Filming Session 2

We have just got back from our second filming session on location with the group 'Five Rivers'. The filming was once again successful, once again we used a two camera set up that allowed us to capture more footage.

The interviews that followed the practicing session took place in a pub down the road. Alice asked a variety of different question to each interviewee, and the responses we got we interesting and in some cases, unexpected.

This time around we didn't take any lighting equipment, as we didn't need any lighting during the first shoot. We could have perhaps used a couple of Dedo lights in the pub, however judging from the viewfinder footage, the levels of light seemed fine when we were conducting the interviews.

I'm happy we filmed in the pub, as it was a nice change of scenery, away from the standard training community halls. On top of this, the group said themselves that one of the main reasons they morris dance, is to socialise and enjoy a drink afterwards; so to film them in their "natural" environment was an added bonus.

Tomorrow, or over the weekend I'll be looking through the footage and putting together a rough edit.

Equipment List 2

Below is another equipment list that we're using for the second filming session in Hillsborough, as well as the filming over the weekend.

Filming Call Sheet 2

Here is the second call sheet for the filming we're due to do on the Thursday 28th February in Hillsborough.

Workshop Session

For our last documentary session, we were in the workstation studio practising different techniques to documentary filmmaking. This primarily involved conducting and practising interviews and how to set them up.

A practise interview.

We took it in turns being the interviewee and the interviewer. We learnt techniques that would help us get the best response/footage from the subject... 

• Not to be afraid to ask them to move around if incase (e.g.) the lighting is not strong enough in a certain location. By telling the interviewee that they'll look better in a certain place, they should more than happily comply.

• Nodding and beckoning to the subject rather than responding with "Yes" and "Mhmm"

• When shooting handheld, we practised keeping the subject in the frame as best as possible, and to move the camera around to whatever the subject is doing. For example if they pick something up, tilting the camera to show the audience what they're doing. By using almost 'common sense' techniques such as these, it can create a more natural feel to the piece; one factor that is key to documentary filmmaking. 

• Positioning the chairs in a certain way to allow you to frame the shot pleasingly. For example in a two way setup, placing the chairs together at an inwards angle as to allow the pair to look 'connected' with one another.

• Placing the interviewer's chair next to/close to the camera, so when the interviewee is talking, they're looking just off-screen, creating that connection with the audience. 

Pitch Feedback

Following our session in which we pitched our idea to the class, we have received the following feedback -

It appears we have received some positive and negative feedback.

Our approach apparently isn't original enough, I'm not sure if I agree or disagree with this because there are only so many approaches you can take for a documentary such as ours. The reasoning behind our idea is that the majority of people only see the 'mask' of the morris. They only see it being performed, with a full make-up and outfit. We aim to explore behind the mask, the reasoning behind the tradition, the people themselves and their lives, and to eliminate the common stereotype towards the dance.

I agree with the statement about the 2 minute piece, and I think it will be a challenge to create a 'poetic' piece. From the footage we have captured so far, I cannot think of much I'd like to put in the two minute piece. In my head, I vision a calm, soothing, some-what slow but poignant film showing the colours, richness and the elegance of the dance with no speech whatsoever.

Whether we'll be able to achieve this is another matter. Hopefully our main camera operator (cinematographer) Natalie has some ideas.

Boggarts Breakfast

Boggarts Breakfast, are a Morris dancing group that go against the traditional stereotype people have of the traditional dance. Our group member Alice, has in fact danced with them previously! This group have appeared on radio shows (fairly recently) with Toby Foster on BBC Radio Sheffield, and TV shows including CBeebies.

The team are based in South Yorkshire and feature both female and male dances. From the looks of it, the majority of them are in their teens, furthermore eliminating the traditional stereotype.

The make-up is more extreme and 'out-there' than I expect from a Morris dancing group, and the group themselves dance to metal music which is very interesting and most of all different.

Alice has contacted the group and they are more than happy to be involved with our production. Hopefully they will be in Sheffield over the weekend dancing, so we'll be able to film them and acquire the interviews we need!

Here is the link to the group's website - http://boggartsbreakfast.org.uk/ee/

Filming Call Sheet

Below is the call sheet for our first shoot on location.

Filming Commenced!

On Tuesday 19th February, we filmed on location for 'Steel Bells' at a local community hall. This was my first true experience watching a Morris dancing group practice their routines outside of their costumes. My expectations were met during the session, and the footage we gathered from the two hours we were there was of a reasonable quality.

Standard Tripod, fixed shot

I say reasonable quality, because we had a couple of issues whilst filming. The camera  on both the 550D and 600D stopped filming automatically multiple times. I searched the problem on google and it appeared to be the SD cards we were using. Put it simply, the cards we were using were not the correct type for HD filming, one way around this was importing the footage onto Natalie's laptop, clearing up the memory on the cards and hoping they would work again... fortunately they did.

Tripod, fixed shot - different angle

The footage we captured was fairly reasonable, we got a lot of footage from afar showing the group practising their routines. I mentioned that it would be a good idea to keep the camera rolling 30 seconds after they had finished their dance, as to capture their 'true' emotions and reactions to the routine they had just performed. Because one of our documentary's key aims is to portray a more 'human' side to the people involved, this was an important part to capture. As to whether the footage we captured is of a high enough standard to use in the edit, I do not yet no. Within the next couple of days I shall be looking over the footage entirely to create a rough edit to show on Monday.

Handheld, close-up shot

We went for a two camera set up, which allowed one of us to capture hand-held shots, and one of us to capture shots on the tripod. This offered us a variety and allowed us to capture twice the amount of footage with the fast pace of the dance/session.

Towards the end of the session, I decided to capture some MCU (medium-close-up) shots of the performances. However, it was difficult to get any effective shots of the dances themselves due to the fast pace of the dance, and the fact that they move around unpredictably and spontaneously.

Whilst I carried on with filming the dances, Natalie and Alice took a couple of the participants aside to interview them. Judging from some of the footage I have looked at, the framing and question responses don't seem too bad. It's a shame the building we were in was your standard, 'bland' place... I feel it won't be very visually pleasing to the audience when I begin to edit it all together. I'm hoping over the weekend when the Morris 'festival' takes place, we well acquire some richer colours in the visuals.

Interview - Tripod, fixed shot

It's worth briefly noting that a couple of the takes we shot appear to have grain. Hopefully this will be sorted out for the next time we're shooting!

Overall, we're pretty happy with the footage we captured on the first night of filming. We began early, and aim to have nearly all of the footage we need for the two minute and the ten minute peace by the end of the week.

Hip Hop Grannies

Hip Hop Grannies, is a short quirky documentary that looks at the elderly residents of Beijing participating in hip hop. The concept of the documentary is different enough to grab the audience's attention instantly.

The film cuts from their lifestyle at home, to the sessions in which they attend. A lot of dialogue is used throughout the piece that fills the audience with information about why they do it.

Dialogue runs over the imagery of them performing, as well as on the interviewee themselves. This technique keeps the audience entertained and it allows you to cut back to the interviewee when they say something of importance - it makes the audience focus more on what they've said.

This fun and quirky look at the elderly performing hip hop, is one influence for our Morris documentary. We aim to look behind the dance and why they do it, what drives them to perform and explore the community behind the stereotypical tradition.

http://current.com/shows/current-tonight/89285957_hip-hop-grannies.htm

Equipment List

Below is the equipment list for our first filming session.

Treatment

As a group, we have created a treatment along with our PowerPoint presentation for our documentary idea.

Documentary Pitch Powerpoint

We collaborated as a group and created a PowerPoint presentation that we presented to the class, below is the PowerPoint itself.

We decided to follow the traditional structure by firstly addressing the question 'What is Morris dancing?'... during one of the earlier sessions, it became apparent to me that a few people didn't actually no what Morris dancing was, this was a surprise as growing up I have often seen the dances performed in a variety of places...

So we aimed to give our audience a basic understanding of the topic in hand, and then led onto the main issue, the 'stereotype'.

By showing the traditional, stereotypical view of Morris dancing and explaining it, we then went on to showing the unknown side of the tradition.

We included a clip to the 'Hip Hop Grannies' short documentary that I briefly discussed earlier, and talked about how the short film may relate to what we're trying to achieve with ours.

The last few slides covered our aims, and how we plan to achieve our aims.

In conclusion, the pitch itself went well. We got positive and thorough feedback that we will take into consideration when producing our final piece.

With Alice having first-hand experience in the topic, I left her to do most of the talking, as she was able to answer all of the questions whilst portraying a positive image of the tradition to the audience.

My Role - Editor

For this documentary production, my main role within the production is the editor. As well as this, I will also be assisting with the camera work as we're using a two camera set-up throughout the stages of filming.

Alice is the producer, Natalie is the primary cinematographer, and we're each sharing the directing role as we feel a balance of our input will contribute more effectively to the final piece than one person taking charge.

My role as an editor...

• Logging and capturing the footage - importing the footage onto the computer and creating sub-clips to create a more manageable template to work with.

• As an editor I may be able to offer a fresh eye on the narrative/camera, in other words when I look over the main footage that has been captured by Natalie, I will be able to draw up any fresh ideas to the look/feel we're aiming for.

• Colourist/grader - correcting any shots that look over-exposed or off-colour, there is only so much post-production you can do to an image however before it becomes too much.

• Sound syncing - Alice will mostly be taking care of this, whilst i'll be focusing on the visual edit.

• To create a piece that works and gels together smoothly. One that conveys the images in a light that will produce a positive response from the audience... in order to achieve this I will create a structure.

Rough structure 

Imagery of the stereotypical dances -> interviews -> more dances -> interviews -> imagery of less stereotypical morris dances -> interviews etc.

Walter Murch, one of the all time great editors of our time!

Throughout the piece I will attempt to create a vibrant energy to the edit, to achieve this I will a combination of techniques that include jump-cuts, layering (both visuals and sound), and upbeat (both diegetic and non-diegetic) sounds.