IMC Intercultural reflection

Planning our documentary film is essential because I want to make sure I have all the information needed before we start doing. When I’ve done the research and I have all the information about our topic I need, I  can structure our info film in a way that captures the attention and interest of our audience.

This is why I tell the story with our interviews, voiceovers, and video clips. It’s an opportunity to explore our topic and to pick out the interesting information or the moments I would like to present to the audience. It’s also a chance to get to know the characters and understand why they’re involved in our info film.

In our small crew’s documentary, the main section will include interviews from the cast and crew of the film, video clips to go with the interviews, and facts and information about how the film was made and what inspired the story. The aim is all about to present information that the audience may not know.

When I make a documentary, I might want to make a list of all the information and items I want to include in the film and then create a list of character interviews. Then, put this list into an order that will keep our audience interested throughout the film. Imagining the way the audience feels and the questions they may ask helps I choose the information to include in the documentary. Use this list to create a shot list, which shows every shot to include in the film.

For this project, a brief has been already negotiated prior to the start of semester. While the brief is unlikely to answer all the issues that the project  must solve, it is important to take it literally. It is unlikely that the client will wish to diverge from it. It is likely that your negotiation will only concern the details rather than the main concept. It is important to respect your client’s expertise. They understand their audience better than we do. They know what sort of media their community understands and uses.

Pre-production

We were having an internal discussion around who the video is actually for, how we can best present Longinos in the video as well as what the video should look like, and we thought the best thing to do would be to sent an email and give Lynnet Ngigi (our clients) a call as a group by Skype so we can pitch a few ideas to them.

At this point, I think about how we’re going to tell the story. From the research, I found the documentaries can be told in different ways, such as through the use of a voiceover or through what the characters and subjects say. A voiceover is a popular way to narrate such films, but letting the characters tell the story can feel more natural.

If we using a voiceover, write the script before filming. This helps to create a shot list and to structure the film. Our voiceover should always present information; it should never have an opinion. On the other hand, if you’re using your characters to tell the story, be sure to have a list of questions to ask them.

In the way to communication with our group member, I found that using Message Facebook is the great way to do because we can share image, file, doco, even more a short clip or voice to our team and also update what our work up to.

Depending on our project, I decided use our characters to tell the story, so we discussed a number of questions to ask them.

In addition to these conceptual considerations, the screenwriter must ask a number of practical questions as well:

· Why is this film being made?

· What does the producer/client/financier want to achieve through the film?

· Who is the targeted audience and what should their reaction to the film be?

· How much does the audience already know about the subject?

· What will be the film’s technical conditions of use (Black & White/Multi-colour?

RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH: I CAN’T SAY IT ENOUGH!

Every film, especially a documentary, has a ‘value’. This could be social, political, historical, philosophical, artistic or of some other kind. The amount of research a scriptwriter puts in is directly related to the ‘value’ of the film. In the rush to get started, many people often skim over the research process. Especially in films that involve subjects of a personal nature; for example: a person’s journey within his own family to explore social dynamics. A scriptwriter could be instructed to write a script on a live event that was shot some time ago, like a riot, or for a film on the thoughts and feelings of a celebrity already captured in detail on camera. He might ask himself, “How can I possibly add anything more to the subject information?” Even in films that seem straightforward and detailed information has already been given to the scriptwriter, there is always room for more research. There are simply no shortcuts that will provide the quality of a well-researched film.

As the scriptwriter, I must ask  some important questions:

· What have I not yet been told about this subject?

· Is everything I have been told the truth? How much do I need to verify?

· What would I personally like to know about this subject?

· If I were a member of the audience, what would I want to learn about this subject?

· What can I find that is little known on this subject?

· If the shooting has not yet started, what information can I gather that would aid the filming process?

WRITE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Before I give interview question, take a look at this list of things to think about when writing the questions to ask in those interviews. Asking open‐ended questions can help I avoid one‐word answers. I may also want to ask two questions together to get the most out of the answer. It’s really useful for us when working from different cultures.

• Who? Whom will  interview? My interviews can play an important part in my film, so choose my  characters carefully. Choose people who are confident enough to talk on camera and have the knowledge to answer the questions clearly. I may wish to include information about the  characters in my documentary, so think about the questions I could ask to get this information.

• What? Think about what I’ll ask the characters to get more information about the topic. I may wish to ask questions about their experiences and how they are involved in the topic to show their knowledge.

• When? If I am creating a documentary film about an event or a party, then the date and time are quite important. I  may want to ask my characters questions about when they do something or how often they do it.

• Where? I may wish to include questions about the location or venue of the topic, if it’s needed. I could film my interview in a place that’s connected with the topic.

• Why? Using why in my questions is a great way to get more information out of a character or subject during the interview. Questions beginning with why are simple, but they’re more likely to give me longer and more emotional answers.

  Just like painting, the prep work often takes much longer than the actual paint job. And in fact, it’s a mistake to rush into shooting without thinking everything through.

 

Post-production

A documentary is any non-fiction video or film that informs viewers about a real-life topic, person, event, or issue. Some documentary films provide us with educational information about things that aren’t well-known. Others tell detailed stories about important people and/or events. Still others try to persuade the audience to agree with a certain viewpoint. Whatever subject I choose, filming a documentary can be a serious undertaking.

In this project, the production part wasn’t our job.  We engaged with the experience of working with other people from different cultures. We just received the footage from other that we’ve been dealing with by social media such as Google dive, email, Skype it seems made life mush more easily. So, skip into post-production process.

So here you are.

I’ve received all  footage and  now ready to sit myself down in front of my computer and start making magic. I need to organize it in an order that is interesting, coherent, and will keep the viewers’ attention. Make a detailed shot-by-shot outline to guide the editing process. Provide a coherent narrative for the audience to follow that proves your viewpoint. Decide which footage will go at the beginning, which will go in the middle, which will go at the end, and which won’t go in the film at all. Showcase the most interesting footage, while cutting anything that seems meandering, boring, or pointless.

Here’s my post-production check-list:

• Log tapes, examine & study footage
• Create a script – I’ve written up a whole page just on this topic
• Choose  music: research music libraries, work with a composer or look into purchasing copyrighted materials like a pop song (David job)
• Edit your documentary – click here for a step by step editing guide
• Strategize on a distribution and marketing plan for my film
• Check all the legal stuff to make sure I won’t get

Edit the film.

We have all the pieces – now it’s time to put them all together!

Use a commercial editing program to assemble our footage into a coherent film on my computer. Remove everything that doesn’t logically fit into the theme of our film. Take my time during the editing process – allow myself plenty of time to get it just right. When I think I am done, sleep on it, then watch the entire film again and make any other edits I think are necessary.

• Make our film as lean as possible, but be the director to work with a reasonable and ethical editor. For instance, if, while filming, I encountered strong evidence that goesagainst our film’s viewpoint, it’s a little disingenuous to pretend it doesn’t exist. Instead, modify the message of our film or, better yet, find a new counter-argument!

Do a screening.

After I’ve edited the film, I’ll probably want to share it. After all, films were meant to be watched! So we’ve shows our rough cut in the class (Assessment 1: Work-in-progress) to my friends, and the tutor whose opinion I trust. Then we got many value feedback.

• Be prepared to get honest feedback. Ask our viewer(s) to review our movie. Tell them not to sugarcoat it -I want to know exactly what they liked and what they didn’t like. According to what they tell me, I may choose go back to editing and fix what needs to be fixed. This can potentially (but not necessarily) mean adding hight quality of our interview works.
• Get used to rejection and toughen up. After investing countless hours in my documentary, I  expect audiences to react and respond. Don’t be disappointed if they aren’t “over the moon” about my project; we tend live in a media-consumptive world today and audiences have high expectations and low tolerance.

We’ve sent an email to Lynnet Ngigi to tell her that our team has just cut together a first draft of the video. we wanted to share the first draft of the video we have produced. So she can see the first draft and we were hoping she would be able to send us some feedback on the first draft. It would be great to get the feedback on this first draft to fix.

Keep editing

Editing a documentary is neither easy nor fast. Even when we start with an outline, that outline is likely to change as we get to know the footage, the subjects and events. A good place to start is to look at all the footage while suspending judgement. Look for and collect those magic moments of truth and beauty. Then I can begin to string them together and see what flows.

Research in structuring the documentary

Documentary structure is often determined by the film’s subject. There are a number of common structures used in documentaries:

• “Voice of God” narration tell the story
• Interview clips tell the story
• “Day In the Life” where the camera follows the subject
• The filmmaker appears on camera and guides the story as a first person guide, such as Michael Moore, Werner Herzog and many others
• Re-enactment of historical events using actors, photos and stock footage.

Some documentaries use a combination of these structures. It comes down to telling a complete story. Narration and titles can be used to weave the separate pieces and ideas together into a cohesive whole.

As a documentary editor, I’ll spend a lot of time on the desk in processing the output. I will essentially create a frame by frame story from a haystack of video shoots. I’ll spend hours and hours on the audio processing. And even after I’ve decided on the final piece, and maybe years after I’d have made the documentary, I might still dwell on the question where you selected the right shots and right sequences. Remember to shoot a lot. Keep the camera rolling as much as possible. I’ll realize how seemingly useless frames fit into the design beautifully later on.