This is a vital element of the overall coursework as it gives you the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them without it impacting on your grade. However, we also strongly advise you to create a preliminary exercise that is linked to your real coursework concept - this may give you additional material to use later in the term.
Preliminary exercise: TV documentary interview
Task: Film and edit an interview to use in your TV documentary
Length: 45-60 seconds
Equipment: Your own camera / smartphone or sign out a Media department Canon SLR and sound recorder from our technician Mr Harrison in DF06.
Groups: None. You MUST work individually. However, other people will need to be involved - perhaps as the interviewer, interviewee or production team (camera operator, sound etc.) This is fine as long as they are directed by the candidate submitting the work. Keep a note of who you use and how you directed them.
What your TV documentary scene needs to include
Content: Your preliminary exercise must include the following:
- A title with text on screen giving the name of the documentary or topic.
- A 10-second montage sequence of establishing shots that introduces the interviewee and their location with at least two different shots/angles. This opening to BBC documentary Tough Young Teachers has several good examples of montage introductions to interviewees.
- At least two clips from the interview. Think carefully about how you will edit this (you may want to shoot additional shots or 'cutaways' to allow you to edit the two interview clips together).
Camerawork: Your interview must be framed carefully with consideration for appropriate shot type. Medium shots and medium close-ups often work best but use your research into documentaries to inform this decision.
Editing: You must edit your sequence to ensure the audience understands your topic and the context of what your interviewee is saying.
Sound: You must include non-diegetic music and voiceover to introduce the topic and high-quality diegetic audio from the interview itself. You may also want to include other sound e.g. ambient sound, foley sound, music etc.).
Mise-en-scene: iconography to establish topic/genre of documentary - placement/location of interview, costume and make-up, props etc.
Deadlines
Planning deadline: See Google Classroom
Filming deadline: See Google Classroom
Final deadline: See Google Classroom for specific day - total time available for project is two weeks.
Research and planning blog tasks
Create a blogpost called 'Preliminary exercise: Research and planning' and complete the tasks below. First, watch this clip on the mistakes beginner filmmakers make - it will help you identify the errors to avoid when planning and shooting your documentary (this clip is about narrative filmmaking but many of the same points apply such as bad sound, shot framing and more).
There are loads more tips and tutorials from Darius Britt (D4Darius on YouTube) that we would recommend watching as part of your research and planning. These include:
1) State the topic you have chosen for your TV documentary.
2) Choose at least three TV documentaries similar to your concept and watch a clip or more from each. Make bullet-point notes on everything you watch, commenting on camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.
Editing: You must edit your sequence to ensure the audience understands your topic and the context of what your interviewee is saying.
Sound: You must include non-diegetic music and voiceover to introduce the topic and high-quality diegetic audio from the interview itself. You may also want to include other sound e.g. ambient sound, foley sound, music etc.).
Mise-en-scene: iconography to establish topic/genre of documentary - placement/location of interview, costume and make-up, props etc.
Deadlines
Planning deadline: See Google Classroom
Filming deadline: See Google Classroom
Final deadline: See Google Classroom for specific day - total time available for project is two weeks.
Research and planning blog tasks
Create a blogpost called 'Preliminary exercise: Research and planning' and complete the tasks below. First, watch this clip on the mistakes beginner filmmakers make - it will help you identify the errors to avoid when planning and shooting your documentary (this clip is about narrative filmmaking but many of the same points apply such as bad sound, shot framing and more).
There are loads more tips and tutorials from Darius Britt (D4Darius on YouTube) that we would recommend watching as part of your research and planning. These include:
- Mastering Composition + Cinematography
- How to record better audio
- Nine things to check before pressing the record button
- Learn Premiere Pro 2018 in 11 Minutes
1) State the topic you have chosen for your TV documentary.
2) Choose at least three TV documentaries similar to your concept and watch a clip or more from each. Make bullet-point notes on everything you watch, commenting on camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.
3) Plan your interview: name of person being interviewed, filming location etc.
4) Write a list of questions to ask your interviewee.
5) Write a script for your preliminary exercise. You can find an example documentary script opening here.
4) Write a list of questions to ask your interviewee.
5) Write a script for your preliminary exercise. You can find an example documentary script opening here.
6) Write a shot list containing EVERY shot you plan to film AND additional shots to create flexibility when editing (these are often called 'cutaways'). These additional shots are often close-ups, alternative angles or shots of your interviewee doing something related to the topic. I advise using a simple table on Microsoft Word to set out your shot list - you can find an example here (this is from narrative filmmaking but the same format can be used for documentary).
7) Plan your mise-en-scene: what iconography are you including to ensure your audience understands your topic and gets to know your interviewee? Plan your interview location, costume, make-up, props, lighting and setting.
8) Plan a shooting schedule that will ensure everything is filmed by the deadline. Include when, where, who is required, planned equipment and any other aspects you need to arrange.
Research and planning deadline: see Google Classroom
7) Plan your mise-en-scene: what iconography are you including to ensure your audience understands your topic and gets to know your interviewee? Plan your interview location, costume, make-up, props, lighting and setting.
8) Plan a shooting schedule that will ensure everything is filmed by the deadline. Include when, where, who is required, planned equipment and any other aspects you need to arrange.
Research and planning deadline: see Google Classroom
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