Documenting The Doing #22: Noddy Shot

We only had a morning to complete this production from beginning to end. 3 hours to plan, film and edit this so we could have it uploaded to our Vimeo accounts by 12.30pm. I worked with my colleagues Naomi Doddridge and Sam Shaw during this. It was a challenge, but thankfully it was a simplistic production which we were only completing to understand the concept of it. This was the Noddy Shot. This shot is used during interviews to break up the camera positioning, which makes the whole interview segment more interesting to watch, rather than having the camera on the interviewee for the whole thing.

During a Noddy Shot, the sound of the interviewee will continue to overrun the shot of the interviewer nodding, to make it seem more natural and to break up the camera shots.

Left: me nodding - Right: Sam answering

We had to ask a simple question to ensure that we focused more on the camera work as this was the real reasoning behind this short production. Some projects we complete are to understand the concept of camera angles, others is editing. This was a bit of both. Only three shots were required for this whole production. I completely understood it and realised how much the Noddy Shot impacted on interviews. You don't realise it until you watch an interview, then you end up looking for it!

OUR FINAL PRODUCTION: Noddy Shot

I'm really pleased with how this production finished. To give the video more depth, length and professionalism, I added the BBC introduction to the news theme credits. I really have understood the concept of the Noddy Shot and I will bare it in mind the next time I complete interviews for different productions. 

Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.

Documenting The Doing #21: Forced Perspective

In the early hours of Tuesday morning when college had just started, it was made clear that this project would be an exciting one to take part in and produce. Forced perspective is something that throughout my life, I have always found interesting. I've loved optical illusions and the kind of stuff that tricks your brain, so this production was right up my street.

We had to work in groups of around 2-4 people, so me and my colleagues Naomi Doddridge, Scott Friday and Sam Shaw all teamed up and were adamant that this would be our project to really make us shine and stand out from the crowd. We really wanted to pick some nice locations in which to shoot, and ensure the camera shots were on top form.

We began by throwing around a few initial ideas to get us started with the planning process - however for this project, no paperwork had to be completed. All of the ideas were piled together during a discussion and we just wanted to get out around the Plymouth area and film. We filmed using a Canon 600D and a tripod, allowing us full stability during the filming and crisp shots that would be of a high standard when editing. Sound wasn't an issue when filming as we already knew we would be putting the edit together to the track Dragonfly, by Nick Batterham.

My three fellow colleagues and I ventured out towards different places to see if there were any prime locations we could film that would be of a high quality. Firstly, we reached the burnt out church which was situated in the middle of a roundabout just down the road from college. With this location, we knew it would be a really nice quiet surrounding area and we wouldn't have any disturbances.

Our first shot of the day

As this shot was quite stationary, we had a discussion about how we wanted our next shots to be more   mobile and have a bit more life to them. We decided we would go back to college and find an empty room in which we could be a little more creative with props and 'stage directions'. Our ideas were finalised on the way up to college and we started to plan how we would work the last two shots. We were all keeping everything crossed in the hope that the shots would work as well as we were hoping.

With only half an hour left on the clock, we had to cram in two final shots of perspective. We decided that one would be using Skittles sweets as stepping stones, and the other would be using Red Bull cans as platforms, in which we would fall off.

Our final and favourite shot - Skittles as stepping stones

Editing the production was going to be fairly easy as it would consist of the simple cutting and fading to the song we had been set. Going back to a previous production, More Soon, it was a similar concept. The whole group would upload their footage onto a hard drive, it would be passed around the classroom and we would edit the whole groups' productions together. With the More Soon production, I wasn't overly confident on editing and didn't really know my way around Adobe Premier Pro like I do now. With this forced perspective video, I really made the most of the limited noise breaks and made the whole thing flow, just like the soundtrack did.

My final production, in my opinion, turned out pretty well. I personally think the editing was simplistic yet effective, and had the same feel as the original Dragonfly video which was directed by Luci Schroder. I felt though, if I didn't put my own twist on it, it would get mixed in with the crowd and not really stand out. I decided that I would add a little extra on to the end, which was an actual dragonfly, along with my name and an ending credit which would round up the production as a whole.

MY FINAL PRODUCTION: Perpective - Dragonfly

I really enjoyed creating, filming and editing this documentary. I felt like as a whole it was really successful and considering we only had a day to complete the whole thing, we did pretty well. Forced perspective has always been a favourite feature, especially in photos, but now, I really would like to explore it more in future productions.


Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.

Review: Dragonfly using Forced Perspective

Another day, another project, another bit of inspiration. Today was all about forced perspective, and I was really excited to see the inspiration behind this, as I have always been a big fan of the optical illusion stuff and videos that trick your mind into thinking something is different when it's not.

Forced perspective is an optical illusion technique that can make an object appear further away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It can be used in both photography and filmmaking, and this gives a photo that little extra depth that sometimes it misses. It isn't really used in films much during this day and age, but I really would like to see it make a comeback.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dragonfly, directed by Luci Schroder, is a mini-film filled with short clips of forced perspective scenes which are a trick to the eye. There are shots from horses to beaches, to stopping cars with fingers. I really like the way this video has been directed, as it's such a simple idea, yet so effective.

My favourite shots from Dragonfly

My favourite sections of the film are the shots shown above. I really like these as they're such a good laugh to watch, and they're so simple. 

I find that the song also fits really well. Although the lyrics don't seem to have anything to do with the production as a whole, the theme and tone of the track really emphasises the calmness and simplicity of forced perspective. I'm so glad we had to use it for our own productions as I felt it fit really well.

Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.

News Anchors: CNN v Fox News

CNN and Fox News are American broadcasting news channels which have completely different view points. They both represent the right wing and left wing beliefs and can both be found in debating topics within their state of interviewing processes.

Right Wing - These beliefs value tradition, they are about equity, survival of the fittest, and they believe in economic freedom. They typically believe that business shouldn't be regulated, and that we should all look after ourselves. Right wing people tend to believe they shouldn't a=have to pay for someone else's education or health service. They believe in freedom to succeed over equality.

Left Wing - These beliefs are usually progressive in nature, they look to the future, aim to support those who cannot support themselves, are idealist and believe in equality. People who are left wing believe in taxation to redistribute opportunity and wealth - things like National Health Service (NHS), and job seeker's allowance are fundamentally left wing ideas. They believe equality over the freedom to fail.

- - - - - - - - - -

CNN News
The Cable News Network is an American basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner. The 24-hour cable news channel was founded in 1980 by American proprietor Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television in the United States of America.

Fox News
Fox News Channels is an American basic cable and satellite television news channel that is owned by Fox Entertainment Group subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. As of August 2013, approximately 97 million American households recieve the Fox News Channel. The channel was created by Australian-American media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who hired former NBC executive Roger Ailes as its founding CEO. It launched on October 7, 1996, to 17 million cable subscribers. It grew during the late 1990s and 2000s to become the dominant cable news network in the United States. 

- - - - - - - - - - 

As America is an extremely patriotic country, they stand by their views no matter what. With both CNN News and Fox News being owned by private companies, they can afford and almost have the right to be biased in their views when presenting the news. There have been many controversies between the American public and the likes of Bill O'Reilly during interview segments about hard hitting topics, such as the 9/11 Bombings. 

Fox News vs. CNN

In comparison to the BBC, Fox News and CNN are completely different in their views towards politics and members of the public. As the BBC is publicly funded, they have to be completely unbiased towards any views they feel in order to keep the viewers that are paying their way.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

CNN vs BBC

Despite the relative youth of CNN, the company managed to get into international gear relatively quickly. CNN International started in 1985, primarily aimed at US Businessmen in hotels abroad. The vast majority of content was originally from the US channels, and it wasn't until 1992 that productions were ramped up. For its early international ambition and fast work, CNN deserve all of the credit.

The international arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation flicked the switch to power up in 1991. Back then, it was the BBC World Service Television. What started as a nightly, half hour round up show developed quickly to become a 24 hour channel, originally with its own identity, but soon brought into line with the rest of the BBC output. It was the first time the BBC ventured into worldwide broadcasting.

As the CNN and BBC are so different, they both have a wide variety of controversial topics on their show. Whilst CNN use evidence they find themselves and the news presenters begin to become bias, the BBC have to stick to their unbiased opinion as it's a public-funded company.


Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.


http://www.kippreport.com/fcs/bbc-world-news-vs-cnn/ - accessed on 26th-Feb-2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN - accessed on 26th-Feb-2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News_Channel - accessed on 26th-Feb-2014

Documenting The Doing #20: This is the News

It was time for the first production after the half term break we had, and it consisted of quite a challenge. This project involved getting in to groups of 2-4 people and follow strict guidelines on the order in which we produced the final cut video. We also had to use a template grid of the 7 W's which would help both us and other people understand the basic steps of our production - this would ensure that it was crystal clear in what we would produce for our final video. 

The 7 W's

During the morning, we had looked into how the news was stereotypically reported on a day-to-day bases on the major news channels, such as BBC, SKY and ITV. Charlie Brooker talked us through a rather amusing concept that he had put together.

How to Report the News - Charlie Brooker

It was a pretty tricky subject to try and think of, especially as we were only given until 4.30pm to film, edit, export and upload. We knew it would be a challenge - but not to this extent. I worked with my colleagues Naomi Doddridge, Katie Patrick and Jade Popham during this production, and we had given ourselves roles to ensure we were organised so we could just get on with it. I would be the news reporter, Katie would be the camera operator, Jade would be the floor manager and Naomi would be the sound engineer. After a long think about what our subject would be, we came up with a pandemic disease that sends people to sleep and is caught by yawning and touch. As most people in our class were filming around college, we wanted to go somewhere different and make it unique.

1. Establishing shot

2. Reporter facing towards the lens whilst using hand gestures

3. Halt and pose question

4. Filler shots with voice overs

5. Facts and figures animation/title

6. Filler shots with voice overs

7. Vox pops - quick, fast paced cuts

8. Interview segment

9. Filler shots

10. Conclusion and round up with pan to object

We headed up to Plymouth Hoe, where it was sunny and had a nice backdrop to film against. We began with filming the filler shots as this was the easiest step - and with this, we filmed about 20 to ensure at least 10 would be fine to use. We then walked towards Plymouth Lido, where we found a shaded area which we thought would be good to film the initial opening sequence, where I would find myself walking towards the camera, using hand gestures, and giving a general overview of what the whole news report would be based on.

With all of our shots, we were using a zoom mic to record the sound footage, as we felt this would pick up our voices much clearer than just the camera individually. We appreciated the fact it was windy, but we thought it would give the sound an authentic feel, like we normally see on news channels here, especially during the winter months with weather reports.  

When it came to editing the final production, as usual, we imported all of the sound files and video shots into Adobe Premier Pro and began watching them all back. Then we hit a hitch. It was 3.30pm and we had an hour to edit, export and upload, so we were pretty stuck for time. Listening to the footage was a complete disaster, as all you could hear was the wind. That's it. The wind was too strong and totally closed out our voices all together, even though we were holding the mic as close to our faces as we could.

It was a real shame, as we really wanted this to work. Our story line was good and filming the footage went really well, it was just the sound that let us down. Thankfully, I can still blog about it. I just don't have any video to show you. Sorry about that. At least we know, now, that we need to take in to consideration where we are filming, and what the weather is like. It's the first time the weather has interfered with a production, and I will make sure it's the last.

Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.

Everyday Object Documentary: Peer Assessment

The taking an everyday object and making it interesting project was one of my favourites to produce. I really enjoyed working on my own and filming in my own house. I felt I could really explore the lengths and depths of filming and editing to my own time limit, and I feel like it was a success. Read all about it here: http://strictlysavage.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/documenting-doing-19-everyday-object.html

For this production, we have to peer assess a fellow colleague's production. I sat and watched all of my other class mates' videos on the Portfolio page of the PCA Media account, and one really stood out for me. When I stay stood out, I mean I was laughing so much tears were rolling down my face and I wanted it to be on for hours longer. I felt like this production was absolutely priceless.

Meet, the world's biggest Nicholas Cage fan, Charles Manson. Two minutes of pure gold as he walks around the streets of Plymouth, showing off his pillow which has a photo of Nicholas Cage on it.

CAGED IN - A Nicholas Cage Superfan

During this production we see and hear only one person. I think this gives it a real personal effect on the video as a whole, and I like the concept of the narrating theme Charlie and his colleagues have going on. 

The opening shot of Caged In

The opening shot consisted of Charles sitting very casually in a chair, clutching his pillow. This shot had to be 10 seconds long. The opening line is "My name is Charles Manson, and I am a super fan of Nicholas Cage". With this being only 6 seconds long, there are 4 seconds of complete silence, in which Charles staring at the camera. I feel this was inspired from The Toy Maker, which is a video we watched earlier in the week to give us some initial ideas of how to edit the final piece. I think the short pause gives the audience a first feel and image of what the production as a whole is going to be, and this is comedy. I really liked the initial opening and feel it did it's job of telling the audience how it is.

The main sequence of the documentary showed us how Charles would be so casual and walk around the streets, and enter day-to-day places with his pillow. I really like the comedy aspect of this as it makes it so much more interesting to watch. Looking from the results of other colleagues watching this video, it goes down really well.

The production side of things, I also thought was executed really well. The filming and camera shots are simple yet effective, and fit the theme really well. Most of it seems handheld, which makes the footage a little shaky, which is maybe something that the group can work on next time. There are some really nice segments in the video where there is a voiceover and a clip of just general day-to-day topics, which makes it seem professionally edited.

Oh a whole, I really like this this short documentary. It fit the specifications and work rules which were pretty simple, but needed to be done. The comedy side made me really remember this production, and I even showed it to my family, who also found it hilarious. Very well done to Charlie and his team!


Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.

Documenting The Doing #19: Everyday Object Documentary

"The taking an everyday object and making it interesting object" title seemed like a bit of a mouthful to display as the blog post entry. That is, however, exactly what this production was all about. Our achievements were to be work in groups of 1-3, and take an everyday object and make it interesting. I decided to work on my own for this one, as I came to the conclusion it would make sense to take the camera equipment home. I was really excited as it was the first time I was working individually and I actually really enjoyed it. It let me experience my own creative path without having to worry about anyone else's input, it was just solely me.

We started planning this production on Monday afternoon, following an investigation into the work of Richard Hunter, who was a free-lance filmmaker from London. This blog post is available to read here: http://strictlysavage.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/930-review-work-of-richard-hunter.html. His ideas inspired the editing behind my personal production, in the sense it was clean and synchronised, giving it a classy end result.

I began planning not really knowing what to base my project on. I couldn't think of an every day object to make interesting? It took a while, anyway. In college, I came up with the idea of cutlery, and I would film my two-year-old brother using his plastic spoon and aim to make it quite comical. That didn't work, he kept hiding from the camera and it ended up a genuine disaster, so I then had to completely restart my brain and think of a new object. I was just gazing around the kitchen whilst eating my dinner when suddenly a lightbulb went in my brain; clocks. I'll do clocks. They're the most boring thing in the world to look at, but everybody uses them constantly. Whether it's a watch or mobile phone, we constantly check the time.

I began writing my ideas down in a notebook about how I could display the production so it wouldn't be boring, or people would loose interest.

My mind-bubble of ideas

I figured that as I only had approximately half a day to film this, I should keep it short and sweet. Simple footage could lead to better editing, resulting in a clear final production. In the end, I settled for the interview approach. Seeing as I was the only person, in my house, that could work the camera, I had to be behind it. Kindly, my mum offered to be the interviewee for my production and it actually turned about better than I thought it would. 

FINAL PRODUCTION: Clock Documentary

There were a few set rules we all had to follow during the process of editing this final piece. This gave me a slight guidance as to how I would film and compose the four scenes. The documentary as a whole had to be exactly two minutes long, and if it wasn't, we would be marked down. It was a challenge, as it restricted me on what I could do and how long I could do something for, but I worked around it in the end.

Our rules and shots we had to follow

I had a rough outline of what I wanted to create during the process of making the production. I decided, for the opening ten-seconds of the video, I would have ten different clocks from around my house. I would then cut each mini-clip to one-second long, and put them all together. I then added a 'ticking' clock sound effect on top, to really emphasise what my final production was about, and by the end of the ten seconds, it was clear as day. Following on from the 'every day' subject, I decided to used clocks that, as a household, we used every day. The microwave, cooker, iPhone and laptop clocks were just a selection of the ten final clocks I chose.

Four out of the ten clocks I chose to film

For the opening titles, we had to use a template which was uploaded to the college Moodle. This section had to be six seconds long, and could include two shots; the first being the title, and the second being my name. For the title, I called the video 'Clocks', and just added my name, 'Olivia Searle' as the second frame. This was a simple way of showing the audience the main focus of the film, and who it was by. We also had to use the font Times New Roman, which is a traditional font that most people would recognise when first laying eyes on it. Secondly, we had to use white text on a black background. This would make it much easier to read than any other way and give it that signature look which most documentaries have, even on television. 

Proof of the Times New Roman and white font

We then had to fill a 1 minute 40 second slot, which would be our main documentary. This was, in so many words, the meat of the production. The juicy stuff that gives you all the flavour. We had to cram in a whole documentary in under two minutes. This is why I chose an interview, because it would fill time in the best manor and include everything I needed it to. Before I started filming my interviewee, I gave her a slight run-down of what I wanted her to say. I did not, however, give her a script. I felt this would be too false and it would come across better on camera if I let it flow naturally.

The camera set up I had during filming

Surprisingly, filming the interview was the easiest section to film. My interviewee, which was my Mum, did a superb job! I was really pleased with how it came out. During the editing, I decided that instead of having a full 1 minute 40 second shot of just the interviewee, I would add other sections in too. This way, it wouldn't be un-interesting to watch. When the interviewee began talking about calendars, I then cut to a shot of the calendar set-up on the computer. With this, it would be clearer to see, than it just being in the background. It also gave it a more personal touch and added depth to the production.

My final editing timeline - exactly two minutes long

I was really happy with how the production finally turned out. I thought the editing went really well and the concept of the film was captured within the audience. On top of the existing sound I had used, I decided putting a song over the top would give it that extra depth it was missing. It's amazing how much difference a simple noise in the background can change a whole production. Eventually, after a long time of searching, I settled for Clocks by Coldplay. No particular reason, I just thought the name fitted in quite well! 

I hope this production gives people a different perception on clocks! 

Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d020hcWA_Wg - accessed 11th-Feb-2014

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp7LvAhC3i0 - accessed 11th-Feb-2014

9.30 Review - The Work of Richard Hunter

Richard Hunter is a freelance filmmaker from London.
"Coming from a documentary background, Richard is no stranger to shooting 'on-the-go' whilst trying to capture the best out of any situation. Having filmed a varied subject of 'micro-docs' that spam from addicts to skateboarders, Richard developed his passion for the story. That combined with his hunger to constantly learn new things, keep them fun and apply them to his work are what truly drives him to stay creative."

Richard Hunter has created four mini documentaries about completely different things. The style of them interlink with one another in the sense that they are cleanly edited and well thought out. The edits of all four productions are all in synchronicity and have a link within each. All of the documentaries have been created with the same message; all people should be happy with what they do, no matter what anyone else thinks.

- - - - - - - - - -

The first mini-doc I watched was the Bowie, the Teddy Bear Stuffer. This production takes us inside the life of a Build-A-Bear worker who spends his spare time impersonating world-wide superstar David Bowie. This documentary is slightly different from those we see on day-to-day television, as the narrator is the man in the film. He is telling us his story of how he impersonates Bowie in the sense of everyday lifestyle and with objects and surroundings that everyone tends to use daily.

David Bowie & The Teddy Bear Stuffer

The Teddy Bear Stuffer states at the end of the video "I'm doing what I really like to do. I feel pretty much happy with that." This portrays the whole production into one sentence, and the concept of the video is rounded up.

- - - - - - - - - -  

The second mini-doc I watched was the Casper Brooker - Southbanks. This production gives the audience an overview of a young teenager sticking to his word and following his passion to skateboard at Southbanks, as opposed to going wherever his friends go. There are a number of special effects in this production which brings out the modern life of a teenager, and the sound effects are in synchronicity with this. 

Shots of some special effects throughout the production

The special effects really bring the production to life in the sense of that something this guy does everyday can be made into an animation-like video. Linking this with the Bowie production, again, the narrator is the person in the video. This makes it a lot more personal and really entices the audience and connects them with the production seems more real.

- - - - - - - - - - 

The third mini-doc I watched was the Amanda's Autopsy. This production takes us inside the life of a woman that enjoys performing autopsy's on animals. It also shows us in much graphic detail the process of an autopsy which may be upsetting to some viewers. The video itself is quite dark and dingy which portrays her hobby in a production manor.

The lighting of the production sets the tone

The lighting is the key feature in this production - it is an indirect way of telling us her story. The light is only focused on her, and her life if predominantly focused on autopsy's and taxidermy's. Again, she is the narrator for her production and this gives off a more personal way of displaying your thoughts, passions and opinions. The production also takes the audience through the process of an autopsy on a rat which portrays a significant role, and makes it seem a lot more realistic. 

- - - - - - - - - -

The fourth and final mini-doc I watched was the The Toy Maker. This production gives the audience an insight to a toy maker who has a passion for a variety of different toys. This production is designed to make the audience laugh, as there are many gags and pauses which leaves an awkward atmosphere, causing it to be comical. 

Screen caps that are seen throughout the production

Throughout this video there are number of brief pauses after Ron makes a statement. The awkward tension of the stare in to mid air or directly into the camera gives off an impression that it's all a joke, yet we all know he's being serious, and this is what makes it funny.

- - - - - - - - - -

Although it's clear as day that these productions are completely different in the sense of the content, but the editorial side of things proves them to be very similar. The personal touch of the narrations over-running the character within the production really gives it a sense of how personal something is, and they are telling their side. They are in the moment. They are the people going through this, it's their hobbies. It's almost like an autobiography in video form. The simplistic editing of all four videos ties in the simplicity of the productions as a whole. 

As the productions are quite short, it almost gives the audiences a quick insight to all of the hobbies. This leaves me, personally, wanting more. The pro for the shortness of all of the productions is that the audience viewing are less likely to get bored or lose track of the subject of the footage, and this will leave them wanting to watch even more productions. 

Throughout the videos, there are a main group of shots which the editing tends to stick to. The close up shots of the faces in all of the productions show the emotions and feelings of each of the people. The shots also show a number of different camera angles, and especially when the narration is carrying on from a conversation, there tends to be limited eye contact between the character and camera, giving it a slight edge and in depth emotion that we are not used to seeing in interview-like documentaries.

I really like how Richard Hunter has edited all four productions, as they are simple, yet effective. Not one of the productions did I get bored or fed-up of watching, and my attention span isn't great at the best of times. I found them all really intriguing and interesting, even if the autopsy video was a little too graphic for my liking. I am going to take these editorial tips into consideration when I create my short documentary as I feel it would really bring it to life, and make something that could be potentially boring, to be quite interesting.


Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.


http://www.richardpeterhunter.co.uk/Richard_Hunter/Home.html - accessed on 10th-Feb-2014

Observing an Interview: Bowling For Columbine

During our first task of studying interviews, we came across an interview which is from a famous film made in 2002 called Bowling For Columbine. Written and directed by Michael Moore, it gives us an insight to the exploration into the roots of America's gun crime. The film was pretty successful, picking up 1 Oscar and 33 other wins at various award ceremonies.

During this film, we see Michael Moore interviewing Charles Heston about his views on gun crime in the United States of America and Canada. After watching this a few times, it's clear that Michael Moore has a more dominating role throughout the 9-or-so minutes of the interview. Throughout every question Moore asked, Heston would begin to answer in a degree in which Moore disagreed with, and Heston would be cut short, making him look like the bad guy. It seemed to be that no matter what Heston stated, he was always going to be wrong. I think it was very rude of Michael Moore to treat Charles Heston as he did. He may not have agreed, but his professionalism really did fly out the window. It didn't show Moore in a very good light.

The YouTube viewers that also watched this interview segment all share similar views. I completely agree with them, however I do believe there is more reasoning to Moore's persistent nagging and criticising.

YouTube viewers' comments (excuse the rude language!)

Even though I disagree with Moore's interviewing technique, I believe he was doing it for a reason. In my head, if I wanted to get the ultimate truth out of someone, I would keep badgering them until they finally gave in and told me. I feel like this is what Moore was doing. 

Towards the very end of this interview segment, Charles Heston decides to leave Michael Moore as he seems to be finding it very frustrating, as he has been unable to get a word in edgeways. With an overwhelming sensation, as he leaves, Moore decides to play the guilt trip. He began showing him a photo of a small girl that died due to legalised gun crime, in which Heston did not seem to care. 

Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.

Critique: Do You Think Science...?

After being asked "Do you think science can understand everything?", we see a group of space physicists practically unable to answer this question, and are stopped in their paths as the camera records their initial reaction.

Being scientists, the interviewees don't give a simple answer. We see and hear a number of difficult statements and body language/gestures being posed towards the interviewer in a bid of disbelief that they are unable to answer the question. I really like the way the production has been edited, as the filming is very casual, but the cutaways and editing technique makes the audience watching think about the question too.

We see each individual scientist contemplate their answer as they struggle to come up with an agreement straight away, which is probably very rare in their field of thought. Each of them initially respond with "Oh that's a good question" and "Oh that's a tough one". It's clear that they are deeply thinking about this, and are puzzled on what to endure during the interview. The awkward body language from a number of the scientists makes it clear as day that they have never even thought about the question being asked before, and some even retaliate with a question to try and cover their confusion.

Initial reactions of three interviewees

With the body language side of things, it all means the same thing but is portrayed in a different manor, depending on the interviewee. Normally, if a person is confident, they will sit up straight and look directly into the camera and answer the question in great detail. With this, the gesture is very slouched, laid back and almost clueless as the interviewees struggle to answer the question immediately.

I think as a whole, the point in asking this particular question is to discover whether people's own faith and views give limitation on science itself, or if it scientists are completely open minded and not biased. 

To gather a real understanding of this, we made our own version, with our own question. Read about it here: http://strictlysavage.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/documenting-doing-18-give-them-enough.html

Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.


http://semiconductorfilms.com/art/do-you-think-science/ - accessed on 8th-Feb-2014

Documenting The Doing #18: Give Them Enough Rope

Our second documentary production was a more upbeat, and we actually had a scenario this time. The job was to go around the college, asking fellow students and members of staff an open question. It was almost like an interview, but a lot more informal and relaxed. In the morning, we had watched the interview which consisted of an interviewer asking a team of astrophysicists "Do you think science...?" and filming their initial reactions and full answers. Some seemed quite defensive, others seemed down-to-earth and gave a simple answer.

We could work in groups of 4 or under so me and my colleagues Naomi, Katie and Jade decided to go in a group of 4. With this, we gave ourselves specific roles as to what we would do to input our production during the day. I would be the camera operator with Naomi, Katie would be the floor manager and Jade would be the person who asked people if they wouldn't mind being filmed for our video. Picking our question came about pretty quickly as myself and Katie were talking about it, by complete fluke, the previous day.

What would you do if you were given a book of your life from beginning to end?

This question proved to be quite complicated as people didn't realise it was from birth until the day they die, so we had to explain and repeat ourselves several times to ensure that the interviewee would answer the question as accurately as possible. The only problem we had with this was the fact that the whole point in filming would be to catch people's initial reactions and see how they felt about it being asked. Some people understood the question, but others didn't. I think if I was to do this production again, I would choose a more simple question or try and word it differently, so it was easier to understand.

Letter of release

We began the day hiring out a Canon 600D, a tripod, a light and a Canon Mic. The production side wasn't overly important during this piece of work as it was all about the editing and capturing the initial first reactions. As long as we had at least 5 people, it'd be fine and we'd be good to go. We ventured to a number of places around the college including the canteen, outside in the smoking area and through reception. With this, we would have a wide range of people, students and tutors, answering the question so there would be a varied audience, thus giving mixed opinions.

The camera/tripod/mic set-up

The set-up was the same in all of the locations we filmed in. There were some places we had to use the LED light just to brighten up some shots, but all in all, it was pretty successful on the filming side. We managed to work the mic well, and it really helped the sound emphasise the effects when it came to editing.

FINAL PRODUCTION: The Book of Life

Instead of just chucking together a selection of clips, I really wanted to do the best and be as versatile as possible with the editing. Watching the clips back proved something; which was everyone gave an initial reaction in which either their speech or face look questionably puzzled. I decided to take full advantage of this and cut the initial reactions and put them at the beginning of the video. I then continued to compile the remaining clips of the interviewees answering questions and ended up with a pretty successful video. There were mixed reactions, which was totally expected, so I tried to sort the shots out so they were different each time, and not all in order of appearance. This way, the audience watching wouldn't get bored or fed up with hearing the same thing over and over again.

To enhance the production I added a subtle music track in the background to add more depth and charisma to the final piece. For this, I chose the instrumental version to Rihanna's Where Have You Been, as it was an upbeat track with many instruments, reflecting on the many opinions that the interviewees had during the production.

Overall, I think this production was a great success in the perspective of what the scenario was. We captured the audience's and interviewee's emotions, and in my personal edit, I think I displayed these rather well. Actually doing the production wasn't something I particularly enjoyed. I get really anxious and nervous when approaching people I don't know, but the people we did interview in the end were really friendly. 

Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.

http://semiconductorfilms.com/art/do-you-think-science/ - accessed on 8th-Feb-2014

What is a Documentary?

By definition, a documentary is a film, television or radio programme that provides a factual report on a particular subject. Documentaries have become a form of factual entertainment. They allow the viewer to develop a greater understanding into a particular topic. The phrase 'documentary' is now used as a genre title as there are many different forms. They all serve their own individual purpose and it's depending on the response you wish to generate from the audience as to which one you would use.

During WWII, many documentary-style films were released as propaganda. The Lion Has Wings was made during their height of the war and released very quickly into British cinemas. Its main purpose was to convince the government of the importance of film; both as a method of keeping moral high and as part of the propaganda battle. This shows that because documentaries are known to be factual, and with this, more people are likely to believe them.

- - - - - - - - - -

As stated before, the phrase documentary is a category for a range of sub-genres. These include:

Reality TV
Often described as factual TV, its main purpose is to be informative as possible and give us a view point of a certain perspective. When watching reality television, there is often an element of observation which is normally accompanied by commentary. Programmes such as Police, Camera, Action is a good example.

Fly on the Wall
The camera will often be hidden and will record events as they unfold. This allows the audience to view something completely real, nothing is scripted or storyboarded. Although this isn't the most entertaining form of video recording, the results always portray more genuine. Big Brother is one of the biggest and well-known Fly on the Wall style documentary.

Self Reflexive
This is a style of documentary when the camera is purposely following someone and they are aware. Often this is documenting their day-to-day life. The individual being followed will often talk to the camera, and/or be interviewed at the end of each day. The Secret Millionaire, which was first aired in 2006, is still producing more episodes because of its success. This allows you to build a relationship with an individual and understand their thought processes behind what they are doing. The audience is made to feel involved with the life of the individual, and this makes a real connection, leaving the audience wanting a sequel-like return.

Docudrama
A docudrama is the reconstruction of something which has happened. They will often use actors to re-enact exactly what had happened to their knowledge. Crimewatch will often use reconstructions of what happened to help build a picture in the audiences' mind. Any film or programme you have seen which is based on a try story is in fact a docudrama.

Mockumentary
A mockumentary is a type of film or television show in which fictional events are presented in documentary style to create a parody. These productions are often used to analyse or comment on current events and issues by using a dictional setting, or to parody the documentary form itself. They may be either comedic or dramatic in form, although comedic mockumentaries are more common. A dramatic mockumentary should not be confused with a docudrama, which is a fictional genre in which dramatic techniques are combined with documentary elements to depict real events. A prime example of a mockumentary is The Office which was first aired in 2001; which was based upon day-to-day lives of people working in an office.

Fully Narrated
This means that the documentary has a narrator throughout the footage. The dialogue is often used to explain what is actually going on in the shots. It allows the audience to determine exactly what is happening. Most nature based documentaries, such as Frozen Planet and Countryfile will convey the information in an informative style.

- - - - - - - - - -

The History of John Grierson

John Grierson was a famous documentary maker, producer, and director. He died in the early 70s but his name lives on in this day and age as being on the most successful documentary maker in the world. He was often known as the British and Canadian documentary 'father'.

Grierson was the first person to use the term documentary and he described it in the manor of 'the creative term of actuality.' His theory of documentary film was developed in the UK against the backdrop of WWI and the economic and political period leading up to WWII. Grierson also viewed documentary as a method for communication and information between the government and people.

John Grierson

''I have no great interest in films as such. Now and again; shapes, masses and movements disport themselves that I have a brief hope that something of the virtue of great painting may one day come to the cinema... I look on cinema as a pulpit, and use it as a propagandist. Cinema is to be conceived as a medium, like writing, capable of many forms and many functions. A professional propagandist may well be interested in it. It gives generous access to the public. It is capable of direct description, simple analysis, simple analysis, and commanding conclusion, and may, by its tempoed and imagistic powers, be made easily persuasive."

Following the success of his films, the British government went on to build a documentary unit. During the period of the mid 1930s, Grierson produced a number of classics such as Len Lye's abstract, Alberto Cavalcanti's Marvellous Pet and Pot (1934) and animated Rainbow Dance (1936).

During the end of his career, Grierson returned to Canada to teach film at McGill University from 1969-1971, making many new converts to the cause of social documentary.  

- - - - - - - - - -

Some of the key features in all documentaries are the idea of observing something. This gives the audience a point of view look into the actual scenario. The subjects are not expected to interact with the camera team. Interviews are often a clever way to give an audience an opinion in a factual piece of work. Often, an interview can also validate the line of argument that some documentaries may be trying to portray.

- - - - - - - - - -


Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_film - accessed on 1st-Feb-2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_television - accessed on 1st-Feb-2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_on_the_wall - accessed on 1st-Feb-2014
http://voices.yahoo.com/creating-truth-why-reflexive-documentary-rocks-6023412.html - accessed on 1st-Feb-2014
http://www.slideshare.net/cheffernan/reflexive-documentaries - accessed on 1st-Feb-2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docudrama - accessed on 1st-Feb-2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockumentary - accessed on 1st-Feb-2014
http://mediadocumentarylittlemore94.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/types-of-documentary.html - accessed on 1st-Feb-2014

Documenting The Doing #17: 2 Minute Documentary

I'd never really studied or looked in to any sort of documentary before, so I was really looking forward to this week. It was a Monday morning and we were hit with the bombshell of having to create a 'Documentary in a Day'. Those words sent all of us loopy as we had to plan, film, edit, export and upload between the hours of 9.30am-4.30pm. We knew it would be a challenge, but we were determined to pull it off.

Myself and my colleague Naomi came up with an idea pretty quickly, and we thought it would be quite simple to film and put together. We settled on "The Morning of a College Student", which would consist of 10 shots of Naomi walking from her bus stop, through college and into our studio/classroom. We would then record a separate voice-over using a zoom mic to have a higher quality to our production, and giving it the final footage that extra edge.

Our shot list

It didn't take us too long to plan, as both of us are quite in sync with each-other and we could both visualise what we both meant; whether it would look as good as we hoped was completely out of our hands! Myself and Naomi were both panicking slightly, as we're both perfectionists, and we wanted it to be super good - even though it was our first ever documentary and it had to be done in 6 hours!

We began by walking up to the bus stop in where are first shot would be taken, and began filming. The weather wasn't on our side unfortunately, so we were limited on time as it was practically raining when we were out there. Naomi and I also decided against using a tripod, as it would be pretty complicated to try and work with it with just two of us, especially as I was the only one behind the camera. All of our footage was hand-held, which was kind of good and bad. The good side was that it was quite natural, and almost at the point-of-view of another student or passer by, however the bad side was that it was quite shaky. We managed to keep the camera in focus though! 

FINAL PRODUCTION: Documentary in a Day

When it came to editing, we were on a strict time slot. The final production had to be exactly 2 minutes long. Not 1.59 or 2.01, exactly 2.00. This proved to be quite a challenge for both of us, as our edit was absolutely brilliant, however the timing kept on going either a few seconds over, or a few seconds under. Whilst we were editing, we obviously had to put our voice-overs onto the production. It was almost like a narration, as Naomi would tell the audience a step-by-step itinerary of her normal college morning. Her voice was clear and very sophisticated, and it sounded really sharp and clean on the recording, which was a bonus. However, with the clips and voice-over being different timings, there were a few moments within the footage that were silent as the voice-over didn't quite stretch to the length of the clips. To resolve this, in my personal edit, I decided to put a quick and up-beat tempo song on to it. I chose "Sweet Sweet Melody" by Katie Sky, which is quite a happy song and I think it worked. 

Considering the time frame we had to complete this task in, I thought we did quite well. The production as a whole would've been a lot neater and more sophisticated if we had a week or so to plan it all, and complete a risk assessment and things like that. That would be the only thing I would change. I thought the idea was there, and we portrayed our outlook really well, it's just the quality and sharpness of the whole production could've been better. If we ever do something like this again, I will take these points into consideration!

Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY4ycS6_YF4 - accessed on 3rd-Feb-2014