Problem solving for my FMP.

1. Problem Solving
Georgia Brown

2. Practical/Technical
How to use a
steadicam/shoulder
mount?
Best way to record sound
in an interview?
Do I need a
steadi cam
/shoulder
mount?
Boom
pole?
Lapel
mic?
Sound
recorder? Rode
microphone?
Camera
audio?
Do I need back
up sound incase
it doesn’t work
well enough?
Two types?
If so I’ll need
more crew.
Will have to film
during class times so
myself and the crew
are free?
Have to buy
one if so.
One on
the
camera
and
another
separate
Do they work well
enough?
Too fuzzy?
Keep as
back up?
Not
professional
enough?

3. Theoretical/Creative
How to film?
What crew
do I actually
need?
Unwanted sounds as we’ll
be right by the road and
the windows are old and
thin so let a lot of sound
in.
Talking
head
interviews
only
Walking
around
with them
Bit of
both
If I use the
steady cam I’ll
need another
crew member
If it’s just on a tripod, do I need
a production assistant carrying
and ticking stuff off etc. Or is
that unnecessary?
Light by
windows, how
to avoid?
Settings so
camera isn’t
over exposed?
This links to the best
audio recorder,
something that is
picks up sound
directionally would
be best.

4. Technical/Practical Issues
Steadicam or Shoulder Mount or None
One of the main practical and technical issues that I faced when planning this production was how will I film the
interview. I also thought that I should practice and do experiments with the equipment so that I could see
whether or not it felt right to use this with the interviewee.
• Will I just have talking heads or will I walk around, or a bit of both?
• Do I need a camera operator if I’m just doing sit down interviews? Will it be too many people in the crew
and unnecessary?
• Do I need to practice using the steadicam and shoulder mount incase?
• Will I need to use it, will it benefit the product?
• What best fits this style of documentary?
• Do I have a specific style yet?
• Should I create one or does it depend on the style of each topic and the length of the product?
• When I do my experiments I will have to get the camera operator to practice.
After doing the experiments and contacting the interviewees I have decided not to use either the steadi-cam or
the shoulder mount as I will just be doing taking head interviews and therefore will just be using the camera on
the tripod. I felt that the equipment we have, whilst it is good, may not work best for this production because of
the weight and that we will be filming in a small space. After pondering the questions above I realised that this
documentary is more serious than say Louis Theroux and so having talking heads is more professional and proper
and following someone around with a camera is just not apart of the creative vision I have for this project.

5. Steadi-Cam/Shoulder Mount
Experiment
My crew member/sounds assistant and I practiced using the steadi cam, pictured above, and the shoulder
mount, to the right. When experimenting it was the first time for both of us that we had used either of
these pieces of equipment and this was one of the reasons that I wanted to experiment so that I could
practice using them and see which would be the best fit if any, so that I could make the best documentary I
could. When using the steadi-cam we soon realised that it was way to heavy for either of us without more
equipment to hold it up an because the weight was affecting how we held it, the camera was too wobbly
and it wouldn’t have been as professional as it could have been. The shoulder mount on the other hand
was much better and much easier to use. We could both successfully move around with the camera and if
necessary, which is what I was wanting it for in production, follow people around whilst keeping a steady
shot. However we also thought that after a while this would get heavy and that it would be difficult for us to
keep held up for long periods of time and so I wasn’t 100% on either of these pieces of equipment since in
the majority of productions who film in this way they have a steadi-cam that attached to a belt to hold the
weight, which we don’t have, or a large camera that sits on the shoulder which again we do not have access
too and so it is the situation of working with what we have got.
These pictures to
the eft show us
struggling to
even hold the
camera upright
when using the
steadi-cam and
so it clearly
shows that it
isn’t the best
piece of
equipment for
our production.
Steadi-Cam
Shoulder Mount

6. Audio Experiment
Audio Recording
• Will I or college have to buy lapel microphones if I want to use them?
• Should I have two types of audio recording in case one fails?
• What should I use to record?
Boom pole with shotgun microphone
Just sound recorder
Lapel mic
Rode mic on the camera
Original camera audio
I did do experiments for this however I am unable to show them on this PowerPoint since I cannot place an
audio file here, yet I did test out all of the audio equipment in the above list to try and figure out with would be
the best for this production. The only one I did not test was the lapel mic as I haven’t had enough time to buy it
when I decided to do these experiments. The sound recorder alone was fine however it picked up a lot of
sound from lots of different directions where as when just using the shot gun mic that was directional and so it
picked up sound in which every direction I pointed it. This is perfect for interviews since it blocks out any
background noise to a minimum and just focuses on the dialogue which is what I want the audience to be able
to hear over everything. The rode mic was very buzzy and there was an undertone that never went away and
so that along with the camera dialogue is just unusable for my documentary, especially if I am wanting this to
be as professional as possible. The only other thing that I wanted to try was the lapel mic however I didn’t have
enough time to order one for it to one in time for the experiments. The reason I wanted a lapel mic was
because it is situated close to the persons body and it is used in all sorts for tv interviews very successfully.
Possibly in the future when I do my own production gain I will invest in a good lapel mic so that I can get a crisp
clear and directional dialogue.

7. Lighting Experiment
I had an issue with lighting when
I filmed my factual project and
that was that one of my
interviewees was sat by a
window and the light and sun
shone through and over exposed
the camera which nearly
completely ruined the shot. I
need to make sure I know how to
use the settings or at least to
make sure that I can set the right
ISO and aperture setting so that
the shots look good and have a
good colour balance and not too
much white.
• Sudden light from
windows means camera
is over exposed.
• Ruins takes and shots
and cant exactly ask
people to repeat
themselves if they’re
talking in their own way.
• What settings do I need
so that doesn’t happen?
• What camera am I gong
to be using?
• Practice until I know
how to stop it from
happening.
I did some experiments with a student called
Abbie who is going to be my sound assistant and
crew member on this project since she worked
with me on the factual one too. We took
photographs and videos by windows and outside
to see if we could alter the light that was passed
over from the window into the full shot. As you
can see in the bottom right photo the white is
very bright however in the bottom left and middle
the white light is much more controlled and you
can still see the person and the colours clearly.
Doing this and doing the camera audit have
helped me to learn all of the extra technical
qualities I may not have known or may have
forgotten and now I can use them in this project
and in future ones to make sure it looks as
aesthetically pleasing and professional as possible.

8. Photographs
An issue for this production is going to be using
and finding photographs that represent the
lives of the people I am interviewing. Hopefully
they will send me photographs of them over
email so that I can use them in the film for
context for the audience. However there is a
chance that they may not and I will need to
plan for this. Thankfully there are many
pictures of sister Agatha on Google and so I
don’t have to worry too much about that since
she published photographs of herself in her
book however there is noting on either the
teacher or the priest. If I do not receive
pictures from these two interviewees then I
will have to use found footage, images from
google and insert shots to break up the
interview video since I cannot just place that
for the full 10 minutes. I may have to plan for
some insert shots of crosses, photos, books or
anything remotely interesting or religious just
so that I am prepared for the worst to happen.

9. Storyline
One of the main creative issues that I have a head of me is how to present and edit the storyline. When trying
to figure out these are the issues and questions that I thought to myself and that I decided to needed to figure
out.
• How to edit storyline?
• Three separate interviews?
• One intertwined one?
• One with the separate interviews within?
• Do I ask question after question?
• Should I just let them tell their story?
• Can I contest issues with them or let everything go even in discussion?
• How do I edit the narrative, linear/non linear?
• Do I want them to talk about the exact same subjects?
In all honesty I think that I am going to wait until I have all of the footage and the photographs and let the
story's and interviews guide my editing since I cannot plan what I will put where because I don’t know what will
be said. Whilst this is annoying and leaves me in the dark for a lot of time, it is a valid technique used by
documentary makers when conducting interviews like this. Perhaps if they are wanting to tell a specific story,
e.g. a true crime story, however I am here to let the interviewee tell their story and so I think that even if it
hinders my panning, since I wont be able to do proper storyboards, I think that creatively and for my project it
is the best idea. I have also decided for now that I will do tree separate interviews and then a big one including
all three which will be about 10 minutes. Depending on how the interviews go I could possibly change it up
however at the moment that is what I am aiming for in the production time.

10. Camera, Sound and
Software Audit