Project Evaluation

On reflecting on this last film project, I have concluded that the process did not come without some major difficulties; both creative and personal. The initial ideas process was probably the most productive part of the whole process. Once the initial confusion of the project was dealt with, we began to come up with some good ideas, influenced by some very inspirational material. We went through quite a productive ideas process. It turned out that we had some pretty similar ideas, we all wanted to create a piece that raised awareness and showed love and respect to our common people. My first influence was from a project run by Subaru car company, about donating a certain amount of their profits in order to benefit all different kinds of charities and individuals. Another member of my group provided his influences from a viral video, highlighting the dangers that come from smoking, and how important it is to take care of our health for the benefit of themselves and those around them; the base idea was to concentrate on helping and respecting others.

Our final idea came down to focusing on the misfortune of those who have found themselves to be homeless; we wanted to gather peoples opinions on why these people have run into such troubles, and what we can do as individuals, as well as in society as a whole.

Practically, the process of producing our piece came with quite a few hurdles to overcome. In our first filming session, we encountered problems mainly surrounding the weather. It was incredibly windy, raining, and the lighting was all over the place due to the time of day. Because of this, we found it difficult to get people to actually stop and talk to us. This first session wasn’t very well planned, and the questions we asked were just off the top of our heads. We needed to go back and plan our filming sessions more thoroughly, so they were more structured and productive. 

After going back and planning more thoroughly, we decided that Chelsea and Aidan would go back out and film, and Kayleigh and I were to edit it all together. The second filming session was somewhat more successful; we had planned out our questions, and the filming was done at a more appropriate time of day. Unfortunately, some of our sound footage was lost and we had no choice but to either cut out the whole interview with that particular person, or use the sound which was captured on the onboard mic. In our presentation, it was pointed out that this was the wrong decision; we did not realise how much the surrounding noise effected what was being said. Added to this was some music which we thought would be appropriate, which actually turned out to be unproductive and unnecessary; for this reason, it was cut out of our film. There was also the fact that we had a lot of text in our film, and the pace of it made it rather difficult for people to take in what we were trying to say. Because of the tight deadline, we decided to just lay this over the images, as we didn’t want to cut it out completely; but it wasn’t visually acceptable to us. 

Another problem encountered was more to do with personal differences; a certain member of our group took on the role of the leader, but did not provide a lot of leeway for other people’s input. I think lack of communication was our downfall and what ultimately led to us not being pleased with our final edit. 

Overall, I think our final project could have been a lot stronger, but certain factors, including planning, editing and personal problems led to our work not being of the standard that we all would have liked. 

Change The World - Final Edit

Change The World from Katherine Muldowney on Vimeo.

Difficulties

Practical Difficulties 

The way we decided to film our project posed quite a few practical problems for us. Interviewing people that we didn't know, in the middle of a busy town centre proved to be incredibly challenging. Various factors prevented us from gathering the right looking footage and responses that we were aiming for. As mentioned in a previous post, the weather in each session turned out to be one of the biggest challenges we had to overcome. Filming outdoors was always going to be difficult; weather and lighting is obviously unpredictable, and the times which we allocated to be filmed turned out to either be raining, extremely windy, over-cast, and the lighting changed as we filmed later into the evening. We also found because of this, people were rather unwilling to stop and talk to us. Especially at the time of day when people were wanting to get home after work. We plan to go out and re-film a lot of our footage at more suitable times of the day, in order to overcome this problem. But we really want to stick with this as part of our idea, so it's vital that we're able to find a different method. 

Editing

Even though we are beginning to learn through practice, using Avid media composer is still proving to be a huge challenge when it comes to editing our footage. It is an on-going process, but I think we're just going to have to persist in order to learn how to use the software.

Personal Differences

Working with people that we don't know it always going to provide challenges, and personal differences are almost unavoidable. I've found that myself and another member of my group have definitely encountered some personal and creative differences. Although I appreciate it is important to have someone who is comfortable leading the group to provide guidance and direction, but I feel as though this particular person has completely taken over the project and is not allowing any input from the rest of the group. Admittedly, because of this, I have begun to lose all interest in this project. I am going to try not to let this effect my input into our work, but it is proving to be quite a challenge as we have been working quite separately and communication between us is low. I do not want our personal issues to effect the grade for the rest of the group, so I am trying to put these differences aside.  

Interview filming techniques

Having had a previously unsuccessful first film session, and little experience with filming interviews, I felt it was important to do some research into the proper conventions for filming in the proper style for interviews. This includes having structured questions, determining a suitable locations, framing and camera angles and actually recording the interviews; I think this article from the university of Virginia's digital library, helped me to get to know the proper conventions for interview filming.

Interviews

Contributor(s): Nelson Walker, David Germano.

Introduction

Filming an interview is more than just filming someone answering questions. It requires a good interviewer, who understands the social aspects of interviewing and can make the interviewee feel at ease. 

Select Interviewee

First find a suitable Interviewee. The best interviewees are passionate and articulate when they speak. If you get bored listening to someone, chances are the audience for you film will be bored too!

If it’s possible to do so, have the Interviewee sign an Appearance Release before you begin filming. If it’s not possible, do it after the interview. An Appearance Release gives you permission to use the footage you shoot.

Decide on your Questions

Generate a list of questions to ask. What information do you want viewers to learn from the person you have chosen? Try to think of open-ended questions rather than ones that produce yes or no answers. 

Determine the Location

Think about where you will conduct the interview. How can the background communicate additional information about the person you are interviewing? Also take into account the proper lighting and sound that the place will allow.

Arrange to film your subject in the place you have chosen to conduct the interview.

Framing your Camera Angle

Position the person to achieve a shot that looks good to you. Make sure you can see the person’s face.

• The conventional framing for an interview is in a medium close-up (MCU, from center of the chest to the head). Sometimes we also see them framed in close-ups, medium shots, and wide shots. Demonstrate each shot by drawing it.
• Many people feel it is awkward or amateurish to leave too much headroom at the top of the frame. In a medium close-up, the eyes are positioned 1/3 of the way down the frame, which leaves little to no headroom. Demonstrate by drawing.
• The background you choose for an interview can make a shot more informative and is therefore very important. Try to pick a background that reinforces the content of the interview or tells us something about the subject. Try not to position the interviewee in front of a window.

Other compositions include:

• Medium Shot (MS): From the waist to the head.
• Close-Up (CU): Only the head and face
• A Note on Wide Shots (WS): A wide shot emphasizes the space instead of the subject. In many cases, the subject’s whole body is included in the frame. Wide shots are generally not appropriate for interviews because we cannot easily see the Interviewee’s expression. There are, however, times where a wide shot is appropriate for an interview. When there is something of special importance in the background, and it cannot be framed in a closer shot, then it is appropriate to use a wide shot for the interview.

If you are shooting more than one interview in the same place, try to alternate where you place Interviewee in the frame, from left to right.

In addition to the interview itself, it can be useful to get other shots:

• B-Roll: Are images that the editor will cut together over the Interviewee’s voice. Usually they relate to the subject being discussed by the Interviewee. For example, if the Interviewee is discussing the architecture of the Potala, then you would want t get some shots of the entire building, as well as close-ups that illustrate the finer details.
• Cutaways: These are usually Close-Up shots recorded with a second camera (if one is available). Cutaways isolate details about the Interviewee, such as hand movements or facial expressions. The purpose for taking cutaways is to give the editor more choices.

Setting up for Shooting

• Find a suitable background to place the interviewee in front of. The background is your chance to make the shot more informative. It should either reinforce the content of the interview, or echo the character of the interviewee.
• Set up your camera and position the Interviewee against the background. This is perhaps the most difficult part of filming interviews. Here are some tips:
  • Always make sure that the Interviewee is brighter than the background. If the background is too bright, then the Interviewee’s face will be too dark. Here are some additional tips for avoiding too bright a background:
    • Never position the Interviewee with a window (or other light source) behind him/her. If you can, try to have the Interviewee facing toward the window (or light source)
    • If you are outside, film with the sun at the Interviewee’s back. Use the PhotoFlex to bounce light into their face. This will eliminate “Raccoon Eyes”.
  • Position the Interviewee. Place the Interviewee slightly off center.
  • Position the Interviewer. If the Interviewee is on the RIGHT side of the image, position the Interviewer on the LEFT side of the camera. If the Interviewee is on the LEFT side of the image, position the Interviewer on the RIGHT side of the camera. In either case, the Interviewer should sit or stand as close to the camera as possible.
  • Tell the Interviewee to always look at the Interviewer, and never directly into the camera.
  • The camera should be positioned at or just below eye level of the Interviewee.
  • Once you are satisfied with the image, you can begin the interview.

Starting Recording

Make sure your sound is clean.

You are now ready to begin filming. Ask your subject if he or she is ready. Press record on the camera. It should roll for a few seconds before you begin to speak.

Recording

• The camera operator should always start recording button before the Interviewer begins asking questions. To guarantee this, Interview should NEVER start asking questions until the camera operator gives the signal.
• The camera operator should not move the camera or use the zoom while the Interviewee is speaking, unless there is reason to do so. If you want to change the image size, do your adjusting while the Interviewer is asking his or her next question. Some appropriate times to move the camera or zoom during an interview are:
  • If the Interviewee starts becoming emotional: It is appropriate to zoom in here so we can see the Interviewee’s face in more detail.
  • If the Interviewee moves while he/she is speaking: It is appropriate to move the camera to keep a good composition
  • If the Interviewee points to something off screen: Sometimes it is appropriate to zoom out to keep the hand movements in the frame. Use your own judgment.
• Always pay close attention to the sound in the headphones. Watch out for distracting background noises. Change locations if you have to. If there is an unexpected background noise that overpowers the Interviewee’s response, have the Interviewer ask the question again.
• Never stop recording until at least 10 seconds after the Interviewee has stopped talking. You never know – they might add something important. You also need to give the editor a little bit of extra time so they have enough footage to make the cut in the right place.

Additional Footage

• During the interview, try to get cutaways of the intervieweeʼs hand or other

details. A good time to do this is between questions, or by asking some less important questions at the beginning or end.

• Try to communicate a sense of the space that the Interviewee is in. Show its

mood, nature, and characters with wide-shots and detail shots.

• Get some footage of the character in action. For example, if you are interviewing

a shopkeeper, you might want to get some observational footage of a transaction with a customer. It is helpful to think in terms of beats. You may want to capture him/her greeting a customer, helping with their items, money changing hands, and the customerʼs response. Get a variety of shot types (wide, medium, close).

• If the subject talks about anything specific, try to capture it in a natural way.

Interviewer Guidance

Begin the interview. Feel free to use your list as a guide for the questions. Here are some pointers:

• Are you comfortable and sitting at the same level as your subject?
• Can you hear the subject?
• Are you showing respect?
• Are you asking clear, short questions?
• Are you asking leading questions - does your question suggest an answer that is more than “yes, no, or I don’t know”? Never ask questions that produce “yes or no” answers. Instead ask open-ended questions. Yes and No answers are almost never useful in final film.
• Remind the Interviewee to speak in full sentences. Ask the Interviewee to repeat him/herself if necessary.
• Do not speak over the end of the Interviewee’s answer. Similarly, tell the Interviewee not to begin talking until you are done asking your question.
• Are you listening to what your subject is saying, and asking good follow-up questions based on the answers they have just given?
• Are you allowing enough time for the person to answer?
• Try to be silent in your acknowledgement while your subject is responding, by nodding or smiling, so that your voice doesn’t get recorded over the answer (don’t say “yes” or “uh-huh”). Whatever sounds you make will be picked-up by the microphone. But if it is necessary, feel free to respond verbally.
• Is the interview flowing well, or does it jump from one subject to another without purpose?
• How does it sound? It may be worth doing a sound check before recording too much. Play back the tape and listen with headphones. Is there wind or too much background noise?
• Does it look as if your subject is enjoying the interview?
• Are you relaxed and maintaining eye contact? Maintain eye contact with the Interviewee at all times. This will prevent them from looking into the camera and keep them looking in the proper direction.
• Is your body language appropriate?
• Help the Interviewee to feel at ease. If he or she is nervous, it will show on camera.

Concluding the Interview

Continue to roll at least 10 seconds after the interviewee answers the last question.

When you are finished with interview, thank your subject and replay the tape for him or her.

Final Idea

Our final idea is to interview the public on their opinions and thoughts about homeless people and their circumstances. We planned to ask questions which were,

• Please generalise your thoughts on homelessness

• How do you think the government are helping

• Do you think the government and councils are helping enough?

• What could you do to help the homeless?

• Would you rather give a homeless person money, or take them for something to eat?

Finally after we asked each interviewee 3 questions each we planned to ask one question which we asked everyone. In-between the interviews the idea is to show clips of buskers, homeless people and the general public. I feel that this film would shine better with the fact it is Christmas and the cold weather will kill some of them. I think this will make the film hit home a lot more to the audience.

Change the world- Initial Ideas

My first thoughts on the project were to look at how we love each other as a community, and as people all part of one world. This video which I have taken inspiration from, explores the concept of doing something simple to make someones day; something as small as giving a meal to someone in need, spending time with someone who is lonely, taking care of sheltered animals or changing the life of a child afflicted with some kind of illness. The "Share the love' programme, established by the Subaru car company, donates money to all different charities every time somebody buys one of there cars. Despite the fact that the money is provided by a huge corporation, I think the idea of doing something for someone you don't know, just to make them smile, is a really special and amazing way to change the world, and would be a really interesting subject to base our film on. 



On meeting with the rest of my group, they brought to the table some interesting ideas, pretty similar to my own. Having discussed and planned over a few days, we finally decided on two potential ideas. 

1. The first idea we decided to try and develop, was to go into the city centre and film one of us approaching a member of the elderly population, and having a simple conversation with them. The aim of this was to raise awareness of the struggles that elderly people face during the winter months; not having enough money to keep themselves warm and comfortable in the cold; all too often, we see stories of gas and electricity companies putting their prices up during the winter, and people on a fixed pension are not able to cope with this rise in heating costs. We hear about people freezing to death in their own homes, which we all agree should not be a regular occurrence in this day and age. Their could be some ethical problems with this idea; some people may feel they are being stereotyped; we realise that this is not something that the entire elderly population is afflicted by, and we don't really want to cause offence by asking the wrong person. 

2. Another idea was to film Aidan taking a homeless person for a hot meal or a drink, and just simply talking to them. The idea behind this was to give somebody there dignity back, not having to search and beg for there next meal or to be turned away from a shop or a restaurant because of prejudice or stereotypes. We wanted to find out there side of the story, after all, it's there story to tell. All to often people jump to the conclusion that people are on the streets due to there own fault, which may be the case for some people, but it's unfair to assume this applies to everyone we see struggling on the street.  The only troubles I see with this could see with this idea, is that being homeless is not something many people would be proud of. It may be difficult for somebody to appear in a film knowing that there are potentially going to be people judging and criticising them. But it is definitely something we would like to potentially develop. 

Filming techniques – Both ideas would be filmed by myself and two other members of my group, stood at different distances and angles around Aidan and whoever he was talking to, Aidan suggested that we should film this in a way where the subject doesn’t know they are being filmed, although, this could be very risks and potentially could be seen as being unethical. The reason however for filming this way, would be to get a full, realistic, and natural reaction. If we do decide to go down this route, it will be important to afterwards get the correct permission and release forms from whoever we end up interviewing. 

Change the world project

Brief

On first hearing about this project, I was more than unclear about what was actually being asked of us; the title 'Change the world' seemed pretty vague to me. There were so many ways that this could easily become a cliche, environmental information video. The ideas posted on the brief seemed like they may have been a little over-done, and in order to complete this project to a high standard we needed a good solid idea that we knew we could do well.
We needed to get into groups of four, and the final production needed to be between two and two and a half minutes long. Getting a good idea that could convey a message in the short time-frame seemed to be quite a challenge to me, especially as I wanted our group to move away from the usual subjects.

Our Group and Roles 

I found it very difficult to get a group together, partially due to the fact that i've yet to get to know many people in my group, and partially through my own fault of not finding out about the brief until later on. Luckily there were others in a similar situation to my own, and we managed to form a group between us. Kayleigh, Aidan, Chelsea and I got together in person and over Facebook chat to discuss our ideas and roles. Although we all planned to help each other, we decided on these roles for ourselves;

Aidan- Director
Chelsea- Camera
Kayleigh- Editing
Myself- Sound

Aidan immediately took charge of the project, he had prepared some very interesting, and challenging ideas at this point, which we have chosen to further develop.