3. RESEARCH
I began my research by looking into the different genres
of documentary. These were observational, poetic,
expository, participatory, reflexive and performative.
This helped with my knowledge by informing me about
all the different ways that I can make a documentary and
helped give me ideas for my own project.
I then carried out some existing product research where I
looked at two different documentaries from different
genres. The first one I looked at was an episode of Our
Planet which is voiced by David Attenborough. This was a
good example of an expository documentary as it had
the “voice of god” narration paired with factual
information. It is made clear from the beginning of the
documentary that they are going to be informing us on
the environmental state of the planet.
4. RESEARCH
The other documentary I looked at was called “K2 the
killer summit” on the BBC. This was telling the story of
mountain climbers who got in a tragic accident. This was
an example of an observational documentary as it
showed a variety of features including handheld camera
shots and interviews. These are conventions that help me
to identify the type of documentary.
I also did some practice interviews with a person from
my class. I asked them a couple of questions about what
their own project will be and why they have chosen this. I
thought that this was a good way to learn about
interviews and taught me the basics of the process. It
also helped me learn to ask questions in a way that can
allow the participant to give detailed answers with lots of
information.
5. IDEA GENERATION
For my idea generation, I started by making a mood
board. I compiled together images that represent Aruba
and the kinds of activities we will be doing whilst we are
away. This is because these will be the sorts of things
that I will highlight in my video.
I also created a mind map that displayed the basic details
of my video. This was to get an idea of what my videos
focus will be. I have decided to have my video revolve
around the students personal experience of the trip with
an account of their experiences. I will ask them questions
with the hope of finding out what they have learned
whilst they were away and how the experience has
changed them.
6. POTENTIAL APPROACHES
One way that I could approach this project is by doing an
informative video about Aruba's History and culture. I
have done research into the Island, and I know that a big
part of the Islands focus is on arts and history. I know
that there are a lot of art galleries and museums that I
will be able to go to, to learn more information. This
would be an expository style documentary with a
narrator.
Another approach that I could take to this project is
doing a video that documents out stay in Aruba that
talks about our experience as young people travelling to
a new country. I would carry out interviews with the other
students and ask them questions about the trip. I would
learn about their personal experiences and how they
found life on a new Island for two weeks. The objective
for the documentary would be to discover how this
7. POTENTIAL TECHNIQUES TO
USE
One technique that I would like to use is interviews. I
would like to talk to people from the trip to find out what
their experience was like while they were away.
I will also use footage that matched the topics that they
talk about in the interviews. This means that people will
get visuals along side their narration, allowing the
audience to visualize the experience.
I would also use montage footage to show pictures of the
island to help show what the island looks like. This can
set the scene for the audience.
8. CONVENTIONS OF YOUR
CHOSEN FORMAT/GENRE
YOU ARE WORKING TO
Documentary Conventions
• Unstaged events that are authentic and true.
• Archival Footage. This can be used to show historical footage.
• Non-fiction
• Observational footage. Objective record of events.
• Reconstructed scenes. These can be used to show the viewer a
visual demonstration of an event that happened. There should be
an indication that the footage isn’t real with distortion, blurring or
colour enhancement.
• Interviews. People speak directly about events, giving it a sense of
realism. These can take plan on or off screen. On screen interviews
use the rule of thirds.
• Montage. This will be a sequence of visuals that go with the words
and narrative. They can be used to indicate a change in time
and place.
• Interviewees name and relevance at the bottom of the screen in
small and simple font.
• Formal narration.
• Cut away clips of observational footage that it relevant to the topic
being discussed.
9. MIND MAP OF IDEAS
[SUMMARY OF IDEAS]
Aruba
Interviews with
other student who
went on the trip
Visual footage of
what they are
talking about.
Upbeat music to set
the tone of the video
Title screen at the
beginning that is in
front of a video clip of
Aruba. This opens the
video and sets the
scene.
I will ask about what
they enjoyed from
the trip and what
they think they have
learned from it.
10. SUMMARY
5 opportunities of your ideas
• Being able to work in a new and unique environment. I
will get the opportunity to work with lots of interesting
people.
• I will get the opportunity to practice interviewing which
is something that I am not very comfortable with at the
moment.
• I will be able to create a video that captures our
experience in Aruba and shows how it has affected the
students who went.
• I will have the opportunity to practice and improve my
video editing skills.
• I will be able to practice Audio skills whilst doing he
11. SUMMARY
5 restrictions to your ideas
- It will be difficult for me to plan for my project before I
get there so I won't know how my project is going to turn
out until I get there.
- I will be busy filming for the other project so I might
not get a lot of time to focus on my personal project.
- I won't be able to go back to Aruba so if anything is
wrong with the footage there is nothing I can do about it.
Most clips will have to be perfect first time because I
won’t get the chance to film them again.
- Aruba is a windy Island so a lot of outside footage
might not be good quality.
- I will be losing 2 weeks of class time whilst in Aruba. I
will also be leaving for Aruba early on during the project
meaning I won't have a lot of time to plan before I leave.
12. FINAL IDEA – RATIONALE
I have decided to do my documentary on this Aruba trip
because it will be convenient to film during my time
here.
I have chosen this idea because I think that this
experience in Aruba will be interesting to document. It
also means that I can continue working whilst I’m away
in Aruba meaning I won't be too far behind when I get
back. I have chosen this format because I want to get
information from the other students from the trip to see
how this experience has affected them. When I’m back
from Aruba I will have had lots of practise doing
interviews which will help me with the interviews that I
do in college. I am looking forward to making a
documentary style video as this is something I have
never done before.
13. FINAL IDEA – CREATIVE
CONCEPT
I want to make a documentary about our trip to Aruba. I
will include actual footage from our time away and have
interviews with other students who went on the trip. I will
ask them about their experiences. I will put video
footage In the video that matches what people talk
about. The video will have an upbeat tone and I will
implement this into the visual style. I want the video to
have happy music as it will fit with the topic. I think that
a video about young people going to a Caribbean
Island should have a happy and inspiring tone. I will try
to find some royalty free Caribbean music.
15. TITLE OF
PRODUCTION/PRODUCTION
OUTLINE
Students over seas
For my production I will be doing a short three-minute
documentary about our trip to Aruba. I will interview some
of the other students who attended the trip and ask them
about their experience and what they have learned from it. I
would like the video to be a couple of minutes long with
clips and voiceovers from our experience. I will ask each
student the same three questions. What have you learned
from your experience? What was your favorite part from the
trip? What will you take away from this experience? I will
need to use the studio to record the interviews so that we
have a quiet space with no disruptions. I will book out a
camera, tripod and Microphone to record with so that it is
good quality. I would also like to include the educational
side of our trip. We will be learning a lot about the culture
and history of Aruba, so I think that it is important I include
this into the documentary. I also want to make sure that we
talk about the experience we will have working in media. We
will come back from this trip with a lot more knowledge and
experience of the workplace environment so I think it will be
interesting to see how the students confidence in their
ability has changed.
16. LOCATIONS
I will be filming a lot of my footage during my time in
Aruba. This will mean that I won’t be able to re-record
footage if there are problems as I won’t be able to go back.
There will be a lot of days filming in direct sun which means
there will be a risk of overheating. To avoid this, I will need
to make sure I have lots of water with me. Aruba is a very
windy Island which means that there is a risk that the Audio
won’t be good quality. I will need to make sure to record
footage inside if the audio is needed for the clip. A lot of
the audio won’t be necessary because I will be using the
voiceover footage over the footage. I will need to make sure
I get lots of footage at each location and I should also check
through footage before leaving. This will ensure that the
footage will be usable when I get back.
I will be filming the interviews in the studio at college. For
this I will need to make sure I book a slot and equipment for
the same time. I will also need to make sure that the
interviewees are available on the days of filming. I will need
to have interview questions prepared for this day. Filming in
college will be easier for the interviewees because they
already have transport sorted and so it won’t be an
additional cost.
17. EQUIPMENT
Cannon DSLR camera – I will use this to record the
interview footage. This will allow me to mount it to the
tripod meaning I can get stable shots and it will be good
quality footage.
Tripod - I will use this for filming stable shots when
recording the interviews.
iPhone – I will use this to record handheld footage from
Aruba. This will be helpful as it will be easier to quickly
record footage without any disruption. It will also be
easier to carry around with me which is important
because we will have long days where I won't get to put
things back in the apartment.
Microphone – I will use this to record the audio for the
interviews. This will make sure the audio is good quality.
The studio – I will need to film the interviews in the
studio so that I have a space that wont have any
disruption.
18. FACILITIES
I will edit the video using the college computers on
premiere pro.
I will need to book out the studio in college to film the
interviews. I need to film the interviews in the studio as it
will be a quiet room so there will be no disruptions in the
video.
19. PERSONNEL
I will be the only person in the crew for this project. I will
work behind the camera filming different parts of our
trip.
I will need to have interviews with some of the students
who went on the Aruba trip. I have chosen to do
interviews with Hannah Stockill and Lily Ajaib. We will be
filming this during college time so I won’t need to pay
for travel. I also wont need to feed them as I won’t be
filming with them for that long.
22. CONCEPT BOARD
DISCUSSION/EXPLANATION
I put together an idea of what the colour scheme for the
video will be. This will be used for the title and text. I
chose these colours because I think that they are
associated with things like the sea and beaches. They are
bright colours which show the happy uplifting tone of the
video. These colours will also come through in the videos
clips with pictures of the sea and beaches. I have also
included pictures of Aruba as this will be the main focus
of the video.
For the music, I want it to fit the tone of the video. This is
a happy and upbeat tone as I am showing this trip to be a
positive experience. I have looked through websites to
find some Caribbean inspired royalty free music which
includes the steel drums as this style of music is
commonly played and associated with Aruba. I want the
music to sound fun and happy to convey the correct
message and evoke positive feelings for the audience.
23. CONCEPT BOARD
DISCUSSION/EXPLANATION
I also want to make sure to include videos that show the
location of Aruba and to get a general feeling for what
the Island is like. I will do this by adding videos of
beaches and palm trees because people associate these
with hot countries. This will evoke the fun and happy
tone when I introduce the video.
24. EXPERIMENT
PRACTICE INTERVIEW
Q. What is your chosen topic?
A. I’m making a fanzine about horror films and how
women are seen by looking at the male gaze. I found
that a lot of 70s and 80s horror films feature
topless women so I want to look into how this has
changed from then to now.
Q. What will you be doing for the interview?
A. I will be interviewing a friend who is a film student at
university as I think she will have a lot of knowledge
about the subject.
Q. How will you present your project?
A. I am getting my inspiration from punk fanzines but
I cant find one that I like that is the horror genre. I
will create one that has the vintage punk look
that looks into the horror genre.
25. SHOT LIST
1. A shot of the sea crashing onto rocks.
2. Cuts to a shot of Palm trees. The title fades in and
upbeat music starts playing.
3. It starts with the first interview question with Hannah
where I will ask what she has learned from her time
Aruba.
4. It will cut to clips of the mural tours In San Nicolas
with Hannah's voiceover to question 1.
5. It will then cut to Harrys interview with the answer to
the same question.
6. Archive footage
7. Gold mine footage with the interview as a voiceover.
26. STORYBOARD
Opening Shot 0.00 – 0.03
Shot at the beach of waves
crashing into some rocks
Title screen 0.03 – 0.09
Panning shot of palm trees
The title fades into the
screen and the music starts
First interview 0.09 – 0.15
Music fades so can hear voice.
Mid shot of Hannah answering
the first question. Her name
and title is shown at the
bottom.
Art Mural tour 0.14 – 0.16
Handheld shot from Aruba
showing us looking at
murals
Art Mural tour 0.16 – 0.21
Panning shots of some
murals with interview as
voiceover
Art mural tour 0.21 – 0.27
Handheld footage that
shows us being told about
a mural
27. STORYBOARD
Interview 0.27 – 0.29
Hannah finishes her
answer to the first question
Cross dissolve ----------
---------->
Interview 0.29 – 0.33
Harry gives his answers to
the first question
Name and title on screen
Archive footage 0.33 –
0.37
Cuts to different shots
from old photographs that
we saw when we went to
the archives.
Gold mines 0.37 – 0.43
Handheld shots that show
us looking around the gold
Interview 0.43 – 0.44
End of Harrys first question
Cross dissolve ----------
---------->
Interview 0.44 – 0.50
Hannahs interview for
question two
28. STORYBOARD
Hooiberg 0.50 – 0.54
Handheld footage that
shows shots of us walking
up Hooiberg.
Interview 0.54 – 0.56
Harry gives his answers to
the second question
Aruba footage 0.56 – 1.02
Shows different footage
from the areas we explore.
With interview voiceover
Gold mines 1.02 – 1.06
Handheld shots that show
us looking around the gold
mines
Interview 1.06 – 1.08
Insert a clip from the
interview
Leisure 1.08 – 1.12
Video clip of us dancing at
the festival with interview
as voiceover
29. STORYBOARD
Beach 1.12 – 1.16
Panning shot of beach
Interview voiceover
Interview 1.16 – 1.19
Hannah gives her answers
to the final question
Work footage 1.19 – 1.25
Shows different footage
from different work tasks
that we did.
interview 1.25 – 1.28
Insert interview clip
leisure 1.28 – 1.34
Montage footage of us as a
group with interview
voiceover
interview 1.34 – 1.42
Harrys Answer to final
question
30. STORYBOARD
leisure 1.42 – 1.50
Montage footage
Interview as voiceover
Interview 1.50 – 1.54
End of Harrys interview
Tele Aruba 1.54 – 1.55
Panning shot of us at Tele
Aruba
Leisure 1.55 – 2.02
Small montage of us as a
group.
Outro 2.02 – 2.05
A clip of the beach that
fades to back
Fade out music.
32. PRODUCTION GROUP INFO
Include names, contact info, and defined roles at
difference stages of production, using a table is
suggested
Name Contact
Information
Role
Hannah Stockill Hannah-
Stockill@student.yorkcollege.ac.u
k
Interviewee
Lily Ajaib Lily-
Ajaib@student.yorkcollege.a
c.uk
interviewee
Harry Statham Harry-
statham@student.yorkcollege.
ac.uk
Interbiewee
33. LOCATIONS
San Nicolas – This is a small town in
Aruba that has a large focus on Art.
There are murals around the town that
all have individual meaning and a
couple of art galleries. We will be
working with people from Artisa during
our project so we will spend a lot of
time here. They also hold annual art
festivals in the area. The mural tour is
quite long as is in direct sunlight. We
need to make sure to be protected
from the sun by wearing hats, applying
suncream and drinking water.
Hooiberg – This is a small mountain
that is the highest point on Aruba. We
will be climbing this whilst we are
away. We will need to be careful of the
heat as we will be doing a lot of
exercise so its important that we bring
lots of water to reduce risk of heat
stroke. We will also need to make sure
we don’t trip on the steps as we go up
to avoid injury. Since the majority of
34. LOCATIONS
College – I will be filming the
interviews in college using the
studio. There won't be many
disruption as we are in an inside
location. There wont be problems
with weather or sound. If we film
in the seating areas then there
could be an issue with other
people being in shot or heard in
the audio. It is important that I
film in a quiet location.
Casibari Boulders– This will be
one of the places we visit in
Aruba. It is a large nature reserve
with large rocks and lots of
wildlife. We will be climbing the
rocks so it is important that we
stay within the roped areas whilst
on top. This can prevent us from
35. LOCATIONS
Gold mines – We will be going to
look at the gold mines during
our trip to Aruba because it is a
big part of the history of the
Island. This will be in the middle
of the day so we will need to be
careful of the heat. There are
also a lot of heights that may be
unsafe so we will need to be
careful not to fall.
36. RISK ASSESSMENT
Potential Risk Solution
Getting sunstroke whilst filming in
Aruba
Make sure to wear hats,
sunglasses and suncream. I will
Also make sure to have water
whenever we go out.
Tripping over wires in the studio Make sure that me and the
interviewees are being careful and
make sure to move wires from
places we will be walking.
Breaking the equipment Make sure that everyone is careful
around cameras and other items
that are in the studio so that
nothing can get broken. Make sure
to wear the camera strap and put
the lens cap back on when not
filming. Also, make sure to put the
37. RISK ASSESSMENT
Potential risk Solution
Falling from heights at the
gold mines.
Make sure to stay away from
the edge when up high and
stick to the paths when
walking around
Standing on cactus spikes in
national park.
Make sure to stick to the paths
when possible. It is also
important to wear thick shoes
when going anywhere outside
the towns.
Getting hit by cars when going
on the mural tours.
We will be filming near roads
in some of the town but
especially in San Nicolas when
going on the mural tours. It is
important to be aware of
surroundings and to look out
38. RISK ASSESSMENT
Potential Risk Solution
Drowning/Falling in the sea. Be careful not to swim in
rough areas and stay away
from the edge of cliffs. Don’t
get too close to the edge
when filming. This can be
especially dangerous on rainy
or windy days.
Muscle/eye strain whilst
editing.
Make sure to take breaks
from computer screen
regularly
39. CONTINGENCY PLAN
LOCATION
Problem What to do
I can't return to
Aruba if there are
issues.
I need to make sure that I am happy with
all of the footage before leaving the
location.
Bad weather can
cause issues with
filming.
Make sure to people careful and to stay
away from the edge of the coast if it is
windy and rainy.
Studio might not be
available on the
days people can be
interviewed.
Make sure to plan ahead and book the
studio with plenty of time in advance.
This can ensure that I will get a slot.
40. CONTINGENCY PLAN
TECHNICAL
Problem What to do
Microphone not
working
See if there is anybody available who can
help the issue. If not, then record the
audio from the camera.
Camera not working Speak to somebody who can help and
maybe get a different camera.
Computers going off
before saving.
Make sure to have all work saved regularly
and to one drive.
Bad audio from the
wind.
It is really windy in Aruba which means
that some of the footage might be ruined.
I will be able to use some of this footage
without the audio and just have the visuals
instead.
Noticing bad lighting
in Post
If it is too yellow then I can balance the
colours and take away the warm tones. It
41. CONTINGENCY PLAN
PERSONNEL
Problem What to do
Interviewees not
being available on
the day.
I will have to make sure that I have other
people who are available on that day
who are happy to do an interview.
Finding the time to
do interviews with
people.
The people who I need to interview will
be busy. It will be easier to schedule
during class time as everyone will be
available then. I can make sure to do the
interviews quickly so as not to keep
them from their own work.
Getting people to a
location for filming.
Filming in certain locations means
people will have to travel which can cost
money. If I film the interviews in college
then there will be no additional costs
and it will be less time consuming for
the interviewees.
Some people might Make sure to ask everyone beforehand if
42. CONTINGENCY PLAN
ORGANISATIONAL
Problem What to do
Interviewees can't
make the scheduled
times
Have a backup person who can also do the
interview.
Not getting the enough
footage in Aruba
Make sure to get footage wherever I am when
possible so I will have footage from
everything.
Not having schedule
planned in time before
I leave for Aruba
Make sure to get as much footage as possible
and make plans whilst out in Aruba.
43. SCHEDULE
Date Activity
16th December - Filming interviews.
- Make sure to get the camera
equipment set up.
- Give interviewees time to
prepare answers.
21st December - Start editing the footage. Go
through the first question
and then upload Aruba
footage that is necessary.
- Create the introduction with
the title.
28th December - Continue editing the video
editing question 2 and 3.
- Collect more footage that
fits with the dialogue.
