OnIT Challenge – Week 4

Photo: OnIT Challenge – Week 4

WEEK 4 of the OnIT CHALLENGE and our artists have been asked to:

  • Hone their filming skills
  • Invent some intriguing characters
  • Perform the subtle art of waiting…

Still Waiting GIF by MOODMAN

SPOTLIGHT ON THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE  

All our artists, no matter what their specialty, had to also take part in the Technical Challenge.

Each week they were given a small technical task included within their main challenge and this helped our artists to document all their wonderful work.

That way we can share it with all with you too!

The first lockdown hit and we very quickly had to get used to sitting in front of a camera; whether video chatting with friends, catching up with family or, meeting with work colleagues.

But, technology isn’t natural to everyone and who hasn’t forgot to unmute, or has accidentally cut their head out of frame?

90S Technology GIF

We needed advice and so our resident videographer, Phil Smethurst designed the Technical Challenge to hone our video making skills and offer guidance for filming at home.

Our artists have so far explored how to:

  • Frame their work
  • Find the perfect performance space 
  • play with lighting themselves and their space
  • Use basic audio equipment
  • Consider their audience 
  • Create and narrate video diaries 

Week 4 sees them filming for editing!

This means filming multiple versions of their creative work, using different angles so they have lots of different options to tell a story with. There’s loads of inexpensive or even FREE software/apps for video editing, so everyone can give it a go!

Danielle did a particularly fine job editing their art process in this micro movie!

“Exactly what I asked for. You’ve made great use of apps throughout the challenges; this was exactly what I wanted this week. You’ve earned two additional bonus points for the fantastic edit.”

Feedback for Danielle from expert, Phil Smethurst

OTHER NEWS IN WEEK 4

TIMED TASK HIGHLIGHT

The timed task sparked our artists’ imaginations by inviting them to create a new character.

The character must have a name and five important things about them that ‘only their friends would know’.

Here are some brief introductions to these fascinating characters:

Alex – A stargazer who lives life on the edge.

Evil Alice – Who turns people into mice and sends cats to catch them.

Bethany – Who has amathophobia. 

matt lucas dust GIF

Obie – The purple DJ duck

And…

Francesca De Silver – Who is obsessed with cats.

Adopts Cat Lady GIF

WAITING… STILL WAITING

This week the Acting Challenge is off-book for the first time!

Our actors had to improvise scenes of themselves waiting patiently or (in some cases) impatiently. 

These silent scenes asked our actors to play with subtle and repetitive movements and to include some stillness in the scene. 

Toby was waiting for the bus, Daryll waited for the phone to ring and Chrissy left the audience guessing…

Speaking of waiting, that’s it for week 4, so we’ll leave you waiting patiently and see you in Week 5!

But, if you’re not so patient, head over to our social channels throughout the week to see more highlights!

Blog author, Imogen Barton-Wells