Filming My Documentary

The filming process took longer that i had actually planned because i relied heavily on Karl Barrett's input and involvement and not all the time was he indeed available. I decided to give the documentary a fly-on-the-wall feel to it by adopting a hand-held camera style effect when following Karl through college and in the park.

I knew interviews were a crucial element i would have to include if i was going to be successful in this production. I managed to film an interview with the college counsellor, Zena Nolan, on her views on student stress and what advice she gives to students on how to deal with it. I think this gave the documentary a really high standard and a professional look. Interviews were also filmed with students, and i tried to make it as if i have just asked then to film an interview because it is filmed in a cafe. A feature in documentaries and news reports are the names of people who are being interviewed shown on the visual.

I shot some fill sequences that just pack out the documentary to make it long enough. Shots like a train passing by, so i can link it to a statistic about train travel by students. Another shot of a bus driving by, again to link it to a statistic about bus travel. Other shots such as a classroom pan, that give it yet another fly-on-the-wall feel, have been used so i can link it to exam result statistics that would be added in the editing process.

It is important that i follow Karl in as many situations as possible. I have filmed him in the park meeting friends and in class. So i filmed him on his way home, which meant that i would film him getting on the bus and the bus pulling off. Shots like these are very simple but very effective. I have seen shots like these in documentaries before and thought it would create a good affect.

I managed to organise a classroom scene. To make it look authentic, i got the teacher to write notes on the white board that relates to what the class will be talking about, which was based on 'How to make a Documentary film'. The teacher asked a question and Karl came in with a response. This was filmed with a tripod overlooking the table to which the students were seated around. I panned from the teacher to Karl when they interacted.