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What Have I Learnt on my course?

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When studying an Extended Diploma in Film and Television Production Over the past two years, I have been able to learn, practise, and hone a variety of skills and techniques which will undoubtedly help me when progressing into the creative industry. At the beginning of the course I learnt about the basic aspects of filmmaking, cinematography, camera shots and techniques, Lighting skills, Sound production and the process of creating Short films. More recently, I have revisited and practised these skills in order to improve my techniques, as well as learning more about screen motion, the importance of camera focus, and Documentary Making. I have particularly enjoyed learning about the latter aspect the most as it has allowed me to experiment with each of the techniques that I have learnt and has challenged me to apply them to my project. I have chosen to produce a documentary for my final major project as I am keen to continue practising these skills and create an informative, yet entertaining piece of work. When learning about the process of documentary making, I was intrigued to learn about the variety of different documentary modes including Expository, Participatory, Reflexive, Observational, Performative, and poetic. I was previously unaware of the many ways that a documentary could be structured and so I am looking forward to experimenting and identifying with which mode I will choose for my final documentary.

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Another aspect that I learnt about within Documentary making was Interviewing Techniques. In many forms of documentaries, Interviews are a vital aspect of conveying information to the audience. It allows for a third party opinion or view to be shared which adds depth and a personal touch to the information that is being given to the audience. Depending on the subject of the documentary, it can depend whether an informed professional or a member of the public is being interviewed. This is something that I will need to consider when sourcing people that will be interviewed within my documentary. We learnt that, before recording an interview, it is important to prepare several key aspects first. One of which is to conduct some research into the subject or the interviewee that you are discussing. This will help to give you a brief, background idea on the topic, encouraging you to generate relevant questions. It is essential to have prepared your questions before beginning the interview, so you know what you want to ask the interviewee and have a basic vision of what you will talk about. Throughout the interview, it is also often common for the interviewer to ask supplementary questions if necessary to the point being made. This would help to gain more information and knowledge from the interviewee, allowing for more footage to be used in the edit. We also learnt about the importance of having an interesting and appropriate backdrop for our interview. It should be relatively basic, not drawing attention away from the subject, however, could include some objects or backdrops that are relevant to what is being spoken about. Once deciding on a location, it would also be sensible to do a recce to evaluate the surroundings and identify any possible problems and how they could be solved. A location recce would also give you the opportunity to test the audio quality in the surroundings, allowing you to understand if the audio quality would be suitable when it comes to recording the interview. When recording the audio its important to remember that the audio levels should be between -6 and -12 on the recorder, allowing for some possible sudden, loud sounds. It is worth noting that it is important to have audio samples before recording any pieces of audio for an interview. 

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Some further things to consider when preparing for and filming an interview are the varied shot types used, the setup of the interview (whether the interviewee is standing or seated), and to set the White Balance appropriately to the setting. Another point is to ensure that the camera is focussed and aligned with the eyeline of the subject. It is common for the eyeline to be the particular focus in interviews so that it creates an intimate tone for what the person is saying. In order to check this you can look through the viewfinder on the camera to ensure it is focussed and to analyse the framing of the scene and decide if there are any background distractions. It is also important to think about filming 'noddies' when recording the interview. Noddies are short clips of the interview reacting to what the interviewee is saying. These can be filmed with the interviewer showing a range of different emotions which can then be used in the edit to help make the interview seem like a normal conversation. Like with many TV and film scenes, it is essential to consider the lighting and sound, particularly so when filming interviews. When setting up for the interview, neither person should be placed in front of a bright background as this will affect the contrast and cast a darker light onto the subject. The person should be stood or seated in front of a dark background and be well lit so that they are clearly visible. It is also important that they are not directly positioned closely to the background, however, are further forward allowing for some depth in the shot. Finally, its wise to leave a few seconds after the interview has finished, not cutting the filming immediately. This allows for a more effective end result when the interview is being edited together. 

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Also when learning about Documentary making, we looked at how Green Screens are used and the effect that they can have on a production. Perhaps the most cliché green screen idea is that it is used for weather reports during news programmes, however, green screens actually have much wider uses. As well as on the news, green screens are also used when making blockbuster films in order to portray a different background to that which has been filmed. When working with a green screen, the subject must be positioned at a suitable distance from the screen (preventing a shadow) and present or act in the way that they are instructed. After this, the footage is then edited in post production through the Chroma Key process. Throughout this process, the background colour (often green or blue) is removed and replaced with the chosen background. However, when filming, it is important to not wear either of these colours as this will also be removed, causing some complications when editing. 

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Overall, across the two year course, I have learnt a vast range of both practical and technical skills which will help me when producing my Final Major Project. I will specifically focus on the techniques that I have learnt when thinking about how I will incorporate a green screen within my documentary interviews, as well as referring back to the skills needed to record and film an interview successfully. 

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