Divisions: Post-Production; The Final Product

So far:
We have now created and uploaded the final video! Check it out below:

Divisions

My process:
In the end I had roughly a week to edit, grade, master and export the final film for approval from my team mates before the deadline. Sorting through the vox pops I found to be the most time consuming, sorting through the interesting vs relevant answers in order to advance the story within the documentary, but also leave enough time to cover the remaining topics. Fortunately the direct injection method we used for the audio on set worked brilliantly and so I didn't have to waste further time syncing audio with visual.
The colour grade I applied I also attempted to use to create a more obvious analogy through the film, having the image bright and vibrant to perhaps reflect some peoples view of the borough, before then changing to a duller, less contrasted image to represent the actual tone of it from what we've been told by the documentary.
A lot of the footage I found needed to be stabilised due to inaccurate use of the steadicam and the windy conditions the drone was flying in. This can introduce a lot of distortion into the image which can in turn become extremely distracting, fortunately I was able to tailor each image to reduce this effect.
Finally the VFX involved and the music I added, ensuring they both kept in with the look of the film and that everything was compressed and mastered suitably to avoid any clipping within the audio.

In hindsight, I also should've worked more on the blending in the music toward the end of the piece, the splice is still slightly to obvious for me as the music jumps.
Also the way in which I stabilised the footage, whilst it was suitable for this type of production, I could've used more powerful programmes to remove it more effectively such as Avid's image stabilising plug-in.

Restrictions:
Obviously when working with members of the public we had to work within the guidelines of showing members who only gave consent to it. We did have a few members who were willing to speak to us but only gave us their responses on paper. While the later plan on these responses is that it would be then re-recorded by a voice actor, however we found their responses weren't weren't as interesting as the recorded ones.

ARTSTRAIN - Protest Songs (Emiline)

We also found it difficult to get permission to film a member of the homeless which also meant we had to later resort to using royalty free images instead to avoid any copyright claims on our work.
Also on the music I feel we were fortunate. Our sound member was able to source some professional music from a local band they knew personally and were able to get us permission to use one of their songs as the backing for the piece. Even though the piece is a protest song about the bombing of Syria we still felt the mood/genre of the song was suitable enough to fit within the film.

The final product:
Personally I feel very pleased with the final film. It has an obvious movement development through it as we move through the different topics around homelessness, covers a lot of key information in the short timeframe it has. I find it also to be visually pleasing with a great variety of shots of Greenwich and the sound has come out very well, both from on set and post audio.
I do however feel the techniques used in capturing some of the shots and audio could've been improved to make the shots smoother and perhaps the audio cleaner to begin with so less sound work was needed in post.

Full project evaluation:
Despite the failings in our schedule unfortunately due to other aspects of the course we're all taking, I feel the pre-production to post production process went extremely smoothly. We were organised and able to capture all the media we needed. Maybe in the future however, I would endeavour to further the research aspect to get as much information as possible on the topic we're attempting to cover. This would open our creative options wider and also create a more accurate report on the content of the documentary.

Divisions: Production

So far:
So we've completed our pre-production process, got our call sheets, movement orders, release forms, risk assessments etc. Unfortunately it wasn't all plain sailing. We were hoping to contact one of the charities operating in Greenwich 'Centrepoint', however they weren't able to see us. Fortunately though they did send us a brief statement on what it is they do which we will work into the documentary through a voice over which we've arranged for one of our actors to read out. We chose him from our recent TV production piece, we were all very impressed with his ability to articulate and add energy to the programme.
We're not sure what could've been done so we could get an actual interview with a representative from the charity, maybe contacting earlier, being more insistent etc however all open the possibility to becoming to overbearing on the charity and leading to the charity being dis-interested.
Another problem we encountered was that we failed to book the equipment we required from the university for unknown reasons. Thus, we've now used my own equipment which obviously is more risky for myself, but whats the point in having all this if never for it to be used? Though does open the possibility I haven't maintained the equipment as well as the university will have done.

Filming:

We've now completed filming! Starting at 10am, we collected ample vox pops from members of the public. It took a while for the team to gain the confidence necessary to speak with passing members, perhaps in another example we would have done a quick moral boost to create some energy within the team, especially as filming at an early time for some members of the team!
We also grabbed some great POV shots using the steadicam which will be useful for creating a 'in the moment' feel within the film to say this is where the problems are, we're in the middle of it all. Our cameraman though did take some time to get used to the apparatus which maybe I should have given him time to train using it so to avoid the delays we encountered on the day in getting used to the rig and getting a smooth enough image with it.

The Sound also went well. We used direct injection from the Tascam unit we used straight into the camera so it would save me the time of having to sync the separate visual and audio files later. It also meant we didn't have to use a clapper board which would've been cumbersome and a detail which may have put off many nervous members of the public. It also allowed the filming to be done at a far greater pace and able to get through it all quickly.
Unfortunately, due to some inexperience in using the boom pole and being unfamiliar with edge of frame references in where to place the boom so it wouldn't been in frame the boom can be seen in a few of the interviews we took, and due to the pace we had to set in filming each interviewee we weren't able to do a reshoot on it when we noticed it.

It would seem in all departments we required some extra training on how to use the equipment leading up to the event. While the knowledge we already had was adequate, with a little more training it would've increased the production value of the final piece.

Weather also proved to be a problem for some members of the team who'd failed to wear suitable clothing and jackets to protect against the cold that day and were very cold during filming. Not dangerously cold in which we had to stop filming thankfully, however were in need of a warm cup of tea once back at the uni!


Evaluation so far:
Further training was required for the shoot in using the equipment, particularly in using the steadicam and the boom pole. However as we weren't able to book out equipment to begin with perhaps this was unavoidable.
More notice to the weather report on the call sheet was also needed on behalf of a few members of the team, meaning they should've wrapped up warmer for the shoot and worn suitable footwear to deal with the amount of walking around Greenwich.
In future, whilst also paying attention to the hazards on set, we should also consider ourselves and how comfortable we really are in our roles and our ability to carry it out effectively.

Divisions: Pre-Production

So far:
My team and I have developed our idea for the documentary outlined in my previous post. We've set up a structure to the final production; Intro to the situation, vox pops of the general publics opinions on homelessness, what is being done to alleviate/solve the problem, what the general public can do to help.

Planning:
Currently we have written up call sheets, risk assessments and a presentation piece for our green light meeting. Basing this off of templates we've sourced off the internet and off previous call sheets we've worked off of in the past, will hopefully make them as detailed and professional as possible.
We've also completed our location recce, looking at the Greenwich high street where we plan to do the majority of our filming, not only to see the location and begin to construct an idea of what the final film will look like, but also to get a more comprehensive look at what risks and obstacles we'll need to look out for when filming and to mention in our risk assessment.
Our cinematographer has also written/drawn up his shot lists and pitched them to us. So far we feel they're a little too focussed on certain aspects of greenwich and maybe not showing Greenwich as a whole, such as he wants to get close ups on different market stalls, details on land marks, where as we feel this would give the wrong feel to the piece as we're looking at the overall of Greenwich and it's current situation.

Equipment:
Currently we're attempting to book out equipment from the University, however current attempts have been denied for some unknown reason despite a full risk assessment being given and ample time to process the request.

Drone we may use

Alongside the normal equipment of camera, tripod and microphones, we're also sourcing a camera drone to get the filler shots to the documentary, giving a 'birds eye' perspective over Greenwich. This will most likely be sourced by myself if we cannot hire out one from another source so I will need to be more vigilant when using it and allowing others to use it, especially in a very busy area where drones are becoming more and more restricted and regulated in their use over heavily built up areas. We'll need to look up those specifics on what the proper uses of drones are, particularly if Greenwich has it's own regulations around it.

Presenters:
While we don't want to show a dedicated presenter for the piece as we feel this may turn it into a 'BBC news esc' report rather than the documentary style we're actually going for. Instead, we've opted for a narrator/voice over to be applied over the top of the imagery of Greenwich we plan to shoot. Currently we're having a look around to our peers and see if any of them are voice actors or have experience in the role. However, whilst this may improve the production value of our piece, it will also increase the complexity of the legal side to the piece, having voice over artists to have to sign off on their work etc as well as potentially complicating and elongating the shooting/recording of the piece, making it tricky to stick to our 3 week schedule. It may come to that one of the team will be the voice over to save on these problems.

Our potential voice over actor

Otherwise, we still plan to shoot vox pops with members of the public. To make it simple, we plan to only ask each of them 3 questions so we're not wasting their time and they maybe more willing to speak to us. We will also need to be careful about release forms for each member, even though it is only a student, non-profit piece, in making sure they're happy for their face to go up on the internet and other social media outlets later.

Evaluation so far:
Problems have begun to show up with the team through differences in opinion which can often ruin a student/youth production such as this. Too many big egos etc! However, many of the have been resolved thankfully and we're still set to film next week on the 18th November. Paperwork has been prompted and we're currently in the process of hopefully rebooking the equipment, this time to some success?
From this aspect of production, I've learnt to keep my cool, keep in mind of others opinions, learning to not be too domineering and allowing others to speak and contribute.

Divisions: The Beginning

Divisions: The Situation in Greenwich

I have recently become a student at the University of Greenwich studying 'Film & Television Production', part of the course is to create a 3 minute documentary piece, which through this blog I hope to explain our process in which we're going about to make this piece. Everything from our first conception of the idea to the final days of post-production.
In this post I hope to cover our thoughts on how we came up with the idea for the production.

The group:
First job as a group was to assign ourselves our roles. We decided to go about it in consideration of what our current strengths and interests were and where we'd be happiest. My background is in Sound and Editing. I've been on professional shoots performing separately in both roles and so I'll be happy in any of these roles and will able to bring forward my professional experience to each. I was assigned to Sound assistant and Editor. Sound assistant; my team mate was very keen on being the writer for the piece and create the content for the final documentary, however to fit within the previously stated roles, they decided to go with the sound role despite not knowing much about it. It was decided I will lend them help in the role, showing them how to use the equipment effectively and control parameters such as recording level, balance, stereo and mono recording etc. I will then focus fully autonomously on the editing side to the production, sourcing music, creating any VFX necessary etc.
Currently our timeframe on the creation of the final product is within 3 weeks, given time to research, plan, film and edit.

The Idea:
Currently we're working on the idea of bringing awareness to the rich and poor side to the borough of Greenwich, specifically the areas such as Woolwich and Greenwich town where the divide is most obvious in the amount of homelessness and the wealth division between the populations (hence the name!). We hope to uncover the effects of homelessness on not only the general public but also local businesses. We also hope to understand what action is being taken to combat this issue, not only through the random generosity of the general public, but also through the work of charities which maybe working in our area.
The outcome will be to raise awareness of the situation in the borough of Greenwich and also to make people aware of what it is they should do to help the situation and what is already being done to ease it.
We believe it should be reasonable simple to acquire the necessary information on what the current situation is. Through various government and other official websites and sources we should be able to provide a general overview of the standing situation.

Evaluation so far:
Currently we're working well as a team, it will be interesting to see if this continues and everyone is still able to pull their weight by the end. We have a strong idea with suitable material for a three minute documentary. We have the existing skills and resources to pull it off and confidence is high.
On a personal note however, I feel we could face some confidence challenges with the vox pops we plan to film with the general public. Other members of my team have done little to no experience in filming and talking with members of the public, not knowing how challenging it can be getting a total stranger to go on camera for a few minutes and answer a few questions.
The lack of experience in general concerns me as it will be a learning curve for most of the team, having to support them in the necessary steps toward the end goal; creating call sheets, organising interviews, arranging permits and filming locations etc.
However, so far the team is working well and we look set to keep to our schedule and turn the project around within the three weeks.

The Next Steps:
Pre-Production is our next step, writing up call sheets, schedules, location planning etc. This for me will be the most challenging part as it's my least favourite part to the process, but also likely the part I have most to learn from. This will also require the most 'leg work' going out on locations, establishing risk assessments around them etc.