Overall Process
The creation of "Dream Chaser" has certainly been the hardest challenge of my life. I took on board the responsibilities of scriptwriter and director, as well as doing a lot of the producing work in the early stages of the project and, of course, being in the film my self. This project was one that was very personal for me and being heavily involved in all stages of the process was a challenge in itself. I started conceptualising this idea in 2017 as I knew what I wanted to do for this project, but at that time I did not have a clue how to make it happen, or if it was even possible.
The process began in early 2018 as I started to think about how I could make this project a reality. I approached the 750 Motor Club to see if they had any contacts within the drivers who raced with them and who may be interested in working with me on this project. This early work led me to Sam McKee and we met up in April 2018 at Brands Hatch to speak about my plans. We came to an agreement that we could race together as long as I put together the finances and proved I was good enough to race with him.
I kept these plans going throughout the summer, meeting up with Sam a few more times to ensure that he appreciated my commitment to the idea. I watched on as Sam and his teammate did a great job which led me to believe that I had a great opportunity to race this car and be alongside an excellent contributor. The reason why I did not follow up any more opportunities was mainly the cost. Sam had put together a very competitive price for what he was offering. But, more importantly, Sam was a great person to be around and I knew it would be a massive positive for the documentary to have him as a character in it.
In the pre-production unit for this project, I progressed my talks with Sam and we knew this would definitely be happening within this unit. There were false promises offered to me elsewhere, but I ultimately always knew that Sam and his team would be the best people to work with thanks to the way they presented themselves. More importantly, it felt natural to be around Sam and I think that hugely benefited the documentary.
In pre-production, my thoughts were mostly about the script and piecing together a cohesive story, one that allows the viewer to get to know me as a contributor and connect to my story and why I am trying to complete this challenge. My research in pre-production allowed me to grasp how important challenge and danger was in a documentary like mine. I made sure to include a number of challenges along the way in my script and I ended up being very happy with it. I am particularly proud because I have found script writing to be the toughest part of this course.
I also managed to arrange a number of fantastic interviews in pre-production as, at this stage, I was not sure who was going to be working with me. I felt it was important to start up a line of communication with the people I wanted to include in my project. A number of these played out and I am very happy to have put the effort in at the pre-production stage. I personally feel we had some fantastic contributors.
Overall, I was very happy with what I managed to complete in pre-production, which put me in a good position when I was joined by George Nicholls and Cailan Cook in January. The initial roles were me as writer/director/contributor, George as the producer and editor and Cailan as director of photography. However, this changed in March with Cailan and George splitting the editing due to George not being able to manage the workload alongside his role as a producer.
In pre-production, we had completed a number of test shoots which allowed us to be in a good position when we started filming in January. Our filming process was initially from the end of January to the middle of April, but after the issues in the first race, it ended being a shoot schedule of over 90 days, until the end of April.
The early stages in January let us all get used to our roles, but there was still a sense of overlapping which did cause a few issues with miscommunication within the team. Due to the scale of the project, we did have a few more of these issues throughout, but it definitely did not affect our end product, just wasted some of our time. In January we looked through my script and thought about how we would film it.
As I was an active contributor, it led to us all having to understand what was needed from me as a director before we went into a shoot date. The team decided that they wanted a shot list as well as a camera plan. This would allow Cailan to create storyboards and George could create items such as a call sheet for his role as a producer. I also made sure to send the team reference material when possible to reflect the style I wanted each segment to look like. I think this was a very helpful process as it allowed the crew to have a lot of information about what I thought we needed, allowing me to be in front of the camera and focus on being the contributor.
During our first shoot dates, the racing medical, racing license as well as go-karting, I thought the team did well to adapt to the scenarios that presented themselves. The medical was routine and nothing untoward happened but in the license shoot we had a number of issues which meant the footage was not as good as initially planned. Firstly it rained, which did not help the camera lens on a few cameras, especially Cailans' who was constantly moving and did not always remember to wipe the water off. This along with being called for my license much earlier than expected meant that the camera crew were not all in position in time and we did not quite manage to get everything that was planned on my pre-shoot plans.
These issues allowed me to rethink what more I could be doing as a director, although I know that what happened was out of my control. My research into "adapting to the unknown" showed me that more communication between myself and the producer would make issues such as this less likely in the future. George could also have created a more in-depth plan from his side which could have potentially allowed us to have fewer issues.
However, I also look back on this shoot and realise that the crew did the best job in the circumstances. This was our first proper shoot date and, in reality, they captured all the actuality that they needed for this sequence. My research told me "Take real inventory of your surroundings and your resources. Still try to creatively adapt, but make sure your documentary film is practical.... Documentaries are much more than just interviews. The real meat of many documentary films is found in the coverage and B-roll which merely uses the interviews as narration. Your subject will dictate what types of coverage are most important" (PremiumBeat, 2016). I understand that due to our inexperience we could all have done better, but I do not think we could have asked for much more considering how quickly things changed.
After this shoot I started to create more detailed plans and also thought it would be good to speak to the team about some of the technicalities of motorsport, as the more information they have, the easier it would be for them to adapt to changing circumstances. Both Cailan and George have done a fantastic job of involving themselves in the sport and, throughout this unit, they improved their knowledge which resulted in much better cinematography. I am glad we spoke about this as it allowed the creative decision making of the crew to be vastly improved.
The directors statement that I created in pre-production allowed the crew to understand my creative vision, but my reference material such as "Icarus" allowed the team to really see how I wanted this to be filmed. Icarus was a massive inspiration and I feel a lot of the filming styles adopted by the D.O.P as well as myself in my directors shot list and camera card were thanks to this film. The importance of extreme close-ups and powerful actuality were the big areas that I wanted to replicate in our film.
My research into documentaries such as "Danny Macaskill - Riding The Edge" and "Free Solo" allowed me to grasp how we can make actuality interesting. Clear audio was very important but not as important as a natural conversation, so common sense at the time would decide whether using a clip mic would ruin the moment. Other things such as the importance of B-roll came from this research. We had already planned to capture a lot of GV shots in this documentary, but this research pushed me to ensure that, for particular shots, it was included on my shot list. The production process was made easier thanks to the amount of B-roll captured which gave us an abundance of shot choices in the edit.
I also spent a lot of time doing production work at times as I got in contact with a number of our contributors and set up all of these interviews. I also set up a Kickstarter fundraiser which allowed us to raise nearly £900. I also feel I did a fantastic job obtaining sponsors for this project, spending a lot of time making contact with people, eventually obtaining over £2000 worth of sponsorsship. This, alongside our personal contributions, made sure this project could happen. It was a lot of effort but it made sure that Cailan and George were not worrying about the financial side and I am proud of how I conducted myself in this process.
I was happy with the variety in our interviews with Jamie, Dan and Abbi as they all had a unique style to them. My research into making interviews unique and interesting allowed me to make the creative decision to split them all up, as a repeated interview would show a lack of creative ingenuity. "The same interview with a hedge-fund manager communicates different information if it’s in his marble and polished wood office vs. the floor of a working factory. An interview against the wrong background is an accidental miscommunication." (tubularinsights.com, 2011). I knew I could not change the style and backdrop too much as it would confuse the viewer, as per the above quote, but I wanted to allow myself the opportunity to mix up the styles used. I was very happy with my work on these interviews and the walk and walk with Dan is certainly one of my favourite sequences because of its professionalism. If we had had good lighting for this scene then I would have said it definitely was my favourite. Thankfully we got both cinematically pleasing shots as well as very interesting interviews, I certainly felt I did a good job as a director in planning these sequences.
Due to working around Cailan's working schedule we were limited in what we could do in the early months, which led us to film on pretty much every day he was not working. It was a challenge to work around his schedule, but I think George and I did a great job in creating a process which ensured we managed to get all of the content needed. Without this restriction, I feel like there would have been less pressure throughout these opening three months, but we worked around it to good effect and managed to film the essential parts of this journey.
February and March were essential shoot months for this project as I went through a number of the key challenges to make this dream a reality. I took part in a number of track days which was really exciting and due to the team's knowledge of the style and tone I wanted, we managed to come out of these days with fantastic material. We also had help from friends within the university as well as a few talented videographers from outside. Due to the scale of these shoots we needed as many hands as possible and I think we managed to get the most out of these days because of the dedication from our film crew.
These months also allowed me to get better as a director and I feel that I was able to distance myself when I was a contributor which allowed for better material as I was not worrying about what the crew was doing. This was thanks to my research which showed me what skills I could improve on as a director, which ended up helping me as a contributor. "A good director must possess strong communication skills. If the director cannot be understood, the production team will not be able to fulfill the production design. The director may have a brilliant idea in mind but if they cannot communicate clearly it is all for naught." (ossiemills, 2011). Improving as a director was always a personal aim in this process, but thanks to working in the moment together with my research, I certainly feel I did improve substantially. Being cool under pressure and having clear communication skills allowed me to evolve as a contributor and a director. I was very happy with my progress.
Our numerous scouts and test shoots in this project allowed us to capture a number of emotive sequences. The Diary Room and the South Downs sequences were certainly helped by comprehensive planning and scouts. They allowed us to have a few thoughtful scenes in our documentary and both of these sequences are my favourite as a director because I was able to set out a clear creative vision. This vision came to life and because of the research and planning, I feel these sequences add a powerful style to this documentary, as it is sometimes hard to make actuality speaking visually interesting.
The sequence with my Dad was one that took some planning to ensure that my Dad was comfortable, but it is powerful to ground the documentary and ensure the viewer knows how much my family were a part of this journey. Even though my Dad was sceptical at first, he did a great job on camera and the sequence was one that many people see as a powerful one within our project. I am happy I took Simon's feedback and ensured this happened as it added a personal touch to the story which ensured the viewer was further connected to the story.
After a long process and a number of great experiences, we got to the final stages of our project with a couple of test days before the final race with Sam. These test days went well and allowed us to introduce another location (Donington Park) into our documentary. This opportunity to show a further location made sure not every event we did took place at Brands Hatch. Both of these days we had trackside access thanks to George which ensured we got some fantastic shots and I am proud of the team for using my reference material and shot lists and camera cards to good effect which meant we had a lot of great footage.
We finally got to race day after over 30 test and shoot dates which was a big moment for us all as a team. We did not have trackside but I used my knowledge of the circuit to ensure we had a number of unique angles from around the track. Looking back at the footage, the crew did a great job to ensure we used angles which were a little different to the ones in other sequences. The pit lane crew kept up their fantastic work in capturing the actuality needed for an overall sequence. Of course, the race did not go to plan but we managed to capture enough footage to put together a sequence.
I had planned to have the second race that we completed be the finale of the documentary but, after some thought and discussion with the team and Simon, we agreed that the PTC recorded at the end of the race day was so powerful, we had to end on that. Even though we had limited footage due to the pit lane camera not being switched on in the key moments after the race, we struggled to make the sequence as emotional as it could have been. Nonetheless, the ending sequence is powerful and I am happy that we made this our closing thoughts.
The editing stages of this project allowed Cailan and George a lot of time to ensure the creative vision was met. Even though we did not always agree on what we should use, we managed to get all of the sequences together before realising how long the documentary was. We were looking at a 30+ minute documentary even after cutting a number of sequences. However, we proceeded to cut each sequence down and keep the story intact which left us with a 25-minute documentary [Excluding credits]. I feel we were tough on ourselves and managed to cut a lot of the nuances within sequences which allowed us to make each scene a lot tighter. I feel we could have been even harder on ourselves and possibly cut another minute, but any more would have left us missing key information within the journey. I think if we had a little more time we could have made the documentary a tiny bit tighter, but due to the fact we had a large number of shoot dates and started editing late, I feel we did a fantastic job and I am very pleased with the final documentary.
Positives
Dream Chaser has always had a great story and I think we all did a great job in ensuring that the story was broadcast in a powerful way. On the majority of shoot dates the team was very productive and we managed to get a wide range of shots alongside the ones noted on my shot lists and camera plans. This dedication to capturing content allowed us to have a lot of choices in the edit on the majority of sequences. I think this meant the documentary was especially interesting visually as we did not have to repeat the same shot a number of times and the knowledge I passed on to the crew about motorsport allowed them to focus to a greater degree on what could be important within the sport.
Our scouting of the majority of locations allowed me as a director to expand my creative vision and let my plans for the actual shoot dates be even better. I was very happy with my work as a director as I feel this allowed the crew to capture my vision as well as allowing them to adapt when something presented itself. I did struggle at times to disconnect myself as a director on some shoots, but by the end of the process I was able to switch off and allow the crew to do their work which ensured I gave a powerful and natural "performance" in front of the camera. This also allowed me to focus on being a contributor and actually enjoy this process instead of constantly worrying about being a director when I could not do anything in the moment.
I think the visual style is very consistent throughout our documentary and I see the scenes such as the Diary Room and South Downs as being very powerful because they are somewhat different from the rest of the documentary. Saying this, I do not think they stand out in the wrong way because the documentary ended up being able to flow throughout. We took great care in the edit to ensure sequences worked together and connected well. The tone was also very consistent, even though we did need to focus in the edit on this as a lot of the tone is shown through the way scenes are edited. I honestly feel the documentary is very natural and I think the viewer can easily connect to me as a contributor and understand my story and come on a journey with me.
I was happy with my job as a contributor. I certainly was not flawless, especially as I was so involved as a director within this documentary. However, many people have said that I am very good on camera and I will accept this, even though I always see flaws and strive to improve these. "A good presenter therefore understands the process of television production. They should be interested and involved in the subject they are presenting and they should have a good understanding of the audience – who is watching and why – because a good presenter is able to engage with the viewers." (http://wanttoworkintelevision.com, 2011). Therefore, thanks to the feedback I have had, I would say I have done a good job considering I do not really have any experience within this role. I would say a lot of this is thanks to my research which showed me the importance of the presenter engaging the viewer. The feedback has told me this is the case which makes me happy.
The scale of this project was massive considering our resources and I feel we can all be proud of how we dedicated ourselves to it and adapted and overcame any issues that stood in our way. It was not a simple process but because we worked very well as a team, we managed to get the most out of a majority of the shoot dates. That ensured we ended up with a lot of material, actually making it hard to make this documentary one of around 20 minutes in length. Thanks to the honest feedback from Simon we continued to work well in the edit and condense down our film to one of 25 minutes and I think this is once again thanks to us working well as a team, even though we did, of course, have differences along this creative journey.
I was very proud of the fact that I managed to attract a number of sponsors who made a large financial contribution towards our project. I used my YouTube channel and social media to good effect as this income made sure the project was possible. Alongside the creation of the fundraiser which helped us with £900 (mostly from my YouTube subscribers), I was pleased to ensure that money was not an issue because, without it this project would not have happened. I dedicated myself to getting these funds together and, in doing so, it allowed me to learn a lot about the way filmmakers need outside financial sources to make challenging creative visions a possibility.
Overall the coverage captured on the majority of shoot dates was fantastic and I am proud of the team for getting this as it allowed us to have many choices in the edit. Without this, we probably would not have had a consistent tone throughout and the documentary would have been of a lesser quality.
I made sure to conduct a lot of research before taking upon new challenges which really helped me ease myself into each process and I feel this research was a big positive in my work. This research was key in my main creative decisions and, without it, I feel the documentary as a whole would not have the same feel to it. This research ensured our documentary had a consistent and interesting tone throughout. It allowed me to see how I could be improving myself which ultimately led to very productive shoot dates and work I am very proud of.
Negatives
In the early stages of the creative process, there were a few communication issues which led to us all wasting time. These issues surrounded creative decisions and most of the time after speaking in person or on Skype they were resolved. We did struggle in the first weeks to ensure we all knew exactly what we were doing due to the nature of this project and the number of shoot dates we had. Creative differences did not often happen on shoots but, as I was the contributor in the majority of these, I did not offer my input at the time to ensure I remained as natural as possible.
On a few of the shoot dates, we did not get quite the footage we were expecting. On the license day, we had rain on a number of the shots from Cailan's camera which did limit their usability. On the Dan shoot, the team did not have any lights which meant we did have grain on this scene, which was a shame as it was a fantastic sequence. George got into the shot on a few occasions throughout this process, but that was probably inevitable as Cailan was due to follow me and sometimes George would be nearby.
In the early stages, we were limited by Cailan's availability which was a shame as it meant some shoot dates were possibly more rushed than they needed to be. The overall quality was fantastic, but I feel with fewer restrictions on shooting dates we would have been able to ensure we had every single shot possible as, on a few occasions, we had to re-shoot due to not getting it how we wanted the first time.
A lot of the shoot dates actuality was fine and exactly what I would have expected. However, I was disappointed that on the main race day, Cailan stopped filming me after the car issue as there was a lot of important actuality that was missed. I honestly feel that this would have made the ending scene of our documentary even more powerful. It was disappointing as it was on my shot list to capture key actuality, but thankfully we saved it in the edit.
Speaking of the edit, we possibly put pressure on ourselves by starting the edit late. George was always insistent in the early stages on doing everything his way which did end up leaving us behind schedule as we did not start editing until the end of February, even though our first shoots were over a month before that. This left us behind for around a month as George ended up giving half the edit responsibility to Cailan, which ended up working well. Cailan did a fantastic job in adapting to this new role, but I do wish George had allowed this at the start as it would have ensured we did not have to rush the edit after getting behind.
We did have audio issues on a few occasions at the start of the unit, which we quickly learnt from, and proceeded to use a clip mic on all occasions where we thought it would be needed. I do wish we had thought of this right from the start, but I suppose I am happy we learnt quickly allowing the majority of the film to have fantastic audio. We used a clip mic that attached to our phones which was made by RODE and gave us a similar quality to that of the university clip mic. This addition allowed us more creative freedom, ensuring these sequences were true actuality.
Finally, the last negative I see from our production is the colour grade. I had done a lot of research into colour grading and I feel this was left too late to make a visual difference to our documentary. I wanted to colour grade a few weeks beforehand but George was insistent on waiting until we had finished the project before colour grading it. This meant that he did the colour grade in a few days, just before hand-in. I personally feel it was rushed and does not quite give the tone I wanted from this project. However, I did not want to cause an argument with him just before hand-in so I went along with his grade and did my best to adapt it to what I had researched. In the future, I would like to spend more time on this.
Learning Outcomes
The biggest thing that I learned in this project is how to manage a team and ensure everyone does the best job possible. I have understood the importance of communication in allowing this to happen because the moments in this project where we have had poor communication, have clearly been our worst days.
Understanding how we work together and collaborate on issues has allowed me to become a better director and I really enjoyed how we came together to overcome every issue we had along this journey. It was sometimes hard for me to take feedback but becoming more open and accepting this feedback has allowed this documentary to be better because of it.
The creative vision of George and Cailan allowed me to open my mind and think about other ways the project could be improved. I think, because of open discussion within our group, we made sure that each sequence was what we wanted. Without these discussions, we may have struggled to ensure each scene was going to work within the scope of the overall documentary.
Time management has been a key part of making this documentary work. We had so many shoot dates and a condensed edit period, and I feel we have done a fantastic job in allowing the whole documentary to be filmed in a natural way and one which truly shows the scale of achieving your dreams. I think I did a great job with my time management as every shoot date was planned well and we always got the content we needed for our documentary. We left time for pick up days and used those to good effect to ensure everything we needed was present for the edit.
I learned to be hard on myself and ensure that the documentary was as tight as it could possibly be. This allowed the documentary to have a professional style and ensured that it did not drag on. We had to cut a large number of sequences and, working as a team, we made sure we only cut those that had the least impact on the documentary. It was a real challenge to get this down to 20 minutes but we did it and I think that is thanks to being brutally honest about what moves the story along.
What I could Develop
Even though I am very happy with the final outcome of the project there are a few things that I would like to improve upon if I had the time.
The colour grade deserved more time and ideally, we would have tightened the whole documentary and possibly cut another minute to ensure all sequences were as tight as possible. Saying this, due to the restrictions we imposed upon ourselves, I think we did a fantastic job to get this documentary to 25 minutes.
Communication could always be better and everyone could always be more productive but I think, taking into consideration the scale of this project, we did a fantastic job. I do wish that we were able to work on the transitions between some of the scenes, as a few of them could have been improved and a little more natural.
We worked well as a team but ideally we would have ensured that we had enough camera operators and crew on certain days. It was not good to have our producer, George as a camera operator and we could have ensured that this didn't happen. These are things we look back on in hindsight, but typically we managed to get everything we wanted and I do not feel the documentary was hugely affected by not having these extra crew members.
Closing Thoughts
I am really happy with the outcome of this project. It took a long time to get it all together and ensure the film actually happened, but we managed to do it. It has certainly been the biggest challenge I have ever had and I feel like I have adapted well to everything that has been put in front of us.
My work before all of the shoot dates allowed the majority of days to go smoothly and I am very happy with what I created before each of these days. I think it aided the progress of this project and, because we worked well as a team, we typically filmed more footage than needed, giving us choices in the edit which was really important.
I don’t think I could have done much more as a director before each shoot as the crew continually praised the work I had been creating. I had been given some suggestions about what the crew needed and I feel like I always did what was needed of me. My role as director in the edit allowed me to give my opinion on how I envisioned each sequence would work, but I always wanted to allow the editors to show their creativity. I feel we worked around our creative differences and ended up with a project that, we all agree, is what we set out to create.
I wanted to create a documentary for a BBC3 audience, one showing what it is like to dedicate yourself to achieving your dream. As a director I believe we managed to do this as the documentary certainly takes the viewer on a personal journey, while including some interesting interviews and contributors.
As the main contributor I am happy to have challenged myself and have been told that I do well in front of the camera, although I expect we could have had a better documentary if I was not included. Maybe this is me being hard on myself, but I like to be honest in this regard. I think being in the documentary myself did cause problems in terms of being connected to certain scenes and specific moments but, as a team, we managed to talk about these moments and always found a solution which worked for all.
I am happy with my work as a script writer, even though I know in myself it is not my best role. I tried really hard and worked with Simon and the team to make a story which is interesting and has depth, and feel that I managed to achieve this. But, looking back, I would make some small changes to the script and give myself a few more opportunities for powerful moments within the documentary. I like the Diary Room and the South Downs as well as the sequence with my Dad, but I think there was a chance for more. Maybe I am being unrealistic, but I don’t feel like I did a bad job in this role.
The feedback from my peers and tutors allowed me to develop the project and ensure that this documentary was one which had a powerful story. I appreciate the feedback given by all my tutors and industry professionals such as Nathan Caws. It has allowed me to see how we can continue to improve, even when we thought we had got everything right. We all strived for a great project in this unit and thanks to my research we got closer than I expected when I had my initial thoughts nearly two years ago.
By the end of the unit we managed to communicate very well within the team and thanks to that the edit was a great process. Our creative differences did not get in the way of making the documentary even though, at the time, some disagreements did take time to resolve. Typically, I believe we acted as professionals throughout this unit and managed to work as a cohesive unit even when these creative decisions divided us for a while. We adapted well and improved consistently throughout the unit to ensure these decisions did not take up much time.
This documentary was a special one for me as I was so involved, but I think it was ultimately a success thanks to the work of Cailan and George. They allowed themselves to be immersed within this idea and because of that they managed to connect to the sport and the story on a deeper level. Through doing this, I believe that we finish this project as one we can all be proud of. We achieved the goal that we set out many months ago. I do feel that I am hard on myself because I always want to improve, but the team always did a good job of lifting my spirits which ensured that we were always productive.
I got a chance to live out a dream as well as work on an amazing project for my final year of university. I am very proud of the work I have completed and happy to have done so with a great team alongside me. I will never forget this journey and will cherish it for the rest of my life.
References
PremiumBeat, 2016: https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/a-complete-guide-to-documentary-filmmaking/
tubularinsights.com, 2011https://tubularinsights.com/shoot-video-interview-doesnt-suck-10-tips-ignore/
ossiemills, 2011 http://ossiemills.org/2011/01/social-media-outlets-for-non-profits/
http://wanttoworkintelevision.com, 2011 http://wanttoworkintelevision.com/what-makes-a-good-television-presenter/
Sunday 12 May 2019
Production - Edit Week Review 6th May - 12th May
This was our final week editing "Dream Chaser" and thanks to the slightly extended deadline we were able to add some extra finishing touches to ensure it is a project we are all incredibly proud of. The final week was about completing these last touches as well as taking onboard final pieces of advice from our lecturers and peers. One of the key changes that needed to be made was the voiceover at points in our documentary. On the 7th May, Cailan transcribed my previous V/O and we adapted it to suit what we needed. The new V/O is what is shown below. The recording sessions went well and we obtained all of the material needed.
Alex Final V/O Clear-up | May 7th 2019
Introduction V/O
“I’m Alex Baldwin, and I want to know how hard it is to follow your dreams. Since I was young, motorsport has been a huge part of my life. I have immersed myself in the sport… but I’ve never had the chance to race competitively.”
“In 3 months time I’m hoping to race in an endurance club event, in a BMW 3 series.”
“But before I race, there are many things I need to overcome.”
“These challenges will test me to my limit… and question whether the effort, will be worth achieving a life’s ambition.”
Fitness Sequence V/O
“After hearing what Abbi had to say about fitness in motorsport… I decided to go to my local gym and speak to a personal trainer, in order to find out what I need to be focusing on.”
“I spoke to Craig who took me through a number of unique tests which allowed me to understand what areas of the body needed to be trained for my first motor race.”
“He set me a number of aims before this race, firstly to lose 2kg and then to train my upper body strength, focusing on my neck and arms.”
Donington Sequence V/O
“As race day approaches, I’m heading to Donington Park so I can drive the BMW race car for the first time.”
“I’ll also meet up with my teammate Sam, who’ll give me a few pointers and help me settle into the car.”
“Sam’s story is really interesting, he converted his road car into a race car, and still drives it to every event. he started racing 3 years ago and has never missed a race”
“It’s a great way to show everyone that there’s a way into motorsport on a smaller budget.”
Racing License Starting V/O
(15 seconds max)
“My racing license is split into a written test and a practical test in a car, during which an instructor will guide and assess my ability to safely and consistently drive the circuit.”
OR
“Before I step into a race car, I need to obtain a National Racing License. You are required to complete a written test along with a driving examination. If you pass both, you get your National B Racing License”
Kickstarter V/O
(11 seconds max)
OLD:
“I’ve taken on board Jamie’s advice and worked out how much this is actually going to cost. This project is going to cost £4000. That’s including all of the racing, testing, equipment and travel costs.”
NEW:
“I’ve taken on board Jamie’s advice and worked out how much this is actually going to cost. Factoring in our sponsorships and personal contributions, we’re looking at a total budget of £4000.”
EDITING TO BE COMPLETED
After a fantastic feedback session from Simon, we came away with a list of minor changes that we need to complete before we hand in on Monday. As the director, I looked at the list of changes and separated them out into who I thought would be responsible for making these changes. My aim throughout the edit has been to give opinions on improvements while trying my best to allow both George and Cailan space to have their own creative freedom. It has been a hard task to do this as George and I especially don't always have the same perspective on the edit. However, through the challenges, I always feel we have come to a solution which has been a happy medium. As director, I have been trying to make the hard decisions and while that has been tough, I feel like I have done a good job in enabling our mammoth documentary to be condensed to nearly 20 minutes. Simon is happy with the length as it does not seem longer than it needs to at this point, which was the aim once we knew it would negatively affect the story if it were any shorter.
Cailan:
George:
Alex Final V/O Clear-up | May 7th 2019
Introduction V/O
“I’m Alex Baldwin, and I want to know how hard it is to follow your dreams. Since I was young, motorsport has been a huge part of my life. I have immersed myself in the sport… but I’ve never had the chance to race competitively.”
“In 3 months time I’m hoping to race in an endurance club event, in a BMW 3 series.”
“But before I race, there are many things I need to overcome.”
“These challenges will test me to my limit… and question whether the effort, will be worth achieving a life’s ambition.”
Fitness Sequence V/O
“After hearing what Abbi had to say about fitness in motorsport… I decided to go to my local gym and speak to a personal trainer, in order to find out what I need to be focusing on.”
“I spoke to Craig who took me through a number of unique tests which allowed me to understand what areas of the body needed to be trained for my first motor race.”
“He set me a number of aims before this race, firstly to lose 2kg and then to train my upper body strength, focusing on my neck and arms.”
Donington Sequence V/O
“As race day approaches, I’m heading to Donington Park so I can drive the BMW race car for the first time.”
“I’ll also meet up with my teammate Sam, who’ll give me a few pointers and help me settle into the car.”
“Sam’s story is really interesting, he converted his road car into a race car, and still drives it to every event. he started racing 3 years ago and has never missed a race”
“It’s a great way to show everyone that there’s a way into motorsport on a smaller budget.”
Racing License Starting V/O
(15 seconds max)
“My racing license is split into a written test and a practical test in a car, during which an instructor will guide and assess my ability to safely and consistently drive the circuit.”
OR
“Before I step into a race car, I need to obtain a National Racing License. You are required to complete a written test along with a driving examination. If you pass both, you get your National B Racing License”
Kickstarter V/O
(11 seconds max)
OLD:
“I’ve taken on board Jamie’s advice and worked out how much this is actually going to cost. This project is going to cost £4000. That’s including all of the racing, testing, equipment and travel costs.”
NEW:
“I’ve taken on board Jamie’s advice and worked out how much this is actually going to cost. Factoring in our sponsorships and personal contributions, we’re looking at a total budget of £4000.”
EDITING TO BE COMPLETED
After a fantastic feedback session from Simon, we came away with a list of minor changes that we need to complete before we hand in on Monday. As the director, I looked at the list of changes and separated them out into who I thought would be responsible for making these changes. My aim throughout the edit has been to give opinions on improvements while trying my best to allow both George and Cailan space to have their own creative freedom. It has been a hard task to do this as George and I especially don't always have the same perspective on the edit. However, through the challenges, I always feel we have come to a solution which has been a happy medium. As director, I have been trying to make the hard decisions and while that has been tough, I feel like I have done a good job in enabling our mammoth documentary to be condensed to nearly 20 minutes. Simon is happy with the length as it does not seem longer than it needs to at this point, which was the aim once we knew it would negatively affect the story if it were any shorter.
Cailan:
- Music too loud in dad sequence
- Take out or cut gap to “hanging off the harness” test day w/ sam
- Remove goodbye wave in Sams test day
- Revving at the end of Sam test day could be louder?
- Race day car shot lasts 10 seconds! Add another shot either before or after
- “so-so” audio glitch in PTC before race (approach race question)
- 17:12 car as it exits pits, laugh or something?
- Side of garage shot jolts at the end in race sequence - slow down and extend?
- More shots of Alex on track in PTC after qualifying
- Don’t go to black. Go from V/O straight to title sequence
- Alex’s Dad out of sync? just the W/S straight on?
- Graphics need to be easier to read
- Record YouTube cutaways in JC
- Clock between WEID and Sam trackday
George:
- WTC Audio Levels
- Music bed under WTC Stops early?
- Change Abbi off track clip to quick pan shot
- Audio echo?
- Change fitness music
- Remove the V/O from fitness “going to revisit”
- End on drinks bottle being drunk from
- Either cut away or not in Diary Room
- 2nd cutaway in Jamie too quick - extend or remove
- Backing track to Kickstarter ?
- Kickstarter $$ to be lower and text smaller
- jdxj0162 -> replace with a part of the lap that seems faster?
- Sharpen shot that says “I passed” as looks a bit off
- Equipment drone shot is too long
- Sharpening and colour correction in Dan interview is KEY!!!!
- Cut between Q2 and Q3 drags on, less setup for Alex getting in the car? We cutaway from the answer too soon!
- Use a better shot from Rene interview
- DR1 - F1 on tv? Old footage of Alex at Brands “alexzafro2” channel
- ABBI needs to lose 15-20 seconds
- Sound in cutaways in diary room
- JC intro needs at least 2 seconds off drone shot
- YouTube cutaways in JC
- Cut end of Jamie interview
- Kickstarter graphic starting at £0
- Tighten race license intro / drone shot
- List what I've done B4 Dan - License etc (com?)
- Bring out music in Dan slower
- Music that goes through SD, looking back and race day? Could be one track?
- Recap picture before credits?
Thoughts on the final edit weeks:
Along with this feedback, we took onboard final pieces of feedback from Simon on 10th May which allowed us to edit the final parts in the best way possible. These final words of wisdom allowed us to be very happy with the final project, more of which I reflect on in my evaluation. I am immensely proud of myself and my team for completing this project, we had so many filming days and had less time than was ideal to edit this documentary together. But, because of the dedication of us all as a team, we managed to end up with a documentary we are very proud of.
The key improvements over the past 2 weeks have been ensuring all of the scenes merge together as one. Before this, the scenes all felt distinctly different and did not feel connected. The changes in terms of shot choice, as well as work on audio transitions, has allowed the documentary to feel more fluid. This has allowed the documentary to be a much easier watch as we actually feel like we are going on a journey rather than constantly stopping and starting.
We have spent a lot of time on audio levels throughout these last few days as that was an issue we have known about for a while, but it was George's decision to leave it late as we did not know what scenes were going to stay until late on. I disagree with leaving this part of the edit so long as it has affected viewing for a while, but I trusted George and we completed this in the end which is what really matters.
My recent work on colour grading allowed us to have an idea about what we should be doing in the edit in terms of colour. Nathan had shown us some tricks to enable us to have a good looking film, but my research along with his advice ensured our documentary is consistent throughout. This, like the audio levels and transitions, ensured that the documentary feels like a cohesive project with many different segments fitting together.
I am very proud of our final project and more thoughts will be seen in my project evaluation. However, I would like to mention how much fun it has been to take on a new challenge and take myself away from having direct control over the edit. In past projects, I have been able to edit it in a way I think is best. However, on "Dream Chaser" I have taken more of a project leader role in the edit, ensuring everyone is doing their work. The work from both George and Cailan is on a level which I have not reached as an editor. Accepting this fact has allowed the documentary to be better than if I were editing. It took time for me to adjust to this role and trust the decisions of the editors, and while we have disagreed at times, we have finished with a project we are all very proud of. We all pulled our weight at all stages of this project and I am proud of what we have created as a team.
Saturday 11 May 2019
Friday 10 May 2019
Production - Final Script of Dream Chaser
Dream Chaser has had a number of late changes to the project and this is the final stage of the script. It has been changed almost weekly to ensure we get the project to a stage where we are all happy with it. The script is primarily the same as when I submitted it in pre-production, but the running order and times have changed to reflect the actuality of our documentary. Being a scriptwriter was typically mostly complete in pre-production, but I have made these changes to ensure the script resembles how the documentary looks at its final cut. Being a scriptwriter was never initially my plan, but after discussions with Simon I am happy to have challenged myself and I am really proud of the grade Simon gave me in pre-production. I hope my work has gone beyond that in the production phase as I have made this documentary a reality. I am proud of the outcome and very thankful for the University for believing in me to make it happen.
Link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cf7E27InLPKvbc0EuaFAwzbx7KvnB0hdnbRMo87hvxE
Link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cf7E27InLPKvbc0EuaFAwzbx7KvnB0hdnbRMo87hvxE
Sunday 5 May 2019
Production - Edit Week Review 29th April - 5th May
This week we had a feedback session with Simon and the rest of the group, in which, we were given some valuable advice. The document at the bottom of this page was a list of the areas we will all target to ensure this documentary is in a good place for next Tuesday so we can have more important feedback from Simon.
FEEDBACK
Introduction:
Include a shot of you doing some training, disappointment at the end of the introduction sequence.
Diary Room 1:
Archival footage cutaways, photos etc could be really useful to give some context to what Alex is saying.
What’s To Come:
Audio out of sync?
Abbi Pulling/Fitness Sequence Transition:
Cut the netball related stuff. Really wanna focus on the stamina related question more so than her own story.
Bring in the bed of music before the cut to the following gym sequence, and change the music!
Fitness Sequence:
So much better now without the whole actuality piece within the gym itself.
That’s kinda got two endings, putting the weights down feels like an ending and then he’s back on the leg extension machine.
Diary Room 2:
We really wanna see pictures of Alex and his Dad, old pictures scanned in and ken burns ‘effected’.
Slowly break the end of this sequence into the sequence Alex’s Dad sequence.
Alex’s Dad Sequence:
Music needs to change.
“Should be good fun, looking forward to it” can be cut.
Stings:
Vignette added(?), strengthened etc. We NEED to differentiate it from the background shot.
Introduction to Jamie Interview:
“I’ve been put in contact with a racing driver, etc.” can be cut, all we wanna know is motorsport is expensive and we’re going to talk to someone about it.
Jamie Interview:
Cutaways during Jamie interview could use the audio from the racing clips, much lower volume but noticeable.
“It’s all about money now” can be cut entirely.
“For your situation…” starts to answer the question again, worth cutting - says the same thing twice.
Kickstarter Explanation:
VFX potential for describing what the challenges are.
The white text after the close up of Alex at the desk is a bit boring, got a more interesting shot?
Racing License Sequence:
V/O during silence about license - might be good to explain exactly what it is that you’re doing here. Don’t be too wordy.
A really great example of what it is to make a film, considering how long it was initially, it’s looking really tight now.
Bruno Introduction (assuming it doesn’t get cut completely):
Music obviously needs to change, make sure it ends appropriately rather than just fading out abruptly.
Boring, drags on far too long.
RL sequence is interesting and exciting, then the Bruno sequence is just “boring” I don’t think anyone is going to ask why you’ve got a helmet/suit etc.
Diary Room 3:
Ideally, we wanna see cutaways here to Bruno and other material “Going around the world” etc.
Equipment In Post:
Looks good, no reason for the lower third at the bottom at the beginning again after previously showing it during RL sequence.
Kickstarter progress bar could go in during the Kickstarter reveal moment.
Dan Robottom Interview:
Need some music during the V/O introduction.
The earlier sting can be moved up to before the V/O introduction to this interview.
“This sequence could be put into any kinda top gear style magazine etc, works really well.”
Cross dissolve transition doesn’t work to What I’ve Done sequence.
What I’ve Done Montage:
Simon is not sure about the music.
Donington Track Day:
“So today’s the day” needs to change as this isn’t the race day - set up Sam in this re-recording as well but don’t repeat yourself.
The second part of PTC with Sam about brakes isn’t needed though it is nice context, though this will limit the trackside footage in the sequence of course.
“See you soon” etc can be cut, between the last driving shot and the waving shot.
South Downs Sequence/Race Day Transition:
There should be something to bleed these sequences together.
Race Day Sequence:
Could cut flashbacks to previous moments of the doc to the beats of the heart in the car.
Change the second caption to be slightly more accurate.
“Looking forward to it.” can be cut.
“Sorry Alex, we can’t race.” should be just after the end, before the diary room sequence/ending sequence.”
Give us a bit of a breather before we hear Alex talk during the end PTC, so start with footage from previous parts in the doc and then bring it into the interview afterwards.
The chase continues
Really unique piece of work and it's got so much potential.
How we are tackling this advice and what was edited this week:
FEEDBACK
Introduction:
Include a shot of you doing some training, disappointment at the end of the introduction sequence.
Diary Room 1:
Archival footage cutaways, photos etc could be really useful to give some context to what Alex is saying.
What’s To Come:
Audio out of sync?
Abbi Pulling/Fitness Sequence Transition:
Cut the netball related stuff. Really wanna focus on the stamina related question more so than her own story.
Bring in the bed of music before the cut to the following gym sequence, and change the music!
Fitness Sequence:
So much better now without the whole actuality piece within the gym itself.
That’s kinda got two endings, putting the weights down feels like an ending and then he’s back on the leg extension machine.
Diary Room 2:
We really wanna see pictures of Alex and his Dad, old pictures scanned in and ken burns ‘effected’.
Slowly break the end of this sequence into the sequence Alex’s Dad sequence.
Alex’s Dad Sequence:
Music needs to change.
“Should be good fun, looking forward to it” can be cut.
Stings:
Vignette added(?), strengthened etc. We NEED to differentiate it from the background shot.
Introduction to Jamie Interview:
“I’ve been put in contact with a racing driver, etc.” can be cut, all we wanna know is motorsport is expensive and we’re going to talk to someone about it.
Jamie Interview:
Cutaways during Jamie interview could use the audio from the racing clips, much lower volume but noticeable.
“It’s all about money now” can be cut entirely.
“For your situation…” starts to answer the question again, worth cutting - says the same thing twice.
Kickstarter Explanation:
VFX potential for describing what the challenges are.
The white text after the close up of Alex at the desk is a bit boring, got a more interesting shot?
Racing License Sequence:
V/O during silence about license - might be good to explain exactly what it is that you’re doing here. Don’t be too wordy.
A really great example of what it is to make a film, considering how long it was initially, it’s looking really tight now.
Bruno Introduction (assuming it doesn’t get cut completely):
Music obviously needs to change, make sure it ends appropriately rather than just fading out abruptly.
Boring, drags on far too long.
RL sequence is interesting and exciting, then the Bruno sequence is just “boring” I don’t think anyone is going to ask why you’ve got a helmet/suit etc.
Diary Room 3:
Ideally, we wanna see cutaways here to Bruno and other material “Going around the world” etc.
Equipment In Post:
Looks good, no reason for the lower third at the bottom at the beginning again after previously showing it during RL sequence.
Kickstarter progress bar could go in during the Kickstarter reveal moment.
Dan Robottom Interview:
Need some music during the V/O introduction.
The earlier sting can be moved up to before the V/O introduction to this interview.
“This sequence could be put into any kinda top gear style magazine etc, works really well.”
Cross dissolve transition doesn’t work to What I’ve Done sequence.
What I’ve Done Montage:
Simon is not sure about the music.
Donington Track Day:
“So today’s the day” needs to change as this isn’t the race day - set up Sam in this re-recording as well but don’t repeat yourself.
The second part of PTC with Sam about brakes isn’t needed though it is nice context, though this will limit the trackside footage in the sequence of course.
“See you soon” etc can be cut, between the last driving shot and the waving shot.
South Downs Sequence/Race Day Transition:
There should be something to bleed these sequences together.
Race Day Sequence:
Could cut flashbacks to previous moments of the doc to the beats of the heart in the car.
Change the second caption to be slightly more accurate.
“Looking forward to it.” can be cut.
“Sorry Alex, we can’t race.” should be just after the end, before the diary room sequence/ending sequence.”
Give us a bit of a breather before we hear Alex talk during the end PTC, so start with footage from previous parts in the doc and then bring it into the interview afterwards.
The chase continues
Really unique piece of work and it's got so much potential.
How we are tackling this advice and what was edited this week:
Wednesday 1 May 2019
Production - Project Evolution APRIL 2019
April was mainly an editing month for this project and as we had basically caught up on the editing in March, we were able to focus on every last shoot as it happened. In April we had the fitness shoot along with an interview with Abbi and the final test day and race day with Sam. Of course, the latter did not go as expected and we did not obtain as much footage as I would have liked due to the circumstances. However, after discussing a few possible endings, we decided it would be good to have the option of entering a second race and show me achieving my dream. Either this or a closing Diary Room sequence is how we now expect to end this documentary, with the main focus still being on the race with Sam. I personally think this was the right decision as it allowed us to show both versions to Simon and get feedback on both. They are both the same ending but one gives the context of continuing to chase the dream as our normal ending gives us a slight anti-climax which I think would disappoint the viewer.
Shoot Dates
Barring the obvious disappointment that we did not get the story and footage we had planned at Brands Hatch during the race day, we were all very happy with the shoots that we completed in April. Firstly, all of the day in which we filmed various cutaways, b-roll and the footage for the fitness sequence allowed us to cover a few gaps that we had realised when in the edit. The fitness footage looked particularly good and this was thanks to our test shoot which allowed us to understand what shots were going to be effective in this scene.
The interview with Abbi went as expected and I was happy that my walk and talk mixed with a sit-down interview looked natural. The questions were good but Abbi's answers were a bit less concise than we originally thought. This only meant that we needed to spend some more time editing her sequence to ensure that the answers were coherent and to the point. After editing this sequence and putting it together it flows well and I enjoy that it is now very to the point. This sequence is now as tight as it can be without losing its context.
As for the pre-race test session at Brands Hatch. We won't be able to show any of this due to the project being a 20 minute piece. We obtained a great number of unique shots thanks to the trackside access, but we will not be able to use these in the university cut of the film. Sadly we were not given trackside access for the race so we had to work from spectator areas which limited our creativity on the day.
I spent a lot of time preparing for the race which meant I got together a lot of plans which allowed the crew to work around the restricted access issue. I was not worried about what the crew would do due to these limitations as they have always used my plans to good effect and the footage we have got has been what I would expect. However, due to the circumstances and me not getting into the car, we did not get all of the footage needed from the main camera. While this is a disappointment we have been able to work around the shots we do have to make a coherent sequence. The shoot itself could have gone better in a couple of ways, but the crew remained professional at all times and I appreciate them helping me throughout this journey, as without them, this documentary would not exist.
Typically all of the sequences filmed in April were of high quality and I was impressed with the variety and dynamism of shots that the crew got on these days. It has made sure that the sequences have a lot of options in the edit and this is allowing each sequence to be of high quality. The attention to detail from my plans all the way to the camera operations on the day has ensured that every single scene in our documentary has a mass of great b-roll, this is one of the things that has pleased me the most throughout this unit.
Editing & Trimming Sequences
Our biggest task throughout the month was getting the edit to a stage where it was ready for the race day so we could focus on that once it had happened. The early part of the month was very productive and we got the edit on target and to a place where we could start cutting it down and get towards our target time limit.
We started the month with a 28-minute documentary and that did not include the race day as well as anything that happened after it. This was, of course, a huge problem as we had a maximum time limit of 22 minutes so we had to spend some time as a group getting down towards this. At Cailan's we went through the timeline sequence by sequence and started to remove small moments as well as trimming others, which left us with a documentary of 22 minutes with just the race day to be included.
I was really happy to see that we could trim this much as when I realised how long the documentary was, I thought we would have to cut some main sequences to ensure we hit the time limit. However, working together we managed to make all of the current sequences as tight as we think they can currently be. Saying this, we look forward to speaking to Simon and understanding what he thinks can be removed to ensure we keep our story while probably removing a sequence.
As a team, we are working really well in the edit. Cailan and George are managing to work through the pre-decided sequences and I feel I am able to give input without them thinking I'm criticising the work. This was a problem early on and we now realise that each other's opinions allow these sequences to be the best versions, rather than what an individual thinks. The dynamic we have had through this month has allowed the edit to be the most productive yet and I see us in a good position going into the final few weeks where we will be focusing on the final details as well as working on the colour grade, as that will be what helps us set out the tone.
It has been hard to cut a lot of sequences that I would love to include in this documentary, but that is part of the challenge of this unit. I think we have taken on a complex task with this project, especially since there have been so many variables throughout. The fact that we have managed to keep up to date with the edit and create an intriguing story and then ensure we have multiple choices in the ending. I see this as a massive credit to how much we all want this project to be a success and the lengths we have gone to throughout to show the full picture of achieving a dream.
Overview Of April
I have been very stressed throughout this whole month with understanding what is required of me as a contributor as well as what the crew needs from me as a director as well as how I best conduct myself in the edit. This along with the pressure of possibly letting myself down in the race played on my mind throughout this month and I struggled mentally to be in the right place come race day. The team allowed me to relax as much as possible by the time we got to the race day which is something I really appreciated.
It's great to see the evolution that we have all gone through in this process as we are now at a stage where we are getting pretty much exactly what we want the first time, meaning we getthe great actuality and I can be at my best as a contributor. As the unit has progressed I have become ever more confident in the abilities of George and Cailan in roles they did not expect to be in at the start of the unit [Producer and D.O.P respectively]. This means that, as we go into the final stages of this unit, I see us extracting the most from this documentary in our restricted time limit.
April has been the toughest month for me but because of the teamwork we have had, it has enabled it to be the best in terms of video content quality as well as productivity in the edit. The fact we have trimmed down the documentary to be just outside the time limit considering where we were at the start of the month fills me with confidence that we will be sorted by the time we hand it in. This was probably my biggest worry at the start of the month so I am excited to see this project finally coming together.
May's Mission
We only have a little under two weeks in May to put the final touches to our project. The aims for the last few days are clear. We need to get the sequences completed and then work on the grading. We have certainly challenged ourselves with the amount of filming we have had, along with how late our final shoot dates have been. While it has been a challenge, I have enjoyed it and I feel that with the pressure on, we will be able to complete this documentary and certainly make it one we are all proud of.
There will definitely be no filming in May, and with only a few days left we would not allow that to be the case. We have only needed to record a few pick-up shots anyway as we have been so good in capturing b-roll, we know, going into these last few days, that we have all the footage needed to allow for a fantastic and emotional final sequence.
Overall, the final days of this project will be completely focused on the edit. We have a lot to do to ensure that we get to the time limit and keep the story we have wanted to show throughout. I am so proud to see the idea I started conceptualising over a year and a half ago come to fruition. I spent so much time in pre-production ensuring that this documentary was going to be good. We have certainly had challenges, especially ones in the last few weeks. But we have been able to overcome these and bring together a truly emotional journey and I am really looking forward to seeing everyone's reaction to it.
I have been able to chase my dream in my final year of university and I could not be more thankful for that opportunity. The planning throughout has ensured this documentary hits all the key areas and the crew have consistently performed throughout. I could not have had a better last years project to work on and I am really proud of what we have created. We now have less than two weeks to finish the job and ensure our message is clear.
Shoot Dates
Barring the obvious disappointment that we did not get the story and footage we had planned at Brands Hatch during the race day, we were all very happy with the shoots that we completed in April. Firstly, all of the day in which we filmed various cutaways, b-roll and the footage for the fitness sequence allowed us to cover a few gaps that we had realised when in the edit. The fitness footage looked particularly good and this was thanks to our test shoot which allowed us to understand what shots were going to be effective in this scene.
The interview with Abbi went as expected and I was happy that my walk and talk mixed with a sit-down interview looked natural. The questions were good but Abbi's answers were a bit less concise than we originally thought. This only meant that we needed to spend some more time editing her sequence to ensure that the answers were coherent and to the point. After editing this sequence and putting it together it flows well and I enjoy that it is now very to the point. This sequence is now as tight as it can be without losing its context.
As for the pre-race test session at Brands Hatch. We won't be able to show any of this due to the project being a 20 minute piece. We obtained a great number of unique shots thanks to the trackside access, but we will not be able to use these in the university cut of the film. Sadly we were not given trackside access for the race so we had to work from spectator areas which limited our creativity on the day.
I spent a lot of time preparing for the race which meant I got together a lot of plans which allowed the crew to work around the restricted access issue. I was not worried about what the crew would do due to these limitations as they have always used my plans to good effect and the footage we have got has been what I would expect. However, due to the circumstances and me not getting into the car, we did not get all of the footage needed from the main camera. While this is a disappointment we have been able to work around the shots we do have to make a coherent sequence. The shoot itself could have gone better in a couple of ways, but the crew remained professional at all times and I appreciate them helping me throughout this journey, as without them, this documentary would not exist.
Typically all of the sequences filmed in April were of high quality and I was impressed with the variety and dynamism of shots that the crew got on these days. It has made sure that the sequences have a lot of options in the edit and this is allowing each sequence to be of high quality. The attention to detail from my plans all the way to the camera operations on the day has ensured that every single scene in our documentary has a mass of great b-roll, this is one of the things that has pleased me the most throughout this unit.
Editing & Trimming Sequences
Our biggest task throughout the month was getting the edit to a stage where it was ready for the race day so we could focus on that once it had happened. The early part of the month was very productive and we got the edit on target and to a place where we could start cutting it down and get towards our target time limit.
We started the month with a 28-minute documentary and that did not include the race day as well as anything that happened after it. This was, of course, a huge problem as we had a maximum time limit of 22 minutes so we had to spend some time as a group getting down towards this. At Cailan's we went through the timeline sequence by sequence and started to remove small moments as well as trimming others, which left us with a documentary of 22 minutes with just the race day to be included.
I was really happy to see that we could trim this much as when I realised how long the documentary was, I thought we would have to cut some main sequences to ensure we hit the time limit. However, working together we managed to make all of the current sequences as tight as we think they can currently be. Saying this, we look forward to speaking to Simon and understanding what he thinks can be removed to ensure we keep our story while probably removing a sequence.
As a team, we are working really well in the edit. Cailan and George are managing to work through the pre-decided sequences and I feel I am able to give input without them thinking I'm criticising the work. This was a problem early on and we now realise that each other's opinions allow these sequences to be the best versions, rather than what an individual thinks. The dynamic we have had through this month has allowed the edit to be the most productive yet and I see us in a good position going into the final few weeks where we will be focusing on the final details as well as working on the colour grade, as that will be what helps us set out the tone.
It has been hard to cut a lot of sequences that I would love to include in this documentary, but that is part of the challenge of this unit. I think we have taken on a complex task with this project, especially since there have been so many variables throughout. The fact that we have managed to keep up to date with the edit and create an intriguing story and then ensure we have multiple choices in the ending. I see this as a massive credit to how much we all want this project to be a success and the lengths we have gone to throughout to show the full picture of achieving a dream.
Overview Of April
I have been very stressed throughout this whole month with understanding what is required of me as a contributor as well as what the crew needs from me as a director as well as how I best conduct myself in the edit. This along with the pressure of possibly letting myself down in the race played on my mind throughout this month and I struggled mentally to be in the right place come race day. The team allowed me to relax as much as possible by the time we got to the race day which is something I really appreciated.
It's great to see the evolution that we have all gone through in this process as we are now at a stage where we are getting pretty much exactly what we want the first time, meaning we get
April has been the toughest month for me but because of the teamwork we have had, it has enabled it to be the best in terms of video content quality as well as productivity in the edit. The fact we have trimmed down the documentary to be just outside the time limit considering where we were at the start of the month fills me with confidence that we will be sorted by the time we hand it in. This was probably my biggest worry at the start of the month so I am excited to see this project finally coming together.
May's Mission
We only have a little under two weeks in May to put the final touches to our project. The aims for the last few days are clear. We need to get the sequences completed and then work on the grading. We have certainly challenged ourselves with the amount of filming we have had, along with how late our final shoot dates have been. While it has been a challenge, I have enjoyed it and I feel that with the pressure on, we will be able to complete this documentary and certainly make it one we are all proud of.
There will definitely be no filming in May, and with only a few days left we would not allow that to be the case. We have only needed to record a few pick-up shots anyway as we have been so good in capturing b-roll, we know, going into these last few days, that we have all the footage needed to allow for a fantastic and emotional final sequence.
Overall, the final days of this project will be completely focused on the edit. We have a lot to do to ensure that we get to the time limit and keep the story we have wanted to show throughout. I am so proud to see the idea I started conceptualising over a year and a half ago come to fruition. I spent so much time in pre-production ensuring that this documentary was going to be good. We have certainly had challenges, especially ones in the last few weeks. But we have been able to overcome these and bring together a truly emotional journey and I am really looking forward to seeing everyone's reaction to it.
I have been able to chase my dream in my final year of university and I could not be more thankful for that opportunity. The planning throughout has ensured this documentary hits all the key areas and the crew have consistently performed throughout. I could not have had a better last years project to work on and I am really proud of what we have created. We now have less than two weeks to finish the job and ensure our message is clear.
Sunday 28 April 2019
Production - Test Day in Saxo & Race Day 2 Shoot
After the quick thinking following the issue with Sam a few weeks ago, I decided to organise another race day with the possibility of this being included in our documentary. The Sam race was always going to be the focus of our documentary, I just thought it may be good to show the viewer that I was eventually able to chase and achieve my dream. I know that the failure with the last race was powerful and did show the reality of motorsport, but I wanted to ensure we at least had the footage of me achieving my dream, even if it was not included in the university version.
After knowing it was a reality, I got to work, understanding who I would need to help me film the final two actuality sequences of this documentary. Thanks to help from Rod Birley, who had mentored me earlier in this project, I contacted a race team and agreed to share a Citroen Saxo race car at Brands Hatch over this weekend, in a similar style race to the one with Sam. We would each take part in the race in the same car, changing over in a pitstop halfway through.
There was a test session on Friday and the race was the day after on Saturday. As Cailan was working, the only crew I had on Friday was George for 1 hour and my Dad who has camera skills as well as being good with a video camera. I needed a few people to be there, as otherwise, we would not have the footage of me driving for the first time, as well as good b-roll of the car and team. We also see the team I am with for the first time so any footage on this day would help us put together the story.
We worked off the same camera plans as we did on the Friday test session with Sam. Dad and George had trackside access and my Dad managed to visit two locations in the two thirty minute test sessions I had, doing multiple angles at both. George was only at the location for one session and stayed in the pitlane to get shots of me putting on my race suit and pulling in and out of the pitlane as well as everything in between.
Friday went to plan and we got a number of shots which were different to others in the documentary, which was my aim as I wanted to ensure not every scene looked the same. Friday was most important as it gave me an idea of what the car would be like to drive, so this day was most valuable for me as a contributor/ race driver! I also learned small details such as GoPro placement inside the car as well as track areas we could use on Saturday to ensure the test and race day would look significantly different.
After a successful Friday, attention turned to Saturday and what I hoped would be my first ever motor race. Filming this new race gave us options for an ending for our documentary and I was happy to have gone out of my way to contact sponsors to ensure a second race could happen. I organised this very quickly and with the test day on Friday, I felt a little bit more prepared for my first ever race.
We had a very strong crew for the race day, with Cailan and George working from the pitlane and Jon and my Dad on cameras around the track. Both of the latter have a vast amount of motorsport videography experience, so their input was solely filming the car on track. As before, we did not acquire trackside access because of Brands Hatch regulations on race days, which we understood, and used the plans for the first race. These took into consideration the fact we could only film in public viewing areas, but we knew we would be able to take advantage of being connected to a race team and the unique angles and places we could film.
As a contributor, I had already built up a lot of tension for the first race a few weeks ago, so going into this weekend I was in a different mindset and was able to relax a little more. As with the first race, the team asked me a few questions as well as my teammate to ensure we had good coverage of the people involved to ensure the sequence is grounded. On reflection, the crew had learned a lot from the first race day and the fact they had missed some key shots which meant that on this shoot they recorded an abundance of footage which will give them many more options in the edit.
After a great qualifying which put us second in class, I started the race which added some extra pressure as I was not expecting that! I was hoping for the second half as the race starts are the part with the most danger when the cars are all bunched together! However, I overcame another fear and started the car which was an experience I do not regret. However, the first start did not go as planned. There was a crash in front of me which took out the leading car in my class as well as another quicker car. This only added to the worry of starting the race, after seeing it all happen just in front of me.
Thankfully I kept calm and took the restart well and drove a timid first stint, not taking any risks to ensure the car came into the pitlane and confirm that I did my part in my first ever motor race! I am so happy I took the start as it ensured we would have no problem in saying I actually competed in my first ever race! I brought the car in and my teammate Chris did the second part. It all went well and he drove well to maintain our first in class position, meaning I won my first ever motor race!
An absolutely surreal experience and one I am so happy that I had. If I had not done this race I may have pondered for a number of months about "what if" I had finished the race with Sam. I am happy to put that misfortune behind me and finally do it! The team did a great job (the best so far) of staying out of my way and allowing me to go about the day naturally. And in doing so, it made sure the footage was incredibly natural and I am a big fan of the unique angles which the crew managed to capture and I am very proud that their dedication did not leave them after the disappointment of the first race day.
Overall, a fantastic day for a number of reasons. The footage was incredible and allows us to have another choice for our ending, although at this stage we feel it may be more powerful to show the disappointment after the first race. Secondly, the race went really well and I was able to achieve a dream as well as getting a good result along with it. Finally, I got to meet a number of really great people and finish this part of the journey with my friends and family. It all came together in the end and I am very happy it ended like it did. The amazing crew made sure all of the emotion was captured, ensuring whatever end we have will be powerful in one way. Now we have just two weeks to get the whole documentary edited and finished. I am very proud of the evolution and excited to see the final cut.
After knowing it was a reality, I got to work, understanding who I would need to help me film the final two actuality sequences of this documentary. Thanks to help from Rod Birley, who had mentored me earlier in this project, I contacted a race team and agreed to share a Citroen Saxo race car at Brands Hatch over this weekend, in a similar style race to the one with Sam. We would each take part in the race in the same car, changing over in a pitstop halfway through.
There was a test session on Friday and the race was the day after on Saturday. As Cailan was working, the only crew I had on Friday was George for 1 hour and my Dad who has camera skills as well as being good with a video camera. I needed a few people to be there, as otherwise, we would not have the footage of me driving for the first time, as well as good b-roll of the car and team. We also see the team I am with for the first time so any footage on this day would help us put together the story.
We worked off the same camera plans as we did on the Friday test session with Sam. Dad and George had trackside access and my Dad managed to visit two locations in the two thirty minute test sessions I had, doing multiple angles at both. George was only at the location for one session and stayed in the pitlane to get shots of me putting on my race suit and pulling in and out of the pitlane as well as everything in between.
Friday went to plan and we got a number of shots which were different to others in the documentary, which was my aim as I wanted to ensure not every scene looked the same. Friday was most important as it gave me an idea of what the car would be like to drive, so this day was most valuable for me as a contributor/ race driver! I also learned small details such as GoPro placement inside the car as well as track areas we could use on Saturday to ensure the test and race day would look significantly different.
After a successful Friday, attention turned to Saturday and what I hoped would be my first ever motor race. Filming this new race gave us options for an ending for our documentary and I was happy to have gone out of my way to contact sponsors to ensure a second race could happen. I organised this very quickly and with the test day on Friday, I felt a little bit more prepared for my first ever race.
We had a very strong crew for the race day, with Cailan and George working from the pitlane and Jon and my Dad on cameras around the track. Both of the latter have a vast amount of motorsport videography experience, so their input was solely filming the car on track. As before, we did not acquire trackside access because of Brands Hatch regulations on race days, which we understood, and used the plans for the first race. These took into consideration the fact we could only film in public viewing areas, but we knew we would be able to take advantage of being connected to a race team and the unique angles and places we could film.
As a contributor, I had already built up a lot of tension for the first race a few weeks ago, so going into this weekend I was in a different mindset and was able to relax a little more. As with the first race, the team asked me a few questions as well as my teammate to ensure we had good coverage of the people involved to ensure the sequence is grounded. On reflection, the crew had learned a lot from the first race day and the fact they had missed some key shots which meant that on this shoot they recorded an abundance of footage which will give them many more options in the edit.
After a great qualifying which put us second in class, I started the race which added some extra pressure as I was not expecting that! I was hoping for the second half as the race starts are the part with the most danger when the cars are all bunched together! However, I overcame another fear and started the car which was an experience I do not regret. However, the first start did not go as planned. There was a crash in front of me which took out the leading car in my class as well as another quicker car. This only added to the worry of starting the race, after seeing it all happen just in front of me.
Thankfully I kept calm and took the restart well and drove a timid first stint, not taking any risks to ensure the car came into the pitlane and confirm that I did my part in my first ever motor race! I am so happy I took the start as it ensured we would have no problem in saying I actually competed in my first ever race! I brought the car in and my teammate Chris did the second part. It all went well and he drove well to maintain our first in class position, meaning I won my first ever motor race!
An absolutely surreal experience and one I am so happy that I had. If I had not done this race I may have pondered for a number of months about "what if" I had finished the race with Sam. I am happy to put that misfortune behind me and finally do it! The team did a great job (the best so far) of staying out of my way and allowing me to go about the day naturally. And in doing so, it made sure the footage was incredibly natural and I am a big fan of the unique angles which the crew managed to capture and I am very proud that their dedication did not leave them after the disappointment of the first race day.
Overall, a fantastic day for a number of reasons. The footage was incredible and allows us to have another choice for our ending, although at this stage we feel it may be more powerful to show the disappointment after the first race. Secondly, the race went really well and I was able to achieve a dream as well as getting a good result along with it. Finally, I got to meet a number of really great people and finish this part of the journey with my friends and family. It all came together in the end and I am very happy it ended like it did. The amazing crew made sure all of the emotion was captured, ensuring whatever end we have will be powerful in one way. Now we have just two weeks to get the whole documentary edited and finished. I am very proud of the evolution and excited to see the final cut.
Production - Edit Week Review 22nd - 28th April
My feedback on this cut as Director & Writer
My job as director and writer in the edit is mostly to make sure the documentary is telling the story that I want it to, so I am giving constant feedback about what is working and what is not. These are the notes that I sent to our group chat and they agreed that there is still quite a lot to do in regards to finessing the edit. It's hard being brutally honest on a piece of work that we've crafted, but in doing so we are able to make it the best version possible.
- Audio in 'What's to come' is bad (also this drags on)
- Fitness intro needs to be redone
- The shots with dad sequence still show me on track in events I haven't done, which is a bit odd
- The time between the first two diary rooms should be more?
- L cut the Jamie, MUCH more
- Include audio of cars on track in stuff like Bruno/fundraiser intro, really boring otherwise
- 10:27 - use a better version of this shot
- We need more stuff in the license, happens way too quickly, maybe even one more line from Wil could do it
- Bruno intro to be redone
- Kickstarter funding animation doesn't really work (sorry) - overlaying it on clips which have no relevance to it looks SO odd. we also don't want to see it hit 100% as that's the surprise in the PTC. Overall not a fan of this graphic and we should look at other options
- Gaps in the Dan intro for no reason?
- Audio levels in Donington seq are a bit all over the place
- The intro cutaways (marshal etc) are a bit odd in the race day intro, don't really make sense (it's sunny and looks like a completely different day?)
- "So uh what is qualifying" -> put "Sam, what is qualifying" or "What is qualifying" You don't caption stuff like "uh" and "erm" at all!
- Don't need to hear "looking forward to seeing it"
- Cut at 26:57 isn't great
RACE DAY
The race day was supposed to be a triumphant end to our documentary but because of the events of the past weeks, that was not the case. Saying this, it did highlight the reality of motorsport and allowed us to give a fuller picture of what this means to me. It is the thing with documentaries of this nature, you don't know what's going to happen and that is part of the excitement.
Therefore, editing it did not really change from what I expected it to be. We built up to the race like we would have even if we did not have the car issue. The point was to build interest in the race and show that the journey up to this point has got me into a position that I am ready to race. We pretty much have all of the footage needed to ensure that this sequence is a success, so the edit was just about ensuring we chose the best parts.
We had an aim of 3 minutes for this segment to ensure we tried to stay as close to 22 minutes as possible. We are struggling to get the documentary, with some of the new scenes, down to this length and we will be making some key decisions over the next few days to make sure it is there. It is hard doing this as we have attachments to all of these sequences so it would be really hard to cut any of them.
The race day edit was not as tough as I originally thought as it was about placing the day into a condensed sequence. To save time, both Cailan and George worked on the edit, with George doing the interviews and Cailan doing the rest. Cailan really edits well to music and throughout the project his choices have allowed the documentary to have greater meaning and place further emphasis on the journey.
After selecting two songs to use in the race day he got to work. The day starts with myself giving my honest thoughts on the day ahead, with the music in the background as well as the cutaways, this scene is powerful and allows the viewer into my mind before I get out on the track. I think this opening works well and pushes home the message that is shown throughout the documentary.
The rest of the sequence that is edited so far is about placing the day into the timeline in a condensed format. Meeting Sam, getting ready for qualifying as well as an explanation of what it is from Sam. Thereafter some thoughts from myself before I get ready to take over the car from Sam.
There is time to cut in both the PTC from myself and Sam and this is how I see us cutting the sequence back to three minutes. My decision to record the race commentary on the race day has also helped us so much in the edit as we can build the tension for the race and throughout with this and the music bed behind it. We also have some fantastic audio of the cars on track which also highlights a sense of speed and danger in this sequence.
The whole sequence is much shorter than I really want it to be because of the time limit and I am certainly worried that a lot of our key messages are lost because of this. There is nothing we can do about it so we are looking at options to see how we can least affect the story and the tone. The race day sequence is not quite finished yet, but Cailan should have a full cut for us over the coming days and it will certainly be in there for the University screening.
The progress is good but as always, we need to be conscious of time and my biggest worry is losing the tone of our documentary. We are having to trim back so much, it is hard to take but I know that its the reality of it. I am looking forward to seeing a full cut very soon and then we can get to work on deciding what needs to be axed for the University screening.
STINGS UPDATE
Over the past week, we have been working on the stings to ensure they are a bit faster as well as showing key information such as the Kickstarter goal and the fitness element. Cailan created a Kickstarter motion graphic which shows the viewer that the money we have been donated is going up. I personally don't think this works as it currently is, as it looks a bit cartoony and doesn't really bring home the point about how hard it was to raise the money. We have not found a solution to this right now so this will be something that we speak to Simon about next week.
The stings are now cut to the beat which makes the whole sequence a lot more snappy and I enjoy them more because of it. This alongside the beep does work, but we are struggling to find a backing track for these to add another layer to the sound design. As they are right now, they look unfinished and I think we need to spend some time understanding how we maximise the use of these in our documentary. They are a way for us to show the immense challenge that this journey was, without dedicating a lot of time to them.
INTRODUCTION SEQUENCE
Originally we were going to cut forward to the race day just as the film started so we would get the viewers attention right away. However, due to the time limit, we have had to merge this and the opening montage into one, because otherwise, we are cutting important parts from the story thereafter. It is a shame as we had a clear visual plan of how this opening sequence of shots would work, but alas, we have changed it to ensure we get the rest of the story within the time limit.
Last week I recorded a new voiceover for this opening sequence and this has been put in with new clips as well as some from the original ones to create a better opening V/O. It identifies some of the issues I may face on the journey ahead of me as well as being condensed in a way that the viewer gets the point of the documentary as well as showing my dedication to the sport and why I want to do this.
This new voiceover, along with the shots from the race day, means this opening segment is much more powerful than before. The shots of my YouTube also show that I have been involved with the sport for a number of years and that I have already followed the dream in one way, creating video content on the sport I love. This opening sequence now works a lot better than it did before as its deeper context and better clips allow the viewer to know exactly what is happening.
As this is a documentary for BBC3 we need to ensure that it is relevant and to the point and this introduction certainly takes the start of our documentary in the right direction. We now need to sort out how the rest of the journey can be filled with the same passion and energy, as without it, the tone of the documentary will have changed and the viewer may not feel much of an emotional attachment towards myself and the journey.
Thursday 25 April 2019
Production - Research into Colour Grading
Colour correcting was undoubtedly going to be one of the more tedious processes' we were going to complete in this project. We have filmed on a large number of cameras and each day has had slightly different lighting, meaning the output from every camera does look quite different. This means I needed to spend some time looking into colour grades to find one that works for our documentary but also one that does not look too far from reality. Messing around with the colours too much could leave a documentary film to look out of place and this is what we need to avoid.
My research into colour grading led me to an article by Patricia Julia Christmann which stated the importance of capturing the right colour grade in your edit. "There are several aspects to the film where color is used as a tool to create special moods and emotions. This involves a certain degree of manipulation, which is partly clearly visible, but in other cases can also unconsciously influence the recipient". (hdm-stuttgart.de, 2019) We know that we have a powerful story within our fingertips and it is our task to enhance that experience in the edit. A lot of the raw footage has bland colours due to the generic format that it was filmed in, but we do have a few reference clips that we all like as a team and intend to use as a starting platform. This article clipping allows me to think about how we can change the grade for different parts of the edit. The part that stands out is the South Downs Sequence which seems to be both visually and audiographically different to a lot of our film. Knowing this allows me to think that we should grade this in a way which is different to the rest of the film to enforce the message upon the viewer that this scene is supposed to be especially powerful. "The unwritten contract between filmmaker and viewer requires a certain responsibility towards the audience and is based on the viewers trust in seeing something that is how it is: true. But is it necessary to reconstruct reality one by one on screen or is it enough to present something that gives an impression authentic enough to meet the audience's requirements?". (hdm-stuttgart.de, 2019). What differences will be in this grade is not yet decided, but highlighting key scenes and encouraging a different thought pattern through the grade is something we want to impose on the viewer.
Knowing that a lot of what we will be doing in the grade is colour matching our camera, I wanted to understand the style I should be going for when we actually make creative decisions within the grade. Once everything is aligned I do not want to change too much as a documentary typically does not have wild tones, rather sticking to more natural tones which many people seem to see as better in a lot of scenarios. "We often think of color grading as a way to stylize our footage to make it look better or moodier than what the scene may have looked like in real life, but in most cases color grading an image for realism will be a more effective approach." (noamkroll, 2014). I personally feel we should be using a similar methodology when editing our film as we want to ensure the viewer feels connected to the story rather than trying to figure out why we tried to be clever with our colour grade. This has thrown me off as a viewer in the past and because of it I have lost the morale of some documentaries. Noam suggests most films go for the natural look because: "They look so realistic that the viewer can become completely immersed in what they are watching."(noamkroll, 2014). The equipment we used, however, may mean that we spend more time editing than more high-end equipment. As we only have access to relatively (Under £1000) cheap cameras, we are not able to film content in such a good codec, which means colours often look off. "Typically DSLR colors don’t blend and bleed into each other softly like they would on film or a higher end digital camera, instead they feel more rigid, defined and separated from each other – more reminiscent of video" (noamkroll, 2014). Knowing this allows me to put the importance on making sure the whole film looks similar before we go to deep into our edit, as this opening process could be what we spend most of our time on. I believe that we should stick to a style which is not too dissimilar to real life as it ensures the viewer has an inherent connection to it. "9 times out of 10, films are best served with a color palette that is at least somewhat natural looking, so don’t feel like you need to stylize your film during the color process just because your can." (noamkroll, 2014). We would be silly to go crazy on our first attempt at a grade and try something very different, especially as we are creating a documentary. Saying this, it does not mean we should not look into the exact grade we want.
Allowing the colours to reflect the mood of the film seems to be really important. As I am going on a journey in a documentary I realise that I cannot play around with the colours too much as the need to keep it close to natural, but there are definitely ways to enhance the standard clips within our project. "Convey mood or emotional state. If your protagonist is depressed, colors could be cool or muted. If they’re happy you might want to use warmer colors or increase the saturation. Just like mood affects color, color also affects mood." (filmmakermagazine, 2014). I feel like my journey has been a happy one in which I go through various challenges to achieve a goal. Therefore, I think we should stick to a natural grade with warmer colours and some saturation. Even though this will be the main grade in our project, we need to ensure some scenes are distinct, which is something I'll speak about later in this blog. Ensuring the skin tones are consistent throughout will be a time consuming but worthwhile practice considering we have filmed on a number of cameras. These all look different and need to fit together seamlessly. "This is also the reason why getting skin color is so important in a color grade — we are experts at knowing when skin color is incorrect, even if we don’t know why. Call it the uncanny valley for human flesh tone. Colorists make sure that people look like people, and also that those people stand out from the background and other non-people things in the frame." (www.premiumbeat.com, 2016). This will be my first suggestion to George, ensure the documentary skin colours look the same before we spend much more time on the edit, this will allow us to use an adjustment layer over the top of these sequences to ensure every shot looks the same. I certainly have noticed it as it currently is, as the cameras are all different and it makes the experience jarring going from one camera to the next. We are honest with ourselves and realise it probably won't be absolutely perfect, but we need to ensure it is close enough so it does not jar the viewer from shot to shot, as that makes watching the documentary a painful experience.
I realise that my opinions will be playing a big factor in how this film is graded. I have been giving the crew consistent reference material throughout the project and it is now my job to pick the best bits of each one to give a case for how I want it to look. Communication seems to be key in this scenario as without being articulate with what I want, we may miss the style intended. "Like any artistic collaboration, communication is key. Communicate well with your colorist and you’ll get the look you want. Communicate poorly and it will be a disaster. How to do you speak to a colorist? It helps to at least know a little bit of color theory. You can use terms like “highlights,” “shadows,” “crushing blacks etc." (filmmakermagazine, 2014). Knowing the terminology I should possess when speaking to the edit team about my colour style, I decided to look at the reference material I have sent to find examples of the style I am after. From what I understand, I cannot change the style too much from the original tone of the camera as a grade far from reality would be very jarring in a documentary, as they are commonly only ever subject to a simple grade.
Both Icarus (above) and Joe Weller: Fighter, have a subtle grade which is used to enforce the messages being highlighted in the documentary. Icarus uses contrast to crush the black which heightens the drama of the film because it is instantly darker. This along with a slight saturation boost allows the colours to pop in the documentary without being too distracting or different from reality. In a particularly dramatic scene, the film uses shadows to make the shot even darker which allows the story to be surrounded by more mystery and suspense. Messing around with the highlights in a documentary is something I have learned not to do unless needed because this starts to make the documentary feel less connected to reality. Bringing back some of the highlights makes the film which is supposed to be showing reality, feel too staged and disconnected. This means I feel we should only be making small changes to the highlights in our edit unless a shot ultimately needs more or less to match the rest of the clips. Joe Weller's documentary follows a more traditional style and does not include much work on the colour grade. Slight adjustments to the saturation and contrast give a style which shows the journey is a hard one, but they are not as sophisticated as in Icarus, but we shall take ideas from both going forward. I was prompted to make these decisions are reading a clipping from an article speaking about how to tackle a colour grade for the first time. "If you’ve seen a look you like in another film (or even a photo), grab some screenshots to show to your colorist. It’s a great way to immediately convey what you want." (filmmakermagazine, 2014) Above are the two shots I have taken as reference and I did my best to find a shot from the daily rushes which nearly matches this. This will give a good base within our edit, meaning some clips may not need to be touched.
I am happy to have a clear creative vision for how we want this grade to look and I will be working closely with George in the edit to ensure that we make the best use of the sequences at our disposal. We can make powerful sequences even better if we colour grade them the right way and the intention is to be very consistent but also show off the time spent choosing the right grade. A slightly saturated and contrasted look will ensure our documentary hits home the right message and I believe my reference material has allowed me to make this decision alongside my research. Immersing myself within a colour grade is going to be a different experience, but one that I am interested in learning a lot about.
References
hdm-stuttgart.de, 2019 https://www.hdm-stuttgart.de/vfx/researchprojects/colour/color_grading
filmmakermagazine, 2014 https://filmmakermagazine.com/87033-how-to-survive-first-color-grade/#.XNR5QdNKh-U
www.premiumbeat.com, 2016 https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/the-video-editors-guide-to-color-grading/
noamkroll, 2014 https://noamkroll.com/how-to-color-grade-your-footage-for-the-natural-look-why-cinema-cameras-require-far-less-grading-than-dslrs/
My research into colour grading led me to an article by Patricia Julia Christmann which stated the importance of capturing the right colour grade in your edit. "There are several aspects to the film where color is used as a tool to create special moods and emotions. This involves a certain degree of manipulation, which is partly clearly visible, but in other cases can also unconsciously influence the recipient". (hdm-stuttgart.de, 2019) We know that we have a powerful story within our fingertips and it is our task to enhance that experience in the edit. A lot of the raw footage has bland colours due to the generic format that it was filmed in, but we do have a few reference clips that we all like as a team and intend to use as a starting platform. This article clipping allows me to think about how we can change the grade for different parts of the edit. The part that stands out is the South Downs Sequence which seems to be both visually and audiographically different to a lot of our film. Knowing this allows me to think that we should grade this in a way which is different to the rest of the film to enforce the message upon the viewer that this scene is supposed to be especially powerful. "The unwritten contract between filmmaker and viewer requires a certain responsibility towards the audience and is based on the viewers trust in seeing something that is how it is: true. But is it necessary to reconstruct reality one by one on screen or is it enough to present something that gives an impression authentic enough to meet the audience's requirements?". (hdm-stuttgart.de, 2019). What differences will be in this grade is not yet decided, but highlighting key scenes and encouraging a different thought pattern through the grade is something we want to impose on the viewer.
Knowing that a lot of what we will be doing in the grade is colour matching our camera, I wanted to understand the style I should be going for when we actually make creative decisions within the grade. Once everything is aligned I do not want to change too much as a documentary typically does not have wild tones, rather sticking to more natural tones which many people seem to see as better in a lot of scenarios. "We often think of color grading as a way to stylize our footage to make it look better or moodier than what the scene may have looked like in real life, but in most cases color grading an image for realism will be a more effective approach." (noamkroll, 2014). I personally feel we should be using a similar methodology when editing our film as we want to ensure the viewer feels connected to the story rather than trying to figure out why we tried to be clever with our colour grade. This has thrown me off as a viewer in the past and because of it I have lost the morale of some documentaries. Noam suggests most films go for the natural look because: "They look so realistic that the viewer can become completely immersed in what they are watching."(noamkroll, 2014). The equipment we used, however, may mean that we spend more time editing than more high-end equipment. As we only have access to relatively (Under £1000) cheap cameras, we are not able to film content in such a good codec, which means colours often look off. "Typically DSLR colors don’t blend and bleed into each other softly like they would on film or a higher end digital camera, instead they feel more rigid, defined and separated from each other – more reminiscent of video" (noamkroll, 2014). Knowing this allows me to put the importance on making sure the whole film looks similar before we go to deep into our edit, as this opening process could be what we spend most of our time on. I believe that we should stick to a style which is not too dissimilar to real life as it ensures the viewer has an inherent connection to it. "9 times out of 10, films are best served with a color palette that is at least somewhat natural looking, so don’t feel like you need to stylize your film during the color process just because your can." (noamkroll, 2014). We would be silly to go crazy on our first attempt at a grade and try something very different, especially as we are creating a documentary. Saying this, it does not mean we should not look into the exact grade we want.
Allowing the colours to reflect the mood of the film seems to be really important. As I am going on a journey in a documentary I realise that I cannot play around with the colours too much as the need to keep it close to natural, but there are definitely ways to enhance the standard clips within our project. "Convey mood or emotional state. If your protagonist is depressed, colors could be cool or muted. If they’re happy you might want to use warmer colors or increase the saturation. Just like mood affects color, color also affects mood." (filmmakermagazine, 2014). I feel like my journey has been a happy one in which I go through various challenges to achieve a goal. Therefore, I think we should stick to a natural grade with warmer colours and some saturation. Even though this will be the main grade in our project, we need to ensure some scenes are distinct, which is something I'll speak about later in this blog. Ensuring the skin tones are consistent throughout will be a time consuming but worthwhile practice considering we have filmed on a number of cameras. These all look different and need to fit together seamlessly. "This is also the reason why getting skin color is so important in a color grade — we are experts at knowing when skin color is incorrect, even if we don’t know why. Call it the uncanny valley for human flesh tone. Colorists make sure that people look like people, and also that those people stand out from the background and other non-people things in the frame." (www.premiumbeat.com, 2016). This will be my first suggestion to George, ensure the documentary skin colours look the same before we spend much more time on the edit, this will allow us to use an adjustment layer over the top of these sequences to ensure every shot looks the same. I certainly have noticed it as it currently is, as the cameras are all different and it makes the experience jarring going from one camera to the next. We are honest with ourselves and realise it probably won't be absolutely perfect, but we need to ensure it is close enough so it does not jar the viewer from shot to shot, as that makes watching the documentary a painful experience.
I realise that my opinions will be playing a big factor in how this film is graded. I have been giving the crew consistent reference material throughout the project and it is now my job to pick the best bits of each one to give a case for how I want it to look. Communication seems to be key in this scenario as without being articulate with what I want, we may miss the style intended. "Like any artistic collaboration, communication is key. Communicate well with your colorist and you’ll get the look you want. Communicate poorly and it will be a disaster. How to do you speak to a colorist? It helps to at least know a little bit of color theory. You can use terms like “highlights,” “shadows,” “crushing blacks etc." (filmmakermagazine, 2014). Knowing the terminology I should possess when speaking to the edit team about my colour style, I decided to look at the reference material I have sent to find examples of the style I am after. From what I understand, I cannot change the style too much from the original tone of the camera as a grade far from reality would be very jarring in a documentary, as they are commonly only ever subject to a simple grade.
Both Icarus (above) and Joe Weller: Fighter, have a subtle grade which is used to enforce the messages being highlighted in the documentary. Icarus uses contrast to crush the black which heightens the drama of the film because it is instantly darker. This along with a slight saturation boost allows the colours to pop in the documentary without being too distracting or different from reality. In a particularly dramatic scene, the film uses shadows to make the shot even darker which allows the story to be surrounded by more mystery and suspense. Messing around with the highlights in a documentary is something I have learned not to do unless needed because this starts to make the documentary feel less connected to reality. Bringing back some of the highlights makes the film which is supposed to be showing reality, feel too staged and disconnected. This means I feel we should only be making small changes to the highlights in our edit unless a shot ultimately needs more or less to match the rest of the clips. Joe Weller's documentary follows a more traditional style and does not include much work on the colour grade. Slight adjustments to the saturation and contrast give a style which shows the journey is a hard one, but they are not as sophisticated as in Icarus, but we shall take ideas from both going forward. I was prompted to make these decisions are reading a clipping from an article speaking about how to tackle a colour grade for the first time. "If you’ve seen a look you like in another film (or even a photo), grab some screenshots to show to your colorist. It’s a great way to immediately convey what you want." (filmmakermagazine, 2014) Above are the two shots I have taken as reference and I did my best to find a shot from the daily rushes which nearly matches this. This will give a good base within our edit, meaning some clips may not need to be touched.
This is my reference image for the colour grade of dream chaser. I like how the colours pop and have an orange/warm tone in the face which feels nicer to watch, even though the colours are more saturated than real life. The use of shadows and crushing the blacks is something that I would like to use in the grade and I see us adding saturation as well as some contrast to most scenes as these additions allow the documentary to feel more dramatic. I think that all clips could do with a little sharpening as that will help the documentary become a little clearer, especially on clips where we had camera issues. Along with this, we will adjust the highlights accordingly but ensure they look as natural as possible and also focus our attention on clips which are blown out by light, as there may be ways we can make these shots fit in with the rest of the sequence around them. The brightness and vibrancy of each shot will be adjusted accordingly to ensure that the documentary is consistent through, except for when we are making it clear it is the difference. An example being he south downs sequence will alter to this and I am going to speak with the editor about how we distinguish this sequence. George has a clearer vision about how he wants this scene to look so I am happy to take his lead on the grade for this.
I am happy to have a clear creative vision for how we want this grade to look and I will be working closely with George in the edit to ensure that we make the best use of the sequences at our disposal. We can make powerful sequences even better if we colour grade them the right way and the intention is to be very consistent but also show off the time spent choosing the right grade. A slightly saturated and contrasted look will ensure our documentary hits home the right message and I believe my reference material has allowed me to make this decision alongside my research. Immersing myself within a colour grade is going to be a different experience, but one that I am interested in learning a lot about.
References
hdm-stuttgart.de, 2019 https://www.hdm-stuttgart.de/vfx/researchprojects/colour/color_grading
filmmakermagazine, 2014 https://filmmakermagazine.com/87033-how-to-survive-first-color-grade/#.XNR5QdNKh-U
www.premiumbeat.com, 2016 https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/the-video-editors-guide-to-color-grading/
noamkroll, 2014 https://noamkroll.com/how-to-color-grade-your-footage-for-the-natural-look-why-cinema-cameras-require-far-less-grading-than-dslrs/
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