FMP Final Evaluation

This is an issue close to my heart and part of both my reality

and a shared interest of many of my peers. We worry that somehow
we will miss out if we don’t go and equally that we may regret it
if we do. Newspaper articles publishing the views of MPs such as
Frank Field, identified in my research confirmed for me that this
was an issue worthy of investigation. The discovery of several
documentary films in the USA on this topic further confirmed my
choice, however I understand that the USA is likely to be a
different set of issues, it is possible that in the future the UK
will end up where the US is now.

I wanted to provide an investigative documentary style, which

also delivers a narrative of my perspective on the experience of
making that choice. To provide credibility I needed to include
experts, current students and recent graduates.

I wanted to create a documentary style that suited the tastes of

my target audience (16/18 years. I felt that this may be best
informed by genre of BBC Three. Jamie Balment commissioning lead
for BBC three states that
‘Documentaries are at the heart of longform content on BBC Three
and we've learned that the films which really resonate with
younger people are on subjects that tackle the issues important
to them head on. We therefore want ideas that stimulate strong
emotions and provoke reactions.’
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/tv/articles/documentari es-
bbc-three). My target audience research supported my concept as
something of interest and further questions helped me to define
the main themes that were of concern to them. This intial primary
research helped me to focus on
secondary research areas.

Therefore I sent out to create

a documentary that presents a
“reality” reflecting the voice
of my peers and resonates with
their experiences. In
reflection I feel that I have
suceeded in meeting the brief
and have explored an important
contemporary concern in my
work. The choice of topic was

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confirmed by my early primary surveys and focus group. From these
responses I was confident that my concept was appealing or
interesting to my audience. Feedback on my research from tutors
also encouraged my suggesting that it could be ‘a very
interesting’ documentary. My tutor did however recommend other
angles of research including marketing and product analysis – I
followed this advice which allowed me to develop my analysis of
the university fair interms of gimics and marketing ploys from
university.

As discussed in the development of this project I was keen not to

work for a single client or university as this may influence the
final analysis and content. I therefore wanted to work
independently with the intention to submit for final product to a
competition. The competition that I identied was Into Film, a
competition specifically targeting young people. The criteria was
wide enough to encompass a variety of styles however I have
subsequently discovered that the 10 minute time frame was not
really sufficient to do the documentary justice.
Having created previous documentaries I knew that good and
extensive research would be the key to a successful and
convincing documentary. However to attract my audience the film
needs to speak to them personally and be relatable. To achieve
this I have used a narrative to the documentary using a day in
the life style introduction and a journey to create a structure
and provide a progression through the investigation. I used the
wake up scene at the start to convey the relatability of my
position for other young people in my target audience.

I feel that this is effective in

engaging young people at the
start. The getting up scene is
gives me the opportunity to give
my own story and set the scene.
This helps to provide the
reflectivity from the start and
sets the tone and style.

It is important to consider the extent to which I was able to

respond to the codes and conventions of documentaries. Bill
Nicholls identified six types of documentary, although most
combine aspects of these types. My documentary combines the
conventions of expository with participatory or reflective. To do
this a voice over technique was used to present observational

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analysis and facts about university choices while images and b
roll was used to support the ideas and narrative. These
techniques reflect the conventions of documentary.

It took considerable time collecting footage, I visited

university towns, open days and a university fair. I then
selected appropriate to footage to reflect the narrative. I used
a time-lapse of the university fair to suggest the vast array
universities and people involved
in marketing the dream. The
images below demonstrate some of
the footage collected in total I
recorded over an hour of B roll
so I could ensure that I could
meet the demands of the
convention and provide
meaningful footage for my
narrative.

As I combined expository with

participative conventions as it
was important to give a range of
viewpoints and ensure that I met
the interests of my target
groups (16-18 years). I feel
that the voices of interviewees
enhance the impact of the narrative and give greater credibility.
Semi structured interviews were conducted. I planned to get a
range of viewpoints and ended up with more than eight interviews
of varied lengths. I could not use all of them and selected those
that contributed to the best narrative. Lee Price warned of the
problems of having to select, cut and exclude interview footage
but with some interviews extending to over 7 minutes these cuts
were needed. With my experts I was not able to pick the venue as
I went to them but I still tried to use different angles to
communicate authority.

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The use of semi structured interviews helped to develop the
investigative aspects of the documentary. I was able to ask
questions which help to develop the viewers understanding of the
experiences and opinions of the main stakeholders. I also set out
to give an alternative voice by interviewing current university
students. To do this I conducted five interviews with current
students at different stages in their courses. I was not able to
use all of the footage in the final production but I have used
thematical analysis to give different opinions in the
documentary. Selecting the best interviews was difficult and I
used criteria such as opinions, relatability and clarity to help
make the selection.

Although I wanted to tell my story I also wanted to provide some

authority and depth of information to give the subject matter
more unique information. I achieved this by interviewing two
experienced staff in university research into the experiences of
understaduates/ school choices and schools recruitment, providing
observation of the university fair and talking to a recent
graduate about their job.
The use of interviews in my documentary helped me to widen the
appeal, I wanted to produce a documentary suited to young people
16-18 and their parents. While the topic was not as ‘gritty’ as
some topics that appeal to this audience, university and
progression is a dilemma facing many young people. The systems in
schools and colleges and the pressure from peers and parents can
find young people on a ‘conveyer belt’ heading into university
because that what happens rather that because it is right for
them. I have tried to take a critical stance, like the
documentary US documentaries such as Race to Nowhere reviewed in
the research.
I think that target audiences will enjoy the balance between my
narrative voice and the reflections of the professionals. I
showed the film to parents, two peers and current students. The
feedback that I got from peers aged 17-18 years was positive they
all felt that the documentary was informative and they were
interested in my interviews with Alan and Lindsey who had made
some important points to consider and given them a new
perspective. The parents were also positive about the documentary
and felt that it provided some interesting information that could
help to inform how they influenced their children. I asked them
whether they would like to cover other points and they suggested
that it would be good to see more on job prospects with and
without a degree.

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Although the editing process was my main focus of skill
development, the filming presented a range of challenges
including filming on location / hand held camera shots. I did not
have a gimbal to maintain a steady platform for the camera so I
had to consider how I moved around to keep as stable footage as
possible when walking around the university fair and in Oxford. I
also had to develop my understanding of my camera settings in
various indoor light conditions. The observational setting such
as the university fair was dull low light and as I was filming
hand held shots I could not use lighting as this would alter the
style and behaviours of the people around me (people act up in
these situations). Therefore I used a higher IOS setting without
creating too much noise, this was only marginally successful and
I was disappointed that this footage was often too dark. The
challenge of observational documentary is that you do not easily
get a second chance to refilm the same event if you do not like
the quality.

Giving the voices of my interviewee’s clarity was important so

reducing background noise was a concern in the interviews. I felt
and it was important to find a location that avoided as much
external sounds as possible although this was not always possible
when the interviewee set the location for their convenience. The
main narrative script was researched then written up. I recorded
this using WAV format and a professional microphone. The higher
quality studio microphones ensured good quality sound for the
important narrative sections. The image below shows me recording
the narrative script.

My main focus in this project

was editing. I had collected
over an hour of b roll footage
and more than eight interviews
which had the benefit of giving
me choice when editing. However
this did also add to the time
taken to create the first cut.
The footage was edited using
Adobe premiere pro, which
allowed me to ensure smooth
transitions between sections as I could see different sections of
track on the same scene.

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Two specific skills that I developed during editing were colour
and motion. The photos below show how I was able to capture
motion during my introductory scene and how I managed to adjust
colour to improve consistency and clarity.

During the project I have drawn together many skills that will be
helpful to me in future activity whether I choose to go onto
further study or go into the work place. The most important skill
that I have developed from this is my ability to research a topic
thoroughly using both secondary and primary sources.

However what I have managed more on this final project than

previous work is the ability to analyse the results of my
research. To produce a short documentary I had to pull out the
most important aspects and use them to inform the questions in my
interviews. I have also learnt how to present the analysis for
example in in my comparative table of university marketing, which
used several sources of information.

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I have also learnt how to work in public spaces, balancing my
desire to capture to reality of the setting with the ethical
issue of intrusion and the constraints of setting. I have been
able negotiate access to spaces and interviewees. This skill will
be very important in many aspects of future whether work or
further study.

Technically I have learnt how to apply theory to produce

effective films. In particular I now understand the importance of
narrative structure for even factual based films. To engage the
viewer you must use a predictable storyline such as outlined
Todorov theory. I have also realised that in editing you are able
construct a particular view of reality through the choices you
make with what you include, where you cut and b roll images used.
Furthermore, the editing process with sound and music can subtly
create appeal for different target audiences and more effectively
deliver the required message.
Comparing my final production to those that I reviewed in the
beginning I am pleased with most aspects of my work. I feel that
I most closely reflect the style of the BBC production ‘Mighty
Redcar’. In a similar way I have used a personal narration
technique to draw the target viewer in and provide some emotional
response. However I wanted to mimic some of the expository
aspects of the US documentary Ivory Tower with the big headline
shocks, which were designed to influence how the audience
thought. I want my documentary to be thought provoking and
educational but not shocking. I did not set out to highlight mal
practice as Ivory Tower and University Loans Panorama did, rather
I wanted to offer perspectives to make the viewer think and maybe
re-evaluate their own position. However I was able to

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use interviews with authority figures to give greater substance
to message as Panorama, Race to Nowhere and Ivory Towers did. The
use of the interviews was good but I feel that I could have been
more effective in capturing soundbites as it was often difficult
to edit short sections of the whole interview. If I have a longer
documentary I could have made more use of a variety of personal
stories as I have seen in Mighty Redcar however I had to keep to
my own story to keep with the length to the film.
It is always easy to wish for more time, I had always realised
that good and detailed research is essential for documentaries
but if I was to make another documentary I would ensure that I
was able to use more of the information generated. I regret that
so much of the interesting research just could not be included in
a short film. I would also be aware of the issues of lighting in
indoor spaces that I am not able control both for interviews and
b roll. While there is little you can do, I do feel that this
experience has prepared me for these problems so I could plan
better to maximise the impact of the footage.
During the research process I investigated the styles and
techniques used by professional editors and camera operators to
mirror these styles to make my production seem as professional as
possible.

In the 2 freeze frames one from my production (on the Right) and
one from a advert for a BBC documentary (on the left) that I
researched. Aimed to achieve a similar look to this however some
of the techniques used in the advert I was unable to achieve in
my interview shoot such as due to the small size of the room I
was unable to create the blurred out background which would have
bought more attention to the interviewee, however I do believe
that I have been able to match the technique of having the
interviewee talking to me at the side of the camera. By doing
this it prevents the interviewee from starring into the camera
which could come across more intense than the situation needed
and much more natural.

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Another critical type of footage other than the interviews
themselves was the B-Roll footage that went over the top at
different points. Above is another comparison between B-Roll from
my production and an advert for a professionally produced film
about the American loan system, the main aim for B-Roll is to be
related to the subject being talked about in this shot. I feel
that apart from the footage quality I have matched the styles
used in the Ivory Tower advert.

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