FormymediaA2coursework,ArranandIcreatedafiveminuteextractfromanewdocumentaryTVprogramme.

WecalledthedocumentaryThejourneywetake.andthefiveminuteextractstarted1minuteafterthedocumentaryTVprogrammebegan.

Fromthestarttotheendoftheextract,themainconventionweusedwasbasedonthedirectinterviewsandwastotallyfocusedonthethreeindividualpeople.Inevitably,thisallowedtheintervieweestospeakdirectlyaboutoursubjectmatterpromptedbythequestionsaskbymeandArran.Thisessentiallycreatesasenseofrealismfortheviewer,thatthedocumentarymakers(MeandArran)aremutuallysharedbyanotherperson,andthusismorevalid.Iwouldsaythatthiswasthekeyconventioninprovidingaplatformtoworkanddevelopfrom.

Anotherconventionalaspectweusedwasthetechnicalityofrealismwhenshapingourinterviews,thenaturallightingwasveryimportanttocapturetoenhancethequalityoftheinterview.Thelightingarrangementwasdifferentforeachpersonasitwassetindifferentlocations.

Icouldarguethatthischallengestheformsofconventionsastheinterviewerandintervieweeinadocumentarytvprogrammetendstobeinthesamelocationandsetting.Wewentagainstthisconventionduetoourchosengenre.Thesettinghadtoreflectthepersonalitiesofthethreepeopleinsomeway,wechoselocationsthatwererelatabletothem.AlthoughitwashardertodothisforMattduetohimnotbeingfromtheIsland,howeverthefactthathewasfilmedinhisgirlfriend's(Ashias)livingdiningroomcanjustifythis.

Thelightingideasfortheextractwasadoptedfromthegeneralconventionsofourmediaproduct.

Kimsinterviewtookplaceinhisroom,wewantedhimtobesatonchairinfrontofhiswindowwhichgaveusnaturallighting,thereforeartificiallightingwasnotneeded.Screenshot 2015-05-08 at 02.07.45.png

WhereasinAishassettingoftheliving,thelightabovewasallthatweneededastheroomitselfwasfairlylightandairy.Originallyweweregoingtoplacemoreofspotlight,howeverthesoftlightfocusfromabovegaveAishaandtheroomamorenaturaleffecttofittheatmosphereandmood.Screenshot 2015-05-08 at 02.13.31.png

InMattsinterviewhewassetinadarkerroomincomparisontoKimandAshia.Whichmeantthatanartificiallightwasessential.ForthisweusedlightingfromtheleftbackoftheroomtoprojectontoMatt.Itwasplacedatthebacktoreflectalesslightasitwasquitestrong.AlsoTherewasamirrorbehindMattsowehadtomakesurethelightwaspositionoutofthemirror.Thebackleftwastheonlyspotthatwassuitable.

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Anotherconventionwefollowedwasincorporatingpeopleappropriatetothetopicandthetargetaudience.Thejourneywetakeisspeciallyabouttheyoungergeneration;peopleoftheagesfrom15-23whoiseithertransitingintotherealworldorworkingtowardsthejourney.Thiswasourprimarytargetaudience.HavingKim,AishaandMattexpressingandtalkingabouttheirjourneyestablishedthegenreandsubjectmatterperfectly,eachwithdifferentstoryandperspectiveandallintheageregionfrom15-23.Thecameraworkforourextractwasanotherkeyconventiontobecarefullythoughtabout.GenerallyintervieweesindocumentaryTVprogrammesareframedeithertotheleftorrightofthescreen,usingamediumcloseup,closeuporbigcloseup.Howeverthiswasoneoftheconventionswechallenged,andintheprocessofcreatingwedecidednottosticktothisrule,asIthoughtthissetuplookedtooperfectedandunnaturalforourparticularsubjectmatterwhichfollowsamoreaserious,intimateandpersonaloutlook.Alternatively,weplacedthethreepeopleinacomfortableposition,thusthecameraisfixedtounconventionalframes,unconventionalinframelayoutbutconventionalforrepresentationofourgenre.Cameraworkinourextractvariedbetweenzoomin/outs,mediumshots,closeups,extremecloseupsandstraightonangleforallframes.Itwasworthittochallengethisconventionforourcase,ofreinforcingourgenreandusingthecameraframestodoso.Wewereawarethatcamerapositionsisgenerallylabelledasacrucialelementespeciallyforinterviewfootagethereforewedidfollowtheruleinsomeofthesceneswheretheinterviewer(Arran)wasonthesameeyelineastheintervieweefacingstraightonangles.

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Screenshot 2015-05-08 at 02.35.01.pngScreenshot 2015-05-08 at 02.25.28.pngIntermsofcameramovement,weusedhandheldcameraandatripod.Consistingofzoominandouts.Westucktominalcreativecameramovementsandeditstosustaintheinterestofaudiences,enoughtomakesuretheinterviewswerevisuallystimulated.

Wemainlyusedthesimplecutstoconstructtheextract.ThisisthemostcommoneditinTVdocumentaryprogrammes.Ouraimwastomakesuretheaudiencedidn'tnoticetheeditsasmuch,thereforewemadeitaslessintrusiveaspossible.Wehadnomajorfancyeditsasthiswouldalsodistracttheaudiencefromoursubjectmatter.ThecamerashottransitionswereoverallconventionalofTVdocumentaryprogrammes.Byonlyhavingonecamerawemanagedtocreatesubtleandnatural-lookingcamerashottransitionsformostpartofourextract,althoughtherewereafewdifficultiesforMattstransitions.ForMattsinterview,thecamerawouldbezoomedinandoutatpartscreatingdisorganisedandmessytransitions,sowereplacedthiswithovereditssuchasthefillerimagineofMattwithhisweighttrainingequipmenttofollowamorenaturalandflowingtransitions.SomeothereditsincludedDissolvestoaddavisuallyinterestingtouchandaddedtothedramaticnessofwhatmattwassaying,wethought.Unfortunately,therearesomenoticeablybadedits,whichwasduetotheminoraudioskipsthatcouldntbeeditedout.

Screenshot 2015-05-08 at 02.56.56.pngScreenshot 2015-05-08 at 02.51.41.pngFillershotsiskeyindocumentaryinterviews,andIlearnedthiswhenwhenIrealisedthenumberofdifferentshotsittakestomakeafiveminuteextract,letaloneawholedocumentary.Kimsfootagewasthelongestoutofthethreeintermsofconsecutivescenesofhimtalkingashewasthemainfocusofthedocumentary.Thus,itwasimportanttousefillershotsinKimsfootagetodrawtheaudienceintoourstoryandmostimportantlyrevealsmoreofKim'spersonalityandinterests.Toachievethemostrelatableandauthenticfillershots,ArranrecordedfootageofhimplayingSniperEliteV2andwatchingRoosterTeethplayGrandTheftAutoVonYoutube.Thiswasagreatwayofreinforcingtheideathathefinds..storiesthatpeoplewrite,andcreateandcomeupwithtobefarbetterthanwhatIhavenow..Anotherfillershotthatwasaddedwasamedium-speedpanningshotofhisbookshelfandthepostershehasonhiswallrelatingtovideogamesandothermediawhichrevealsalotaboutKim.

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TheconventionsofsoundinTVdocumentaryprogrammesisgenerallyfollowedbymusictocreateanatmosphereandisrelevanttothetopicinsomeway.HoweverMeandArrandecidednottoincorporatesound,inanattempttoprovidemoreclarityforKim,AishaandMattsspeech.Wefeltthatbyaddingmusic(bed),itwouldcompetewiththedialoguetoomuch.Thisiswhyitwasimportanttomakesurethatthethreeintervieweeswereinaquietroomtone.Wewantedtocapturethatclear,crispsoundinsomeofthelesslightheartedscenes,inparticularMatts.Althoughwedidhaveafewminorproblemswiththesound.Therewereslightdifferencesinroomtonebetweenshotswhichmadesmoothsoundtransitionsdifficult.Wealsodidntanticipatetheechoofthespeakerincertainrooms,IthinkMattswasthemostsusceptibletoechos,butwedidmanagetoleveloutthesoundinedit.Theclarityofsound,usuallydependsonthedegreeofcontrol,andIwashappytoseethatArranhadagoodlevelofcontrolwhenholdingvideocameraorbalancingitonthetripod.Forthespeechintheextract,TVdocumentaryprogrammesusuallyeditoutthequestionsoftheinterview,sothatwecanonlyheartheinterviewees.ThiswassomethingthatwedefinitelyusedanddevelopedaswewantednothingbutKim,AishaandMatttotakethespotlight.InourresearchandplanningstagethiswassomethingthatmeandArranlearnedhowtocapture;welearnthowtostageinterviewssothattheintervieweeswillappeartospeakdirectlytotheviewer.Wenotedtomaintaineyecontactandgivevisualfeedbackwhiletheinterviewgoeson(nodding,smiling,ect).Thiswassomethingweremembertodoforinterviews.

Mise-en-sceneininterviewsanchorstotherelevanceofthepersontothetopicandtellsussomethingabouttheperson.ForourextractandGenre,thiswasanobviousconventiontouseanddevelop.InKimssettingofhisroom,gavetheaudiencecleardistinctionsofhisinterestandbuildinghispersonalitytogether.HoweverIreallythoughtabouthowimportantthisisbecausereally,wewantedtomakesurethattheviewerfeltconnectedandcouldrelateasothersaregoingthroughthisprocess.ThemiseensceneinKimsfootagegaveusthechancetomakehimappearlikeyouraveragenormalteenonscreen.IthadtobeauthenticevenmoresoforKim(protagonist).InourextractmiseensceneinKimsscenesincluded,hisbooks,hisgames,computerplayinginthebackground,posters,mostofitwasdigitalstuffthatwasgreatasititrelevanttowhatheiscurrentlylearning,studyingandusingatschool.Ontheotherhand,MattsandAshiashadlessmiseensceneattentionastheyweresecondaryfocuses,alsobecausetheyhadmorecontenttoprovide(olderthankimandhaveexperiencedUniversity)therescencesdemandedlessdistractions,thespeechintheirscenesplayedthemajorroleforAishaandMatt.

Lastly,graphicsisthelastconventiontoexamineandevaluate.InTVdocumentaryprogramme,graphicsarenormallyjusttwolinesandareinasimplefontinordertonotdistracttheviewer.Graphicscanbeusedtonotedowntheintervieweesnameandrelationtothesubject.Thereareotherconventionsofgraphics,howeverthesewerethetwothatwererelevanttoourfiveminuteextract,drawnfromafter1minuteintothedocumentary,thereforeatitlesequencewasnotincludedandendcreditswerenotincluded.Wechanneledthetwoconventionsintoourextract.Theconceptoftheextractincludedanintroductiontothedifferentinterviewees.Soitwasnecessarytoaddtextonscreenconsistingofsimplefontandtwolinesgivinginformationaboutwhotheyare,andwhere/howtheyaredoingitinthebeginningoftheirinterview,effectivelythisestablisheswhothepersonisandandwhytheyarethere,andwhattheprogrammewillbeabout.

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Ihavelearnedsomuchintheresearchplanningandproducingstageandlearningaboutthesestagesiscrucialtohaveasolidunderstandingofwhatmakesmediaproducts.Icameintomediaunawareofmediakeyconventions,andhowpeoplegoaboutcreatingthem.Througheachofthestages,minusthetimeIhadoff,Ihavediscoveredhowtouse,developandchallengeformsandconventionsofrealmediaproducts,overallithasbeenaninsightfulprocess.