13/8/15
Location: Dreamscope headquarters, Salford Quays
After filming was completed. I messaged Darren asking when would be best to come to the studio and begin editing the footage. Two weeks later I received a reply from Darren, apologizing for the late reply. He informed me that the team had just moved to their new office and that he was on leave to support his pregnant wife. I connected me with Louise and she suggested that I come on the 13th August to edit the footage around 2pm.

Arriving at new headquarters, 20 minutes late and going around the Quays looking for the location, I met Louise at reception and she led me to the new offices of Dreamscope and into the Editing suite. Louise introduced me to Ian, the head editor at Dreamscope. 

From there Ian showed me the controls and editing software that we would be using to edit the collected footage. He helped me understand the buttons and the how the footage that Darren and myself could be viewed and edit together in a simple apporach. From there we both watched the combined footage and with the click of a button the video could be cut back and before the footages and we could see both clips running at the same time. If there was any editing choices or issues that a rose it could be sorted by marking the point in the clip and pulling it back to where the ideal shot was that we wanted to use. Ian was very supportive and gave me space to let me control the editing process and I needed help he would assist me.

The footage that we were editing that day was from Gary: A Love Story which Darren and I recorded on the opening day of the Festival.

26/7/2015
Call Time: 11AM

The final day of the Festival was among us. We had one performance to record which was The Plant and a few more Voxpops. But before then our first assignment was to film the first five minutes of the Actors Workshop being held within the Cosmo. We collected the equipment and set the cameras up and decided to only use one camera to fill the workshop and from there we would do a few pick up shots. 

The class was held by actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, who covered for the actor who originally was going to run the workshop. The Workshop was interesting and in depth as the actress was sharing her experiences with the attendees of the workshop and each talking about their experiences and goals.

After the workshop we did a few Voxpops with Julie, David Slack and the attendees of the festival.

Next we begun setting up all the equipment in the Cosmo for the performance of The Plant. We set up the mics and camera in the spots we placed them last time and filmed the first 15 minutes of the performance. After the performance was over we did a few more Voxpops from the audience and their views of both the performances and festival itself.

ITS A WRAP!! 

25/7/2015
Call time: 12:30
The continuation of filming of the festival was a very interesting and enjoyable experience. 
our first task was to film the first performance of Madness Sweet Madness within the Cosmo Performance Space. We set up the cameras on the far left and right side of the seating, continuing the same process of me filming the wider angle and Darren on the close ups. The mics were set up at the front of the stage and we agreed with the director to film the first fifteen minutes of the performance.
We decided to include an additional capture the piece from a full view shot. We set a small camera on the top balcony which could be controlled from Darren's phone and could be used for further recordings.

After filming the performance we collected a few more Voxpops with the audience, asking them about what they thought of the performance and the festival.

At 2:15pm we filmed the Brief Encounters. The Brief Encounters was a selection of monologues that focused on the history of Manchester and the the iconic figures like John Dalton that have had impact on Manchester the University of Manchester as the monologues were based outside and around the campus grounds. Darren and I followed the audience around as they were lead to the performers, with me on sound and Darren filming. We filmed the performers presenting their monologues and the audiences reactions. 

After filming a few more Voxpops with the audience members, including Tv Presenter, Clive Anderson whose daughter was Assistant Director for We Are The Multitude. 

At 3:30pm we began setting up in the John Thaw Theatre for the Diistant Sounds, two performance pieces that were written by a Australian musician and an English writer, who collaborated with each other to create the performances. We did our usual set up and recorded the whole of the performances. After the performance was completed we collected all our our equipment and placed them within the lighting booth for the final day of the festival.

24/7/2015
The Caterpillar's Story-Manchester Museum
Today is the opening day of 24:7 Theatre Festival. A lot of anticipation is building up and its my job to catch the whole thing on film alongside Darren as a 2nd Camera unit.  

Our first assignment was filming the rehearsal for Scallwags Theatre's production of A Caterpillar's Story at the Manchester Museum. I arrived at the museum at 8am as that was the call time for Darren had asked me to arrive so we could begin filming at 8:30am. Arriving at the main entrance I met Darren, who had all the equipment to the filming. We were also joined by Rev, a photographer who was taking publicity photos for the production. We met with Emma Chapman, one of the directors of Scallwags who informed us that they were getting their props from the loading bay on the other side of the museum. We waited until the full Scallywags team arrived and followed them to the performance location on the 2nd floor where the wildlife exhibit was based.

Once at the filming location we discussed with the group where the beginning of the play would begin and where the cast would lead the Martin puppet and the audience on the tour. Emma showed us the locations where certain scenes like Martin meeting Billy the Horse leading into a sing-a-long dance piece. Examining the wide exhibit section, we discussed where certain angles we could take from a wide shot to a close up on the Martin and the other cast.

With the filming layout planned, Darren and I set the cameras, from the focus to make sure the footage was clear and sharp while recording to the lighting and white balance so the footage would not be too dark or too bright. Darren would do close ups and mediums shots, as if he was representing the view of the young audience and I would be filming the wide shots, capturing everything. 

The first take went smoothly, with Darren and I capturing the scenes smoothly as did the rehearsal. However there was an issue with the mic attached to Darren's camera picking up a buzzing sound from the title lights above the animal exhibitions. The group, Darren and I agreed to do a second take except this time we would do a few changes.

Dreamscope TV are a Manchester based company with headquarters being located at the Green Building in Salford Quays. The company was set up in 2003 by Darren Harrison, a former TV Executive for Granada who set up the company to have the freedom to create new and interesting programmes. Since then the company has grown strong and has been involved in a number of productions from creating a number of  documentaries and promos that show both the city of Manchester and its people in the brightest form. They have also been involved in the filming of Britain's Hit ghost hunting programme, MOST HAUNTED!

This year the company are beginning to move their office to a new and larger building not far from their current residence. They are also getting set to release their new Website page which will be online soon.
I am looking forward to working with Darren and the team and keep you all updated on the process of filming for the 24/7 festival