Evaluation

For preparation to the real media coursework we followed out a practice documentary to prepare us with both the filming and editing. The whole class was split into groups of 3 and were told to complete a documentary on mobile phones using given questions. This helped us to plan our cutaways and the mise en scene. This planning time was effective as we used it wisely so we wouldn't have to waste valuable filming and editing time. However, along the way the plans changed a little bit for example a cutaway would change to suit an answer but no big changes were made.

The filming ran smoothly as we followed the codes and conventions making it easier for us to edit and easier for the audience to understand. We followed the rules by asking the interviewee to look at the interviewer instead of the camera, also we asked for the interviewee to give an answer using the wording of the question so that it was easy to follow. The direction given to the interviewee and the framing of her was good to make the interview more clear and more professional looking.

Editing the film was hard at first as it was my first time using Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 but gradually it got easier to understand as the edit were similar each time. The cutaways were a way of filling the gaps and this was useful as they all were good and relevant to the dialogue. These were editing by dragging the footage and placing markers were we wanted it to start and stop, then we would drag it back down to the editing timeline. Also the music bed was put in during the editing stage and it was a way of keeping the interview up-beat and entertaining. This was faded in and out by using the gradient tool.

Audience feedback in this production was very helpful as it pointed out mistakes that we didn't see and things that we did see. It helped us to make sure we won't make the same mistakes next time. For example, the mise en scene was distracting as there was a door behind with people walking across. However, the computer screen with a mobile phone shop on it was effective as the audience could tell without listening that it was about phones. More feedback we got was that the cutaways were too fast for the audience to register and the quality of sound wasn't good enough so we should have used a microphone, all of these point will be taken into consideration when we plan, film and edit our real coursework.

Phone documentary

Screengrabs

Plan for Cutaways

Question 1) Tell me what life was like before you had the mobile phone.
Cutaway - Image of mobile phone shop

Question 2) When did you get your first mobile phone and why did you get it?
Cutaway - Unwrapping old mobile phone for birthday present

Question 3) Tell me about all the mobile phones you have had.
Cutaway - Panning shot of mobile phones to show a range of mobile phones

Question 4) Tell me about your current mobile phone.
Cutaway - Image of current mobile phone

Question 5) Why did you choose this phone?
Cutaway - Still image of something pink to link interviewee's favourite colour

Question 6) Tell me about the ringtone you have on your phone and why did you choose it.
Cutaway - Footage of mobile phone ringing

Question 7) What do you use your mobile phone for?
Cutaway - Two people texting, getting in touch with family and friends

Question 8) How much does your mobile phone cost you each month?
Cutaway - Image of money and top up vouchers

Question 9) How often do you send text messages?
Cutaway - Moving image showing the days of the week when the interviewee texts

Question 10) What text "language" do you use and how did you learn it?
Cutaway - Someone texting on the phone to show the language

Question 11) What's the best thing about having a mobile phone?
Cutaway - Image of thumbs up to show it's good

Question 12) What's the worst thing about having a mobile phone?
Cutaway - Mobile phones with a tick and a cross showing one is better than the other

Question 13) How important is your mobile phone to you?
Cutaway - Footage of two people back to back texting to show they are texting eachother

Question 14) How would you cope without your mobile phone?
Cutaway - Image of thumbs down to show it is bad

Documentary Codes and Conventions

• Interiewee in medium close up or close up whilst filming. E.g. A medium close up of The Simpsons interviewee.

• The interviewee is frameeed to the left or right hand side of the screen, however this can be varied if there is more than one interview to keep the audience interested. E.g. In the Jaws' interview the producer is filmed on the right hand side whereas, the editor is filmed on the left hand side.

• The rule of thirds is followed with the framily as the eyeline is roughly being a third of the way down the screen E.g. Jaws is filmed this way.

• The interviewer must be sitting opposite the interviewee so they are not looking directly at the camera. E.g. the interviewee is positioned on the left hand side therefore, the interviewer is positioned on the right hand side.

• The mise-en-scene must be relevant to the interview to reinforce the content to provide more information for the audience.

• Questions asked are usually edited out meaning that the interviewee must reinforce the question for their question to make sense to the audience.

• A light source must not be seen in the background of the interview however, The Jaws interview is filmed in front of window but the blinds have been shut to make sure no light is let in to avoid distractions.

• Cutaways are usually edited into interviews to break it up and to give the audience more information about the content. Cutaways are also used to jumps in the interview from editing. E.g. In Jaws the cutaways are of the film to show the relevance.

• Graphics are also used which anchor who the person on the screen is and their input into the documentary. E.g. the producer's name and title is used on the screen.