Final Video and Evaluation

Below is the final version of our documentary video, T-Pro. It has gone through a couple of changes over the last couple of months, having first planned to include two different dancers. When we found out only Toni (AKA. T-Pro) would be available the group worked well in coming together and creating a new plan for the video. I am very pleased with the outcome of the video, I think it represents our hard work. And we did truly work hard, and made sure we were ahead of all the deadlines, to give us the benefit of receiving feedback and also giving us plenty of time to make any changes needed.

This payed off as we were encouraged to re-film some of the panning shots. As we left time and had planned to re-shoot certain aspects of the video, re-filming the panning sequences was not an issue and we were able to move forward without it disrupting out video schedule.

As already mentioned the group worked really well together. Although working with friends can be risking if there are disagreements with the video, somehow our group managed to get by without any arguments - thankfully. Everyone was able to put their views and ideas across and we all felt like we were being listened to. I am sorry for this module to be over as I truly had a great time with the group, from start to finish on this project.

I hope that our enjoyment in making the video, and our interest in the topic makes for a enjoyable documentary video.

Video Catch-Up

The video is coming along nicely and we have almost finished editing the final video together. Today was spent syncing the audio to the interview of Tony (AKA. T-Pro) together with the visual footage. This proved to be more difficult then I originally anticipated, as it requires a fair amount of patience as you line the two files up.

Here is a screenshot of our editing time line.

Rough Cut Presentation!

Todays workshop was an opportunity for the group to showcase their short documentaries so far. I was very pleased with the quality of our rough cut video. Although the video did not include much of our audio that we recorded the day before, the improvement in quality from the audio we were using before is clearly noticeable.

In terms of improvements to the video we still need to add most of the interview with Toni, for this we are going to listen to all of the audio recordings and figure out which parts we want to include. We already have a good idea of what we want to include; About Toni, how he got into breakdancing, competitions he has been in and would like to be in, and where he see's his future with breakdancing.

Apart from the audio the video still needs credits as well as some text during the actual video that will be naming the moves Toni is performing. Some shots of Toni may be cropped shorter or perhaps completely cut from the video depending on how they work with the audio thats to go in.

Overall we have a manageable amount of work still to do on the video, and I think we will finish comfortably in time for the final hand-in.

Recording Audio and Re-filming.

Today we re-shot some of Toni's performance, mainly focusing on improving the panning shots that feature at the start of our video. In post-production it was noted that the panning was a little bit jittery. Although the style of film we are going for is a little bit rough and urban we decided to re-shoot the panning sequences, hopefully in doing so it will create a better flowing video. We also decided to film some more of Toni breakdancing from different angles, seen as we had the chance too.

We also recorded the audio for the video. On the first day of filming, last week, Toni was a little bit stiff when answering the questions. However after having a week to prepare and being more aware of the questions we were asking he was able to answer the questions more confidently. Though he would occasionally make a mistake, I kind of like that human quality about the interview and hope we can include it in some way. As I feel it show him as a relatable person, and will help the audience connect with him - and therefore the video. Which may be difficult otherwise as not many people are into breakdancing.

Music

There is going to be a couple of different forms of sound in the documentary; the interview, soundscape of Toni dancing - foot rustles, atmospheric sounds from location and of course MUSIC!

The music for the video is a crucial element to the video, as it will be support the majority of the visual elements of the video - Toni dancing. For this Jason has agreed to create a sample using Logic a sound editing software. We are extremely lucky to have Jason make us an original piece of music for the video, the whole group will be keen to learn these skills too so will be helping out where possible with Jason.

Below are a couple of screenshots of the music being edited.

Beginning to Edit

Today we continued to edit the video from filming yesterday. I say continue as yesterday after filming Jason took it upon himself to edit together some shots to give us a rough idea of what the finished film might look like.

We know that with out audio the film will be lacking a little bit, however the subject we have decided to document is very visually interesting. Therefore we are able to give good representation of how the final film may look.

From editing a rough cut, we noted that some shots would have to be re-filmed due to stability issues. This was not an issue as we wanted to get Toni back to record the audio anyway, and we all want to make the video perfect.

Location Release

Filming!

The day of filming!

After a considerable wait at the university equipment loan centre the group met up with the star of our video, Toni, and headed to the location.

Once outside The Boardroom we decided to start with capturing the audio before wearing Toni out with numerous takes. Unfortunately while setting up our zoom audio recorder, we found out that the zoom recorder or boom mic was not working. This was a little bit of a set back, yet we didn't let it hold us up. We attempted to record using the microphones on the cameras but Toni spoke to softly for them to pick his voice up. We decided as a group that we will have to record the audio another day and that we should focus on the visual today.

And thats what we did. We had three DSLR cameras between us in the group and all took turns using them and capturing different elements and angles of Toni dancing. We had prepared a call sheet and story board prior to filming to roughly guide us, however a lot of shots came from talking to Toni, letting him dance, then planning how we could incorporate that move - and the best way to film it.

Over all we were able to get a lot of footage from outside and inside The Boardroom. The group worked really well together, and communicated great. And Toni was even able to help as he has the superior knowledge about the form of dance. Now we need to go over the footage and edit a rough cut and see if we need to re-shoot anything. And of course we will be recording the sound too.

Location Checking and Trial Filming

We decided to check out the location before the actual film day to make sure it was suitable, as there are a lot of elements we had to consider.

Whilst as the location (The Boardroom) we has to check feature that would affect the quality of the video, such as lighting and sound. We also looked at how busy the space got as too many people would obstruct the video and may cause problems when filming.  Fortunately the area had ample light and space, and barely anyone else around. However, sound was a little bit of an issue as being an inner-city location there was a fair amount of background noise. Yet, this could be a nice touch to the video add an atmospheric element. Another minor issue was that the area is used for parking, however the video was not meant to be squeaky clean. This just adds to the street and urban feel of the video that we were originally going for anyway.

As well as checking the location for the quality of filming we also had to make sure it was suitable for the break dancer. As the breakdancer will be using a lot of the floor space for spins and flares, all parts of his body comes into contact with the floor. Some of the floor will be useable for smaller moves, however he may not feel comfortable doing other moves as the ground was rough and dirty. For the more complex moves we shall be using The Boardroom Skate Park, which has the perfect flat and smooth surfaces for the dancer to perform.

  {image of release}

Treatment adjustment.

Unfortunately due to other commitments Chi our house dancer is unable to be apart of out documentary video. Though this is disappointing as we were looking forward to showing the two forms of dance together, we have been proactive and adjusted our video plan to focus on Toni the breakdancer.

Treatment for Project Two

Wa-Chi VS Tony

The video will be based around a break-dancer and a house dancer and will revolve around their involvement in dance and what dance means to them.  The video will showcase their dance abilities, with the two interviewees (dancers) layered over the top talking about the dance experiences. 

LENGTH

The video will be five minutes long. 

STRUCTURE

The five minute documentary video will be filmed in two locations, an outside location called the Boardroom, which is similar to a skate park with graffiti walls. The second location will be inside, and will be a dance studio in either CODE or DMU. 

Our interviewees are; 

Chi – house dancer 

Tony – a break-dancer 

Access

One of our dancers works in the week therefore we would have to take this in consideration when planning filming schedules. Both dancers have confirmed that they are happy to take part in the documentary.

We feel this idea will make a good documentary because it will be visually interesting our group is particularly interested in making a dance documentary as two of our members are part of dance groups but we all have an interest in dance.

Direction/ Film techniques 

Split screen 

Camera pan / usage of different camera angles

Video filters

We want to show new forms or dance that people don’t know much about and might not normally watch. We will explore how dance influences style.

Music: We will be using house music, and other urban music (break-beat). We will either create this ourselves using music editing software, or it will be sourced via Soundcloud with the artists permission.  

Storyboard.

STORYBOARD !!!

Call Sheet

CALL SHEET!

PROJECT TWO !

Today we have started the second project of Video Production. This is a three to five minute video, still based around the documentary theme, and still strongly reliant on a soundscape that includes a range of different sounds that adds to the visual and audio elements of the video.

The group I am working in has not changed much, I am still working with Jason Champanieri and Shannon Jinks. But we have added Agne to the group and we are all looking forward to working together on this project.

As for ideas for the three to five minute video we all immediately agreed to focus the documentary on dance. Jason has great links to a number of dancers and we plan to focus the documentary on the similarities and union dance has, as well as other features of dance. At the moment we are considering having a break-dancer and a house-dancer. But we need to narrow down our ideas and put together a treatment, this will be the next stage.

Punk Is My Calling - Evaluation

Now that the interview is completed I feel very pleased with the outcome, I was concerned that being only a minute is would lose some of the character of Alastair we were able to capture in the full 18 minute interview. However it is with great pleasure that I can say that as a group we were about to encapsulate his personality and character in a bite size minute interview.

Editing

Editing the interview took a couple of sessions to do. The most difficult thing was reducing the recording to just one minute, all three of us felt that the interview with Alastair went so well that it could all be used. Nonetheless we managed to edit it down to a minute in the end.

To begin with we decided just to edit the audio down to a minute before adding any addition sounds or stills to the piece. We all took turns at editing sharing the role, as we had done throughout the process.

Once the piece was edited down to a minute we added the atmospheric sound and the images we had sourced. Although following our original plan to show stills of Alastair, to begin with we detoured of this slightly by including images that related directly to what was being said. However, after referring back to the module handbook felt this was a too literal display of what was being said. We decided to go back to the original idea and use the images of Alastair in his bands, Geriatric Unit and Endless Grinning Skulls. We would of liked to include some samples of punk music, including some of Alastair's bands music, to allowing listeners who are not familiar with the genre to hear it. However, this would not be music/sound that we have recorded ourselves. It was also not possible to arrange Alastair's band together for a live recording, this would have been a way round having music in the video. As it proved too difficult to include music we decided to focus more closely on making sure the interview itself was clear and the focus point of the project. That being said we did include an atmospheric track from the interview location and also a recording of the atmosphere in Highcross, this was layered underneath the main interview audio, and just gives a sense of depth for when there are quiet or silent section of the interview.

Post-Interview Evaluation

The interview with Alastair went really well, he was clearly use to the interview formate and was completely comfortable and confident in his delivery. We were able to record over 18 minutes of audio, which is plenty for us to work into a one minute interview. As were the purpose of the questions we were able to get Alastair to talk about a wide range of topics relating to his punk lifestyle, including; his childhood, how he got into punk, first bands he listen to, education and event bands he plays in even today. 

After the interview we made sure we got our soundscape/ atmospheric sound. After this we uploaded the recording to the edit suit and listened through to check the quality. I am happy to say that the recording is of a good high quality. 

Equipment

The equipment used to conduct the interview was hired from AV Loans, and included:

• A Zoom recorder

• A Canon DSLR 700D

• Headphones

• Boom mic

• Boom mic stick

• Jack cable 

To edit the interview we used the edit suits at university and used he following equpment;

• Mac 
• Final Cut Pro X - Edit software 

Call Sheet

Call Sheet 

Production Name - Punk Is My Calling – An interview with Alastair Gordon 

Crew Details

Crew Name	Role	Email	Mobile
Christopher Panayi	Interviewer/Producer/Director/Editor	p1322297x@mydmu.ac.uk	Number Withheld
Jason Champaneri	Recorder/Producer/Director/Editor	J.champaneri93@hotmail.co.uk	Number Withheld
Shannon Jinks	Recorder/Producer/Director/Editor	p13217402@mydmu.ac.uk	Number Withheld

Participants required

Name	Role	Email	Mobile
Alastair Gordon	Interviewee	agordon@dmu.ac.uk	N/A

Location Details

Location	Description	Purpose
Clephan 0.13A	Alastair Gordon’s office	Main interview audio
Highcross Leicester Cafe	Leicester shopping centre	soundscape

Schedule

12:50 – Group meet at Clephan reception

01:00 – Meet with Alastair Gordon, Clephan 0.13A

01:05 – Interview Alastair Gordon 

02.00 – Sound scape

04.00 – Finish soundscape and upload to Portland editing rooms. 

Transport / Travel Schedules

Most of the crew live within walking distance of the locations, however we had planned the interview to take place later in the day to accommodate people traveling in. 

Equipment

Zoom recorder 

Headphones 

Boom microphone  

Boom stand 

Cable 

Canon 700D camera 

Weather Forecast

The whether forecast for the day is wet. This is not a major issue for the recording as we will be inside. However for people travelling in this could cause problems, but hopefully nothing major.

Amending theTreatment

Alastair has requested that we don't use childhood photos of him in the piece, instead he would prefer if we used images of him in his bands and more recent photos. We respect this request and will use the images of Alastair in his bands instead. As well as these images we will also be using images relating to the topics he talks about, for example if he mentions a particular group or band we will have an image relating to them as well as other punk connotations. 

Treatment

PHVP 2430 Photography and Video 2 Documenting The External Project Proposal

Name – Punk Is My Calling; An Interview With Alastair Gordon

Give a short rationale describing your area of focus- who, what, where, how? 

The film will follow the life of punk lecturer Alistair Gordon, our main character, as he reveals his childhood aspirations and his journey to becoming the man he is today. As the film is restricted to audio and still images, we shall use images of Alistair taken as we interview him, as well as photos of him as a child that he’ll hopefully provide. Audios will mainly use of the actual interview but may also include atmospheric background music, to accompany the narrative. We chose to document Alistair’s punk lifestyle to gain a brief look into an unusual lifestyle that people might be unfamiliar with.  

Suggested questions:

When you were ten, where did you see yourself in the future?

When did you get your first tattoo, and do they have any meaning?

What got you into the punk lifestyle?

Do you see punk as a lifestyle, culture or something deeper?

Please create a week-by-week timetable for this proposal

Week	Activity
16	Planning the topic of the interview – The group met for a meeting on what/who we should interview for our one-minute video. Writing the treatment.  Sound Walk – We practiced using the zoom recorder during our sound walk. This will be the device we use to record our interview audio.
17	Planning/Organising – After deciding to interview Alastair Gordon we next had to consider what stills and atmospheric sounds we would use to support the interview.  Writing the call sheet.
18	Interviewed Alastair – On the 29th January we interviewed Alastair and collected atmospheric sounds for the backing sound.  Editing Interview – On the 30th we edited the audio recording of the interview.
19	Editing Interview – On the 2nd February the group continued editing the interview, cutting the audio down to the required one-minute.  We also began to add the stills to the interview.  Hand-in  - 6th February is the hand in deadline from the interview.

Introduction

This is a Research and Development blog for the video half of the PHVP 2430 Photography and Video 2 The Documentary Image. The first project is to make a one minute interview, I worked in a group of three for this task with Shannon Jinks and Jason Champaneri (follow the links attached to their names to view their blogs)

My name is - Christopher Panayi
My P number is - P1322297X
Module code - PHVP 2430
Module Name - Photography & Video 2 The Documentary Image