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1. Factual: Production
Reflection
Jake Whattam-Smith

2. Reflection Day 1
What have I done and why? -
- Recognising that I don’t exactly have any footage of my own to form the documentry, I had decided to structure out the whole
video against what I had already; listing each of the sections, cutting them to the exact length for each segment, adding in
additional markers when to start and finish each clip, and typing up my script for the sections that need it, this made the
planning aspect and management of my documentary significantly better, especially for when I begin to edit more thoroughly.
What methods/tools have I used? -
- Not many effects and or processes had been used to establish some sort of planning, but the main source of getting this done
was with the inclusion of many markers and using the type tool to identify each section, a usefull utensil on the software that
had also been used to complete and write up the script, for its ease of use and ranging possabilities thanks to the program
considering all uses with the many fonts, effects, edits and additional tools avaliable.
Dash
Each of the section
listed in text
Additional script for
narration is subtitled
The section detailing amongst music
and added effects

3. Reflection Day 2
What have I done and why? -
- I had created, through the aid of a YouTube video, a typewriter title effect when displaying dates. This was already a particular interest of mine, wanting to
learn how to create and include it in my work, but its main use is to display significant dates that hold an importance to the viewer, physically showing it in
addition to saying it in my documentary to help establish it more and direct an interest. Whilst this helps for those reasons, my documentary follows a very
chronological narrative and using these visible dates can elaborate it evermore, giving a greater understanding, engagement, and expectation given people
can begin to determine upcoming events as its very relatable.
What methods/tools have I used? -
- Inserting some text through the 'type tool' and changing it to whatever is necessary, the 'linear wipe' effect was applied and the process of 'key framing',
by which the 'transition complection' was keyframed at 0 by the beginning of the clip and 100 at the end to form a wipe appearance of the text forming.
- Using a 'black video' clip, by selecting 'new item' in the project media browser section, we attach a 'tint' affect to make it white and change its scale width
to 0.3 and height to 10.0. Then 'key framing' once again, we use this process to reflect the dash moving in front of and making appear the text by changing
its position on the x axis; and to make it evermore realistic, I keyframed the opacity, changing it from 0 – 100 after every 8 frames to make it blink in the
typewriter style.
Text Dash
Keyframe
Process
Starting of the
keyframes Keyframing
positioning instead of
effect

4. Reflection Day 2 - Continued
What do I like about the work so far?
- By creating and including this typewriter style, this is by far one of my favourite aspects to the documentry. Giving of a personal diary esc vibe, I feel it
makes it much more directed towards the viewer and is another feature to attract their interest; in addition, its quite satisfying to watch its inclusion
amongst the typing sound effect, something that could upbring a desire to watch further and see if it crops up again later. In addition to all these factors
that support its inclusion, its without a doubt that it makes the video much more understanding, engaging and structurally developed for the documentary
follows a strong chronological order on a topic that is relatable to all, so the auidence can start to endorse 'what happens next' which evidently builds up an
anxiousness and great impact overall.
What do you want to improve and how will you improve it?
- Otherthan the fact that I strongly believe what I have done so far in production is done to the best it can possibly be, the management of sections in the
timeline and typewriter effect, I can only seek to improve whats upcoming in the project; these which would be to get all my footage sooner rather than
later to cut down on deadlines for submission, and to work on other things that don’t need the attention of the footage I havent gathered, like the music
for instance, so that im being practical in the time ive got spare.
What's your plan for tomorrow?
- Because I havent gathered all of the footage I need to follow-through with the editing processes and get my documentary done, this limits to amount of
things I can work on significantely, so I would like to get this done as soon as possible; but because im almost certain this isnt acheivable for tomorrow, as I
need to pre-book the studio for filming my last bit, I think ill have to finishup everything possible without the footage, so my introductory montage, music,
ending montage maybe, and planning ahead for insertion of the clips with what ive got so far for tomorrow.

5. Reflection Day 3
What have I done and why? -
- Because i had already done as much as possible regarding management and organisation as I havent received all of my footage to progress on with
production, I had switched a focus to creating my initial montage which acts as the introduction of the documentary, setting the main interest and target of
the video whilst sustaining an engaging and attentive atmosphere in the auidence; I had decided to work on this priamrily because I could source all of the
video footage from across the internet, meaning theres no prevention to slow down the processes of production, using the time avaliable to be productive
and move forward with the project.
- Its also worth mentioning that a big aprt to the project was the selection and choice of music, because it'll convey a lot of meaning and judgement in the
auidence, which had additionally been suplimented into todays work. Choosing two separate tracks, the intro first off was more of a tension rise to be
heard in the background because it both needs to be over-heard from the news clips which should be more prominent and emphasised, whilst remianing
reflective of the visuals and overall rise in suspense and anxiousness for added dramatisation and effect in the auidence; whereas on the otherhand, the
second track for the main part of the doucemntry needed to be much more mellow to resembel a shift in focus and reiterate an emotion in the auidence,
something that was achieved in the clear choice of track in the end.
What methods/tools have I used? -
- Because of how visually intreguing and engaging the intro needed to be for the auidence to remian a desire to carry on watching the short doucemntry, I
had used a lot of different processes to emphasise both a clear focus and judgement on what to expect in the upcoming events of the video. Using mainly a
lot of cutting and strategic placement of the clips, the 'razor tool' and 'selection tool' were the clear first hand choices of equipment to be used for this
exact procedure, but as the montage progresses tension rises and more in-depth techniques needed to be implimented to reflect this transition; and so a
lot of cropping and positioning of clips, transitional crossfades, zooming keyframes, adjustements to volume, and opacity changes were made to the clips to
achieve full observation of what is going on in the introduction.
- Now regarding the music tracks, not much had been altered to maybe improve or time specific sections of it amoungst the project, instead I had left these
tracks as raw audio because they already were timed perfectly and sounded great. Amoungst all things, I had already determined that I wanted the main
documentary section to be simple and straight forward because of how serious a topic im covering, and so leaving the track as it is and not over-

6. Reflection Day 3 - Continued
What do I like about the work so far?
- I think the beginning intro to the documentary was perfectly executed for the following reasons to engage the auidence, create a desire to carry on
watching, and demonstrate the purpose of the video in the first place. The fact that I had proportionally distributed a range of techniques within a 30
second time frame to produce this montage effectively speaks for itself, because it acheives its purpose and more to a very high level of detail both visually
and audibly.
- In addition to this, I believe the music I have chosen suits perfectly to the different moods, feelings and atmospheres being created trhoughout the
documentary, from the tension buildup at the beginning and end to symbolise panic and a re-occuring event amoungst covid-19, to the much more diverse
almost opposite mellow music throughout the main part of the video acting as a shift in focus and attitudes.
What do you want to improve and hwo will you imrpove it?
- Regarding what I had produced today, I don’t think there are any aspects present that I could improve to the project, otherthan the few abberations in the
montage like with unpredictable flashes or prominent red glares in the news clips because of the overlapping effect.
Whats your plan for tomorrow?
- Disregarding the fact that there are a few improvements I could make in the work I produced today, I would like to focus on finishing up all the footage for
the documentry, which consists of an interview and a few extra scenes, so that I can start on the main video. This is entirely down to the fact that
eventhough there are a few improvements to be made, as previously mentioned, I want to get across the main aspects first so I can then start to develop
the project evenmore, possibly disregarding these mistakes due to otherthings so that the time management on the project is achieved to a good standard.
Increase on the music track for added dramatisation
More mellow shift in music to symbolise a change of focus

7. Reflection Day 4
What have I done and why? -
- Starting off the day, I had pre-booked the studio facility in college, gathering and filming my last piece of footage needed for the documentary which
required a classmate to do an interview. Using the professional equipment from the facilities, including the studio lighting, backdrop and general sound
proofing to the room, i had also used a camera provided by college to shoot the interview on a tripod so that the footage was steady, crisp, and high quality
enough to be used and show professionalism to the video's creation.
- Having exempt gathering the footage/interviews from my to-do-list, I had used some time to import and manage these sources so that the editing
process, which follows, can be easily done and managed well. Mostly putting my interviews onto a timeline, fitting it amongst each section that’s already
listed, I had mainly gone through each of the recordings cutting and placing it in the appropriate position on my timeline that evidently created the whole
documentary.
What methods/tools have I used? -
- Shooting the footage that I needed for my last interview, I had been lucky enough to have a brief workshop learning how to shoot an interview
proffesionaly before hand, so methods including the lightbox placement, backdrop choice, positioning and angle of the interviewee, tripod height, rule of
thirds, and camera settings all came into play to help.
- Not many tools had been used in the process of cutting and placing the footage throughout my timeline for the documentary, other than the cut and
selection tool (by which the shortcuts 'c' and 'v' were heavily used to speed things up) and placing sometimes the interview clip's audio just before seeing it
as a resembeles of other documentarys; but its important to recognize that by managing and doing all of the pre-existing sections, text and general
planning onto the document the day before, the development of my documentary was seamless and quicker than anticipated when comparing it to other
projects, completing it in what seemed 2 lessons which is 3 hours.
Dash

8. Reflection Day 4 - Continued
What do I like about the work so far?
- I strongly believe that the footage I have gotten is to a high standad and quality, both through the positioning, layout and lighting to make the shot pop,
but the quality of the questions and answers being said get the numerous points and purpose of the documentary across extremely well, making this
another factor that I particularly like in my video and its current creation.
- Likewise, I think the organisation, management, and structural way I have developed my documentry (in previous production days) is incredibly beneficial
to the various qualities I believe I lack in; these of which have boosted my time management skills, giving time for improvements, reflection ,and being able
to create the best documentary I can.
What do you want to improve and how will you improve it?
- Reflective of the work I have done today, I think for the most part I had done a good job with the interviews, disecting what parts of them to include, and
how I have arranged the information being mentioned; but there are still some aspects to it that I would like to improve, particularly when noticing some
audio issues, with some buzzing and hissing sounds in the background and clarity probems, and applying a colour grade to each of the persons being
interviewed, so that the shots are more eye catching, balanced, and suiting to the environment they're shot in.
What's your plan for tomorrow?
- Realizing that the documentary I have produced is 6 minuets and 30 seconds (length wise), it's crucial that the next day of production I reduce its time
duration to around 3 minuets, as this is an expected requirement from the guidelines of marking it.
- Not only this but given that it will be my last day of production tomorrow, I will regularly review the current video during the editing phase, improving
different aspects to the documentary, following advice from my peers (which will be available to use at the beginning of tomorrow), and possibly add less
time-consuming effects or sections that make it more effective and engaging to the audience at a documentary level (audio adaptions, title screens, etc).
Dash

9. Reflection Day 5
What have I done and why? -
- So I had previously finished editing the whole short documentary, sent it off for review from my tutor, and gathered a few initial key points and targets to
change amongst the product; these consisted of shortening it to around 3 minuets (under preferably), adjusting the volume gain on some particular clips,
adding an additional effect to some of the clips which remained untouched for a prolonged time, and possibly the inclusion of an extra news reel montage
as present at the beginning of my the extract already. Hearing these improvements and critiques to my work from peers meant I followed their judgement
changing the different aspects mentioned.
- In addition to what seems a lot of fixes/developments, throughout the process I had gathered a greater understanding of what is generally expected in a
documentary, creating some further techniques within the work that I personally thought improved its status and engagement in my audience.
What methods/tools have I used? -
- Other than trimming and strategically placing clips onto my timeline, so that I could create effective montages and additionally techniques of my interest,
it's important to understand that a lot of video and audio transitions was equally as used; going from the effect's library, I had inserted a lot of 'crossfade'
video transitions and 'expediential fade' audio transitions to almost each and every one of my pieces of footage.
- When creating the extra montage to close the documentary, as advised from my peers, very similar processes were present as to the previous montage of
news reels, constructing something coordinately impacting, engaging and effective through 'time stamping' and 'keyframing' the opacity of the clip over
other videos, a zooming effect, and general scale alterations.

10. Reflection Day 5 - Continued
What do I like about the work so far? -
- Having now finished the short documentary, I can really judge the different aspects and techniques that I like in the work ive produce, in particular the
short montages for the intro and ending of the video in addition to the general structure I have expressed the project in. These two main features of the
documentary I believe to be vital aspects which shape the video as a whole. The montages at the beginning and end are both extremely visually engaging
and attentive, but they more importantly act as a way to signify the start/end whilst getting across the main subject focus of the video in brief, something I
believe should be considered more across the industry as a short documentary's purpose is to be straight forward and to the point (not time consuming in
most cases); and the general structure supports the way the information is reflected (chronologically), defines what's important amongst all things (with an
emphasize on the interviews being pupils/students/ or teachers), and acknowledges the fact that there's a lot of information being mentioned around a
serious topic by offering time to think in what's the written text section that breaks up the video. Because of how important and crucial these features are,
as previously mentioned, they give off a great meaning and professionalism to the work that is recognized in some people, making it the work I like above
all.
What do you want to improve and how will you improve it?
- Taking into account that I had already looked over the work myself in belief that everything was perfect, and then got peers to judge the piece of work and
use their analysis to improve it further, I think there aren’t many things I could do to improve the short documentary already and that this is the final piece I
will submit. Looking over the 3 key factors that make up a video entertainment source, these being the visuals, audio and information offered, they're
already achieved to a great standard, and going by not overdoing the work, I don’t intend on adding much or anything more that may ruin or affect certain
pieces to it.
What's your plan for tomorrow?
- Understanding that I believe everything during the production phase is complete (creating the short documentary), I think it would be necessary to move
on with the project into my evaluation, finishing this and the whole project as one to ensure I don’t go behind schedule and improve anything that needs
the attention. Before submission.