This document provides an evaluation of a short documentary produced by Georgia Brown. It discusses the various stylistic and technical choices made in producing the documentary. These included using talking head interviews, a voiceover narration, still images, and choral music. The document also compares the documentary to similar films that use techniques like voiceovers, interviews, and music. Finally, it outlines some strengths of the documentary, such as its unique subject matter and professional production quality, as well as some weaknesses and plans for future improvements, such as better time management and additional interview content.

1. Evaluation
Georgia Brown

2. Characteristic & Content
I used many different styles and characteristics related to factual products when planning and producing my
short documentary. Firstly was the talking heads technique during the interview. I decided to use this as I
thought that it would be better way of representing the nuns especially seen as the clips that I would actually
be showing of them were only short. I thought that having them sat down would work better than following
them with a camera, as you would be able to see and hear them better too. I also decided to add a voiceover to
the beginning and end of the documentary, voiced by myself. Firstly I was going to add title slides and just have
written words basically giving context to the documentary however I felt that it was better and more
informative for the audience to have a voiceover instead of having to read it which would have taken longer. I
recorded the voiceover spoken by another student however it just didn’t sound as passionate or as
knowledgeable about the subject as m voiceover did and so I felt that mine was therefore more professional
and would suit the film better. Additionally I used still images throughout the film to give context to what the
sisters were talking bout and what it was like in the past for them. All of the photographs I used, I had been
shown by the archivist at the nunnery which meant that they were legitimate and related to the sisters that I
was interviewing. I thought that the still images added more depth to the film as it explained to the viewers
that they were nuns which you may not have known by the interviews as they weren't wearing habits. It also
broke up the videos meaning that the viewer didn’t get bored or distracted when watching the film. All of the
moving footage that I used in the documentary I had filmed myself with the help of my sound assistant Abbie. I
thought that having the interviews on camera made them much more personable and interesting as you can
see their body language and facial features move as they are talking and explaining and I think that that is
much more effective and compelling for the audience than just a voice recording playing over images. I was
also considering using archival footage of some of the sisters in the past however since they personally didn’t
have any I did think it was right to use videos of other nuns when my film is about these sisters at the Bar
Convent. Therefore I decided not to use any archival footage and to just use the footage that I filmed myself
when interviewing and visiting the convent. I also used choral music which played throughout the film when
the sisters weren't talking. I chose this as I felt it fitted in well with the theme of religion and it was also
peaceful and gave an overall good feeling to the film. I feel that it made what was being shown more powerful

3. Compare and contrast
Although there aren't many documentaries about nuns or Sisters that are similar to mine there are many
documentaries which contain the same styles, characteristics and techniques which I have used. Firstly would
be my favorite documentary maker, Louis Theroux. Whist I'm not focusing on one specific documentary, that
doesn’t matter as Louis' films or TV series are all filmed in a very similar way. But one main characteristic that
he uses in all of his documentaries are voiceovers. He uses them at the beginning middle and end to explain
the context of what is about to happen, what is happening and what his opinion is and what his overall
conclusion is after everything that he's seen. Now whilst I don’t have a voice over in the middle, because my
film isn't really long enough to warrant that, I do have one at the start and end for the same reasons. If I made
a slightly longer film I could possibly add one in to cover the end of different parts or after I interview different
people. The difference however is that Louis normally goes in with a quite liberal mindset and even if he is
talking to people who he has disagreements with he doesn’t mind saying that he disagrees with them in the
voiceover afterwards. I however was trying to be as polite as possible without defending the sisters at all and
so in that way his is more of an investigation and mine was more of a storytelling. The documentary Young
Nuns, was quite similar to mine in that it obviously involved nuns/Sisters and therefore contained many of the
same things, interviews with nuns, images of past nuns and videos of the chapels and areas. This film also
contained many talking head interviews which mine does too. I think this corroborates the fact that having the
sisters sit down to interview is more respectful and professional than interviewing them whilst you are walking
around.
Finally The Keepers is another documentary that has many similar features to mine, mainly the music and the
still images. Throughout the docu-series they use still images when expaining something that has happened or
when talking about a certain person. I too tried to do this in my film as I talked about what the nuns did and
the past and then showed images of the old nuns at the bar convent and images of related things. I think that
this helps the audience to know what you're talkig about and also gives them a full picture so they can properly
enjoy the information they're hearing. My film 'Moder Sisters and 'The Keepers' also used hymns and choral
music to convey a feelig of catholiism and religiousness which is what the main theme of the docuemntary is.

4. Strengths and Weaknesses
My product has many strengths and some weaknesses. The main strengths I think is the subject of the film and
how different and original it is. There aren't many documentaries about nuns that include interviews with
nuns/sisters themselves and so I think it was a triumph to get some sisters to cooperate with my film. I thought
that this might not happen as the Catholic church doesn’t often open it doors to filmamkers and I had to go
past the press officer however I got there in the end. I also think that actually having the interviews with the
nuns was much better than just reading off facts about them whist showing found images or footage that I got
from the internet. Having a real sister on camera with true primary information available made it more
authentic and professional too which overall made the film more interesting for the viewers. Additinonally
from a technical point of the view the way I framed the shot in the interviews looked professional as that is
what they do in real interviews on the TV or in films and therefore it looks less like a student production and
more like a verified production. Additionally I think that the voicever and music were really good additions to
the images and footage I used. The voice over added extremely necessary information for the viewer witout
being boring or repetitive. The accent and voice used fitted in well with the tone of the film because it was
passionate and polite with a well spoken tone and no major geographical accent. I also think that the music
made the film feel very high quality and professional as it feeling that I wanted them to get. Since it was a
religious choir I thought it fitted in well with the religious theme of my documentary. However there are some
weaknesses to my film. Firstly I think would be that the gaps after and before some of the dip to blacks are too
long and it may confuse the viewer. I additionally think that there may be a slight lack of content related to
what the sisters are saying. Although they do say some really interesting things I think that more of my film
should be them speaking, not necessarily with the visual of themselves but I do think that there should be
some more content to make the viewer reallly interested and to help them learn things. This is definatley
something I will keep in the for-front of my mind when planning my next fim as it is very important.

5. Action Plan
Since making this short documentary there are some future development points that I am going to follow to try
to increase my knowledge and raise my capabilities for the next film I make. Firstly would be time
management. During the factual project I encountered a few issues regarding time management that
nearly ruined the whole filming process. The main issue was contacting the Sisters at The Bar Convent in York. I
started off with emailing them in the middle of september however as the weeks went by with little
communication between us, even though I had emailed and rung multile times, I decided I shoud really contact
other avenues just incase the sister at the Bar said they couldn’t participate in the doumentary. I then spoke to
three other contacts with no luck and a week into the editing stage the sisters at the Bar finally got back to me
and said that they would love to be a part of it. Since filming was this delayed it meant that I had a big rush to
edit and complete my project which I finally did in time. In the future I am going to contact people months
before hand so that I dont have the worry of not even having anybody to film with. This has made me realise
how important time keepeing is and how it can critially effect every aaspect of the production. I was also
wanted to record the music myself with a choir however since I didn't get any responses in time I had to use
royalty free music that I got from the internet. Despite it being very good music that I found, not having the self
recorded sounds could have massively damaged my film. When filming this I only used a normal cannon
camera to film and I had it on a tripod nearly the entire time however in the future I really want to use a steady
cam and have a larger camera so I can film whilst I am walking around without it being extreamly shakey. I also
need to make sure that the audio records when interviewing is spot on so that I don’t have any issues when
editing. I will do this by having a check before we start filming to make sure that the sound good and that it is
recording. I wanted to use a boom microphoe when I filmed with the sisters however it wasn’t working and for
fear of holding up the process and keeping them waiting we just used the sound recorder on its own, which
was fine, but not good enough. Altogether the main things I need to priorotise in my action plan are time
keeping and management skills so that my projects never suffers due to bad timing and communication. Also
the technical aspect whilst filming so that I can capture the right sound and visuals to make sure that my
project is professional and interesting.

6. Peer
Feedback

7. Feedback 1 - Janet Brown
• What did you like about the product?
o Ok, I thought it was extremely thought provoking and gave a delightful
insight into the life of a nun.
o It was humbling to see how they dedicate their life not only to God but
also to helping others.
o The film was succinct and informative but yet it was factual and very
moving.
o The music was beautiful which evokes peace and tranquillity too.
• What improvements could have been made to the product?
o I thought that there could be less time in between some of the takes, so
each scene flowed more from one to another.
o I would like to have seen more filming at Mass.
– More music including maybe part of a hymn.

8. Feedback 2 – Abbie Nicholls
• What did you like about the product?
o I love the topic of the documentary because it is so interesting.
o I love the interview scenes with the sisters and also the clips from inside the
chapel and the mass because it makes it much more interesting and creative.
Shows you have a passion for production!
o Also love the background music- it ties in nicely.
• What improvements could have been made to the product?
o More clips from the interviews with the sisters because that was
really interesting and educational!

9. Feedback 3 - Andreas Mina
• What did you like about the product?
o It shows so many images and videos during the introduction. The images show so
much history of the nuns in York and it helps to show what they did. The images
themselves show a lot of information about the subject of the film, leaving me
more fascinated and interested in what is about to happen and what they are
about to say.
o The music also matches the subject really well. The choral music sounds
enlightening and fits with the mood of the documentary.
• What improvements could have been made to the product?
o You could have shown more of you walking around the house with the Sisters so
that you can picture the context of the situation better.

10. Peer Feedback Summary
• What do you agree with from your peer feedback?
I agree that there should have been more footage included in the documentary of the
sisters, both in the interview and also when we were touring the convent as it would have
given more insight to the viewer and it would have also been very interesting. It would have
helped to break up any long or slightly boring parts which went on for too long. I also agree
a little bit that the gaps in between either the interviews or pictures were quite large and
could have been a little big shorter so that the viewer doesn't get bored or lose interest.
• What do you disagree with from your peer feedback?
I don’t agree with the fact that someone wanted to see more footage of the mass as I
decided that it was too boring as not much happened. I think that it would have been nice
to see the sisters sing whilst in mass however they don't often do that and therefore I
wasn’t able to capture it, however overall I agree with the majority of the strengths and
weaknesses given to me by my peers.