Sonia's Television Blog

It's finally that time to review how I found this unit. Throughout this module I found it very challenging to be working by myself, but I made it work and found myself people that will help me out with the production. I am very excited to work on this in the new year, especially since thi s entire pre-production package has been leading up to the major project. I've ticked off everything on the list that I needed to include inside the printed pre-production package. Originally I had two different ideas that I wanted to go ahead with, both were documentaries about 2 different topics - one was about the life of Eastern Europeans and one about the history of Auschwitz but both of these were done before, many of times. I would have to really make something different for the audience to even be interested. Thinking about the two original ideas I had they weren't good enough to explore for my final year project, it really needed to be thought about. When starting this unit I th

I have completed my final draft for my script, a lot more shots were added and a lot of V/O sections were changed with PTC. After reading the feedback I received from Helen I made sure to make the script as personal as possible, I agreed on that there was too much narration and not enough visuals. Where I have added video or photo archives I added narration, but most of the documentary will be PTC, not so much as presenting but a simple chat that I will be having to the audience explaining the story one step at a time. When completing my research on documentaries I've noticed when making a personal documentary you need to speak your story directly to the viewer. I also included interview Syncs and explained why these interviews are important. I also made sure I introduced the next section of the script properly. My first and second draft lacked continuity, it skipped a lot of important information throughout. I also made the introduction much longer, I need to give the audience tim

After developing my Directors Statement for some time now I have finally concluded it. I made sure to read over it a few times, even printed and read it through on paper to be sure, to me it sounds great. I have tried to include as much detail as possible and strong explanations as to why I choose certain shots and filming styles. In my last draft I still needed to add my cinematic inspiration and why I feel that she is my inspiration, it wasn't as long as my other points but I still felt like it needed to be included. I tried to explain the visual and technical approaches I've taken to make my documentary unique and successful, as well as mu hopes for what the audience response will be. I still feel like I should have gone into deeper explaining in the Directors statement but all the necessary points were made. I still feel like I could have sectioned the directors statement where I talk about the colour choices and the way I want the style/tone to look but I really focused on

Kinoteka Film Festival takes place in London each spring. It is organized by Polish Cultural Institute in London; the whole festival celebrates the best of Polish cinema and culture. Every single year audiences from around the world can enjoy a selection of film and documentary screenings, either classic, drama and contemporary. Kinoteka film festival also offers master classes with different Directors and Producers. I feel that Kinoteka Film Festival is a perfect platform for my short documentary, not only does it fit the cultural criteria, but a lot of the self-taught filmmakers that appear at the Kinoteka Film Festival create films and documentaries about their personal issues and their own stories. Audience Range from 18 to 35.

When filming my test shoots I had a strong idea as a Director that I want to bring a pleasant atmosphere on screen, Colour Correction. Every scene I tried to enhance in some way, either it was saturation or vibrancy. I tested the lighting, keeping in mind that I am going to be filming outside most of the time. Where as being filmed inside I have been supplied with a LED Aperture kit, which will create a natural sense of lighting inside a home. I also made sure to work out how to blur the background in some scenes/shots to keep the PTC focus on myself. As I am not a great camera tech myself I needed to work out the cameras setting and framing since I didn't have my crew on hand during the tests shoot. I used quiet bright lighting and colour correction to make sure I am visible in the shot and in an observational documentary style but keeping it relaxed and audience friendly. As you can see in the picture above there isn't a big different in colour, but the saturation is enhan

Production Budget Production Expenses Production Crew                                                                                                      £85.00 Contributors                                                                                                             £15.00 Wardrobe                                                                                                                 £25.00 Props                                                                                                                        £15.00 Equipment                                                                                                               £20.00 Transportation                                                                                                       £114.44 Accommodation                                                                                                     £45.00 Locations                                 

As part of the pre-production preparation I needed to create a Call Sheet/Schedule for the production. This kind of structure really suited me and fit my documentary criteria. This is a very important part to a production it is to ensure that everything goes as planned. It really helps me and the crew know what is happening on the day and where they will be located. The Call Sheet also gives everyone information on how to contact each other, addresses and time logs. It also gives the crew an idea of what is being shot on the day, if there are any re-shoots etc. Since I am multi-skilling on this project I had to prepare all these elements for my crew where as in a group of people you can split the roles.

I have now been improving the material that is in my script. I have received some great feedback from Helen that really helped me understand how to write a script in full detail. Feedback; 1. Intro goes too far too quick – need to engage the viewer and let them get to know you and then your family. 2. You are not really setting up each person properly – they need introducing (either by themselves on camera, or in VO) 3. You need to corner turn more effectively between points/segments – you can’t just move onto the next thing without somehow writing out of the last thing first! 4. Your story focus is getting lost in the minutiae of your family story – don’t forget the real focus you told me about Buddhism in Poland etc – at present it is all too quick and neat and lacks context. 5. FAR TOO MUCH VO!!!   You need to talk on camera as well as use VO or it feels very odd – after all you are IN the film so why don’t we ever hear from you directly?   Makes it feel very I

You really can't faulty the amazing talent found on Vimeo, yet again another touching documentary that I couldn't stop watching. This one in particular really touched me since I can relate to the situation. It is a touching story about an older woman who is really uncared for in a family home, older woman in Poland are always forgotten about or not cared about which is the sad truth in a lot of countries. This documentary did not have much commentary which made the story play on your emotions a lot more with the sounds and atmosphere around you. The focus is mainly on the older woman, you can feel her pain through the screen. The way she sits, the way she doesn't bother moving. No-one will speak to her or ask her how she is. One thing that really struck me in this documentary is the excessive ambient sounds, it really sets the scene. You have a lot of close ups and extreme close ups that focus on a lot of details such as feet, hands, eyes, mouth etc. I feel like this is

I have been developing my Directors statement slowly, I am aiming to write a detailed piece of work - Not focusing so much on the word count but on the detail and material included inside the statement. I still have to re-write the directors statement to pick out spelling/grammar mistakes, I seem to be waffling a lot since I am trying to get as much detail and material inside the report. With the struggles that I have writing any form of a report/statement/essay I seem to repeat myself or not spot mistakes, this is a skill I lack. I try to read through the working making sure I am not missing something but I still have the paranoia. I have slowly been developing this taking my time to talk about each and every shot and my cinematic inspiration. I also want to include an expiation as to why I'm taking certain visual approaches towards the documentary. Some feedback I received for my Directors Statement; Information to be added; • Your cinematic inspiration and influences (this

Being a Director is a very difficult job, not only do you have a lot of responsibility in order to shoot the project but you also have to create your cinematic vision. Heart of darkness a filmmakers apocalypse, I first heard of this documentary from Simon - he mentioned that it's a brilliant watch and It really relates to the kind of documentary I will be filming. The directors here were Eleanor Coppola and George Hickenlooper, Eleanor is actually the wife of Francis Ford Coppola. The documentary shows the making of Apocalypse Now (1979) and the struggles they faced throughout filming such as script, shooting, budget, casting and nearly destroying a life and career of the celebrated director. The wife who was the director of Heart of darkness really wanted to tell the story from her perspective, it was a personal journey for her. It really links in with my documentary. Eleanor narrated the documentary which made it so much more personal, she also shows up on screen to describe

While thinking about my own personal story I was looking online for some inspiration on how to film a documentary properly, how do I make it look personal? How do I catch the audiences attention? This specific documentary did just that. The second I pressed play I wanted to know who this 'Manuel' is and why do I care what he does? They way the documentary starts so softly and gently gives you the impression that someone will be discussing their personal story. It begins with a montage of the travel to Manuel, this is what I am planning in my documentary. The one the title sequence begins while the car is music gives you the impression that we are on a journey to find something out. The jungle aerial shot and water-fall shot gives you an idea of where we are placed and the atmosphere around us. That's exactly how I want to go about my documentary, I want to introduce the audience into the story slowly and beautifully. The uplifting music makes you feel some what happy, I had

Today I had my 3rd/4th tutorial with Simon in regards to my pre-production package, I am currently on a track to working on my directors statement and script - I need to develop it a lot more detail. Simon has mentioned that I have to explain why I want to film in a certain way, how will I film my interviews? Will they be sat down or will it be a casual actuality shot. I need to really express this in my directors statement. Simon has really expressed that I need to make my directors statement really details, I need to explain each and every action I take - I have no put aside my script to work through my directors statement. He also mentioned I should just do some simple shots of the interviews I'm planning to do, as well as transitions and the way I want to edit this documentary. He wants me to figure out if I will be talking to the camera or I will be off camera voicing over? I definitely want the camera to be following me on this journey e.g getting on the plane, in the t

Equipment List ü   Cannon EOS 7D Digital SLR Camera ü   Cannon Charged Batteries ü   3x Cannon Lenses, Zoom, Wide, Extra-wide ü   Tripod / Camera Rig ü   Aperture LED Light Kit ü   Aperture Light Kit Extra Batteries ü   RODE Camera and Audio VideoMic with Rycote Lyre Mount ü   Tascam 4-Channel Audio Recorder for DSLR Cannon ü   2x Clip Microphones ü   Sony Headphones ü   Portable 1TB Hard drive ü   Portable Battery Bank ü   Extra Batteries ü   64GB SD Card ü   Laptop + Adobe Premier Pro

I find script writing particularly difficult, I'm not very good at it - the structure of the script helped me write it much better. What I found very helpful is that my Directors Statement really helped me write out my script much quicker and easier, I already knew the shots I wanted to get all I had to do was fill in the V/O text and add a little more information. I kept my Directors statement side by side with the script and referred to what I had already written.  Originally I thought the script would be very difficult to write, this is why I decided to express my cinematic vision within a Directors statement before I even started the script. This was a great idea and helped me tremendously. Having to film a documentary you don't know what the people you are interviewing will stay, so I had to just assume myself and fill in the blanks with 'xxx' since my script will have many different versions and will also end up being transcribed. I have a rough idea of wha

While watching this documentary I instantly felt pain. I recently started watching a lot of short documentaries on Vimeo, they are addicting. I am coming across thousands of amazing film work. I find things that I love and things I hate, but I've realised that I'm watching documentaries that I'd never though I would watch. I feel like these documentaries on Vimeo are more my style in comparison to the ones on the big screens. This platform is so accessible and you can experiment on it. There is a lot of talent out around Vimeo and I am really starting to like the documentary area. I watched this documentary recently that is completely something I would never watch 'Our Voices Are Rarely Heard' the title is inspired by a quote within the documentary. The entire style and tone of this documentary is powerful. The pacing gradually build and the shooting style is very slow and cinematic. This is a documentary about inmates who stay locked up in their cells for 22 hou

A key feature within my pre-production package, I didn't realise how important a Directors statement is especially since I am working by myself on this project. I started writing and perfecting the first few paragraphs of my Directors Statement, it really becomes a great piece of writing when you start to really develop ideas throughout while writing, new cinematic shots and things pop into my head that I'd like to implement within my project. I really want to make this as detailed as possible, it is such an important piece to my pre-production package - I need to express my Director visions. The overall idea I had for the story is basically the unknown relationship that I never had with my father, it started to become something very detailed that I'd like to share, maybe other people are in the same situation. I also like the fact that I can explore the place I used to visit each summer, it has a huge impact on my life. Draft of my Directors Statement -

I had a very helpful tutorial with Beth and Simon which helped me outline my story completely and start my script since I was struggling a lot. Beth thinks that my idea and documentary could be something fantastic, it has a lot of interesting aspects to it as well as a lot of information. The issue I had was that I had so many aspects to my story that I didn't know which one to focus on mainly, I was very confused and stuck until Beth told me what she'd be most interested in. I spoke with documentary maker Helen along side Beth and Simon, she was also very helpful in regards to the way it should be shot. - Script feedback - What is the story? The best way to be living, what is it? Does the community live in a modern life style or not. Did my father make me pray and be religious or not. Structure the story properly, focus on what the people on screen will say, if the script changes that is absolutely fine - it's a documentary. Reflections on modern life within the docume