Our edit before the sync assembly had all of the elements we wanted in it, but we hadn't cleaned up the sound or the colour correcting so it was quite a rough edit. We had all the clips in the places that we wanted them to be, and we had added our new footage from our shoot day where we re-shot some of the interviews.
Feedback
Here is the feedback we got from Helen when showing her the rough cut of our documentary:
Add more commentary at the beginning of the documentary and throughout it during the sequences.
We need to introduce our documentary, and this needs to be done through the commentary. We need to explain where we are and where we're going to make the audience feel more involved.
With the other pieces of commentary, we need to link all the interviews together by adding some more information in the commentary.
Get Carol arriving at the farm in three shots.
The opening sequence is too long, so it needs to be shortened down. We will delete some of the shots that aren't needed to make it shorter and we will cut it down slightly to make the cuts neater.
Introduce Carol.
In the original edit, Carol introduces herself by talking to the camera, however Helen said, due to the sound being dodgy, we should re-record it as commentary to keep the opening sequence moving and to help move quickly into the first interview.
Check the continuity.
Get rid of some of the shots that seem forced, and don't give anything else to the video.
Cut out the questions of the interviews and go straight into John's answer.
The shots need to match the list.
This was for the shot where John lists the numerous amounts of wildlife that are on the farm. We need to make sure our shots match his list.
Add cutaways of what he is talking about.
This will be done to make the audience more aware and involved in what he is discussing with Carol.
Rearrange some of the cutaway shots.
Need to see more of their faces in the bluebell interview.
Put the audio of the quadbikes earlier in the interview to introduce that segment of the documentary.
Cut down some of the interviews, and make them tighter.
The 'National Farmer Union' needs to be clearer and quicker.
We will cut down some of the commentary for this and make the shot shorter.
Get rid of everything that isn't in the narrative.
We had added shots of ducks to make it interesting, but it doesn't really go with our narrative so it will be quite confusing for the audience.
Cut Carol back and add more John.
Helen wanted to see more of John, so we will add more of his interview talk into the documentary while being aware of the not needed dialogue.
Great sequencing.
Liked the natural chats between Carol and John.
The bird shots are really nice.
We have taken on board everything that Carol has said, and we will change our documentary to suit her changes.
When re-filming some of the shots for our documentary, we took advantage of two of our free days and we filmed the interviews on one of them, and the nature and wildlife on the other.
Our individual roles for the day were as follows:
Becca: Sound operator
Nisserin: Camera operator
Sammi: Director
Interview
When re-shooting the interviews, we made a shot list of all the different shots we wanted to film again, so we could work hard and get everything done quickly and effectively. This shot list helped us when directing Carol and John as we knew what we wanted and where we wanted it.
We started by filming everything with John as we were conscious of taking up too much of his time, and then we filmed Carol's parts.
We had previously decided that we would start the documentary in a different location as what we had on our first filming day. We also made a change on the location of the lunch interview and the ending of the documentary.
Once we had re-filmed everything we imported the footage, added it to our edited video and cleaned it up so it ran smoothly.
We also managed to get our hands on some old photographs of the farm - we took photos of them to add to our video when talking about the history of the farm.
For the sound element, we decided to put a clip mic on John for his speaking parts, and then when we filmed Carol on her own we put the clip mic on her.
We did this because we knew the clip mic audio sounded better than the H4 audio from our first filming day.
Nature & Wildlife
When filming more of the wildlife on the farm, we decided it would be a good idea if we went on a different route and walked around a different part of the farm to vary our locations.
We had the same set up - all three of us had a camera each - as we thought it was effective and useful the first time we filmed.
We managed to find some different wildlife to what we found before, but we also found similar birds, we just changed the shot to make it slightly different.
Having all of these shots is useful as we can put them together in a bin when editing and we can easily decide what shots we want to use for our cutaways and GV's.
Overall, having these two extra filming days really helped us as we were able to film the parts we didn't like the first time round, and also we could take our time with finding the nature.
After having the workshop with Tim, we decided as a group that we would all type up transcripts from all of the interviews in our original footage.
Sammi wrote the transcript for the opening interview, the interview in the barley field and the interview in the bluebell walkway.
I wrote the transcript for the middle interview where they discuss field margins, education and where they measure the margins.
Nisserin wrote the transcript for the lunch time interview, which, when filming, was the longest interview of them all.
I found writing the transcript quite challenging but once it was done, it was useful for us when editing the footage and cutting down some of the interviews.
Here are some screenshots of some of the transcripts we had written from our original footage:
We had a workshop with someone in the industry called, Tim Bentham, and he talked to us about the use of a transcript.
Definition
A transcript is a written or printed copy of something that has previously been said.
Why are Transcripts useful?
By writing a transcript of the audio from the original footage of a documentary, it will be helpful when editing the video.
When the transcript is written, you can read through it and cross out/delete the parts of audio that you don't want or is un needed within the documentary. Then when it comes to editing, you know what parts of audio to cut out and what parts to keep in the video.
Once you a have rough idea of what audio clips you want in the video you can focus on cleaning up the audio and then you can add in cutaways to hide the cuts you have made previously.
The Task
With this information, we were given a transcript with some of the sentences crossed out, indicating the fact that they should be cut out. We were given the interview clips and some of the cutaways for the interview, and we were told to create the video from the transcript.
The first thing I did was find the correct interview clip. Once I found this I cut out the parts that were un wanted and made sure that the sentences I was left with made sense. I then cleaned up the audio by using the 'Constant Power' effect, also by adjusting the audio on the clips.
Once this was cleaned up, I added some of the cutaways to hide the cuts that were made. When choosing what cutaways to add, it was a hard decision as it needed to make sense with the audio. When you hear something you want to see it as well, which is something that I took on board with this edit.
What I've Learnt
From doing this workshop I have learnt that writing a transcript for our documentary will be useful when starting the edit. The interviews that we have shot are very long and there is quite a lot of information that we don't need to show within the documentary.
If we write transcripts of these interviews, we can easily locate the different topics being said, and we can decide on paper what we want said and what we don't want said.
I've also learnt that everything that is being heard through the audio needs to be seen through the pictures.
Another aspect I have learnt is the fact that documentaries are mostly made up of cutaway and GV shots. This is useful information to have as we now know to film more GV's in order to create a smooth and interesting documentary.
On our second filming day, we decided to film the nature and wildlife shots. We knew it would take us a while to find some wildlife, and we understood it would be difficult but as a group we agreed that we would take our time finding the wildlife ad we wanted good coverage.
Camerawork
We had three different cameras on this filming day which helped a lot with getting wildlife shots and getting a good range of different shots.
To start with we walked to the bluebell pathway we filmed in to get some cutaways of the landscape and the bluebells, but also to find wildlife.
Sammi stood at one end of the pathway, I stood in the middle, and Nisserin stood at the other end. We all set up our cameras and started to shoot some landscape shots while also searching for wildlife.
We managed to find some different type of birds, and a few insects such as bees and butterflies which would be our cutaways when editing the video.
We walked around the farm and got a variety of bird and butterfly shots, while also getting some landscape shots that we could use for commentary shots.
When we imported the footage, we found out that we didn't get enough wildlife shots, so we will have to go back and find some more wildlife.
Sound
We didn't need all of the audio from the cameras, so we decided to put a microphone on one of the cameras.
This was done so we would have some atmosphere audio that we could add to the edit and it would create the desired tone and atmosphere.
By adding the tweets of the birds and the rustling of the trees, it will make the documentary more realistic and 'alive', which is something that we were aiming for.
Lighting
Again, due to filming outside we knew we would have some weather issues, however the sun was out for the majority of the day, which made our shots look bright and pleasing for the eye.
However, it might be hard for us to colour match the clips together, mainly because of the brightness of the clips.
Overall, the second filming day went well, but we will need to go back another day to carry on filming the wildlife and got more footage of animals and insects.
On our first filming day, we decided that due to availability of the presenter and the farmer, we would film their parts.
Our individual roles for the filming day were as follows:
Me: Camera operator
Nisserin: Director & camera operator
Sammi: Sound operator
Camerawork
During the setting up of the equipment we decided that we would film with two different cameras at the same time to avoid continuity problems when it came to editing. Nisserin filmed the main shots that we would use as our master shots and I shot the apposing shots that we could use to help us cut the interview when editing.
Due to complications with one of the cameras - it wouldn't focus very well - we had to assign one of the cameras for the close-up shots and one for the wide/long shots.
Nisserin's camera had a nice focus, so the close-ups were filmed on that camera, and the wider shots were filmed on the other one.
When importing this footage, we decided that there were a few shots that were missing, and other shots we weren't too happy with like the lunchtime scene.
We went away and brainstormed some other options for this scene as we didn't like the location too much.
Sound
Sammi recorded the sound on a H4 recorder, which was connected to the boom mic.
This boom was used to capture John's audio and his answers to Carols questions.
We recorded Carol's audio on a clip mic which was connected to Nisserin's camera, so she could hear what Carol was saying.
When importing these recordings, the clip mic audio sounded really good and clear, but the sound from the H4 recording didn't sound as good.
You couldn't hear John that well, and the wind interrupted some of his speech.
We all agreed, after some discussion, that we should aim to re-record some of the audio when re-shooting some of the interviews, but also we might put write some of the interview as commentary and get her to record it at the studios.
Lighting
Due to filming outside, we were bound to get some problems with the lighting.
At the start of the day, the lighting was bright and nice, however it was quite cloudy. Then during the day the weather changed and the lighting got darker. This was a problem for us as we didn't want to film in the rain, which meant that we had to wait for the rain to stop before wrapping the day.
This is more of a problem when it comes to editing as it will be quite hard to match the lighting and the colours, but with the three-way colour corrector, it shouldn't be too difficult.
Overall, the first filming day went well, but there were a few hiccups which means we will have to film again.
Here is the shot list for our first filming day. We weren't 100% sure on the exact shots we are filming but we knew roughly, so I put in a rough idea of what it might look like.
After Film Day - Refilming
Once we edited the first bits that we previously filmed, we decided that we needed to re film some shots so we created a second shot list to help us when filming the different shots.
Having a shot list will help us when filming as we will know what we are going to film and our shoot day will run smoother.
When we decided that we wanted a presenter for our documentary, we had to begin our search on who we wanted to play the role.
Sammi suggested someone who had worked for her on one of her previous projects. She was one of the main roles in Sammi's first uni project, and when I thought back to her video, I remembered her acting skill and thought she would work well.
Carol Ball
Carol usually works in Theatre productions.
She has performed in the West End in shows such as:
'Chicago
'Hello Dolly'
'Guys and Dolls'
'The Goodbye Girl'
'Thoroughly modern Millie'.
Not only does she perform in the theatre, but she also performs on TV.
She has appeared on TV programmes such as:
'The Bill'
'The Trip'
'Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother'.
She has also been in films such as:
'The Boyfriend'
'Valentino'
'Muppets Most Wanted'.
After watching her performance in Sammi's video, I could tell that she had a good personality and she would be able to carry our documentary really well.
When researching into documentaries, I found out that there are many different types of documentaries:
Poetic
It shows a form of expression and it targets a personal subject with the people on the screen. This type of documentary enhances a variety of elements through the type of music used which develops the mood and tone, through the editing and also through the cinematography of the documentary.
Expository
These documentaries aren't necessarily fictional. It's a piece that directly speaks to the viewers and creates a strong sense of argument. They try to persuade the viewers, but not everything shown may be real and relevant to the subject.
Observational
It provides an outside perceptive that looks in onto a particular subject. Usually it will be something that is not dramatized or staged, like 'One Born Every Minute'. The content of the programme is reality and also fully factual with no changes made. Therefore it is a fully observational documentary.
Participatory
It is a documentary that is slightly similar to a 'Expository' documentary which means that the subject that is being discussed and questioned may be influenced on the screen through the Director, Producer or Presenter.
Reflexive
It's a documentary that clearly shows the behind the scenes so the filming, editing and everything in between. This means that the audience can make their own judgement on what is happening.
Performative
This is a piece that can be emotional as it targets a personal experience and/or subject which is usually developed by the filmmaker. It allows the audience to gain a perspective of something that is then questioned by themselves.
By knowing these different types of documentaries, it will me when making our documentary as I will know what sort of content to include and how to structure it.
For our 'On Location' workshop, we visited Faversham after it being visited and approved by Helen. We were then split into groups of 4 - 2 groups will be walking around the market and the other 2 groups will be walking around the brewery.
I was in one of the groups that walked around the market place - I was in a group with Nisserin and Josh. We decided that Josh would start as the camera man and we would take turns in filming different shots and in the different locations that we were allowed to visit.
We started by filming a beginning shot to set the scene and the location, and then we moved around the market and shot a variety of different scenes such as the public walking along the street, people looking at stalls, people handing money to the stall owner and a busker who at the time was singing and playing his guitar to the public.
We decided that actuality close up shots of the public being natural in that environment would show the market well and you would be able to get a good sense of the atmosphere.
We also got some shots of the old landmark buildings that were in the street, and we shot these on the tripod so we would get static shots that we could cut into.
After doing some wandering around the street we found a little hotel, and one of the owners was more then happy to do a little interview with us. We then shot a few nature shots by the creek, including a goose and some nice landscape shots.
When editing the video we wanted to make it fun and interesting, and we did this through the music and the pace of the cuts. We made sure to include the hotel to create the friendliness of the town, and we added some cutaways of the market.
I thought that our final edit gave the market a nice feel and it was fun to watch. Helen's feedback was we needed different music, which was a fair point, and we needed to have more shots on the tripod.
From this workshop I have learnt that most shots need to be filmed on the tripod to make it stable and balanced and to make the video look more professional and documentary like.
Here is the risk assessment for the creek:
Here is the risk assessment for the market:
Here are the two consent forms we had the busker and the hotel owner fill out:
Here is the call sheet for our first filming day - Thursday 14th April. One of my jobs within the group was to write the call sheets for the day, and this is the outcome.
We discussed as a group, what time we should get to the location, what time we need the cast at the location and what roles everyone is going to have.
We decided that Nisserin would be the Producer and the Director, I would be the camera operator/Director of Photography, and Sammi would be the sound operator.
We wanted to get there fairly early so we would have time to set up the equipment and also so we could start early and get as much done as possible.
The crews call time is 9am and the cast's call time is 9:30am - 10am. Due to the farmers working on the day, we are going to work around their schedule, so when they are free to film we will make sure we are free as well.
This is the call sheet for the day we are planning on filming nature and wildlife:
This is the call sheet for the day we have kept free if we need to re film anything:
When we started thinking about what our documentary will look like, and what content will be in it, we got together and made a list. We started by creating a narrative, and during one of our tutorials with Helen she suggested we base our narrative around the timings during the day.
What she meant by that was, the beginning of the documentary will be set at the beginning of the day, and then the end of the documentary will be set at the end of the day. We all agreed that this was a good idea, so we planned out the order everything will be in while also deciding what questions we want the presenter to ask John, the farmer.
At first, it was my job to write the script, so I started by writing the commentary to help create a base for the script, but I found it quite hard to write it on my own as I wanted the rest of my group to have a say in what the script will be like. Also I found documentary scripts harder to write than normal scripts, so the others helped me.
We got together and started writing the script using all three of our opinions. After some discussions and moving some questions and shots around, we finished writing more than half of the script. Due to me not feeling confident enough to finish the script, we all decided that Sammi would finish the last part of the script.
Once the script was finished, Sammi showed it to Helen and the feedback we got was that some parts were in the wrong place and they needed to be moved around. Also some words needed to be changed but other than that, everything was good.
After the tutorial, we talked about the feedback and decided that Sammi would improve the script and then send it to myself and Nisserin so we could start the storyboard and the shot list.
After the sound workshop where I was interviewed, we were given the task to create a shot list and a script for it so we could film cut away shots, and then edit it together to create a final video. Due to some complications, myself and Nisserin were put in a group with Sammi, but we decided to use the footage from our workshop as both me and Nisserin were involved in the interview.
We wrote the script and then the shot list, and we also wrote out a list of cutaway shots that we needed to shoot to make the video effective and more like a documentary piece. Due to some of the interview being about my interests outside of university, we decided that getting together round my house, when we're not at uni, was a smart idea.
We then discussed filming in the base room at uni, and using some archive footage of my previous YouTube videos, as I do mention a similar topic within the interview.
At my house, we shot the clips of me playing the ukulele and singing, and we also filmed a shot of me typing on my laptop - scriptwriting - and editing a video.
This was to show my interest in editing videos, writing scripts and creative writing in general. We also shot some cutaway shots to show my interest in Disney & Giraffes.
Then at the studios we shot footage of me looking through the camera and taking pictures to show my interest in photography and the camera in general.
We then filmed me walking through the base room door and writing on a notebook to emphasise the creative writing interest.
The archive footage we used was me performing in front of an audience a few years ago. We also used some clips of my previous videos on YouTube, and some of the videos I produced while at uni.
While editing this video we started by looking through the interview footage and cutting out the stuff we didn't want like the pauses and the fillers. We watched through the interview and placed the cutaway footage on top of the interview whenever it was appropriate.
We decided not to add background music as we felt it would distract the audience from the interview itself, and also we had a clip of me singing later on in the video, so we needed no sound before and after hearing it. Once it was done we added credits, and we colour corrected the clips to make all of the clips match and to keep the continuity of the shots.
This workshop really helped me with the development of editing and filming a documentary. I realised that a lot of cutaway shots are used within documentaries to help tell the story, and also to keep the audience interested.
This helped, also, with the structuring of my groups documentary as it can give us ideas on how we want to present the footage, and how we want the interview to look.
