#reflective-diary

[rebecca-vallard-blog]

Reflective Diary - Entry #13

I’ve finally gotten to the point where I’m fairly happy with how my documentary looks stylistically, but there’s one thing left that is still bothering me; that thing being the audio. 

The aim for my documentary is for it to be a gallery piece. I’d love for it to be projected onto an art gallery wall, or to push it even more, for it to be an interactive piece where the audience can choose which camera they want to look at (although that’s something to leave for now and come back to at a later time). Yet, I can’t decide on how I want the audio to be. 

I’ve ended up exporting two different versions of the documentary. One has no audio whatsoever. This would work really well if projected in an art gallery, there’s no sound to distract you from the image, but it also makes it quite difficult to sit through.  The other version has ambient sound for each of the different location. However, due to how windy the shoot day was, I’ve had to loop/ repeat some of the audio so that you get the full effect of the ambience. I quite like the effect this gives the piece, but I feel like it might be too much. 

Unable to make a decision, I’m going to keep both versions and then pick one to submit on the deadline. 

[rebecca-vallard-blog]

Reflective Diary - Entry #12

The edit was always going to be crucial when it came to this documentary. The meaning behind the documentary will be unrecognisable without a lot of stylistic changes. 

To start with I changed all of the footage to black and white. This is something that is very stereotypically CCTV. I had my doubts, but I feel like it actually works really well. It also helps tie all of the different clips together and tames the dramatic change in lighting from shot to shot. 

Next, I had to add in the camera number and date/time stamps. These really make it obvious that it’s meant to be CCTV footage. I’d spent ages looking for the right font during my edit tests, so this time I knew where to go straight away. Lantinghei SC was the perfect mix of blocky and clear to read, which is just what I wanted. Each different shot has a different camera number so it looks like there’s a range of different CCTV cameras littered around this area. The date and the time keep to that stereotype as well. 

Perhaps my favourite part, and the most time consuming was the clock. The time ticks on as the you watch the documentary to really make it feel like you’re watching time pass. 

[rebecca-vallard-blog]

Reflective Diary - Entry #11

It’s finally shoot day, and luckily for me the weathers been great all day. The suns been out and there was no sign of any rain at all. However, it was very windy. This caused my main problem whilst filming. During the edit tests I did, I worked out that I wanted completely static camera shots as camera movements aren’t too common in CCTV and surveillance. The wind however, made this a bit more difficult and some of the shots get a bit shaky from time to time. 

The other issue I had was despite the fact that I chose to film at midday, the normally very busy bypass was completely empty. There had been a collision near one of the bridges and the road had been completely shut off. In my opinion, the shots look pretty cool with an empty road. There’s something quite eerie about it. But I think it might hinder the meaning that I’m trying to put across. 

I’d like to go back and film when the roads clear if I get the chance. That way I’d get to fix some of the issues with the wind and the audio. But with the deadline approaching fast I might not have time, so it’s important that I get something edited and ready to watch. 

[rebecca-vallard-blog]

Reflective Diary - Entry #10

It’s a good thing I kept the contingency ideas to hand. Everyone is my household has gone down with the flu and are incredibly reluctant to be on film in that state. I’ve been wiped out with the flu for the past few days as well, so I’m very quickly running out of time to get anything done. It’s incredibly important that I get something filmed asap so that I don’t miss the deadline. 

I’m going to end up going with the outside location, and film it so that when you watch it back it’s like you’re using CCTV cameras to survey the area. I’m hoping that this will work the way I want it to. 

[rebecca-vallard-blog]

Documentary Research - Travel Man

‘Travel Man: 48 Hours In...’             Channel 4 

(http://www.channel4.com/programmes/travel-man-48-hours-in/episode-guide/)

Travel Man is a British Documentary series shown on Channel 4. Each episode is 30 minutes long, and is set in a different city. There’s been one set in Lisbon, New York, Venice and many, many more. Richard Ayoade presents the documentary and each week takes a comedian along to show you how to have a 48 hour holiday in one of the different cities. 

As someone who doesn’t watch a lot of documentaries unless they have to, I was surprised to really enjoy this show. It doesn’t follow the formal documentary format, and although you're taking in information (I could tell you all about the only Burger King in the world that has it’s own Sauna) it isn’t too taxing. The presenting style and quirky nature of Ayoade makes it an easy watch, and the information is given is abnormal and normally put across in the form of a joke. 

I feel like this really starts to push what a documentary is. It starts to push the boundaries of what we know of documentaries and gives you something that is informal, funny and an easy watch. That’s something I want to keep in mind when making my own documentary. I want to push what a documentary is and not stick to the format everyone knows. 

[rebecca-vallard-blog]

Reflective Diary - Entry #9

Today I started exploring locations, in order to make a decision about where I want to film. First, I looked into my own house. Filming in there would not only look at the way that CCTV is filmed, but it would also explore whether or not CCTV is an invasion of privacy. The only problem would be getting my parents and siblings to agree to it. The main camera I’d want to set up would be within the living room, as this is the room that gets the most traffic and therefore would give a better interpretation on what life is actually like. I think I’d also like to put camera’s on the exterior and monitor the gardens and the street, as this is a stereotypical CCTV style shot.

 I’d also looked into the local area, specifically the new bypass that was added in to help with the masses of traffic that came along with the Olympic Games in 2012. It stretches for a few miles and is something I’m very familiar with as I walk alongside it to work once or twice a week. There’s multiple bridges and crossing points along the road which would give great places to survey and film the road running below. The photos below are two of the shots that I’m looking to recreate if I choose to film at this location;

Overall, I feel like filming within my house would create a more interesting documentary as it will allow for more questions to be both asked and answered. But filming out in the local area will be a good contingency in case my family members are opposed to being filmed. 

[rebecca-vallard-blog]

Reflective Diary - Entry #6

After spending a few days solidifying my idea and working out the logistics, I’ve realised that having a reading week/ half term next week will work to my advantage. It runs alongside the half term for the schools in the area meaning that my family will be home all day every day. This means that I can film within the house and look at how my family members react to cctv cameras, and whether their behaviour changes when they know they’re being filmed.

In my opinion, the easiest way to film this would be to set up several Go Pro’s around the house, mainly in areas like the living room and the kitchen so that their privacy isn’t being invaded too much.

My plan for the next few days is to finish up paperwork and planning, and then work out the exact placement of the cameras to get the best content.

[rebecca-vallard-blog]

Reflective Diary - Entry #5

One thing that my previous course really taught me was that it’s really important to think about how your audience views your work. This can really alter the perception they have of the piece. I’ve been looking into film installation artists like Pipilotti Rist, who really alter the environment that their work is viewed in. Rist often creates rooms for her work to be viewed in. These rooms have floor to ceiling projections of her work, whilst the floor is scattered with beanbags and cushions. She gets her audience to relax and lay on the floor to really emphasise the macro work she does.

I want to create an abstract piece instead of a formal documentary.This would have 3 minutes worth of footage showing different parts of the inside of a house, or around a local area. All of the shots would be filmed as if it was CCTV footage; this would mean filming from high angles looking down on the subject areas, and adding in date and time stamps. I also want to test out having the footage in black and white, and see if that emphasizes what it’s meant to be.