Production Diary

Research

I researched and went back to a short documentary I had watched a while ago. The setup is similar to the one which I will be doing for mine. This gave me some good ideas for shots I could possibly use.







I went on google maps and researched the location for my filming (my nana's house). I did this to begin thinking about the positioning of my shots.


At first, I thought that I could have used some exterior astablishing shots at the begining and end of the film, however I didn't use any exterior shots in the actual shooting.

I have a good friend from the Netherlands who is very creative. He has an account on Soundcloud and goes by the name 'FallingAstronauts'. He has created multiple songs to a good quality, which he has told me I can use whenever, as long as I credit his name in the final piece.

I am planning on using a small section of Torol (his song) as an into/outro to the documentary.

I may also use the song called Myrmidon in between sections of my nana talking and maybe underneath her talking as well.


https://soundcloud.com/fallingastronauts

I browsed the internet looking for some good footage of a V1 bomb, which is also known as a Doodlebug. This clip is needed for an interesting part of the documentary, which includes my nana mentioning when her street was hit with one of these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0EE5ZGKJyE







I spent lots of time watching informative tutorial videos for filming interviews and I took it upon myself to learn different styles and techniques in this area. With all this information, I could then decide how I would film my interview and essentially, where to place the camera.

The lighting and backdrop were obviously a big part of the shot, so I also took time to research and look at different methods of lighting a set and what kind of decorations would look good in shot.

Notes for the story

• Birth date and where she grew up

• Mention how she grew up with her uncle in the same house

• Start of war and war stories:

-didnt get evacuated
-friends from her class died
-collecting shells
-doodlebug falling down the street
-ran over by a lorry
-general war time experience as a child
-german soldiers working in the town

• How the mood was after the war

•  Meeting her husband on the train station

• Having four children

-flying them from teesside to newcastle

-man on the moon

• How music has changed since the 30's

Date for filming

7th-8th March 2015 (Saturday and Sunday)

Synopsis

My plan is to film a documentary about my nana as she recalls events from the 82 years she has been alive. She is a big role model and inspiration for me and in the years I have been alive, I have heard many stories of her life and time throughout the war. The idea for this documentary is to collaborate all of these stories and create a film where all of this information can be stored. The main reason behind the creation of this documentary is that I would love to show my children in the future, because I have always wondered what my great grandparents would have been like, if only there were videos of them. The conversations will include various topics, such as technology, how music has changed over the 9 decades she has been living, life during the war for a young girl living in london, childhood stories and also some information about her husband and the interesting event when they met.

Equipment

I will be using a Black Magic (camera) to shoot the documentary, which is known for its great quality. However, the audio recording and battery life on the camera is dreadful, so I will be taking out a Zoom Mic and an external battery pack to charge the camera on the go. I will also be taking out a tripod to keep the camera sturdy and have consistancy throughout the documentary.

As I went to book out the kit, it turned out that the Black Magics were unavailable. However, I was ready to shoot and made the decision to shoot with a Sony shoulder camera. This meant that I could continue on with the shoot and go forward with the project. There were a few advantages and disadvantages of this change of camera. However it didn't seem to matter too much once the whole video was created.

Filming

The filming was over the course of a night on the 7th March, which was a Saturday. I had previously spoken with my nana about the filming and she was okay with it, but a little nervous to be on camera, which is understandable. I set up the camera and framed the shot, which she had a cup of tea with my mum. I wanted her to be around the camera as much as possible before the shoot, so she got used to it. For the first couple of stories she was slightly un-natural and nervous, but as the documentary went on she got much more confident and happy to share the stories. I reasured her that I can cut out anything from the documentary that she did not want in there, or where she looked uncomfortable.





I had a bit of paper with some pre-written topics of conversation, not direct questions. I didn't want the documentary to be an interview, I just wanted to create a film which made it seem as though she was telling stories to the viewers.


The in-built audio recorder on the camera I was using was bad quality, so I placed a zoom mic close to her, which would give much better audio in the film. However, I forgot to sync both the camera and the zoom mic with a simple clap, which made the editing slightly harder for myself
The whole filming took up a night and my nana talked about her life for over 2 hours and a half. In the end, she said she forgot the camera was even there and she actually enjoyed telling the stories to me and my mum, who were in the room throughout the filming.

Editing

I imported the 2 and a half hour footage into Premiere Pro and sat down and had the big task of whitling it down to 10 minutes for the class assignment. I spent the whole day watching the clips and then I would break it up into the different stories she talked about. I could then find the best/most intersting stories and re-sort them into a sequence that worked well.

 I intercut lots of stock footage into the video, which broke up the clips and helped visualise the stories she was talking about.

After the edit was complete and exported, I uploaded it to Vimeo and Youtube. Lots of my family and a few friends watched the documentary and gave really good reviews. Here's the video: