Evaluation

Liverpool Documentary

Documentary is one of my favourite forms of film. After receiving the brief, Myself, Alice and the team (Shelton, Luke, Chris and Jay) met for the first time are started searching the internet and looking at newspaper achieves, we originally thought of the idea to look at the food of Liverpool, we then found out/realised that this was no specific enough for a five minute film. After looking further we saw that it was Chinese new year on the coming sunday from the day we were researching, and that there was some sort of celebration in the China Town in Liverpool. After researching further, finding out that it was the largest china town outside of the capital, we genuinely wanted to know more, and we knew if we wanted to know more, an audience would too.

I would think our film is aimed at people will an interest in ethnic minorities,  or different cultures. Our film focuses a lot on how the Chinese community have integrated into Liverpool, this is a key point and is an interest for some people. From the off set, we didn't initial have a target audience, we decided to make it quite open because documentaries about different cultures could inform anyone from the age ten to one hundred, so we thought if while making decisions about the film, we wouldn't try and make it so it wouldn't appeal to a certain age range. I feel as though we have achieved that, we have fun/colourful visuals with rhythmical sounds of china in the background, then serious informative shots along side our interview with Simon Wong which at times takes a serious note when talking about war.

Visually I think we have some great shots, shots including strong colour and detail of the Chinese gate, or supermarket. One thing I would of changed if we were to do this again is the amount of techniques we used, I know we wanted the film completely stylised and artistic but I think we have too many pull focuses but this does not distract too much I don't think. I think Alice, Shelton and Chris did a great job of keeping to the treatment in terms of the style of the film. Before going to Liverpool we discussed that we wanted shallow depth of field and dramatic camera angles, I feel we achieved that in which i am very happy. One thing in the film I am a little disappointed in is the interview, Simon Wong who is the owner of the Chinese supermarket just across the road from the big gate. He is the head of business in the area, Mr Wong has a wealth of knowledge about the area, including its history. I think the interview was edited great, I just think the visuals weren't as good as I had hoped, this was partly due to technical issues, the shot is stripy, which isnt really noticeable but I know it is there.

During this project I was the producer, this was the role I wanted. I originally didn't know that much about being a producer and the role of the producer, only what had been taught in the seminar. I found that being producer improved my organisational skills, I was able to plan the visit and communicate via telephone and e-mail with possible contributors. I would really like to produce again, learning from the mistakes I made this time, which i feel were making sure we stuck to the call sheet. There were times during the shoot when we would finish early or late and this would mess my call sheet up a little bit. Next time I produce I will be sure to leave time before we begin the shoot for us over running.

During planning, shooting and editing I have learnt a lot, being producer generally I have learnt that organisation really is the key, with this you can plan your day, and leave nothing out. This way you can insure the editor get everything they need to create a great cut. I have learnt more about shooting film too, working along side Alice, Chris and Shelton closely I was able to listen to their technical issues and watch them over come them, and at times contribute to over come then.

I feel myself, Alice, Shelton, Luke, Jay and Chris worked well as a team, one reason for this was communication, we were able to meet regularly to discuss and work things out about the project even before shooting had started. Me and Alice (director) at times met on our own to discuss things she wanted from me, vice versa. This allowed us to communicate with other members of the team to bring to life the vision that Alice and I had about the project. Chris and Luke (editors) were also very keen to mould this image, one issue was getting archive footage, this is an example of when myself and chris sat down together researching, and at the end of it we were able to get some footage. I feel I can improve my team working stills by planning better and letting the team know that I want certain things a certain way, and that we cannot slack as we need to fit the deadline. In conclusion I think this project was a great success and the whole time is happy with the outcome. Overcoming some issues at times were difficult but we were able to turn the project around.

The Drama Project

For the second half of the semester the brief was to create a Short Drama film, in relation to the theme of a Journey. Being in a group with Jay, Alice, Shelton, Chris and James. Both Jay and Alice came up with some great ideas, in which we pitched during the seminar. I didn't particularly have a preference, I had a brief idea of maybe basing the film on a emotional journey, for example grief, anxiety or depression. The group and I decided it would be too performance based, and maybe too deep for a first year student film.

After getting a good response to Alice's idea of a Young boy delivering a letter to his young love, she began to write the script. Everybody kind of simply left it to her because it was here idea and she seemed to have a very clear vision of what she wanted to film to look and sound like. We later met, I think after the two week easter break, Alice read out the her script. Everyone was extremely happy with it, and personally I was very inspired due to its wittiness and how clever it was, creating a very innocent yet funny character. I then went on to thinking about how take this script and transform it into something very visual. The producer Chris told myself and Alice about locations so together we started storyboarding, this took a while and we mostly storyboarded the opening scene because during the filming stage and editing, we wanted to get it just right, because it sets the tone for the rest of the film. After watching the film 'Once' I considered changing the style in which we filmed it but I discussed this with Alice and we didn't feeling it was right, looking back I think that really was the right decision.

Unfortunately I couldn't attend the first day of shooting due to unavoidable commitments, so Chris filled in for me, I showed him some of the storyboarding so he could film in the style I wanted. After this day I looked at the footage which I was very happy with, they filmed the travelling scenes, from a car. We planned another shoot, in Selby. This shoot was for the opening scene, the end senses and some quick shots to slow the pace of the film down if we needed too. I felt this went well. I've never had to work with child actors so this was an experience, with them being Alice's cousins, they were excited, the female mainly. The male child, Max, was very professional he did what he was directed to do, at times he even suggested things to put in, which was nice. The female actor, was a little more excited, she laughed and chatted sometimes during shoot, we simply ran the camera in the hope to get the smile and flash back scenes, which we did actually get. We simply directed her to go down the stairs and smile.

During the editing stage of the project, I kind of left Jay to it, Alice was very clear about how she wanted it. At one point, several days before the deadline, I went in and had do part of the sound edit, which I didn't mind doing.

As a whole I felt we worked well as a team, there was times were people weren’t 'pulling their weight' but that was normally quite brief. On shoots everyone got involved, suggesting shots, setting up shots. The main ideas mainly came from Alice as she had a very clear vision in her head, so overall we worked great and there was real problems. Looking at the finished project, the quality of sound and picture wasn’t as good as I anticipated, which is disappointing, I like the film, I think its funny and light hearted, also I love the children’s performance, I just think some of the technical difficulties are clear.

The Semester

As for the semester overall I feel as if i've learnt a lot, more so because in this module I get the imply the techniques that I learnt in skills. With this first hand learning it became very easy to learn at my own pace, also being on a shoot with other people doing their jobs I could easily talk to them about what they're doing and how they're doing it, learning other parts such as sound too. I personally enjoyed being producer more than camera, I felt more involved with the overall project rather than just one aspect of it like on camera, or sound. I feel like I am an organised person and I enjoyed talking to people in Liverpool, organising meet ups and such a little more than having a smaller role during the drama. I also think I prefer documentary a little more than Drama, I do feel as if with drama you have a little more creative freedom, without limits you create your own idea. Overall I have enjoyed this semester, getting the opportunity to work in different creative positions, in different types of films.

Shoot #2

For the hopefully, final shoot we planned to shoot the opening scene and part of the end scene with the female actor. Setting off at around 2pm we got to Selby at 3 roughly and started shooting at half past. The actor (Alice's cousin) Max was great, he was open to sudden change and was patient while setting up. It was quite a productive shoot, we got most of what we wanted filmed apart from the school scene, were William is meant to be sat outside a school while there was a disco going on. This was not possible due to us being later finishing our other shoot and wanting to wait to get a better location rather than making something that isnt a school look like a school. Being camera operator I didn't particually run into any issues, apart from one at the start when after around 3/4 seconds the camera would bring up a message saying 'Movie Recording Stopped Automatically' inwhich we didn't understand but Jay searched through the options and found the route of the problem, which was easy to fix. 

We made sure we got some cut aways, which weren't orignally planned, Jay thought (as the editor) they could be useful to fill some of the gaps, or transitions. When filming the female child actor, also Alices cousin,  we did quite well, I wasn't particually happy with the lighting, it was all room lighting so it came out very orange and firey'. If possible this will require some attention in post production but it's only really about 10 seconds of footage. Overall it was a good shoot, now all the attention will be on editing with Jay and Shelton.

StoryBoarding.

 Being camera operator, I had a meeting with Alice and we came up with some ideas for the opening scene which I am quite happy with. So I drew these story boards help show the group and visualise what the finished piece will look like. We are quite open to changes on the day but Alice wants us to know exactly what we will shoot.

We will start not actually showing the character, we will show him walking down the stairs, doing his shoes up, zipping his coat, picking up his letter, and licking it and the back of him walking out the door. Mostly with close ups, this with the music I posted about in the previous post, will create some humours mystery surrounding the character. Most of this will be shot on a tripod, still. We chose this because he is just starting his journey, not even setting off yet, we need to keep the pace quite slow, so we can build it up later when he begins his journey, then delivers.

Unfortunately I have a previously organised commitment on the day we actually shoot the journey part of the film, but I am shooting the opening sequence and the last scenes a couple of days after in York. I chose to be camera so I can learn more about operating cameras with actors, which I haven't done much at all. Along with this, I feel I need to learn more technically with cameras, Jay, Alice and Shelton will be on location if I have any problems, so this will be a good learning opportunity to get to grips with the camera.

In terms of the physical journey I have story boarded in the top image, although I wont film some of this, I drew the story board and showed Chris (who will be filming in my place) the storyboard and the Lying To You video I showed in a previous post. So he knows what kind of style we are looking for in terms of cinematography.

Keaton Henson's 'Lying To You', Directed by Autumn De Wilde.

For this Drama project the protagonist is on a physical journey through a town, from experience in the Edale project, it is hard to capture a journey and keep the audiences attention. So I remembered this video, I am a fan myself of Keaton Henson myself, so I had seen this video before. I feel this video, directed by American photographer; Autumn De Wilde really captures an interesting way to film a journey, from a cinematography point. I like the way the director makes the location a focus point in the video as well as the travelling character. The angles facing her feet are my favourite, they really show the purpose; the journey.

This music video has really aided my problem solving. Due to there being virtually no budget for the film, we are unable to have any kind of rig, as the cinematographer would of used some kind of rig/track. The closest and cheapest way of replicating this in our style is by filming from a car. Myself and Alice will have to discuss this, but Lying To You certainly has helped overcome this issue.

The Soundtrack/Sound

Pink Martini - Let's Never Stop Falling In Love

Although being camera operator, i've had input on the different aspects of the film, Directing/producing/sound, the same applies to other people in the group. Jay suggested this as the sound track, and at first I didn't understand the suggestion but now, I couldn't imagine the film without it. At first I thought of the soundtrack being quite cheerful (as this is) but something classical, to reflect the character, I didn't have anything like this in mind but I realised this really captures the mood of the piece, light hearted and with this music, kind of poetic. Alice's script is really light hearted, cheerful and witty, and I feel this song reflects this so well, I think it should be introduced at the start, introducing the tone of the film from the off. This creates a mood/tone of the film straight away, creating a positive feel, hoping this will help the audience relate to the child.

Ella Fitzgerald - My Funny Valentine

This is another song I think would fit the tone and message of the film. It is a little show for the pace we have planned but I just thought that maybe it would suit it well. 

Once (2006)

Once stood out for me, because of its cinematography and its unconventional love story. Directed by an Irish film maker, John Carney, the film Once is set in the heart of Dublin, the main character, a busker struggling get by by playing on the streets of Dublin, meets an immigrant and from there the story is told of their eventful week, writing, making and recording music about their love.

'The formula is simple: two people, a few instruments, 88 minutes and not a single false note.' The New York Times 2007

This is a totally unconventional love story, there a no moments when definite love is obvious, no kiss, or hand holding, only through music is the love evident. Along with this type of story telling, the camera work inspires me. The majority of scenes are shot hand held, sometimes simply circling the action, with a sudden zoom or movement. Once is a very low budget film, but even with this the crew/cast manage to create something so simple and powerful.

A Wagon Fording a Stream by Peter Paul Rubens.

While visiting London I looked around the National Gallery, I found many pieces inspiring, but this in particularly stood out. I feel this captures the protagonist child; William Arthur Swift's lifestyle, or his personality. When looking at this I can imagine William Swift walking through fields desperately but proudly on his way to deliver this letter to his young love. The colours in this piece influence me also, I feel Rubens has chosen very traditional colours, almost royal colours. I feel that the colour that William should be wearing is mustard, or dark reds/crimsons. This will connate a rich background, creating a story about the child as soon as the audience looks at the character. Here art direction could dramatically change the audiences perception of our main character, I want the audience to like the character, not snobby, as the costume could imply if not picked right.

Post-it Love by Si & Ad (2008)

'Post-it Love, written and directed by British duo Simon Atkinson & Adam Townley (thus Si & Ad) is just about as close to perfection as you can get in a romantic short film. Post-it Love shows us two shy office workers looking for love but unable to say so overtly. There is some suspension of disbelief needed but these are romance shorts made for the silver screen!' http://www.filmsshort.com/genre/Romantic-Short-Films-1.html

This is a 3 minute film I found on filmshort.com, tells the story of a 'blooming office romance' presented   with no script, simply actions. I was drawn to this due to its use of performance without vocals to create a storyline that is easily understood by the audience. The two characters perform actions to create this idea of love, doing things at the same time, and the end shot (shown on the right), the male character creates this portrait out of post-it notes.  Art direction is key in this film, the use of bright colour in the dull office workspace, making the theme of love and happiness key to the audience. Obviously the story is practically told through a prop - post-it notes, this makes it easy for the director/art direction to force the narrative the way they want. This is an example of the kind of light hearted film i'd like to make, making it easy for the audience to follow. This film is an example of how the use of art direction can be used almost fuel the film.

The Script.

This is a rough script written by Alice

'(Young boy emerges from large house­)
Voice Over William:

William Arthur Swift. Aged 11. Brown hair, brown eyes. 5 Ft 2. Slightly above average height for my age. But then again my IQ is slightly above average too. I use the word slightly to retain some modesty but i can be honest i guess. My IQ WAY above average.I listen to classical music. Hobbies are for kids. I have intellectual ‘interests’. Like string theory, and psychoanalysis. The kids in my class are preoccupied with weekly disco’s and social interaction. I am interested in these things too. 

(Cut to medium long shot of awkward disco scene)

I like to sit outside the disco and monitor body language in correlation to gender, age, and time of night. I like to make graphs. Like I said, I am interested in social interaction. Just not in a way that means I have to socially interact.So basically my life is as rich as a chocolate fondant. Rich with academia and skills, not saturated fats. I have tried to integrate myself in with my class at play time. I agreed to participate in handball at lunch. 

(Cut to shot of him in playground awkwardly not catching a ball/being hit in the face with it.)

It didn't pan out how I expected. 
I like to set challenges for myself. I have this task at the moment which is pretty much the most important of my year so far. I have to deliver a letter. The few episodes of postman pat I was exposed to as an infant warned me never to trust the postal service. This is something I have to do myself to ensure maximum success. It’s for Lucy Evans. Ash blonde female, around 4 ft 1 on my table in literacy, hair smells faintly but pleasantly of strawberry laces. 

(Cut to slightly blurred close up of Lucy Evens flipping her hair)

I like her a lot. This amount of human attraction is unusual for me, a new sensation I almost dismissed before deciding it will probably enrich my intelligence if anything. If my plan works I can do tests on her, with her, whatever. I guess she has the classic good looks that statistically I should be falling for at this age, and she is probably the most intelligent of the girls in my class. Which is not saying much, but she did a very accurate sketch of a velociraptor once which impressed me. I asked her to do it after school and bring it in for me the next day. A little test before I went through with this letter thing. I needed to know she was perfect. She might have traced it but I guess if she did then that shows problem solving ability. Unable to sketch dinosaur; trace it. She did it without any question though which I liked. She must be a pragmatist. I can sketch a dinosaur. 

(looks to right of street and sees two young boys playing 'curby' 
shakes head)

They have it all wrong. For starters he's never going to hit that curb, the trajectory is way off. They are waisting their time. They'd be better off catching up on this weeks maths homework. I'm not a betting man but i'd put at least 10 pounds on that they haven't even started the sheet. And it's double sided..
Anyway, this letter is revolutionary. It is vital. I am carrying it with greater care than a mother to a child, I am suppressing my anticipation to eliminate any unwanted hand shaking or leg wobbling as to not smudge the penmanship. I will deal with those emotions later. Nearly there now, the final stretch. Lucy Evan’s door in sight. I know exactly how this will pan out, I have planned this moment every inch from the time taken to reach destination 3 minutes 45 seconds.To the exact angle I should post the letter through the box to make sure it lands face up at a right angle to the door in maximum eye line of someone walking down the stairs to collect the post. Someone like Lucy.'

I am very pleased with this script, Alice obviously has a very clear idea of what she wanted the film to be like in her head. We had a meeting to discuss the script and we have decided to have little flash backs or moments where we get to see things that William is talking about, away from the original real time narrative for example, where he talks about the children playing curby, implying he's not that interesting, we could have a shot of him getting hit in the head with the ball. Or when he talks about the dinosaur we could have shots of both dinosaur pictures (that I will draw). We are going for a light hearted film, with elements of comedy, I'm very excited to get into production.  

Drama Project - 'Roshambo' by Free People

The night before receiving the brief I had been browsing Vimeo, I came across this short film named Roshambo by a company called Free People. The film works through the ideas of star crossed lovers, with a couple reuniting over some times on a Brooklyn street, starting out as a cup of coffee and a conversation turns into an unexpected romance, this develops throughout the narrative, then the male character has to leave, with the ending leaving the audience shocked, thinking whether he left or stayed.

Image1

Image2

What drew me most to this film was how powerful it was in just 3 minutes, it left me wanting to know the ending. I also like the style of the film. The cinematography really stood out for me here, with the slow camera movement really added to the atmosphere, setting the tone, bringing out the beauty in the simplest of objects. There is a very shallow depth of field used (Image1), as you can see the director very clearly wants us to focus on the girl, this shot lingers for around 9 seconds, it moves slowly up her face and she blinks, which is in slow motion. This shot is a direct attempt to get the audience to connect with the female, allowing the audience to focus on her beauty, maybe think about what she is feeling for this man. I feel the shallow depth of field has been used for stylistic purposes, the director has very obviously stated/made a clear decision about 'this is how we're filming it'. I love the style used and being the cinematographer for my group I will discuss the style we will take when we shoot.

To the right (Image2) is one of my favourite shots in the whole film, I feel it perfectly shows the theme for the film; love. This is part of a sequence in the short film were the director makes it clear to the audience that these two people are now in a intimate relationship. Lighting is key to this scene, there are times were the the lighting is very soft, connotations of this in context of the film are tenderness and the act of falling in love. This screen shot is were the two character kiss, the camera moves down slowly to reveal a strong sun glaring into the camera, this shows the strength of the bond the two characters have, making there relationship the focus and strengthening the connection with the audience. strength

Along with the soft sounds of Lord Hurons - 'Ghost On The Shore' adds to the atmosphere of the piece, with the only real audio apart from this being the characters vocals. At the end, there is a scene were the couple are both stood next to a taxi were the male character questions whether he should be leaving. The audio here is just vehicles moving around and them talking. This is a almost silent scene even with audios, which is a strange idea, it leaves the viewer on edge.

This piece for me is incredibly inspiring, the beauty of the cinematography, performance and sound are spun together in a way that makes you connect with the character in pretty much under a minute. This powerful piece will definitely influence my style when filming  my piece.  

The Brief: Journey.

Upon getting the brief I have been thinking about the different forms of journey. For example a mental journey, through grief, depression or anxiety, then I went on to think about some sort of light hearted films with hints of humour. I am finding it quite hard to think about actual story lines relating to the brief.

This is a very brief mind map I did straight after receiving the brief.

Discloser Forms

These are part of the production folder, permission for us to film in places and with certain people

Liverpool Trip

On arrival at Liverpool we decided to use the Friday scouting our locations and continuing to find possible contacts. We found a man called Simon Wong who owns a Chinese supermarket called Hondo. Mr Wong said we could interview him the next day. We continued to look around location, we found another supermarket, the manager was not willing to be filmed, but gave us permission to film in her supermarket, so with our interview exterior shots of the street we were happen we had the permission to make a good film.

On the Saturday we got up early and went to the supermarket for our interview with Simon Wong, then for the rest of saturday and sunday we filmed the streets exterior and then the other supermarket. We also thought it would be a good idea to get some shots of the dock and surrounding area as Mr Wong talked about the war around them areas.

Call Sheets

Monday 18th

Tuesday 19th

Wednesday 20th

Liverpool Equipment List

Liverpool Documentary

Sheffield Hallam

Producer: Reece Saunderson

Director : Alice Wybrant

Pick Up: Monday 18^th February

Return: Thursday 21^st February

QTY	DESCRIPTION	NOTES
1	Canon 60D	Privately Owned (Alice Wybrant)
1	Canon 550D	Privately Owned (Chris Aitkenhead)
1	Marantz + Headphones + Batteries
1	Extension
1	Audio Technica Rifle Microphone
1	Boom pole
1	Tri-pod
1	Spare Battery

Weather

Monday





Tuesday





Wednesday




I am very happy with this outlook for the trip to Liverpool, hopefully it will provide great lighting for our outside shots. I think we should be shooting outside on the Tuesday to get the best lighting. With the 10% chance of raining on Wednesday will be bringing umbrellas and asking everyone to take the necessary chances.  

Interview Rough Plan

Plans and ideas for the interview before meeting with Alice.
We will have to consider lighting, colour and depth of field on the day.
If the background is not interest or relevant we will have to crop in closer to the subject.
Also in addition to the standard interview, I think we could get extra shots of particular details of the subject, as you see above, eyes, or hands. Whether used in the final cut or not, they could be useful.

Location Map

This is a map of the area in which we plan to do the majority of the filming. Nelson Road (Red pen) is the main street in China Town, the street with the most Chinese type aesthetic buildings and such. This will be great for our film, in addition to this in the blue is a Chinese supermarket with the owner Simon Wong, who we are interviewing. The yellow signifies another supermarket in which we have permission to film in. As you can see, all these places are close and easily accessed.

Liverpool Location

Yesterday I visited Liverpool to scout the location we are considering to choice for our documentary film and possibly to shoot a small amount of footage if there was an opportunity. The location was the China Town in Liverpool (Nelson St), ironically it was Chinese New Year. So myself, Alice and Shelton drove in the morning and arrive around half twelve. We were greeting by a church were we could hear loud drum beats, we went inside were we found a circle of barrels being hit by people, with the lead being a Chinese man in a chair, around this were people dressed as Dragons. We followed the Dragons around the town, with Shelton being the cameraman, he bought a camera just incase there were any key attractions we could shoot, unfortunately it was very busy and he wasn't actually able to put a tripod up so he had to make do with hand held work.

We went to the end of the street were theres a big gate obviously crafted in a traditional Chinese style, along with that the buildings were also in the style of traditional Chinese art. With this there were dragons careful sculpted out of stone around the street.

From this visit I am very positive that the China Town is a good location for our documentary piece, As the Producer I will now ring around seeing if we are able to have any interviews with residents, or elders surrounding the town. We aim to learn about the history of the town, and how it has developed through the generations. There are images below of the town...

The US Office

When I think Documentary, the thought of the US comedy show The Office comes into my head. All though not typically classed as a documentary, the shows use of interview techniques and handheld camera work screams documentary.

The show focuses on a paper sales company in Philadelphia called Dunder Mifflin. The fictional comedy show was inspired by the UK version. One reason I do in fact class the show as a documentary is the style it is filmed. The filming of The Office is set up to the audience with there being someone filming and documenting the day to day workings of a conventional Philadelphia office. The boss, Michael Scott is the main protagonist in the show, along with other key characters, Dwight, Jim and Pam.

One key feature in the show are the interviews with the employees, the framing is very stereotypical of a documentary , with the character just left of the centre, with the background of the working offices, reminding the audience that it is in fact about the working company. The camera work is mainly handheld when not in interviews, this re-enforcers the idea that it is a documentary. The camera work at times is quick, moving from one character to another in conversations. In addition in scenes were walking/running is a focus, the cinematographer makes no effort to steady the camera, this gives the audience a sense of space or reality. Almost thrusting them in there world, creating a sense of 'real life', which is interesting in the sense that this television programme is fiction, posing as an office that genuinely exist.

The Office does make me think about documentaries as a whole, along with academic writing that i've already read. I always thought that documentaries portray real life’s, commenting on realist events or situations, this opinion has now changed, the view that the director takes on a situation isn’t always the one of truth. I've come to realise that Documentary film could be as fiction as Sci-Fi film, this genre works on opinion, including facts isn’t always mandatory.

'Up There' by Malcolm Murray

Up There is a documentry about the art around New York City, particually advertisement that are still painted onto building instead of stuck on with paper, they discribe how dangerous it is. I chose this film mainly because of its cinematography. Opening with a panning shot of the city, the film clearly has a scene, the film constantly cuts from shots of painting, the city and interviews. I love the depth of field used. For example on the interview shown in the top picture, you see every single detail in his face, with the background barely visible. The main focus is him, the director has made a clear decision for the depth of field to be so shallow, also to have the man framed quite tight in the shot, you can see all the expression and emotion in the mans face, really feeling connected to what he does/did and how he felt about it.

One particular angle I like is the one to the left. The camera is positioned above the subjects with the focus being on the paintbrush. This clearly gives the viewer an idea of the concentration and reinforces the idea that it is in fact a type of art. One other thing is that it gives a sense of depth, hence the 'depth of field'. So it is clear that the workers work at a height, the use of depth of field also reinforces this. 

The style of this short documentary is very stylistic, with the use of interesting and dramatic camera angles and shallow depth of field. The great panning shots of the city really do give the depth of life there and especially in the third shot, it gives you a sense of space. The interviews in this short are in my opinion great, they give a sense of realism, with the 'nitty gritty' detail. This film has really inspired me in terms of artistic direction. 

'Wait For Me' by Ross Kauffman

I decided to search through Vimeo, to find other film makers documentaries, maybe shorts or students. I came across a film called 'Wait For Me'. Its a simple film, narrated by a mother. It follows the story of the mothers emotional search for her son who traveled across Europe in the hope to find a 'spiritual connection' to help him carry on living, the son is said to have travelled through India, then disappeared in the Himalayas.

I found this film particularly emotional and almost difficult to watch, not because of its visuals, but mostly because of the sound, and how genuine this woman sounded when describing her son, so I thought it was important to write about. The film uses some 'talking head' but it is mostly voice over, while visually they showed closeups of a letter the son wrote, and footage of the male when he was younger.

This shot is particularly intimate, you feel physically closer to the person, due to how close the camera is. I don't think this is a conventional interview. The camera is zoomed in much closer to the subject, making it more personal, conveying the emotional much more. Almost making you feel or attempting to get the audience to connect with her feelings a lot more than framing an conventional interview would do.

This is a shot I took of when she was reading, I feel it signifies something much more than just reading. Particularly the material that has been chosen for this shot. The hand writing makes it a lot more personal also. Generally the director is really making an effort to get the audience to understand this woman's pain and unconditional love for her missing son.

With all these other shots of the males mother, half the film is made up of footage of the male when he was little and some when he was older. Again this creates a connection, making the video more personal. The audience are able to understand what this woman has lost.  But at the same time you can understand their love, and almost telling you that this make was a nice man.

This is the ending shot, I've noticed it is very conventional for there to be a almost 'summary' at the end of the film, reminding the audience or in some cases keeping them up to date with what has happened since filming has taken place. Along with all these shots and the voice over of the woman, there is music in the background, mainly piano, which is quite sad, this is important to set the tone of the film.

Liverpool Documentary

After looking at the brief, I am very excited to start this project. I have started to research types/techniques of documentary films. When I think 'Documentary', my initial thoughts are of Louis Therioux's series of documentaries surrounding interesting groups and individuals of the world, also the US hit comedy The Office. Thinking and researching into this, documentaries take many different forms  . Is a documentary truly a true depiction of reality? I think, after research that with the act of editing in place, documentaries can never be true or factual, the editor or director picks and choices what an audience is shows, portraying a point of view of opinion. This type of film are not that different to fiction films, that simply comment on the real world, or take ideas and expand on aspects of life. Documentaries are very dependant of the audience believing or gaining the audience's trust, this is key to creating a good documentary, involving the audience to gain their trust.
There are different types of Documentary -

• Compilation - Pioneered in 1927, this type of documentary are comprised of entirely authentic archival footage.
• Direct Cinema - This type of cinema is were the director or any of the crew do not interfere with any of the footage or stage. Nothing is staged, it's as it worded, a direct way to film. 
• Nature - Concentrating on the natural world, this type of documentry focuses on the nature of the world, very informative.
• Portait 

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