Joshua Jones: Television Production

documentary

Documentary: The Documentary

Here is the final cut of the documentary: "Soil, Sheds, and Rows of Veg"

Friday, 6 May 2016

documentary

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.

Documentary: Fine Cut Viewing

As part of the post-production process, our group had a fine cut viewing with Helen.

FINE CUT VIEWING

By this point in the process, the documentary was pretty much finished. I had made all of the suggested changes from the rough cut viewing, and most importantly, we as a group had added almost all of the GVs we needed.

After the viewing, these were the points that we received:
- Switch the opening shots around so that when the narrator talks about sand, we as an audience see it.
- Check if the characters are okay with the titles we have given them.
- Adjust the music levels just a little bit more. Cut some down a bit too.
- Show the fact qoute for longer (approx 10-30 seconds)
- Remove Jamie's second title.
- Use wides/exteriors when Jamie travels.

To fix these problems I will:
- Swap the opening shot around.
- Contact the characters and ask about their titles.
- Work on adjusting the sound levels.
- Extend the quote facts length on screen.
- Remove Jamie's second title.
- Check that whenever Jamie travels to a different location, an establishing shot is present.

Documentary: Group Edit

As part of the post-production process, we sat down as a group, just before the fine cut viewing, to edit some of the GVs into the documentary.

GROUP EDIT

Prior to starting, I set up shop in one of the production rooms. I decided to hook my mac up to a television so the other two could see what I could see whilst we were inserting GVs. I set it up so on my screen I could see the timeline, and on the TV they could see the bins, source preview and program preview.

Our edit set up

We started by filling the gaps in section 1 of the documentary, going through and adding GVs that matched what was being said on screen. We had to listen to what both the narrator and the characters were saying, to ensure the GVs were a good fit and didn't look out of place. Because we had a lot of GVs, I don't think there was a point where we couldn't cover what was being said.

After a short break we moved on to section 2, filling the gaps with GVs. We also now had a chance to start using some of the GoPro footage that Cheyenne filmed on day 3. A little while after starting, Helen asked if she could see the fine cut, so we had to pause for a second.

Not long after finishing the fine cut viewing, we decided to stop there, and now that I had an idea of the types of GVs the rest of the group liked, I decided I would finish the documentary at home.

Overall, it was good to sit down as a group and collaborate on this part of the project, as I finally got an idea of how the others wanted this documentary to look, and what kind of shots they liked. Also the set up, using the TV, made this process a lot easier than I thought it'd be.

Documentary: Editing- Fine Cut

After the rough cut viewing, I had a few changes to make to create the fine cut.

EDITING- FINE CUT

I started by saving a new copy of the document, so all the changes I made wouldn't affect the first rough cut. Then I began to edit.

I still didn't want to focus on GVs too much, as we were going to edit those in as a group, so instead I only worked on the things suggested to me during the rough cut viewing. My first step was to change the title card graphic. To do this I opened it up in After Effects and changed the text in the text composition. I then reanimated the text so it came on screen in a manner that better represented the new title.

Next I went through the beginning of section 2, and replaced all of the London stock footage, with footage of Margate seafront. After replacing the footage, I went through and fine tuned all of the new edits, still ensuring the footage worked with what the narrator was saying.

Then I began to work on the sound levels, which needed to be adjusted because they were too loud at certain points. To do this I used the clip, and track mixers, and the audio adjustments in the effects panel. Once I was happy with the new sound levels, I moved on to the next step.

Some more edits I made included-
- Adding a few additional GVs.
- Stabilising some more shots.
- Changing some music

Finally, I used Adobe After Effects to created some lower thirds that would display each character's name and role in the story. To do this I used the opening title graphic as a template. I removed the background and centred the text. I used the same animation and font. All I had to do was change what the text said. I then added motion blur and inserted the lower thirds into their respective sections of the fine cut in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Creating the lower thirds in Adobe Premiere Pro

(UPDATE) POST FINE CUT VIEWING EDITS

After the fine cut viewing, and group editing session, I had to work towards complete a final cut of the documentary.

I started by going through and adding in the rest of the required GVs. I then fine tuned the edits and fixed any further sound issues. After this I looked through the entire edit and checked every cut, making sure it was as tight and clean as possible.

I also:
- Swapped the opening shots around.
- Adjusted the sound levels again.
- Adjusted the length of the quote graphic.
- Change one of Jamie's lower thirds.

My final step is a complete colour correction process. To do this I used the colour correction tools built in to Premiere Pro. Not every shot needed to be adjusted, mostly just the GoPro footage, and any over exposed shots.

And once all this was done, the final edit was complete, and I couldn't be happier with it! It's taken a while, and I've put in a lot of work but overall it's been worth it.

Documentary: Rough Cut Viewing

As part of the post-production process, our group had a rough cut viewing with Helen.

ROUGH CUT VIEWING

By this point, the documentary was more fine than rough, however, a lot of GVs were missing. This cut consisted mostly of interviews, music, narration, and a few sequences. The GVs and titles still need to be added.

After Helen had viewed the rough cut, she gave us some feedback-

- The story structure and order is good.
- The music is good.
- The narration is good.
- The title could be changed.
- The music levels need to be lowered a little.
- The aerials of London should be replaced with GVs of Margate.
- GVs: change an establishing shot during the opening. Add in a GV of a drop off point.

And some feedback from the rest of the group-

- Think about changing the music during Martina's initial interview.
- Adjust the music levels.
- Stabilise some of the shots.
- Colour correct GoPro footage

To fix these issues I will:

- Change the title to something that sounds better and fits better.
- Either film or get hold of some GVs of Margate seafront.
- Adjust the music levels so the narrator and interviewees are more audible.
- Change the establishing shot so something that fits better.
- Add in a GV of one of the Veg box drop off points.

One of these issues was fixed on the day. After the viewing we sat as a group and came up with a new name: Soil, Sheds and Rows Of Veg.