recce report

Over, Kangaroo Hill.

On a small hill with trees surrounding all angles, small road near by to create traffic noise (con) ill have interviews opposite side to avoid noise. its also always open and is public foot path (pro ans con) may have be walking through. shadows may be created by trees not sure.

Over, Allotments.

Open fields in background including crops, trees and long distance villages and roads.

guided busway near by may pick up noises of buses from time to time (con) also it is a allotment with people in cars and quads doing gardening work so people may be making noises there, however it is always open to use because interviewee owns a plot there.

Fenstanton, River Fields

Massively open field with a walkway in the middle with a tree line behind it that covers a river. very good open natural lighting with no obstructions also the area is public footpath however is hardly used known from personal knowledge another pro is that its not near any roads at all so no noise of traffic is  will be picked up.

log rushes and edit decision

use of editing in sound and visuals in my documentary sequence 

Here in the intro i have added wild tracks i recorded on set on another day and a different sound clip of forests to add to interviews that are not based outside to create a shared ambience thats all the way through. also i slowly edited out the visuals and audio for first shot to make then go into the title to flow well into the start of the documentary. lastly you can see i have mixed the audio with every single clip to make the flow more fluid between shots and the sound is not blocky and the background noises from some clips flow into the next.

Here is a closer image later on in the documentary showing the mixing the audio between clips and the images added on top to flow shots together well. also the wild track at the bottom has been altered in areas were wind or noise happens or its peaks to not be there to make it better to listen too.

This is the end of the sequence where the audio of the last clip is being dimmed out when the music is coming in for the credits where i have the titles fade in and out with the images fading in and out too then music slowly dies out at the end of the sequence.

Here is just another image showing the latter however is showing the timescale to show the audio mixing is done through out the clip to provide a crisper more listenable sound to the sequence. 

Log rushes

bbfc research

The BBFC are the British board of film classification, the bbfc is a guide to media content to make sure you are viewing wanted content, they are tour guides of the media world and make sure the public see what they want to see and are well trusted to get this done.

the bbfc regulate media content that are shown to public in the UK, they also class and label content, e.g films, games and music and other forms of media, the bbfc have been classifing films since 1912 and DVDs/videos since 1982.
some video games have been classified by the bbfc due to the video recording act of 2010.
the bbfc is funded by the film industry and is the prime guide that assigns classification and labels to censorship to film in the uk.

The bbfc was formed in 1912 by the film industry to create a regulator to classify and label film rather then have the government do it for them, so that's how the bbfc came to be.

funding of the bbfc

the bbfc is a independent non-profitable organisation, so funds are gained from the charges of the services they provide, the bbfc have never been funded by the film industry or the government.
the independent fees on films are based on length to set costs to film makers on the film they want regulated.
the BBFC also work and consult with the departant of culture, sport and media to set the fees.

Ratings and certificates 





U- universal, available to all.







PG- parental Guidance, suitable for all ages however have some scenes of mild sex or drugs and violence which could be unsuitable for younger children.









12A- used in cinemas for films that would be inappropriate for younger children under the age of 12. the film could contain mild nudity, violence, soft drug use, children under the age can see the feature if accompanied by an adult above the age of 18.










12- features that suitable for children of 12 and over and not any younger even if accompanied by an adult, the contains are the same as 12A just minor the accompaniment of an adult.

15- not suitable for peoples under the age of 15, these films could contain content of hard drug use some foul language and strong violence and lastly sex reference in places by justified in cause.






18- 18 ratings are suitable for peoples the age of 18 and over only,
thew contains of the films can have no limit to the extend of strong gory violence, hard drug use, graphic nudity, strong foul language and sexual contain reference.






Coraline

Coraline was set as a PG and not a U rating because of the general feel of the film and the spooky atmosphere it provided so parents would have to be the judge of whether they wanted their children seeing the film, within the film there are elements of horror so with the horror in mind it had to make the criteria for it to be PG by making it not intense with the horror and pass it for silly scenes or going into song or dance and turned the elements of horror into comedy and family entertainment.

set design update

On photoshop i made an image of all my past ideas into a one image to create a feel to the documentary in the set design

Target audience

Target Audience 

The target audience for this documentary was to be people whom would be going to a festival for a first time and not in a postion of being unaware of some elements to consider, so the purpose was to show the highlights and regrets and what mistakes not to make.

The age group i am aiming for is around 16 - 19 years of age, so people more or less my age whom a bit more naive and wouldn't prepare a festival correctly however i would say all ages above 16 would find the piece interesting if going to a festival for a first time.

i would like to this at film festivals or documentary specific festivals and or my local festival of cambridge film festival, another place id like to see this played would be a my local cinema of the arts picture house to get views and feedback by my fellow city goers.

set design ideas

tried to get people to wear clothes they would of worn at the festivals.

 i want people to wear wellies to give a feel of a festival.

 the set location being on fields would instantly set the audience in the zone of the stories told.

 for the seating of the interviewies i wanted to use camping chairs to again set the festival feeling.

time schedule for project 4 documentary

rough cut of festival virgin - documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp6LoMpEs1s




barney, needs more shot variety of interviews and more live action cut aways.

will, the images and cut ways are good and relative to the dialogue in the interview.
the shots that are shown are well down with nice focus and background.
needs to sort the audio out on some shots with the girls, too windy and ruins the flow.
add colour correction to some interviews were its darker due to lighting.

sam, nicely shot and needs to be clear with the audio also the ambient sound works well and connections the interviews well in a better flow.

linear and non-linear narratives and structures

Linear narratives

A linear narrative is a story told from the start to the end, beginning from the being introduced to the characters to the happy ending the characters end up with growing as a person and finding a new them.


an example would be any rom - com where the two characters have their own separate issues and the issues it strains on them then through each others love they pass over the issues, get together and end up happy ever after.

Non - Linear Narratives 

A non linear narrative is a story that is more complex then a straight forward end to start, the story could be set in a way to contain certain events at different times to set in information when needed or when the director whats us to see bits of information for effect.
for example in the film memento starts at the end and ends at the beginning this is really defining element and example of non-linear narrative, however compared to other films that a completely mixed around  in a mix up of settings they would seem more confusing and effective in their cause.

Interview, cut aways and wallpaper locations for festival virgin

Over view map of locations to interview

groups to interview

Interviewees

Tom- single male about reading festival 2014 (voice over main narrative)

(single male view on festival)

Gemma - single female about reading festival 2014

(single female view on festival)

Anna - single female about latitude and reading festival 2014

(another view comparing festivals)

nia and Lauren - group female about isle of white and reading festival 2014

(group comparing festivals)

jim, ben and matt - group male about reading festival 2014

(groups thoughts together on festival)

holly - single female about secret garden party 2014

(completely different festival)

Val - single female about latitude and reading festival 2014 

  (comparing two festivals)

jack and seb - group male about reading festival 2013 and 2014

(comparison between years) 

Festival Virgin Chapters 1-5

new log line and synopsis for festival virgin

Log line

 the tales from the experiences and tales of first time festival goers.

Synopsis 

A Narrative consisting of the stories and experiences from people who went several different festivals all for the first time sharing their stories of what happened how it differed from their exceptions and what life was like through out the days they were there.

it's also a guide for people whom might be going to a festival in the following years and advice for them on what to do and what not to do, what to bring and how to prepare. 

Festival Virgin - project 4 - documentary

THEME

the stories and experiences of peoples first festival experiences.

sub themes

- expectations of a festival and the reality 

- do's and dont's at festivals

- tales from the festivals

- advice on festivals 

rough idea for chapters

expectations, the first thoughts and the reality

camp life, the atmosphere and hygiene.

the music, the faculties and the people there  

highlights, struggles and regrets

final advice, thoughts of it and a review of festivals

(somewhere in there for people who went to two festivals and then compare them)

the questions asked in order for festival virgin - project 4 documentary

-Where and when was your first time?
(this will start of the introduction to the characters and the subject matter)

-What were you expecting from the festival?
(give emotional elements to the characters to here the change in there experience and hear their end wisdom)

What was the size and atmosphere like ?
(coming in with a big factor that most people dont consider to put in the surprise factor of the characters explaining the mear size of this giant festivals)

-What were your first thoughts of it?
(shows the first shock and changes the characters went through and how different it was for them and will draw in viewers to see more to see actual people see a different world and the viewers will want to know that world)

-How did it differ?
(same as the above as a follow up)

-Was it for better or for worse?
(from here the questions are self explaining)

- What was the hygiene like throughout your time

- What was the camp life like?

-What sets and bands did you see?

 Did you endure any injuries or pains?

-Tell me about meals and eating.

-Tell me of random events you encounted from strangers at sets or at camp.

- How did you feel on the last day?

- What were your highlights and best bits?

-Did you have any regrets or things you'd change from the weekend?

- What is your review of it all then?
(giving reviews for people whom might go in future)

-Any tips or advice for first timers?

-Will you go again?
(simple statement to give future goers advice to go or not)

Planning and ideas, shots, and more - Festival Virgin - Project 4

Scene Direction

All/ Most interviews filmed in gardens or fields in the day with a lot of lighting for summer effect also id have the interviewees in there summery clothes and sitting in camping chairs like festivals do, and possibly have tents set up in back ground.  

Camera Direction

Each person interviewed will have their own separate shot to everyone else, so one person will have one shot that they keep to for themselves.

An element i might at is to have an intro/scene for main speakers of them either sitting down/setting up chair or looking off to the field in dramatic shots.

Questions

Here are just a few questions i'd ask in the interviews.

-Where and when was your first time?

- Tell me everything from start to end.

-What sets and bands did you see?

- What was the camp life like?

-Tell me about meals and eating.

- What was the hygiene like throughout your time

- Did you endure any injuries or pains?

-Tell me of random events you encounted from strangers at sets or at camp.

-What was the size and atmosphere like ?

-What were you expecting from the festival?

-How did it differ?

-Was it for better or for worse?

-What were your first thoughts of it?

- How did you feel on the last day?

- What were your highlights and best bits?

-Did you have any regrets or things you'd change from the weekend?

- What is your review of it all then?

-Any tips or advice for first timers?

-Will you go again?

Voice over

The voice over would be the people taking part in the interviews over the top of footage from sets to photos.

Footage Description

Footage would consist of photographs from festivals and footage from the sets and other events at the festival time, and would be placed in when someone talks about the relevant subject matter and that go over as a voice over for that footage.

Pace

The pace would be rather fast due to the fact that im interviewing 20 people about multiple different festivals and about 4 days to each festival, so i want to keep it quick and snappy for guidance.

Story Elements

- Expectations from interviewees
- What its really like at festivals
- Advice for first timers
- Review of a festival

Research - Facts Figures

-Dates and times of festivals and acts
- Acts themselves that played
- Two people to say if an event actually took place

Graphic and other info

- titles of people and where they went
- when sets come up the band playing
- footage wil show when and where it was

Narrative and story Structure

the explanations and differences in narrative and story

The story is what the piece is about either it being film, television, radio or video games, the story comes down to the events themselves and the things and characters that are there.

The narrative is how the story is told and presented to an audience, for example a story of a robbing of a bank could be told from the cops view of dangerous crooks that need to be taken down or on the other end from the narrative side of the crooks themselves if it followed their view it could show struggle and that they are doing it for a good cause in their eyes.

so a simple story can easily blended to different views and narrative of loads of characters and even places or objects.

The Explanations of 3 act structures and 5 act structures 

3 ACT STRUCTURE

3 act structure is in 3 basis of a start to end, the first act is known as the set up and this introduces us to characters in the piece and the way they live, their relationships and the world they live in.

then towards the end of the first act a turning point happens to where the protagonist(s) have dynamic occurrence to deal with through the film and creates the climax throughout out and leaves them with a pending question if they can resolve the problem that occurred.

The second act is the Rising action or known as the confrontation within this part of the film we have the main character(s) trying to resolve the first problem that was the turning point however the problem seems to go further or they even worsen the situation that they were already in.

the main character(s) can not deal with the issue at hand yet due to a lack of skill that is required or a set advantage they have above the problem this achieved through the piece via character development and progressing in a way of changing who they are to solve the issue.

The third act is the resolution and is resolving the story and the problems and challenges the main characters had to deal with, the resolution also deals with the sub-plots of the piece e.g a relationship between two people either love or not whilst the main story would saving the world for example.

this then leaves the main character(s) and protagonist(s) with a new sense to who they really are and a new lease on life.

5 ACT STRUCTURE (CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD)

1. Exposition- the exposition features the key characters and the main locations to the audience e.g Andy Duframe  in the shaw shank prison in the film shaw shank redemption.

2. Development- learning more about the characters and how they live and what their world is about, e.g shaw shank redemption again of learning the life Andy Duframe and how he develops in prison life and the friends that he makes and the past that he had.

3. Complication- then something happens within the film that changes the current status of the character just like the turning point in the 3 act structure e.g Andy Duframe tries to prove his innocence in multiple ways and multiple ways to over come the issue however finds them to come to loose ends.

4. Climax- the problem is being solved by the protagonist and is coming to a build up of where the issues and problems are going to be resolved e.g Andy Duframe is digging is way out of prison over the years he is there (not told until the end) and is trying to escape via that method.

5. Resolution- the issue is solved at last and the sub-plots too and leaves it on a happy ending for the main character(s) e.g Red is released from prison and meets up with Andy Duframe and they start a fishing business together.

Festival Virgin Documentary list

Festival Virgin

interview set ups.

- interviews at specific locations

- my house

-their house

- my garden

- their garden

- or fields/ green area

- how many people to interview

- trying singles, no influence

-trying doubles, recall more change view point

-trying bigger groups for variation and more recalled events

types of people i wait to interview

- more boys

- more girls

- equal amount

- people who hanged out the most

- either first festival goers

- or first reading festival goers

- a range of people

- 10 people

- 20 people

- 30 people

types of questions to ask

- camp life in general

- the sets playing

- hygiene life in camp

- exceptions for festivals

- whole tale from day one

- high lights from the whole event

- advice for future goers

- atmosphere of the festival 

 - the size and scale of it all

- first thoughts at arrival

footage i would want to use

- interviews themselves

- photos from the festival

- footage of sets playing

- amateur phone camera footage

LOG LINE

The tales of first time festival goers and what really happens in festivals. 

synopsis 

The narrative will consisted of 10-30 people telling the events of reading festival 2014 in their eyes and what happened at sets, at night and at camp through out the day time.

the film would flow from the tales of characters in the film telling all the information they can about their exceptions to first thoughts and how it ended and how well they handled and giving advice all the way through for future reading festivals goers to learn from and prepare themselves. 

project 4 documentary ideas

A documentary of a place - McDonald's Restaurant in Swavesey services and the people there

within this idea i would take a look at the people of mcdonalds from the mangers to the crew, to see the every day life of people who work at fast food restaurants, because there is a massive variation of people and there is always new comers and people leaving, so its a massive adapting family that i find is really interesting to see the lives of the big family.


A documentary of an issue - peer pressure of drugs on teens


A documentary of a place - reading festival


A documentary of my interest - festival first timer guide


A documentary of a person - my dad and his time in the US Air Force


A documentary of a place - my village 'over'


A documentary of an autobiography - my scars and wounds

Restrepo - documentary review

RESTREPO

A Film by Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger

2010

genre

The genre of this documentary was a war film and of a company being deployed in Afghanistan in 2007 and the stories that followed their time there.

story

The story follows a captain and his company through out the year they are deployed in the valley of Korengal. were they try and progress more in the valley then their brothers in arms before them, in techniques of developing bonds with locals, setting up new outposts in the area and searching for the enemy and removing threats to the military and locals in the valley.

Characters

The characters within the documentary are the soldiers of company 2nd of the 503rd infantry Regiment, one of the most staple mark characters is juan 'doc Restrepo, he was the first man to die in battle in the company and was a friend to everyone so when the company went out to make a new outpost they named it after him and there is the name of the film too. and a lot of narrative comes from Restrepo the human and the out post in the way in dictates where the men live and respect presented to him.

The other characters are the friends of Restrepo and men in the company, one of the main characters is the Captain of the company as tries to settle issues with locals, break news of deaths and organises operations to strike the enemy.

Narrative

The Narrative in the documentary was of the mens point of view on their day to day lives and fellow men beside them, mainly all focuses on going home and living another day not many talked about why they were there or what they thought of the war situation it seemed to be more focused on the lives of the men in the camp and out on operations, and the true emotion of a solider on a field and how even the toughest of men can eventually break and keep on going.

The main location of events are from OP Restrepo which was a forward outpost set up by the company about 3 months into deployment in the valley.

Cinematography

The footage and style film was very raw and real, nothing seemed reconstructed or set up for interesting footage.

Orignal footage was used through out the documentary of real firefights also the style was very raw in the way that the left it all natural to show what happened to the equipment during filming e.g in the opening scene the company encounters a fire fight and the sound gets cut off during the period where the footage is played however the film makers left it silent and did not try and reconstruct new sound for the footage which i personally liked a lot, felt more real.

Also the film contained interviews by many men from the company as they went through the events of their time there in their own view points and this based the flow of the story and narrative as they took you from event to event, focusing on different events each.

A list of equipment and gear used during filming from Junger himself.

- used Sony V-1 and Z-1 with A-1 backup. External camera mikes exclusively, no wireless or anything. Crew was Tim and myself though often we were there without the other person. Recorded to SD and HD tape. Took many batteries and simply brought all the tapes back each trip and made dupes, then put it all onto hard drives. we usually stayed at restrep about 3 weeks; we each did five trips, sometimes together sometimes apart. the studio interviews were done in Italy three months later, over the course of five long days. In the field we never used a tripod or lights and carried everything we needed on our backs.

That right there is what makes me feel a lot of emotion for this film and feel like i am there and really seeing the emotion behind war, like the example of them not using tripods or lighting in scenes makes it seem that there really couldn't afford to carry the equipment and is a on foot seeing what they saw.

Sound

The sound is the original sound from interviews and footage taken on the ground, the voice overs were sometimes from the interviews and explained the event happening or lead it into the next.

Also a piece that was edited nicely was when the men were enjoying some music together and then from there were the footage would of stopped most likely the film makers kept in the music from orignal sound owner and smoothly carried on the music through a montage of the company.

  

My thoughts
I really enjoyed the film on the valley and the platoons actions and stories i feel all the emotion of the men and their views on deaths, victories and life after the war.
Through out you really see the banter and laughs the men have and how the men react to good and bad news, seeing the war in this different light really jumps up the feel to a violent area and events come from out of nowhere and events become 10x more thrilling then a normal war film due to knowing the real life men and the life they have and is shown through out the film.

http://youtu.be/LVmkZLqQEUc