonstrated impressive ingenuity and adequate application of conventions and key studio aims.

 

Media Bodies

The studio ‘Media Bodies’ seems to reflect ideas of nostalgia and the idea that sensations can inform media and vice versa. ‘Memories of Movement’ (part one) provides audiences with a voice, face and a blank canvas to allow audiences to imagine the stories the interviewees tell in rich detail. It reminds me of a sensory deprivation tank… anyways! 

In part two, images of what the interviewees describe was superimposed onto the original interview. I felt that their exploration into movement and memories changed as I was supplied with a visual. This version did not feel as authentic nor was there very much room for me to interpret their passion and raw emotion as I did in part one. I believe that a lack of visuals allows audiences to project their own memories onto the stories being presented.

The consequential viewing of parts one and two informed my reading of part three, which provided audiences with visuals representing the stories only. I was able to clearly imagine their testimony to important moments and the sensations they felt in that moment. It was a well constructed experiment into how the mind and body can remember sensations and replicate it when prompted later. I really enjoyed this work by Ruby, Maddie, Finn and Shiloh.

The work ‘Nostalgic Touch’ speaks to the idea that one physical sensation can mean different things to different people. Zoe, Heidi and Filip produced a short consisting of interviews, similar to the previous group’s work. ‘Nostalgic Touch’ presents audiences with a football and explores what the football means to three different characters. The sensations the football created in each of the three interviewees prompted a different representation of the object. This work was an interesting exploration (in my interpretation) of how each item or media work can be understood differently by audiences as they are always going to bring their own interpretation and past experiences to the table.

 

By Olivia Hough

~ 793 Words