Progress & Tutorial - 13/11/14

This week we spent some time listening back to all of the audio and reviewing the footage we have collected up until now, in order to plan out the structure of our poetic documentary. An early established aim for the poetic film was for us to show two or three simplistic, static shots, placed over brief audio sound bites which give the viewer an insight into what our main film is about and the topic in which it is exploring. Showing two different sides to the city of Sheffield in very different lights intends to inform our viewers of our full length documentary film and as such will act as a shortened trailer in some ways for our film, without giving away too much information but still showing the ideas that our film wishes to express.

On Thursday, we had a tutorial which I found to be very helpful as although we feel positive about how the main documentary is going and have been working hard on gathering more potential contributors as well as filming in any spare time we have, there was a slight concern over what our poetic would consist of. This was due to the majority of the footage that had already been shot consisting of mostly interviews and close ups of unique items within independent stores and the general outdoor Devonshire quarter area. Whereas for our poetic piece, we want to keep the focus on simple shots which introduce the viewer to the concept behind our documentary, our subject and an insight into how the story will unfold.

After taking on board the following feedback, as a group we have agreed that although we have a lot of work to do in the next week, we feel confident enough to be able to go out and reshoot, experimenting with a new concept in order to create a poetic film which we can visualise as working a lot stronger than the initial rough cut we put in place for the purpose of the tutorial.


Tutorial Feedback:

• The static shot down Fargate (city centre area of city) is stronger than footage taken from Devonshire Street area. When showing Devonshire area, the viewer needs to see and establish a clear difference between the two parts of the city; something that makes it obviously unique and that reflects the overall atmosphere and independence of the area.
• Think about what could be done to strengthen the visuals in the film; perhaps consider using a slow tracking shot down Fargate, then gradually getting darker as it merges into another tracking shot which shows Devonshire Street in the evening (a time when it looks visually different and has more going on around the area).
• Consider removing pieces of different soundbites and instead focusing on one or two people's voices - the ones which express their views in the best way and capture the idea the film is expressing well.

Plan for the next week
Friday 14th November - Film tracking shot along Fargate - early morning city centre. Full group available for this. Make sure to capture as much as possible and experiment with showing street in different ways, take shots from a number of views and angles to ensure we have extra footage than required to work with in the edit.

Saturday 15th November - Sarah/Hannah to cut down Lucy's interview into small segments that will work well alongside poetic footage.
Monday 17th November - Meet with John at the Forum at 11.30a.m, to discuss the requirements for the film and filming in the Forum area. Take notes from this on availability of interviewees and location recce images. Afternoon - record atmos. and general city sounds - repetitive, mundane sounds e.g. tramlines, cash machine sounds, small details that all form part of the same concept; that capture the idea of the mundane, everyday high street shopping experience. After this, move on to Devonshire Street and capture contrasting soundbites; exciting details such as skateboards, bicycle wheels and bells, etc.; details which capture the vibrance and independent atmosphere of this side of the city.
Tuesday 18th November - Full day of filming. Early morning start on Fargate - setting up tracking shot and spending time ensuring we get the correct shot. Late afternoon/early evening, move on to Devonshire Street and gain tracking shot of area, focusing on involving as many unique details as possible. Take time to set up and gain shot, ensuring that where the previous tracking shot down Fargate will end, this one will be able to follow on from smoothly.

Wednesday 19th November - early morning - Full day of post - production for poetic documentary film.