For this, I shot the raw footage on a Canon DSLR with the aperture f/16 and shutter speed 1/100. This was done to combat the harsh key lighting of the sun coming into the room.
While the original footage looks bright and overexposed, once the brightness has been corrected in post-production (via Adobe Premier) it will appear mellower and easier on the eyes. This will help sell the professional cinematic quality that I want. The edited version will appear much more interesting and eye-catching compared to the raw footage via the addition of historical footage, photographs and blueprints on screen. This creates an easier narrative to follow for the audience because they can relate to what Tony refers to when seeing it on screen; this will help them escape into the documentary easier. This is due to the transition of historical documents being consistent with the pace of documentary and Tony's dialogue, this allows the audience's experience to be more immersive. The composition of Tony's position in shot is purposefully set at a medium close-up in order to allow a greater variety of spaces for things to appear on screen. The camera is positioned to where Tony takes up a central position this allows him to become the main focus of the shot at all times, this is done to represent him being the main focus of the documentary as Astralite is his company and the wheel is his invention. The exposure correction added to the -log footage adds more visibility and depth to the footage whilst also decreasing the over-exposed white blotchiness that often occurs when using the sun as a key-light. This allows the footage to further appeal to a professional standard. By bringing down the exposure of the footage it also has the added effect of adding more focus on the main subject in this case Tony; this is a positive as he is meant to be in the audiences face and be central to their view. My camera settings for this shot included an aperture of f/16, shutter speed of 1/100, a frame rate of 24fps (to emulate the norm in other documentaries.) I used manual zoom settings due to the automatic settings being affected by variable light sources (or multiple light sources in one room) the former was the case in my documentary. I used an ISO of 300 to combat the well-lit environment I was filming in as it gave clean and noise-free footage.
This footage meets the conventions of a motorsport documentary via the informal style of dialogue and interviewing. This is common in the genre particularly with documentaries that are based around indie start ups or innovations opposed to popular racers or global conglomerates like Ferrari. An example can be seen in Guy's First Triumph Jump in this documentary we see more of a behind the scenes interview at Guy's home and race track the connotations are very informal, personal and down to earth. This is emulated in Astralite: A History by filming in a colloquialist style where it is filmed in Tony's home and his day-to-day clothes opposed to a professional studio or him having to dress up or be put in a costume. This helps create connotations of a homely, casual atmosphere and therefore fulfil the conventions of the genre.
Post Production Editing + Analysis:
Sourcing the backing track for my short documentary. I opted for a jazz track because I wanted the tempo to be slow and melodic, so that it wouldn't retract from the actual documentary (and so that the speech can be heard.) The jazz also follows the codes and conventions of the genre of film I am creating which is a historical, motorsport, documentary.
Here I have imported the .Wav file into my short film Premiere file and put it on a separate line to the audio from my documentary. I then adjusted the volume of the clip to be quiet enough to not interrupt the documentary but still be loud enough to be heard. I then cut the clip to an appropriate length and copy pasted it to the length of my documentary.
ADDING TITLES
Next I added text for the title and credits. This includes the name of the documentary, people behind the camera (such as myself) and people in front of the camera (such as the focus of the documentary Tony). I then added a background image of my uncles workshop that shows off the different types of Astralite wheel that he has produced i.e., different colours, different designs. This is in order to capture the audiences attention immediately by showing them the finished product they will want to know how it got to that point. This is similar to the format of the BBC show Inside the Factory.
I altered the size and the position of the title credits in order to make them more eye catching and easier to read. I also decreased the scale of the background image so that a wider variety of wheels are visible on screen. I also extended the timescale of how long both the text and the image was on screen so people have more time to view the video.
I added a transition to a image of bike racing at the time when my Tony was discovering the scene to show what bikes looked like in comparison to what they look like now. This grounds the viewer in the scene and demonstrates how long Tony has been on the biking scene.It also showcases what the wheels at the time looked like compared to the ones he created. I used the additive dissolve tool because it carries connotations of nostalgia and of a flashback of memory. The transition is also fast paced which matches the speed of the dialogue.
To add context in the documentary I added quick succession cuts to the wheels, engine parts and bike frames that Tony was trying to describe in his monologue. I made each clip the same length of about two and a half seconds because I used the morph cut tool as I thought that the transition looked the best out of the tools available.
Here I used the application Adobe Premiere to decrease the lighting level of my footage, this in turn helped decrease the over-exposure and made my footage easier on the eyes. It also helped my footage match the dampened brightness of the black and white historical photographs which made it seem like older footage than it is and therefore match the time period that my documentary is based around.
The editing in my final film is meant to be practical and professional looking in order to elevate my documentary to the next level of quality. I added in a mixture of transitions of both audio and video, this was done to demonstrate my understanding of editing techniques as well as keep the audience interested. This includes the morph cut, cross dissolve and dip-to-black tools. I also did this, as I previously mentioned, to also make my documentary appear like the time-period it is based around and match the same colour coding and lighting level of my B-roll footage and historical black and white photographs. Further matching my codes and conventions also helped my documentary match the already existing other programmes i.e., Silver Dream Racer and the three episodes of Tomorrow's World that Tony and his inventions featured in, in order to target the audience/community.
Added/Uploaded Footage:
I used B-roll footage in order to add further understanding to my documentary and to what Tony was seeing/experiencing at the time at the Sheffield Speedway and the biking scene as a whole. I made sure that all b-roll footage was of a similar area to Sheffield as well as the footage being recorded in the correct time-period as the documentary is set in this; which helped me match the codes and conventions of a historical motorsport documentary. I used historical photographs/sketches/drawings from the reliable source of Tony's own archives in order to further match the codes and conventions of a historical motorsport documentary. This connotes my documentary as being factual, informational and educational. I did this to meet my criteria of my film being both entertaining but more importantly educational.
The photo of a younger Tony put side-by-side with how Tony looks now was used near the beginning of the documentary because it grounds the audience in the scene and creates a sense of escapism as they are leaving where they are to travel back through time and walk Tony's life in Tony's shoes. The old photo puts Tony in a position of authority and intelligence over the audience as it connotes as him having a great detail of experience and knowledge under his belt. The angle of the camera is purposeful being in a low angle in comparison to the subject further connotes Tony as being in a position of dominance in comparison to the audience and proves that this is his documentary. The use of personal photographs such as this creates a homely and intimate feel for the documentary and connotes it as colloquial and informal. this is the idea for the documentary as I want it to emulate the personal style Guy's first Triumph jump.
This fits the codes and conventions of my genres because the purpose of a documentary is to simulate someone's life through audio/visual means and this includes from their early years to where they are now. To do this you must include documentation such as photographs, videos, drawings or audio clips as I have done here.
Editing:
The transition method of having quick morph cuts between different photos allows the audience to understand what Tony is referencing in the documentary and is particularly useful for deaf viewers as they will feel more involved in the documentary as they are able to see and read about the wheel as well as the other components. The position of these images is in the dead center of the screen over where Tony is sat, this creates a connection between the images and Tony and connotes that this is what he sees in his minds eye. The use of detailed historical documents connotes that the documentary is factual and carries reliable information; despite the colloquialist style.
The use of fast paced morph cuts fits the codes and conventions of the motorsport genre because the documentary must match the pace of the adrenaline packed biking world. It also mirrors the fast flow of thought that Tony is having during the interview and creates a pathway between a fast-paced biking race and a fast-paced flow of ideas that an inventor such as he would have.
Editing:
The use of a cut away to this old black and white racing photo is to demonstrate what the biking scene looked like when Tony was first discovering biking and shows the audience how much it has changed. This also connotes how effective Tony's invention the Astralite wheel truly is as his first designs of the wheel are still up to scratch after all this time whilst everything else around it has been forced to change. It also further grounds the audience in Tony's story making them again feel like they are truly there and can escape into the documentary. The use of historical photographs further grounds the audience in the documentary and in Tony's life, allowing them to feel verisimilitude.
This fits my codes and conventions because the main focus of most motorsport documentaries is about the actual biking and racing elements of the scene rather than what goes on behind the scenes. However of course the majority of my documentary goes against the codes and conventions because my main focus is on the invention of a new wheel which was drawn and produced off track and testing and racing only amounts for less than half of its history.
Music:
I decided to use a slow tempo jazz track as the backing music for my documentary. This is because the music's tempo was the perfect speed to match the flow of my documentary. I also chose it because the genre of jazz is conventional of the time-period that my documentary is set in and based around and therefore allows me to match my 'historical' genre codes and conventions. I took the backing track from the site Freesound.org, this is because the site has a free license agreement with all creators meaning that users can download and use creator's sound's without requiring/seeking copyright prior to use. This sped up the process of accessing the audio it also gave me a greater choice of audios to try from on the site. The jazz music also matches the colloquial and calm connotations of my film which should help the audience relax and enjoy the documentary more.
Sound Effects/Foley Effects:
The foley effects that I created definitely enhanced my motorsport documentary due to the fact that they were well edited, well timed and fit the conventions of my genres. This is reflected in both my own evaluation as well as the audience feedback I have obtained from the protentional audience and my peers. The effects help create immersion and escapism, and also connote the documentary as being well produced and up to a professional standard. The first sound effect that can be heard is the clearing throat. I listened to the foley effect at a mixture of different pitches and speeds to see which one fit the tempo and speed of my documentary the best. I made the settings similar to how the original was as I had purposefully shuffled the paper slowly as the background diegetic music has a slow tempo too. The second foley effect I put in was paper being shuffled, arranged and flicked through. I added this close to halfway through my documentary to indicate that either historical documents or the script was being looked through. This creates further immersion for the audience as it creates connotations of them being there in the room and even as part of the production process. The fact that it resembles historical documents also elevates it again to the professional standard of production and suggests the documentary to be factual and trustworthy. I created my third sound effect the metal dropping effect to be short and sharp mimicking the form of a sting. this separates it from the rest of the diegesis and creates a sense of suspense and enigma for the audience raising questions like 'was that a deliberate effect?' This is purposeful as it is meant to connote the dangers of working in a workshop like Tony has for the majority of his life as well as emulate the crash of a motorbike. I put this effect further to the end of my documentary as it is meant to match the section of the documentary where Tony has already invented the Astralite Wheel and has put them into production.
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