Documentary CR 2

Research:

    In our research, as mentioned before in previous post, we had a lesson in which I took notes, but we also watched many examples of great documentaries, such as: Exit through the Gift Shop, American Promise, Abstract, and the New York Times' Op-Docs. In this process, we learned of direct and indirect interviewing, b-roll, and the affect of music in documentaries. Looking back, my documentary did not really challenge conventions but it sort of included a biased POV; I chose the topic and I was included in the documentary. I had a perspective in my head that I wanted to put across. It was that being a full-time student and a part-time worker is very difficult. At least it was for me but it could be different for others.

Planning:
    Planning could've been better had we chose a different topic where b-roll, tripods, and better lighting were available. But because we knew that in a workplace, without agreement from corporate, we weren't going to able to bring equipment, it was hard to plan out what we could and couldn't do.  Regardless we planned out what we could, such as shots we wanted and interview questions.

Production:

    Production was pretty laid back. The two subjects just had to turn on their cameras and set them down where it could focus them. During interviews, we used tripods and a tall, bendy lamp for lighting. However, as good as the lighting was on camera, in editing it was not. So we had to dim down the exposure a bit. I failed to take in account that my screens are brighter than school laptops so it looked oddly dark on everyone else's screens. 

Overall:

    I enjoyed the topic and the purpose was clear. I wished we could have executed the production better but it is what is. I realized that the music didn't add as much as I wanted it to. It was sorta just there in the background. I would've liked to see more variety in subjects instead of two white girls who live in the same house but it is what it is. 

    Our product did in fact represent a group of people and an issue. Our social group was students with part-time jobs, whether or not the representation is accurate is not my problem. I was representing the issue that most of the students with part-time jobs I know face as well. Issues such as, lack of sleep and time. We also wanted to address misconceptions from teachers (not you Mrs. Stoklosa) in Cypress Bay High School that all students don't have things going on besides high-school and its sports teams. 

  Our target audience was mostly teachers and parents but also students. We wanted to prove a point to adults that it is not easy to handle so much and live without excess time. With that said, we also wanted to hear from students that what we were representing is valid and it wasn't just us creating a victim mentality.  From sharing the documentary to the class and my friends, the audience has agreed that the topic and purpose were very relatable. So with the lack of proper technique, the point was received by the audience and I'm grateful because that means the project wasn't a total flop. As much appreciation I have to this project, I don't believe I will continue it for the Cambridge portfolio project for the mere fact that we cannot improve the angles and lighting for most of the clips. 

Documentary CR Post 1

     Describe the documentary project and your research, planning and production processes.

    For the documentary project, we were to create a short documentary on any topic of our choice. My group and I chose high school students with part-time jobs. Our documentary's purpose was to shine a spotlight on these students and the challenges they face. 
    For research, in class we had seen a couple documentaries, including Exit through the gift shop, American Promise, Abstract, and NY Times Op-docs. Through the lesson and documentaries, I've learned the purpose of direct and indirect interviewing, the importance of music and b-roll.
    In planning, my group and I started with what shots for b-roll we wanted and the subjects we would make the documentary about. We chose myself and my sister as we both go to school full time and work part-time. We later moved on to the interview questions. We tried focusing on the struggles they face and their daily life.

    During production, filming b-roll was a bit difficult as we couldn't bring tripods or extra hands to film for us to our work places. Most of the time we just set the camera down anywhere where it could stand on its own. For interviews, we used my mother's lamp and a tripod for lighting and filming which the clips looks okay for the most part on its own. During editing the exposure on the clips went a little wild so we had to dim it down but on my PC, I have a vibrance mod that makes things brighter than they are. Which I didn't take account for.