3. Why am I problem solving?
• Problem solving is an extremely Important part of my project. Normally
with my experiences of doing projects I have had at least one problem,
normally quite a few. I am problem solving now to minimise that chance of
a big issue and to hopefully get none or at least a less severe one. Back up
plans are very important because something that may not be an problem
can become one that could ruin my project very quickly and also the
project just benefits to having planning before hand. I have the best
chance of making a high quality project with the right planning and
contingency plan in place as instead of focusing on problems I have a quick
fix for them and can concentrate on other more important areas.
Especially for an amateur of filmmaking back up plans are a must because
I will make mistakes this early on in my career, its inevitable. Theoretical
problems are also a big risk as production can be unpredictable, especially
with cast and crew. Weather also comes in to play as in England one day to
the next can be totally different so having that extra support to lean on is
going to be vital to having a great project.
5. Equipment
Not getting equipment would be a very big problem and could potentially undermine all the
work I've put into the project so far. Not having equipment would mean I would have to use
ways that will decrease the quality of my production meaning I wont be able to complete
the project I originally planned.
I will also need to be comfortable using equipment so I'm not using time when I should be
filming trying to figure out how to use the equipment.
With equipment I’ve previously had issues with not having enough charge and it running
out while trying to get footage which can halt progress and quality of work as you have to
rush knowing the camera will run out at any time.
Solution
To combat the first problem I will book equipment weeks prior to the when I start shooting
so I can get all equipment I need for the days I'm doing production.
For the second problem I will book out some equipment I plan to use before production
begins to do experiments and just to get comfortable using everything I plan to do.
Solution number three, I will charge all equipment needed a night in advance and make
sure they are fully charged with a spare battery as well before filming has commenced.
6. Editing
In my first year I had a problem with not being able to edit on my laptop when I got
home, so all the work I could do had to be on the same computer making my whole
project progression slower. I also somehow lost files trying to recover what I lost, I'm
still unsure how it happened.
Solution
I will use my laptop for all editing so I can complete work wherever. This should allow
me to be able to do my work to better standard as I can complete it on my time and
not have to rush anything and do it at my own speed.
7. Crew skill level
In my head at the moment I only need three people for my project including me. One
interviewee and one voiceover and camerawomen. The person I’m using for the voiceover
I’m very close with and spend a lot of time with so perfecting the voiceover the way I want
won't be an issue hopefully, if it is I can get someone else to do it no problem. I am not
worried with the filming she will do as she’s experienced with cameras and the task I’ve
planned her to film shouldn’t be too difficult as its just documenting my gym session. The
problem I may have with is my trainer Harry Strike. He’s a very busy person and has
occasionally cancelled sessions. Its not certain he will be able to give a good interview
either, if these points go bad it can have a drastic effect on the quality of my project.
Solution
I will make sure all people involved with a part in my project will be fully up to speed with
what they need to do. I am going to send out the questions before hand so he can go over
what his answers will be like. I will plan to do my filming early just in case of cancelations,
so I wont be screwed if I don't have footage if he misses because I still have time to shoot
another day. I will also do some experiments with my camerawomen filming my gym
session so she can get used to it.
8. Production time and production quality
It should only take two to three days to film and after that ill try and take my time putting it together as I want it to be
of the highest quality possible. I want to put some edits together as well which can be time consuming, and take up
time from other things I need to get on with. Production quality could also be an issue due to me having amateur
filming experience.
In the past I have had problems with only having a couple of nice shots and needing to go out and film more which can
delay my time. I'm worried about my interview with Harry Strike as I would have to do it in a possibly packed gym
making the sound muffled.
Solution
I think that doing experiments with filming shots that I would look like what I would include in my project, so I'm more
familiar with it and the shots when I actually start production will be of a higher quality than my experiments. This
should save me time on other things making my whole project complete in all areas. Doing experiments will also help
my filmmaking skills improve as with more experience I can see what shots I like and don’t like.
A solution to not having enough high quality footage is that every time I film for I will look over the footage I have and
see if I like them enough to finish for the day, and if I don’t I will continue until I'm happy with the abundance of
footage. Planning shots beforehand will also help with getting quality footage as I'll have experience doing experiments
hopefully and I have thought about how I will film it, so I'm not winging anything.
Doing my interview in the gym the with Harry, the sound could be affected as there are too much noise at high our
times. For example 4pm to 7pm is normally highly active times within the gym due to people getting off work around
them times. Doing the filming as early as possible should minimize this noise distraction. Using a microphone should
also help as the sound drastically decreases the further away you are from the microphone so if my interviewee is the
closest voice, then surely you should only hear his voice.
9. Technical and practical problem table
Problem Why it’s a problem Solution Back up solution Evaluation
Equipment- booking out equipment in
advance and being used to it.
This is a problem because not having
equipment will decrease my production
quality because I will have to use things
like a phone. I will also have to book it
out early so I can get fully used to using
it beforehand be able to experiment
with it first to see what works best for
the project..
The solution to this problem would be
booking out the gear I need weeks in
advance and plan what I need weeks in
advance.
A backup solution would be borrowing
a camera from my girlfriend's dad as
he's got good equipment I can borrow
there or buying equipment that I need if
I can't get access to equipment form
college.
Having good equipment that I know
how to use and know what shots I like
will be very important to making a good
project and them solutions should be
able to help me complete them aims.
Lighting and weather- shadows or
brightness messing up the shot or
weather effecting the shot.
Lighting and weather is a problem as
having bad lighting can make the
project look amateur and look like little
effort has gone in to make the project
look nice. The weather and time of day
will decide this.
A solution would be Checking weather
forecasts before filming and when
planning days of filming. I will also make
sure before filming that everyone will
be warm enough to film for potentially
hours outside, I will try and film a day
that is warm, so this won't be an issue.
If it is constantly raining, I can use an
umbrella over the camera.
A backup solution could be that I do
most my filming inside as I don’t think
that much quality of video will be lost
doing this.
I don’t think I will have any issues now
as I have set in a contingency plan so
that if anything goes wrong, I have
solutions.
Production time and quality- my filming
skills and getting everything done to
distinction level.
It’s a problem because if I don’t have a
nice video, I feel like my whole project
is ruined to me, as to me the video is
the most important part because that’s
what I enjoy the most even if it is
graded all equally.
I am being a lot more productive this
FMP so I think my time doing everything
I want will be expanded. I will use my
own laptop to edit and put footage on
so I can do work from any location and
that should increase the amount I can
do in the time. I will try and do some
edits I would want to include as
experiments so I will be quicker doing it
during the actual editing process. For
the sound work I will use a microphone
that I have used for two projects now,
so I am familiar using it.
A backup solution is doing the
interview outside the gym so the noise
will hopefully be less and should only
be the interview being heard. I can
always just do my work on the
computer at college or use a memory
stick to get it off this computer, in case I
can't use my own laptop. I don’t have to
do some of the edits I'm thinking about
doing as I can still make my video look
nice without them if they turn out to be
too hard or time consuming.
In evaluation I think that having a really
good video is what Is most important to
me on this project so I will put in the
extra effort to do all these things I have
said.
Crew skill level- interviews going bad or
filming going bad.
Having a bad crew skill level is a
problem because having a bad
interview or camera work can make the
project boring or dull.
A solution to this is planning
beforehand doing experiments with
filming getting good angles that I could
use later; this will get the camera
women use to the level she needs to be
for the project. Not giving too hard of
questions to my interviewee will also be
helpful as it won't over complicate his
answer and hopefully, he will be more
open to talk with a less complicated
question. Not using a yes or no question
as well will also be helpful so he can talk
A backup solution would be just to plan
out what shots I would like and hope
for the best if I can't do experiments
beforehand. If I can't get an interview
with Harry I should be able to get one
with other people, I would just have to
make new questions.
I think using the solutions I have
produced, I should be able to get the
crew to not be a problem, because with
the planning and experiments I do
beforehand there shouldn’t be much
chance of an error.
11. Ultraflex closes down or unable to film
If Ultraflex closes (the gym) I could be royally screwed. It’s a great place for a project,
they have great lighting, very interesting to film, I have permission to film; so say in a
world where it shuts down for whatever reason what would I do? If I am also not
allowed to film that could potentially deescalate my whole project.
Solution
I would have to find a gym that would allow me to film but I also couldn’t get footage
of me training with my trainer which will be quite disappointing. I would probably try
and record anyway and see what happens.
12. Lighting and weather
The issues I could face is when doing filming outside as in England the lighting of outdoors is very
inconsistent, having the weather too dark due to cloudiness or too bright due to the weather being
crazily bright can all effect how the video will look.
For indoors I think I should be okay, the lighting in the locations are either I know are good (gym
lighting) or at home are easily manipulated with three-point lighting. Outside I will also have to get
areas where there are no shade so anything I'm filming is easily visible.
Weather wise I’ve already touched upon how cloudiness and excess sunlight can negatively effect my
quality of video, but if weather is too bad it can stop my production all together for potentially days. In
rain I can't let the camera get wet as I don’t want to pay for breaking a camera. With rain it could also
affect the mood as rain is quite depressing and that is not the desired mood I'm going for in all parts of
my project. Wind can drastically worsen sound quality and potentially knock cameras over so avoiding
all windy days to film outside is a necessity. If its a cold day as well, I will have to make sure all people
helping me film have enough clothing to keep them walm for potentially a while if I am not happy with
the footage.
Solution
Here I have evaluated that lighting wise, most my problems involve outside and weather-related issues.
My solution to this is too avoid planning production outside in times and days that weather that could
inhibit steady progression of filming; Ill do this using weather forecasts. Also Ill strive not to use places
with dim lighting or any type of lighting that may hinder the visibility of the film.
13. Another lockdown
In today's world anything can happen, and another lockdown isn’t out the realm
of possibility, especially since it has recently spiked in my area. If another did
happen that would restrict many things I have planned to do for my project.
Having a backup plan for this could potentially save my project as if I don’t have
one, I would be completely lost and may possibly be more likely to give up out of
frustration. I would have access to only equipment I could afford, which would be
phone equipment, a stand etc. Interview wise I would have to use family
members which is not ideal. Lastly for footage I would have to use either existing
footage I have from the past or film myself in the gym set up I have a home.
Solution
A solution to this would be before a lockdown is set in place, I borrow a camera
from college or from a friend for the duration and get an interview before or ask
someone to do it with their camera as I know they have access to it. I think I could
get away doing a good project because I have a home gym which isn’t much, but
it has a nice rustic style and looks quite aesthetic.
14. Problem Why it’s a
problem
solution Backup
solution
evaluation
Lighting and weather- shadows or
brightness messing up the shot or
weather effecting the shot.
Lighting and weather is a problem
as having bad lighting can make
the project look amateur and look
like little effort has gone in to
make the project look nice. The
weather and time of day will
decide this.
A solution would be Checking
weather forecasts before filming
and when planning days of filming.
I will also make sure before filming
that everyone will be warm
enough to film for potentially
hours outside, I will try and film a
day that is warm, so this won't be
an issue.
A backup solution could be that I
do most my filming inside as I
don’t think that much quality of
video will be lost doing this.
I don’t think I will have any issues
now as I have set in a contingency
plan so that if anything goes
wrong, I have solutions.
Ultraflex- cant film there. It’s a problem because I have
based a lot of my footage on shots
at Ultra flex and I require an
interview from someone who
works there. This is potentially a
massive problem as I would
need new footage and an
interview.
See if I can film the same thing at
another gym and get an interview
outside of the gym.
Backup solution would be film
myself at my home gym, with an
interview with someone who
knows me and says what I'm like
working out.
This is a very unlikely scenario, but
if it did happen, I could still get my
project done to a high level.
Lockdown-corona virus This is a problem because a lot the
equipment and footage I have
planned involves things that I don’t
have access if I am only allowed at
home.
A solution would be to plan to do it
before the proposed lockdown or
to do it with the equipment I have
access to and try and do the best I
can.
A backup solution would be too do
all my video with no actual m
footage just a voiceover using my
phone and footage from the
internet, but I would rather not do
that.
In evaluation I think going into a
lockdown would decrease the
standard of my work but not ruin it
because I can still make a project
and get decent footage, and I feel
better making this just in case it
ever happened.
Theoretical problem table
16. Experiments: casual dialog
Here I am getting experiment
of more jokey casual
snippets that I would put in
my video. I will add these as it
gives a good contrast to some
of the more serious stuff I
will be including in my project. I
quite like these shots as the
lighting looks nice. In these
sections I would talk directly to
the camera or do a voiceover. If
I were to do it again, I would
make these sections longer as I
didn’t have a script, but I was
just talking normally with the
camera women. I will continue
doing this type of research
experimenting with audio
recording equipment.
17. Experiment: GYM lighting
Gym footage wise I was
trying different methods of
filming. Lighting wise I was
unhappy with the outcome
as it was over exposed. I
could fix it in post, but I
think if I did it again, I
would take the exposure
down and bring shadows
up, this change would
make the video look more
natural, as the exposure
makes me look too pale.
Shadows should make my
muscles have more
definition as well.
18. Experiment: GYM filming
• I tried to get quite cinematic shots
following the weight or my
movement. I liked this, as it would
really make the final project look
more cinematic. Of course, it is
quite hard to demonstrate what I
did in pictures, but essentially as I
drag back on this 'prime row' the
camera follows my hand. I think this
adds a lot of enjoyability to the
viewer when they watch my final
product as it will make it easier to
watch and make them feel like there
watching it actually happening
replicating the human eye.
19. Experiment: Gym filler footage
• I experimented with getting footage that I could use as filler say if I don’t
have enough footage in case or just use it while I'm talking for visual
stimulation. For these shots I tried to film something that was quite
interesting or entertaining enough to look at. For the image show I filmed
the weight stack going up and down and I would follow the camera with it.
This also falls into a lot of the genral filming I did that day as I was trying to
get footage that would be entertaining for the viewer.
20. Poster one
Poster one: for this I went for
my research I did for the
posters and did a grey
background and red title as this
a bodybuilder poster trope. I
distorted it a little bit as well,
as I think it looked quite old-
school. For my actual photo I
want to use an actual photo of
me rather than a screenshot of
a video. The title font is from
Dafont and it is called
'bodybuilder', I used this as it
fits the theme of my project.
21. Poster 2
Poster two: For this one I felt a
bit more creative and tried
something different. I was
inspired when I was thinking
about what my colour pallet
would look like, I know
Ultraflex is where a lot of my
footage will be and that’s got a
red and black these, so that’s
what I went for here. The title
font is from Dafont and it is
called 'bodybuilder', I used this
as it fits the theme of
my project. I also feel this poster
that I look less cut out as well
for some reason that was the
look on the first poster in my
opinion.
22. Experiment: How lighting and angle is
an illusion on muscle appearance
For this I am using footage from my
previous documentary Bigorexia. Here
you can see under good lighting and the
right angle I appear to have a lot more
muscle than I actually look in normal life.
Even in the photo below I look like I have
twice as small as I do in the photo above.
This is down to the lighting being slightly
worse and the angle being unflattering.
What I have learnt from this is that front
angles tend to look better on specifically
me and that is what I will use for most of
my shots. This change will make the
video more appealing as the
transformation will look more appealing
making the viewer more interested.
23. My camera work and audio
My previous work
Since joining college I think my camera work and audio
has come on a lot. I didn’t do any sort of voiceover or
interview work in the first year or even prior to York
College I hadn't done any sort of project. I hadn't touched
a camera before York College either and the only filming I
did was on the phone. I think recently in this second year
my filming has drastically improved. I was really proud of
my last project about Newcastle because I went to
Newcastle and came back with footage I can be pleased
with. I also improved my audio as I used the microphone
for all my interviews not using the normal camera quality
audio and it came out nicely.
How I can improve
I think for camera work I can improve by getting a few
more artistic camera shots and more creative ones as
well. For audio I would say that not getting any
movement on the microphone that may cause stutters or
errors will help the project a lot and get it feeling more
professional. A fix for this would be having the
microphone resting on something as if I am holding It,
human error can come into play and even a slight little
knock to it will cause noise errors.
24. Experiment: the typewriter effect
The typewriter effect is
something I experimented
using on my previous
project, and I was inspired
from other fitness
influencers on YouTube. I
like how it looks as there's
something about it that
gives a connection with the
audience, which is a goal
with my project. I also
added a typewriter sound
effect to go with it as well
which worked quite well.
26. Experiment video analysis
(rotoscoping)
I did two different ways to rotoscope. The first
being on photoshop doing a lot of different
frames. In my opinion this was the inferior way
to do it. It was more complicated and consumed
more of my time. I had to do each frame
individually copying over what I did previously
on the last frame and that took a long time, so I
tried doing it a different way on After Effects and
that worked a lot better. At first I was hesitant
and stuck as After Effects is a new thing for me
but after getting showed how to do it and
practice on my own time helped. I think what
helped the most was getting After Effects on my
own laptop because I can just develop my skills
in my own time and that is what the pink car is. I
just drew that for a few frames to get a hang of
it.
29. Deleting footage
• Early on in the shooting process, I was faced with
a dilemma when footage I captured was deleted.
I acknowledge my responsibility for this, I had
little experience using the particular camera.
However, although disappointed, I contacted the
people involved in the lost footage and asked if
they would help me re-shoot. I definitely learnt
from this, thankfully this took place early on
meaning I didn’t encounter this issue again for
the remaining duration of production.
30. Being unsatisfied with footage
• When the time came to watch through the footage I had so far
collected, in hopes of editing it, I felt displeased with some if not
most of it. This was difficult for multiple reasons. Firstly, and
probably most obviously, it hindered my production schedule. I
couldn’t start editing and creating the finished product until I had
footage, I was proud of. This meant re-shooting some sections.
Penultimately, this raised the problem of Identifying why I didn’t
like the footage, so I wouldn’t just reproduce the same problem
over and over again. Consequently, I had to re-plan shots and think
of new ideas. Finally, it created the problem of morale. It was
discouraging to look at footage for a concept I was excited about
and not be pleased with its outcome. I had to look past this and
remind myself that this created opportunity to capture better
footage, footage I'd be proud of.
31. Lost footage
• Unlike previous footage, this wasn’t deleted but lost.
During the process applying effects and correctional
techniques to my footage unbeknownst to me, certain
footage was lost. This initially cause panic as I had no
knowledge of where it had gone or what had caused
this. After spending minutes looking for the footage
with no luck of salvaging it, I remembered I had
previously exported a draft of my work. I accessed the
exported file and copied the necessary footage and
pasted this back into the file I needed. I feel this
showed ingenuity and was extremely glad this didn’t
mean re-shooting.
32. Camera difficulties
• For this project I was using two cameras. One of which belonged to
collage. I had used this one many times and had familiarised myself
with it, I was therefore comfortable using, and operating it. In
contrast I also acquired a camera from an external source. This
camera was fairly new to me, making it hard enough without
factoring the slight technical difficulties I was faced with. During the
process of filming, the camera would turn off. This meant that I had
to re-shoot footage. The fact that this was a repeated occurrence
was discouraging to me. I just wanted to be able to see my hard
work visually, in form of my footage. I had to wait longer to achieve
this, and it created anxiety prior to shooting, not knowing if the
camera would turn off again. However, after a lot of re-shooting I
finally achieved my footage.
33. sound
• In postproduction I often ran into issues with my
sound, as it was inaudible and had almost a static
quality. This meant that viewers would have had
to increase or decrease the intensity of the
volume according to the audibility of the sound.
This wasn’t ideal, and so the process of amending
it involved adjusting each sound level to a state of
equilibrium. I set all the sound samples to –12 DB
(decibels). This solved my issue, making
my project much more enjoyable for the viewer,
and successful to me.
