The projects begin at this time in the spring every year and are designed to take the foundation skills that students learn in courses teaching planning productions, camera, lighting, editing and writing, and apply them in team projects.

The first set of commercials that the student production companies are working on this term:

• BC Transplant Society
• Commercial Drive Midwives
• Nike 6.0 Shoes
• Press Start Video Games
• Muscular Sclerosis Society Canada
• Frank’s Red Hot
• What8ver Cafe
• BCIT SIFE

The students are visiting the trades and technical areas at BCIT to bring short stories back, which are then being edited (and we’ll hopefully have a few to post online soon as well).

The process:

1. Practising camera skills including operating the camera itself and composing shots properly and getting clean audio
2. We bring back the raw footage and screen it all with the class to identify problem areas and look for solutions
3. After critiquing the footage, everything is loaded onto our server so students can practise editing what they shot.  This helps to identify any missed opportunities and better-prepare them for the next time out the door.
4. At the beginning of class next week, we’re going to look at the edited footage so we can see the entire process from production right through to delivery

We have also undergone a number of staffing changes, including welcoming Randy Singer as the Acting Associate Dean for the Broadcast Department, as well as a number of new instructors who are teaching into the Television Program this term:

• Michael Moss – Technical Introduction
• Dan Moscript – Production Planning
• Dave Berenbaum – Post Production (Avid Media Composer)
• John Foster – Organizational Behaviour

And just a few quick photos from this week, showing what our new students, and our returning second-years are up to in their first week of class!

Come out and meet us at the BIG info session & Program Expo!

If you’re interested in seeing what the BCIT Television and Video Production program has to offer, drop by BCIT’s Burnaby campus on Wednesday, March 2nd from 5-8pm.

The entire Broadcast Department will be set up in TownSquare A/B so visitors can meet our students and faculty, and have a look at the Television and Video Production program’s P2-HD production workflow combined with our new Broadcast Pix and EVS replay unit for live production!

By strange coincidence, the first two commercials this year are alcohol-related!

For a bit of background, each student production company (usually group of 5) is required to produce two 30-second commercials this term, and we stipulate that at least one of them must be a real client (to give the project a bit more of a reality-check).

First up was a project for Heineken Beer which illustrates the old saying about, boy meets girl, boy chooses the wrong beer, other boy who chooses the “right” beer gets the girl.

Second up, was a spot for Industry Bar & Grill in Richmond selling on the idea that no matter what might happen by accident, it’s all good for this bar’s patrons!

Students have been out practising the camera, audio, and composition skills they’ve learned over the last few weeks to produce short segments about some of the trades and technical students at BCIT.  We’re looking for proper technical control of the camera (focus, aperture, white balance, audio levels), proper use of microphones (which mic to use, where to place it for optimum pickup), and how to compose shots to make it interesting for viewers.

After shooting, we head back to the broadcast centre to spend the afternoon in the edit suite with Final Cut Pro, putting all of the footage together so we can do some critiquing in class and learn about what worked and what didn’t.

A fairly busy day, but great hands-on experience!

Many people are probably familiar with open-source software, but when was the first time you’ve seen an open-source HD Cinema camera?

The “Apertus” is being developed by a team of international enthusiasts to give total control over inexpensive HD imaging hardware, allowing filmmakers to potentially develop their own alternatives to commercial offerings from Sony, Panasonic, Red, etc.

While it’s definitely still a work-in-progress, this sort of project would’ve been cost-prohibitive a few years ago.  Now, the cost of the camera hardware (minus lens and audio) is only around $3,000 – and the software is free!

While it might not be as user-friendly or have a workflow as efficient as a camera from one of the major manufacturers, it does prove how quickly technology is changing, and how quickly people are exploring new options as they become available.

Check out a sample movie (click through to Vimeo for the HD version)

(Apologies for the picture, the iPhone 3G just isn’t that good in low-light.)

While I still prefer Avid or FCP for editing, the tight integration between products in the Adobe lineup has always been one of their primary strengths, and they obviously know it…

With the new CS5 suite, they’ve taken it a step further.  From script development, through capture, post, and output, it’s a pretty incredible workflow.  If you need an all-in-one package to do everything, I don’t think it can be beat for the price (the academic price for CS5 Production Premium is $481.95)

The other item that caught my attention was the display at the Canon booth…

More Canon DSLRs being kitted-out for video.  While I still prefer the workflow with a full-size professional rig, these cameras pack a pretty amazing punch for the price.

The Canon 7D is still relatively expensive at $1750 for the body (without lens); a more inexpensive option is the Canon T2i, which can be purchased for under $1000 including an 18-55mm lens, and has similar video capabilities as it’s big brother.

I love my Nikon DSLR, but Canon has refined their video offerings quite a bit more at this point in time.

A number of software companies are also coming out with plugins and applications which perform automatic sound-sync between the audio recorded on the DSLR and a secondary recording device (Zoom recorder, DAT, etc).  Much easier than doing it by hand.

“Complicity” won for best Drama.

Written and Directed by Dylan Adkins, Produced by Lauren Weidel, Edited by Justin Li, Director of Photography – Jordan Lee, Assistant Director – Courtney Dunsmoor-Farley, Audio Supervisor – Denis Falardeau.

Judges’ Comments:

• Initial impression- STYLISH!
• Great sequences with good composition
• Superior use of music to create tension
• Excellent editing, music transitions/fx and timing
• Lighting was very good
• While the story was slightly campy and silly, it still grabs your attention, keeps you involved and is well constructed.

And their mockumentary, “Shadow Hands” won for Best Comedy!

Written by Denis Falardeau and Dylan Adkins, Produced by Courtney Dunsmoor-Farley, Directed by Denis Falardeau, Edited by Justin Li, Director of Photography: Jordan Lee, Assistant Director: Lauren Weidel, Audio Supervisor: Dylan Adkins.

Judges’ Comments:

• Great delivery- were they professional actors?
• Excellent!  Drew me in after the slow beginning
• Professional Actors?  Well crafted and good storytelling
• Very well done, truly enjoyed it!

It’s worth noting that their second production, Complicity, was shot in HD on the Canon 7D, our first production to use a digital SLR for a major project. Very cool!

Shadow Hands: A Mockumentary from Zut Alors on Vimeo.

Complicity from Zut Alors on Vimeo.