DOCUMENTARY UNIT
In this unit we are creating our own documentaries, due to COVID they have to be made at home, using our own equipment. On this blog page I have logged each stage of my work.
W/B- 05/03/21- F I N A L F I L M - - E V A L U A T I O N - In this project we undertook a huge project, to create a documentary by ourselves based around the title, Isolation Stories. This felt very overwhelming at first, although I have access to Premier Pro, it is software I have little experience with, therefore I knew I had a lot to learn before I was able to put together a film. By researching, creating mind-maps and story boards, I was able to formulate and develop an idea that I felt I was able to relate to and create a successful documentary from. From the brief I interpreted my own ideas and title; Alone in Isolation. This is a documentary based around loneliness and mental health as an affect of lockdown. I have personal experiences with this topic, so I felt very close to it.
Friends. family, as well as famous artists, all influenced my work and helped shaped my documentary into something I am really proud of. At the start of the project I learnt a lot from 'visiting' virtual talks, based on film making. In a bittersweet way, I am grateful for the movement to online learning, due to COVID, as previously I would not have been able to afford to travel to big cities and access these talks in person. Kevin B. Lee, is a filmmaker and director, he did a free talk on desktop documentaries. This was a massive influence as I had no real understanding of what a desktop documentary was, this inspired me to utilise my screen recording software more and include news clips. I am very pleased with the research and material I had collected before filming and editing. Without this crucial stage I would have struggled to put together a film on such a delicate topic. Through out lockdown I have been involved in a mental health support group and through this I was able to collect lots of relevant research to my topic. As well as this, I was also able to collect statistics I could incorporate. I used this research to give prompts to my interviewee and after the interview I was so happy with the footage because of this! Because this was a desktop documentary, I did not consider Mine En Scene as much as I would have if I had filmed the footage myself. However, I did consider colour a lot when adding photos and videos. During the editing process, I tried to consider colour and how I could use different colour schemes to create a different mood/ atmosphere. At the beginning of my documentary I incorporated some videos of life before COVID, I decided to change these to black and white. Black and white images always have more of a dramatic and emotional effect so I felt it was very fitting. However, towards the end of the documentary I included a montage of photos and videos taken of happy moments during the past year, I choose to keep these in colour. It is at the point in the film that music changes to happier, upbeat, positive music, so I felt that the images should reflect this and also be in colour. This project opened me up to many opportunities. I have always been very drawn to advertising and commercial photography, therefore film is something that I have never explored much before. Using advanced editing software, Premier Pro, has been really interesting and an opportunity that I wouldn't have had otherwise. I am happy that I can potentially utilise this knowledge in higher education. However, the most obvious constraint of this project has been the lack of face to face support due to COVID. I have had to learn a lot from YouTube tutorials, due to learning being moved to online Through out this project my ideas changed and developed a lot. As I did more research into the topic of loneliness and isolation, I began to realise that mental health was something that fit in really well with this topic. Additionally, I conducted primary research, by talking to the ladies who are part of a mental health organisation I am apart of. This gave me a better insight into different topics and news articles I could include. This is something that is very close to my heart and I felt I would be able to address in a sensitive, yet positive way. As I spoke to Calullah, the lady I interviewed for my film, my ideas naturally changed as well. I never planned to have a little montage at the end, however, I thought her quoting 'everything will be okay in the end,' was really moving and that a montage would fit in well. Additionally, during research on editing techniques, a montage was something I enjoyed learning about. A massive part of the creation of this film that I found really enjoyable, was the process of socialising and collaborating with different people. Lockdown has been a very isolating time in my life, therefore to have the time to spend to talk to people, whilst creating, has been really valuable. There are many techniques I have learnt through this process. Premier Pro is not something I have a lot of experience on, so through the use of YouTube videos I learn many new tools. Using KeyFrames and adding screen recordings to videos , may be something I can use in future projects. I am really happy with the outcome of this project, this is a documentary that I can relate to and I think that it was a really positive spin of the brief! This was the first film I have ever created and I am very proud of the final product, I believe that the amount of research I conducted was a vital part of the successes I had. I also loved working with the sound design aspect of the editing, choosing music that worked with my clips was a challenge, however it was a part I found very interesting. However, throughout the process I was faced with many problems. If I where to re-do this project I would ensure that all my clips and interviews where filmed in the right orientation, as them being portrait really effects the flow of the film. To conclude, this documentary project really inspired me to be more open minded when receiving a brief. At first I thought this would be a massive challenge and that I would not enjoy it, however in the end I have a final piece that I really enjoyed creating.
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AuthorJasmine Victoria Morris Archives
March 2021
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