Documentary - Evaluation

 Documentary - Evaluation

The task for this unit, was to create a 10 minute documentary for BBC 3 with '2021 vision' in mind (Turrell, 2021). In addition to this, it had to align with the BBC 3 commissioning brief (Campbell, 2021) We were put into groups (myself, Heather, Joey, Derrin, and Harry) to create and complete the documentary. 

The initial title that we had was 'Kill the Bill: Where Would We Be Without Protest?", but was changed after a discussion within our group. We felt that the new title of "Protests: Where Would We Be Without It?" was more fitting as it maintained a more balanced view and ensured that our content was focused on other aspects of protesting. 

When helping to create the script, I acquired the knowledge that a factual/documentary script differs from a fictional script. The difference in layout of script made it much easier to understand what was being said (commentary)/the audio and what was visible on screen. With regards to the autocue when filming the commentary, we had to break it up into smaller pieces as Heather struggled to read the big chunks that it was previously in. I was live editing the script as we went along to ensure that it reflecteed the changes that we had made. The autocue was also scrolling at a pace that was too slow for Heather to read aloud, so Joey ended up manually scrolling it, whilst trying to ensure that his hand didn't get in shot of the camera. Through doing this, Heather's confidence in her reading improved significantly. For the autocue, we used an iPad. 

As Producer, I found and booked the locations for the shoot dates, collaboratively found contributors with Heather, completed risk assessments (which included Covid 19 Safety Measures) and got them signed off, found footage relating to protests, and ensured that everyone knew what they were doing. As Covid 19 Supervisor, I had to ensure that equipment and high touch points were cleaned regularly, all crew wore masks, hand gel was on hand and crew and members of the public remained 2 meters apart where possible. In addition to these roles, I also took charge of sound and helped Joey with the editing process. From the sound workshop and using clip mics on the second year production (Trending, 2021), I set up the clip mics for the interviews and the vox pops. I also set up the boom mic for the vox pops, with the help of Ferg. With regards to the editing, as Joey was struggling on completing the edit in time for the deadline, I ended up cutting some of the footage for him for the edit, such as that of Doris Allimadi, Ryan Perry, and Derrin Elliott, and also helped him decide where to put footage within the documentary. If we had more time, we would've made some of the cuts a bit smoother

On the first day of filming, there was a bit of an issue with getting crew to stick to timings. In order to combat this, I ensured that we had a schedule and kept reiterating throughout the day what needed to be done and by when. The schedule helped ensure that crew knew what they were doing and when they were doing it, making our shoot dates much more efficient. 

There were communication issues with the director (Harry) throughout the whole project. As a group, we struggled to see his vision. We weren't provided with storyboards and were given shot lists too late into the process (either an hour before filming or after we had filmed). As a group we had to explain to him why shots such as shooting from both in front and behind of the presenter wouldn't work when we have one camera. We had to change the shots that he said that he wanted as we needed to be able to cut the footage and to ensure that there was depth within the frame/footage. He agreed to this and allowed for us to shoot by a corner of the production room, ensuring depth within the footage. We also had to keep reminding him to remain out of frame when he was standing next to Director of Photography, Derrin, whilst looking at the camera, which proved to not be taken as he is in frame within most of the shots. We will keep this in mind for future reference and ensure that it is reiterated. Furthermore, the crew were often confused as to when we were actually rolling as the director often just started recording without telling any of us. Luckily, none of the footage was compromised. Next time, we will make sure that the director clearly communicates with cast and crew when we are going to start filming. 

It was decided to conduct the interviews on Skype as it meant that the time period was not restricted unlike Zoom. After the interview conducted with Ryan Perry, Heather and I decided that another LED light panel was needed to light up Heather's face as her face was not well-lit. It was placed in front of her face to ensure that there was sufficient light. With regards to the lighting for the other production room interviews, Joey had the idea of putting different coloured lights directed through the frosted glass to make the set-up look more interesting. To achieve this, we placed blue and purple gels over the tungsten lights that had been positioned in the other room, overlooking the production room through the frosted glass. We also had LED light panels positioned around the interview set up to ensure that it and Heather were well-lit. 

When filming the vox pops, we encountered the issue of the boom sound not working. Thinking on my feet, I rung Ferg, who then walked us through how to get the sound to work and at the appropriate levels. It was nerve-wracking getting members of the public to be interviewed for the vox pops, but was a great way to deal with rejection and built our confidence up as we went along. The reasoning behind the vox pops were to gain differing opinions on protesting and the current political climate. As we were time constrained with our documentary being 10 minutes long, we decided that we couldn't fit the vox pops in the final cut. In addition to this, after looking at the footage from the vox pops, we decided that it wasn't up to scratch as the framing was off. When filming, we had explained this to the director (Harry), who carried on, which meant that the footage was not good enough to use. As director, he should've been keeping an eye on the camera things such as the framing. However, we can use this as something to work on and look out for when conducting vox pops in the future. 

Next time, I think that I should also do my own version of the edit to ensure that it is completed in sufficient time, hopefully with time to spare, so that we can go over it and make any final changes needed. I would also like to try my hand at operating the camera as I am still unsure of how to properly use it and feel as though I should branch out of my comfort zone. In order to try and gain confidence with the cameras, I will be going into the studios, after all of the work has been complete for the year, and learning how to use the equipment. Considering have been learning and working in the midst of a pandemic, we have tried our best and it is a learning process that we have to continue to trust.  

Bibliography:

Campbell, F. (2021) BBC 3 Commissioning. At: https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/bbc-three (Accessed 18/05/2021)

Trending (2021) [Online Video] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4zOMgbu64w (Accessed 17/05/2021)

Turrell, B. (2021) Documentary Lecture Series. [Online 15/03/2021]. 

Documentary - Script and Interview Questions

 Script and Interview Questions

When it came to writing the script and the questions for the interviews, Heather and I worked collaboratively. We used the the example of a layout of a factual/documentary script that Kate Misrahi had shown us in the talk she gave to use as the outline of our script. We reflected upon conversations we had partaken in with Beth, research we had done, and also thought about other things that we would like to include in the documentary. Some of these ideas were footage from protests, graphics with quotes and facts and interviews. Throughout writing the script, we had to think about keeping the audience engaged and remembering to relate it to the target audience of "16-24 year-olds" (Campbell, 2021). To try and achieve this, we put the use of graphics, stock footage and simplified the language, which Curran Bernard (2010:47) argues "allows for complexity in the overall film". 

The feedback that we received concerning the script was minimal, with Beth saying that it was an "incredibly detailed and clear" (Turrell, 2021) script. The feedback that we received was concerning certain questions that we should think about: "what's your presence going to be? What role is the presenter going to be playing? Is the presenting style going to be more like people such as Louis Theroux or Roman Kemp? Do you need a presenter? What journey are you going to go on with these people?". When thinking about and writing the second draft of the script, we took this into account. In response to the feedback, we adjusted the script, which allowed for clarity for the crew with regards to the ideas in the script (Rosenthal and Eckhardt, 2015:86). 

When creating the questions for the interviews, we decided to make them individual to each contributor. They held some similarity for editing purposes, but by making them more individualised it meant that they were more applicable to the contributors as individuals. We used a variety of questions so that we had more options to choose from when cutting in the editing process. 

Link to First Draft of the Script

Link to Edited Script

Link to Vox Pop Questions

Link to Interview Questions

Bibliography:

Campbell, F. (2021) BBC 3 Commissioning. At: https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/bbc-three (Accessed 17/05/2021)

Curran Bernard, S. (2010) Documentary Storytelling: Making Stronger and More Dramatic Nonfiction Films. (3rd ed.) Oxfordshire: Taylor & Francis Group. At: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/detail.action?docID=629959 (Accessed 17/05/2021)

Rosenthal, A and Eckhardt, N. (2015) Writing, Directing and Producing Documentary Films and Digital Videos. Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. At: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4414608 (Accessed 18/05/2021).

Turrell, B. (2021) Documentary Lecture Series. [Online 17/05/2021] 

Documentary - Pitch

 Documentary Pitch

On April 12th, as a group, we pitched our documentary to Beth Turrell and as a result, received feedback to help us move forward with our documentary. We worked collaboratively on the pitch and the presentation of it. When pitching, we had to think of it as a chance to sell our story.

The feedback we received is as followed (Turrell, 2021):

The concept and title of the documentary are good. 

Ensure that there is balance within the documentary. To achieve this, try to think about those who are not in favour of protesting and/or those who are indifferent/don't mind the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill (Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill:Second Reading, 2021). By gaining differing views, it enables people to understand the other side of the argument. 

Ask contributors and find out why protesting matters to differing organisations.

Look at news articles. In response to this, we also thought that we could look at social media posts that people have made, using their statements within the documentary. 

Remember that emotional connection is important, so maybe decrease the amount of contributors. 

Gain permission for footage you're going to be using and write thanks to in the credits. For the footage gathered that isn't ours, we will ensure that we ask for permission. 

Simpler language needs to be used for a pitch and there needs to be more on contributor profiles. 

Think about how it can relate to younger people (e.g. camera phone footage, immersiveness etc.). 

When moving forward, we will take this feedback into account and will try our best to respond to it. 

Link to the Pitch

Bibliography:

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (2021) Elizabeth II. At:https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2839 (Accessed 17/05/2021). 

Turrell, B. (2021) Documentary Lecture Series. [Online 12/04/2021] 

Documentary - Meeting with Beth

 Meeting with Beth

In order to gain a greater insight into how we go about making the documentary and getting contributors, as well as understanding what we're trying to get at with our idea, Heather and I asked Beth if we could meet with her, to which she agreed.

The meeting was incredibly helpful. We understood that the heart of our documentary is finding out about what protests mean and their impact. Beth posed some important questions to us such as, "if we didn't have protests what wouldn't we have?... What are the dangers of not protesting?... Think about how you can go about creating anger and emotion amongst the audience." (Turrell, 2021). When making our documentary, we will take these questions into account as they are of great importance with regards to the subject of our documentary (protesting). 

With regards to contributors, we had the idea of tapping into right wing groups through the use of social media to gain information and potentially some interviews. Beth heavily advised us against this as it could potentially compromise our own safety. Instead, it was suggested that we try to find those within our network as "people's views may surprise you" (Turrell, 2021) or any local councillors we could get in contact with. In response to this, I suggested that we reach out to people on social media and contact the local MP, Kelly Tolhurst, as she is a Conservative (UK Parliament, 2021). When contacting contributors, it was advised that we set up a separate email specifically for the documentary so that our personal contact details remained private and confidential. As a result of this, we set up a separate email in order to contact contributors for our documentary. 

Bibliography:

Turrell, B. (2021) Documentary Lecture Series. [Online 22/03/2021] 

UK Parliament. (2021) MPs and Lords: Contact Information for Kelly Tolhurst. At: https://members.parliament.uk/member/4487/contact (Accessed 22/03/2021)

Documentary - Sound and Interview Workshop With Ferg

 Sound and Interview Workshop With Ferg

On Wednesday 24th of March 2021, I took part in a sound and interview workshop with Ferg. Sound is one of the most important parts of a documentary. It's essential to monitor the space around you, listen to the surroundings, what's going on and any extraneous sounds. Any extraneous sounds (e.g. props, air con, the floor etc.) will need to be minimised for the sound quality to be good. The type of sound quality that we should be trying to aim for is that of the BBC, especially that of BBC Radio 4. Ferg stated that it's important to start conversations about sound with the cast and crew, especially the director, editor and actors, so that extraneous sound is minimised, the quality of sound can be improved and so there are variations and options to choose from. However, sometimes it isn't always possible limiting the extraneous noise as performance always comes first and time is limited. 

Also key is Continuity, which must be thought about. For example, if there is a radio playing in the background of one piece of footage and not in another, it will be hard to get away with cutting the clips together as the sound won't match. 

Within this workshop, we were taught about two different types of microphones, the lavalier (clip mic) and the gun mic. A clip mic is a small microphone that attaches to an individual's body or clothing. They can be either wired or wireless. It was emphasised that sound checks must always be performed prior to putting a clip mic on someone. You have to check that the clip mics and receiver are on the same frequencies and that the settings such as the decibels (dB) are at the appropriate level, which Ferg suggested was usually around -12db. These settings must also be adjusted for different cameras. 

The relationship between sound and picture is crucial to making any film (Lazar, 1998:54) and enhances the process of storytelling. If you want your picture to be effective, the sound has to be of good quality. When making our documentary, I will try to ensure that the sound we capture is of high quality by checking the sound equipment before, during and after shooting and trying to eradicate as much extraneous noise as possible. 

As the workshop was conducted online, it was hard to properly gasp an understanding of how to use the sound equipment with it not being in front of us. However, when it comes to any future in person workshops and shooting our documentary, I will aim to put what I have been taught in to practice. 

In addition to sound, we were also briefly educated upon interview techniques. The most common interview shot is a chest-level, mid shot/medium close up. (Moloney, 2021). These shots allow for the face to be closely captured, which is often telling of people, what their thinking and feeling as well as many other things. Over the shoulder shots are also common. Something that is becoming increasingly common is showing the behind the scenes/the set up of an interview, having previously been a big no go within the industry. The "Prince Andrew and the Epstein Scandal: Newsnight Interview: (BBC News, 2019) is an example of the classic interview technique that also incorporates showing the behind the scenes within the interview. 

When shooting our documentary and any other work in the future that require interviews, I will take into account the common shots used. 

Bibliography:

Prince Andrew and the Epstein Scanda: Newsnight Interview (2019) [Online Video] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtBS8COhhhM&ab_channel=BBCNews (Accessed 10/03/2021)

Kench, S. (2020) What is a Lavalier Microphone and How Do They Work?. At: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-lavalier-microphone-definition/ (Accessed 30/03/2021)

Lazar, W. (1998) 'Sound For Film:  Audio Education For Filmmakers' In: Journal of Film and Video 50 (3) pp.54-61. At: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20688188?seq=1 (Accessed 30/03/2021)

Moloney, F. (2021) Sound and Interview Workshop. [University for the Creative Arts 24/03/2021].

Documentary - Pre-Production Paperwork (Schedule)

 Schedule

When working on the second year live show, "Trending" (2021), I was emailed a schedule for each day by the producers. This enabled cast and crew to understand what was going on during the day and where they needed to be. I found this to be useful so decided to incorporate it when making our documentary. 

I created a schedule for each day that we were shooting so cast and crew knew what we were doing, where we everyone was supposed to be and when. This helped us to stick to the timings we had and allowed for most things to run more smoothly. 

Schedules:

29th April 2021 Schedule

30th April 2021 Schedule

4th May 2021 Schedule

5th May 2021 Schedule

Bibliography:

Trending (2021) [Online Video] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4zOMgbu64w (Accessed 16/05/2021)

Documentary - Pre-Production Paperwork

Pre-Production Paperwork

As I took on the role of Producer and Covid-19 supervisor, I had to complete risk assessments for our various locations, find and contact contributors, find and organise the locations, book equipment, and ensure that Covid-19 measures were put in place and observed. 

Due to the global pandemic, it was decided that we'd try to keep interviews with contributors online where possible. A positive result of this, was that our options of contributors was widened as people had to log onto a computer rather than travel. We were able to try and contact people in different parts of the UK and world. With the recent passing of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, I had found out that all conservative members of Parliament had voted in favour of it (UK Parliament, 2021). As a result of this, I decided to contact the local MP for Rochester and Strood, Conservative Kelly Tollhurst, and try and get an interview with her. Unfortunately, she was not willing to give an interview but agreed to answer any questions we had and provide a written statement. Heather (Screenwriter) and I decided to send her some questions and provide Joey (Editor) with her response to put into graphics. 

Heather and I also reached out to Sisters Uncut and Pride but were unable to get a response. As a result of this, we decided to put out a message on social media to see if we could get any responses from people willing to be interviewed and/or share their experiences. We managed to get someone (Ryan Perry) from our university course. However, we were unable to gain much more of a response so we had to rethink. I decided to contact the Wandsworth extinction rebellion branch as I knew there was a local branch. They responded and we sent a message out. We were provided with the contact details of someone, who agreed to be interviewed, but didn't reply to the times that she could do, luckily we had other contributors. Heather had managed to secure interviews with Sheamus Moores, who is part of FreeReadingUK and is very politically involved, as well as Doris Alimahdi, who used to be a project coordinator at Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust. 

With regards to the locations, it was decided upon to conduct the interviews online so I made the decision of filming in the base room at Maidstone TV Studios.  There was a greater chance of us being able to achieve access to this as it is a part of our university campus. In order to gain access to the base room, I completed a room booking request form, which I then sent off to the university Work Placement and Production Coordinator, Laura Coull. 

As we were conducting vox pops, we thought that Maidstone town centre would be a good location for them. With Kent being a primarily Conservative supporting area (UK Parliament, 2021), we thought it would be an opportunity to get more right-leaning views than the contributors we had obtained, who tended to be more left-leaning, creating a bit more balance within our documentary. I contacted Kent Film Office with regards to a film permit and they directed me towards applying for a film permit. Once I had filled out the risk assessment for Maidstone Town Centre, I waited for Laura to sign them and then sent off a film permit application, alongside the risk assessments and insurance policy, for Maidstone Town Centre to Kent Film Office. Unfortunately, the application wasn't approved on time, which meant we were unable to use a tripod with the camera and had it as handheld instead as this was the only way that we could film without a film permit (Coull, 2021). 

In order to ensure that we had the equipment we needed, I filled the risk assessments out and emailed Technical Tutor, Ferg, to ensure that we had the equipment booked out for the dates required. We were successfully able to get all the equipment that we required. 

When filling out the risk assessments, I had to adapt them to ensure that they included Covid-19 protocols. Once completed, I then sent them off to Laura to be signed so that they were ready for production and so that I could print them off. I also had to complete a third risk assessment as a back up just in case we didn't get the footage that we wanted/something went wrong. The third location for this was our University accommodation. 

Risk Assessments:

Baseroom Risk Assessment

Maidstone Town Centre Risk Assessment

Doust Way Risk Assessment

Bibliography:

Coull, L. (2021) Pre-Production Sign Off. [Online 23/04/2021]. 

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (2021) Elizabeth II. At: https://votes.parliament.uk/Votes/Commons/Division/981#ayes (Accessed 02/05/2021).

UK Parliament. (2021)MPS and Lords Kent. At: https://members.parliament.uk/region/county/Kent (Accessed 3/05/2021)

Documentary - "Dougie Wallace: What Do Artists Do All Day?" Observational Documentary Review

 "Dougie Wallace: What Do Artists Do All Day?" Observational Documentary Review

"Dougie Wallace: What Do Artists Do All Day?" (2017) is an observational documentary filmed, directed and produced by Jack Cocker, following Scottish photographer Dougie Wallace as he finishes his "Harrodsburg" (Wallace, 2021) project. The "Harrodsburg" (Wallace, 2021) project is a "social documentary project" (Wallace, 2021) about the super rich and the interesting characters that one often encounters in Knightsbridge, London. 

Observational documentaries allow for the subject/s to be central and the sole focus of the content, with the director of photography and/or crew "acting as a fly on the wall" (Masterclass, 2021), following the contributor around. As a result of this, minimal crew is often used (Artis, 2014:9), hence why Jack Cocker acted as producer, director, sound operator and director of photography. 

The title "What Do Artists Do All Day?" (2017) causes the audience to think and reflect upon this question throughout the film. As it is an observational documentary, the audience is left to figure out and interpret the answer to this question by themselves. The fact that they're left to interpret the answer to the question, could be representative of the fact that art is open to interpretation and causes people to think and reflect. 

Dougie Wallace is an interesting and potentially controversial character in terms of the fact that his way of going about taking his photographs often involves invading his subject's personal space and doesn't really care what people think. In addition to this, Dougie Wallace also appears to be someone who is completely unapologetically themselves (Cocker, 2021), which Jack Cocker emphasised the importance of in the talk he gave to us. It could be said that this makes an audience more drawn to him and allows for the audience's attention to be maintained. Dougie Wallace is entertaining and gains the audience's attention right from the get go. The audience is led to believe that Dougie is innocently waking up, but are hit with him getting out of bed in the nude and placing a hat upon his head. This showcase, encapsulates Dougie's personality and character, whilst providing an insight into the unexpected the audience can expect in this documentary.

The documentary had moments of tension, particularly the moment when Dougie had photographed a group of women, who didn't want to be photographed due to their religious beliefs. As the shot was a long take, you, as an audience member, were experiencing the tension unfold, watching it from start to finish, from the point the began conflict between the women and Dougie, to it ending in Dougie being assaulted on camera. Due to Dougie Wallace's carefree nature, he is able to brush these sometimes tense and negative interactions off and continue on with his life and work.

Throughout the film, Wallace's work is shown, often that of the photographs he was observed taking throughout the documentary. This gives more meaning to the photographs as the audience get to see the process of the photographs being taken, the interaction between the photographer (Dougie Wallace) and the subject/s, and the final product. It makes the audience feel as though they are somehow involved in this process. 

A wide range of shots are used for the duration of the documentary. Close ups and mid shots were commonly used as well as wide shots. The close ups and mid shots were mostly used when the focus was on Dougie Wallace/and or his subjects. Wide shots were often used when Dougie was travelling, out taking photographs or something was happening. In addition to this, the camera is handheld, creating a greater sense of intimacy and making you, as an audience member, feel as though you are there, following/with Dougie Wallace yourself. 

When talking to Jack about the script for the documentary, he explained that he didn't have a script. For Dougie, he felt as though it was best for events to unfold naturally and ask him questions in response to interesting things he said and/or did. However, for our documentaries, he advised that we have a script or a rough outline. 

As well as seeing what Dougie does for a living, the audience also get to meet some important people in his life, who play a role in his career. For example, the audience is introduced to photographer Martin Parr, who appears to be a sort of mentor to Dougie Wallace, particularly as their photography styles are fairly similar. Furthermore, the audience is also introduced to some of Dougie's subjects. This adds to the feeling of intimacy between the audience and Dougie himself. 

"Dougie Wallace: What Do Artists Do All Day?" (2017) is an authentic, entertaining documentary that provides an insight into Dougie Wallace's career as an artist. It causes you to think about the process of creating art and the effort that goes into it as well as the interesting characters behind it. Allowing the documentary to be contributor led creates a deeper sense of connection with the audience, which I will try to incorporate in my work going forward, especially with regards to our documentary. 

Bibliography:

Artis, A. (2014) The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide. (2nd ed.) New York: Routledge. At: https://www-taylorfrancis-com.ucreative.idm.oclc.org/books/mono/10.4324/9780240824444/shut-shoot-documentary-guide-anthony-artis (Accessed 16/05/2021)

Cocker, J. (2021) Talk with Jack Cocker. [Online 17/03/2021]

Dougie Wallace: What Do Artists Do All Day?" (2017) [Television Programme] BBC 4 16/03/2017. At: https://vimeo.com/194869208 (Accessed 16/05/2021)

Masterclass. (2021) Film Documentary Guide: 6 Types of Documentaries. At: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/film-documentary-guide#what-are-documentary-modes (Accessed 16/05/2021).

Wallace, D. (2021) Harrodsburg Photos. At: http://www.dougiewallace.com/harrodsburg (Accessed 16/05/2021)

Wallace, D. (2021) Dougie Wallace. At: http://www.dougiewallace.com/hhhjjjjj#:~:text=Scottish%20photographer%20Dougie%20Wallace%20is,style%20of%20expressive%20street%20photography. (Accessed 16/05/2021)

Documentary Analysis - Fighting the Power: Britain After George Floyd

Documentary Analysis - Fighting the Power: Britain After George Floyd

"Fighting the Power: Britain After George Floyd" (BBC 3, 2020), directed by Eddie Hutton-Mills, is an emotionally challenging and thought provoking documentary that looks at the protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd, the protest organisers, and the Black Lives Matter movement (BBC 3, 2020). It is the voice and story of black people and the racism that they endure daily. 

The subject of our documentary that was decided upon, was Protesting: Where Would We Be Without It? "Fighting the Power: Britain After George Floyd" (BBC 3, 2020) is relevant to this subject as the documentary is centred around the Black Lives Matter Movement and the protests that occurred over the summer of 2020 as a result of racism and the death and murder of George Floyd. A timeline

Throughout the documentary, graphics, which hold quotes, statements, and/or statistics on them, were used. The colours used in the graphics were black, white and yellow, which are the colours used on the Black Lives Matter Movement's website and the colours often displayed in support of the movement (Black Lives Matter, 2021). These specific colours were chosen for the graphics as the contents of the documentary is solely with regards to the Black Lives Matter Movement and the protests that occurred in response to the murder of George Floyd. The colours are also bold, making it stand out and confront the audience head on, which is in line with BBC 3's Commissioning Brief that looks for the 'potential to standout, so bold titling and iconic imagery' (Campbell, 2021). The use of these graphics, makes you, as an audience member, really think about the information that you are confronted with and problems that have been and still are occurring within society. The fact that the graphics were bold and confronting, made us realise that these could be useful within our documentary, particularly as our documentary looks at protesting and its impact. 

Interviews were a key aspect of this documentary. The documentary tended to focus on interviews with young (fitting in with the BBC 3 demographic) organisers of some of the Black Lives Matter protests in London, key organisations like the police, and vox pops with members of the public, mostly occurring at protests. These interviews were primarily led by the people/contributors and told the story through their eyes rather than have the audience be told by the presenter. In addition to this, the presenter, Daniel Henry, appears to have built a good rapport with the contributors and gets involved with every aspect of the documentary. This evokes a greater sense of emotion and empathy amongst the audience. Daniel Henry is also a person of colour himself, which ensures that the story being told isn't that of someone else's through a white person's eyes, which is important as white person could never understand what people of colour experience. After watching "Fighting the Power: Britain After George Floyd" (BBC 3, 2020), we decided to use interviews and vox pops as the basis of our documentary, trying to ensure that the contributors were leading them. 

With impartiality being "the cornerstone of priniciples of public service broadcasting at the BBC and other broadcasters modelled on it" (Wahl-Jorgensen et al., 2016), the documentary ensures that there is an aspect of balance and that both sides of the story are being heard. For example, as well as the voices of those advocating for black lives matter, the police are also able to give their views, particularly regarding their response to the black lives matter protests and their previous and current treatment of people of colour, which is often controversial. When making our documentary, we will try to ensure that it maintains a balanced view. 

There are multiple ways in which "Fighting the Power: Britain After George Floyd" (BBC 3, 2020) is relevant to BBC 3's target audience of "16-24 year-olds" and a "young, diverse, UK-wide audience". One way is the use of the rapper, Wretch 32. On 9th June 2020, Wretch 32 shared a video on Twitter of his father being tasered (PA Media, 2020), which subsequently was "viewed more than 500,000 times" (PA Media, 2020).  It is highly likely that some of those watching will have viewed and/or will be aware of Wretch 32's video. Also, Wretch 32 is a well-known rapper, who is the younger generation are likely to be familiar with. This is likely to increase the appeal of the documentary to the audience and increase the relativity. In addition to this, the contributors were often younger people, making it more relatable to a younger audience. 

Another way of making the documentary more relevant to BBC 3's target audience is the use of mobile phone footage throughout the documentary. We are living in an age where the "population, particularly the younger generation, are "tethered to their mobile devices primarily through social networking apps" (Mihailidis, 2013). Using mobile phone footage adds to the sense of intimacy within the documentary as the audience is seeing it through the eyes of someone directly experiencing it/participating in it, thus making it more engaging. In order to gain footage of protests, we are looking into using mobile phone footage/footage from social media, which was an idea partially gained from watching this documentary.

There is an increase in tension throughout the documentary until the last five or so minutes, particularly when it comes to the right wing's involvement within the documentary whether that be archive footage or footage of the right wing protests in response to the Black Lives Matter protests. The tension is eased within the last five minutes as it shifts, whilst remaining on topic, to the change that people can create through supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and the need for people to come together to create the change, leaving the audience to think about the role that they play and the sense of community. 

To conclude, the documentary was incredibly effective, evoked strong emotions and made you, as an audience member, think. The documentary also held a sense of community, which brought some light heartedness to the incredibly important and serious topic at hand. The documentary left me angry and  frustrated at the racism people of colour face on a daily basis as well as the issues we have within the systems of society. 

Bibliography:

Black Lives Matter. (2021) Black Lives Matter. At: https://blacklivesmatter.com/ (Accessed 15/05/2021)

Campbell, F. (2021) BBC 3 Commissioning. At: https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/bbc-three (Accessed 15/05/2021)

Fighting the Power: Britain After George Floyd  (2020) [Television Programme] BBC 3 22/07/2020. At: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08hvwsl/fighting-the-power-britain-after-george-floyd (Accessed 15/05/2021)

Mihailidis, P. (2013) 'A tethered generation: Exploring the role of mobile phones in the daily life of young people' In: Sage Journals 2 (1) pp.58-72. (Accessed 15/05/2021)

PA Media. (2020) 'Rapper Wretch 32 shares video of police Tasering his father' In: The Guardian 10/06/2020. At: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/10/rapper-wretch-32-shares-video-of-police-tasering-his-father (Accessed 15/05/2021)

Wahl-Jorgensen et al. (2016) 'Rethinking balance and impartiality in journalism? How the BBC attempted and failed to change the paradigm' In: Sage Journals 18 (7) pp. 781-800. (Accessed 15/05/2021)

Documentary - Second Group Meeting (22/03/2021)

 Second Group Meeting

This meeting was a catch up with Beth in our breakout rooms to see how we were getting along. We explained our ideas to Beth and she fed back to us her thoughts and helped to guide us. 

Heather and I had had a discussion about contacting organisations such as Sisters Uncut, who are a feminist organisation that fight for those who experience sexual, domestic, gender-based, and state violence (Sisters Uncut, 2021) and who have been particularly vocal with the passing of the recent Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. We decided upon contacting Sisters Uncut, Kelly Tolhurst (the local MP for Rochester and Strood) who voted in favour of the Crime Bill (Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill:Second Reading, 2021), Extinction Rebellion. We also decided to go on social media platforms and try to reach out to people. Beth also reminded us to reach out to those in our circle, particularly those who are passionate about democracy and those who have opposing views and/or are indifferent. 

As a group, we expressed our views on protesting to each other to understand where we each stood on the topic. It was found out that Heather and I were more interested and passionate about the topic than the other members of the group who appeared mostly indifferent. We started to think about the reasoning behind the reasoning behind protesting and began to think about answers to questions. Why do we need protesting? We need protesting as it gives people a voice, especially minority groups, and can evoke change. Without protests where would we be? Without protests, a lot of things (e.g. gay marriage in the UK) would be illegal, the populations' (especially minority groups) voices wouldn't be heard and there would not be debates around many topics and issues. Why are they important? Protest are important as they give a voice to the people and can create change. Why now? There has been a rise in protesting and media coverage surrounding protesting in recent years. 

We decided upon finding archival footage, shooting our own footage and finding footage from social media when it came to content for our documentary. Through doing this, it will allows us to have a range of footage that we can use in our documentary. Archival footage is good for emphasising the historical impact of protesting, our own footage allows us and the audience to form an emotional connection with others who have similar and differing views to us, and footage from social media allows the content to become more intimate as your viewing the events through someone else's eyes and experiencing it alongside them. In addition to this, many 16-24 year olds use social media and often view the world through their use of smart phones, which makes it more relevant to BBC 3's target audience of 16-24 year-olds (Campbell,  2021)

Bibliography:

Campbell, F. (2021) BBC 3 Commissioning. At: https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/bbc-three (Accessed 23/04/2021).

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Second Reading (2021) Elizabeth II. At: https://votes.parliament.uk/Votes/Commons/Division/981#ayes (Accessed 23/04/2021).

Documentary - First Team Meeting and Ideas Lab (17th March 2021)

First Team Meeting and Ideas Lab

Our brief for this unit is a ten minute stand-alone documentary that fits in with the idea of '2021 vision' for BBC 3. 

We were put into breakout rooms with our groups to begin to discuss ideas, thoughts and decide upon roles with regards to the documentary. I am assigned as the Producer and Covid-19 Supervisor, Heather Wallbanks the Screenwriter, Derrin Elliott the Director of Photography, Joey Main as the Editor, and Harry Macer as the Director. 

In the breakout room, we came up with a selection of ideas for our documentary and discussed through each one. Our ideas were as followed: how young people live their lives through social media, students in lockdown, how Covid-19 has affected things (e.g. culture, drugs/the increase in the use of drugs), how Covid-19 has affected exams/schooling, graduates finding it hard to find jobs, dognapping and ideas surrounding protests. Upon Beth's feedback, we decided against a documentary to do with Covid-19 as there has been a lot of coverage with regards to this and multiple documentaries have been and are being made. We also decided against a documentary about dognapping as we couldn't see it as being feasible and safe to film. Discussion with regards to a documentary about protesting and the recent Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, kept coming up so we decided that we would do a documentary about that. Some of us, including myself, are incredibly passionate about the subject. The target audience of BBC 3's target audience are 16-24 year olds and they are looking for something that feels "timely and contemporary in subject and/or shape" (Campbell, 2021). Our documentary idea fits in with this as within the last two years, there has been an increase in protests, especially with regards to the Black Lives Matter Movement, climate change and women's rights, meaning that the subject is current. In addition to this, young people appear to be becoming increasingly vocal, with regards to societal issues. 

With our idea, we also had to think about the angle we are taking and what is new in it (Turrell, 2021). Some things that we had to keep in mind were the perspective presented, the contributors and choosing them (ensuring that they were engaging and in some cases controversial). We struggled to get to the deeper meaning of the angle and what we were trying to get at, which was frustrating. In order to tackle this, we are going to have a conversation with Beth to gain an outsiders opinion as to what she thinks we're getting at. 

Bibliography:

Campbell, F. (2021) BBC 3 Commissioning. At: https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/bbc-three (Accessed 18/04/2021)

Turrell, B (2021) Documentary Lecture Series. [Online 17/03/2021].

 

Documentary - Talk with Kate Misrahi (26/03/2021)

 Talk with Kate Misrahi

Specialist factual and documentary producer and director Kate Misrahi gave a talk over zoom, mainly with regards to writing a script for a documentary. 

With regards to talent/contributors, Kate stated that it's a good idea to draw up a list of contributors and/or the type of people/organisations you'd like to contribute. Building a rapport and communicating with contributors is of great importance to gain a greater insight and gather more information/more of what you need. Those with a direct insight are often more interesting contributors and can bring more to the documentary. 

In addition to contributors, a lot of documentaries also use archival and/or stock footage. Kate suggested when taking a look at this footage, look at it forensically so that you know what is going on within the footage, what commentary you will use within the script, and use it to help guide some of your research. Contacting others for footage can be a great way to gain more coverage and can sometimes be quicker than collecting archival footage. It was suggested that we contact people (e.g. friends, family, organisations, people on social media) and ask for any footage they have. A good way in which to go about doing this is through social media as most people use smart phones to document their lives and things that occur in society. 

When it comes to writing the script, it was mentioned that initially, you should conduct research surrounding the content/ideas for the documentary and take notes from your communication with contributors, starting to put the two into a script. The initial script is known as a 'shooting script', which is an outline/pre-script to guide the cast and crew. Kate informed us that after the coverage has been shot, the script will have to be re-written around the commentary and what's been said, especially in the interviews, as things are likely to have changed. I learnt also learnt that it's important to keep in mind that a script is useful, but don't be constrained by it, especially considering the fact that things will usually always change. 

Moving forward, I will be trying to use the advice that Kate gave along the way in my work. 

Bibliography:

Misrahi, K. (2021) Talk with Kate Misrahi. [Online 26/03/2021] 

Documentary - Talk with Jack Cocker (17/03/2021)

 Talk with Jack Cocker (17/03/2021)

Documentary maker, Jack Cocker, conducted a talk with us over zoom to help us gain some insight into the world of documentary making as well as how his work and career. 

Jack pointed out throughout the talk that you have to constantly be thinking why and have reasoning behind what you're doing as commissioners like to have a reason and often ask questions like "why them?" (Cocker, 2021) and "why now?" (Cocker, 2021). This piece of advice is useful as you're made to think about and explain why you have chosen to do something rather than making a decision and not knowing why you have made that decision. I will use this when going forward as I believe that it will help me in looking back at the things that I have done, the decisions I have made, and the decisions I am going to make and thinking about the reasoning behind them, ensuring that I don't drift too far away from the work at hand. 

When it comes to the talent/contributors, Jack emphasised the need for good characters. What Jack meant by this, is looking for characters who don't change in front of the camera, who have a good personality, who are interesting, and who would potentially appeal to an audience, amongst other things. In addition to this, Jack explained to us that personality of a documentary and film maker has a big role to play. Likability, respect and a clear vision are at the forefront, and can help you get further in life and with your work. People are more likely to work with you again if you are likeable, have respect, and hold a clear vision. It was also mentioned that charm is useful as it allows you to potentially gain access, work, build a rapport etc. however, it isn't essential. 

Another important point Jack made, was to ensure that you think about continuity throughout, especially when cutting as you want to make sure that the action matches. I will try to continually think about continuity with regards to this unit and future work so that my work is completed to a high standard. 

To conclude, I found the talk that Jack Cocker gave extremely useful and will be trying to incorporate what he put forward to us in my work going forward. 

Bibliography:

Cocker, J. (2021) Talk with Jack Cocker. [Online 17/03/2021]