- Interviees filmed in medium shot in either medium close up or close up. For example in The Simpsons interview the interviewee was shot in a medium close up from his shoulders upwards.
- They are framed to the left or right hand side of the screen, however if there is more than one interview within the sequence then the positioning of the interviewee alternates in order to create variety. For example in the Jaw's cast interview the producer is filmed on the right hand side followed by the editor being filmed on the left hand side.
- The framing follows the rule of thirds with the eyeline roughly being a third of the way down the screen like in Jaws which is framed this way.
- With the interviewee looking at the interviewer rather than directly at the camera this means that the positioning of the interviewer must be the opposite. For example in Jaws the interviewee is positioned on the left hand side which means that the interviewer must be positioned on the right hand side and vice versa.
- When considering mise-en-scene the background must reinforce the content on the interview, meaning it must be relevant to what is being filmed, this could be used in order to provide more information about the interviewee in terms of their environment.
- When asking questions in the interview, these are usually edited out meaning that the interviewee must reinforce the question into their answer in order for this to make sense to the audience.
- The interview must be filmed without a light source in the background, for example in Jaws the interviewee is filmed infront of a window which creates a light source however, the blinds have been shut in order to not light any light interrupt the interview.
- There are usually cutaways edited into the interview which are used in order to break up the interview and show what the interview is about, they are also used to avoid jump cuts when the questions asked by the interviewer are edited out. An example of this is in Jaws when cutaways of the film are edited in showing relevance to the topic of the film.
- Graphics are also used which anchor who the person on screen is and thier relevance to the documentary. For example the procucer's title and name will be used on screen to show what they do.
Monday, 17 May 2010
Codes and Conventions of Documentaries
- They have a voice-of-god.
- All contain a narrative structure which is present throughout the documentary.
- Cutways are used as a way of relating to what the documentary is about and to keep it entertaining.
- Handheld camera work is also used in order to add more drama and involvement.
- They contain interviews.
- Archive material is used relating to the voice-over.
- Talking head interviewing is also present.
- Non-diegetic sound is used.
- The interviewee looks at the camera with a space next to them (the same side they look into - "looking space")
- Graphics of names/charts/information.
- Vox pop interviews
- The mise-en-scene always signifies something to do with the documentary.
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Evaluation Feedback on Mobile Phone Interview
When our video was shown to our fellow classmates they said that a good point was that the music used was relevant to the topic of mobile phones with the name of the song being "video phone". They also said that the cutaways fitted in well with the interview and were all relevant to the answers from the interviewee. The interviewee was filmed in the right frame with the interviewer positioned on the opposite side.
However, some bad points were that the cutaways were sometimes too quick and didn't give enough time for the audience to relate the cutaways to the interview. Also the quality of the sound from the interview could also be improved in order to make it flow more and to make it easier for the audience to understand. Overall the interview worked out well, and we can now learn from our mistakes in order to make our next documentary the best it can be from our experience of doing this mobile phone one.
However, some bad points were that the cutaways were sometimes too quick and didn't give enough time for the audience to relate the cutaways to the interview. Also the quality of the sound from the interview could also be improved in order to make it flow more and to make it easier for the audience to understand. Overall the interview worked out well, and we can now learn from our mistakes in order to make our next documentary the best it can be from our experience of doing this mobile phone one.
Screen Grabs of the Editing Process
When using Adobe Premiere Pro to edit our documentary, there were alot of things to learn as we had never properly used this software before. Once shown a couple of times how to edit certain things out it became very easy to edit our software how we wanted. It was easy to drag the clips we wanted and to cut rather then delete the parts we no longer needed, such as the questions asked by the interviewer as these needed to be edited out in order for our documentary to flow.
This shows how we edited the sound in our mobile phone documentary. When using the power gain tool this gives the music more of a build up, making the documentary flow more fluently. We also used this tool in order to fade our music out at the end. It was important to make sure that the music wasn't too loud so that the interviewee can still be heard, for this we simply used the "-" button and kept on adding to the number in order to make out music quieter.
This shows how we edited in our cutaways and how we made them overlap onto the next question so that there wasn't a big jump between each question. The red bar was used in order to drag it accross to the part which was relevant to edit or to which part we wanted to watch, we then just simply pressed play and continued to edit. Through using this software I feel that it has helped a great deal in increasing confidence for when we do our other documentary.
List of Cutaways
List of Cutaways
- 2 people texting
- Close up of mobile phone
- Dolly shot of all different mobile phones
- Medium close up of thumbs down
- Medium close up of thumbs up
- 2 mobile phones one with tick underneath and one with a cross underneath
- Opening mobile phone present
- Phone ringing with ringtone
- Texting on phone
- Money and phone vouchers
- Days of the week in spiraling shot
- Friends texting back to back
- Shot of current mobile phone
- Pink cardigan
- 2 people texting
- Close up of mobile phone
- Dolly shot of all different mobile phones
- Medium close up of thumbs down
- Medium close up of thumbs up
- 2 mobile phones one with tick underneath and one with a cross underneath
- Opening mobile phone present
- Phone ringing with ringtone
- Texting on phone
- Money and phone vouchers
- Days of the week in spiraling shot
- Friends texting back to back
- Shot of current mobile phone
- Pink cardigan
Research and Planning - Introduction to documentary
What is a documentary?
A documentary focuses on and questions actual people and events often in a social context, this places the audience in a position where they are able to form their own opinion of what we are seeing.
They present factual information about the world. During documentaries on screen labels such as a person’s name or job title are shown in order to make it more believable that the events actually happened to the audience and that the people are real.
Documentary makers use a number of devices when presenting information. Such as:
· Recording events as they happen
· Some events may be staged for the camera, e.g. historical events
· Information may be presented using visual aids, e.g. maps
Documentary techniques
· Compilation film – where the film is made up of an assembly of archive images, such as footage.
· Interview or ‘talking heads’ - where testimonies are recorded about people, events or social movements.
· Direct cinema – where an event is recorded ‘as it happens’ with minimal interference from the film-maker.
Documentaries often use a narrative form, meaning that they tell us a story. For this to happen there needs to be good characters, tension and point of view. Modern documentaries are less scripted than their predecessors and appear more observational such as Big Brother which results in the audience being placed in the position of a voyeur.
Documentaries also use parallelism, meaning asking the audience to draw parallels between characters, settings and situations.
Narration
A documentary frequently features a narrator and a device which enables the audience to receive plot information. The most common is the non-character narrator also known as the voice-of-god who remains anonymous, claiming to tell the audience the story.
Lighting and camera work
The source of lighting in a documentary usually originates naturally from the environment being filmed.
The most commonly used camera work is hand-held camera work meaning there is no need for a tripod or dolly. This is because the operator may not want smooth camera work as it may seem unrealistic to the audience whereas the shaky shots make the documentary seem more authentic and real.
Editing
Editing is a very important part to any film as it is what brings everything together meaning that any film or documentary relies upon the editing. Below are several types of edit available:
· Fade out – when an image gradually darkens into blackness.
· Fade in – the opposite of fade out meaning the image lightens from blackness.
· Dissolve – when the end of the shot is briefly superimposed with the beginning of the next.
· Wipe – when a shot is replaced by another using a line which moves across the screen.
Sound
In most films, diegetic sound is used aswell as non-diegetic sound. Documentaries rely heavy on non-diegetic sound in order to prompt the audience to respond in a certain way.
Documentaries are a necessary social vehicle used to inform the public opinion. The documentary genres allow for the expression of a point of view.
A documentary focuses on and questions actual people and events often in a social context, this places the audience in a position where they are able to form their own opinion of what we are seeing.
They present factual information about the world. During documentaries on screen labels such as a person’s name or job title are shown in order to make it more believable that the events actually happened to the audience and that the people are real.
Documentary makers use a number of devices when presenting information. Such as:
· Recording events as they happen
· Some events may be staged for the camera, e.g. historical events
· Information may be presented using visual aids, e.g. maps
Documentary techniques
· Compilation film – where the film is made up of an assembly of archive images, such as footage.
· Interview or ‘talking heads’ - where testimonies are recorded about people, events or social movements.
· Direct cinema – where an event is recorded ‘as it happens’ with minimal interference from the film-maker.
Documentaries often use a narrative form, meaning that they tell us a story. For this to happen there needs to be good characters, tension and point of view. Modern documentaries are less scripted than their predecessors and appear more observational such as Big Brother which results in the audience being placed in the position of a voyeur.
Documentaries also use parallelism, meaning asking the audience to draw parallels between characters, settings and situations.
Narration
A documentary frequently features a narrator and a device which enables the audience to receive plot information. The most common is the non-character narrator also known as the voice-of-god who remains anonymous, claiming to tell the audience the story.
Lighting and camera work
The source of lighting in a documentary usually originates naturally from the environment being filmed.
The most commonly used camera work is hand-held camera work meaning there is no need for a tripod or dolly. This is because the operator may not want smooth camera work as it may seem unrealistic to the audience whereas the shaky shots make the documentary seem more authentic and real.
Editing
Editing is a very important part to any film as it is what brings everything together meaning that any film or documentary relies upon the editing. Below are several types of edit available:
· Fade out – when an image gradually darkens into blackness.
· Fade in – the opposite of fade out meaning the image lightens from blackness.
· Dissolve – when the end of the shot is briefly superimposed with the beginning of the next.
· Wipe – when a shot is replaced by another using a line which moves across the screen.
Sound
In most films, diegetic sound is used aswell as non-diegetic sound. Documentaries rely heavy on non-diegetic sound in order to prompt the audience to respond in a certain way.
Documentaries are a necessary social vehicle used to inform the public opinion. The documentary genres allow for the expression of a point of view.
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