Here's the finished piece, uploaded to YouTube by Robin. With the community of skateboarders being the main audience for the piece, the web seems like the best place for it to be viewed. I'm pleased with the overall piece despite the problems we've encountered in producing it, and although there is room for improvement it is definitely a successful documentary.
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Mixing the Audio - New Bird
As well as editing picture on New Bird, I have also been left in charge of mixing the sound. Mainly, this has involved the differing levels of the interviews, as the mic moves closer and further away. Matching the levels between Mackey and Craig's interviews has also been important for a smooth transition that avoids being jarring to the viewer.
Another area in which mixing has been key is the music. Getting the levels for this just right has been the most important aspect of sound mixing on the project, and tasks such as fading the music in and out in the right places and at the right speed have kept me on my toes. I am particularly pleased with the way in which I have set the levels (with feedback from Robin and Dan helping to get it just right) on the ending sequence. The uplifting music drops in volume smoothly as VOX Pops fade in, and again rise very appropriately as the interviews audio finishes.
Another area in which mixing has been key is the music. Getting the levels for this just right has been the most important aspect of sound mixing on the project, and tasks such as fading the music in and out in the right places and at the right speed have kept me on my toes. I am particularly pleased with the way in which I have set the levels (with feedback from Robin and Dan helping to get it just right) on the ending sequence. The uplifting music drops in volume smoothly as VOX Pops fade in, and again rise very appropriately as the interviews audio finishes.
End Credits for New Bird
Due to the presence in our documentary of materials we do not own, we needed to include a credits sequence. After the structure of the film came together, we decided that this was best placed before the very last piece of interview, during the uplifting sequence that closes the film. It seemed after watching the film through, that the rhythm of this placement was just 'right'.
The credits scroll by very fast, but this was necessary in order to adhere to the 5 minute length of the brief without compromising the narrative elsewhere.
Text Effects - New Bird
In order to communicate visually the news coverage of the New Bird skate park, we wanted to avoid showing screenshots of news articles for two reasons: firstly, copyright issues may have set us back; secondly, showing several images in turn may have seemed laboured and stretched out.
Instead, we decided to use text effects to give a brief overview of the headlines referring to the park. Originally, this involved me creating a sequence fading from one headline to another, but it was decided that this could run smoother if the text appeared on the same page simultaneously, and so Dan set about this task during a quick break in the cutting. Below, you can see the results.
Instead, we decided to use text effects to give a brief overview of the headlines referring to the park. Originally, this involved me creating a sequence fading from one headline to another, but it was decided that this could run smoother if the text appeared on the same page simultaneously, and so Dan set about this task during a quick break in the cutting. Below, you can see the results.
Colour Grading - New Bird
Previously, I predicted that we would not have enough time in post-production, even with the 2 weeks spent working on it, to grade the project in Color 1.5 or Magic Bullet Looks. This has held true, and the colour grading has been completed using FCP's 3-way colour corrector.
For the most part, the corrections were are simple case of increasing the contrast for a more dynamic aesthetic. I initially considered some vignetting effects, but due to time constraints decided they were not necessary. Other corrections included brightening up several shots, mostly the interview with Mackey and an insert of the money pot for New Bird in the Lost Art skate shop.
In some cases, such as Craig Williams' interview, I added blue/cyan to the shadows in order to create a more cinematic and visually appealing look, and in a few shots this was countered by the addition of warm tones in the highlights.
Although the grading has been brief, I am pleased with the outcome and feel that we successfully captured images on the shoot that looked good without much tinkering.
New Bird - Notes on the Archive Images
In regards to the previously mentioned archive images, I am happy to say that during the Liverpool shoot we gained permission to use them. They will be instrumental in telling our story, and so we have been very lucky in achieving this.
I have already included a number of images in the edit, and added motion keyframes in order to make them appear a little less static.
Unfortunately, I have received no reply from anyone regarding YouTube videos. Because of this, we will have to rely exclusively on the footage we were able to capture ourselves over the two days of the shoot. Hopefully this will be suitable enough for a well-cut skateboard video sequence or two.
I have already included a number of images in the edit, and added motion keyframes in order to make them appear a little less static.
Unfortunately, I have received no reply from anyone regarding YouTube videos. Because of this, we will have to rely exclusively on the footage we were able to capture ourselves over the two days of the shoot. Hopefully this will be suitable enough for a well-cut skateboard video sequence or two.
Music for New Bird
During the New Bird post-production process, we have had some uncertainty about what music to use in order to fit the emotional requirements of the film. From the start, we have intended to use some punk-style music at some point in order to add energy and excitement to the piece and to play on the association between punk music and skateboarding.
In order to contrast this we wanted to create some emotional music to introduce the film, and an uplifting composition to finish the narrative. As she is responsible for sound, this has been Poppy's job, and she started working with a MIDI keyboard earlier in the week.
Having received the result of this, I am somewhat disappointed. The one original track is more befitting of a horror film, while there are no other tracks except for unfitting royalty-free tracks found online. This is not all that surprising as having not seen Poppy at all while I have edited, she hasn't seen the documentary coming together and so was unable to produce suitable tracks.
Instead, Jordan has contacted a local band, who have agreed to allow us to use one of their tracks. The band is Nai Harvest, and the track is entitled Tim Helped Me Get Over It. Fortunately, the track fits the documentary very well, and contains sections with varying moods, allowing us to use it as the only song featuring in the film.
In order to contrast this we wanted to create some emotional music to introduce the film, and an uplifting composition to finish the narrative. As she is responsible for sound, this has been Poppy's job, and she started working with a MIDI keyboard earlier in the week.
Having received the result of this, I am somewhat disappointed. The one original track is more befitting of a horror film, while there are no other tracks except for unfitting royalty-free tracks found online. This is not all that surprising as having not seen Poppy at all while I have edited, she hasn't seen the documentary coming together and so was unable to produce suitable tracks.
Instead, Jordan has contacted a local band, who have agreed to allow us to use one of their tracks. The band is Nai Harvest, and the track is entitled Tim Helped Me Get Over It. Fortunately, the track fits the documentary very well, and contains sections with varying moods, allowing us to use it as the only song featuring in the film.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Post-production Workflow for New Bird (So Far)
My post-production workflow for New Bird is as follows:
Import/Capture
7D: H.264 > Compressor > ProRes 4:2:2 (HQ) > FCP Import
PD170: DVCAM > FCP Log and Capture
GoPro: MPEG4 > FCP Import
7D 50fps: H.264 > Compressor > ProRes 4:2:2 (HQ) > Cinema Tools > Conform to 25fps > FCP Import
Audio: (Poppy) Soundtrack Pro Import > Process > Export > (Me) FCP Import
Edit
1. Organise Bins
2. Construct Sync Assembly
3. Cut Intro in separate Sequence
4. Build up First Assembly
5. Trim down for Rough Cut
6. Sync Audio
7. Final Cut
Colour Grade
FCP's 3-way Colour Corrector
[NB: due to time constraints, Apple Color 1.5 will be impractical. Magic Bullet Looks will be difficult to gain access to frequently enough]
Export
1. DATA - Uncompressed Quicktime, HD 16:9, 48kHz 16 bit
2. PLAYABLE - DV PAL Quicktime, PAL 16:9, 48kHz 16 bit
Import/Capture
7D: H.264 > Compressor > ProRes 4:2:2 (HQ) > FCP Import
PD170: DVCAM > FCP Log and Capture
GoPro: MPEG4 > FCP Import
7D 50fps: H.264 > Compressor > ProRes 4:2:2 (HQ) > Cinema Tools > Conform to 25fps > FCP Import
Audio: (Poppy) Soundtrack Pro Import > Process > Export > (Me) FCP Import
Edit
1. Organise Bins
2. Construct Sync Assembly
3. Cut Intro in separate Sequence
4. Build up First Assembly
5. Trim down for Rough Cut
6. Sync Audio
7. Final Cut
Colour Grade
FCP's 3-way Colour Corrector
[NB: due to time constraints, Apple Color 1.5 will be impractical. Magic Bullet Looks will be difficult to gain access to frequently enough]
Export
1. DATA - Uncompressed Quicktime, HD 16:9, 48kHz 16 bit
2. PLAYABLE - DV PAL Quicktime, PAL 16:9, 48kHz 16 bit
New Bird - full equipment list
Here's the full equipment list for New Bird. Even includes the skateboard we took along, so very comprehensive!
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Interview Transcripts - New Bird
In order to smooth over the sync assembly along with the rest of the editing process, Robin took the time to transcribe each and every interview we obtained, listening to the audio files as a reference. This has proven very effective in speeding up post-production, which has been crucial among other difficulties in having to move from edit station to edit station, transferring over 100GB of data each time.
Interview 1 Jahim (begins at 00.01.54)
I heard about it from my mate Rafe, he brought me down here its not too bad, its a bit bumpy and stuff but its go some stuff I can grind on when I get better. I think instead of demolishing it they should upgrade it as oppose to getting rid of it completely, cus if its the only one in the city centre it doesn't make sense cuss I think the closest one is like Toxsteff or something so its bait, I aint getting a bus know what I mean?
I think that if it was a barklys I would expect it if they're not building anything to get rid of it completely but im surprised its a coop cuss they're meant to be a good bank and to get rid of something that, I donna for people to use and theres not a lot of things to like go to that are free in liverpool theres always a cost for something especially cuss im always skint as a student it would bench to have something to go to for a hobby.
Interview 2 (begins at 00.23) Rafe
I heard about new bird when I played a gig over at the contemporary urban centre its a sort of music venue over the road from here saw it thought it looked like quite a nice park so I told my mate Jahim about it he skates I don't really skate so
Its an all right skate park its a bit messy it looks like it could have a tidy up but its pretty good people are skating around its bringing people together.
It all be pretty bad if it closed down but if its owned by the coop and they don't want anybody hurting themselves on it then fair enough but coop are meant to be a company for the community and this is a community project.
Interview 3 (00.20) Robert VincentI probably noticed the park going up 18months two years ago.
I think its good that kids are spending their time putting something like this together rather than nothing and I think its a good thing that kids are coming here and skating but generally keeping themselves out of mischief really I kind of see that as what it is.
Interview 4 (00.00) Pat GreyThey are supposed to be community orientated and that, I think its a really good idea, what would bother me is do people come from different parts of the town down here from different parts of liverpool?
Over on our side they are trying to get skate parks set up in some of the parks and the local residents don't want them know. My sons 16 and he wants somewhere to hang out the local residents think its going to attract hoods and yobbos and things like that but actually they are just social places I think they are a really good idea. Especially if they have have taken the time to set this up themselves. The insurance isnt there some way to get the funding for the insurance
I think thats a really good idea, squatters rights and all that at least they're turning it over and doing something useable and I think the face they have done all the graffiti artwork and everything its not going to be ruined and everything is it. If people get involved and put there own stamp on it it tends to keep in good condition I mean really this is in good condition you see some places that are all rubbish on them I would rather see soothing like this.
Interview 5 (00.25) Sam JonesIt just got built by skateboarders, over like the course of two years everyone keep chipping in so they had money for concrete it just got built.
Its been spare change from peoples pockets but I know a lot of people have put a lot of money into it, people have had jobs and have put most of the money they have into the park
They turned up at the last minute and then built maybe one or two ramps and then took all the glory
Theres loads of different places theres no specific places areas really the whole city has loads of different places.
Its not a proper ban its a billow so they can do what they want and make it up on the spot it depends how they're feeling
Interview 6 two skaters (00.46) Tom Teller ans LuisWe just built what we wanted to skate.
You feel a lot more proud of it if you have done it yourself,
after the council got involved they went they give us money to build it but then went to Tokworth and stuff and told them to skate it so its full of kids now so they have ruined it
It was just a waste of space wasn't it its had something done to it now
Thats sort of the nature of skating anyway, your using bits of land and places for enjoyment really
At the same time its an excuse, even though we built it they use it as an excuse to kick us off other places, its got a bit of stigma to it
The fact that they stepped in, they should have done more and got someone more professional to do it,
They could find more bits of land and do more projects just finding the land and then saying look here do something here and no one will hassle you and buy the land or insure it like they did.
Not community project but everyone is starting to build they're own ones like in sheffield, It all started at Burnside in america
Interview 7 First skater (01.04) Craig WilliamsMe and about four other people started building it we just kind of cleaned up the land an started building ramps really.
It was all our own money whatever we had a fiver or a tenner each to throw in to buy cement there was a lot of sand here from an art exhibition previously so we didn't have to buy that
The first session on the first ramp when we finished that was definitely the best everyone was here all the old guys all the kids
We used to skate here anyway and it was getting more and more neglected and over the far side there was about 3-5 tonnes of rubbish people had fly tipped, and we though why not clean it up and use it cuss we have no other places to skate.
The main problem was when the bank repossessed the land cuss we knew the guys that owned the land and cuss they have lots of businesses round here, it changed hands and the coop had it and they put fences up around it, they were basically scared of insurance of someone suing them if they hurt themselves, once we got that sorted it was pretty cool.
We were all surprised cuss no one know that it had changed hands that the land that no one wanted us to be here we all just turned up to skate and there was a 15foot gee wall here … We climbed over it. A couple of us spoke to the radio and that and then they got back in touch with us, and basically the Biennial in the end sorted it out with the bank and payed the insurance with the bank for the year we didn't ask them to
I think they kind of, when we started this we didn't want them to know about us being here so we didn't contact them, it got bait too obvious in the end and when it got closed off they started talking to us, we were worried we were going to get in trouble for using land that wasn't ours and cleaning it up and using it. but they were pretty happy with us doing it in the end and decided to help us and asked us what we need so we got some concrete from them.
Its starting to pop up everywhere loads of different countries loads of different cities theres loads of DIY parks popping up everywhere its really cool its dead good toes
You just have to be nice to people about things and explain why your doing it not just seem like your stealing their land cuss if get it all the wrong way with the land owner your never going to have fun with it
Next time we have some money together we will fix the floor and get silly things like bins, it would be nice to have it clean and safe to skate
Just more concrete and more hours with workmen to keep it clean and fix cracks the guys were really cool dead nice guys totally up for haloing us.
Its been Amazing all the local businesses have been dead cool we had nowhere to get water so the local bar let us go in and ruin there bathroom to go in covered in shit and get water. It was really good. People are really nice and ome in and stop and eat lunch here.
We had a few other places we had spotted that we had spotted we were going to do the same thing to. we would have down it again somewhere but it would have been heartbreaking to start from scratch
Its nicer when you have made it to skate it cuss you know its going to be sketchy and its going to hurt and its not perfect and you gotta be careful there, indoor parks are cool but its not outside in the street is it.
Everyone I know think its amazing but I can guess theres a lot of people who don't get it and don't know why we do it but they never will so we don't worry about it
Its free, its ours we don't have to worry about anything
We would have learned to pour concrete before we started it we made a lot of mistakes
It started with six of us or four of us built the first thing and then 6 and 8 and 10 and we ended up with a tin in the skate shop and anyone that went in on a summers day when building was going on get down there and help. We had 10year old kids with trowels helping and it was like just make that bit then its yours, the whole thing was built by everyone. The main group was like 10 of us
Street skating is different even if there was a street spot set up in here it wouldn't be 5 different spots in 5 different places, when we were kids that was amazing float round the city all day, but these places are cool, well its all we have now
We down we had no permission 3 of us came in in high vis jackets so we looked like council workers and started cleaning up the space in the daytime and came back at night and put done the first wooden transition and filled it with dirt and cam back 2nights later and with a generator and concreted it theres all kinds of shit in there dead seagulls and that. It was fuckin dreadful but we resurfaced it a few months later and fixed it
Interview 8 David Macky
The skate scene in Leverpool is really good due to the lack of facilities for so long its one of the main centres of street skating in the country so for that reason there are no parks or indoor facilities other than rampworks so he kids tend to be on the streets, its a strong street skating scene more so than anywhere else in the country other than london so yeah its good
It did originally have an impact 10 years ago, wardens would be trigger happy with their notepads and giving fines out i don't think anyone got fined it was a stop three times and as kids do they gave fake names and seemed to get away with it but all the main places we skated and met that ceased to exist for fear of getting fined. It was more of a move along from these places and they could quote this billow but they had nowhere to move us on to so the excuse was there is nowhere for us to skate or go they would say its not our problem you cant do it in the city. Or they would send us up to st annes police station in front of the station where there was a little quarter pipe that looked like skaters had built it but it was and old bt building where they used to roll the big copper wires. It was quite bait out of the city but that got closed down. We weren't allowed to skate there because of terrorism so they tore that down. We were left without a skate spot again
Apart from being a skater an using the spot we were able to bring attention to what we were doing have a collection pot and focus our efforts in outside interests via magazines and brand sponsors who put videos on at the CUC cinema across from the skate spot so we could use the skate spot as a spot where people could skate and watch the film collect money for the spot and use that money for concrete and physically build more stuff. The more interest that came fro outside the city to skate it it came from acorns really to become a full fledged skate park.
Its been a spot park for ages but it was just a wasteland I think maybe 3 years ago the first quarter park was built by frost and adam an icky maybe five of them and they just decided to build a quarter pipe there because of the lack of concrete parks in the area felt that they wanted to skate something like that and got to work and built it. It stayed like that for a long time and maybe couple of years ago we went right we need focus our attention on this and get some money somehow and put our money in and build a proper park.
It looks like the council have come in collected the props and left but hopefully thats not the case and they will come back in spring and say the floor needs doing how mug money do you need and put a fence up thats not as intimidating inside your quite boxed in. Before people could come down with their kids and watch the skaters now it feels like your enclosed and if your younger its quite intimidating. Hopefully they will put up a smaller fence or a chin fence so boards wont fly out but you can watch and basically make it more user friendly.
I think when people see it happening they want to join in. Skaters have a DIY mentality you want to build something to skate and that evident when we have been down building. We had kids down there when we were building we had a small amount of time where the council gave us people to help and every day there were 10-12 people there helping purely because they want to skate it when it was finished. It created a buzz and a vibe and not just in this city lost of others have thought we can do that. I think councils all over the country are thinking we can do that theres a big brand on tv advertising about reclaiming wasteland for skateparks, that spirals from NEw Bird, although it was like six of us in the start it involved lots of people and people that weren't skaters. so yeah it really snowballed.
I don't think anyone really knows the whole story the lats we heard was that the land was to be used for 5 years with a rolling insurance thing where people cant sue the council. Hopefully we will have it for a few more years, if nothing else comes from it but the council saying ok we will build something somewhere near if they're not skateparks then something else where people can congregate and sit.
I think they should listen to young people, if wardens are coming back every day and complaining they should be saying well this is a good thing if pope are skating a lot we need to provide for them. I think they did listen in the end at first they though what do we need that for and when they actually spoke to the guys and saw it was being used they saw it was good and its opened their mind so they don't just build football pitches and invest in smaller sports that they can put money in. Even just as little as the 10000 they used to finish new brd.
Anyone vie met down there we have had nothing but positive responses, i think at first they were confused, people were skating and building and this thing appeared from this waste ground, it was during the biennial when there were a lot of art exhibitions around and they loved it it was purely community driven people were building it and skating it and everyone came together i in the publics opinion has been fantastic.
Interview 1 Jahim (begins at 00.01.54)
I heard about it from my mate Rafe, he brought me down here its not too bad, its a bit bumpy and stuff but its go some stuff I can grind on when I get better. I think instead of demolishing it they should upgrade it as oppose to getting rid of it completely, cus if its the only one in the city centre it doesn't make sense cuss I think the closest one is like Toxsteff or something so its bait, I aint getting a bus know what I mean?
I think that if it was a barklys I would expect it if they're not building anything to get rid of it completely but im surprised its a coop cuss they're meant to be a good bank and to get rid of something that, I donna for people to use and theres not a lot of things to like go to that are free in liverpool theres always a cost for something especially cuss im always skint as a student it would bench to have something to go to for a hobby.
Interview 2 (begins at 00.23) Rafe
I heard about new bird when I played a gig over at the contemporary urban centre its a sort of music venue over the road from here saw it thought it looked like quite a nice park so I told my mate Jahim about it he skates I don't really skate so
Its an all right skate park its a bit messy it looks like it could have a tidy up but its pretty good people are skating around its bringing people together.
It all be pretty bad if it closed down but if its owned by the coop and they don't want anybody hurting themselves on it then fair enough but coop are meant to be a company for the community and this is a community project.
Interview 3 (00.20) Robert VincentI probably noticed the park going up 18months two years ago.
I think its good that kids are spending their time putting something like this together rather than nothing and I think its a good thing that kids are coming here and skating but generally keeping themselves out of mischief really I kind of see that as what it is.
Interview 4 (00.00) Pat GreyThey are supposed to be community orientated and that, I think its a really good idea, what would bother me is do people come from different parts of the town down here from different parts of liverpool?
Over on our side they are trying to get skate parks set up in some of the parks and the local residents don't want them know. My sons 16 and he wants somewhere to hang out the local residents think its going to attract hoods and yobbos and things like that but actually they are just social places I think they are a really good idea. Especially if they have have taken the time to set this up themselves. The insurance isnt there some way to get the funding for the insurance
I think thats a really good idea, squatters rights and all that at least they're turning it over and doing something useable and I think the face they have done all the graffiti artwork and everything its not going to be ruined and everything is it. If people get involved and put there own stamp on it it tends to keep in good condition I mean really this is in good condition you see some places that are all rubbish on them I would rather see soothing like this.
Interview 5 (00.25) Sam JonesIt just got built by skateboarders, over like the course of two years everyone keep chipping in so they had money for concrete it just got built.
Its been spare change from peoples pockets but I know a lot of people have put a lot of money into it, people have had jobs and have put most of the money they have into the park
They turned up at the last minute and then built maybe one or two ramps and then took all the glory
Theres loads of different places theres no specific places areas really the whole city has loads of different places.
Its not a proper ban its a billow so they can do what they want and make it up on the spot it depends how they're feeling
Interview 6 two skaters (00.46) Tom Teller ans LuisWe just built what we wanted to skate.
You feel a lot more proud of it if you have done it yourself,
after the council got involved they went they give us money to build it but then went to Tokworth and stuff and told them to skate it so its full of kids now so they have ruined it
It was just a waste of space wasn't it its had something done to it now
Thats sort of the nature of skating anyway, your using bits of land and places for enjoyment really
At the same time its an excuse, even though we built it they use it as an excuse to kick us off other places, its got a bit of stigma to it
The fact that they stepped in, they should have done more and got someone more professional to do it,
They could find more bits of land and do more projects just finding the land and then saying look here do something here and no one will hassle you and buy the land or insure it like they did.
Not community project but everyone is starting to build they're own ones like in sheffield, It all started at Burnside in america
Interview 7 First skater (01.04) Craig WilliamsMe and about four other people started building it we just kind of cleaned up the land an started building ramps really.
It was all our own money whatever we had a fiver or a tenner each to throw in to buy cement there was a lot of sand here from an art exhibition previously so we didn't have to buy that
The first session on the first ramp when we finished that was definitely the best everyone was here all the old guys all the kids
We used to skate here anyway and it was getting more and more neglected and over the far side there was about 3-5 tonnes of rubbish people had fly tipped, and we though why not clean it up and use it cuss we have no other places to skate.
The main problem was when the bank repossessed the land cuss we knew the guys that owned the land and cuss they have lots of businesses round here, it changed hands and the coop had it and they put fences up around it, they were basically scared of insurance of someone suing them if they hurt themselves, once we got that sorted it was pretty cool.
We were all surprised cuss no one know that it had changed hands that the land that no one wanted us to be here we all just turned up to skate and there was a 15foot gee wall here … We climbed over it. A couple of us spoke to the radio and that and then they got back in touch with us, and basically the Biennial in the end sorted it out with the bank and payed the insurance with the bank for the year we didn't ask them to
I think they kind of, when we started this we didn't want them to know about us being here so we didn't contact them, it got bait too obvious in the end and when it got closed off they started talking to us, we were worried we were going to get in trouble for using land that wasn't ours and cleaning it up and using it. but they were pretty happy with us doing it in the end and decided to help us and asked us what we need so we got some concrete from them.
Its starting to pop up everywhere loads of different countries loads of different cities theres loads of DIY parks popping up everywhere its really cool its dead good toes
You just have to be nice to people about things and explain why your doing it not just seem like your stealing their land cuss if get it all the wrong way with the land owner your never going to have fun with it
Next time we have some money together we will fix the floor and get silly things like bins, it would be nice to have it clean and safe to skate
Just more concrete and more hours with workmen to keep it clean and fix cracks the guys were really cool dead nice guys totally up for haloing us.
Its been Amazing all the local businesses have been dead cool we had nowhere to get water so the local bar let us go in and ruin there bathroom to go in covered in shit and get water. It was really good. People are really nice and ome in and stop and eat lunch here.
We had a few other places we had spotted that we had spotted we were going to do the same thing to. we would have down it again somewhere but it would have been heartbreaking to start from scratch
Its nicer when you have made it to skate it cuss you know its going to be sketchy and its going to hurt and its not perfect and you gotta be careful there, indoor parks are cool but its not outside in the street is it.
Everyone I know think its amazing but I can guess theres a lot of people who don't get it and don't know why we do it but they never will so we don't worry about it
Its free, its ours we don't have to worry about anything
We would have learned to pour concrete before we started it we made a lot of mistakes
It started with six of us or four of us built the first thing and then 6 and 8 and 10 and we ended up with a tin in the skate shop and anyone that went in on a summers day when building was going on get down there and help. We had 10year old kids with trowels helping and it was like just make that bit then its yours, the whole thing was built by everyone. The main group was like 10 of us
Street skating is different even if there was a street spot set up in here it wouldn't be 5 different spots in 5 different places, when we were kids that was amazing float round the city all day, but these places are cool, well its all we have now
We down we had no permission 3 of us came in in high vis jackets so we looked like council workers and started cleaning up the space in the daytime and came back at night and put done the first wooden transition and filled it with dirt and cam back 2nights later and with a generator and concreted it theres all kinds of shit in there dead seagulls and that. It was fuckin dreadful but we resurfaced it a few months later and fixed it
Interview 8 David Macky
The skate scene in Leverpool is really good due to the lack of facilities for so long its one of the main centres of street skating in the country so for that reason there are no parks or indoor facilities other than rampworks so he kids tend to be on the streets, its a strong street skating scene more so than anywhere else in the country other than london so yeah its good
It did originally have an impact 10 years ago, wardens would be trigger happy with their notepads and giving fines out i don't think anyone got fined it was a stop three times and as kids do they gave fake names and seemed to get away with it but all the main places we skated and met that ceased to exist for fear of getting fined. It was more of a move along from these places and they could quote this billow but they had nowhere to move us on to so the excuse was there is nowhere for us to skate or go they would say its not our problem you cant do it in the city. Or they would send us up to st annes police station in front of the station where there was a little quarter pipe that looked like skaters had built it but it was and old bt building where they used to roll the big copper wires. It was quite bait out of the city but that got closed down. We weren't allowed to skate there because of terrorism so they tore that down. We were left without a skate spot again
Apart from being a skater an using the spot we were able to bring attention to what we were doing have a collection pot and focus our efforts in outside interests via magazines and brand sponsors who put videos on at the CUC cinema across from the skate spot so we could use the skate spot as a spot where people could skate and watch the film collect money for the spot and use that money for concrete and physically build more stuff. The more interest that came fro outside the city to skate it it came from acorns really to become a full fledged skate park.
Its been a spot park for ages but it was just a wasteland I think maybe 3 years ago the first quarter park was built by frost and adam an icky maybe five of them and they just decided to build a quarter pipe there because of the lack of concrete parks in the area felt that they wanted to skate something like that and got to work and built it. It stayed like that for a long time and maybe couple of years ago we went right we need focus our attention on this and get some money somehow and put our money in and build a proper park.
It looks like the council have come in collected the props and left but hopefully thats not the case and they will come back in spring and say the floor needs doing how mug money do you need and put a fence up thats not as intimidating inside your quite boxed in. Before people could come down with their kids and watch the skaters now it feels like your enclosed and if your younger its quite intimidating. Hopefully they will put up a smaller fence or a chin fence so boards wont fly out but you can watch and basically make it more user friendly.
I think when people see it happening they want to join in. Skaters have a DIY mentality you want to build something to skate and that evident when we have been down building. We had kids down there when we were building we had a small amount of time where the council gave us people to help and every day there were 10-12 people there helping purely because they want to skate it when it was finished. It created a buzz and a vibe and not just in this city lost of others have thought we can do that. I think councils all over the country are thinking we can do that theres a big brand on tv advertising about reclaiming wasteland for skateparks, that spirals from NEw Bird, although it was like six of us in the start it involved lots of people and people that weren't skaters. so yeah it really snowballed.
I don't think anyone really knows the whole story the lats we heard was that the land was to be used for 5 years with a rolling insurance thing where people cant sue the council. Hopefully we will have it for a few more years, if nothing else comes from it but the council saying ok we will build something somewhere near if they're not skateparks then something else where people can congregate and sit.
I think they should listen to young people, if wardens are coming back every day and complaining they should be saying well this is a good thing if pope are skating a lot we need to provide for them. I think they did listen in the end at first they though what do we need that for and when they actually spoke to the guys and saw it was being used they saw it was good and its opened their mind so they don't just build football pitches and invest in smaller sports that they can put money in. Even just as little as the 10000 they used to finish new brd.
Anyone vie met down there we have had nothing but positive responses, i think at first they were confused, people were skating and building and this thing appeared from this waste ground, it was during the biennial when there were a lot of art exhibitions around and they loved it it was purely community driven people were building it and skating it and everyone came together i in the publics opinion has been fantastic.
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Parashoot Risk Assessment
Below is the Parashoot Risk Assessment, completed AFTER the shoot by Jonny, but redone by Dan more fully. Unfortunately the images are a bit pixelated here.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Sound log for New Bird
Below is the sound log received from Poppy. Having listened through each recording after she has processed them, it seems they are quite successful. There is still some background noise present, but I'm told they've been processed as much as possible to try and remove this problem.
Other than the interviews, I'm struck by the small number of sounds actually recorded. There aren't any proper foley sounds of skateboarding as planned, and some of the atmosphere tracks contain operating noise from the Marantz (presumably the internal mics have been used instead of doubling up external mics).
Hopefully there will be enough material here to cover the edit smoothly. Another noticeable presence is two lots of footstep foley, the purpose of which I am not sure of. It is doubtful that these will be used.
Picture Boards, Walter Murch Style
A while back I read through Walter Murch's In the Blink of an Eye. I found the book highly inspirational and informative, and have begin to utilise some of the techniques shared by Murch in the New Bird editing process. Primarily, I have done this through the creation of picture boards; having captured and imported all of the raw footage on each format, I took screenshots of every moment in every shot worth considering in the first assembly. From these, I created a large stack of A4 picture boards - while time-consuming, this will be rewarding in the edit. I am very pleased with the way they have turned out, and have already put them to good use in constructing an introductory sequence for New Bird (see below). Editing notes have been in the form of markings on the picture boards themselves, which has saved precious time reading through noted and trying to associate them with any part of over 100GB of footage. This alternative method has involved circling the best takes, noting letter codes (N for main narrative, G for graffiti inserts etc.) and marking up which takes feature certain people.
A particular sentiment Walter Murch shares is that editing is akin to the blinking of an eye, one that resonates with me and I will try to remember when cutting my own work. The methods of Murch are detailed further in Behind the Scene, a book by a different author chronicling the editing of Cold Mountain, by Murch, on Final Cut Pro. I am currently half way through this long book, and have already learnt a lot about Walter Murch and his way of working. The more I read, the more I find Murch's methodology falls in line with my own preferences and tastes.
Seems I've found a new filmmaking role model!
A particular sentiment Walter Murch shares is that editing is akin to the blinking of an eye, one that resonates with me and I will try to remember when cutting my own work. The methods of Murch are detailed further in Behind the Scene, a book by a different author chronicling the editing of Cold Mountain, by Murch, on Final Cut Pro. I am currently half way through this long book, and have already learnt a lot about Walter Murch and his way of working. The more I read, the more I find Murch's methodology falls in line with my own preferences and tastes.
Seems I've found a new filmmaking role model!
Thursday, 8 March 2012
More Documentary Inspiration - Dogtown and Z-boys
In order to get an idea of how other filmmakers had approached the subject of skateboarding, I watched Stacey Peralta's Dogtown and Z-boys. Of note in the documentary was the prevalence of music; there didn't seem to be one moment throughout without a popular song being played. Although music may be useful in conveying different moods in New Bird, I doubt that we will benefit from imitating this approach. Another striking element was the high number of archive images and graphics used, something which I think may be shared in our documentary, due to the relatively small amount of explanatory visual material we already have.
The energy of Dogtown is an aspect of the film I would like to emulate, especially in our skateboarding action sequences. There is a unique culture surrounding the sport that applies here as well as in the US, and along with the rough aesthetic of mixed shooting formats, a fast-paced cutting approach may serve us well.
I was impressed by the way in which Dogtown used a variety of interviews in order to add credibility to the information provided, and draw the viewer in by reinforcing each statement with complimentary ones.
I would like to implement this strategy as much as possible in New Bird; although our interview material is more limited, hopefully cutting between complimentary statements given by different people should help to convince the viewer of the genuine and credible nature of what they are being told.
The energy of Dogtown is an aspect of the film I would like to emulate, especially in our skateboarding action sequences. There is a unique culture surrounding the sport that applies here as well as in the US, and along with the rough aesthetic of mixed shooting formats, a fast-paced cutting approach may serve us well.
I was impressed by the way in which Dogtown used a variety of interviews in order to add credibility to the information provided, and draw the viewer in by reinforcing each statement with complimentary ones.
I would like to implement this strategy as much as possible in New Bird; although our interview material is more limited, hopefully cutting between complimentary statements given by different people should help to convince the viewer of the genuine and credible nature of what they are being told.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Dark Days - Documentary Inspiration
After viewing the documentary about the making of Dark Days, I was interested in the film itself and decided to give it a watch. I was struck by the personal accounts given by subjects, and the way in which the filmmaker got to know them so that they shared intimate aspects of their lives on film. The low-budget approach is one to be admired, especially knowing the background of how the filmmakers acquired 16mm film and edited on the Avid.
A prominent feature of the documentary is its minimal use of sound, one which allows the viewer to concentrate on what is being said and to be emotionally involved on their own terms, without having to be guided by an intrusive soundtrack. The quietude also reflects the quiet lives of the interview subjects.
The end of the documentary shows both crisis and then solution, in an uplifting sequence. Emulating this in the New Bird edit is something we would do well to achieve.
Although interesting and pioneering, I did feel that the documentary contained a lot of stretched out moments without anything to keep the viewer particularly engaged. Knowing how to avoid this will be crucial in editing my own documentary, but due to the short length of the project, I can't see this being an issue.
A prominent feature of the documentary is its minimal use of sound, one which allows the viewer to concentrate on what is being said and to be emotionally involved on their own terms, without having to be guided by an intrusive soundtrack. The quietude also reflects the quiet lives of the interview subjects.
The end of the documentary shows both crisis and then solution, in an uplifting sequence. Emulating this in the New Bird edit is something we would do well to achieve.
Although interesting and pioneering, I did feel that the documentary contained a lot of stretched out moments without anything to keep the viewer particularly engaged. Knowing how to avoid this will be crucial in editing my own documentary, but due to the short length of the project, I can't see this being an issue.
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Progress Report on New Bird - End of Shoot Day 2 (6/3/12)
Today, we have had much more success on every element of the shoot. At Lost Art we were able to speak to Mackey, who agreed to give us an audio interview at 5pm. Later, I convinced him to interview on camera, which will prove instrumental in us being able to represent skateboarding in Liverpool on a more personal level.
Meanwhile at New Bird, Jordan and Robin managed to speak to a skater who was involved in the building of the park. We were particularly lucky in finding him, as he lived in Austria was only back in the UK for 2 days! Without his interview, we only had VOX Pops from various sources, most of which were not very useful to our project.
We have found that the story of New Bird contains less straightforward conflict than was portrayed in the media, and that they received support from the council after a local business helped them win the park back. We'll see how this affects the edit.
Again, the GoPro footage is limited! Jonny had it for most of the day (he brought it along in the first place), and shot a relatively small amount of material. He also took little direction from Jordan, instead choosing to shoot unnecessary and wasteful material while missing important moments of skateboarding, and spending a great deal of time sitting idly on the sidelines. And for the second time, after complaints from the whole group yesterday, many of the files he gave to me were either from the hostel, or included one or more moments in which he shoved the camera in crew members' faces. After a pre-production process in which he did nothing but send a few emails out, this has been highly disappointing. Robin shot some additional GoPro material because of this, making sure to get close-ups of skateboarders in action. Unfortunately, this material was missing from the files I received from Jonny - what went wrong is a mystery.
Dan Walsh joined our group today after having problems with his own. This has proven to be highly beneficial to the producing side of things, as he has been willing to speak to the public much more than Jonny, the producer. He has supported the production as a whole, filling in various roles at different times, and along with myself has handled most of the interview material (although VOX pops were handled by Robin). He is also intending to help out with the post-production process.
Monday, 5 March 2012
Progress Report on New Bird - End of Shoot Day 1 (5/3/12)
Today's shoot has helped us to become accustomed to the skate park's location, and to practice our camera techniques relevant to the project. We first approached the Lost Art skate shop, in order to speak with Mackey and to follow him up on his offer to provide contacts in the city. Unfortunately, he was not there and we'll have to wait until tomorrow for him to return.
As we arrived at New Bird, we scoped out the area and proceeded to shoot (with permission granted) some of the local skaters in action. Sadly, they were not willing to interview, but were quite happy for us to capture what we needed and to skate around us.
This evening, I have been able to begin transcoding 7D footage in Compressor on my Macbook, a process which will save a great deal of time in post-production. On the experimental film transcoding was extremely problematic and took up a lot of time, so it has been a relief to be able to get much of the process out of the way here without any difficulty.
Having viewed some rushes, the 7D footage is looking great, although I cannot look back very easily at the PD170 tapes, for obvious reasons. However, the GoPro footage captured by Jonny is very minimal. There are only 6 files, 2 of which are of the camera being shoved in people's faces in the hostel. I'm told that as a result of this, the battery died when we actually came to shoot.
Hopefully tomorrow there will be more GoPro footage available.
As we arrived at New Bird, we scoped out the area and proceeded to shoot (with permission granted) some of the local skaters in action. Sadly, they were not willing to interview, but were quite happy for us to capture what we needed and to skate around us.
This evening, I have been able to begin transcoding 7D footage in Compressor on my Macbook, a process which will save a great deal of time in post-production. On the experimental film transcoding was extremely problematic and took up a lot of time, so it has been a relief to be able to get much of the process out of the way here without any difficulty.
Having viewed some rushes, the 7D footage is looking great, although I cannot look back very easily at the PD170 tapes, for obvious reasons. However, the GoPro footage captured by Jonny is very minimal. There are only 6 files, 2 of which are of the camera being shoved in people's faces in the hostel. I'm told that as a result of this, the battery died when we actually came to shoot.
Hopefully tomorrow there will be more GoPro footage available.
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Skateistan - Inspiration for the Documentary
Out of the films we watched in our initial project briefing session, the one that stood out most to me was Skateistan. This is also perhaps the most relevant of the documentaries to our own project.
I was particularly impressed by the careful staging of the skateboarders in order to create visually-pleasing compositions, and the use of relevant inserts of military vehicles and destroyed buildings to provide social context to what was being shown.
The use of voiceovers over the top of skate footage is something we will definitely be implementing in our own project, in order to smooth out the changes between action shots and interviews, and to cut down on length by using some interview material as VOX Pop only.
The advertisement style of Skateistan is something that provides some controversy, as it may take away in this case from the serious social implications of the skateboarders and their environment. In our case, however, we will be able to present a more 'fun' style and pacing without any problem, due to the optimistic and light-hearted tone we will be leaning towards.
I was particularly impressed by the careful staging of the skateboarders in order to create visually-pleasing compositions, and the use of relevant inserts of military vehicles and destroyed buildings to provide social context to what was being shown.
The use of voiceovers over the top of skate footage is something we will definitely be implementing in our own project, in order to smooth out the changes between action shots and interviews, and to cut down on length by using some interview material as VOX Pop only.
The advertisement style of Skateistan is something that provides some controversy, as it may take away in this case from the serious social implications of the skateboarders and their environment. In our case, however, we will be able to present a more 'fun' style and pacing without any problem, due to the optimistic and light-hearted tone we will be leaning towards.
New Bird - Post-production Software Choices
For the New Bird edit, it is worth taking the time to consider the options available when it comes to post-production.
Final Cut Pro 7 first comes to mind, as it is available on all Harmer edit stations and I am most familiar with it out of all the available systems. It is well-integrated within a package of software including Apple Color, and perhaps crucially, Motion; interviews may require some motion graphics explaining who each subject is. There is also the potential for an opening sequence using motion graphics, if it seems relevant.
I could attempt to utilise Final Cut Pro X alternatively, although this would require a learning curve before using to its full potential, and may be difficult to gain access to/obtain. Its poor compatibility with Final Cut Pro 7, despite the recent emergence of third-party plugins dealing with this issue, would render any need to transfer to a Harmer edit station near impossible.
Adobe Premier's main advantage is its native compatibility with the H.264 codec. As we will be using the Canon 7D as one of three cameras on the shoot, this could prove to save a great deal of time that would otherwise be spent transcoding files with Compressor, to ProRes 4:2:2. AfterEffects would provide a strong platform for colour grading and motion graphics, reducing the time taken up transferring between three or more separate applications. It would also provide the opportunity for further effects or manipulation if necessary.
Avid Media Composer, while again requiring a learning curve, is a powerful application, and another that I have access to outside of Harmer. Along with the Adobe and Apple systems, this is also available on the Harmer edit stations, making it relatively easy to move between stations if needed for any reason.
Of all these options, I am leaning towards Final Cut Pro 7; although I would like the opportunity to work with each of these systems on at least one project, in this case it seems late to learn any new software fully enough. The abundance of edit stations in Harmer with FCP7 is another deciding factor, due to past experiences moving from station to station frequently due to tutorials taking place or other disruptions.
Final Cut Pro 7 first comes to mind, as it is available on all Harmer edit stations and I am most familiar with it out of all the available systems. It is well-integrated within a package of software including Apple Color, and perhaps crucially, Motion; interviews may require some motion graphics explaining who each subject is. There is also the potential for an opening sequence using motion graphics, if it seems relevant.
I could attempt to utilise Final Cut Pro X alternatively, although this would require a learning curve before using to its full potential, and may be difficult to gain access to/obtain. Its poor compatibility with Final Cut Pro 7, despite the recent emergence of third-party plugins dealing with this issue, would render any need to transfer to a Harmer edit station near impossible.
Adobe Premier's main advantage is its native compatibility with the H.264 codec. As we will be using the Canon 7D as one of three cameras on the shoot, this could prove to save a great deal of time that would otherwise be spent transcoding files with Compressor, to ProRes 4:2:2. AfterEffects would provide a strong platform for colour grading and motion graphics, reducing the time taken up transferring between three or more separate applications. It would also provide the opportunity for further effects or manipulation if necessary.
Avid Media Composer, while again requiring a learning curve, is a powerful application, and another that I have access to outside of Harmer. Along with the Adobe and Apple systems, this is also available on the Harmer edit stations, making it relatively easy to move between stations if needed for any reason.Of all these options, I am leaning towards Final Cut Pro 7; although I would like the opportunity to work with each of these systems on at least one project, in this case it seems late to learn any new software fully enough. The abundance of edit stations in Harmer with FCP7 is another deciding factor, due to past experiences moving from station to station frequently due to tutorials taking place or other disruptions.
Archive materials - New Bird Documentary
As mentioned in my previous post, below are some examples of the archive materials I have been able to find online.
The New Bird blog chronicles the building process of the park, through a series of photographs. It is these images we hope will feature largely in our documentary.
A couple of examples of the available YouTube footage.
Our first glimpse of Mackey, owner of the Lost Art skate shop!
A couple of examples of the available YouTube footage.
Camera systems for New Bird
On the New Bird documentary, we will be shooting with 3 cameras.
For static/slow-moving shots such as inserts, introductory sequences and interviews, we will be using the Canon EOS 7D, due to its strong rendition of colour, shallow DOF and HD quality.
When shooting skateboarders in action, we will primarily use the PD170, due to its versatility, quickly-adjustable controls and capacity for long recording (DV tapes allowing much more footage than the 7D can handle at once). The lower quality will reflect the "skate video" aesthetic and add energy and excitement to the footage. Its handheld stability is also a strength due to its larger size, and due to the CCD sensor it does not suffer from rolling shutter like Canon's CMOS DSLRs.
Thirdly, we will be using a GoPro. As a highly portable and stable, sturdy HD format it will be perfect for high-quality action shots up close with the skaters; we plan to mount in onto a boom pole to extend our reach. Its lens also gives a fish-eye perspective, which is a popular convention of skate videos and allows for a second purpose: high-angle wide shots of the skate park.
For static/slow-moving shots such as inserts, introductory sequences and interviews, we will be using the Canon EOS 7D, due to its strong rendition of colour, shallow DOF and HD quality.
When shooting skateboarders in action, we will primarily use the PD170, due to its versatility, quickly-adjustable controls and capacity for long recording (DV tapes allowing much more footage than the 7D can handle at once). The lower quality will reflect the "skate video" aesthetic and add energy and excitement to the footage. Its handheld stability is also a strength due to its larger size, and due to the CCD sensor it does not suffer from rolling shutter like Canon's CMOS DSLRs.
Thirdly, we will be using a GoPro. As a highly portable and stable, sturdy HD format it will be perfect for high-quality action shots up close with the skaters; we plan to mount in onto a boom pole to extend our reach. Its lens also gives a fish-eye perspective, which is a popular convention of skate videos and allows for a second purpose: high-angle wide shots of the skate park.Audio Equipment for the Documentary
On the documentary shoot, we are planning to use a Marantz PMD660 (or 661 if stores are feeling generous!), coupled with an Audio Technica rifle mic. So standard fare for this year's work, and will be foregoing tie-clip mics due to the short time frame and in order to preserve the aesthetic (skateboarders wearing tie-clips would look very out of place). I've recommended taking an extra rifle mic and elastic bands or hair bobbles for a stereo setup when capturing atmosphere.
We're recording separate sound for the sync, as the interviews are to be shot on DSLR and most things will be foley and atmosphere anyway.
We're recording separate sound for the sync, as the interviews are to be shot on DSLR and most things will be foley and atmosphere anyway.
News Articles for the documentary
Following our change of plan for the documentary, here are the aforementioned news articles I managed to dig up online about New Bird skate park in Liverpool.
This above article was found at http://www.clickliverpool.com/news/local-news/1214305-liverpool-skateboarders-half-pipe-dream-becomes-reality.html. It deals with the victory skateboarders won in regaining their skate park. Following on from this, I researched further and came across this earlier news story:
At this point, this looks to be a strong story for our documentary, as it already contains a narrative arc and plenty of split opinions.
At this point, this looks to be a strong story for our documentary, as it already contains a narrative arc and plenty of split opinions.
A change of plan - Documentary
Although our initial concept has surrounded the owner of an independent skate shop in Liverpool, we have encountered some difficulties. Having contacted the owner of the shop by email, we have had a negative response, and will not be able to interview him in the shop, or possibly at all. As Jonny, the producer, contacted him very late, we have only just discovered this and will need to change our plans.
Fortunately, I stumbled upon a news article online about a DIY skate park, the only outdoor skatepark in Liverpool city centre, that has been threatened by the council only to be won back by the skaters. This provides a strong narrative arc, and with any luck we will be able to organise interviews at this late stage with those who skate the park, and get a broad enough coverage to convey the varied opinions of those it affects.
I have also noticed a good supply of archive images and videos associated with the park and its construction, and have begun contacting these sources to attempt to get permission to use them alongside what we are able to obtain on Monday and Tuesday.
Our new working title, to match the name of the park, is New Bird.
Fortunately, I stumbled upon a news article online about a DIY skate park, the only outdoor skatepark in Liverpool city centre, that has been threatened by the council only to be won back by the skaters. This provides a strong narrative arc, and with any luck we will be able to organise interviews at this late stage with those who skate the park, and get a broad enough coverage to convey the varied opinions of those it affects.
I have also noticed a good supply of archive images and videos associated with the park and its construction, and have begun contacting these sources to attempt to get permission to use them alongside what we are able to obtain on Monday and Tuesday.
Our new working title, to match the name of the park, is New Bird.
Friday, 2 March 2012
Documentary Inspiration - Another Look at Philip Bloom's Booths and Bodies
Previously on the blog, I briefly analysed Philip Bloom's Sony NEX-5N short, Booths and Bodies, in relation to my experimental film project.
During the documentary planning stages, I have been researching examples of editing and other ideas, and found that this short is again relevant to our project.
Taking place in an independent shop and focussing on a shop owner's passion is a theme shared in common between our documentary and Bloom's; the simple and contained approach centring around one location allows for a large amount of coverage and safety in the edit, a great strength of our idea. The way in which Bloom transitions between a light-hearted look at the business of a vintage camera shop owner, and the sad elements underpinning parts of his life, is one which I hope we can emulate during our documentary.
Implementing a classic 3-act structure into our film will provide perhaps the strongest emotional response from the viewer, and so it will be important for us to become familiar enough during the two shooting days with the skate shop owner to delve into his personal life as well as professional.
The cinematography Bloom employs is inspirational through its focus on the subject within his environment, using a wider shot for the main interview that purposefully places him as a small part of the frame along with the cameras he so loves.
In terms of post-production, Booths and Bodies also stands as a strong example of the potential for colour grading from a DSLR-type camera system. I will definitely utilise tools such as Apple Color, or even simply Magic Bullet Looks, in enhancing our raw images.
During the documentary planning stages, I have been researching examples of editing and other ideas, and found that this short is again relevant to our project.
Taking place in an independent shop and focussing on a shop owner's passion is a theme shared in common between our documentary and Bloom's; the simple and contained approach centring around one location allows for a large amount of coverage and safety in the edit, a great strength of our idea. The way in which Bloom transitions between a light-hearted look at the business of a vintage camera shop owner, and the sad elements underpinning parts of his life, is one which I hope we can emulate during our documentary.
Implementing a classic 3-act structure into our film will provide perhaps the strongest emotional response from the viewer, and so it will be important for us to become familiar enough during the two shooting days with the skate shop owner to delve into his personal life as well as professional.
The cinematography Bloom employs is inspirational through its focus on the subject within his environment, using a wider shot for the main interview that purposefully places him as a small part of the frame along with the cameras he so loves.
In terms of post-production, Booths and Bodies also stands as a strong example of the potential for colour grading from a DSLR-type camera system. I will definitely utilise tools such as Apple Color, or even simply Magic Bullet Looks, in enhancing our raw images.
Documentary Project - Ideas, and Roles
Our first set of ideas for the documentary have been varied. Initially, our ideas revolved around myths and legends in Liverpool, to a documentary about modern music in Liverpool, to interviewing the owner of an independent skate shop. This last option seems the strongest, and we have begun to try and arrange a shoot at the shop.
The roles for the project are as follows:
Alex Withers - Editor
Jonny Copeman - Producer
Jordan Deakin - Director
Poppy Stanton - Sound
Robin Booker - Camera
The roles for the project are as follows:
Alex Withers - Editor
Jonny Copeman - Producer
Jordan Deakin - Director
Poppy Stanton - Sound
Robin Booker - Camera
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