The project involved conducting an interview podcast with a local musician, Finley Dickenson, about the music scene in York. The interview covered Finley's background and experience in music, as well as his perspectives on challenges for musicians in York given its traditionally non-creative culture. Technical difficulties impacted the project timeline, but the final product included an 8 minute interview interspersed with footage from an old camcorder, as well as an exclusive live performance by Finley. While further editing was desired, the project achieved its goal of highlighting local musical talent and conveying messages of pursuing creativity despite obstacles.

1. Interview / podcast
evaluation
Year Two Evaluation

2. Project Overview
In this section you will outline the aim of the project/task and give an
overview of the activates you undertook to complete it.

3. What was the theme of your project and
what attracted you to it?
• The overall theme I was trying to achieve for my project was to be based
around music especially as much of the local music scene as possible. I wanted
to achieve this through an interview with a close friend of mine finely
Dickenson who has had years of experience in a band and is now doing music
solo. I was attracted to this idea as I wanted to bring the limelight onto people
in the local music scene and show there is some talent coming out of York even
though it may be seen as a very traditional city and isn’t really facilitated for
creative minds.

4. What research did you undertake and how
did it help develop your project?
• I investigated some other bands to see which would fit for interview as I
originally intended on having a few but soon realized there isn’t many and I
would be on a time constraint if I did any more than one. I also looked into
other YouTube channels which do interviews with artists such as the masked
gorilla podcast, montreality and kids take over and viewed how they all
uniquely approached the interview, what kind of graphics they have appear on
the screen and how they kept the conversation flowing naturally without
taking the focus of the artist.

5. How did you develop and improve your ideas
throughout the project?
• I took what I learned from watching other interviews especially on graphics
and how the interview itself is presented. I decided to use my Sony hi8 to add
a layer of contrast into the interview by having clips intertwine with each
other. I also added a live performance from fin himself at the end to add
another layer and give the viewer an exclusive feature making it more
appealing and draws them in.

6. What was the outcome of the project/task?
• The outcome of the project was an 8:30 interview with questions on Finley's
introduction to music, upbringing around it, his old band, future aspirations
etc along with a live, exclusive performance of an unreleased song called “Billy
you're a bad boy”. This project did take a while to complete due to the
technical difficulties. It also gave a lot of insight into fin as a person and his
perspective on the music scene in York as there isn't a lot of space for
creativity due to the traditional nature of it. He also talked about how he had
to expand and grow around that especially as a upcoming music artist in york.

7. Personal Response
This section will explore your thoughts and feelings about the
experience. This will help gain a understand of how your personal
feelings may have impacted the final outcome.

8. How did you feel about the project before
you started?
• I felt very confident in myself and my ability's to be able to make a good and
well-rounded product. I had researched lots into interviews before and after
we where given this project, I watch a lot of interviews in my spare time so I
already had lots of ideas in my head for what I could do with graphics, camera
work, cameras, how to question the interviewee etc. I knew that I wanted to
have it feel organic and not have a script from the start as I knew this would
produce the best answers and make it sound a lot more real and not forced. I
was a little strung for choice on who I wanted to interview as it could’ve been
multiple people, but I knew fin would be the top choice as he's local, a close
friend and has years of music experience and experience in the industry.

9. What do you think about your project development and
how did it help you to refine your idea?
• I feel that my planning and research helped quite significantly as it gave me a clearer and
better idea of what I wanted to accomplish. I watched a lot of interviews from multiple
sources, but all based within the realm of music to keep a common ground, I took aspects
from them all and took them into consideration whilst going into my planning such as:
multiple camera angles, on screen graphics, different cameras, how to approach the
interview (formal or informal) etc. It also let me develop my own ideas as I saw what the
current channels that do interviews and podcast were doing so, I came up with the idea to
use my Sony hi8 to add contrast to the 4k footage I also added an exclusive live performance
from the artist on sight too as I felt it gave it a unique edge and insight into fins abilities too.

10. Did you collaborate on your project or engage
contributors, etc?
• I worked with a close friend of mine, finely Dickenson who was my interviewee,
he provided the place in which we filmed as it is a room made for podcasts
which really helped with setting up the shots and overall layout of the interview
rather than having it awkwardly filmed in my room making it feel more
professional too. Other than that, all editing, filming and setup was done by me
which wasn’t a huge stress but having to do it twice did make it somewhat
annoying.

11. How did you feel when the project was
completed and why?
• I felt a sense of relief as I've had lots of technical issues pushing my work back
and not being able to do anything about it other than wait such as having the
main angle, I needed take 5+ hours to export just to the desktop plus the large
amount of equipment issues such as not getting audio recorders,
miscommunications and being given cameras that don’t work plus full SD cards.
So having to find ways around this with my own solutions did build up some
stress as it pushed a lot of time that could’ve been spent editing or on my
evaluation back a week or so. Also having to pay to use some of y footage for a
extension only added to the annoyance, but I was able to solve these issues to
get over it and get my video finished.

12. Evaluating the project
In the previous sections, you have been commenting upon the project development. The
evaluation may include some similar information but it will also include critical comment.
An evaluation must include information about the good and bad points of the project and it
is important to be honest. Finally, you should make a judgment about the effectiveness of
the success of the project

13. What were the good points about the project/task and what did you
learn from them? [try and think of at least 3, more if possible]
• I enjoyed filming the whole interview as I learnt a bit more on how to handle the cameras and had to
improvise some things to get a better shot, such as using business cards as a form of stabilizer for the Sony hi8
as it didn’t sit correctly on the tripod. I also had to learn how to work around camera issues as I had many and
had to improvise on that front by using my phone too.
• I also enjoyed editing the video too, it gave me room to experiment a little due to my tight time limit I
couldn’t do as much as I wished but I reused footage from the interview in which I skipped on the tape when
recording it and it adds for an intro and finishing point for the video which is a nice reuse of footage making it
multipurpose.
• It gave me a better perspective on the music scene in York, with fin being in it so long he understands how the
industry works and has had a tough time finding a pace for himself. He also gave insight as how being in a
band helped the first part of his music career with learning how to work in a group and how that pushed his
skills and on-stage confidence.

14. What challenges did you face and how did you
respond to them? Try and think of at least 3...
• I had a lot of challenges with equipment, such as full sd cards, cameras not being formatted and not being able
to get audio recorders which pushed back my production quite a bit making me must rush it in the end and I had
to make it longer and less edited that I had hoped but was still good for the time I had left. I just had to wait until
I could get them, but I eventually was able to get all the equipment I needed.
• I had to film with my phone as the equipment I used on my official filming session had issues such as the sd
cards being full already and the cameras not being formatted so I had to improvise and use my phone and Sony
hi8 exclusively which gave me less to work with during editing and made my product a lesser version than I had
hoped.
• I also experienced issues with footage being exported as the footage from my phone took around 5+ hours to
export pushing back my editing time again and I had to do this multiple times, to overcome this I just had to wait
for the footage to export but I did it first thing in the morning on Wednesday which gave me a couple of days to
edit the footage.
• I also had the challenge of organizing the days we would film as I myself and fin are busy most of the time with
work or music, so I had to find optimal days to do it for the both of us to film.

15. What were the negative points about the
experience, and what could you have done to
improve them?
• I would’ve done better editing to the final product as it wasn’t where I wanted it. I was under a time constraint
though as I had many technical and equipment issues pushing back my production and editing time. If I had a
more time to edit, I would’ve wanted to add some on screen graphics that would’ve shown the current talking
point, I would’ve also have wanted to make a form of graphic intro and outro as I feel it would’ve just added an
extra layer of detail and intrigue.
• I could’ve had better time management, more so with written work rather than my podcast as the problems
that came with that where out of my control inevitably pushing me back, I was also ill for a week which made
my time lessen but there are definitely a few pieces of work I need to finish, and I have left some of it a bit late
making it harder to finish by the deadline but I feel I will be able to overcome this and persevere. I just need to
stay on top of work as it is given out.

16. How would you rate the final piece? [think along the lines of
poor, satisfactory, good or excellent...justify your rating]
• I feel for what it is its pretty good due to the circumstances I was under with equipment not working, being ill
and having technical problems, I did also cover a lot of ground within the interview and had a unique approach
of using a Sony hi8 for the extra angle also having a full exclusive, unreleased song being performed by fin. The
editing was also cool for what it was and linked all together with clean transitions and I used the actual tape fast
forwarding scan lines as transitions to add an extra inclusive layer to that vhs look. Personally, I do also feel like it
was maybe just satisfactory but that was because I wasn’t given a lot of time to edit my final product and I wish I
could’ve fit more in and had my other angle which I had to scrap as only 2 minuets of it recorded due to a full SD
card, with the extra angle and time I feel like I could’ve made a much better product, much better editing, some
on screen graphics and graphic intros and outros.

17. How well did your project apply the characteristics
and conventions of the medium you worked in?
• I feel that my project was faithful and genuine to the podcast conventions, I included multiple angles, multiple cameras, had
microphones and had a way more laid back and relaxed approach rather than a more scripted like an interview as I wanted
that more organic and unscripted feel anyway as I felt it would get the most genuine reactions and answers out of fin. I do
also feel by me using the Sony hi8 I broke out of those conventions but in a good way as I added an extra layer and dynamic
to my footage which I haven’t seen in any other interview or podcast, this also goes alongside with the live performance
from fin as I am yet to find another podcast or interview in which the artist gives a live exclusive performance.
• I was unable to get the wide angle which would’ve included me also due to the SD card being full which did also hider my
editing process and final product as that would’ve helped massively within the final product.
• On the side of talking points, I also feel like they were incorporated within the conventions of a podcast as we had opinions,
objectivity, humor, balance and subjectivity. On a whole we both agreed on most points that were made as we both have
experience socially and industry wise on how York is for music or anything creative for that matter as it is very close-minded
and black and white.

18. How did you design appeal to your target
audience?
• My audience mostly consisted of creatives who have an interest in music and are from York, genre didn’t matter
to me as this podcast covered a lot of ground music wise with subjects such as: the music scene in York, its current
state and how it could be better. This covered areas for people who may also not be interested in indie rock per
say but for the specific question that focused on fin specifically, he gave a lot of insight into how he stared, his
band and his future aspirations which could serve as inspiration for my target audience. Due to York’s lack of
venues and support for creative roles I feel that anyone who has aspiration to make music or anything creative
could see this interview and know that they can make something of their self as fin is now signed to a label and
making a whole solo album.
• Also, with the editing I feel like had a good appeal to my audience with its unique approach of intertwining
between the Sony hi8 and 4k footage. I also had the idea to make it seem like it was n old vhs tape being put into
a tv which I feel added a extra distinctive layer which also is prevalent in my other works.

19. Analysis
In this section, you will focus on the details of the project and make
sense of what happened in the project. You should demonstrate how
your decisions informed the project development and the success of the
outcome.

20. In what ways was the overall project a success?
• The style I was going for was achieved as I wanted to have that contrast between the higher quality and hi8
footage, even though I didn’t have my other angles I also made a good product from it. I also feel like my
editing was quite successful with its unique and distinctive approach of having it seem like it was an old vhs
tape being put in and taken out, when I showed people the interview, they also found it entertaining all the
way through and said that the editing was very intriguing and engaging.
• I felt like having strong questions throughout the interview made it a whole lot more interesting and engaging
for my target audience but also others who may just be interested in fins story, or his opinions on the current
scene of the music industry and what it's like finding a way in York even in its very close-minded state
especially creatively. I would also like to add that everyone who watched the interview felt like having
the performance at the end really gave it a nice send off point and made the interview feel like it came full
circle.

21. What elements did not go well and why?
• The elements that didn’t go well where mostly technical issues, equipment or time management as I've said
previously. With all my production work being pushed back around by 2 weeks made it tough to catch up and
having technical issues with equipment and editing software on top of that didn’t make it any easier.
• I'd say the biggest issue I had was equipment as I had to do two runs of the interview but even on the second
time I still ran into issues such as: cameras not being formatted, full sd cards and not being given audio
recorders which meant I had to improvise especially on my second run as it was the last chance I had to get
my footage so I had to use my phone and sony hi8 only which did make editing a slight hastle as I only had 2
angles to work with and limited footage due to my phone running out of storage.

22. How did your skills develop during the portfolio? [remember,
skills aren't just technical, remember things like organization,
time management, communication, etc as well]
• I was a lot more on top of the things I could control such as written work, organizing when me and fin can
meet and especially my improvisational skills as I had to work around those issues, I couldn’t control in which I
had many. I had to use my phone as a work around one of the cameras not being formatted and the other
having a full SD card, I also brought my own laptop, microphone and sound software to get clearer audio as I
was only given 1 audio recorder, with all these issues put together I still managed to pull through and find a
good way around the problem or another way to resolve it.

23. What meaning and messages did you want to
convey and were you successful?
• The message I wanted to convey towards people was that anyone can do their creative aspirations no matter
what circumstances and shouldn’t let others try to bring you down to their level if they don’t like what you
make or think its weird. Being unique and having your individuality as a person, artist, film maker, painter in
whatever you want to achieve will receive a much better response as it is genuine and represents you as a
person, it’s a lot cooler to be the person you are than to copy someone and look bad doing it.
• I also wanted to show that even though York isn’t well known for anything creative that there is still talent
there for people to know and that its only a matter of time before everyone knows who fin is and what he
brings to the table. I do feel like York is very closed-minded to anything different to its normal indie band and
that being different isn’t usually taken very well or given the attention it deserves, so Id like to feel that people
would feel like they need to be the change for that when they watch the interview and break out of that
tunnel vision mindset.

24. What feedback did you get from your peers and
viewings?
• I had mostly positive feedback from the interview I showed fin himself, my mum, my friends and sister. They
all had the same thoughts on the direction and editing of it and felt it had its own definitive flare of my style
and that it has eccentric editing style.
• My mum gave specific points about the interview portion and said it felt very relaxed and easy going for the
pair of us as we are both friends and just felt like a recording of a normal conversation, she also thought it
was interesting to see fin's opinion on the lack of support and venues for upcoming bands and or singers. She
enjoyed the repertoire between the interviewer and interviewee. The one negative she had was that she felt
like the interviewer should've had a list of questions prepared to help with the flow of conversation and
topics.
• Furthermore my sister gave her opinions on the interview too and said she really liked the editing style with
the startup and outro sounds of the cassette tape, how the visuals really meshed with the music we was
talking about as the grungy, vintage punk aesthetic wouldn’t fit with something like classical music but fit well
with fins indie rock approach to music. She also said it reminded her of old mtv unplugged music sets /
interviews. The one negative she had was that he felt the audio quality couldve been a bit better and clearer
but other than that felt I was a very strong and enjoyable watch.

25. What would you do differently in the future
and why?
• I would have liked to have had a bit more time editing as I feel like it could've been a lot better but due to the
circumstances I couldn’t as I wouldn’t have had enough time to finish my other work. I would've spent that
extra time just fleshing out areas to my liking and if I had my other angle would've had a lot more cuts
between footage making it more engaging for the viewer.
• I would also add that extra angle that I lost as I feel that it wouldve really made the project feel a lot more
whole and connected to itself as I feel like not being able to see me created a disconnect with the viewer and
myself too. I just feel like it couldve been a whole lot better filming wise and editing wise if I just had the time
and wasn’t ill for a week or faced problems out of my control.

26. What knowledge have you gained that would help you in the
future to improve your project? Also, what knowledge from
academic literature and professionals has helped and why?
• I gained some knowledge editing wise with learning key framing, some overlaying stuff and on a separate
project more effects and transition work. I feel like I got more knowledge from my other project which was a
small edit I made as it helped me explore the transitions, effects, and some face tracking skills which in the
future I intend n making more edits and for my fmp a short movie, so with the knowledge got from just doing
that small edit will benefit me with what looks good for whatever project im working on at the time.
• From the proffesionals side or teachers it was mostly work with written work which I got the best advice ,
help as its something I struggle with. I was given advice on to not think too deply about the question and just
allow myself to flow through what I was writing about but when I need to think deeply about it think of
multiple ways you could write it and choose the best and most interesting route.

27. Action Plan
This section will identify what you would do differently in the future and
identify ways you could develop.

28. If you were making a similar project in the
future, what would you do differently?
• I would get multiple angles around about 3-4 as I feel like it builds up character and a connection between the
viewer and hosts especially with u close angles, I also would maybe write some questions down or already have
an idea of the specific questions I would ask as there was times, I had to chop out of the final project that was
just me thinking of a question to ask. I would also do It in a bit more of a professional setting, but I did feel like
the setting of my projects interview felt like it fit the aesthetics of fin and his musical approach.

29. How could you develop your skills for future projects? Please
identify the appropriate resources and courses. For example,
webpages, tutorials, books, short courses and qualifications.
• I am going to do more research on editing processes and skills on YouTube as I feel like that is the best place for
any tutorials or to learn new skills due to the fact you are also shown what to do. You can learn everything you
need on YouTube as I'd also like to learn how to use after affects and how to use premiere pro more effectively,
along with getting more plug-ins and effects as the ones at college are very limiting and don’t allow for a wide
range of expression and edits.

30. What personal attributes could you develop to
ensure you are working at a professional level?
• To be more disciplined and focused on my work to allow myself to enter that flow state of working as I do tend
to get distracted from work if it isn't anything creative such as editing, filming, recording etc. I also feel like I
need to stay on top of my work more as when I get distracted, I tend to get unmotivated and let work fall
behind which in the long run only pushes the creative pats back too which are the parts I look forward too, it
also makes me rush those parts making me feel more disappointed in myself as I didn’t achieve what I knew I
could due to those factors.