This has been an interesting experience for me as I have only ever produced one documentary before and that was as a collaborative effort. I think I can say I have learnt a great deal in the process of both watching others produce documentaries last term as well as creating my own.
To begin with, I found coming up with a concept very easy as this, being comedy was a subject which had also greatly fascinated me despite my lack of knowledge about it. Which is where doing my research into the history behind helped me massively in understanding the subject matter. I believe that in order to fully present something, you must know a good deal beforehand. Also, my research into filmmakers such as Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese highly influenced me about style and the way film can present documentaries in different ways to photography or even different subject matter. I found all my research beneficial and took my inspiration from here. In the future, I would like to look and many more documentaries that perhaps were directed by females as many of the ones I looked at were very male orientated.
When considering the amount of shoots I did, I honestly feel that I should have done more in order to get a broader range of interviews. Also, my original idea was to interview one comedian but due to time issues and being unable to find one available I chose to broaden the field. I certainly needed more people to interview and could have gone into the street if personal commitments had not of taken place. However, despite not quite sticking to the 100:1 ratio of footage, I am pleased with what I could complete. The models I worked with professionally took part and allowed me to find my confidence as a director, which was a role I was nervous to partake in to begin with. Also, along the journey of the shoots I found issues and problems I was able to overcome in the next shoot through careful planning and preparation which established a good shoot that saved time in post production.
I always enjoy the post production side of any film but I found this film particular easy to do as the piece was short but also because I had taken care to plan the shoot I chose. I had considered lighting and so colour correction took little effort, only in the scene where I shot in the theatre, which I would redo for the future due to the lighting. Sound of the piece was perfect and synced well due to the use of extra equipment at the time of the shoot. Sound is my favourite element of a film and therefore to do this well made me very pleased. I decided not to create a soundtrack as it might take away from the interview itself. Some may disagree but I am content with my own decision. The piece seemed to come together very quickly but again, this is due to my consideration for the look of the outcome. I was influenced by my research when considering this and can see a consistency in cinematography to my other pieces of work.
The overall film is the element I am most proud of as there is a nice mixture of shots that relate to what the audience is saying and the style is good. I am conscious that I have used some footage of the series of ‘Frasier’ and would need to make sure this is acceptable to use in future. I have however, mentioned this in my blog. Also, if I had more time, I think I would so capture more of a range of shots but am pleased with what I have produced here.
Overall, I have grown in confidence with this style of filming and have learnt many things about the documentary styles as well as my subject of interest comedy. I can safely say that I have come away from this project with more than I came in with. I have challenged my filmmaking skills and presented the audience with something different. For future reference I think I need to manage my time more carefully but would certainly like to take this project further and expand it into a bigger film. I would get more people involved and brave the streets. But for now I am pleased with what I have done. I have found the blog useful as you can type as you go along. I would do this again.