peer review and feedback.

Today we showed our documentary to the rest of our group, and also infront of Debbie and Dom. I felt confident about our work as I had spent a lot of time editing it, and I know everyone else in my group gave it their all. We were all expecting good things from this piece and I feel that was reflected in our short presentation.

 

Before our session Charlotte double checked the disks to make sure they still worked, and unfortunately it became apparent that the film became a lot duller on a Windows computer in comparison to an Apple Mac which we had been using to edit.

This was a shame but we informed Debbie and Dom about this and they said they would take it into consideration.

We recieved some really positive feedback about our documentary, which is shown in the pictures above.

editing.

On Monday morning I came into Uni to start editing.

I started by going through all 86 clips and giving them relevant names. This was to make it easier for myself at later stages of editing as it meant I didn't have to waste time looking for a clip. I then colour co-ordinated the different types of shot into the following categories:
Scenic
In the Duck
Interview
Duck on the water
Duck on the road
Cut aways
Office
Misc.

Later on in the day our director, Dani, joined me. She started to draw out a rough timetable (left) so I had some sort of idea as to how she want the documentary to be structured.

I began the editing process by watching each clip and getting a sense of what sort of footage we had. This took ages as we had loads of footage.

I then decided to put together any sequences which became obvious, for example, the office scene was fairly easy to put together as we had to establish a sense of place, and given the footage we had, this was a simple job.

After putting together a few sequences I decided it would be a good idea to focus on the main interview.

This included removing the sound of Dani asking the question, and any unwanted atmos. I also had to break down the sound and cut out any dead-air.

With Dani's direction, I was able to create a clean cut interview sequence, in which I started to add edited clips which held relevance to what Tony, our interviewee, was saying.
After a long day in the edit room we have started to create a clearly structured documentary.

On Tuesday morning, our sound editor Chrissie, and I met to continue editing.

We had some problems exporting single audio files from SoundTrack Pro and then importing them into Final Cut Pro which is where we were editing our footage. Because of our problems we ended up having to export all the audio tracks into one continuous audio track, import it into Final Cut Pro and cut it down using that program instead.

This wasn't too much of a problem as Chrissie had already edited and adjusted the audio so it sounded fine.
 After collecting all of the audio from Chrissie I was able to start adding life to our documentary.

At this point I had already edited most of the footage and created sequences with the footage. However, it wasn't in a specific order yet.

Having the audio files made deciding on an order a lot easier as we were able to choose what sounded good and where.

We decide to use the audio footage of a tour guide providing the historical story of the Duck's as a main storyline throughout the documentary. This is to accompany our interview with Tony, which equals out the informative nature of the history interview, by adding a lighthearted take on the Ducks as well.

We also realised that the audio Dani and Charlotte had collected from the actual tour was of much better quality than we had expected. This was very useful as we could use this over certain parts of our footage to add an entirely new layer to the documentary.

We also decided that the vox pops Chrissie and I had collected had no place in our documentary. We decided that a main interview, a historical interview, and the tour was enough audio to create a storyline throughout our doc.

On Tuesday afternoon, Chrissie, Dani and I had a tutorial with Debbie. This was to show her how our editing was getting along and ask her how we could improve. Also to answer any queries we may have had.

During this tutorial Debbie offered a suggested structure, which we all agreed sounded good. This was to intertwine both the historical interview and Tony's interview instead of splitting the two and having two separate blocks of interview, which is how we had it originally. She sat with us as we changed the order around, and overall helped us structure our interviews in a much more appealing way.

Debbie also suggested that we start the documentary with a lighthearted quote from Tony instead of diving right in and having him introducing himself. She said this would set the tone for the documentary as a lighthearted, family friendly piece instead of something which would be heavy with historical information.

Also, after putting the audio tracks into place in the documentary we noticed that we were missing a strong atmos track, being left with a poor quality piece which dragged the documentary down.

We decided that we would focus on this on Wednesday, the next day, in order to give ourselves the whole day to sort it.

After an 11 hour day on Tuesday, our documentary was looking more and more like a final piece. With only a few things left to do on Wednesday, me and Chrissie called it a day.

On Wednesday morning, Chrissie and I came into the edit suit to make the final touches to the documentary. At this point the piece was looking strong and only needed a few changes.

After discovering that our atmos track was of poor quality, we were left to depend on the different sound recordings offered to us by SoundTrack Pro. These included foley sounds of waves, seagulls, a light wind, and traffic. We spent a few hours choosing the audio which sounded the best, and creating our own atmos track from scratch. We were able to incorporate children's laughter, wind, water, traffic, seagulls, and waves crashing.

On Thursday morning, myself, Dani and Charlotte met to watch the final piece and burn it onto disks. Unfortunately I had to leave to do other work so left them to burn the disks.

our tutorial.

After showing Debbie a few of our clips, the only problems she had with them was that our main interviewee's eyeline was a little too far to the left. However, she seemed to like the rest of our footage, so we were all pleased with this and congratulated Charlotte for her great camera operating.

We were advised on an order which would create the feel of a light-hearted, fun, documentary. This would be done by interlinking the historical script with fun shots of the Duck in and out of the water.

our trip to Liverpool - day 2.

On our second day we woke up and headed down to the Albert Dock's really early in the morning.

When we first got there it was really misty, so a lot of the shots we got at this time we couldn't use because they weren't continuous with the rest of our shots. However, as the day went on, the weather turned out to be perfect, with bright sunshine and blue skies so we were able to collect a large number of very well lit shots.

Because of my role of editor, I was unable to do anything in relation to my specific role in Liverpool, however I assisted by helping Chrissie with sound recording. This included collecting atmos tracks, interviews and vox pops.

 

I also acted as boom operator for the main interview.

The vox pops consisted of several different peoples, both coming off, and lining up to go on, the Ducks. These were good as we collected a mixture of ages and genders, so as to create a well rounded selection.

 

The atmos tracks included sounds of the merri-go-round, sounds of the boat's engine, water sounds, the sound of the boat entering the water and children laughing.

We also followed the Duck around the city, collecting footage of it at each destination.

We were able to get all of our footage today, so we left Liverpool early on the 3rd day.

 

 In the next few days myself and Chrissie (sound recordist and editor) will be working together to compile a well edited documentary.

We had  planned to get to the Albert Docks for the sunrise on our 3rd day, however, we walked down there and set up our cameras only to be greated with mist and overcast, meaning that the shot wouldn't work so our documentary would go without a sunrise. This wasn't a setback but more of a dissapointment.

our trip to Liverpool - day 1.

On our first day in Liverpool we decide it would be a good idea to look around the area, and establish where what we would and wouldn't include in our documentary. This served a great purpose as we were able to choose various different shots before actually going their to film. As none of us had been to the place before, it was our first chance to establish a feeling of the area.

We also met the staff and informed them that we would be back tomorrow to actually film. We asked them to fill out a form giving us permission to film them. We spoke to a few drivers and tour guides, and asked who would be willing to be part of our documentary, and showed them the list of questions which we had prepared for them. We also had a chance to look around the ticket office and plan a more detailed list of shots we could use for cutaways and other shots, this included the plethora of merchandise they had on display, as well as a framed newspaper cutout from the Queen's visit.

This also gave us chance to meet Paul, the manager of the company, and gave him the opportunity to tell us what he would like to see, and what he expects from our documentary. He requested that we give him a copy of our finished film so that they could include it on their website, and therefore help to attract other potential visitors.

Also on our first day, we walked through the Liverpool town centre and spotted the Duck on it's tour. This let us find out where abouts it goes on the tour, and gave us chance to plan our shots in more detail. We were lucky enough to be staying on the Duck's route, and as we were opposite a multi-story carpark we were able to plan to shoot the Duck from a higher angle.

 We also found out how often the tour ran, and we found out that it would take 55 minutes on the tour, and they run every 15 minutes.

That night myself and Dani decided to create a more detailed shot list as we now had an idea as to what the location consisted of. We also decided to write up a list of questions to ask our potential interviewee's. These were a lot more detailed than the questions we had previously planned and were a lot more open and encouraged the interviewee to speak more, and in a more story like way, instead of simple yes or no questions.

Because of this now detailed list of shots, I felt a lot more confident for our first day of filming, and our time management seemed to work out perfectly as we collected most of our shots before the day was finished, meaning that our third day would be a lot easier.

 

 

the duckmarine's own video.

 

 

The video on the right is the only video currently on the Yellow Duckmarine's website so I thought I would look at this for inspiration on our video. 

They incorporated the live music from the street and the crowd noise, this shows the public's excitement for the Queen's visit.

There is also a selection of shots of the duck going into the water, and sailing around the Albert Docks. This is definitely something we will have to include as it is a vital part of the tour. I also think we'll include footage of the tour from the street as well, and if it is possible we'll include footage from the inside of the duck whilst on the tour. This way we will recreate a the whole tour to show the good points of the tourist activity, but without giving away the places on the tour as this might ruin the experience for potential visitors.

Although our videos may be similar, they're still dissimilar enough for ours to feature along side their own. This is due to the different subject matter, as their video features solely on the Queen's visit, where as ours is to show the whole experience of the tour.

I feel it would be a good idea to include the Queens visit in our video, but not is nearly as much detail as the original video.

documentary research.

In today's seminar we were given 'Film Art: An Introduction' to help give us a clearer understanding as to what is expected from our documentaries.

After reading through the article and researching online, I thought I would collect the most interesting/relevant points.

What defines a documentary?
1. A documentary typically comes to us identified as such - by it's title, publicity, press coverage, word f mouth and subject matter
2. The audience expects the documentary to be factually correct

What is a documentary?
1. A documentary aims to present factual information about the world.
2. This can be done in as many different ways as in fiction.
3. There are many different ways in which filmmakers can portray the truth. This can be done by recording actual events as they happen, or by providing factual charts, maps or other visual aids. However, the more the footage looks manipulated, the less likely the audience is to believe it is factual.
4. Interviews with participants helps to create a sense of fact, however the filmmaker is unable to manipulate the interviewee but rather just control where the camera is placed, avoiding telling the interviewee what to say, or how to act.

Two forms of documentary:
Rhetorical Form - An approach used to present the audience with a persuasive argument to agree with the opinion which has been stated within the film.

Categorical Form - A simplistic approach to film structuring, this allows the filmmakers to break the film down into categories, which can then be introduced and spoken about at different/specific times.

The 8 types of documentary:
1. Poetic Documentaries - These used music and metaphors and were fragmentary, impressionistic, lyrical.
2. Expository Documentaries - These speak directly to the viewer, often in the form of an authoritative commentary using voiceovers or titles. These often have a strong argument and point of view and they aim to persuade the viewer.
3. Observational Documentaries - The camera and the filmmaker simply observe and do not intervene
4. Participatory Documentaries - The filmmaker is part of the documentary, they aim to show how their being there changed the situation.
5. Reflexive Documentaries - The filmmaker draws attention to their own constructedness, and the fact they're representations.
6. Performative Documentaries - They stress subjective experience and emotional response to the world. They are strongly personal, unconventional, perhaps poetic and/or experimental.
7. Informative Documentaries -These are often based on multiple contributors giving factual information about a subject.
8. Collage Documentaries - An approach that combines moving image, archive footage, stills etc. to present a subject differently

and the winner is...

In today's seminar we pitched both the 'beauty and fashion' pitch, and the 'Duckmarine' pitch to the rest of our group. And although both pitches recieved positive feedback, the Duckmarines recieved the majority vote, and therefore we're going with this idea.

I feel that the Duckmarine idea will create a more comedic and lighthearted documentary due to it's quirky subject and unusual history. I think that it has a lot of potential to be informative and funny at the same time.
Also, by deciding on the Ducks, Dani has taken the role of director, and we were able to decide on everyone elses roles. They now are as follows:

Director - Dani
Producer - Dalena
Editor - Myself
Sound Editor - Chrissie
Sound Recordist  James
Camera Operator - Charlotte.

Skateistan: To live and skate Kabul

Today we watched Skateistan: To live and skate Kabul which is a short documentary by Orlando Von Einsiedel. It follows a group of teenagers who enjoy skateboarding. 

The composition of the shots were really well considered, this helps to make the film accessible for the audience. It creates a clear idea of the world that these skater are living. 

The centre of the documentary are the three main characters that also provide narrations using the voice-over technique. 

The set up of the documentary makes the audience feel like it going to have a completely different theme. It focuses on the beautiful scenery of Kabul and avoids the political conflicts.

I found it really interesting to see a group of teenagers take part in skate boarding in a completely different situation. It was refreshing seeing their youth shine through the decay of the country.

The Apology Line

The Apology Line is a short, fictional, documentary about people who ring a number and apologise for something. It is a poetic and experimental documentary.

There is a series of disconnected images which hold no direct relevance to the audio track, although they do indirectly relate.

The overall tone of the piece is quite emotional. The apologies vary from a crying man apologising to his now separated wife, to a teenage girl claiming she has cheated on her boyfriend and she doesn't care. There is a sense of hysteria in one of the phone-calls as a women apologises for hiding her disability.

I really like the concept of the documentary as it is something I have never seen before.

The voices aren't clear, and are sometimes hard to understand. However, it is obvious why they have done that.

documentary project.

For our next assignment we have been told to create a documentary lasting 5 minutes. Our documentary has to be focused on a subject relating to Liverpool, our destination. I am in a group with Dani, Chrissie, Charlotte, Dalena and James.

In Fridays seminar we were told we had to prepare treatments and pitches for two different ideas, and then present these ideas to the group. We decided to meet as a group to collect possible ideas and build them into presentable pitches.

On the Sunday, myself, Dani, Dalena and Charlotte met in the library to discuss our ideas.

Charlotte had already done some online research into Liverpool and found a quote from a man who called himself 'The King of Bling' which stated that 'Liverpool is Britain's capital of beauty and fashion'. This inspired her to looking further into the fashion side of Liverpool, as it is quite well known for it's odd styles and trends. She also found out more about 'The King of Bling' and found out he was quite famous around Liverpool for his beauty salon. It was decided that the next step would be to contact 'The King of Bling', and others similar to him and see if we could create a story around him and his work.
We all decided that this idea had a lot of potential, and that we should consider it as one of our two pitches.

Dani had remembered from previous visits to Liverpool about a quirky little tourist attraction called The Yellow Duck Marines. These were amphibious landing crafts previously used in world war two. They are currently being used for tours around Liverpool's main attractions, as well as sailing around the Albert Docks. Dani later got in contact with the firm, and spoke to the manager, Paul. He said he would be more than willing to let us film for them, as long as we provided a finished copy to them.

I really like the second idea has I think it has the potential to become a lighthearted documentary with an informative spin on it.