Documentary: Interview Workshop

In a recent workshop, we were given to opportunity to work on our interviewing skills to ensure we were ready for the real thing whilst shooting out documentaries.

INTERVIEW WORKSHOP

At the start of the workshop Helen asked a group to set up an interview for everyone else to look at and think about. During this process I was asked to be the interviewer. Whilst everything was being set up, it gave me a chance to think about how I would act if it were a real interview. I kept talking to the interviewee to ensure everything was okay whilst they waited for everything to be set up. If this were a real and professional interview, the setup would be complete well before the interviewee turned up.

During the interview I asked questions and listened to the interviewees answers. Once the interview was finished, the group picked up on a few points:

• I needed to leave a little gap after each question (before the interviewee answered) to allow a space to edit around in post-production.
• As the director, you should focus on keeping the interviewer and interviewee updated on the situation.
• Camera and sound people need to know what they are doing as the director has to rely on them to set up without any assistance.

In the afternoon we were split into groups and were tasked with setting up our own interview. I was given the role of the director. I decided to use a lighting kit, so I also took on the role of lighting.

Whilst the crew and I set up, I kept conversation going with the interviewee (Cheyenne) to ensure they didn't get bored. Even with the lighting kit, setting up didn't take very long. Once everything was ready, we got started.

We began by shooting Cheyenne's side of the interview. Then we shot two opening shots, both of her coming into the room and greeting me. Next we shot my side of the interview. And finally we shot an opening sequence of Cheyenne's journey to the interview room (Studio 2).

After we had finished shooting the interview, it was noted that there was some sort of communication issue during the interview. My boom operator was trying to catch my attention during the interview but I didn't notice because I was listening to the interviewee. This issue was resolved after I explained that if I were to ignore the interviewee during the interview and focus on the crew, that would be rude and unprofessional. We realised that for the kind of set-up we had, the director would either have to be behind the camera, focusing on the interviewee; or there would have to be an additional person who could ask the questions on behalf of the director, so the director could focus on the crew.

During the editing process, the audio from the boom was unusable because you could hear the sounds of the operator's hands moving on the pole. Luckily we used a boom and a clip mic, so I ended up just using the sound from the clip mic channel.

Below I have embeded the current version of the interview. The reason I say it is the current version is because soon we will be taking part in a sequencing workshop, in which we will shoot sequences to cover the cuts made during the interview. These cuts are currently still visible in this version of the interview. I have also not added any of my reaction shots yet, as I will wait until all the sequences have been added. And finally, narration will be added soon, but at the moment the narration is represented by some subtitles.

Here is the current version:

Overall I'm happy with how the interview looks so far. I think it demonstrates the fact that my group and I have already developed some good interview skills, in terms of setting up, asking questions and editing together.

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Documentary: Allotment Research

I wanted to find out a little more about the history of allotments in the UK, so I did some intense googling and this is what I found.

THE HISTORY OF ALLOTMENTS IN THE UK

During my research I found some interesting statistics on the number of allotments in the UK over the last 140 years.

1873- 224,208 plots

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1918- 1,500,000 plots

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1920s + 30s- decline (not sure of the exact number)

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WW2- Up to 1,400,000 plots

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1948- 1,117,000 plots

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1960s- declined by 600,000 plots

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1969- Thorpe Inquiry finds decline is due to: Reduction in land available; increased prosperity; growth of other leisure activities.

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1970- 530,000 plots

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1977- 497,000 plots

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1997- 265,000 plots

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2006- London Assembly finds decline is due to high building density, meaning less land is available.

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2009- 300,000 plots

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Recent survey- 330,000 plots

In recent years it seems the number of allotments in the UK has risen, when compared to the number of plots in 1997. I also found that in the UK there is a high demand for plots, with over 100,000 people on waiting lists each year, however, there just isn't enough land in the UK to accommodate all the extra plots needed.

I find these statistics very intriguing, and would like to use them as the base for our documentary narrative.

During my research I also found out a lot about the "Dig For Victory" campaign used by the UK Government in WW2. They encouraged people to grow their own fruit and vegetables because rations were low. Many open spaces were transformed into allotments, even the lawns outside the Tower of London. This explains the high number of allotments in the UK during WW2.

Dig For Victory Poster

I would also like to incorporate the "Dig For Victory" campaign into the narrative of the documentary.

Sources: 

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/19/national-trust-allotments

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/mar/22/food.gardens

http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item107597.html

Image: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/digforvictory_tcm4-570197.jpg

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Documentary: What I've Learnt So Far

Now that all my lectures for this unit are over, I wanted to write about everything I had learnt so far to help me remember it all.

WHAT I'VE LEARNT SO FAR

Research And Setting Up For Your Film:

• Test the viability of your stories.
• Gather enough information to develop a rough script, schedule & budget.
• Find a story, make it reality.
• Speak to people and establish key contacts.
• Try and find existing research and experts.
• Be prepared for: Who? What? When? Why? & How?

Pitching And Treatments:

• Helps an audience visualise and idea.
• Should include- outline, USP, story/series title and "What's New?"
• Form a 'central hypothesis', along with opinions and conclusions.
• Write up a proposal.
• Think about- Title; location; subject; style; characters; tension; threats; development; and resolution.
• After commission, think about- Following up contacts; meeting people; visiting locations; and developing the narrative.
• Finally, think about- Sequencing and actuality; interviews; archive/stills; sound; and music.

Representation:

• Think about how you treat people.
• Are they disable, vulnerable or under 16? What needs to be put in place?
• Think about how you present and represent people.
• When meeting people ensure you- get contact details and ask key questions (name, age, availability, locations...)

Locations And The Public:

• Think about casting.
• Look at locations.
• Think about scheduling, organisation and paperwork.
• When choosing locations think about- Aesthetics; sound and light; permissions; costs; relevance; and storytelling possibilities.

Preparation:

• Think about availability of- Contributors, crew, kit and locations.
• Keep all notes.
• Think about: Casting; locations; storyboarding; shot lists; direction; shooting scripts; and call sheets/risk assessments.

Commission:

• Treatment- Character's; style/format; locations; narrative; and presenter or narrator?
• Think about- Transmission time; channel; and target audience.
• Think about- Sequences; actuality; sync; music; graphics; interviews; cutaways/GVs; commentary; archive/stills; and dramatisations.

Scripts:

• Prepared before filming.
• Template for the finished film.
• Start with the commentary, then add in the interview summaries.
• Abbreviations for shot sizes.

Narrative:

• Find a narrative.
• Follow a central thread.
• The narrative is influenced by the characters.
• Light and shade.
• Tension.
• Is the filmmaker the protagonist?
• Is it actuality driven or sequence driven?
• Is it subject driven or character driven?

Interviews:

• Think about the interview style (not VOX pops).
• Think about who you need to/should interview.
• Ask questions that explore the subject.
• Ask questions that create tension.
• Good interviewee's- Have character; are relevant; speak well; are experts in their area; and are important.

Sequencing and Actuality:

• Sequences- Series of individual shots, constructed and controlled, that piece together to form one section of continuity editing.
• Close ups are key for good sequencing.
• Get to know the characters.
• Keep track of continuity.
• Film cutaways to hide cuts.
• Actuality- capturing events without controlling much, or anything at all.
• Think about creating edit points.
• Shot lists help.

*Image: http://newhouse.syr.edu/sites/default/files/styles/page-image/public/dfh-header_1.jpg?itok=c_ohIcUt

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Documentary: Tutorial Feedback (18/03/16)

As part of the pre-production for the documentary unit, my group recently had a tutorial with Helen to help develop our work and show her how we are doing.

TUTORIAL FEEDBACK

Prior to the tutorial I did a little more research on the history of allotments and prepared some screen graphic tests (which can be found here). As a group we started working on an outline. In this outline we answered some questions: Who?, What?, When?, Why? & How?

I also did some additional research into The Windmill Allotments, and contacted them. I found that they had a special Veg Box scheme that allowed locals to purchase their allotment produce on a weekly basis.

During the tutorial we told Helen about our plans and some possible leads we had found. From this we develop a few ideas and tasks to work on over the Easter break. By now we had also decided that our story focus was going to be allotments.

As a result of this tutorial, my tasks are:

• To begin working on the script
• To carry out some research into a local allotment (The Windmill Allotments)
• To look at finding some good characters
• To recce some possible locations

Saskia has to look at the history/background context of Allotments, and the psychological benefits of growing your own. Cheyenne has to focus on the wildlife/environmental benefits, and do some research into The Soil Association.

The next step is to carry out all of this work and prepare for the shoot week and script submission after the Easter break.

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Documentary- Screen Graphic Tests

As part of my pre-production for the documentary unit, I decided to put together some screen graphics to show others the vision I had for the documentary.

SCREEN GRAPHIC TESTS

These screen graphic tests give you an idea of the theme and possibly the narrative. They are only tests and so may not be what the final graphics will look like, but they do give you a good idea of what I'm thinking about.

I showed them to the rest of my team and the feedback I got was positive, however they did say that they seemed a little school like, as though this was a children's documentary. This is something to think about.

Theses graphic tests give you an idea of how we might show:

• Titles
• Quotes
• Pictures
• And statistics

Here they are:

Title Card

Quote Graphic

Picture Graphic

Statistic Graphic

*Images created by me using Photoshop.

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Documentary: Pitch (14/03/16)

As part of the pre-production for the documentary unit, my group had to pitch our idea to Simon and Helen.

THE PITCH

At the time of the pitch our idea was: Supermarkets VS Farmers Markets VS Allotments

To prepare for this pitch we created a shared presentation on Google Drive and assigned certain slides to one another. Cheyenne focused on the story synopsis; information on Farmers Markets (pros and cons); and possible filming locations. Saskia focused on Supermarkets; and character profiles. And I focused on Allotments; and the narrative/style.

When researching for the pitch I look at some statistics about allotments, and I looked at the history of allotments. I found some information about the "Dig For Victory" campaign that took place in WW2 Britain. I also found some interesting statistics about the amount of fresh home grown fruit and veg entering UK households. And finally, I looked at the pros of growing your own fruit and veg.

Next I focused on the narrative/style. I decided that we could tell the story using interviews, actuality and sequences, as well as graphics to show information. I also looked at mixing the three narratives (supermarkets, farmers markets, allotments) together to make for a good 10 minute story.

When it came to do the pitch, we felt as though we weren't fully prepared. We tried our best to explain our idea to Simon and Helen, and it seemed as though they liked it. However, it does still need some extra work as we still don't have a strong narrative. Also, Simon told us about a possible location near me that we could look at: The Windmill Allotments.

After the pitch we decided that we were only going to focus on allotments, and that we would put a few little facts about the other too in there, but not focus on them too much. I began doing some research into the history of allotments. I found some interesting statistics on the number of allotments in the UK. I found that since the 1930s, the number of allotments in the UK has gone from 1,500,000 to being only 330,000. I wanted to find out why this was and so as a team we decided that we would use those statistics to form the basis of our narrative.

The next step is to prepare for the tutorial with Helen.

My slides from the pitch:

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Documentary: Pitch meeting

Recently we had a pitch meeting with Helen, to discuss our ideas.

In the meeting we went around the group and shared our ideas.

IDEA 1

Cheyenne suggested we could do a story about some local farmers markets or an aspect of farming.

IDEA 2

Saskia suggested we could do a story about the reintroduction of some animals into the wild in the UK.

IDEA 3

I suggested that we could do a story about the chimp project at Wingham Wildlife Park.

THE FINAL IDEA

After some discussion with Helen, we decided that we would do a story about farming. Helen gave us a few ideas as to what aspect of farming we could look at. We will now go off and research/find a story ready for our pitch.

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Documentary: Research Into Ideas

In preparation for a pitch meeting, I decided to do some more research into my initial idea, the chimpanzee project at Wingham Wildlife Park. After an intense googling session, this is what I found.

Additional Research

• The chimps are being donated by the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in the US.
• The research center had to give up the chimps due to a change in American law, meaning that chimps couldn't be used for research anymore.
• Wingham has built a new 12,700 sq ft enclosure to house the chimps and let them enjoy a happy retirement.
• The US Fish and Wildlife Service have postponed the issuing of a vital exportation permit that will allow the center to ship the chimps to the UK. They claim the permit needs to show the move will benefit the chimps.
• After the permit application was posted online, it received a lot of negative feedback. The executive director of the Primate Rescue Center said that "it is hard to understand why Yerkes tries to push this [donation] because after all, the WWP [Wingham Wildlife Park] is an unaccredited facility".
• Conservation groups in the US, and one in the UK, have argued that the transfer does not suit the best interests of the eight chimpanzees, their children or their ability to survival in the wild.
• Many have suggested that Yerkes should just work with one of the many accredited US sanctuaries who are happy to rehome the chimps.
• Yerkes say on their website that their employees had thoroughly evaluated the facilities and expertise of WWP animal care staff, reviewed regulatory reports and conducted a comprehensive review that does not substantiate the issues raised by the animal activists.
• The bosses of Wingham have appealed for the public to support the park, as a new consultation was launched.
• Wingham had originally chosen to put arrangements in place to support conservation projects, but after the first comment period, those plans were changed.
• Currently Wingham are still waiting to hear if the chimps will arriving at their zoo anytime soon.

From my additional research I can see that this is a much bigger story than I originally thought, which might be a problem. I have contacted Wingham, and am awaiting an answer.

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Documentary: Initial ideas

After reviewing the brief for this unit, I began looking for an idea.

Wingham Wildlife Park

When thinking about what I could make a documentary about, I remembered a story about a local wildlife park. Last summer I attended a charity event at Wingham Wildlife Park. The event was held to raise money for a new enclosure they were building on site. The enclosure was being built to house eight Chimpanzees that had been donated to the park by a research centre in the United States.

All I know at the moment is that the enclosure has since been completed, and in the end cost the park, and the research centre, £1.5 million to build. The 12,700 sq ft enclosure has large indoor and outdoor spaces for the Chimpanzees, including private bedrooms; a dedicated veterinary area; and underfloor heating. I also know that, for some reason, the arrival of the Chimpanzees has been delayed for a second time. They were supposed to move to the park in the summer of 2015, but that was pushed back. Then in december, it was pushed back again.

My next move is to carry out some more research into the project, and the reasons for the delays. I will also contact Wingham and ask them about them about producing a documentary based around these Chimpanzees.

Ideas from the rest of the group included one about a local zoo working on the re-introduction of endangered species; and one about a food festival and the farmers involved in that festival.

*Image: http://www.familyroadtrips.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/wingham-wildlife-Park-663x274.jpg*

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Documentary: Introduction

This week we started our next unit: Documentary.

The Brief:

• Produce a 10 minute documentary based on the theme 'Doorstep Wildlife'.
• To be transmitted at 8pm on the 'Eden' Channel.
• Answer the question 'why?'.
• Keep it relevant to the brand and the audience.

During pre-production on this unit we need to think about:

• The people connected to the stories.
• The 'Eden' brand and audience.
• The duration, transmission time, channel and intended audience.
• Format, style & mechanisms.
• Producing something achievable.
• Finding a narrative.
• Originality

Information to consider when coming up with ideas:

• They're non-fiction.
• Each have their own conventions.
• All are constructed to some degree.
• Different genres involve different levels of human intervention.
• Genres-
• Current Affairs
• News
• Docs
• Reality TV
• Types of doc-
• Observational
• Participatory
• Reflective docs
• Expository
• Educational
• Hybrids (drama-doc, docu-soap, reality tv, fact-entertainment)
• Formats-
• Multi-camera observational
• Presenter/reporter
• Magazine show
• Authored
• Discussion/debate
• Conventions-
• Style
• Structure
• Format
• Shots (handheld?)
• Commentary
• Narrator?/Presenter?/Reporter?
• Experts?
• Music
• Purpose-
• Revelation
• Entertainment
• Storytelling
• Style & content
• Practical considerations- budget, timescale, weather, access, size/skills of team, kit restrictions, availability, locations and travel.

I'm looking forward to working on this unit. Next I will start thinking of some ideas, and begin carrying out some research to expand on these and hopefully find a story.

*Image: http://documentary-studies.utah.edu/_images/documentary-studies-banner.jpg*

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