Harry created a production diary to document his work on creating a video for his final major project. In the first week of production, he did research on several comedy TV shows to influence his project, created storyboards, floor plans, and a shooting schedule. He conducted experiments filming scenes and adding effects in Premiere Pro. On the first scheduled filming day, certain props were not working so shooting had to be rescheduled for the following week. Harry documented what went well in his planning and preparation, as well as areas that needed further work or contingency planning in case of issues during production.

1. Development diary
Harry

2. Production reflections
• This proforma is to record how you worked on your production
• You should complete this each week during production
• Consider all relevant areas that you covered that week
• Think about what worked/what didn’t work/how you can improve
and actions for the following sessions/weeks

3. Initial Plans

4. Pre-proposal
• This is my pre proposal from the
initial ideas of my FMP.
• I used word to write it up and
copied it into PowerPoint in case
anything needed changing.
What went well
What went well was choosing what I
wanted to do for my FMP. I knew I
wanted to make a video because it
would help me learn new skills and
build on the skills I have, which will
help for my chosen career path.

5. Process – skills audit
• I filled out a skills audit using
colour code showing what I
can do and what I struggle
with. Most of the things on the
list I can do.
What went well
Choosing the skills I’m good at
and skills I’m not good at was
easy. This will give me the
chance to build on the skills I’m
not good at as well as the ones I
am good at.

6. Process – Mood board
• I made a mood board which includes characters and sets from
comedy shows. I’m really happy with it and I think it will help me
to create characters and sets for my video.
• The mood board includes images like Officer Crabtree from Allo
Allo to help me create my characters. It has images of sets used
on comedy shows which will influence my idea to be set in a
bright setting.
• Most of the Images are from comedy shows like The Big Bang
Theory, Young Sheldon and Allo Allo. I included an image of an
explosion because I want to add a stunt to my video.
• I found images of posters because after filming, I want to make a
poster which has the title of the video and all the characters on it.
What went well
What went well was choosing the characters and comedy shows
which will have a big influence on my video. The shows and
characters I picked have big personalities and are really well known.
What didn’t go well
What didn’t go well was finding the real life sets of comedy shows.
Most of the images were stage sets, but because my video will be set
in real life setting, I wanted images of real life sets.
What I’ve learnt
That I won’t always find everything I want so I need to be prepared
to use images that might not be the real thing.

7. Key influences
What went well/What I've
learnt
Picking the key influences
for my video was easy
because they are well
known characters from
well known sitcoms. I’ve
learnt about the characters
in more detail, which will
help me to create my
characters and there
personalities.

8. Plot
I updated the plot to the
latest version of my video
idea. I feel this idea is better
because it sounds more
entertaining than the
previous version. It has a
better story to it and is more
suitable for the target
audience.

9. Mind Map
What went well
I was able to make a detailed
mind map of things I could
include in the video (e.g sound
effects, music, lighting). This will
help so I know what to include in
the video to make it effective.
What I’ve learnt
If I come up with more ideas
later, I can update the mind map
at any point.

10. Research

11. Research – The Big Bang Theory
• I started researching ‘The
Big Bang Theory’, looking at
what it’s about, who there
target audience is, what
storylines they’ve done and
wrote about the
characters.
• I looked at the relationships
between the characters
and how the relationships
grew.
• I copied an image of the set
and annotated it, looking at
what they use on set and
why they use it.
• I compared the similarities
and differences between
The Big Bang Theory and
Young Sheldon.

12. Research Young Sheldon
• I researched ‘Young
Sheldon’, again looking
at what it’s about, why
they made it and who
the characters are.

13. Research Allo Allo
• I looked at Allo Allo, looking at the
Characters and the storyline. I also looked
at the set and annotated it to say what
something is and why it’s there.
What went well
What went well was I was able to get a better
understanding of the show because I found it
hard to understand the storyline.
What didn’t go well
I couldn’t find an image of the proper set, only
a stage set. This I found irritating because
there was no image of the Allo Allo set with
cameras, lighting, microphones and props.
This doesn’t help me for my video because it
isn’t going to be set on stage. It’s going to be
set in real life settings.
What can I work on/Improve
Describe the characters in more detail. I can
do this by watching episodes of the show
rather than clips on YouTube. This will help me
to understand the story more and understand
the characters in even more detail.

14. Research Fawlty Towers
I looked at Fawlty Towers, again looking at the storylines
and the characters personalities.
What went well
I was able to get a better understanding of the show. I
was able to describe the big main characters in detail.
What didn’t go well
I found it hard to describe the main characters with small
parts because there not seen as often as the other main
characters
What needs work
Analysing the set because it wasn’t the real set image I
used, it was a stage set. I found it difficult to find an
image of the real set with the equipment used to make
the show..
What I’ve learnt
That I won’t always find what I want and I might have to
use something different, but close enough to what the
real set looks like.

15. Research Mrs Browns Boys
I researched Mrs Browns Boys because
it’s another well known popular
comedy. I looked at the story and each
characters personality.
What went well
What went well was I was able to
describe what the show is about in
detail.
What didn’t go well
Even though all the characters are main
characters, I still found it hard to
describe some of them because they
don’t have much of a personality.

16. Research The Big Bang Theory Trailer
I watch the trailer of the twelfth series of
‘The Big Bang Theory’. I looked at the fonts,
colours, effects, camera angles, lighting,
sounds and Post production.
What went well
I was able to describe how the trailer had
been made and what elements had been
used in the trailer to draw the audience’s
attention in.
What didn’t go well
I found it difficult to describe the lighting
because it was the same throughout.
What to improve
Describe the lighting in more detail about
why it’s the same throughout the video.

17. Mrs Brown Trailer research
I watched the Mrs Brown’s Boys trailer
on YouTube. I talked about how they
made the trailer using different scenes
from each episode of the series. I
looked at the different effects, sounds,
lighting, camera angles and fonts.
What went well
I was able to describe why the trailer
appeals to the audience, and I was able
to describe the different elements in
detail.
What didn’t go well
I found it difficult to find sensible
images to support what I wrote about
because the trailer is very graphical.

18. Young Sheldon trailer
I watched the ‘Young Sheldon’
series one trailer on YouTube. I
looked at the fonts, styles, post
production, effects, props.
What went well
I was able to support what I’ve
written with different shots of the
trailer. I was able to write about
the different elements in detail.

19. Experiment
• I did an experiment trying to remake a scene from The Big Bang
Theory. I filmed the lift door shutting, then added the footage to
premiere pro. I found an exploding effect on YouTube, downloaded
and added it to premiere pro. I cut the green screen out using key
colour and colour tolerance. I moved the colour tolerance up 187
which cut the green screen out completely. If I set it to 255 it
distorted the effect.

20. Experiment 2
I filmed the lift doors shutting
from inside the lift, then added
an explosion effect in premiere
pro.
This experiment didn’t go as
well as expected because
although the green screen has
been cut out, you can still see
the shape, and the effect
doesn’t cover the whole screen,
making it less effective.

21. Experiment 3
For this experiment, I had two actors which really helped make the
scene better.
For this experiment I filmed the actors putting an ‘explosive’ item in
the lift, then added an explosion effect in premiere pro.
I’m happy with this experiment because the acting was great, but the
explosion effect is still not effective because it doesn’t cover the whole
screen. You can still see the outline of where the green screen was.

22. Experiment 4
I did a photoshoot experiment because I want to make a poster
promoting the new show.
I used a white backdrop which I cut out in photoshop, and replaced it
with a blue and a red background.
I’m happy with this experiment because it gave me the chance to get
more experience with the camera for a different purpose.

23. Experiment 5
I cut together two scenes from ‘The Big Bang Theory’, one from season
9 and another from the season 12 trailer. This was to try and make
Howards reaction to Bernadette's news funny.
I’m happy with the experiment because it’s funny and it makes sense,
but I’m not happy with it because the costume changes, making it look
odd.

24. Experiment 6
I did a font experiment to see which fonts would stand out on the
poster. I collected a range of Photoshop fonts and design fonts from
flamingtext.com and put them together in photoshop. I changed the
colours to see which colours would look good too.
I’m happy with this experiment because it let me see which fonts
would look good on the poster, but it would have been better if I put
them at the top of the poster experiment, which would have helped
make the choice even easier.

25. Proposal

26. Process – proposal
• I wrote a proposal saying what
I plan to make.
• I wrote about the idea of the
trailer, and what I will do/use
for research.
• I wrote up a schedule with
every task I need to do. I
organised my work into what
days to do it and when it
should be finished by. This
helped me prepare for my
FMP.

27. Pre-production

28. Planning
What worked well
What went well was making the storyboard because it helped me see what the video will look like.
Writing the script went well because it helped me see the characters personalities more clearly and in more detail. It helped to make the story be told in the right way.
What I still have to work on
The storyboard because there are some scenes which I’m struggling to see.
Production schedule
I have made a production schedule showing when I’m going to start something and when it should be finished by. It will be useful because I will know what to do and when to do it.
How often will I review the planning
For filming, I’m going to print out the script and shot list. This will help the characters to learn there lines before filming and the shot list will help with camera positioning and what the characters should be doing.
Has anything gone wrong because of poor planning before
No because I plan quite far ahead so I know what to do.
Is anything likely to go wrong because of poor planning now?
I’m worried the make up artists won’t have time to do the characters make up. This will have a big impact on the video because it will make it less effective.
What I’ve learnt in the planning stages
Even though I knew how to make a floorplan, I learnt about annotating it with what/where everything is, and labelling where the camera’s and microphones will go. This helps making the layouts clearer.
I learnt about health and safety because there were something I didn’t think to be aware of like electrical appliances (e.g lights) giving people an electric shock. I learn’t how to deal with this by just having to
expect it at anytime

29. Floorplans
I made several floorplans of the locations I plan
on using. I copied and pasted them twice. The
first one shows what everything is, and the
second one shows where I want the equipment
to be placed.
What didn’t go well
Drawing the floorplan for the studio was difficult
because I couldn’t picture in my mind where I
wanted the equipment to be placed, and some
of the equipment might be difficult to move.
Has anything gone wrong
In most of the floorplans I forgot to draw where
the windows are. This is something vital for the
video because some of the equipment is going to
be placed in the window area.
What I’ve learnt
I’ve learnt how to draw a floorplan and label
where I want the equipment to be placed. This is
important because then everyone knows where
everything should be. I’ve also learnt not to
leave anything out of a floorplan (windows)
because they could be an important place for
filming or equipment.

30. Floorplan images

31. Floorplan images

32. Floorplan images

33. Storyboard
I made a storyboard
showing the sequence my
video will go in. I found
using the website
(storyboardthat.com)
useful because I find it
hard drawing a scene by
hand. If I drew it by hand it
would be difficult to see
what’s happening because
I struggle drawing scenes.
The websites has helped
make it look more detailed
and it’s easy to see what’s
going on in the scenes.

34. Shot list
I made a shot list by writing about each shot/scene, and
choosing what type of shot would be the best for that scene.
What went well
When I was writing about what would be happening in each
shot, it made it easier to decide what type of shot to use.
What have I learnt
That making a shot list is very important for any filming
project because then the camera people know what shot
they need to use.
What still needs work
I need to think of something to go in between the ‘falling out
of the window’ scene and the ending. This is something I will
add to the storyboard, script and shot list when I think of it.
Is anything likely to go wrong
Some of the shots might need changing because they might
not be right or something could go wrong with the original
shot.

35. Sound effects
I made a list of all the sound effects I need. Some of them I will record
myself and some I will download from YouTube. This will help so I know
what sounds to put in my video to make it effective

36. Resource List
I made a list of all the resources I
need, and which locations I will
need to use them in.
The list includes what I need for
filming and where it will be used,
and what software and hardware I
need to edit the footage, and
where it is available.

37. Script
What went well
What still needs work
I need to think of something to
happen between the ‘falling
out the window’ scene and the
end. For the video to end with
someone falling out the
window wouldn’t be good
because it’s not a good place to
stop. The audience will want to
know whether the character is
still alive or was killed.
What I’ve learnt
That script writing takes a lot of
time and anything could
change at any point in case
something doesn’t sound right.

38. Contingency plan
What I’ve learnt
To plan ahead. If one of my actors isn’t
available, I will need to ask one or more
people if they’re available to play the
part, or ask one of the actors already in
the video to play two characters.
The studio might not be available at a
time I need it, meaning I need to book it
a few days or a week in advance, and
check with the actors if that time is ok.
Certain props might not work meaning
filming could/will be delayed. This could
affect the video as time is running out.
What could I do
Recharge or replace the prop I plan to
use.

39. Production Schedule
Making a production schedule is
something I found really useful
because it will help me to manage the
time more.
What went well
I was able to plan when I wanted to
film and the actors were ok with the
time.
What I’ve learnt
That all the plans might not go the way
I want meaning I need to make a back
up production schedule.
Anything that could go wrong
The locations I want to use might not
be available when I want to use them,
meaning I need to pick another day to
film as a backup or make a backup
location list so there’s more than one
option.

40. Production schedule

41. Production

42. Filming day 1
Today, I wanted to film the first scene of the video, but because certain props
weren’t working, I had to delay filming to next week because the studio has
been booked for the rest of the week.
What went well
We managed to set everything up trouble free. I took a photo of where the
camera is positioned so we know where it is for next time we film.
What didn’t go well
The prop we needed didn’t work – the battery was flat, so filming this scene
had to be delayed to next week.
Has anything gone wrong
Yes, the laptop needed in the film wasn't working. It needed to be working in
the first few seconds of the scene.
What I’ve learnt
To make sure any props that are electrical are either charged up and working
properly. This will make sure filming isn’t delayed any further.

43. Filming day 2
Today I managed to get the first scene of my video filmed. It went well because
nothing went wrong. I wanted to use the boom mic, but the sound quality was
really good without using it.
I made a logo for my new show on canva.com. This gave me the chance to learn
something new. Although it went fairly well, I struggled positioning and sizing the
cog wheels because there was one square that would let you resize the shape, and
another that would make the visibility bigger or smaller, cutting part of the shape
out.
I started making a TV channel logo in Photoshop. Although this went well, I
struggled to make it because when I zoomed into the page, no pixel layout came
up, making it difficult to draw the letters and shapes evenly. I will make this the
next time I’m in a mac room because the pixel layout normally works on a mac.
I booked an audio recorder out and took it home to record my sound effects. This
went well because it prepared me more for editing, and it picked up the sound
really well.

44. Filming day 3
Today I practiced filming the
second and third scenes. Because
they involve stunts I thought it
would be best to practice them
before filming the real thing. I’m
happy I did this because it the
actor the chance to practice the
stunt and it gave me the chance to
see what worked and what could
be better.
We decided that the stunt would
be better in the whole shot as it
happens, instead of him bouncing
out of the shot. The camera will
have to move as the character
jumps back after the explosion.

45. Filming Day 4
Today I filmed the final scene of the video. Although this went well, I
wasn’t happy because one of the shots was too blurry, meaning it
needs to be redone.
I wanted to film the rest of the scenes today, but because of certain
things happening, I didn’t manage to film everything I wanted.
I’ve made a timetable of everything I want to film tomorrow. Hopefully
this will help make everything run smoother.

46. Filming Day 5
Today I filmed the final scene again because the lighting in the previous
version wasn’t great. Although the room was bright, you couldn’t see
the characters brilliantly.
I also managed to get the photo for the poster taken. I will edit this at
home because I have Photoshop there, and the video I will edit at
college.
I’m really happy with how today has gone, but I’m not happy with the
whole filming process because it’s been slower than what I hoped.
Tomorrow I’m hoping to get scenes 2 and 3 filmed.

47. Filming Day 6
I finally got scenes two and three filmed. We did a number of takes so
we could get it right.
I’m happy now that I’ve got the filming finished and now I can focus on
editing. I’m not happy with how long the filming process took, but I
thought if I want to work in TV, I will have to expect things like filming
delays will happen.

48. Editing Day 1
I started editing the video by putting each scene in the right order. I
then added some sound effects.

49. Editing day 2
I continued editing the video. The actors re recorded some of
there lines because it one scene, you couldn’t hear what they
were saying because there was too much background noise.
I put the voices into premiere pro. I’m happy with the way
they sound now because they can be heard loud and clearly.
The thing I found difficult was timing it with the lip
movements, but overall I’m happy with it.
I added in two songs as background music. I used the audio
gain to turn the volume down so it would play in the
background. This is so the actors voices can still be heard.
I added the explosion effect to the ‘blowing up the lift scene’.
I used Chroma key to cut the green screen out and adjusted
the size to make it bigger and had to move it to the floor to
make it look more real. I had to unlink the explosion sound
because it was delayed – the sound happened after the
explosion happened. I moved it back a bit and it worked
better at the start of the explosion.
Overall I’m happy with todays progress. Tomorrow I will edit
the logo and put it at the start of the video.

50. Editing Day 3
I put the logo and title in at the start of the video, and added the
credits to the end.
I adjusted the timing of the music at the end because it was out of
tune.
I exported the video and put it on my blog.

51. Poster
I made a poster promoting the
new show.
I took a photo against a white
background, and cut it out in
photoshop so I could replace
the background with fire.
I chose the text from
flamingtext.com because I
wanted to use a design text.
I’m happy with the way the
poster looks because it doesn’t
have too much colour, and all
the colours blend in together to
make it look good and effective.
I will add the TV logo to the
bottom left corner when it has
been edited.

52. TV logo
I made a TV channel logo so people know
what channel the show is going to be
broadcast on.
I’m not happy with the logo I made in
photoshop because it didn’t look very neat
and it was very difficult to draw, so I hand
drew one, scanned it in and edited it in
photoshop.
I’m happy with the way the hand drawn
logo looks because it looks a lot neater and
tidier.

53. TV logo edit I put the logo into photoshop and
used the poloygon lasoo tool to cut
out the white background.
I put a smoke background in so it
shows what it is.

54. Updates

55. Script Tuesday 14th May
Instead of filming, I changed
the script because it was
going to be too difficult to
film two people with one
playing two characters. The
costumes would need to
change a lot.
I changed the storyline
slightly to the laptop blowing
up, the owner of the laptop
finding out and them having
a fight, instead of a story that
delays the reaction.

56. Shot list Wednesday 15th May
I spent today updating the shot list
because the story has changed slightly,
meaning the shots have changed. I
decided to do this so when filming, I
know what shots and equipment to
use.
I’m not sure how some shots will work
so I put two options in (either distance
or close up). In filming I will try both to
see which one works the best. I will
update the shot list again later.
I printed out the script and wrote on
what shots I will use for each
line/stage direction. This helped
because I could see what shots to use
when looking at each line of the script.

57. Resource List 15th May
I updated the resource list because of the
change in the story.
I removed some of the equipment I don’t need
and added some new equipment I do need.
I feel happier with the new list because for the
old one, I needed too many things. The new list
is a lot simpler because not as much stuff is
needed.