Episode 1-

The filming for episode one turned out far better than expected, though there were certainly flaws we should have worked out. The most glaring issue was our lack of transitions between the studio and EVS, as it was jarring to have the hard cuts. There were also issues with graphics being created on the day, as well as the graphics not being appropriate for what was needed. The majority of these issues could be easily solved with greater communication between team members, though some were inherent with the script and vision.

The highlights of the project were the performances, which was accentuated by the stellar audio work. Audio was perfectly timed to strengthen each joke, while not distracting from the performances or dialogue. The band was also effectively utilised, with the various cameras in studio C being used well to collect engaging footage for our transitions, as well as make some good jokes.

The script had to be adjusted on the day to make it more appropriate and suitable for presentation, however I felt the changes did not make too much difference. Our talent also had to go off script and improvise a fair bit, as there was unfortunately insufficient dialogue as a result of last-minute changes. However, the improvised comedy was often a highlight, and this is something we can learn from in episode two.

Other than some minor edits to fix errors, if I were to redevelop the first episode I would place a tighter focus on the narrative building across the episode, as the ‘plot’ seems to come in only at the end. I also would have transitioned into the EVS clips, as the harsh cuts were jarring in an unpleasant way, rather than in a humorous way as intended.

Episode 2 –

The filming for episode two went much smoother than episode one in my opinion, despite many difficulties. I was called upon to both create an EVS clip on short notice, as well as act in the final work as a result of a last-minute cancellation. Despite this, I feel that we learned from the shortcomings of episode one, and we had a much more fine tuned and ultimately successful shoot as a result.

Much like with the first episode, we had issues with the timings of EVS and graphics. Although minor, they did detract from the presentation of the piece. A major issue was audio being missing entirely from the studio A program. While this can be fixed easily, the addition of spontaneity, given audio teams ability to react to the program in real time, being lost detracted from the episode’s quality and did not allow us to fully utilise the studio space.

I feel we still struggled with communication between departments during pre-production again for this episode, with a small group of people developing most of the program. We also had trouble with a few camera operators not being reactive or present in the situation, myself and the floor manager, Kayla, having to ask them to get off their phones and stand up around three or four times. This ultimately harmed the show, as camera operators were not actively participating in the rehearsals and production. As a result, many of the cameras contributed little more than a single static shot, for which the camera may as well have been unattended.

This episode had a much tighter sense of structure, and the EVS clip at the start helped to contextualise the entire premise – necessary given that this episode had a much larger story focus. I also felt we had much more for the talent to work with in each segment, with the props and narrative progression allowing for much more back and forth between talent. I feel that this episode had less dynamic camera use, with less switching between the different cameras, though it worked from a stylistic and narrative perspective.

I would hope that this episode helps to contextualise the core narrative within the first episode, as it could be misinterpreted by the audience on that episode alone. In combination, they convey the intended concept of the show to the audience effectively.