Documentary: Project Evaluation

DOCUMENTARY PROJECT EVALUATION

PRE-PRODUCTION

I started this unit with a bad vibe. I really didn't want to do it. I'm a fan of documentaries, but I know they can be difficult to make, and this put me off a little. Because of this attitude I had, it made getting started a little harder than usual. I spent the first few weeks just researching a few topics, ready for our pitch. After our pitch feedback we, as a group, settled on the Veg box story, and from that point I knew I had some work to do over the easter break, as I lived near our filming location.

I spent my easter doing some research on allotments. After completing the research process, I contacted the allotments we wanted to film at, and I arranged to meet with some contacts on site. To prepare for the meetings I created a few documents that can be found here.

After my initial meeting with the contacts, I met with the rest of my group and told them about the allotments and the people that were there. I then arranged for the entire group to visit the location, everyone could meet the characters. After this second meeting, I started working on a first draft of the script. Unfortunately, after a script meeting, it was clear there were issues with our story, so our group sat down and worked on a new story outline. I then used this outline to create a second draft of the script.

Next I began working on pre-production for the script, which included creating a shot list, call sheet and schedule, and a list of questions for our characters. Once all of this was complete, we were ready to start filming our documentary.

Overall, I think my pre-production process was effective in aiding the final product. A lot of the work I completed played an important part in the creation of this documentary. However, I do beleive I should have involved the rest of the group more in the pre-production process, as occasionally they were too sure what I was doing. I think all of the research I carried out, helped aid my vision for this documentary. And finally, I beleive the pre-production documents I created, are the reason filming went as smoothly as it did.

PRODUCTION

To see more about the filming days: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

During the filming process, I was the A camera op and the director. I spend pretty much all of my time on location standing behind the camera. I beleive that across the three filming days I filmed some really good footage.

For day one of filming, I spent some time on the allotment, on my own, capturing as many GVs as possible, as I knew they were going to be very important when it came to editing. I split the allotment up into sections in my head and worked my way through each section, filming anything and everything. I also managed to capture some good Bee footage on this day, which, after viewing it back, I was really proud of. Finally, I filmed some shots for the opening sequence, which involved tilting the camera down from the sky to reveal the allotment.

For day two of filming, Saskia and I spent some time filming on the 'bottom plot'. Whilst there we filmed a few interviews with our secondary character, Martina. After completing her interview, we spent some time filming some GVs of the 'bottom plot', knowing we needed some to cover any cuts we made. Once this was completed, we moved up to the top plot, and began filming some shots of Jamie and his volunteers. Whilst there we also filmed Jamie's introductory shots, and a few additional interviews with him and Sue, the bag packer. By the end of the day, I was happy we had shot as much footage as we possibly could.

For day three of filming, Cheyenne, Saskia, and I spent some time filming on the 'top plot'. We started the day off by filming some more interviews with Jamie. After this we filmed some more GVs of the area, before moving on to film another interview with Sue. Next, we filmed some more GVs, before moving on to filming Jamie and his volunteers packing the van up. Finally, we finished off by filming an interview with Jamie whilst he was tending to his beehives. Once again, by the end of the day, I was confident we had filmed all of the footage we possibly could.

Overall I think the three filming days were a complete success. We filmed almost four hours worth of footage, and didn't encounter a single technical issues. I think we pretty much got every shot we needed as no stone was left unturned. I think the pre-production documents, like the call sheet/schedule, shot list, and list of questions, came in handy and made the filming process a lot smoother than I expected. To summarise, I am really happy with how the three filming days worked out.

POST-PRODUCTION

To see more about the editing process see here and here.

During the post-production process, I took the lead in the edit, with assistance from Cheyenne and Saskia when I needed it. I began this process by watching back all of the footage with the rest of the group, and keeping notes on what could and couldn't be used. After this I began editing by viewing back, and cutting down, the interview clips.

Next I began to work on each section of the documentary, starting with the opening titles, and ending with the closing titles. Once I had assembled everything, I began to work on fine tuning all of the edits I had made. During this process I had to use the Warp Stablisation tool to stabilse some of the shaky shots.

After this I began to work on the sound design. I started this process by fine tuning, and cleaning up all of the sound levels. To do this I used the track, and clip mixing tools. Once I was happy with all the sound levels, I began adding music. Throughout this process, the music levels kept coming up as an issue, so I was constantly working on them, and trying to improve them. I think by the time the fine cut was complete, they were at a good level.

Finally, I did a quick sweep over the edit, fixing any other issues. I also used After Effects to add in any on screen graphics. Once all of this was done, the edit was complete.

Overall I think my editing abilities were really tested during this unit. I had to sift through, and edit together almost four hours worth of footage. I learnt a lot about how much work it takes to edit together a documentary of this kind. I think the footage viewing sessions with the rest of the group really helped when it came to making edit decisions with nobody else around. To summarise, I think editing was my main strongpoint in this unit.

OVERALL EVALUATION: CRITICAL REFLECTIONS

Strengths-

• My good organisation skills made pre-production process very easy. I was able to carefully organise meetings with contacts and the three important shoot days. My call sheets and schedules were clear but detailed and I think this made life easier for the rest of the crew. I was able to sort everything out ahead of time, allowing this to run smoothly on the day. My organisation came in handy when filming. I was able to keep everything on track and we didn't miss a single potential shot. Across the three days, we had more than enough time to film, finishing ahead of schedule consistently. And finally, my organisation skills came in handy during the post-production process, especially considering there was almost four hours of footage to sift through. I was able to keep the edit organised and tidy, making it easy to work through lots footage.
• My editing skills made editing this documentary very easy. At no point was I stressed out or worried that something was wrong with the edit because I knew what I was doing and had it all planned out in my head. It came out exactly as I thought it would. Over the past year I have really honed in my editing skills and this means I can now edit together good, clean cuts, with ease. Editing was very important with this documentary because there was a lot of interview footage that had to be cut down by a lot, and blended together well.
• I think my directing skills were good to a point. I was able to direct this in the vision I had in my head, hence why it has come out exactly as I thought it would. Every shot has a clear direction, and ultimately the final edit shows a consistent theme, as a result of my directing skills. I am very happy with how I directed this documentary.
• I think my communication skills came in handy. I had to communicate with complete strangers and convince them to take part in the documentary. I found that just being as friendly as possible really helped. I was able to find some great characters and form a relationship with them quickly, which was important, especially considering the tight deadlines we had.
• I think my overall production skills were a strength. I carried out every task in a professional manner. I conducted myself in a professional manner when working in front of our contacts. I was able to keep everything organised and on track, and as a director, camera op, and editor, I think I did a good job.

Weaknesses-

• My main weaknesses on this project was my ability to work within a group. At first I found it difficult to share the workload, taking on tasks without telling others in the group. I beleive I have since worked on this however, and now I think I can work much better within a group. I think the reason for this weakness was that I was just so used to being a one man band, with no help from anyone. I needed to understand that this was their documentary as much as it was mine.
• I need to work on my sound editing skills. During every viewing, the music levels were brought up. It was always just a little too loud. I need to think about the way I edit sound, to ensure I hear it the same way everyone else does.

Possible Development- What did I learn?

• If I were to do this again:
• I would think more about the others in my group, and not just myself.
• I would think more about how I tell others what my vision is. I noticed the other members of my group found it difficult to understand my vision.
• I would try to focus on something that is a little harder to film, like animals, instead of people.
• I need to try and step out of my comfort zone more.

CONCLUSION

Overall, I am extremely happy with the final product. It's everything I hoped for and I'm proud to say I was part of it. When starting this unit I wasn't very confident about the topic, however I have since realised that actually this may have been my favourite unit. Apart from the fact that I don't think it fits the suggested timeslot and channel, I think it is a great piece of work, and a very entertain documentary. To summarise, I think it is something our group should be very proud of and I think it is something I might think about doing again in the future.