British Museum

My school was chosen to take part in the unique experience of teaming up with an educational production company to produce a docu - drama based on the Indian Landscape and Garden for the British Museum. The Indian landscape was inspired by the collections of the British Museum and Kew Gardens. It draws attention to the rich variety of plants and trees in the Indian subcontinent and the natural resources they provide. The landscape features plants used in:
 Food,
 Medicine
 Religion,
 Construction,
 Weaving
 Commerce

The aim of this was to promote the Indian landscape so the public had an understanding and sense of what the landscape was trying to represent. The highlights of this filming experience were actually getting to work alongside a professional crew and understanding the how the whole production process works. This allowed me to gain the knowledge of the production process which was beneficial to me as we were going to be asked to create our own trailer as part of the A2 coursework. By me working alongside of the production crew I was able to gain some tips from filming which would have helped me when making my trailer. The other highlight of my filming experience is that I was actually asked to be a part of the docu – drama. I took part in some acting scenes but I was mainly apart of a dance scene.

I think the part which I was most disappointed with is not being allowed to take part any post production work. This was frustrating for me as I believed I had a good knowledge and understanding of editing which I wasn’t allow to share or portray for the docu – drama. I think not being able to take part in any post production work meant that I wasn’t using my media skills to the best of my ability. I believe if I had been allowed to take part in this the final product would have been better.

The research could place before we meet with the directors, I did this by reaching the British Museum Indian landscape to see what it was about and familiarise myself with some of the knowledge. I had to look up what kinds of plants were kept in the garden and what kind of painting they had and what each of them represented. The planning was done as a group activity including the directors, we all came together as a group and put our ideas forward and then came up with a final decision. Once we had decided this we began to do a practise trail with the directors to see what looks best and what could be changed. The filming work was mostly done by the directors however I think if they had let us take part in some elements of filming it could have been improved. Another improvement which could be made is during the planning, I think I needed to research more on the background of the paintings as all mainly represented the story of Rama and Sita. By me researching this story I would have had a better understanding of the paintings which could have helped during the planning process.

I think the area in which I learnt the most in was being able to see how a production company works as a whole. I also gain more knowledge about filming and how to gain the best shot.

The aspect of the process which will be most valuable in my next image assignment would be the filming process. I learnt that when filming in order to get the best possible shot you need to film it many times and using different angles and lighting in order to gain the best effect. I think this will help me when making a trailer as I already have an understanding of filming.