Research

In terms of our documentary with Ian Cook we didn’t have to do a huge amount of research since it was more about the character and his art, juxtaposed with my initial idea with my cousin, since it would have been about him and the problems he faces as a rapper in Sweden. Meaning I would have to research the music industry in Sweden in a lot of detail. Before making the documentary, Anjani asked Ian Cook some questions about his business where we discovered a story that his ex-girlfriend bought him a toy car and she told him not to get paint on it. He ended up not listening to her and started painting with cars. This helped us because it assisted with the treatment, shot list, storyboard and questions.

 

We looked into his website as well and got an idea of his ethos. So what I have learnt is that without research on the subject the production becomes flat and not straightforward. As a filmmaker it’s important to know what message you want to put across, Susan Sontag theory suggests that an image can never be a true representation as it is just a shot of the moment and one perspective (Sontag, S. (1979) On photography. London, United Kingdom) Therefore, it gives us the artist the freedom to create a meaning.

Process and development

Sergei Eisenstein’s Strike has made me more aware of the power of cinema. The way he combines the shot of the people getting shot and the cow getting slaughtered creates a third meaning. This has given me inspiration to try and replicate something similar to that and to experiment. 

Researching editing techniques such as rule of 6 has taught me the importance of emotion. Without emotion no one will really feel the documentary, therefore during the production we did the best we could to put emphasis on that. While Ian Cook is talking about his work we planned on showing sequences of shots of his toy cars and the paint. In the final edit we wanted to add non diegetic sound of race cars at the beginning while having a panning shot of the shop to introduce the audience to his world.

In terms of production in the shot list we included references to the painting and cars. Whilst filming we wanted to capture as much colours as we could to put emphasis on the colours of the paint he was adding. Moreover, we also did a lot of tracking and panning shots to symbolise paint strokes.

Analysis

The shoot differed quite a bit from what we planned but not drastically. At first we wanted a lot of stable shots but on the day of the shoot we didn’t meet that expectation which meant we didn’t have the clean shots we wanted. We also wanted to use a camera, which was 60fps so that we could capture a nice slow motion close up of Ian throwing the paint. But because we didn’t have access to that we use a Sony video camera, which didn’t come, out well in the edit so we were forced to scrap that shot. Another element we wanted to use was music which would have been made by Liam, however when we looked at the edit we felt that it worked even without music, so we added the car sounds at the beginning.

Furthermore, we wanted a certain style and flow with the editing so we used a lot of panning shots to convey paint strokes. We also wanted to progressively add colour bit by bit to create a journey of the painting in our piece. Moreover we got the balance of close ups and longs shot that we wanted since our strategy was to take out 3 cameras and where one capture close ups of the shop while the capture long/mid shots. The third one was used to film Ian Cook while he was painting.

Evaluation

Overall I feel that this production was decent but there could have been a lot of improvements considering what I have learnt in terms of the theory aspect, which I feel we could have put more into practice.

However, although we didn’t meet a lot as a group, with all the meetings we had, everything was established clear enough therefore the preparations and the date for the shoot was clearly established. In addition to that, when we got into gear although there wasn’t a lot of passion during the production, we showed a good level of commitment as a team. We assigned ourselves with different roles and stuck to them to a decent standard and eventually got a lot of different variety of shots. With the final edit I feel it visually looked good and the black and white with the highlighted colours gives it a certain feel.

However I feel that the audio and the interview were poor. I was the one who interviewed Ian Cook with the questions we had we weren’t getting good answers. I tried to ask him interesting questions that that were personal in terms of where he came from and how his passion for the art came about. However, he seemed to half-heartedly answer the questions.

Overall I feel that through out this module I have learnt a lot of invaluable information and skills about documentary production through my research of the history, theory and the general production. Researching Vertov and reading about him, I have leant about the history of montage editing and he is someone who pioneered documentary. Learning this I have learnt why shots are selected and how to combine them to create something more.

I feel like I learnt more from the information I read and to be honest I don’t think we implemented a lot of the theory into our documentary. The main things that this production lacked was passion, proper planning and team cohesion as we didn’t communicate enough until the day of the shoot. However, I feel there are positives to take from this, which was documentary that came out pretty decent with decent ideas implemented. In the future I will ensure that the next documentary will be planned better and I work on a story that I feel strongly about.

Bibliography 

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/russia/articles/sergei-eisenstein-s-montage-revolution/

Hicks, J. (no date) Dziga Vertov Defining Documentary Film.

Sontag, S. (1979) On photography. London, United Kingdom: Penguin, [1979].

http://videoandfilmmaker.com/wp/index.php/tutorials/film-editing-walter-murchs-rule-6/

http://writing.upenn.edu/library/Sontag-Susan-Photography.pdf

261mc: Week 7: editing

For this lecture we learnt in the lecture about more about editing. One of the most valuable pieces of information I received was the rule of 6 which are:

1. Emotion
2. Story
3. Rhythm
4. Eye trace
5. 2d plane of screen
6. 3d space

Out of all the rules I have discovered that emotion is the most important aspect and that it’s best not to sacrifice it over story or the other 4. Without emotion the piece becomes flat as it leads the story, therefore it’s important to emphasise on emotion during the shoot and mix it with the editing.

Story is the second most important part of editing as it’s what the audience is following, therefore it’s important that all the clips that are edited has to advance the story in some way.

In addition to that, Rhythm is essential in the because if that doesn’t work then the it will put the audience off balance. Having a tempo in the scene enhances the whole feel of it therefore cutting the clip at the right time is essential.

Moreover, the eye trace is another important aspect and a perfect example of that is Mad Max where the was an action sequence with fast cuts. Because the shots are very short it would be difficult for the audience to stay engaged therefore having all the shots in the centre makes it easier for the audience to see the scene better.

2nd plane of screen is essentially the 180 degree rule and is used to show the basic geography of the scene. Maintaining the 180 degree rule in editing is important since it prevents the audience from becoming confused.

lastly, 3d space is when you break the 180 degree rule and I feel it should only be used to enhance the story or to try and create a feeling. An example is a scene in The Shining where the 180 degree rule broken and it creates a feeling of distortion.

Bibliography

http://videoandfilmmaker.com/wp/index.php/tutorials/film-editing-walter-murchs-rule-6/

 

261mc: Dziga Vertov

I took time to read ‘Defining Documentary Film’ by Jeremy Hicks and he talks a lot about the beginning of Vertovs newsreel series ‘Kino Pravda’. Reading the first 22 pages I have learnt that the documentary there stemmed from the propaganda war of the Bolsheviks and the Whites. For me this is very interesting because it shows the influence people like Vertov had in such a historical period in world history through the use of documentary.

At the start of the book we learn about his work for Cine-Pravda where did a newsreel where he began to use cinemas power to exhort images as we see in ‘Save the Starving Children (Hicks, J. (2007) Dziga Vertov Defining Documentary Film) . Here we see many images of starving children eating anything they can find for example the image above where the child is eating what is presumably a bug. This a great tool of persuasion as people will feel emotional about this imagery, putting Vertov in an ideal position to offer a solution which makes this effective propaganda

Bibliography

Hicks, J. (2007) Dziga Vertov Defining Documentary Film

261mc: Questions for Ian Cook

261mc: Storyboard

261mc:Documentary influences

There are many types of documentaries that I like but the type that influence my ideas are expository documentaries such as ‘This is what winning looks like’ shown by Vice. The documentary exposes the failures of America in the war in Afghanistan where they’re pretending that they have brought solution whereas this documentary brings forth many more problems that their invasion has brought, for example supporting a military group consisting of one tribe to liberate villages of another tribe, potentially reigniting an old feud.

One of the things I liked about this documentary was that the man who documented the footage in Afghanistan was explaining everything that was happening to an interviewer. For example the Afghan soldiers getting high on drugs like opium and weed. The reason why I liked this was that we were getting real perspective of someone who experienced this. Watching it while he was talking felt like we were on the journey with him and makes his explanations makes things clearer for the audience.

Summer task

On 10/7/2016 in Central London was a very big day which received national coverage which was the Black live matter protest. This event holds signficance because it shows that all Black/African people all around the world show solidarity and unity towards the killings of unarmed black people in America. I was made aware of this event through an image which spread through whatsapp containing the date and location of the protest, so I thought it would be great opportunity to document this event.

One of the best things about the protest was it wasn’t only black people but a mix of many different people from different places. There was a sense of unity and connection and while I was filming I wanted to capture the essence of that with certain clips such as the lady holding one white baby and a black baby, and also an interview of a young white girl crying.

For me the purpose main purpose of the video was to get peoples opinions on the matter of the movement because it’s a subject that most Black people feel passionate about and I wanted to capture it and show it to the world.

261MC: Documentary Production-Shooting script

 

Picture	Sound
Tracking shot Duration: 1:00 (1:00) Color: Monochrome Might need stabilizer   We start on a blank white canvas and tilt up. We explore the workshop from left to right. We follow a path, rather than simply panning. This should been seen as a visual tour of the workshop. We stop on Ian at his desk drawing.	Narration Audio interview. We expect him to talk about what the workshop means to him as an artist. How it reflects him as a person and how it influences him. Music (possibly) A Minimalistic score, starting simple and building as time progresses.   Other Very subtle car sounds
Close up Duration: 0:06 (1:06) Color: Monochrome A Close up of Ian Drawing. We see his eyes move and focused.	Music “-“
OTS Duration: 0:06 (1:12) Color: Monochrome OTS of Ian drawing. We see the image he’s created.	Music “-“
Close up Duration: 0:10 (1:22) Color: Mono/Red Slow motion/60fps We see a close up of Ian beginning to paint using the cars. He adds the color red and we see the paint fly through the air. This Red now remains consistent throughout.	Music “-“ Narration Ian beings to tell us about his unique craft. Painting using toy cars. Other Very subtle car sounds.
Mid shot/pan left Duration: 0:06 (1:28) Color: mono/red We see a mid shot of the shop panning left, the shop looks different thanks to the added red.	Music “-“ Narration (Continued) Other
Close up Duration: 0:06 (1:34) Color: mono/red Deep focus need correct lens A red car slides from left to right.	Music “-“ Narration (Continued) Other Less subtle car sounds
Close up Duration 0:10 (1:44) Color: Mono/red Another close up of Ian, his picture has progressed.	Music Narration (none) Other
Close up Duration: 0:10 (1:54) Color: mono/red/blue Slow Motion/60fps We return to ian painting with the cars. We see blue paint fly through the air. The blue now remains constant throughout.	Music “-“ Narration Ian begins talking about how hes progressed as an artist and why “color” is such a big part of his brand.
Midshot/pan Duration 0:06 (2:00) Color: mono/red/blue Another mid shot pan from right to left this time. Now with the added blue the workshop looks different than before.	Music Narration Ian talks about how he stared art.
Close up Duration 0:10 (2:10) Color: mono/red/blue Shallow focus need correct lens Another close up of a blue toy car going from left to right.	Music narration Ian talks about his family background and who influenced him to paint
Mid shot Duration: 0:06 (2:16) Color: mono/red/blue A mid shot of Ians workstation from the behind. His drawing has finished.	Music Narration He begins to talk about where he wants to take his business in the future.
Close up Duration: 0:10 (2:26) Color – Full color vivid/sharp Slow motion/ 60fps We return again to Ian painting with cars, this time the paint is green. We now have full color. The green paint flies through the air in slow motion.	Music Narration Ian talks about his family background and who influenced him to paint
Mid shot/pan Duration:0:06 (2:32) Color – Full color vivid/sharp We now see the workshop in all its glory in color. Pan left to right. We have went left to right, right to left and back to left to right, like the strokes of a brush.	Music Narration None
Close up Duration – 0:10 (2:42) Color – full color vivid/sharp We see a green car going from left to right.	Music Narration He talks about how he feels when he completes a painting
Tracking shot Duration 0:18 (3:00) Color – full color vivid/sharp Might need stabilizer We see the 3 cars in a line and track right to see Ian standing over the painting. He moves left as we move in. He leaves the frame and we stand over the drawing and hold for 5 seconds before cutting to black.	No sound

Cheese string | making a relationship

the perspective of the man selling the cheese string as he is in the first shot. Also through the use of the pov shot we see his perspective. at the end of the video we see him going home into his house.

 

Portrait shot of Hussein Sharif

 

1. the character is receiving news about his brother got assaulted which i fabricated the purpose of this was to get a genuine reaction of the character so his personality could shine through as i couldn’t find an actor. I spoke to Husseins’ twin brother and told him to tell Hussein that he got beaten up and is hospital.
2. I didn’t put as much though on the framing as i could have done, however i did with the mise en scene as my friend has a lovely view from his balcony and it would look better without me having to set up the entire scene

 

overall my main was to get a good performance from hussein to make the portrait more authentic and that eliminated the problem of not finding an actor

Portrait here