Evaluation

Extended Project- Documentary

Evaluation

The Process

When we were given the task to create a documentary, my immediate thoughts were that I wanted my subject to be based on religion, as it is a subject I am interesting in learning about. The initial idea was that the documentary would be about five different beliefs of the world, including strange and unheard of beliefs, along with the more conventional and popular beliefs of Christianity and Atheism. After some consideration I decided that it would be best to change the five beliefs to three, using Christianity and Atheism, and one other, more taboo belief. Scientology seemed like the best choice as it is becoming more and more popular, yet still holds some mystery to it. I wanted to create a documentary that would also incorporate the theme of being judged based on your belief, and inform the audience about them. I began first researching into the history of documentary, where the origin of documentary comes from and how different forms have been created over the years, to become the modern documentary. I also analysed five different documentaries some that included the subject of religion, so that I could understand how they are put together. I also looked into the codes and conventions of documentary, finding out what a typical documentary includes so that mine will be successful. I will include the key codes and conventions such as: voiceover, archive footage and text to anchor images.

I conducted a questionnaire into audience, so I could find out who my target audience would be ad found that a youthful audience would be ideal, as they would prefer to watch a short documentary about religion.

Once I had researched into documentary, I began to look into the three beliefs, finding out as much information as possible that has relevance to what my documentary will be about. I looked into the history of the beliefs, as well as famous faces of those beliefs. I began coming up with a few questions that I could ask people of these beliefs, that would reveal more information and follow the theme of being judged. Then I began the planning of the documentary as a whole, producing a storyboard that included all of the elements I had looked into, including footage I had found online. Once I had done all of this I produced a list of the final questions, and wrote the ‘Poetry Standoff’. Whilst preparing the documentary I found the different people to take part in my documentary that included organising the filming, and e-mailing the Scientologist.

I then began filming and editing the documentary which proved a long and difficult process to work on a project individually that would be around ten minutes long. I experienced many problems and changes.

Problems and Changes

There were a few problems regarding the making of my documentary, including the difficulty of using the belief Scientology. I had to use very persuasive e-mails in order to get Christian Harland an executive at the church to participate in the documentary. As I was unable to film, I had to find an interesting way to put his answers on screen, so I did this by having his answers type onto screen.

Another problem I had was with the audio levels of the documentary, and after excessive editing, I still think this is something that could have been improved on.

The different changes I made were adding a Kings of Leon clip to the Christian section as I found there was too much of a bias towards Atheism. I also changed the footage of the church because it was too unclear, and edited the Christian footage to vary the camera shots. I then decided to change the order of the Atheism footage, so that it linked and connected together more.

The Final Product

I am happy with how the documentary turned out to some extent, as I think it has fulfilled the targets I had set for myself. I think the documentary shows and portrays the three beliefs in a varied bias, and the found footage is unique and relevant to the subject matter. I think I could have handled the production of the documentary better, in terms of time management and the planning process, however I think that the documentary is successful in terms of it’s purpose: to inform and to entertain. I also think that it would appeal to my target youthful audience because of the different clips I have added.

If I were to do the documentary again, I would make sure I planned the whole process better and completed a proper schedule. I would also change the settings of some of the Christian scenes to be more relevant to its subject.

Overall, although there are things I would change and do better, I have learnt a lot from this project in terms of how long a product of this length takes and what working to a deadline would be like in the media industry.

UPDATE

2nd and 3rd Week of September

After filming the Atheism and Christian sections, I have finally got my answers for my documentary that I need from the Scientologist which I will add in the form of typing titles. Then I will finally edit it all together along with the found footage.

4th Week of September

I will have a meeting with my teacher about any changes that should be made to my final documentary.

1st, 2nd and 3rd Week of October

I have now filmed all sections for my documentary and edited to create my final project.

The process was difficult and I had a few problems along the way, please refer to portfolio.

I am happy with how the documentary has turned out, although if I were to do it again there are a few things that I would change, i.e. time management, audio levels on the documentary and setting. I also think that I didn't do very well updating my blog and portfolio as I went along, and instead spent too long on the production and editing of the documentary itself.

I then continued to work on my portfolio,which I have now completed.

I have also completed my evaluation and made a presentation to present to the rest of my group.

UPDATE

3rd and 4th Week in June 09

As I have been on study leave for the last few weeks I will now begin filming. I will be filming the Atheist section this week and will continue on to edit the footage I have gathered.

1st Week in July 09

I have now filmed the Atheist section of my documentary and have begun to edit and put it all together. I think that the filming went well and I am beginning to see the documentary come together.

I am happy with how this process is going and I will be filming the Christian section this week.

2nd and 3rd Week in July 09

I will be editing the footage I have gathered so far, with the found footage. I will begin starting the Scientology section when I return after the holidays.

UPDATE

1st Week of May

I have finished my research into the 3 different beliefs and have found footage from the internet that I can use as part of my documentary. I have also finished the storyboard which will hopefully link the beliefs to each other.

2nd Week in May 09

I am still having difficulty getting the information for my Scientology section, as I have now been in e-mail contact with a Scientologist. He is very cautious towards the documentary and therefore refuses to be filmed, however I will continue to try and get answers from him.

I have also arranged to film the 2 Christians and the Atheist for my documentary.

3rd Week in May 09

I am having a meeting with my teacher to show all my different ideas and all the research I have conducted so far, as well as the storyboard and script.

UPDATE

3rd and 4th Week in March 09

I have decided to change my documentary from 5 beliefs to 3, because I want to focus on Christianity, Atheism and Scientology.

I have been having trouble finding people to take part in the documentary, therefore I have made the decision to base my documentary on: Atheism, Scientology and Christianity. I think these are important in the world today and I want to gain an insight on each of them and to share the information with others.

I have had no reply from the scientology department in Birmingham, so I have emailed them asking once again for information and participation in the documentary. I have written the questions I will put forward to the people taking part and I have also co-written with the Atheist and Christian, the poetry standoff.

I have also had a meeting with my teacher about how the planning process is going and what I plan to do for my documentary

I have also conducted a questionnaire into Audience, so I know who my documentary will be aimed at.

1st and 2nd Week in April 09

I am now writing the script for my documentary and will continue on to complete my storyboard for the documentary.

I will then find my locations for filming, as well as continuing my research on the subjects.

UPDATE

I have been researching into different documentaries and analyzing them in order to get an idea of what documentaries entail and what they include. My five documentaries are: Reverend Death, The End of the World Cult, Louis Theroux: Most Hated Family, The Seven Ages of Love and Dave Gorman: America Unchained. I chose these documentaries because I think most of them have a similar subject topic to what I want my documentary to be about. 

I have also looked at the codes and conventions of documentaries.

I have decided my beliefs will be Scientology, Atheism and Christianity and maybe 2 others. I am now researching thoroughly into these and will continue to do so, until i decide on the questions i will be asking.

I have written a letter to the Scientology department in Birmingham asking if there is someone who can take part in my documentary. I have also found an atheist and a christian to take part and I am currently looking for 2 more people who 2 different beliefs who can take part as well.

25/02/09

Today we decided individually the topic we wish to base our documentary on and we created a mind map with all our ideas. My idea for a documentary is to show 5 different beliefs/cults of the world. For e.g. Trekkies, Googlists and Scientologists and how they perceive the world and how some are discriminated for who they are.

I have now completed my initial project proposal form for what my documentary will be about.

History of Documentary

Documentary films have reflected attitudes and driven changes in British society for a century.

Origins of documentary can be traced back to early photography and the nineteenth century print journalism and the eighteenth century graphic cartoons.

Documentary emerged around 1906 and from then documentary films was quickly established as a genre.

The theme focused on the culture of British working life and particularly the working classes.

In the 1920’s and 30’s, documentaries were mainly funded by the government and it’s national agencies, such as the Ministries of Transport, Trade, Information, the General Post Office and Empire Marketing Board.

Pre-1990's

John Grierson used the term documentary in 1926 to refer to any nonfiction film medium. They were single-shot moments captured on film: a train entering a station, a boat docking, or factory workers leaving work. Early film (pre-1900) was dominated by the novelty of showing an event. These short films were called "actuality" films. (The term "documentary" was not coined until 1926.) Very little storytelling took place before the turn of the century, due mostly to technological limitations, namely, that movie cameras could hold only very small amounts of film. Thus, many of the first films, such as those made by Auguste and Louis Lumière, are a minute or less in length.

1900-1920

Travelogue films were very popular in the early part of the 20th century. Some were known as "scenics". Scenics were among the most popular sort of films at the time. Early color motion picture processes such as Kinemacolor and Prizmacolor used travelogues to promote the new color process. (In contrast, Technicolor concentrated primarily on getting their process adopted by Hollywood studios for fictional feature films.)Also during this period Frank Hurley's documentary film, South (1919), about the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, was released. It documented the failed Antarctic expedition led by Ernest Shackleton in 1914.

1920's- 1940

The propagandist tradition consists of films made with the explicit purpose of persuading an audience of a point. One of the most notorious propaganda films is Leni Riefenstahl's film Triumph of the Will. Leftist filmmakers Joris Ivens and Henri Storck directed Borinage about the Belgian coal mining region. Luis Buñuel directed a "surrealist" documentary Las Hurdes.

1950-1970

Cinéma vérité (or the closely related direct cinema) was dependent on some technical advances in order to exist: light, quiet and reliable cameras, and portable sync sound.

Cinéma vérité and similar documentary traditions can thus be seen, in a broader perspective, as a reaction against studio-based film production constraints. Shooting on location, with smaller crews, would also happen in the French New Wave, the filmmakers taking advantage of advances in technology allowing smaller, handheld cameras and synchronized sound to film events on location as they unfolded.

Modern Documentaries

Box office analysts have noted that this film genre has become increasingly successful in theatrical release with films such as Super Size Me, March of the Penguins,and An Inconvenient Truth among the most prominent examples. Compared to dramatic narrative films, documentaries typically have far lower budgets which makes them attractive to film companies because even a limited theatrical release can be highly profitable.

Codes and Conventions

There is normally a voiceover, which will usually be authorative in some way and encourage the audience to think they have some sort of knowledge on the subject.

A convention of documentary is that all events presented to us are seen as ‘real’ by the audience.

Editing and voiceovers can often alter the reality that we are supposedly seeing. Jumpcuts are used a lot.

There is also typical use of natural sounds and settings.

Often, there are uses of archive footage to aid authenticity.

Interviews are key to documentaries and usually the filmmaker will disprove of them in some way. There will always be some sort of bias.

Text will be used to anchor images and to give a sense of time and place.

Non-diegetic sound can be used as a bridge between scenes and can often reflect the mood at the time of the documentary or have some link with the subject discussed.

Set-ups are also used to re-enact typical images we would expect to see. For example, a documentary based in a school, a set-up might be used to show children raising their hands.

Visual coding- Mise en scene can make a person more obvious to the audience, for e.g. a cleaner wearing an overall, gives the audience a clue to who they are. They must look like their occupation.