Shoot Day 2 - 28th April

Before the second shoot day, we had a discussion about what was missing and needed to be filmed in preparation for the day. We revised our shot list and sorted out what we hadn't managed to achieve so that we wouldn't forget about anything. The main thing was the flying shots of one of the vultures. In order to make it look like a real bird documentary we felt like we would need some really dynamic shots of some of the birds flying onto or from perches that we could use as cutaways during the interviews or with commentary over to inform the audience more about the birds. When we arrived, we split off into two groups. Ellen and I took a 7D camera and filmed some more gvs of the gardens which we lacked because of the weather on the first shoot. The weather was much sunnier which meant that the colouring of the footage looked so much better. In the meantime, Josh and Laura went off to film the drone footage whilst Laura used her canon for some more action shots. This was successful and we managed to get plenty of footage with good weather. We then were able to watch and film Kayleigh fly Morticia - one of the vultures which was great as we had plenty of time to capture some really nice shots from different angles. We also used the Go-Pro and attached it underneath the perch to capture the flight. This worked very well. Lastly we were able to go back into the Hawking Centre to capture some more action of the birds that live in there which meant that we had plenty of coverage to fit the 10 minute mark. Just before we left we were able to go outside with Julie and watch Irena the bald eagle being trained to fly. This was particularly exciting as we were the first public to see her fly.

Production Progress

This week we have been editing the documentary. When putting our footage together, one thing that stood out was that the transcripts for the interview needed to be cut up and mixed so that it wouldn't be boring to watch. The interview with Jo was a total of nine minutes long which we cannot use all of as the documentary cannot be longer than 10 minutes. We have been cutting it up so that we have highlighted to most important points to include. Whilst editing, we have been incorporating the action shots that we took yesterday. We used one of the 7D cameras which produced footage with much better colouring. Our previous action shots came out very yellow in colour which was quite difficult to resolve in the editing process. After looking at the new footage today, the colour and quality is much better which will benefit the look of the piece. We wanted the location to look very visually exciting to appeal to audiences as much as possible. We have also decided to change our approach with editing. in order to put the narrative into perspective, we have been writing a draft script for the commentary. This will give us an outline to follow when cutting the clips together so we know what will be said in between the interviews. In terms of working as a group, I would say that we have communicated effectively, talking in a group chat when we're not at the studios to assign jobs for everyone in the mean time. During the editing process, we already had an idea of what the storyline would be which meant that we had similar ideas. However, when it came to choosing the placement of clips, we had different opinions which we discussed and came to  creative decisions that we were all happy with. In terms of time, I would say that we are on schedule to finish the documentary with Darren coming in next tuesday to record the commentary so we can edit this onto the images before next friday.

Location/Recce - Doddington Place Gardens

During the Easter break, we decided to do a location recce to help us work out what we were going to film and to give us a feel for the environment and how it might look on camera. Initial first impressions were that the location was very visually impressive. Surrounded by fields and stunning views, we knew that it would look very attractive on camera which would make it appealing for the audience. The grounds were very spacious with some very natural, open looking stretches combined with some more sculpted sections with shaped hedges and paths. Once you are inside the gates, there is a large path which takes you into the main section. On the right, there is the privately owned Victorian mansion. This is not open to the public and so we will not be filming very much of this unless it is part of some wide establishing shots. In terms of what we want to film, we have to decided to incorporate lots of garden cutaways as they were so beautiful as well as including the ponds and rock pools as this will add plenty of good scenery to the documentary. In terms of the birds in the Hawking Centre, they were all kept in one location, so we plan to film them in their home as this will allow us to get really close to them and get some good shots without them moving around too much. One thing that was particularly handy with the bird enclosure was how it was laid out. The birds are all in one room with their own perches, however, they are not behind bars and so you can get really close to them for some very detailed close ups. I think that the location was a great choice because of the scenery which I think will give the documentary a real lift and make it visually exciting. The subject matter is also very interesting which should add to the appearance of it. In terms of accessibility, it is just outside of Sittingbourne which is very suitable to get to for filming and won't require too much travel on the day/s. I have attached some photos of the house and gardens that I took whilst visiting to give us plenty of ideas when deciding on our shotlist.

Editing Workshop with Tim Benthom

An editor, Tim Benthom came into the studios to teach an editing workshop with us. In order to give us some prep for cutting our own documentaries, this was a good opportunity to organise a variety of shots and edit them together with cutaways. We were given a script of everything the interviewee said across the interview with some of it highlighted. The highlighted information was what needed to be kept in. In terms of finding the footage, it was very tricky as I hadn't been there on the shoot day and so was unaware of what to look for in the footage. I think that this made quite good practice for next year when we will be given someone else's footage to cut and edit. In the industry, it is also quite rare, unless when making your own films that you will be carrying out every role. Therefore I think that editing footage that hasn't been seen before is good practice. I then had to cut the sync up so that it flowed simultaneously as if it hadn't been changed. Once this was complete, we had to look at the extra footage and find the best cutaways to hide the harsh cuts that were visible on screen. I found editing the sync quite tricky to get it to sound seamless but once that was complete, finding the cutaways and editing them over the top was quite simple. Out of each area, I would say that I find editing the most challenging as it is very technical and takes a long time to perfect. However, these workshops have allowed me to learn a little bit more about Adobe Premiere and how to cut certain types of films such as documentaries so I can learn from that and improve for when it comes to editing my own work. 

Shoot Day - 13th April

We shot some footage for our documentary yesterday at Doddington Place Gardens. As we wanted to capture some drone footage to use during some montage sections, we asked Josh to borrow his drone, of which he was happy to let us do. He came with us to the location so he could fly the drone and crew on the project. We came prepared with all of the documents we would need including our shot list for guidance on the day as well as the risk assessments and consent forms for those involved. We were all nervous about getting everything done in time but were excited to get started. We met with Kayleigh who showed us round and gave us a short tour of the grounds. We began to set up the cameras and had a look at our shotlist. We decided to shoot some of the cutaways of the location first as we had access to them. We used one of the Sony cameras to capture these. Once Darren had arrived, we shot the introduction with him announcing where he was and what the subject matter of the documentary was. After this, we encountered a huge weather issue. It began to rain and hail heavily so we took the equipment inside the cafe area to keep it protected. This pushed our schedule back considerably and meant that we couldn't capture as much action for the opening. We had to think on our feet and quickly re-locate to the Hawking Centre where there would be shelter. We had to then shoot the interview with Jo inside with the birds as the rain meant that we had no other option. This however, caused an interference with the sound as the birds were all making noise in the background. With the weather issue, this was the only solution and something we'll have to try and get round in the editing process. After the rain stopped we were able to carry out the interview with Julie outside. She incorporated one of the vultures which meant that we could include some interaction between the presenter and a vulture to carry the narrative and encourage the audience to care a little more about them. This was a much more successful interview which will look better in the final documentary. Overall, the shoot day was quite unsuccessful as the weather issues meant that we couldn't stick to the schedule and cover everything that we wanted to. Therefore, we have decided to arrange to film there again next week to get much more footage including more action shots, flying shots with one of the vultures and drone footage.

Faversham - Location Workshop

To aid our learning of what it's like to film on location we were given the opportunity to film at Shepherds Neame Brewery in Faversham. This is n incredibly busy and noisy environment which can make it very challenging to film at. When making documentaries, you often have to get coverage from working environments that have the same level of activity, especially factories where there is a high level of production. We met in town as a group and were split in half so that half of us went into the brewery and half filmed in the market square. I was part of the group which visited the brewery. Once inside, we put on steel toe capped boots and protective wear and were instructed to get into smaller teams of four. I worked with Ellen, Troy and Sammi. In groups we then were given someone to walk around with who explained a little bit about the different processes whilst we filmed the action. We started right at the beginning of the process with the empty glass bottles all making their way to be filled. We took it in terms when filming so that we each had a go with framing and shots. I really enjoyed filming the process and finding ways to film it creatively. In the afternoon, we were given some time to film some exterior shots of the brewery and town to give us some establishing shots. We then had to work as a team to create a short edit of the clips showing the process in order and cut it as if it was a segment from a documentary. After a viewing with Helen, we had some positive feedback which made me feel quite confident about cutting our own documentary.

Risk Assessments/Consent Forms

Before an shoot, a risk assessment must be carried out to ensure the safety of those involved. It is a good way of identifying the hazards with the most potential and the most effective ways to deal with them. We printed out the templates for the risk assessment from MyUCA which listed all of the potential risks. You then have to tick the ones that are most likely and rate them based on how likely and threatening they would be. The most prominent ones we highlighted were tripping, falling equipment that could land on people, illness/reactions from working with the birds and stress for the birds. These were all manageable as we will be a crew of four and can therefore ensure that there will be a few people to carry heavy equipment and watch whoever is on camera to ensure they are not about to walk into something or trip up. In terms of hygiene and bird safety, we will make sure to wash our hands after interacting with them as well as listening to Jo and the falconers for instructions when being around them.
After completing the risk assessment forms, I would say that we felt prepared to deal with any issues. We also printed off some consent forms which will hopefully be filled in on shoot day by Jo, Julie, Darren and Kayleigh who are all involved in the project. Consent forms are very important as they ensure that those involved are aware of the events taking place on the day and how they will be affected so they can make an informed decision on whether it is suitable for them.

Shotlist

It is very important to write a shotlist before any filming. Planning what you are going to shoot allows you to be organised and work efficiently on the day. This way, you don't have to think too much on the day what you're looking for as you have already decided. Alterations and extra shots can be considered on the shoot days which could give you more options during the editing process. We have written a shot list of the main shots we want to include and the key areas of the documentary that we plan to focus on to give us more structure on the day. 

 We have also labelled the archive footage that we plan to obtain from Jo from previous trips to Africa as well as photos of the books she has written. Other archive footage that we plan to use in our introduction include the vulture scene from Disney's The Jungle Book and some footage of vultures in Africa in their natural habitat.

Call Sheet and Schedule

Here we have written a call sheet to give us an idea for the shooting schedule. We will be filming on the Wednesday from 2pm as we cannot film whilst the public are taking part in the falconry experiences that go on during the morning. Our crew includes all three of us and Josh who will be an assistant camera operator and will be operating the drone. We have included all of our details and the details of the other people involved including the presenter and interviewees. Our schedule will range from 2pm until 6pm with descriptions of what we aim to achieve by each hour. Darren will be arriving at 2:30pm to give us time to set up the camera equipment beforehand. We will have the call sheet with us on the day to refer to and keep us on track.

The Presenter

After a discussion with Helen, we decided that we wanted to incorporate a presenter for the piece. To give the documentary a more realistic feel, we felt like a presenter would help to really engage the audience and give the narrative a bit of guidance, allowing the presenter to tell the story throughout. Helen gave us a few suggestions. We decided on a presenter and contacted him but he couldn't reschedule a former commitment and so we advertised on Casting Call Pro with a list of our specifications for the role. One of our specifications was that they must be keen to interact with and possibly hold some of the birds so we could involve them as much as possible. We had a few applicants for the role, some of which we looked at their show reels and decided to contact Darren Hammock. He has done mainly acting work but was keen to try more presenting. In terms of the documentary itself, he was incredibly keen to work with the birds and be as involved as possible which made us think about what we wanted the personality of our presenter to be like. We wanted someone who would be enthusiastic and interested in the birds so that it felt very genuine. This was particularly important as we want the presenter to be able to connect with the audience and persuade them to be involved and help the cause. Darren seemed very friendly and enthusiastic which was ideal and met the criteria for the role. We intend on featuring Darren in the piece as the interviewer as well as the commentator which will carry the narrative and inform the audience.

Interviews/Sequencing Workshop

Interviews are a huge feature in any type of documentary. They provide a sense of reality as we can hear some information from someone with knowledge about what they are talking about. Seeing real people on the screen allows us to engage more in a piece and feel connected to it, especially if the participants are trying to promote something. As a group of four we then had to film an interview that could be based on anything and construct an edit with cutaways and sequences. We decided to keep the theme of the interview very simple with just a casual conversation between Becca and Ellen. The topic was how they first met and their impressions of each other. We came up with some very simple questions such as 'What was your first impression of Ellen?' and allowed them to talk as much and as openly as they liked to give it a really easy going feel. As they know each other well this came across and provided the interview with some really funny moments and great reaction shots. When it came to filming, it was incredibly difficult only using one camera and trying to achieve a variety of shots. We started off with a two shot which was simple enough but as there became emphasis on one of them, we tried to do a few close ups to make it feel more personal and give the edit more variety. However, when you change the shot and it comes down to the edit, you must find cutaways to fill the space so that you cannot see the change in framing. We worked on these in our groups and listened back to what they were saying so we could choose what to film. We decided on some simple cutaways such as Becca working on one of the macs in the studio or her spending time with Nisserin to illustrate her as a person whilst Ellen is describing it. Overall I think the final edit was relatively successful and I learnt more about how to cover an edit and create a sequence which will be very useful when editing our documentary. 

Brian Cox - Documentary Filmmaker

Brian Cox is an English physicist and Advanced fellow of particle physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester. I have decided to look at him as a documentary film maker as he is well known for his science documentaries, particularly the 'Wonders of the Universe' series. He has even been described as a worthy successor to David Attenborough and Patrick Moore for his documentary work. He has featured in other science programmes of a factual base including 'Horizon' and 'Do you know what time it is?'

I have watched some of the 'Wonders of the Universe' series and find his approach and enthusiasm to be very encouraging and appealing. As he is a physicist and University professor himself, he has plenty of general knowledge in this field and expresses it in a very passionate way.
A particular episode 'Destiny' focusses on the idea of where we come from and why we are here on Earth. He explains that people have often turned to religious and spiritual reasons to explain but he delves into answers provided by Science. To conclude the episode he discovers that time is not characterised by repetition but by irreversible change. The vast universe is subject to laws of change. I think that Brian Cox is quite successful as a documentary filmmaker because he takes ideas and theories that are so complex and unbelievable and makes them not only very exciting to watch but also makes the audience feel like they can understand and learn about something that is complicated and far fetched. I think that that is the key to his success as people warm to him and embrace his friendly approach. When he is talking on screen, it feels as if you are having a conversation with a friend allowing you to feel comfortable and at ease.

Script Layout

Here I have attached some screenshots of our working script. Scripts for documentaries are set out differently to a typical script that you would write on final draft. We set out a table with the images on the left and the commentary/sync that would accompany it. For example, we would shoot some actuality of the gardens itself and the sync over it would be the presenter explaining some background information about the location. Setting out the script like this means that we can visualise what we want to appear on screen and put it together with want will be said. We had a discussion about what the storyline would include and in what order to we could structure      the script. When it came to writing it, we sat down together and decided what we were going to say. I have attached some progress screenshots of what we have written so far. We labelled the audio as either commentary or sync to make it easier for us to visualise and piece together. I would say that this is the most effective way to write a script like this for a documentary as it looks more structured and is easier to interpret. We wanted to sync and commentary to sound professional but casual and friendly at the same time so that audiences would take it seriously but feel comfortable and at ease when watching it.