WEEK 9 - The Edit

1 - Where edits go wrong, an understanding of what not to do. 

Edits can go wrong anywhere and at any time but there are certain things that guide this. Firstly DO NOT leave all the work to one person. If you let them do all the work on their own laptops at home on a different software then proceed to bring it into class for the whole group to see, it will corrupt and loose work. Another problem that can go wrong with editing in a group is not telling everyone what changes you've made. This can be problematic as others may disagree or have better options to improve it. 

- How to capture material and begin the rough edit. 

Naming all of your files (and deleting bad shots) is a good place to start because you can then see what you're putting into the timeline. Also writing down which shots you prefer is extremely helpful and saves a lot of time. Beginning to edit can be tricky without knowing what you want where, therefore starting with a paper edit with a rough idea with which scenes you want where is very helpful.  

Rough Timeline:

1. Black fade in 
2. B - roll buskers setting up , focus in title card. Ambient sound.
3. Positives of busking interview (money making etc.) 
4. B - roll (people throwing money)
5. Online media shift
6. B - roll headphones
7. Escalation 
8. B - roll homeless people
9.   
10.   
11.   
12.    
13. Happy ending - People talking about passion for music.

*As we worked through the edit, we realised that this timeline didn't portray the narrative we set out to get. Therefore we created a new one with the interview footage we had:

We could then use the interview as the main bulk part of the film and put different montage's over the top to cover cuts. 

- Feedback on your work so far.

Friday Checklist:

• Older busker (piano guy) questions
• Young busker (interview in shop) questions
• Community question ('Do you make more money working together as buskers')  
• Zoomed in headphones
• Animated soundtrack to show consumption of music
• Shot of someone tapping their feet.
• Establishing shop of shop outside. 

2 - Continue editing your Creative Project. 
- Reading: Rabiger, M. (2004) Directing the Documentary, London: Focal Press. 34 Editing: The End Game. 

• Diagnosis: Making a flow chart. After considerable editing, a debilitating familiarity sets in. You lose objectivity and feel your ability to make judgements departing. Every alternative version looks similar, and all seem too long. Firstly, make a flow chart or block diagram, of your film to gain an overview of its ideas and intentions. Make a second to show the working cut to a trial audience of a chosen few. 
• Making use of your critics. Ask yourself questions and take into account everyone's opinions.
• Editing practices. Most documentary editing involves compression, and a long statement can be unfairly reduced to serve the film but misrepresent the speakers original pronouncement. You have to be ready to defend and justify every such device in your narrative flow.
• Public showing. Legal and ethical issues with subjects. 

WEEK 8 - Group Tutorial

1 - Group tutorials; prepare footage we have shot to show tutor and get feedback.

2 - All filming has to be completed by week 09.

- Start the edit of your Creative Project.

- Reading: Rabiger, M. (2004) Directing the Documentary, London: Focal Press. Ch.32 Editing: The Process of Refinement

• Achieving a smoothly flowing narrative. 
• Editing to convey point of view. According to choices made in editing, the audience can identify with either one of the characters or with the more removed perspective of the invisible observer - who in film is usually the story-teller. 
• Analogies to editing practices in music. Two streams, visual and aural, proceed independently yet are rhythmically related, like the music and the physical movements in a dance performance.
• Keeping the audience occupied. By creating juxtapositions that require choice and interpretation, film is able to counterpoint antithetical ideas and moods with great economy. At the same time it can interest the audiences involvement with the ideas and opinions of life.  
• Disguising seams and mimicking consciousness shifts. The overlap cut: dialogue sequences, sequence transitions. 

WEEK 7 - Non-Linear Editing (the basics)

1- Introduction to editing software and editing techniques. We will review any technical issues that have arisen during the production of your exercise.

2 - You shall aim with your group to complete the bulk of your filming during this week.
- Aim to finish filming by week 08.
- Reading: Rabiger, M. (2004) Directing the Documentary, London: Focal Press. 29: Post-Production begins.

• Editors roles and responsibilities. Creative contribution. Normally director and editor discuss the overall intention and likely structure of the film and then the editor sets to work making an assembly (first raw version of film). In low-budget films the director usually becomes the editor.  
• Post production for film and video.
• Logging and note taking. Every new take needs a new clapper board number. The clapper bar allows the editor to synchronise separately recorded picture to sound. 
• Viewing dailies and making decisions. Crew dailies viewing session, editor and directors viewing session, gut feelings matter, take notes, reactions.
• Preparing to make a paper edit. Make transcripts and a workaround solution. Select transcript sections for the first assembly. 

Kerrigan, S. & McIntyre, P. (2010) The ‘creative treatment of actuality’: Rationalizing and reconceptualizing the notion of creativity for documentary practice, Journal of Media Practice, 11:2, 111-130

WEEK 5 - Reading and Tutorial Week

1 - Continue research for creative project as we have no workshop and limited reading. Focus on preparing for filming and plan when we are going to film, etc. This gave us a chance to compose storyboards and shot lists.

- Work in my group to prepare for next week’s presentations. We met up several times and discussed on our group chat how we were going to present and what we were going to talk about. This helped us come together as a group so we all understood everyone's different ideas and opinions on how to put together a good presentation.

2 - Reading: Rabiger, M. (2004) Directing the Documentary, London: Focal Press. Ch.20: Camera Equipment and Shooting Procedure

• Camcorder features and controls. Because documentary is often is shot handheld, the ideal documentary camera has a viewfinder at the side and a body balanced to sit on the operators shoulder.  
• Lens characteristics. A wide-angle zoom lens simplifies handheld camerawork because the lens accepts a larger amount of the scene and enables moving camera shots that look steadier. The range of a zoom lens is expressed in millimetres from shortest to longest focal length. You need to examine your camcorders lens and controls to verify that the lens aperture can be manually controlled. A manual control allows the user a degree of control vital to many kinds of lighting situations. 
• White balancing and colour temperature. White balance is an electronic adjustment of colour rendition, so white is reproduced as white under particular light sources. Different light sources have different colour temperatures which means they come out with mix of colours.  
• Batteries and power supplies. Overestimate the amount of batteries you need on location. 
• Camera support systems. Budget tripods and tilt heads aren't good equipment unless you want static shots which can be wobbly. Shooting with a wide lens however, greatly improves any camera movement.
• Fundamentals of location sound recording equipment. 
• Monitoring picture and sound. Shooting logs.

WEEK 6 - Project Group Presentations

1 - Presentation

2 - Start shooting Creative Project.
- Reading: Rabiger, M. (2004) Directing the Documentary, London: Focal Press. Ch.9 Critical Writing (NB useful for Presentations).

• Benefits of writing and the way it helps you go further. 'Analysing a documentary and writing about what you discover makes you pay close attention to how every aspect works. In some strange way this lets you take possession of a film. To write is not just to report on what you know, but to set about discovering what it is you don't know. Writing forces the mind to examine itself and then go further.' By writing you travel towards your personal reactions, tastes, impressions, feelings, memories and associations. 
• Academic writing norms and how to write effectively. Your writing should be in clear, direct, formal, active-voice prose that is well structured, develops your arguments logically, and supports each assertion with concrete examples from the work under review. Reflect on what others have said. Give detailed examples from the films or texts to illustrate your views, but doesn't assume the reader knows the films in any detail. Seek support from its views from other critics but take issue with aspects with which you disagree. Give references, either as footnotes or endnotes, for any ideas you have borrowed or any quotations you have reproduced. 

WEEK 2 - Introducing the Camera

1 - Exploring the SONY X70 camera through practical demonstrations. We were each told to set up the tripod and camera correctly and got given a task to set them both up in a different location/situation. 

• We also went through white balance which is important because it adds the opposite colour to the image in an attempt to bring the colour temperature back to neutral. Instead of whites appearing blue or orange, they should appear white after correctly white balancing an image.'You might have noticed when examining shots after taking them that at times images can come out with an orange, blue, yellow etc look to them – despite the fact that to the naked eye the scene looked quite normal. The reason for this is that images different sources of light have a different ‘colour’ (or temperature) to them. Fluorescent lighting adds a bluish cast to photos whereas tungsten (incandescent/bulbs) lights add a yellowish tinge to photos.The range in different temperatures ranges from the very cool light of blue sky through to the very warm light of a candle. We don’t generally notice this difference in temperature because our eyes adjust automatically for it. So unless the temperature of the light is very extreme a white sheet of paper will generally look white to us. However a digital camera doesn’t have the smarts to make these adjustments automatically and sometimes will need us to tell it how to treat different light. So for cooler (blue or green) light you’ll tell the camera to warm things up and in warm light you’ll tell it to cool down.' (From https://digital-photography-school.com/introduction-to-white-balance/)
• 'The iris is an adjustable opening (aperture), which controls the amount of light coming through the lens (i.e. the "exposure"). The video camera iris works in basically the same way as a still camera iris -- as you open the iris, more light comes in and the picture appears brighter. The difference is that with video cameras, the picture in the viewfinder changes brightness as the iris is adjusted. For this tutorial, we'll be setting exposure by eye; that is, adjusting the iris until the exposure looks right in the viewfinder (as opposed to using a light meter).' (From http://www.mediacollege.com/video/camera/exposure/). 

                               

- My group to lead reading discussion.

• Rabiger, M. (2004) Directing the Documentary, London: Focal Press. 1: What is a Documentary? (pages 3-7)
• McLane B. & Ellis J. (2005) A New History of the Documentary Film, New York: Continuum. 1: Some Ways to Think About Documentary.

 - Characteristics in documentaries are 

          - Subject

          - Purpose / Viewpoint / Approach

          - Form

          - Production Method & Technique 

          - Audience Response

2 -  Finish researching your individual Creative Project proposal. Bring an outline of this to present to class next week. 

- In your groups finish shooting cutaway footage and prepare your interview(s).

- Reading: Nichols, B. (1991) Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. 2: Documentary Modes of Representation. Rabiger, M. (2004) Directing the Documentary, London: Focal Press. 11: Developing Your Story Ideas.

WEEK 4 - Composition and Aesthetics

1- Composition and Aesthetics

THE ARRANGEMENT OF ELEMENTS, COLOR, TONE AND LINE IN THE MISE EN SCENE

In order to understand how composition is put together you have to look at how form and content work together to convey meaning. Content is the subject itself and form is how they're arranged. When thinking about this you have to take into consideration, shape and proportion, negative space, colour, lines, rhythms, lighting, contrast etc. Some words to think about to help with this are:

• Symmetry/Asymmetry (frame divided equally vs not exactly balanced)
• Graphic focus (geometric line and shape)
• Rule of Thirds (grid overlay of equally space divided into thirds)
• Looking space (negative space for character to gaze)
• Production design (setting and costumes perhaps?) 
• Lighting (high-key/low-key, fill light, soft vs hard, etc.)

- Screen Grammar

• Camera techniques (distance and angles)
• Editing techniques (cut, matched cut, jump cut)
• Manipulating time (screen time, slow motion, flashback)
• Use of sound (direct sound, music, soundtrack, silence)
• Lighting (soft/harsh and back lighting)
• Graphics (text, graphics, animation)
• Narrative style (mise-en-scene, objective/subjective treatment)
• Formats and other features (shot, scene, sequence)

- Theory of Editing
- Post-Production Workflow:

PRE PRODUCTION OVERVIEW -

• Idea development
• Logistical planning/creative planning (storyboard)
• Researching and sourcing
• Location scouting/RECCE
• Hiring crew
• Scheduling shoot
• Budget/Finance
• Scripting/storyboard/shot lists
• Casting (Interviewees)
• Work on conceptual model

THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU SEE -

• Rule of thirds (focal points)
• The 180 degree rule
• The golden ration
• Matching eye line and matching cuts
• Natural transitions

NARRATIVE -

• Aristotle - beginning, middle, end
• 3 act structure
• Set up - conflict - resolution 
• Dramatic arc/curve
• Non linear narrative (having multiple arcs)
• Symbolic and metaphor 

- Screen and discuss in class one-minute film exercise:

1 Minute Documentary:

SAM from Maddie Tod on Vimeo.

2 - Continue research for Creative Project.

- Reading: Rabiger, M. (2004) Directing the Documentary, London: Focal Press. Ch.16: Research Leading Up to the Shoot. 

• Research partnership. With someone else whilst researching you will appreciate how much richer your perceptions and ideas can become when you exchange with them.  
• A sample. Research relationships, two research strategies, deciding the action and casting the players and the value of assigning metaphorical roles.
• How people alter in front of the camera. Pre-interviewing is extremely important before shooting. You want to test the behaviour of the interviewee as they go on record. Some may come across as a show-off or clam up and get all nervous. Usually people start of being quite self-conscious and constrained. Soon after they begin to speak more freely. Later on you can analyse these interviews and see who's best on the screen.
• Developing the films thematic structure and double checking your findings. During research, collect as many relevant viewpoints as you can. It's fascinating to discover how everyone is perceived differently according to who you question. 
• Finding the dialectics and developing a working hypothesis. In documentary any hypothesis provides a more interesting start point than stupidly impersonate a scientific method. 
• Refining research into a plan. The need for development, conflict and confrontation. The dramatic curve.

As seen on page 236 in Rabiger’s (2004) ‘Directing the Documentary’

• The dramatic components of successful scenes. The best scenes are dramas in miniature. Look for beats and dramatic units. Exposition, facts and narration. 

Bernard, S. C. (2010) Documentary Storytelling: Creative Nonfiction on Screen, New York and London: Focal Press. 2 Story Basics