Task 3 – Documentary

TASK :

To create two 1 minute documentaries revolving with any chosen topic. Each one should have one of the team members as the subject. Moreover, one documentary should use a clip-on mic while the other uses a boom mic.

 

PRE-PRODUCTION

Having the same team members as the previous assignment, we immediately went into brainstorming ideas for topics the documentary should be about. Picking out two members from our team helped to narrow down the possibilities related to something that makes the member stand out. In the end, Joshua Balan was chosen to star in a fitness documentary while I was chosen to star in a music one, both of which are one of our strong and passionate points.

The assigned scriptwriters wrote the scripts for each documentary then the storyboards were drawn up. While these production documents were being sorted out, we also organised the location permits for where we wanted to film. Also, we decided the shooting days and times for each, keeping in mind o the weather and the sunlight outdoors to avoid over-exposed footage that could cause us to reshoot the scenes again.

Equipment used: 1 ZOOM microphone, 2 BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Cameras, 2 Canon Lens, 1 Tripod, 1 TASCAM transmitter and receiver, 1 Slider, 1 KINO LED Light

 

PRODUCTION

MUSIC: This documentary went fairly smoothly although one technical issue caused us to have a reshoot. The documentary opens with a time lapse of the team setting up the lights and camera but once we started filming the interview, I forgot to turn off the time lapse setting. Moreover, we had to then book the classroom once again and successfully finish shooting the entire interview in a short duration of time. Personally, I liked the second room better and feel as though it looks better on camera and in the final video.

FITNESS: We had some issues with the team leader, the director, for this particular docuemntary since a lot of time was wasted and tasks were not done according to the standard that was required. In the end, the rest of the team members jointly took over and pulled off creating a decent looking fitness docuemntary. To add on, we had some issues with the Slider as we couldn’t assemble it properly. Eventually, we did the shots either handheld or on a tripod.

 

POST-PRODUCTION

Two members were assigned as being editors for the documentaries. There was initially a disagreement between the actual editor for the fitness documentary but Joshua took the job over since he wanted to learn how to edit and the final cut looked surprisingly great. As a team, we were satisfied with our entire performance throughout the project, even though some problems did arise. We managed to pull through and produce two quality works.

In post-production, we did not face any other significant problems other than having a lot of extra b-roll footage that we sadly couldn’t incorporate into the final documentaries.

 

FINAL VIDEO:

‘Survival of The Fittest’ – Fitness Documentary – 

 

‘The Sound of Music’ – Music Documentary –

Task 2 – Lighting

TASK :

To display our use of lighting equipment and using it to light a scene. Also, to compare a naturally lit scene with an artificial lit one.

 

PRE-PRODUCTION

This was the first group project our class had been assigned. I was looking forward to working in a team

The team collaborated and discussed a concept to film for the lighting project. We had various ideas for the scene but ultimately decided on picking two characters playing a game of chess.

The team created the required pre-production documents, including the storyboard of how the angles, shot type and movement would be of the camera. We booked the required equipment for the project then collected on the day we scheduled for shooting. Moreover, we had booked a classroom at the university for a couple of hours for shooting the scene.

Equipment used: 2 KINO LED Lights, 1 BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera, 1 Canon Lens, 1 Tripod

 

PRODUCTION

The team set up the equipment in a matter of half an hour then we did a couple of test shots for both versions of the scene. This also helped the actors practice their acts and dialogues so that the actual takes would go smoothly.

We did face a slight issue of having smooth camera movement since to add a more narrative look, we wanted the chess board to be revealed after the two characters are seen sitting at a table. For that dolly out movement, we had to do it free-hand since we did not have the equipment like a GlideCam or a Slider, and neither did we learn about them in class yet. In the end, we improvised a way to make the camera movement as smooth as possible. Since I was the camera operator, I was seated on a table and I placed my hands while holding the camera, on top of a team members arm that was stretched out. This acted as support for my shaky hold and we both moved in-sync backwards so that we could get a decent visually-appealing shot.

 

POST-PRODUCTION

This assignment was the first instance where we had to work as a team to edit. After filming we used the facilities in the film lab. We first archived the footage and renamed the takes, then we put the shots together, first editing the naturally lit scene then the artificially lit scene.

For the shots with the dolly-backwards movement, we had to stabilise it since it would be too distracting to watch the clip otherwise.

 

FINAL VIDEO:

‘Realistic’ Lighting – 

 

‘Artificial Lighting’ –