Filming - Day Four

Today we planned to finish all of our photos and finish filming the footage for our video, we started off at a field in Church Langley taking pictures of the actors on the hill to apply to our video. We managed to do this quickly enabling us to start filming at Jess' house where we needed footage of the girl actor walking into the house for the last scene and also of the 4 male actors reaction. After completing the filming successfully we took pictures of the male actors wearing shirts and changing constantly which will be used as an effect for our video. We also took pictures and filmed for the chorus of our video using our actors.
Overall, today's filming and taking pictures were very successful as we completed everything we planned to do so we can edit for the rest of the week making our video have a professional approach as we'd be spending a great deal of time on making changes.

Filming - Day Three

We spent today after school taking pictures of the male and female actors to apply to our video, we took some individual shots and group shots making sure we had enough for the last verse. After taking pictures we went back to Louie's studio with Zak filming him singing the first verse alone so that we had more footage and different shots to apply to our video when editing. We felt that it was successful as the actors all turned up and we got everything done that we wanted to for today's filming session.

Editing - Day One

In today's lesson we were given three hours for our production work, as we hadn't planned to film anything today we thought it would be essential to start with the footage we already have to start editing. We got all the pictures we took from the studio to add at the intro of The Maccabees song, as it was approximately 32 seconds we wanted to make sure we had enough pictures to edit into this particular part of the video. We cut down the length of some pictures so that we were able to have a good variation of shots but also needed to consider the consistency throughout the beginning part of the video. As well as applying photos in our video we added quick footage of some of the actors performing on their instruments giving the audience a glimpse of what's to come further on in the video. Whilst using the Macs our work we edited got deleted as the software shut down unexpectedly, therefore we re-edited some pieces by memory to make sure we were back on track with the intro completed.

Despite having trouble with our work deleting we achieved a great deal today than what we thought we would have, as well as finishing the intro we managed to edit the footage we had from the live studio performance in the video. This meant we could apply it into the first verse of the song in our video resulting in the first verse also being completed. After showing our teacher and other people in the class our first part of the song they noticed a great deal of the pictures having red eye, as it was obvious to a lot of people it was something we needed to consider changing. Therefore we stayed after school to edit every single picture and re-apply them into our video to make it look consistent and have a more professional approach.

Digipak Research

After conducting extensive research on the internet on digipaks the two definitions I felt helped me understand what it was the most are:
- A thick paper (almost cardboard-like) CD package. The paper is a folded one- piece section with the CD resting in a normal plastic tray, like those in jewel cases and this tray is glued to the paper.
- A form of a jewel case which holds one or more CDs/DVDs with the outer cover made of card as opposed to plastic.

I feel quite confident when creating my digipak due to my experience within media and having the skills required in order to make my product successful as well as having a professional approach for the music industry.

I have researched previous digipaks in order to get a better idea of the conventions used within the product which I can then apply to my final product. When analysing a variety of digipaks I found that most of them include:
- A creative image used on the front cover of the digipak but isn't always necessarily an image of the particular artist or the band.
- A consistent theme used throughout the product.
- Band, Song and Record Labels logo,
- Titles - Band, Album and Song name.
- The back cover of the digipak usually presents the track list.
- Barcode as well as price.
- DVD detail: Age certification or "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content" label
- Copyright Protection logos and information (©, ®, ™)
- Pictures: front, back, middle (inside and outside)
- Limited Edition: Exclusive DVD included, bonus tracks or uncut version.
- 4 sided with 2 spines: 2 pictures outside (front/back cover) with possibly two inside the digipak.
- 6 sided with 2 spines: 2 pictures outside (front, middle and back covers) 2 inside with production pictures and possibly a production & artwork booklet

Research of CD album covers
As the front cover of my digipak was the most essential aspect I analysed The Maccabees, You Me At Six, General Fiasco, Two Door Cinema Club and Paramore album covers. The reason is because it links with my music video track research and analysing these particular covers would link with the genre of music I'm focusing on. The Maccabees album covers don't actually have the images of the particular band but the images are very eye catching due to the use of bright colours. Although this would be a good idea to use for my own digipak I'd prefer to take pictures of our actors due to the fact I'd be advertising the band and would want my target audience to be aware of the band members. The album covers for both Two Door Cinema Club and You Me At Six doesn't use the band members on the front of the cover, but instead use intriguing colours and images in order to attract the audience's attention. This is a good technique but I personally think the album covers are quite bland and I would prefer to use pictures. The album cover for General Fiascos is of the back of a young boy's body wearing bunny ears; this image is very random which could link with the characteristics of the band. I feel this is a good way to attract someone purchasing the album as it's different and wouldn't be stereotypical of other album covers. Overall, I feel that a picture of the whole band would be essential on the front of my digipak, the use of bright colours would attract my target audience and most album covers are quite simplistic; I will also take into consideration that I need to add the name of the album on the front cover.

Back cover: Track Research

When creating a back cover for my digipak the most essential thing I need to include is a track list of songs by the band you are focusing on. As I'm already doing a song from The Maccabees I thought it would be ideal to research their songs to apply onto my track list from their album Colour It In. After analysing back covers of many albums I've found that the track list has roughly between 10-20 songs, a barcode, copyright protection logos as well as pictures.

Colour It In
01. Good Old Bill

02. X-Ray
03. All in Your Rows
04. Latchmere
05. About Your Dress
06. Precious Time
07. O.A.V.I.P
08. Tissue Shoulders
09. Happy Faces
10. First Love
11. Mary
12. Lego

13. Toothpaste Kisses

Filming - Day Two

Sunday 6th December:
As we were left with four actors we decided to get a replacement that we thought could be reliable in order for us to catch up with previous work we've missed. During today's filming we managed to take a variety of pictures with all five actors and started filming the first verse in someone's studio. By filming this straight away it will aid us to start editing our video whilst filming as well, helping us to catch up and finish the work by the deadline date. We had a problem with filming today as we had forgotton a tripod resulting in us lacking on the footage we needed. Therefore we decided that we'd keep what we'd filmed but come together on Monday 7th December to finish the scenes within the studio.

Monday 7th December:
Today I was unable to attend the filming session due to late notice as I'd already scheduled to work, but the group were fine with this situation and decided to film without me. Unfortunately, the replacement for our video let us down due to the fact that he was busy so we've came to the conclusion of using four actors who we genuinely feel are reliable and will attend every filming session arranged.

Filming - Disaster

After extensive planning to film today after school, we were let down by one of the actors at the last minute which meant we needed to re-schedule the filming for another day. Also someone in the group couldn't make some of the filming days which also meant we needed to re-arrange particular things, therefore we were unable to complete the filming we decided to do today which resulted in us being behind schedule.

Auxillary Tasks

For our A2 production work we have been given three auxillary tasks:

1. A website homepage for the band.
2. A cover for its release as part of a digipak.
3. A magazine advertisement for the digipak.

As we have been given the choice of picking two out of the three tasks to complete individually, I've decided to complete tasks 2 & 3. The reason why I have chosen to do these tasks is because due to the previous experience I've gained, I feel I'd be able to complete them to the best of my ability using mainly Photoshop. I would find the construction in completing both a magazine advertisement as well as a cover for the digipak easier as opposed to creating a webpage for the band.

Filming - Day One

After extensive planning we managed to start filming today, due to the fact that a majority of our actors were in lessons whilst we were filming we used Zak as the main person in the video and began to film his individual shots. Overall, I feel that today's filming was successful as we completed the filming we intended to get done today and began to upload our footage ready to edit.

Music Video: Storyboarding & Planning Our Shots

In today's lesson we printed off the lyrics to our chosen song and brought all the ideas we thought about together to link with each line within the song itself. We decided on the different locations we wanted to use and where they'd be appropriate in the particular parts of the song, as not all the actors will appear in all the shots we've highlighted elements of the lyrics where the people will be in certain parts of the video. Below is a scan of our plan and what will be in the video itself.
We also managed to get our storyboards done so we know exactly what shots needed to be filmed, we arranged some of the duration of the shots but the others we didn't plan were the ones we wanted to sort out when it came to editing our video depending on how much footage we would get.


LYRICS PLAN





STORYBOARDS

Permission From Artist

We've tried contacting The Maccabees on numerous occasions in order to gain permission to use their song as we needed to make sure we weren't breaching any copyright legislation when creating our own music video. We felt that it was essential to contact the band via a popular social networking site but the most efficient way of contact was Twitter and Jessica created an account in order for us to get in touch with them. Unfortunately, they haven't replied back to us yet but you can view what we messaged them in the images above.

Music Video: Actors, Costumes & Location Choices

ACTORS
We started looking at the possibilities of many people who could be in our music video, although our sixth form is full of people we felt we needed people we could rely on turning up to every filming session. We took into account the actors we'd need to match the indie genre of our video and decided we wanted 5 boys to be the band alongside a girl who would be apart of the story within the song. Two of the people we've decided on is Zak and myself as we didn't want to rely on too many people out of the group to co-operate and we felt that it would be easier to organise the meeting of four people as opposed to organising times that would be good for six different people.

The other actors we have chosen are:
- Louie Austen
- Jake Robinson
- Joe Mortimer
- Ryan Wilson

Although Zak and I appear in the video there will be opportunity for us to film as I'm not constantly appearing in the video and Zak is in a majority of the video but will help plan shots as well as helping edit on imovieHD as that is essentially his strongest asset.

COSTUMES
Whilst researching our chosen band, The Maccabees, we found that most of their videos incorporate bright colour and it gave us the idea of having the actors wear bright colours within the video itself. As we wanted our video to seem more interesting we've decided on a set of three outfits for our actors.
1. Coloured hoodies, white t-shirts, blue or black skinny jeans and black converse/trainers.
2. Black shirts with coloured ties, blue or black skinny jeans and black converse/trainers.
3. Coloured checked shirts, polo's or t-shirts, blue or black skinny jeans and black converse/trainers.
As a group we chose a set of primary colours for each actor to allocate themselves to having the choice of Red, Blue, Purple, Green, Orange and Yellow.



The colours each of them chose were:

Louie - Purple

Zak - Blue

Joe - Red

Ryan - Green

Jake - Yellow/Orange

LOCATIONS
To make it easier for our actors we decided to make our locations local due to transport and lack of time for not only our actors but also us as a group.

The choices of locations included:

-Church Langley area in Harlow as we'd be using the big hill situated in a field, the woods, a bridge and other streets within the area.

- Louie's studio for the use of instruments within the video.

- The drama studio for shots of the main singer.

- Jess' house for the final shots for the last verse.

Music Video: Creative Research

As we have finally decided on our song for our music video we began to research videos by the same artist being The Maccabees to decide on what the content of our video will be like. Also to gain knowledge into the style of this particular group and seeing if we were able to conform to their particular style.

The Maccabees - First Love
This song consists of both slow and fast paced music throughout, both the music and visuals have no connections apart from parts where the members of the band sing some of the words. As the actors within this video appear to be older it may not attract the particular audience we want to attract. Therefore we are going to use people from our sixth form as the audience can relate to them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A1xu0BSs2s

The Maccabees - Young Lions (Down The Front Session)
This video is based from the band's acoustic sessuib and we felt it was an interesting video as it has close ups of the band members as well as seeing them create the music themselves. It shows them playing the instruments and lots of cuts have been added which is typical of an indie genre and this is something we'd like to incorporate into our own video. We liked the effects used in the video and would take the style of the video into consideration when creating our own but we're thinking of pushing boundaries a little by adding our own elements within the product.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8w15RJ87UE

The Maccabees - Toothpaste Kisses
As opposed to the other songs the pacing of this particular song is quite slow and mellow, but didn't seem to have much of a purpose to it which is the same with a majority of the other videos we've analysed. The video itself doesn't seem to have many cuts and the location is kept constant throughout which is a pub full of people and the only thing that really links to the lyrics is the fact that everyone in the pub is filmed kissing one another. I felt the types of shots used in this video were very basic and the story to it seemed very tedious as it was based on two characters taking it in turns to kiss other people. When watching this video it made me began to think of using different locations as opposed to one and a variety of shots and camera angles to entice my audience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SJmWSWQgdM

The Maccabees - Latchmere
When analysing this song we found that it had quite a fast pace and the visuals were mainly random objects with a series of frozen shots giving a broken effect to the video itself. We found that the words were very repetitive but both the lyrics and visuals have no relationship what so ever, this is something we'd like to apply to our video but we also want to add a slight story which isn't seen in the Latchmere video. Although we want to use a range of frozen shots in our video we wouldn't want to apply it to the whole product as it will be extremely time consuming and as our production time is limited it will be very difficult for us. Also in the video we found that there was a great deal of bright colours used, this is something we're interested in doing to our video by making our actors wear bright coloured clothing and with the song we're focusing on being very lively we feel that the use of colours will accentuate this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faMEnZQT2f8

CONCLUSION
- We don't really want to conform to typical indie style video's so we're going to try and keep to the original style The Maccabees use.

- The people in our video will be of the same age range as the target audience.

- Overall, their videos consist of random effects and shots which will be considered for our video.

-The primary style of The Maccabees is to use one element from the lyrics and emphasise it in our music video.

Planning Our Music Video

In yesterday and today's media lesson we started planning our final production, I've decided to work in a group with Zak and Jess. Together we contemplated on either doing a music video or a film trailer, with a great deal of research we came to the conclusion of creating a music video for our final production.

For our music video we have decided on the song X-ray by The Maccabees, for the video we are using five male actors and possibly one female. We want to use a variety of locations to differentiate our video but also make it quite consistent. We've decided to start the video using a variety of pictures changing in correspondence to the music which will initially be the first 32 seconds. Then we'll film in a studio, a field and someone's house but make sure we get extra footage enabling us to have enough to edit our video.

Music Video: Track Research

As we've currently decided on the particular genre we are focusing on the next step was to choose a song we'd like to produce a music video for. We looked at several different songs and briefly analysed them as a group.

The songs we looked at were:

Two Door Cinema Club - I Can Talk


(Fast, lively & upbeat song as well as a fast paced video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJDCMth8poM

You Me At Six - Jealous Minds Think Alike


(Fast, upbeat song with the artists performing using their instruments with reasonably quick cuts throughout)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuiY6jsOPEY

General Fiasco - Ever So Shy

(Moderately paced song but video contains lots of fast cuts corresponding with the instruments)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As-Rulo-E4g

Paramore - Misery Business

(Fast song but video is more of a performance as opposed to a story within the video and doesn't seem as fast)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCyGvGEtOwc

The Maccabees - X-ray

(Fast & upbeat song but artists haven't made a video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cylaos-yhyM

When choosing our song for our music video we felt it was essential that we chose one that we all enjoy listening to; after looking at a variety of indie bands and tracks we came to the conclusion that we didn't want to make our whole video based upon a live performance but instead use a variety of locations producing a story out of the lyrics we would have. Also we decided that we'd use an upbeat and fast paced song so we'd be able to use different edits and camera angles to make our video look more professional and interesting to our audience.

CONCLUSION
We decided to use the track X-ray by The Maccabees, the main reason for this was because we couldn't find an official video for the track and we could therefore make it our own without getting any ideas from the artists themselves and it wouldn't be replicated from the official video.

Music Video: Initial Research

In today's lesson we decided to research into our target audience before choosing our song for our music video as in the past I've learnt that this can affect on what you are able to produce. As a group we decided to focus on our target audience of people that were a similar age to us which is primarily people aged 16-25, the reason is because we can immerge our various interests of music in order to create a video suitable for a wide audience that we'd all be best able to relate to.

Once we decided on our target audience we were then able to research songs based on a variety of genres that we felt our particular age group would enjoy. Upon doing some market research we found that there were three main genres of music that we felt would interest a large audience which were:

-Indie
-Dance/Pop
-Rock

We then looked at different music videos relating to the popular genres and analysed them whilst considering numerous techniques that we would apply to our own production work.

ROCK: MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE- HELENA
The video links to Andrew Goodwin's theory as the images relate to the lyrics for example at the beginning of the video you see people walking into a funeral parlour with the lyrics "Long ago, just like the hearse you die to get in again, We are so far from you." is sung over the shots.
There is a relationship between the visual and music elements as the first verse of the song is very slow and so is the movement applied and as soon as the tempo rises so does the action within the video itself.

I personally feel using a song based upon a rock genre would be difficult as the lyrics to the song are very fast which will be hard to get the lip syncing right. The costumes used in this video conform to the stereotypical identity of a rock genre and would be quite easy to portray the characteristics of the genre through make up and costume but I feel choosing the perfect locations would be difficult. As the rock video we have analysed uses a variety of instruments amplified, it would be difficult to get the actors to play together if they didn't have the experience of actually playing before, making the shots look false and unrealistic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUjdiDeJ0xg

DANCE/POP: TAIO CRUZ-DYNAMITE
This video shows elements of the key features from Andrew Goodwin's theory.
There is a particular relationship between the visuals and the audio and the video changes pace depending on the tempo of the music. When the bass of the music is relatively heavy there are a lot of images of different people dancing.

Overall we felt that producing a dance/pop video would usually consist of either one or two main artists and if we did produce a video like this then we'd find people willing to participate. However, these types of videos require a great deal of extras, but we don't think we'll have enough resources as well as time to make our video seem professional. Also we feel that if we found a large group of actors it will be very hard to manage and find the time for everyone to attend filming. We feel that this genre of music may not be appropriate for an A2 level course but all things considered, the pace of music would mean we'd be able to get different shots making it easier to edit and the pacing of the lyrics will make it simpler to manipulate by using our editing skills to their maximum potentials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUjdiDeJ0xg

INDIE: GENERAL FIASCO-SOMETHING SOMETIME
We analysed that Goodwin's theories are displayed within this particular music video as there is reference to both the visual and audio element as the video is like a live performance.
The camera isn't stationary but there are a variety of shot distances and angles which can be considered when filming our video. There are different shots of the instruments and this video conforms to the style and iconography of the genre: wearing casual clothes and playing upbeat music.

Out of all the genres we've analysed we personally felt that indie music would be easier to do, as the costumes would be easy to achieve and the video uses a maximum of 5 people and we feel we'd be able to find this amount of people without too much difficulty. There are shots of instruments, and between the three of us, we are able to access them. Overall, another factor helping us to make our final decision is that we've previously completed productions using this particular genre of music so we can put all our ideas across in order to make our music video successful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeffdtPW07k

CONCLUSION

-We have decided on the target audience of 16-25.

-We are going to produce a video based upon an indie genre.

Advanced A2 Portfolio Brief

In today's lesson we were focusing on our Advanced A2 Portfolio and we needed to decide whether we wanted to create a promotional music video or a film trailer with two auxillary tasks. I'm working in a group of three and we came to the conclusion of producing a music video due to our experience with both researching and creating music videos and we feel our previous skills will help aid us into making it as professional as possible.

The brief is:
To produce a promotional pack for the release of an album which is to include:
-A non-original promo video along with two auxillary tasks.
-A magazine advertisement for the digipak.
-A cover for its release as part of a digipak.

For all of the tasks given, all images and videos must be original from the candidate and as students we need to make sure we seek permission from the artist/label if we intend to use one of their tracks, so as not to breach copyright. For the main tasks we are allowed to work in groups of four maximum but all the auxillary tasks must be completed individually.

Why is it important to have British film?

British film in today's society plays a vital role in contemporary culture, without it the world wouldn't be able to gain an insight into the identity of UK nation and regions as well as the changing face of Britain's different communities. It is important to have British film as if they become successful it enables them to have the power to change attitudes and making people think, both at home as well as abroad. It is also significant as it is the mirror in which we see ourselves and the window through which the world sees us and the impact of British film upholds particular traditional values and mocked, challenged and undermined them. The importance of British film is it's diversity through class, cultures and multiculturalism, for example in the successful film, Notting Hill starring Hugh Grant, it explores the various cultures living in the particular area showing the audience the diversity within Britain. In another British film, Four Weddings and a Funeral also starring Hugh Grant explores the characteristics of different British people as well as the different classes within our society showing the sophistication of the middle class in comparison with the working class.

Dancing in the Distraction Factory

Andrew Goodwin wrote a theoretical paper called "Dancing in the Distraction Factory" proposing many key features which distinguish a music video as a form.

•There is a relationship between the visuals and lyrics as the visuals usually illustrate, amplify and contradict the lyrics.

•There is a relationship between the music and visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.

•Particular music genres may have their own music video style and iconography, such as live stage performances in heavy rock.

•Demand on the part of the record company for a lot of close ups of the main artist or vocalist.

•There is likely to be reference to voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of females, but also in terms of systems of looking, i.e. screens within screens, binoculars, cameras, etc.

•There are likely to be intertextual reference either to music videos or to films and TV texts.

Pop: Britney Spears; Hit Me Baby One More Time

Britney Spears is a well known pop-artist selling millions of records in her prime, I chose the music video "Hit Me Baby One More Time" as it films her in school dressed as a young girly girl which is very stereotypical of girl pop. There are many elements of the video which predominantly links to the Andrew Goodwin's theory, as their is a demand on the part of the record company filming various close ups of the artist showing the audience of who provides the vocals overall. The video is based in a high school with other students around, starting with the class breaking into a choreographed dance routine. The locations within the school include the gymnasium, classroom, corridor and playground showing the mise en scene to be consistent throughout the video. There is a relationship between music and visuals as the rhythm of the music connects with the video itself which is essentially a key feature within Goodwin's theory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKo4fFVymqk


Rap: Eminem and Rihanna; Love The Way You Lie

Certain aspects of this music video conform to Goodwin's theory as the lyrics link with the particular visuals shown, as the visuals illustrate the story to the lyrics of the song. For example Eminem raps about the house in the video being set on fire and it shows the house burning in certain parts of the video. It links with the genre of rap as it is seen to be violent which is shown in the video between the man and woman fighting as well as the excessive drinking which also shows the relationship between the lyrics and visuals as there is rapping about the woman wanting to leave the man shown in the video. The use of lyrics and visuals helps the audience gain a better understanding of what's actually going on in the video which is essentially like telling a story from the lyrics. Another theory proposed by Goodwin is the demand of close ups of the main artists who are Eminem and Rihanna, the structure of the video is sufficient as although there are actors performing the story based on the lyrics there are certain camera shots making the audience aware of who provides the vocals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uelHwf8o7_U&ob=av2e


Country and Western: Billy Ray Cyrus; Achy Breaky Heart

This particular music video highlights Goodwin's theory of iconography as the artist is filmed performing to an audience as a live stage performance; there is also a variety of close ups of Billy Ray Cyrus as he's primarily the main artist singing. There is relationship between music and visuals as the filming has quick cuts from the artist to the audience linking to the style of the music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byQIPdHMpjc&ob=av2e

Rock: Blink 182; All the Small Things

The music video links to some of Goodwin's theories as there is a relationship between the specific music and video due to the fact that it's quite upbeat, fast and flowing to the genre of the music. There is a short, choreographed dance routine in part of the video and there are certain aspects of editing used such as quick cuts from one scenario to another. Throughout some of it there is a link to voyeurism shown in terms of systems of looking through binoculars as a man is being attacked by a dog referring to someone who habitually observes others without their knowledge which is another significant feature which can be used in music videos, there is also a demand on the particular record company for a lot of close ups; there is a main artist but as Blink 182 consists of a group of 3 singers there are some close ups of the members individually and together through the duration of the video. This particular genre of music portrays the band to have their own particular music video style as well as iconography as it shows elements of some live performances to their fans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ht5RZpzPqw&ob=av2e

Heavy Metal: Slipknot; Left Behind

By watching this music video you automatically get the indication that it's based upon a heavy metal genre, it essentially has a relationship between the lyrics and visuals. The reason is because the band are singing about Corey's childhood, the lead singer of Slipknot and there are some elements of the video where there's a reconstruction of him growing up as a young child. As well as the relationship between lyrics and visuals there is also the relationship between the music and visuals because the speed and the volume of the specific genre is illustrated by the video itself. There is also a range of different camera angles, for example there are many close ups of the lead vocalist as well as shots of other members of the band itself; this links to Goodwin's theory as there may have been a demand on the part of the record company for the specifics camera shots.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1jQKpse7Yw&ob=av2e

Production & Evaluation of Documentary

RESEARCH
The term documentary helps an individual gain in depth knowledge/information on a particular subject and John Grierson proposes that the term of the genre used was "the creative interpretation of actuality".

An aspect of simple documentary filmmaking consists of:

-It being very simplistic with camera shots which are not varied but static.

-Picture of social/historical moment.

-People's behaviour changes/camera changes moment.

-Short pans.

Actual (A)

- something that would have happened whether or not the camera was there.

Creative (C)

- affected by practical decisions made by the director/camera operator making the sequence more entertaining.

Interpretive (I)

- affected by practical decisions made by the camera operator/director that might affect an audience's understanding of what they may see.

Documentaries usually appear as a fly on the wall mode as some people who are being filmed may not know that the camera is there. Although people make adjustments to change a particular situation because the fly on the wall mode may not necessarily work or show reality as the person knows they're are being filmed.

Documentaries are used to inform, entertain, give knowledge and educate people.

There are many different ways in documentaries of addressing the subject matter as well as the audience. Attempting to obscure the fact that there are highly constructed products results in rendering down hours of film and careful employment of sound and editing.

Expository
- unseen speaker performs a voiced-over commentary/feeding audience with information.

Observational
- mode associated with fly-on-the-wall type documentaries with events occurring where the individual is seemingly unaware of filming taking place.


Interactive
- question/answer type of documentary sequences to an individual responding to questions, i.e. a cooking show.

Reflective
- experimental documentary (constructive).


DOCUMENTARY CONVENTIONS/TECHNIQUES IN URBAN SAVANNAH

-Various camera shots - zoom in/out, pan-shot, close ups, etc.

-Voice over (expository) - unseen speaker.

-Interviewer on screen giving them authority as they are essentially a Doctor.

-Music played in background at beginning of documentary.

-Expert analysis of situation.

-Cutaways for various moments.

-Sound effects - getting message across in different ways.

Practice Productions Evaluation

As we are currently preparing ourselves for our A2 course we were assigned to make a short video called "The Phonecall". We were placed in groups of approximately 4 people following a plan of how the shooting had to be done, we had the choice of the scenario of the filming and we decided as a group to film 2 characters consisting of a male and female. The story was based upon a young vulnerable girl who rang up the boy telling him she was pregnant and trying to confide in him despite the fact they had problems in the past, he becomes worried and frantically tells her he'll be there to comfort her. We met the aim of our task by following the brief of the various shots to make in order to create a successful video.



I feel that the filming was very consistent and steady when filming the different shots, we managed to apply a range of camera shots in order to gain a more in depth understanding of the developments of filming. Although the characters didn't travel as much and were practically in one spot during filming meant we couldn't use much of a tracking shot but managed to pan the establishing shot of the young boy before he receives the phonecall. This type of filming was very proficient as we made sure that the speed of the camera was steady enabling the audience not to feel disorientated whilst watching the short film. We also used a ranges of camera angles as well as shot distances enabling the film have a more proficient and professional approach for the target audience. There were many problems such as the mise en scene, although we planned the establishing shots of both characters we didn't take into consideration any plug and light switches that were behind the male as it drew attention from the audience. As this was a problem it would be something significant that we'd consider in the future.



When it came to editing the shots we did start off quite basic due to the fact that we had no experience of using the editing program on the apple macs, we took it in turns of changing and adding features to the film. We applied various sound effects to some shots, such as the establishing shot of the male was in a crowded room which meant we needed to apply loud talking sounds to fit in with the scene. We also applied various transitions to our film such as the short credits towards the end informing the audience of the characters we filmed as well as the creators.

I felt the task was extremely beneficial as it gave me a good understanding of the different ways of editing the range of shots we filmed. In the future I will be using my understanding of capturing shots along side editing them sufficiently. To watch our final product click on this URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhrASy_jL9s. Overall I found the task very enjoyable despite the fact some elements became tricky to edit but as a group we took it in turns to overcome any errors.