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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Aug 14, 2013 9:45:58 GMT
I'm curious, given the cross-section of Radio and TV grads and virtual series folks and all other disciplines: what production skills do you have, and which would you like to cultivate? Myself: I did a four-year course in Radio and TV, but abhorred the technical classes, so... technically I can work a Panasonic HMC 150 (with studying the old Operating Tutorial I have saved), a basic Marantz audio recorder, software like Sony Vegas and some Pro Tools / Final Cut Pro / Adobe Premiere. I can do the very basics of running a sound board for live podcasting thanks to my and snowy2004's live show at uni. I'm a fair hand at basic Photoshop. I think that's pretty much it; will add more if I think of it. You guys?
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Post by Megan MacKay on Aug 16, 2013 5:33:11 GMT
I'm really, really excellent at getting coffee and wearing power blazers.
But seriously, I'm equally shaky in everything RJ said (we did the same program.) I'm pretty confident I could edit someone's middle school media studies project on Final Cut. My thesis project was an animation done in Flash so I could probably make something equally remedial there...
Andddd I just realized I'm unemployable. Excellent.
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Post by Chris Davis on Aug 23, 2013 21:19:09 GMT
My college experience was a great one in terms of getting the opportunity to explore various regions of film/video production. I was a Television Writing and Producing major, but the curriculum was designed to allow students to learn about more than their chosen field. Good thing too, because nowadays, successful people in the industry rarely only do, or are rarely only capable of doing, one thing.
Aside from the writing and producing side, I was able to work in a studio, both on the floor as a member of the crew (operating cameras, building sets, setting up lights), as well as up in the control room (working the sound board, video switcher, character generator, etc...) I even got to sit in the director's chair a few times, however, it wasn't for me. At least not in live broadcast-type situations. It's a high pressure job, for sure. Still, it was a lot of fun, and a great experience.
Editing is another skill I was able to take away. Being able to learn programs like Sony Vegas and Final Cut Pro. I had the opportunity to work on an Avid system recently, which was pretty great.
I think, in the future, I would mostly like to direct more narrative projects. Short films and web series mostly. I did a few in college. (none of which I'm confident enough to show off at this point. haha!) But I love storyboarding and working with actors. I should be getting a new camera before 2014, so I'm sure I'll start working on a few things soon thereafter.
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Aug 27, 2013 4:03:32 GMT
Chris Davis, that sounds a lot like the program Megan and I were in! In our first year we learned crazy-diverse skills, like running a studio shoot, shooting in the field (lights, sound, direction, etc.), digital media stuff (from social media to Flash to basic website building). Then starting in 2nd year we were encouraged to define our chosen path a bit more, and I narrowed in entirely on screenwriting. I don't regret it, because no matter how many classes I take I'm going to be useless with the tech side, but I'm pretty jealous of those who picked up a whole skillset by the end of things. I only ever directed once or twice, and it was absolutely nerve-wracking. I hated it, because I hate any sort of time crunch / moving pieces work. But... I think, if I could do it enough to get comfortable with it, I'd like to pursue it more. I write in a pretty visual manner, so I like to think I'd do okay in the director's chair once I strengthen those muscles, and I don't mind what I did produce in uni. I mean, they were terrible, but decent for a 1st- and 2nd-time director, I think. So who knows, maybe I'll try it again.
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on May 31, 2014 20:32:45 GMT
The skills I next want to work on: producing and directing.
I feel like I've got some producer-y skills in me already. A lot of a producer's job is management of people and paperwork, and I'm a fair hand at these things. Being lead organiser for things like Compass and The Signal has gotten me much more comfortable with being organised and working on a timeline. My role as panelist liaison on a webseries panel I helped organise earlier this year felt like it needed a few of the same skills a producer needs, too. I'm keen to start stretching these muscles in anticipation of taking on some production responsibilities on one of my projects.
And directing... While I still believe that there is an absolute value in the writer and director of a project being different people bringing different POVs to the project (and thus making it, hopefully, deeper and more complex), I also know that there are times when a writer wants to have a greater level of control on a piece, like Whedon taking the helm on the uber-personal The Body episode. Even just being able to communicate with directors will be important. I don't have much under my belt in this arena, so I'm looking to do some zero-budget stuff in the next year that will allow me to somewhat develop this skillset.
How about you guys - any skills you're looking to develop in the next while?
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