A2 media evaluation part 3
- 1. -Medium/long/close-up/head & shoulder shots: We used a range of shot types involving the distance of the subject from the camera. We used a head and shoulder shot when filming Lauren for our case study, a medium close up shot in our formal interviews with Yves Saint Laurent and Fitness First and Medium shots for filming such as vox pops. -Pans/tilts/zooms/high angle/low angle: We tried to mix up our shot types by filming from different angles, lengths of time and proximity. We used a tilt to film makeup items from the Yves Saint Laurent makeup counter, a zoom on the Yves Saint Laurent poster which was used as the background for our facts, and pans for establishing shots such as a pan of the Solihull Sixth form College. We also used low angle shots to film shop signs in Touchwood. This was so that the viewer would feel insecure about the shot which indicates the power that clothing and appearance based companies have over people. -Framing (don’t have main focus in the middle): When we setup the camera for our case study and professional interviews we considered the framing based on what we had seen in other documentaries in order to keep in keeping with professional standard. We positioned the interviewees to the left hand side of the frame whilst showing a wide background. Camera The Camera can be used to create many different shot styles, lengths, angles and movements to give variety to a piece of film. Some examples of these are: Example of a low angle shot used Framing Example of a Medium shot used
- 2. Editing Editing and finalising the footage is essential as the editing can vastly improve the film and affect the way it is received by an audience. Some commonly used editing techniques are: -Transitions e.g. cuts/wipes/dissolves/fades: One transition we used was a typewriter effect at the very beginning of our documentary to define the focus of the documentary. We also used fades in between some of the shots to signify the start of a new chapter or topic. -Fast pace editing/slowed down editing: We edited certain shots to be sped up or slowed down when needed to add interest to the documentary. For example, we slowed down the pan shot of Fitness First to give us time to introduce it properly in the voiceover. We also sped up the title shot, as we felt if it was on display for too long it would lose interest of the viewers straight away. -Cutaways: We used cutaways in our Yves Saint Laurent and Fitness First interviews as a way of keeping hold of the interest of the audience. By keeping any shot on screen for too long we felt this would be boring and repetitive so in our interviews, whilst the subject was talking we cut to other footage to support what they were saying.
- 3. -Freeze frames: We used freeze frames at the beginning of our vox pops to give the voiceover time to ask the question that the vox pops answer. We did this as when we were filming we planned to have the questions answered by the vox pops as part of the voiceover rather than part of the clip. This is because we wanted to ensure that the questions could be well heard and were clear, without background noise that some of the vox pops produced. -Quick sequencing: As part of our background footage we filmed a pile of magazines building up. To do this we filmed one magazine on the table, stopped recording, then added another magazine and carried on like this. This technique enabled us to put all the short clips together, quicken them up and produce a quick sequence of shots. Editing -Black borders on professional interviews: Another way in which we edited was to add black borders above and below the shots of our expert interviews. This not only allowed us to be able to display their name and profession clearly, but also covered up corners where the microphone had mistakenly slipped into view of the camera. We repeated the borders on all of our expert interviews to create continuity. This made it a regular feature of our documentary, thus ensuing that we had a recognisable trait, making our documentary differ from others in this familiar attribute.
- 4. Sound Sound is one of the most important factors in a documentary. Bad sound quality would put people off watching and make the documentary appear very unprofessional. Many different levels of sound are included: -Diagetic sound: Diagetic means sound that you would expect to hear in the filming. So this would be things such as background noise in vox pops and verbal speech, for example the voice of an interviewee speaking such as in our expert interviews and vox pops. -Non-diagetic sound: Non-diagetic means sound that is added after filming, unnatural sound to the footage. This would include background music, voiceovers and sound effects. Non-diagetic sound that we added to our documentary was our upbeat music and female voiceover. -Voiceover: This piece of non-diagetic sound is something that an audience expects to hear when watching a documentary, as it fills them in and what is happening and gives vital information and context. We used a female voiceover as the target audience of our documentary is females. We tried to ensure that the script for our voiceover was informative and interesting. The voiceover is expected to be well spoken, calm, clear, loud, and neutral; i.e. not an annoying or particularly distinct voice, and I think we achieved this with our voiceover. -Music: Although it often goes unnoticed, background music is an essential part of any documentary and a documentary will have their background music playing almost the whole way through. We chose a piece of music which is fast moving, fast paced and a light hearted pitch which would appeal to a target audience of a younger generation. We also chose to have a slightly more upbeat piece so as to not bring the viewer down, and to keep the film animated. However the music was not too ‘happy’ for a serious subject like ours. -Boosted sound levels, sound mix, fading the sound: In our documentary we had to adjust some of our sound levels to ensure that they were at a perfect level. We boosted sound levels in interviews where the speaker was a bit quiet and need raising above the music. We also lowered the sound levels of the music at points when the speech was needed to be clear. Music backing track (non-diagetic sound) Diagetic sound (interviews, vox pops) As you can see here, we have raised and lowered the sound levels of the background music when it has been essential to