Production Experiments.

1. Experiments
Thomas Dickinson

2. Process
For my experiment, I decided that I needed more experience with a camera before
making my documentary. The reason I needed more experience with a camera was
because I’d never properly used one before, and it was going to be used heavily in the
documentary. The equipment I used in my experiment was a camera, a tripod and a
microphone. The tripod was to keep a steady, central shot which is familiar in
interviews like this within documentaries. Initially I wasn’t going to use a microphone,
but the person helping me film had one for his experiment so it made sense to test it
out. I used big industrial lights while shooting this; I had shadow problems regardless
so in future I will to try to get stronger, fuller lighting. The eyeline is also off as his eyes
should be higher and his head should be practically touching the top of the shot.
Overall, I’m happy with the professional look of the shot, as it looks like it could be
straight out of a documentary.

3. Process
In this experiment, I interviewed my friend about who he was and what he liked.
Before going into the interview, I hadn’t wrote any questions so I just had to ask very
basic questions that came to my head. The whole interview looks professional, with
the use of a medium close-up because in my opinion it looked the best. However,
the way in which I interviewed the guest was very informal and funny almost;
whereas in my actual product it’ll be formal and serious. The footage was filmed with
a camera, a tripod and a microphone mounted to the camera. The lighting in the
footage was accomplished with two huge lights facing diagonally to the person being
interviewed giving him equal light coverage from both sides at the front .To edit the
footage down from the original two minutes long, I used Premiere-Pro which is
something easy to use and I have practice with it. The only issue I have with my
product is that the persons eyeline is lower than it’s supposed to be.
Production Experiment

4. Process
Green Screen Prodution Experiment
In this experiment, I rendered over a green screen for the first time ever. The reason I
chose to use a green screen was because it gave me a controlled environment
compared to filming on location. If I filmed on location, it could’ve been windy which
would’ve affected the tripods stability and the audio quality. The software I used to
render over the green screen was photoshop, which was easy as I have a lot of
experience on it. I did some research into how to green screen on Photoshop through
Google and YouTube, which showed me the process of how to do it. I did it by going
onto the effects tab then the keying tab and then by pressing ultra key. After that, I
dragged the ultra key effect over the video of my interview and opened the effects
control tab. Finally, I selected the eyedropper tool and clicked the green from the
green screen and replaced it with a picture of a lake. Overall, I think it looks good the
only problems are the chair’s visible and there’s a faint square around the interviewee
due to the light reflecting off the green screen. If I were to do it again, I’d make the
interviewee sit on a stool so you couldn’t see the chair. Also, I’d aim the lights better so
there wouldn’t be so much light reflecting onto the green screen or I’d cut the green
screen closer to the interviewee.

5. Reflection
What elements of your experiments will you
include in your final product?
I will include the green screen around the interviews, as I
think it looks better and it’s remarkably easy to do. Another
thing I will include is the use of camera angles; however, I
will make the interviewees eyes match up with the eyeline.
The reason I will match the eyes to the eyeline is due to the
framing as if the eyes aren’t on the eyeline it looks
unnatural and makes the audience feel uncomfortable.
Also, I will be using a camera a lot while making my
documentary, so I will use what I learnt in my experiment
while using it.

6. I decided to make a credit roll as a lot of films and documentaries have them at the
end, so I wanted mine to have the same. To make the credits roll I had to do some
research on YouTube, I went through various videos which collectively showed me how
to do it. The first thing I did to make the credits was select a fitting image for the
background. After that, I selected a new layer and the new text option. To make the
text look good while rolling I had to write a lot so I wrote ingredients of a Christmas
dinner. Then I went down to responsive design and selected an option called roll.
There was options to make the credits longer, shorter or angled but I left it normal as I
think it looks more professional. I will definitely use a credit roll at the end of my
documentary as I think it’s an attractive, professional way to finish it as I could use
leftover footage behind it.

7. What elements of your experiments will you include in
your final product?
In my final product, I will include rolling credits as I think
they look professional. Also, using roll credits is a clear
way to lay out everyone who worked on the product.
When including the credits in my real product, I will use a
stern font. This is because I want the credits to be easily
readable and not out of place. I will also make particular
parts bold, for example the parts where it says: directed
by, edited by and starring but I’ll keep the names normal.
The last thing I’d do is keep the words black as I don’t
want it to be too eccentric and also black would be easy
to read on a white or blue background.
Reflection

8. I decided to attempt some animation as in documentaries like this one,
when there’s no conclusive evidence they animate it to show a visual
representation. This was my rough attempt of drawing Loch Ness. I used
the pencil as the paintbrush can leave blurry edges and I think for a
basic design it looks very good. I added the trees on a separate layer and
then merged down just to make sure it looked good. Finally, I added
texture to the water as it looked boring without it. If I were to make this
again I would add more trees and I’d add clouds in the sky.

9. I animated these creatures to go in the loch, as in the actual animation, I’d
have done a video comparing what all the possible things the Loch Ness
Monster could be are. I used a pen to draw them as the paintbrush leaves
blurry edges which looks weird in my opinion. The creature on the left is the
traditional look of the Loch Ness Monster. On the right, is a drawing of an
elephants trunk which is a common theory of what the Loch Ness Monster
could be. I drew an eel on the far right but I did it on the wrong layer by
accident so I coloured over it. Overall, for quick drawings I think they both look
good. However, if I were to do it again, I’d draw more creatures and I would
add more detail to them.

10. Reflection
What elements of your experiments will you
include in your final product?
I may include animation if I have enough time as
I think the context I chose to use it in would
work very well if utilised properly. The creatures
and background looked fine, but they were
basic, so if I were to do it properly I would add
more details and texture.