Blog 1:

We formed teams and I am to be the producer of Team Digby. We got our first choice of plays, Lucy and I. The team got on with the casting while I was away. I have arranged a meeting with the team to go through everything tomorrow. I will see what still needs to be done for the pre-production and go from there.

Blog 2:

We got half an hour to play around in the recording studio to try out the different mics and how they would change the sound of the recording. For our play we need three different sounds:

1. Internal head voice sound for when Molly is having internal thoughts or speaking in her head

2. Internal texting voice sound for when Molly is texting Lucy

3. Bedroom sound for the dialogue between Molly and Lucy and their mum, as the play take place in Molly’s bedroom

We tested the microphones and found the best sounds for our settings. The internal head voice will be recorded in the booth to get a personal and enclosed sound. The internal texting voice will be recorded with the stereo mics with the flats around to get an outside but enclosed sound. Then the bedroom sound will be created just by using the stereo mics. We will create distance in the sound and the space of the bedroom by having the actors stand at different distances to the microphones.

As a team we then we went through the script and decided which setting would be used for which parts of the script. We split the lines in the script up in numbers to make it easier for the recording schedule. I then helped Geneva to make the recording schedule for the day of recording. I decided we will record the dialogue first in the stereo mic setting, the the internal text voice, then do the Molly’s internal thoughts at the end when she has warmed up. This is shown on the schedule. We will ask the actors to arrive at 9.30am to read through the script apart from the Young Man as he only has two lines, he will arrive at 11.30am. After this we went through the script and decided on some creative choices to do with sound effects and props etc. We have heard back from the actresses who are to play Molly and the Mother and they are happy to accept the roles. We are waiting on the other two. I need to make sure that everything that needs to happen before the recording day does, so will keep in contact with the rest of the team to make sure they are on top of their roles for example, the final script is ready to go, the catering and money for travel etc is ready to go for the day, that we have the props and final recording decisions have been made.

I have been liaising with Geneva regarding the actors. We still haven’t heard from the actors who are going to play, Lucy and the Young Man. I have reminded Geneva to let Jeremy know if we haven’t heard by 8pm tonight (Tuesday 20/02/2018).

Blog 3:

We are are one week away from recording day. As producer it is my role to make sure we deliver the final product. This means I must liaise with the rest of the group to make sure they are all prepared, and most of all, happy to go with the recording. We had meetings with the tutors to discuss the final preparations and all feel excited to begin. Geneva heard back from the final two actors and has given them their call times and scripts. It has been suggested that we have ideas about back ups as they might cancel and I have thought about this and come up with a few names for the worse case scenario. I have spoken to Geneva and she is going to talk with the other groups about travel money reimbursements, and also to share all our pre production documents so the group can have a good look at them before the recording day. I have spoken to Yeliz to make sure the script is in the formatted order. We also will talk with the other group about what catering to bring, but we have decide do the usual tea, coffee, water and biscuits etc. As a group we feel completely prepared and we all know what our role and tasks will be on the day of recording. I shall keep checking in with the group throughout the week to check on preparations and to see how everyone is feeling and if there are any problems. I will also remind Geneva to check in with the actors the day before to see if they are prepared and have any questions. The most important thing is that we are a looking forward to it and are excited for the recording day.

Blog 4:

Recording has been postponed due to snow. This means we had to stand down our actors. When the new recording date is confirmed we may need to recast some of the actors due to availability.

Blog 5:

Our new recording date is March 16^th. Luckily the actors that are to play Molly and Lucy can make the new date. Two new actors that are to play the Mother and the Young Man have been found. Geneva has sent them the scripts and details. I think the team were all feeling a bit flat due to the cancellation. My job is to make sure everything is ready and everyone is prepared (and excited again!) for the new recording day.

Blog 6: – Recording day!

As I have stated before we were ready and prepared for the recording day. My job was to make sure everyone else’s jobs ran smoothly. I suggested that we met early on the day so we could make sure we had everything ready, the scripts, the schedule and the food and drink etc. We looked over the schedule so as to make sure we were prepared, marked up scripts and printed out the scripts for everyone.

The actors arrived on time I tried to make them feel comfortable before giving them their scripts. The read through went well and sounded just like I had imaged so I was anxious for the recording to begin. I also made sure that the writer was happy and comfortable and her tutor when she arrived.

I made sure everyone was happy with their roles. Dan the studio manager was recording and saving the clips to a folder so I could listen. Iona the director was the only one to talk to the actors and she did this in a extremely calm manner. Yeliz was in the studio helping to direct the actors. Geneva was marking the takes on the spreadsheet. My job was to oversee this all and make sure everyone was happy. We took three recordings of each scene. I was also listening to the uploaded clips to listen for any faults of drop outs. Through doing this I deduced that we needed to rerecord two of the scenes due to drop outs, so it was a good plan for us to be doing this. I also recorded this all on the spreadsheet to make the editing easier later on. The writer had few queries throughout the recording and we made sure she felt listened to and consulted. As producer I also helped make any final decisions on style, sound and recording.

We did lose a bit of time at the beginning of recording due to a microphone being the wrong height, but luckily due to our careful timing and planning we did manage to get all scenes in three different locations recorded on time, with clear sound and no drop outs.

I believe we all worked well as a team. We all spoke up when needed to about a decision and got the job done. My job as producer was to oversee everything and make sure everyone was happy and I believe I fulfilled this role as everyone left smiling.

Blog 7:

Today we had a debrief with Jeremy for our day of recording. The feedback was good and I felt true to how we felt as a group and how well we worked on the day of recording.

Dan had clipped up the audio and put it in order. We decided that we wanted to edit the first two scenes today to include the sound effects and music etc. I know as producer it is not strictly my job to help with the editing process, but as it is my responsibility for the delivery of the production as a whole, I want to be a part of the whole process and to make sure we deliver the best product that we can. So myself, Dan and Iona are working as a team to edit the piece. Dan is doing the actual editing on Audition, Iona is making decisions to do with the sound effects and music and I am generally overseeing and giving my input to do with the sound effects, music and the project a whole. We are working extremely well together and producing a piece of audio that we can be proud of. We finished scenes 1 – 3 today. I have also taken on the job of producing the presentation details form which I will get started on.

Blog 8:

Myself, Dan and Iona kept it touch while Dan has been editing the drama together. I had a listen to the first bounce of it and it sounded so good – just like we had all imagined it. As producer it is my job to to deliver the production as a whole from start to finish. I made sure everything was going to be in on time. I wrote the presentation sheet and asked for the other bits of paperwork from my team. Iona produced the music reporting form and Yeliz the three programme descriptions. Geneva designed a cover for the MP3 which was a really lovely touch. I am very pleased and proud of what we have produced and how we have worked as a team. I believe I fulfilled my role as producer and delivered a piece of audio that we can all be proud of.