B2- Documentary
AC1- Purpose of the Project
Client and Brief
Our target audience is people in creative industries. With interviews from different people within different creative industries to content explaining how it could affect those industries negatively and positively, for example the film industry could benefit from AI as they can use it for writing and certain jobs that do not have to be done by people. This was achieved as we were able to introduce perspectives and alternative opinions on the same subject, meaning that we had created an original and unbiased piece of media to our target audience.
Our demographic is also people who are knowledgeable in media in general, so that they are able to tune in on a conversation we are starting about a huge factor within media today, which is AI. With references to different media, and research on AIs effect, this should be entertaining and informing to any people who are as passionate about media as myself and my crew. Deciding this demographic was more of a changing process as we decided what the overall narrative of our project was going to be.
We determined this target audience by choosing a basic structure to our project and then choosing a narrative. We decided that we were going to focus on creative industries as this is a subject that we as a crew, all have in common. It also meant that we could give our friends and other artists we work with a platform to express their views. We were able to do this as we interviewed people from different viewpoints and different aspirations, so we were able to spread our platform evenly
Representation
Our project does focus on younger people, as the issue were speaking about is an issue that effects future artists, rather than existing artists within the industry, this is because AI is an ever-growing subject, with research and advancements being made constantly, the power of AI can grow into something beyond out comprehension for now. We did not focus in on any other human feature like sexuality, race or gender as this subject is irrelevant to these subjects, but we did focus on creative people as a whole as we believe that these industries are the ones that are affected the most by AI and also deeply passionate people are within these industries meaning that the subject of AI taking over is one that is quite important to these people.
The representation relates to our target audience as with representation of different art forms and opinions from artists within these subcultures, we are able to represent artists with different viewpoints that may be watching, they may not agree with all the opinions that are said by the array of interviewees that exist within the viewers industry, but having even a few opinions expressed that the viewers will relate to is enough to represent that viewer.
Format
Our documentary is a poetic documentary, meaning that a lot of the message that we are trying to portray, isn’t told directly to the viewers face with narration a lot of the time, but instead told throughout many different shots and b-roll that all has an important impact on the narrative of our documentary. You can see this during the b-roll that we used when talking about the Turing test. We believed that this would be beneficial to our project as it was keeping to the brief as well as furthering skills we would all like to bring forward with us after college, such as cinematography. When filming our documentary we wanted to stay true to the poetic narrative so we had some codes and conventions to follow for that.
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With making a poetic documentary, come the codes and conventions. These are technically a set of ground rules to what makes the project exactly how its labelled, whether that’s for a multi-cam production or for a poetic documentary like in this case. Poetic documentaries intertwine the features of poetry and the features of documentary film making, some would say these go hand in hand pretty well. We combined visuals, music and narration to create an artistic and emotionally fit experience for the viewer. We felt that seeing as our documentary is based on artists and how AI could affect them, we should take our documentary in an artistic route as we are all artists within our crew so it felt fitting. Poetic documentaries explore different storytelling techniques. We did this by structuring our interviews in a way that is true to us. To me, the act of interviewing someone is quite intimate, we played around with this when deciding that the scenery of some of our interviews were going to be shot in my room, lying on my bed. This was an indirect way of referencing the fact that artists are quite close knit, especially with friendships formed in a college with artistic factors in every subject like ours.
Brainstorming
Initially, our first idea was to make a documentary about the effect of social media within our generation. We decided that this idea sounded like something that has definitely been done before and it just did not feel personal to us, as we would have to exude a narrative that we do not really stand behind strongly. Luckily, the subject of AI came around quite quickly with a lot of young people our age, as that is what the brief was, to create a documentary on something that affects young people. With SnapChat AI swarming everyone's phone, and with the writers and actors strike bringing up conversation on AI and its ability to take over these roles, we decided to change our message to the effect of AI and its ability to take over creative job roles.
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We chose this final idea as we believed that we would be able to reach out to more people local to us and create an emotionally strong project. We were able to do this, interviewing people from diverse backgrounds and with different creative abilities, we interviewed a visual artist from our college who does a lot of digital art, we spoke about AI and its recent outlet with prompt-based art being created, and its negative effect on this industry. We spoke about this because it is true to our brief, and it is a subject that does not have enough light shed on it.
Our final idea relates to the target audience and fits its purpose, as we were able to captivate multiple opinions and give as platform to diverse artists, meaning that we represented any artists from our target audience.
The purpose of our project is to spread awareness about the usage of AI. We did this initially by first doing our research on AI and how it has been used over the course of time from when it was first created, during the Turing Test, till now. We also did some research on what industries are going to benefit from the usage of AI and with that, what people in the industry could be negatively affected by AI. Some of these industries include the film industry, the art industry and the music industry. With this research on this topic, we were able to include a different view on AI to our project. Showing its origin and how it could be used for benefit. We want our project to reach out to many different people within the industry and for them to understand how AI can affect their work in the future.
We are making a documentary that contains a few interviews with people in different industries. Our first interview was with a director within our college. We spoke about the actor’s and writer's strike and how AI could have an effect on that, we went in depth about which jobs within her industry could be replaced by AI and which ones couldn’t. This was a very useful conversation topic with our project as comparison between two coexisting jobs yet the difference between their effects from AI is a very strong pillar in our message.
Our message that we want to express to the viewer is AI is just an example of some of the modern technologies that are advancing increasingly each day. Using our research of the development of AI will enforce this. Explaining how AI used to be used by such a small group of people, for example the Turing test that was a vital turning point for technology, to its everyday use now with platforms such as ChatGPT and other AI outlets.
The client for this project is for creative industries and the people working within these industries. For example, another interview we conducted was to another Broadcast student who also has knowledge and passions within other forms of media such as music. We spoke about how it could affect the film industry with writing and some of the less personable jobs within the industry. We also spoke about music and AI covers, with artists' voices being used over different artists' music, and how ungratifying this can be for both parties. This was a useful interview as it gave yet another viewpoint on AI and its negative impact on some industries being counterbalanced by its positive effects on others. Speaking with different creative people and different viewpoints was vital to our project and we did this successfully so we could reach our target demographic.
Our creative brief was to create a poetic documentary that educated, entertained, and gave different artists an outlet to speak truthfully about AI. With all the different interviews we conducted, to the various stages of research we went through, we were able to create a documentary that was stylized, informative, and gave artists their own platform to have a say on the regulation of their own work with AI.
Target Audience
Research
Rain ‘regen’ is a short, poetic documentary created in the year 1929. The purpose of this documentary was to display what life is like in Amsterdam. This was done via different shots, with no dialogue, using a film technique commonly described as ‘show don’t tell’. Different shots that consisted of waves from the beaches of Amsterdam, shots of some of the buildings that Amsterdam has to offer, and shots of the native people from Amsterdam going about their day to day life. This kind of art is really ahead of its time, this has inspired us to take our narrative and our story in a different direction and create a visually appealing yet still informative documentary, based on a similar topic, except ours will be on modern life coexisting with AI.
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Koyaanisqatsi is a truly mesmerizing documentary. It's a wordless film that explores the relationship between nature and technology. The cinematography is breathtaking, and the music by Philip Glass is hauntingly beautiful. Koyaanisqatsi successfully captures the juxtaposition between the natural world and modern civilization. It's visually stunning and thought-provoking. Koyaanisqatsi, a Hopi word meaning "life out of balance," explores the imbalance between nature and modern society. It raises questions about our reliance on technology and the impact it has on our environment. The film makes us reflect on the consequences of our actions and the need for harmony with the natural world. It's a powerful and thought-provoking message.
Feedback
When we first pitched our idea about AI. We were going to talk about its effect on society as a whole. We were told that this was too vague of an idea and we would have an issue with trying to get in touch with people and professionals using this theme. We decided to look a bit deeper to what industries AI effects the most and that was when we settled on art.
A strength we had was that our topic is very current and being spoken about a lot, meaning that we will be able to captivate an audience quite easily.
We did need to change some of our plans as the initial documentary was going to be quite wordy and conduct a lot of interviews with professionals, we realized quite quickly that professionals are very busy and don’t have a lot of time to reach out. The only opportunity we were given was to travel to London to be possibly given the chance to speak to someone. We thought that seeing as money is tight for everyone, were going to pass that opportunity to talk to young artists like ourselves and redirect our attention, which works out well as we were able to stick to our brief better this way.
AC2- Discussion
At first, our group planned to make a documentary about AI in general. However, our teacher suggested that we stick to the brief and concentrate on young people. As a result, we chose to redirect our attention to young individuals in the creative field, as it related more closely to our personal experiences.
We shaped our idea based on the direction our group was pushed in, by this I mean that we had contacted different sources for interviews and planned different styles of questions, cinematography and subjects within our chosen idea. The people that replied and were willing to invest their time into our documentary, we selected to be in our documentary, alongside all the questions, cinematography and interview style we had planned for them.
Narrowing down on our subjects meant that we could do a more in depth analysis on AI’s impact on art, such as interviewing a musician, so we could talk about the uprise in AI voices being used in music as of recent. This means that we are able to get an engagement with a niche audience of musicians who are concerned about this usage of AI
Testing and Experimentation
We experimented with interview-style camera work, exploring the various techniques and approaches involved in this style of filming. The camera work in interviews typically focuses on capturing the subject's expressions, gestures, and reactions, considering how these factors could help convey the intended message the interviewee is trying to get across, while also ensuring proper framing and composition. It involves using different camera angles, such as close-ups and medium shots, to emphasize the subject's emotions and convey their message effectively. Additionally, interview-style camera work often includes techniques like panning, zooming, and tracking to add visual interest and enhance the storytelling aspect of the interview.
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We were successful in filming our interviews. Unfortunately, my camera had broken, resulting in two interviews being filmed with just one camera instead of the intended two. Despite this setback, we effectively used headroom to our advantage, ensuring a visually pleasing outcome.
This setback did hinder the visual experience of our documentary, as we were trying to give our interviews a more deconstructed vintage look to our interview, with the camera work being handheld and using a SONY AX53 Handycam. In the future, this type of problem could have been avoided by making sure that all of the equipment is up to standard well before the day of filming, so that I can allow myself enough time to source out replacement equipment.
We used rule of thirds so that our interviews would abide by the regular codes and conventions of interview style filming, we set our interviewee on the first/second line with their eyeline sat neatly on the first horizontal line, this meant that we were able to achieve decent space around the subject, making it more visually appealing.
In hindsight, we should of held test shoots for each individual interview that we conducted, this would have meant that we would be more prepared and plan our contingencies a lot better, because we would have had actual experiences to base it off
Risks and Limitations
Despite our best efforts, we encountered obstacles in reaching the AI professionals we wanted to interview for our documentary. The issues with travel costs and limited communication options hindered our ability to get in contact with them.
Our team decided to conduct interviews with three people whose industries are impacted by AI: Jayan, an art student with an interest for fashion; Joe, a broadcast student who has explored the new usage of AI art; and Shae, an actor and writer. By selecting these individuals, we ensure that our focus remains on young people and their experiences in industries effected by AI.
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Through our journey, we realised that it is very tough to get in touch with industry experts for interviews. We also realised that if we were to get in contact with industry experts again, we would have to consider a bigger time window for us to get in contact, arrange dates and also allow a bigger array of dates to accommodate the busy schedules these people may have.
When we were planning what platform we would use for our documentary, we had to consider different aspects of our ideas that would either clash or work within these platforms. For example, we knew we wouldn’t of been able to use Instagram for our documentary as we knew all of our content would exceed the 10 minute time limitation that platform has, whereas YouTube has a lot more of a flexible time constraint when it comes to videos. However, there are certain aspects of our documentary that we had to adapt so that it could suit this platform, like the music. We had planned certain music that we wanted to play throughout for the soundtrack, this might of worked for Instagram as they own the rights to many different songs, but not for YouTube. This was an example of us comparing which sacrifices would be more beneficial to the documentary as a whole and ultimately we opted to give up the music we had planned and used royalty free music from epidemic sound.
Something I learned from this experience was to create a more efficient and direct way of contacting all of our cast and crew, this way we are able to allow enough time to prepare other aspects about the day of filming without having to chase up cast and crew to make sure they are all in the know about the plans for filming,
There were some things we could have refined before contacting industry professionals for out film. By this, I am referring to creating a solid and more defined plan that we could present to them, this way they will be able to fully digest what our plans are and not spend time chasing answers for themselves, as this is why I believe we didn’t get many responses.
Pre Production
To make our pre-production document better, we could have included call sheets for better planning. Call sheets provide detailed schedules for each day's shoot, including scenes, locations, cast, crew, and equipment needed. This would have ensured everyone was prepared.
Improving the formatting of our document would have also made a significant difference. Using consistent headings, subheadings, bullet points, and font styles would have made it visually appealing and easier to navigate.
As a crew we could of communicated better during the pre-production stage, so that we could keep on top of which aspects needed to be done such as shot lists and scripts.
Having a clear and eligible preproduction definitely helped us out during this production stage as we were able to remain organised and keep a constant workflow, limiting confusion without aspects such as disorderly arrangements of the aspects in our document.
Feedback
Our teacher praised our documentary ideas and their alignment with the brief, particularly because they centered around young people. Nevertheless, more research and content are needed to make it better.
With this, we incorporated this feedback into our documentary and delved deeper into the history of AI. We also explored its modern day usage, with prompts and graphic design.
This enriched our depth in our documentary as by focusing on more niche issues within the subject at hand, with the predicted run time we had planned, we were able to take more time to discuss topics in a deeper meaning, such as what art means to an artist, focusing on the art of the interviewees as well as making sure their opinions and thoughts about AI are portrayed detailed and thoroughly.
Another piece of feedback we received as a crew was that our script and questions sounded too much like standard information, which could make for a pretty bleak experience for the viewer. As our intentions were to inform and to entertain, we decided to alter our script and questions so that we could ask more personable questions that were relevant to the subject at hand, such as asking about their art, interests and thoughts on AI.
As a result, our documentary now has a more comprehensive understanding of AI. We have expanded our research to include its historical elements and highlighted its uses in various fields, such as art.
AC3- Technical Skills Pre Production
The technical approach we took to filming interviews greatly benefited the documentary. The interviews were filmed with high quality and maintained a coherent style throughout.
If I were to film more interviews in the future I would use two cameras. Using two cameras for filming interviews can greatly enhance the viewing experience. It adds variety, enables seamless editing and transitions, enhances production value and provides a backup in case of technical issues. This could also enhance future interviews as it makes the visual experience more interesting and gripping for the viewer.
Another technical approach that we took that bettered our overall composition of our filming was our framing. We used rule of thirds so that we could allow more room for the audience to take in the set, aswell as allowing enough headroom to make the shots feel less claustrophobic.
Consistency of Technical Execution
During the filming of our interviews, we took care to instruct the interviewees to include the question in their responses. This allowed us to remove the interviewer's voice while maintaining a coherent narrative.This technique of interview style questions made for an easy and efficient post production stage as we were able to make cohesive sentences from the sound bites that our interviewees provided us, rather than having statements without provided context, or including the interviewers voice which would take away from the storytelling aspect of our documentary.During one of our interviews, our camera battery unexpectedly died, prompting us to restart the interview to ensure the camera's position remained consistent.An alternative way of filming these types of interviews would be to give prompts to our interviewees to tell us their own experiences in the topics at hand, with little guidance so that the legitimacy of the storytelling is up to our standard.
Competence in Technical Skills
One of the technical skills I acquired is writing interview-style questions. I discovered that in order to conduct a seamless and meaningful interview, it is crucial for the questions to have substance. This means that the questions should delve deep into the topic at hand and engage insightful responses from the interviewee. By using this skill, We have been able to film interviews that are not only interesting but also have a lot of useful information.
Having substantive interview questions means that the content of our documentary would have more depth and create more of an emotional connection between the viewer and the interviewee. Writing these kinds of meaningful interview questions is a critical skill that I knew we would have to master before planning these types of questions, so that our documentary content could be more layered and interesting. We furthered this skill by watching other interviews and understanding what kind of answers these questions were prying for, like setting up an answer to link their personal experiences into the question so that more substance would be incorporated.
While working on this documentary, It made me realise the differences between fiction and non fiction filmmaking, with non fiction filmmaking allowing more leniency
Camera Work
During the filming of our interviews, we made sure to leave plenty of headroom and incorporated various interview-style camera techniques to enhance the overall quality of the interviews. This allowed us to capture the essence of each interviewee and create a visually appealing and engaging experience for the viewers.
On the other hand, when it came to filming our B-roll footage, we decided to film using handheld camera work to achieve a more intimate effect. By using this technique, we were able to add a sense of intimacy and closeness to the shots. This approach added depth and authenticity to the overall storytelling, complementing the other interviews perfectly.
These choices of camera work made the shots more engaging for the viewer as the handheld aspect added motion, as well as the warmth and intimacy added with lighting in the background, making the visual aspect of the documentary.
Audio and Sound
We incorporated ambient music into our documentary to create a soothing atmosphere that would enhance the overall mood. By carefully selecting different ambient music, we aimed to create a more relaxed and immersive experience for our viewers, allowing them to fully engage with the documentary and emotions conveyed in the documentary.
In order to maintain the authenticity and realism of our interviews, we decided to use lapel microphones. These microphones were placed on the interviewees, ensuring that the sound captured was clear and natural. By utilizing lapel microphones, we were able to efficiently film the interviews by not needing a boom operator.
This choice of ambient music heightened the intimacy and soothing aspect of the documentary, this was the viewing experience we were hoping to achieve, by educating and entertaining our audience whilst curating a therapeutic experience so that the audience can digest the information better.
Post Production
In order to evoke emotions in our documentary, we incorporated extended b-roll footage, while going for shorter b-roll footage to create a captivating impact during lively parts of the documentary. This approach ensured that the pacing of our documentary aligned with the overall vibe we aimed to convey.
To effectively communicate specific emotions, we used color grading techniques throughout our documentary. By manipulating the colors, we were able to enhance the desired emotional tone and create a more immersive viewing experience for our audience.
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The use of b-roll and switching between b-roll and sourced clips helped with the overall pacing of this documentary. This meant that the clips that we were showing weren’t to dragged out, still maintaining the solace of this documentary but making sure the stimulation of the product remains strong throughout, to keep the viewer interested and to make the documentary more visually appealing.
AC4- Documentary Roles
Director:
During pre-production, the director helps with casting, plans shots, and envisions the overall film. In production, they guide actors, make creative decisions, and ensure scenes match the vision. In post-production, they collaborate with the editor to shape the final film, ensuring a seamless outcome.
Producer:
In pre-production, the producer secures funding, hires key crew, and oversees the budget. During production, they ensure smooth operations and handle logistics. In post-production, they work with the director and editor to stay on schedule and within budget, bringing all elements together to complete the film.
DOP (Director of Photography):
The DOP collaborates with the director to create the visual style. They select camera equipment, plan lighting, and assist with shot composition. In production, the DOP captures visuals on set, working with the camera crew. In post-production, they may contribute to color grading, ensuring the film's final look aligns with the intended vision.
Editor:
Throughout the film process, the editor collaborates on the overall vision. In post-production, they assemble footage into a cohesive story, making creative decisions on shot selection, pacing, and flow. The editor also enhances the final product with sound design, music, and visual effects, shaping the narrative.
Camera Operator:
During pre-production, the camera operator collaborates on the film's visual requirements. In production, they operate the camera, framing scenes, and capturing the director's visualised ideas. Their precision and skill help bring the director's vision to life on screen.
Sound Supervisor:
During pre-production, the sound supervisor plans sound requirements and equipment. In production, they oversee sound recording, ensuring high-quality audio. In post-production, they collaborate on the final sound design, enhancing audio elements for an immersive experience that brings the film to life.
Gaffer:
In pre-production, the gaffer plans lighting setups with the DOP. In production, they implement the lighting plan, working with the electricians and grips. They collaborate with the cinematographer to create the right lighting effects for each scene. In post-production, they may ensure consistent lighting through collaboration with the color grading team, contributing to the visual magic on screen.
My Role
In my role as the 1st Assistant Director for the documentary, I played a vital part in the production. Being the 1st Assistant Director meant I supported the director in different ways throughout the project. This involved managing schedules, organising the cast and crew, and making sure everything was set up for filming. I also wrote interview questions for the documentary. These questions were carefully written to get meaningful responses from the cast, adding depth to our documentary.
With communication, it was down to me to choose the most efficient way of contacting each member of the cast and crew so that everyone was in the loop with filming. The best way of doing this was asking each participant in this documentary which platforms they are active on and choosing which platform was most common with everyone, this ended up being Instagram.
In the process, we learned about the importance of "headroom." When we reviewed our footage, we noticed we hadn't left enough space above the cast’s heads in some frames. This resulted in heads being too close to the top or even cut off. To fix this, we decided to reshoot the interview, making sure there was suitable headroom.
During the reshoot, we used specific techniques to include the right amount of headroom. We adjusted the camera framing to have more space above the interviewee's head, making sure they were well-positioned within the frame. This tweak helped us avoid cramped shots and ensured we had enough headroom for a polished final product.
Asset Management
In order to effiectively share files with the entire film crew working on our documentary, we used a hard drive. This decision was made due to its efficiency when it comes to transferring and accessing large amounts of data.
Next, we created a folder structure, enabling crew members to quickly locate and retrieve the files that we needed. This was very beneficial to the workflow and was less confusing, leading to us being more productive and efficient throughout the production.
One of the problems that we were weary of when using a hard drive was the risk of corrupting the files in it by not taking care of the hard drive correctly, such as not ejecting the hard drive before removing it. With this, we took extra precaution and made sure that whoever was in possession of the hard drive was aware
Proffesional Practice
Creating location recces for our documentary involved a thorough and systematic approach to ensure the safety and success of our filming process. Given the inputs, which included visiting all the places we intended to film at and identifying possible hazards.
Taking these precautions meant that we were able to efficiently film as even though these location recces were to spot hazards, going to the destination of where we are filming with our crew meant that we are able to mentally map out how we can film efficiently, meaning that on the actual filming we are able to safely and clearly film.
Once on-site, we conducted thorough assessments of the areas, keeping an eye out for any potential hazards that may be a risk to the crew, equipment, or the general productivity of our documentary. We made detailed observations and took notes about the specific hazards we identified, ranging from uneven terrain or wildlife presence to human-made hazards like infrastructure or local regulations.
By following this approach, we were able to create location recces that not only highlighted potential hazards but also provided invaluable information for the successful planning and execution of our documentary.
AC5- Audience Impact
Our documentary was made to fit well on YouTube. We kept it short, around 10-20 minutes, because that's what people on YouTube usually like. We made sure the thumbnail (the small picture you see before clicking) looked interesting, and the title was catchy. In the first few seconds, we tried to grab people's attention because YouTube likes videos that get noticed quickly.
Throughout the documentary, we tried to keep things moving fast and interesting so that people wouldn't get bored. We made sure the video and sound were good quality for phones and computers. We also added fun things like polls to get viewers involved.
To help people find our documentary, we used ‘buzzwords’ that people might search for in the title and description. We used YouTube features to guide viewers to other videos or ask them to subscribe.
In order to create a documentary that follows the regular codes and conventions of a YouTube video. With this we created our own thumbnail so that we could optimize our engagement, we also exported in H.264 so that we could make sure that our quality is the best it can be.
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We told people about our documentary on other social media sites to get more people to watch it. We used the same look for all our videos so that people would recognize them easily.
Lastly, we added subtitles to make it easy for more people to understand. Our goal was to make a video that people would enjoy watching on YouTube and could easily find and share with others.
Communcication Techniques
When we weren’t filming interviews, we were filming b-roll to play over the narration that would play inbetween the interviews. The audio for this segment was a computer generated voice reading out a script of dialogue. We decided to take this approach because we thought that this matched the subject of the documentary which was AI. We also had music playing behind this, the music we used was ambient so that the dialogue is still clear but the viewer still has some kind of music to hear.
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During our interviews we filmed audio with lapel mics, this is because we were non-fiction filmmaking and lapel mics are efficient to use in this context as they dont require a boom operator and it doesn’t ruin the visual experience as the viewer isn’t meant to believe it’s fiction. The music we chose for each interview came down to whoever edited the individual interviews, with music being selected to match the visual experience of the interview, and to match the interviewee.
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Our documentary stood out because we took a more artistic approach to telling the story. With abstract methods like computer generated narration throughout, and futuristic and mellow style editing. The ambitious post poduction value of this documentary makes the experience of watching it more gripping and intriguing than other documentaries in the genre covering the same subjects.
This approach, as previously mentioned, ties in well with our poetic narrative and makes the visual experience of our documentary more appealing to the viewer.
Rational Purpose
When we were planning our documentary, we all had many different visions as to how it was going to play out. When it came to production and post production, there were different obstacles that we were faced with which forced us to adapt our vision into something different. An example of this moment was when we lost rights to some of the music we wanted to use throughout, with this, we had to find new music to either match the vibe of the original segments or change the vibe entirely, and also revise the editing so that the music and the clips all match.
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Our client was Channel 4 documentaries. This is because our documentaries are being considered to be presented by Channel 4. With this we had to research what the regulations for Channel 4 documentaries are. We learned that with al of our filming at an external partys residence or in public we had to make sure we had certified and signed permisssion to do so, which we did so we went on with filming like usual.
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When we had all spliced and edited out documentary and we had the bare structure of the flow of our documentary put together. We decided to be creative with editing so we could tell the story we were trying to tell in a more abstract way. With this we found ourselves spending a little longer refining transitions from interview to interview or from interview to b-roll, vice versa.
One of the codes and conventions of a documentary that we stuck by was archival material, when we didnt have interviews or b-roll on display throughout the project, we had copyright free archival footage dotted throughout the narration, the clips remaining relevant to the dialogue and the story being told.
Another code and convention we stuck by was handheld camera. This effect gives a documentary a more intimate and friendly atmosphere. When we were filming our b-roll of different art pieces and cityscapes throughout Birmingham, we made sure to use handheld camera.
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In summary, the documentary, although we had many different contingencies, ended up lookimg somewhat how we had all imagined it, a soothing serene experience with visually appealing cinematography, aswell as calm ambient music and narration. Features that changed such as the music being royalty free ended up working in our favour as the tracks we used were a lot more minimal due to them not being real songs, which in retrospect works a lot better for our film.
Final Link
