Max Canning
Unit 1 FMP
Documentary research:
The six forms of documentary -
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- Poetic
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- Expository
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- Observational
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- Participatory
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- Reflexive
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- Performative
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*A poetic documentary film, prioritizes visuals, emotions and artistic expression over a traditional narrative structure.
*Unlike expository documentaries which present details informatively with intriguing voice over narration, interviews, statistics , and archival footage.
*However, the observational documentary film is a filmmaking approach that captures real-life events unfolding without interference.
*A participatory documentary on the other hand, involves the filmmaking directly in the story telling. They may have experienced or lived with what they're documenting, producing accurate findings.
*The performative documentary focuses on the filmmaker's journey and emotions whilst exploring a subject. Exploring is vital as it is what differs performative from participatory.
*Finally, the reflexive documentary highlights the relationship between the filmmaker, the subject, and the audience.
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The main conventions and codes used throughout almost every form of documentary which are generally viewed as mandatory when attempting to produce a high quality documentary are:
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- Record, Reveal, or Preserve
This refers to the inclusions of captures or recordings important to the participants in the documentary. This helps add layers of emotional connection, belonging and viewer connection. The use of preserve describes documentaries attempting to preserve significant events for prosperity.
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- Persuade or promote
Famous documentary director, Renov, stated that "persuasive and promotional modality is intrinsic to all documentary forms", however, he also felt propaganda-style films, like expository, needed to have their own category. This use of persuade or promote also refers to the idea that documentaries will appeal to our values, emotions and logic to influence our opinion towards a controversial or challenging topic.
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- Analyse or interrogate
Many documentaries encourage the audience to analyse social and cultural issues, which can also lead to excellent talking points and persuasion of others to watch. By exposing a scandal or raising awareness of an injustice, the producers hope to activate the audience and inspire us to intervene by demanding action.
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Other codes and conventions that surround documentaries are the underlying 5 central elements of a documentary:
Observation, Mis-en-scene, Interviews, dramatization and exposition
63 Up - example of record, reveal, preserve
Stations of the elevated - example of persuade and promote
The great hack - example of analyse or interrogate
Poetic documentary - "Koyaanisqatsi"
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Expository documentary - "An Inconvenient Truth"
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Observational documentary - "Salesman"
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Participatory documentary - "Super Size Me"
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Performative documentary - "Stories we tell"
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Reflexive documentary - "F For Fake"
How do we know these examples fit within that mode - what aspects of the mode do they have, and what examples from the documentaries tell you this ?
The documentary "Koyaanisqatsi" is a great example of a poetic documentary as it represents the main aspects of this form. This doc is an apocalyptic vision of the collision of two different worlds, but, what makes it such a strong example of the poetic form is it's extensive footage of natural landscapes and elemental forces, as well as modern civilisation and technology.
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The expository documentary "An inconvenient truth" displays in-depth interviews from friends, families and even the first hand experiencers of the documented "planetary emergency". Throughout the doc, they demonstrate re-enacted incidents from the main influence's life story which raised his concerns about environmental issues. This follows the aspects of an expository documentary as it shows archival footage and interviews, whilst providing a narration and statistics.
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The Observational documentary "Salesman" follows the concrete principals of an observational doc as it films four door-to-door Bible salesman walking the line between hype and despair. This is an unaltered, real-life documentation of the filmmakers recording events that are unscripted... thus falling perfectly into the category of an observational documentary.
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The Participatory documentary "Super size me" demonstrates the formation of a doc that includes the filmmaker directly. This one stars Spurlock, who eats an inhumane amount of McDonalds in order to pin point precisely what it does to your body and gather an answer to the question.. "Where does personal responsibility end and corporate responsibility begin?" This documentary portrays the filmmaker's direct involvement, however, unlike the observational, the filmmaker changes their lifestyle and includes it specifically in the story telling.
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The performative documentary "Stories we tell" goes into detail on a journey for Polly to find her true birth father. What holds this documentary's identity as performative is the exploration of her family's secrets - including very intimate and deep secrets of Polly's own identity. She attempts to document events and theories through interviews with friends and family in a comfortable, home environment to surround the loved ones with safety. This being something that connects with the audience and allows the doc to exaggerate their intended emotional connection with viewers.
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The documentary "F for fake" is an exceptional example of a reflexive documentary as it engages the audience, filmmakers and the subject in a gripping story of events, narrated in full detail by the subject. Orson Welles, the fakery artist. This man recounts his entire past and how he faked his way into a job in Ireland, by claiming to be a famous New York actor and how his broadcast of The War Of The Worlds made deliberate use of fake news to simply enhance the story.
The documentary I enjoyed the most was the participatory doc - 'Super Size Me'
This implemented a shock factor as the filmmaker (also the main character... making it a participatory documentary) tracked the effects the fatty, fast food had on his body and health.
What I enjoyed most about this documentary was its ability to engage the viewers in a story-like documentation highlighting the effects of food that the majority of the audience eat.
As I grazed over before, McDonald's is a fast food restaurant that almost all of us treat ourselves to from now and then, but this documentary evokes how bad the food truly is for you.
This documentary was said to have a huge influence on the rise in quality of food at McDonald's and their recent thrive for healthier meals. McDonald's became 100% chicken breast just 4 years after the documentary was released.
In addition, this documentary was excessive and no one has the amount of fast food that Spurlock ate during his filming. However, many viewers said that watching this, has put them off McDonald's for life.
In this documentary, Spurlock has regular check ups with specialist doctors to track how exactly the food is damaging him. In these check ups, the doctor concludes that no one should have fast food more than once a month... putting people off for much longer than just a month.
Common elements of a documentary film:
Piece to camera - This is a term used in television and film when a presenter, character or narrator is speaking directly to the camera, connecting with the audience and acknowledging their presence, rather than a regular movie or series where the camera is ignored throughout. This element is commonly used when a news or television presenter is reporting, documenting or explaining something, to clear the story and factualise events for the audience to understand.
Relation to documentaries - This relates to documentaries and is used a lot when performing interviews as it is a direct documentation. Documentaries are commonly produced as story telling of events, experiences or theories, therefore, they require a lot of direct speech and the use of "piece to camera" is used a lot within docs.
Interviews - An interview is defined as a formal and detail-oriented conversation between interviewer and interviewee. There are roughly 9 different types of interview, all used for different circumstances and or situations. some of these types include: unstructured, video and depth, all forms of interview that are usually seen in documentaries.
Relation to documentaries - Interviews are used in almost every documentary you will see on modern television, the ability to take a moment with the interviewee, ask them questions and unravel the fascinating world-events that the filmmaker are documenting is something most producers pounce upon. In addition, interviews in documentaries serve as a fundamental tool for the storytellers to deliver authenticity and depth to the narrative.
Actuality footage - This term is used to describe film footage of real-life events, places and people, this is where it differs from fictional film which uses actors, artificial sets and scripted stories. Actuality footage simply refers to "actual" footage of the events that are being documented or described in a movie or series.
Relation to documentaries - This element of a documentary is one which I struggled to find examples that didn't include a doc of any sort, making it the heaviest element in relation to documentaries. Despite Actuality being scrapped as a genre in the early 1900s, actuality footage is still used as a building block of documentary filmmaking. When following the main principles of a documentary, it is almost a no-brainer for the producers and directors to include clips of raw, real-life events or people to grip the audience's attention and add visual elements to the documentation.
Fly on the wall - This element of a documentary refers to the recording of events, a camera is on the wall recording events unfold in front of it, in the purest passage of real-time events. It gets its name from the idea that the film is being recorded in a way that is similar to a fly watching on the wall.
Relation to documentaries - The camera records and documents events from an uninterrupted position, usually in the corner of the room. In a demonstration of the purest form of fly-on-the-wall documentary making, the camera crew participate as little as possible, however, it is also common for participants to be interviewed, often by an off-camera voice.
B roll - This element of a documentary is footage that supplements your main video clips. It can help to establish a scene, smooth out a transition or add meaning. It originates from filmmakers and editors inserted supplemental footage, or B-roll, into the main footage, or A-roll, to hide visible lines where two pieces of film were joined.
Relation to documentaries - This element is useful for documentary filmmakers as it can be used to cover up an edit or cut in the middle of an interview soundbite to re-enactment footage to footage visually explaining what is being talked about. B-roll is most useful when you plan ahead with a shot list to ensure you capture the right b-roll to tell your story.
Graphics and animations - These elements of a documentary are crucial, while motion graphics describes moving or animated graphic design, animation is a wide term for the whole field of moving imagery, including everything from cartoons to clay-mation. Motion graphics focus on giving movement to graphic design elements, but tend to have less of a concrete storytelling aspect than other types of animation.
Relation to documentaries - Animations and graphics are widely used in documentaries to help visualise the storytelling and bring to life or re-enact what past even is being documented. This is a more engaging element and is vital when retaining the viewer's attention.
Documentary research table
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Louis Theroux Screening...
What techniques have been used in this documentary ? and why ?
This was a participatory documentary that implemented techniques such as B-roll, Piece-to-camera and actuality footage. This doc consisted of a lot of raw footage and the filmmaker interacting directly with the dangerous animals that were being documented. Informal interviews consisting of short questions asked to owners were a common theme throughout the doc. All of these factors connected the audience and gave us a sense of emotional connection to the animals, whilst also educating us through a documentation of life in a zoo/enclosure for both the employees and the animals.
Which of Bill Nichols 6 modes of documentary did this documentary most align with ? and why ?
This documentary fit Bill Nichol's mode 'participatory'. This is due to the filmmaker, Louis Theroux, being directly involved with the interactions and on-screen footage. He was the interviewer and a participator throughout cementing it as a participatory documentary. This was an exceptional choice of mode as it connects the audience and makes them think what it would be like to experience what Theroux had, exploring the lives and treatment of these animals. The elements of a participatory doc such as being able to explore the homes of dangerous animal owners, helps the viewers to truly experience what Theroux is trying to express and show.
What techniques did they use to evoke emotion ?
Carefully chosen music connects the audience and unlocks an emotional connection when paired with explicit and emotional imagery or footage. In addition, collecting detailed, personal stories or accounts from owners of abuse their animals have suffered create a factor of sympathy from the audience. Techniques, such as raw footage, show us exact and precise moments where the animals are helplessly put under harm or distress. For example, when the leopard and tigers were tranquilised and displayed dizziness, I felt sad for them and it brought out an emotional attachment between me and the animal.
Interviews help connect the viewers with the owner and elaborates on the story
What techniques did they use to tell a story ?
Direct interviews and questioning helped to tell stories in depth and tell the viewers exactly what experiences the owners have had with their pets and the relationship between them. Techniques used in this doc such as record, reveal, preserve helped to attach the audience with the actuality footage of these animals, building relationships and allowing us to discover each animal for who they are.
Monkey given human attributes evokes emotional connection and adds an element of humour
What techniques or styles could you use for your own documentary ?
I love this participatory style of documentary and would be very confident producing one of my own, the use of raw footage, B-roll and interviews make this doc exceptional whilst also being engaging and emotional... all elements I would love to implement in a documentary of my own.
The first, and most popular, style of documentary is 'standard'. A standard documentary, in its simplest form, consists of the subject sitting, looking just off to the side of the camera. Generally, not too far off camera so we can only see one eye, both eyes are vital for being in shot as it is the key to connection. A floating camera is a common element of this style as it allows the cameraman to capture the perfect side angle with multiple shades whilst also being able to pan to the hands and body gestures of the subject.
Pros: very safe, easy to pull off in different conditions
Cons: very safe, not the most creative way to shoot an interview
Standard
The third style of documentary is 'conversational'. This refers to multiple characters talking about a topic, shot like a scripted film. The characters do not tend to look into the camera and just talk amongst themselves telling stories and explaining documentations. It's very intimate and engages the viewers in watching the conversation unfold. This style can hold an aroma of power and naturality that not many others can replicate, making it a commonly used and commonly successful style of documentary.
Pros: Feels like a natural and creative way to progress the story
Cons: Requires a level of skill and experience to pull off well, and is difficult to execute with only one camera
Conversational
The fifth style of doc I'll be describing is another one that involves a host, this one is called 'host + conversation'. This explains a conversational-style interview where we're aware of who is the host. Traditionally this consists of a side-angle mid shot of two people talking or having an interview. The host is prompting the subject with questions in a natural, comfortable environment, this is a general and normal conversation with the host their to uncover what the documentary is seeking.
Pros: It is fun, versatile and can be performed in many ways, the filmmaker being involved keeps it light and natural
Cons: can be boring at times if the questions aren't working or interesting
Host + conversation
The second, and again very popular, style of documentary is 'Interrotron'. An interrotron documentary, to put it simply, consists of the subject sitting, looking directly into the lens and audience. This is commonly set up with a mirror so the subject has a sense of conversation and feels as though they are talking to you as a viewer. It is an excellent style as it connects the audience and the interviewee and engages them in the story.
Pros: creates an intimate connection with the audience
Cons: Requires special technology in some circumstances, which requires a high budget
Interrotron
The fourth style of documentary that I have learnt from this video is 'host + standard'. This style consists of, in short, a standard interview with a host in the counter shot and 2-shot. Host + standard shows what a standard doesn't, it gives a reverse angle of what the standard subject is looking next to the camera at, and who it is. Typically news or journalist films. This style works best for participatory documentaries as it can be filmed in many ways and doesn't have to be sitting.
Pros: shows different elements and creates the feel of storytelling
Cons: complicated to film correctly
Host + standard
In the moment
The sixth style goes by the name 'in the moment' and is a conversational-style interview where a task is being completed. Similar to host + standard yet something is happening and imagery is being displayed. This is a more authentic feel of conversational and adds elements of realism, it is engaging and entertaining as it gives the audience something to watch and look at whilst the host asks questions and gets involved themself. It feels less like an interview and more like an organic conversation.
Pros: organic conversation that is entertaining and engaging
Cons: can be difficult/challenging for the host to ask questions whilst something else is happening
Standard Voiceover
The last style of documentary described is the 'standard voiceover'. This style refers to the subject's face not being seen, but is heard throughout the documentary. Mostly the interview is filmed for any gaps in production that need to be filmed or to give the audience an image of who is talking. Engaging B-roll footage is displayed with the voiceover that embodies what the subject is saying to avoid just watching someone sitting down and talking. This style is a great example of film that will push us as filmmakers to shoot more real-time scenes that show and express the life of the voice over/story.
Pros: very entertaining and representative of storytelling
Cons: expensive to film and requires a lot of time
Understanding B-roll notes -
B-roll is essentially archive or created footage that is placed on top of an interview or sound bite to support what is being said.
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These can be literal interpretations of the footage seen, or taking a more artistic or expressionistic angle, creating images that can be associated or give the same 'feel' as what the subject of the interview is saying.
How are the images being lined up with audio from the interview ?
The first clip we see is a garage opening to three expensive, classic cars... this visually represents the beginning of the documentary as the voice over begins talking.
As the images start to roll on photography from the 50s we hear a classical jazz piece begin to play, linking the pictures with the chosen music.
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He mentions seduction and the car's curves, then plays notoriously sexy music.
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The voice-over highlights the beauty of sound a retro car makes when the doors are shut, which we then hear in the audio.
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Are their any moments where the images show exactly what's being said ?
When the documenter says "It's simple, it's all you ever need" we see a car driving calmly, smoothly and steadily, representing the steadiness he is talking about.
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When the voice-over talks about the radios, the lights and other features of a modern car, we're visually met with a classical, simpler representation of a 50s car.
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He explains his views on cars being like art, and then rolls a clip of him in a typical art studio, cleaning and polishing vintage car signs.
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When he talks about the Dodge car he aspires to buy, and his wife divorcing him, we see a shot of a disappointed wife with the Dodge car lingering in the back.
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The first lighting technique commonly used in documentaries is called 'The Booklight'. This is one of the softest lighting techniques that produces a calming and steady light, developed by Shane Hurlbut that enhances and uses bounce + diffusion. Essentially the booklight is a bright light being shined at a large piece of card or paper that bounces and reflects the light off of it, then with an attached diffuser, cloth or fabric that supresses the brightness, the light shines through on to the subject. This bounce + diffusion technique adds a lot of balance to your light whilst also increasing the volume and the beauty of the subject.
The second lighting technique I'm recording notes upon is the 'F The Fill'. This is great for moodier or sadder subjects, this deeper form of lighting evokes the emotion and surrounds the room with a more upsetting feel. We are able to lower the overall feel of the subject with using a single light, this effect can be achieved by moving your light further to either side of your subject and then controlling the spill of your key with flags, or by using an 'egg crate' or a grid. The importance when using this technique is to lower your fill light and make your key at least twice if not four times as bright... less fill = more drama.
Documentary plan -
Questions from the interviewer...
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Question 1. what is the biggest difference between secondary and college?
NOTE: this question is to get the interviewee to to speak on their experiences at both sixth form and secondary and they then compare and weigh up the differences and which one they prefer more.
Question 2. how did you travel to secondary and how drastic was the change compared to now in college?
NOTE: the point of this question is to find out how peoples mode of transportation has changed and if not they can speak on new habits they developed for their commute to school.
Question 3. have you made any new friends, and have you stayed in touch with any friends from secondary?
NOTE: this question is to take a dive into the interviewees social life and how they are fitting in in the college as well as how their relationships are with the people they once went to school every day.
Question 4. what is your least favourite thing about college?
NOTE: this is also to get the interviewee to explicitly give their thoughts on what they think can be improved within the college and possibly even be seen by school.
Question 5. Do you feel like you have more freedom in college compared to secondary school?
NOTE: this question will allow the interviewee to speak about why they believe that college gives more freedom or doesn't give as much freedom compared to secondary school.
Theme / Topic...
The difference between secondary and college life. We chose this as it is something that targets the majority of college students as most have come from a secondary school which are most definitely a lot different compared to college.
b roll / action shots -
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mid shot of students in a busy area of the college x2
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tracking shot of the mode of transport they take to school
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hall ways
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students sat in a class room
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canteen / costa shot
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no smoking sign
Interview style...
We will be using the standard interview style. The standard interview style is is where they to get the recorded person as close to the camera and has their head angled so that they aren't looking directly into the camera in order to get a clear shot of their face and them talking these are always one sided interviews where you inly hear the recorded person answer the questions. were using this style because it is the best stile we can use at as of this moment due to the lack of experience in filming documentaries and standard documentaries styles are the best style.
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Final cut
Audio edits:
Parametric equaliser
Parametric Equalizer has helped me to dip my audio in and out of volume and base to capture the best parts and to hide bumps and mistakes. In addition, the high frequency from level 2 has enhanced the quality of the main periods of speech to make it sound less metallic.
De-noise
I've used de-noiser to hide background noise and get rid of mistakes like muffles and bumps that seep through into the final audio. The salt and pepper effect has reduced a grinding sound that was a consistent mistake with my boom mic audio.
Parametric equaliser x2
I have implemented and adjusted this parametric equaliser to my audio 2 clip of the travelling and friends description. Cutting the highs drowns out a perfect audio and so does cutting the lows, by heightening with followed cutting, we create a clearer balance that helps the listeners to capture all of the emotion in our actor's voice. In addition, this equaliser has allowed me to cut away unwanted frequencies that irritate and interrupt the audio we need.
Single-band compressor
This single-band compressor, with the voice thickener preset, implements effects of squashing the audio to make the quiet parts that we need to focus on, louder, and the loud parts of our audio that are excess or unimportant, quieter. This output gain adjustment helps us to perfect where and when we want our audio to peak. This prevents discomfort for our viewers as it keeps the audio at a smooth and engaging volume.
Reflection questions...
What impact has your research into documentaries had on this task ?
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By researching all elements of a documentary, from camera angles to lighting techniques, I felt confident that I knew all the ways to capture and draw out the best of my doc with the equipment, actors, and resources I had. I used techniques such as B-roll that matches voice-over from an interview, this is something I know a lot about due to my research, I implemented it in my own documentary effectively to capture but also maintain my audiences attention. However, the lighting could have been improved... I probably should've drew the curtains before filming to get a more dramatic lighting and focus the shadows on my actor's face.
What have you learnt about editing voice, how did you apply this knowledge, and how useful was it ?
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Editing voice is a huge part of a documentary as we can capture a lot of our subject's emotion from just the tone, volume and level of their voice. If their voice is muffled or unclear to the audience, this vitally connecting effect may be lost completely. I have applied and implement a parametric equaliser and a single-band compressor to my direct speech audio that makes it clear and emotionally connecting throughout my doc. This has proven to be extremely useful as their were bumps and background noises that drowned out the focus of our audio and the mic's original pick-up sounded metallic and light. However, after this new editing voice technique, we produced a final edit consisting of a clear, concise, and emotionally absorbing voice.
How have you improved your skills from the last task you completed ?
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I have improved my filming skills, as I researched more into the background of my techniques, I came to realise the importance of a tripod and all its different attributes. During pre-production with my last task, I failed to complete all the factors before the filming period, so a lot of it was improvised which proved to be considerably time-consuming due to the amount of thinking. However, my more serious approach to pre-production ended up being a huge contribution to the success of this documentary project, especially the story board which displayed simple instructions and visual representations of what I needed to shoot.
Summarise overall what you have learnt through doing this task and how it will impact what you do in future tasks, will you use it again ?
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This task has taught me the best and worst things to do when filming and editing a documentary, I have also been taught lighting and filming techniques that I will definitely use in future productions and even in my own. Future tasks will be a lot easier with my new knowledge of what makes a quality documentary, in addition, lighting, filming and audio editing will be implemented in the necessary places to grip the audiences attention and retain it throughout my current and future documentaries.
Mini Documentaries (1 min)
Techniques - Music that links to the theme of the doc, piece to camera, actuality footage, voice-overs with high pace B-roll to match intensity, shots of real final pieces, voice-over explanation and documentation with B-roll and music that matches
Target audiences - kids for toys, people who are stuck with their job choices, reluctant to take risks, those interested in cameras
Production consideration - shooting and recording whilst the main man is in action, set up in comfortable work areas, shooting in home environment or place of craft
Techniques - Music that links to the theme of the doc, piece to camera, actuality footage, interviews, shots of real final pieces, voice-over explanation and documentation with B-roll and music that matches
Target audiences - People interested in horror, costume designers or mask enthusiasts, people hiding from their emotions, those that enjoy weird or creative artwork
Production consideration - shooting and recording the main man showing his work, testing his work and modelling it himself, set up in a studio or place of work to conduct an interview
Techniques - Music that links to the theme of the doc, piece to camera, actuality footage, shots of real final pieces, shots of product, advertisement techniques implemented, voice-over explanation and documentation with B-roll, interviews of the lady mentioning dramatic changes
Target audiences - People... who need their house cleaned, lacking motivation, need cleaning tips or a cleaner, interested in the art of cleaning and how it can be viewed as fun or relaxing
Production consideration - photos of before and after, setting up cameras and lighting for an interview, filming actuality footage of the homes
Making the perfect chicken sandwich: Pre-production
I am going to invent, film and produce a 60 second documentary consisting of how to make the perfect grilled chicken sandwich. I will talk about the origins of chicken and its popularity today. I will explain the health benefits of this food and how magnificent it tastes, whilst also elaborating on my specific ingredients and how they contribute to the sandwich. This will include an interview style documentary with music and voiceover throughout actuality footage and B-roll of me cooking in the kitchen.
Reflective cycle - process of filming & editing:
What were we asked to make ?
We were asked to make a 60 sec - 120 sec documentary on 'how to make the perfect...' we were able to fill in the blank with anything we wanted that was seen as appropriate.
How well did me and my team communicate ?
This was a solo project so I took on all the roles in the creation and filming of this doc. However, communication between my current self and future self was important as I had to film over 2 days and the day before I planned everything, so in order to communicate ideas and plans I had to convey them clearly for me to follow and remember when filming.
Did I understand the instructions ?
I understood the instructions very clearly and I immediately started to think about how I could create a documentary that is informative and clear with instructions on how to create the perfect something, but also how to make this engaging, interesting and entertaining.
What did I do to prepare ?
I wrote a short description on my ideas and plans and what I was aiming to achieve with this doc. I also filled in a shot list to help me easily film and piece together the order of shots and B-roll.
Plan
Do
What skills did I need to demonstrate ?
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I needed to demonstrate filming, lighting and interviewing skills to create the highest quality of short documentary I could. Luckily we had watched some on YouTube to help show us what we need to use and implement.
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I demonstrated my elite knowledge and skills of using a camera, tripod and light to portray the best complexion and inviting angle of each shot. This shot in particular captured all of my ingredients from a high, aesthetic angle.
What problems did I face when filming ?
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In all honesty I didn't face many problems and my documentary was filmed rather smoothly, however, my cat was very interested in the food I was preparing and kept getting in the way of my production, this led to me having to re-record multiple shots.
Here is a picture of my cat getting in the way of my production, not a serious problem, but a consistent problem nonetheless.
What was the biggest challenge completing it ?
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The biggest challenge I faced when completing the task was probably post-production. I realised that I had filmed too much for a 60-120 sec doc and I had difficulties cutting it, editing and shaving the shots down to fit the allocated time-frame. I even had to stay for plus-time in order to complete it.
This is a picture of additional shots and clips that I had to cut to 1-2 seconds in the final edit as it was seen by me as creative yet unnecessary and wasteful when attempting to fit the time-frame.
What new skills did you develop with the software ?
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We have used premier pro before but with this new documentary prep and approach to editing, I have developed new skills to enhance my sound and lighting when creating a documentary/interview style shot.
This mid-production photo shows the way I've implemented my new lighting, framing and software skills into my final interview shot.
Review
If I could change one thing what would it be ?
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If I could change one thing about my documentary it would be cutting the interview short. Due to time and equipment issues I wasn't able to film the interview for the second half of the production (cooking phase) and so I wasn't able to cut back to it and use it to maintain entertainment.
This photo shows how I set up the interview that was questioned, filmed and acted by me in my bedroom. I used a mobile tripod and a camera tripod to capture a body shot and close up of me, using the big light to shine on one side of my face.
Did I successfully complete all aspects of the task ?
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In my opinion I felt as though I successfully completed all aspects of the task and even pushed them and went above and beyond to display all the new skills I have learnt in the 'documentary prep' section. In addition, I really enjoyed being able to be on my own and create a final edit I am proud of.
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The photo I am showing here displays the lengths I went to in order to capture the prime lighting and aspects of each shot.
What did I enjoy most and what did I find most frustrating ?
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I enjoyed the freedom we were given to create a documentary that can be filmed and edited in so many different ways. The most frustrating thing I found with the project was my biggest mistake of cutting the interview short.
This photo displays the freedom I was presented with being taken fully as I used all my equipment and even additional lighting to capture high quality shots with voice-over.