Newsnight work experience

by

Since finishing my MA International Journalism from University College Falmouth in August I have been busy with plans for my next trip to Cambodia and some very interesting work experience at the BBC.

BBC Newsnight is the BBC’s premiere feature- length news programme and I was very honoured to get the chance to go and experience working there for a two week period. Just being in Television Centre was exciting for me!

I was on the planning desk and involved with calling in guests for upcoming shows, as well as speaking to certain long-standing politicians/ figures that were highly sought after for the programme. The team was really energetic and fun, and the feel in the office was relatively layed back – considering the pressure that was involved in putting the programme together each day.

In the second week I was lucky enough to sit in with the edits of some of the short films that are featured on Newsnight and see some of the training that I picked up on my masters course being put to use in a working environment. I completed my Health & Safety assesment and was then allowed out filming on location with the film team which was great, and the best part was seeing the journey from cameraman to completion and being aired on the programme the very next day. A fast turn around – but totally worth it!!

The piece I was watching in on was about the cleaning staff working in some of the top hotels during the Olympics in London. If you have not yet seen it, it is well worth a watch.

And finally… here are some pictures I took of Television Centre, during the day and as I left in the taxi after the live show one night.

PCDT – Penwith volunteer bureau

by

Catherine Feltham and myself spent this last year filming, directing and editing a series of 6 short films for Penwith Community Development Trust in Cornwall.

The next three blog posts will show you the finished videos for the final 3 sectors…

Penwith volunteer bureau

Penwith Volunteer Bureau from Emma Fry on Vimeo.

PCDT – Community organisers

by

Catherine Feltham and myself spent this last year filming, directing and editing a series of 6 short films for Penwith Community Development Trust in Cornwall.

The next three blog posts will show you the finished videos for the final 3 sectors…

Community organisers

PCDT Community organisers from Emma Fry on Vimeo.

PCDT – Skills, employment and training

by

Catherine Feltham and myself spent this last year filming, directing and editing a series of 6 short films for Penwith Community Development Trust in Cornwall.

The next three blog posts will show you the finished videos for the final 3 sectors…

Skills, employment and training

PCDT Skills, Employment and Training from Emma Fry on Vimeo.

#19 Cambodia – The Female Bomb Disposal Teams of Cambodia

by

And with one final push the MA is over!! Here is the culmination of all of my work over the year. 3 weeks of filming in Cambodia, 3 weeks of editing in Cornwall and a fair amount of emotion went into this, so I hope you enjoy.

I am now also editing a 3 minute version of the documentary for One World Media, so if there are any sections you feel would definitely be good to use in this please let me know 🙂

Special thnaks go to Cambodian Mine Action Centre and Cambodian Self Hep Demining for letting me film with them and being so accomodating whilst I was out in Cambodia.

#17 Cambodia – Angkor Wat time lapse

by

The editing is now well under way for my 20 minute documentary, and I really wanted to show some of the beauty of Cambodia without giving anything away for the final piece… so here it is, a brief insight into Cambodia, through the famous Angkor Wat temple at sunrise.

I would just like to point out that this was after the Euro 2012 football match which saw England beaten, so no sleep and a struggle to get in location before sunrise… I’m quite pleased with the result.

#16 Cambodia – what is a documentary?

by

So I’ve been researching the theory of documentary quite a lot recently for my Critical Review, and because (to be quite honest) before this module I really didn’t know that much about documentary at all and I’m making my own, I feel I should really get to grips with the basics before embarking on the practical side of things!!

I stumbled across this sliderocket presentation in my research and found it really good. I think its written for film students or something similar. It’s easy to follow, clear and concise – just how I like my film facts. There is no fancy ‘film- buff jargon’ to get confused by, so to any documentary novices out there who are considering making their own… I strongly recommend giving this presentation a read… Basic Documentary Genres

#15 Cambodia – music is key

by

I have done a lot of research into documentary style and content now, and one thing stands out to me immediately – music is key.

Get the right music, and the feel of the story is captured perfectly, the documentary flows and the characters are felt. Often in this case the music is barely noticed, but it would impact hugely if taken away.

Get the wrong music and the content is lost. Nothing else can really be absorbed or taken in. The wrong music gives the wrong feel to your images and can often misrepresent a story entirely.

So this is the challenge I am faced with… I want to use music quite significantly in my piece, but I am not a musical person at heart. I want the sound to carry through the piece, lifting a sequence when personal stories are told, and allowing for silence of words when poignant images are shown. I feel often words are used too much in documentaries and I do not want to fall into this trap, but at the same time, without the right music I may have to…

So now I must search. For comms free music with a Cambodian feel. Any suggestions are greatly welcomed!

And the stage I am currently at… story – boarding all of my shots on little pieces of paper on the floor (it’s all about walking through the ideas in your head in a physical way, even if it does look a bit amateur).