Evaluation and Bibliography - Drama/Documentary

Sheffield Hallam University
Film and Media Production
Drama and Documentary Project Evaluation 

Megan Crawford 22010162 

Word Count: 1901

     The first project module of the second semester was a documentary module in which we had to film on a course trip to Liverpool; which tested our abilities to work with people we hadn't previously worked with before in a restricted time space which required good organisation on behalf of our producer and director - Paul and Chris - who had prepared everything in advance from equipment (Canon XF100 and Nikon D3100) to detailed shot lists we discussed in group meetings prior to the Liverpool residential. My primary role was cinematographer. 

    Our idea was established late on in the process of planning; just a couple of days before we were to pitch it. It revolved initially around The Blue Coat which is a hub for independent creative industries. In our further research, we discovered Michael Phoenix, a man who carves violins by hand in the traditional Stradivari style. Once we decided to focus our attention on him and gained permissions from Michael (eager to participate to advertise his latest project), we all met up regularly to plan; everyone was aware of what was happening and we all contributed equally. 

In terms of problems with filming in Liverpool, when we arrived back in Sheffield, we listened back to the sounds we recorded whilst there and noticed some vital ones were missing. We found out that various groups had similar issues with the zoom microphones so we were unsure if it was the equipment itself or our own doing. Regardless of this, four of us (Paul, Joe, Chris and I) made the decision to return to Liverpool to re-record the lost footage and take even more for a potential longer cut of the documentary to send to festivals if we felt what we had was strong enough. 

For the second project module, we were assigned to make a short drama with the theme "Journey". This is the same theme we had for our first production skills task in Edale so it meant we could apply the camera and sound techniques we learnt in that along with establishing a journey through narrative and character development. In terms of finding a group, I chose to be in a group with people I've work with on projects outside of university and we established an idea early on. However, we were informed that we must be in a group with people we haven't work with yet which was slightly disappointing as I feel as though I have already found people who I share creative interests with. Nonetheless, I understand it is important within the film industry to work with people who you may not share the same style of work. 

The final group we established was made up of Emily, Ryan, Jamie, Thomas, Olivier and I. We also had to change our roles from the documentary project so Emily and I chose to edit both the image and sound together as we live with each other. In comparison to the well planned documentary project, the drama felt like the opposite at the beginning of the process. This was a culmination of us all having to change from our previous ideas and groups and trying to work well together even though we barely knew each other. But ultimately, it was a lack of group meetings, various actors dropping out of filming and us being unable to hire equipment out when needed, which set us back in the editing process, leaving us just a week to put everything together. 

Nonetheless, in the timescale we had left, we worked together efficiently to finish the project on time; an idea which began as a grumpy elderly man whose carer (or granddaughter) visits them regularly since his wife passed away. He hold close to him a bag of marbles that they played with as young children. In a heated argument with his carer, the marbles go missing and he ventures from his house on a quest to find them. The carer follows, realising he has been accidentally dropping them from his pocket the entire time; the last shot being of the two of them holding hands, bridging the gap between the older and younger generation. Unfortunately, due to our bad luck with actors, we had to adapt and mould the idea - because the actress we managed to get hold of is 39 - so we changed it into a mother daughter relationship with a similar theme which works just as well. 

In terms of influences for the documentary project, I was mostly influenced by Of Time and the City (Terence Davies), in particular paying attention to the mood and tone set in the church sequence, with the warmth and colour he created. In finding out that Michael Phoenix works by candlelight when the natural daylight goes, I thought creating a similar look would work well; using no artificial lighting in order to capture him in his natural surroundings in the flicker of the candelight with shadows being cast around the room. Other influences included Stradivari and Me - Secret Knowledge (Katy Homan) and The Archive (Sean Dunne). The Stradivari documentary was useful to me for my independent research on the art of violin making and the history within. The Archive was an influence for me as a look into a more captivating interview set up within a documentary. 

For the drama project, my two main influences were The Piano (Aiden Gibbons) and Up (Pete Doctor, Bob Pierson) because they both create similar moods and narrative that we wanted to achieve. The Piano is a short animation, in which an elderly man shoes his life and memories with his deceased wife through their shared passion for the piano - creating a heartfelt piece for the viewer which what we wanted to achieve  with the elderly man and his love for marbles  and the memories they hold. Up is an influence for the piece due to the main character - helping with both our character and narrative development; especially with bridging the gap between the younger and older generation, the example being the growing relationship between Carl and Russell. We were also influenced by the director Michael Haneke, wanting to create a singular shot of a conversation to fill up the first half of the drama project, in which during the argument between mother and daughter, the audience becomes unaware of her putting the marbles in her pocket. This is influenced in particular by Amour (2012) through Haneke's use of mise-en-scene. 

What worked well the most in the documentary project was the team effort and communication. Even when we arrived back in Sheffield, to a lack of sound - although disappointing - we quickly came to the conclusion of returning. There were no disagreements and after the project was over we all felt deflated and have since agreed to work together on projects outside of university. We have also agreed to work together on putting a longer edit to submit to festivals and another version for Michael Phoenix to use on his website. If I were to improve on an aspect of this project, I would have perhaps chosen a specific focal point of the documentary earlier on. Instead, we spent the time asking about the specific processes within violin making and his project and realised just before we returned to Liverpool and we wanted to focus more on his character and personality which worked out well for us in the final product. 

What worked well the most in the drama project was our ability to come together on a very last minute basis to create footage worth editing and film in the three separate locations in a very short space of time. Therefore, although we had to change the idea along the way, we all adapted to it and worked to the best of our abilities to create something with a sense of the original idea, with only minor disagreements. In retrospect, the organisation could have been improved, however situations and unavoidable obstacles went in our way which could not have been helped, for example, the three or four actresses who dropped out and let us down. In addition, the original marble idea was one I planned before the drama project happened, therefore, it was a project I held close to my heart and had spent much of my own time storyboarding it. In the hurry of changing groups and the rush to put an idea together, I passed this idea on but ended up regretting it slightly. It would have made more sense for me to ask to be director in which case putting my idea forward would mean I would be able to make it the way I planned and have creative control. All in all, it was my own mistake to put the idea forward and not expect it to be changed along the way. Nonetheless, I still plan to make the idea my way in the near future. 

My role in the documentary project was cinematographer. For this role, I looked at my influences to search for a stylistic choice for ours. In addition, once we decided on which cameras we would use, I booked the equipment out prior to the Liverpool residential to familiarise myself with the settings with how I wanted it to look once we got there. I used a YouTube tutorial on the Nikon D3100 as I hadn't previously used it (link is in the blog) which came in handy when filming and saved us some time. Whilst filming, I used the Nikon D3100 for the candlelit shots because I found the grainy quality added warmth, colour and tone to it, whereas the Canon XF100 was used for most of the daylight footage to produce high quality and -if needed- can be changed in post-production. 

My role in the drama project was editor. I attended the majority of the filming to help out (minus the shooting in the house). The editing was left quite las minute because of the delayed filming. However, when It came to editing it and putting the structure together, Emily and I worked well together, providing a rough edit for the tutor within twelve hours and a lack of sleep. Nonetheless, it paid off to put a structure together and meant we had more time to colour correct and create a more experimental soundscape - building up tension by adding up to four atmosphere tracks in the park. A major problem we came across in the editing process was stringing the shots together. As there were no shot lists involved in this project, it meant that not all of the shots followed on from each other the way we planned them to. To resolve this, Emily and I went to Norfolk Park and shot some filler shots to create more of a continuity and avoid confusion for the viewer. Other than that, the editing process went smoothly. A particular influence for the soundscape was the recent Under the Skin (2013); we wanted to build up tension through a combination of distressed sounds of birds as well as the singular note of a harmonica layering over the top, which I think works particularly well in building the narrative.

To conclude, through the project module I have managed to develop my own filmic style along with establishing and improving my knowledge of character and narrative development and I hope to further this in second year. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. Stradivari and Me - Secret Knowledge (2013) Katy Homan; UK 

2. The Archive (2008); Sean Dunne; USA 

3. Of Time and the City (2008); Terence Davies; UK 

4. Up (2009); Pete Doctor, Bob Pierson; USA 

5. The Piano (2007); Aiden Gibbons; UK 

6. Plastic Bag (2009); Ramin Bahrani; USA 

7. Amour (2012); Michael Haneke; France
8. Under The Skin (2013); Jonathan Glazer; UK