Well, well, well...i bet im not the only one when i say i wont be sad to see the back of the editing suite.It's been a hectic few months and at stages and we never thought we'd get there but against the odds we made it...and i believe produced a wondeful documentary (Seeing has i am staring init.)...Eveythings been handed it and burnt on to cd,so theres no chance of Mr.Bush saying " Just a few more changes"... (i hope)..now we will just have to wait and see and hopefully get the grades we want...I just want to say a special thanks to all the mentors and Mr.Baboo..and a special EXTRA thanks to POOJA & BAZZA...where would i HAVE been without you two...and Well Done to everyone eles...!
May 08, 2007
Practical Production Evaluation
For my practical production I worked in a group of three and produced, a short documentary called ‘It’s a woman’s world’. It is an educational documentary depicting the life of a 16-year-old girl who is suffering from domestic violence. To correspond with the theme of documentary we felt it was vital to include the words ‘Woman’s world’ which will entice our target audience of young females and make them aware that a situation will be overcome has well has creating some enigma within the theme of domestic violence .
In the initial stages of planning, we decided not to allocate individual roles and responsibilities but instead share the contribution so we would have a variety of ideas. Our strengths in producing the documentary were at first filming the footage and capturing it. On the other hand the editing process became stressful for the whole group and has we struggled to make a narrative and struggled with the actual footage we had, due to not planning successfully it was evident that we needed to record some more footage which held us back from the editing process. After that, we decided to look at previous documentaries made by our peers and from that make a storyboard. All the same, within the group, we had similar roles and turns in who would edit on what day I assembled a storyboard in which we stuck by and researched and analyzing similar documentaries, which showed later on in the month. I also helped with the filming, logging sheets, looking after equipment, and editing.
After studying ‘The man with a movie camera’ in module 2 we used juxtapositions in the opening of our documentary which is a montage of troubling images of woman & children who have been abused by partners and fathers, showing patrichal ideology. We ironically played over this sequence ‘It’s a man’s world- James Brown’, causing enigma within the first few seconds of the opening, this also allowed us to grip the audience’s attention and showing the seriousness of the issue so early on in the documentary. Furthermore, we used continuous dip to white, and continuous cross-dissolves allowing people to get a ‘sigh of relief’ before seeing another image. After that we added a dj scratch to show and enforce out title that it is a ‘woman’s world’ by putting images of various girls & woman head to toe playing the non diegetic music over ‘Shania Twain- man I feel like a woman’, this also related to attracting out target audience. This was then enforcing feminine ideology into our production showing a minor dual narrative, as well has subverting the audience perceptions of the documentary.
We then added a blurred image of busy people & lifestyles with the voice over stated the definition of domestic violence and the facts. We then had the public opinion of domestic violence, which showed the harsh reality of it and toward the end one male stated with ignorance it is a patriarchal society. We specifically selected the vox pops to help create a sense of realism in which it shows everyone is aware of domestic violence. There are various shots throughout the documentary to communicate our intent and the types of ideas and values we are encouraging. There is an opening sequence to introduce the main protagonist (Amrit/Me) in which I am sitting alone on a bus top to show my innocence and me being an everyday teenager. There is then a scene in which I am talking to the camerawoman but am looking in the mirror to show me to be ignorant. I am asked where am I going, and I say to an over 18’s rave, this is then anchored by me holding a alcoholic drink bottle this could be showing that because I am acting maturely this may be the reason my relationship has also advanced.
We then have me running straight into a car with the use of continuity editing it is visible after the mirror scene that I went into the car, my young woman friend who is driving shows her zooming off this shows the young, ruthless side of teenagers.
Following studying ‘Bowling for columbine’ (2002), we realized the impact of having a phone in used. So we then mirrored the phone in and had a call from me talking to a domestic violence helpine.This was shown with a black screen and what I was saying was typed out, copying conventions of phone ins , which the sound can be distorted creating practicality. We then added a juxtaposition within this by adding wedding vows has a voice over and images of me has snap shots to contrast, we added this because this would make the secondary audience of men think about their action has during wedding vows they do not state they will abuse wives.
To conform to conventions of a documentary I did a scene, which involved a talking head this showed me being emotional. This reality of the documentary and allowed me to express my feelings and talk about how my boyfriend had abused because earlier I went to the ‘club’ in a car this helps to show the narrative, which will entice the young youthful audience. I then go according to Rabigers suggestion that a documentary should tell a good story I resolve the whole domestic violence issue by reporting it to the police we used continuity editing showing me just walking into the police station, with the help of the voice over stating I reported it to the police. However, this can be a weaknesses within the production because I should have actually spoken to a police officer, has this would help to mediate the documentary and overall be more appealing to watch.
Toward the ending we had black screen with facts of domestic violence with parallel music of ‘Alicia Keys-Woman’s worth’, and when the beat kicks in we have the ‘SPEAK UP’ in capital letters. This informs the audience to follow in what Is seen has the correct way my footsteps and report domestic violence, seeing has it shown the best thing to do.
II's a woman’s world’ will be shown on a channel 4 a commercial channel, as they target the audience that we would like to reach out to and show a variety of similar topics. In conclusion It’s a woman’s world serves it purpose to inform & educate the audience about a specific subject.
We then added a blurred image of busy people & lifestyles with the voice over stated the definition of domestic violence and the facts. We then had the public opinion of domestic violence, which showed the harsh reality of it and toward the end one male stated with ignorance it is a patriarchal society. We specifically selected the vox pops to help create a sense of realism in which it shows everyone is aware of domestic violence. There are various shots throughout the documentary to communicate our intent and the types of ideas and values we are encouraging. There is an opening sequence to introduce the main protagonist (Amrit/Me) in which I am sitting alone on a bus top to show my innocence and me being an everyday teenager. There is then a scene in which I am talking to the camerawoman but am looking in the mirror to show me to be ignorant. I am asked where am I going, and I say to an over 18’s rave, this is then anchored by me holding a alcoholic drink bottle this could be showing that because I am acting maturely this may be the reason my relationship has also advanced.
We then have me running straight into a car with the use of continuity editing it is visible after the mirror scene that I went into the car, my young woman friend who is driving shows her zooming off this shows the young, ruthless side of teenagers.
Following studying ‘Bowling for columbine’ (2002), we realized the impact of having a phone in used. So we then mirrored the phone in and had a call from me talking to a domestic violence helpine.This was shown with a black screen and what I was saying was typed out, copying conventions of phone ins , which the sound can be distorted creating practicality. We then added a juxtaposition within this by adding wedding vows has a voice over and images of me has snap shots to contrast, we added this because this would make the secondary audience of men think about their action has during wedding vows they do not state they will abuse wives.
To conform to conventions of a documentary I did a scene, which involved a talking head this showed me being emotional. This reality of the documentary and allowed me to express my feelings and talk about how my boyfriend had abused because earlier I went to the ‘club’ in a car this helps to show the narrative, which will entice the young youthful audience. I then go according to Rabigers suggestion that a documentary should tell a good story I resolve the whole domestic violence issue by reporting it to the police we used continuity editing showing me just walking into the police station, with the help of the voice over stating I reported it to the police. However, this can be a weaknesses within the production because I should have actually spoken to a police officer, has this would help to mediate the documentary and overall be more appealing to watch.
Toward the ending we had black screen with facts of domestic violence with parallel music of ‘Alicia Keys-Woman’s worth’, and when the beat kicks in we have the ‘SPEAK UP’ in capital letters. This informs the audience to follow in what Is seen has the correct way my footsteps and report domestic violence, seeing has it shown the best thing to do.
II's a woman’s world’ will be shown on a channel 4 a commercial channel, as they target the audience that we would like to reach out to and show a variety of similar topics. In conclusion It’s a woman’s world serves it purpose to inform & educate the audience about a specific subject.
..A M R I T..
May 04, 2007
Evaluation
For my practical production, I worked in a group of three, where we produced a short documentary called It’s a Woman’s World. The investigative documentary gives a brief insight into the topical issue of domestic violence, we followed a 16 year old girl who had been affected by this issue. We chose name “It’s a Woman’s World” as we wanted to create a feminist approach, juxtaposing to the infamous phrase of “It’s a mans world” and also to the whole issue of domestic violence. “It’s a Womans World also shows that we have challenged the typical stereotype of women, creating enigma, therefore appealing to the target audience.
During the beginning of the production, we agreed not to allocate any specific roles and responsibilities, therefore each member will have equal opportunity in all the tasks. However we soon learnt that the there was not always an equal input from all group members, due to differences in when each member was free and willing to do editing. Yet, my input into the group was constant, and I used all available time to progress with the production, this being the planning, editing, and making key decisions about the structure of the documentary.
The opening of the documentary is a montage sequence using images of victims of domestic violence. In order to create more of a shock effect to the audience, we decided to use a white dissolve instead of the usual dip to black; this put more emphasis onto the images, as well as enhancing the professionalism of the documentary. The background music of “It’s a mans world” by James Brown is parallel to the images reinforcing the message of patriarchy. This conforms to Barthes theory of enigma codes, due to the disparity of the name of the documentary; It’s a Woman’s Worlds. There was then a scratch put in between, where the music changed to “Man I feel like a woman” and consisted of various clips of girls smiling and posing. This showed a dramatic contrast between the two diverse representations of women, coinciding with Strauss’s theory of binary oppositions. Immediately the audience is made aware of the issues dealt, and identifies the primary target audience of young women.
As all documentaries, It’s a Womans World was shaped and constructed to show a certain viewpoint, and reinforce our own messages. We used the convention of the “talking head” where someone talks directly to the camera, in our case, the main protagonist Amrit. By acknowledging, the presence of the camera when she turns it on conforms to the genre of the documentary being investigative. The talking head gives an impression of authenticity and presentation of facts, because we had not edited the scene, shows that we had used raw footage, creating a more realistic approach.
Furthermore, we paid attention to detail, by ensuring the mise en scene was a feminine colour representing a fun atmosphere, however contrasting this to the emotional scene of Amrit crying. We realised that Amrit’s talking head was a long scene, and would be appropriate to cut down to engage the audience through out the whole documentary, however we decided not to edit the scene to accentuate the authenticity. On the other hand, we then constructed the vox pops with the aim of creating a definition of domestic violence by selecting certain words and phrases, ensuring that the information was accurate, therefore educating the audience.
To engage the audience, we constructed a phone call, where Amrit had called a domestic violence helpline when being abused, she sounded very distraught and traumatised, giving the impression of actuality, and reinforcing the seriousness of the issue. The background was also kept black to ensure the audience focus on what is being said, creating an emotional tone. Similarly, to “Bowling for Columbine” studied in module 2, where Michael Moore shows raw footage of the shooting in the school from the fly on the wall cameras to enhance an emotional attachment to the documentary. The documentary is based on juxtapositions of various sequences, which created irony, for example the opening contrast of women, and the juxtaposition between the two ideologies of feminism and patriarchy. This is similar to “The Man with a Movie Camera” by Dziga Vertov. He used juxtaposition of different ideas and images together such birth and death in order to create more impact.
We employed Todorovs narrative theory by having Amrits story finally come to an end, where she decided to go to the police and report the crime. By doing this the documentary had progressed from the equilibrium of Amrit going out with her friends to the disequilibrium when Amrit had been abused, and then the new equilibrium, where Amrit decided to stand up for herself, which again reinforced the feminist view. This also conformed to Rabigers theory of telling a good story, which helps narrate and structure the documentary. The representation of Amrit was shown in a heroic light, which challenges Propps theory of character roles, as a make is usually the hero. However, we did employ this theory in one aspect, by including a hero and villain, this being the boyfriend who abuses Amrit. We finished the documentary with a number of statistics such as “one on four women are abused” which brings the documentary back the to the issue of domestic violence, with non diegetic, parallel music by Alicia Keys – “A Woman’s Worth” coinciding with the focus on women. Conversely, we could have included more factual information about domestic violence, which would educate the audience and raise more awareness of the issue.
It’s a Womans World will be broadcasted on Channel 4, which is a commercial institution, who often target a similar audience to ours. It fits into this category, as the main function is to inform, thereafter education and entertain. Furthermore, it would be appropriate to show the documentary after watershed, where most young girls will watch television.
In conclusion, It’s a Women’s World fulfils the purpose of entertaining and more importantly education the target audience. We aimed to communicate to the audience the consequences of domestic violence, and encourage women to stand up for themselves. The documentary followed a narrative structure and told a good story which is essential, as said by Rabiger. We explored the issues of domestic violence while still challenging the stereotypes of woman, creating a successful and unique documentary.
Pooja x
During the beginning of the production, we agreed not to allocate any specific roles and responsibilities, therefore each member will have equal opportunity in all the tasks. However we soon learnt that the there was not always an equal input from all group members, due to differences in when each member was free and willing to do editing. Yet, my input into the group was constant, and I used all available time to progress with the production, this being the planning, editing, and making key decisions about the structure of the documentary.
The opening of the documentary is a montage sequence using images of victims of domestic violence. In order to create more of a shock effect to the audience, we decided to use a white dissolve instead of the usual dip to black; this put more emphasis onto the images, as well as enhancing the professionalism of the documentary. The background music of “It’s a mans world” by James Brown is parallel to the images reinforcing the message of patriarchy. This conforms to Barthes theory of enigma codes, due to the disparity of the name of the documentary; It’s a Woman’s Worlds. There was then a scratch put in between, where the music changed to “Man I feel like a woman” and consisted of various clips of girls smiling and posing. This showed a dramatic contrast between the two diverse representations of women, coinciding with Strauss’s theory of binary oppositions. Immediately the audience is made aware of the issues dealt, and identifies the primary target audience of young women.
As all documentaries, It’s a Womans World was shaped and constructed to show a certain viewpoint, and reinforce our own messages. We used the convention of the “talking head” where someone talks directly to the camera, in our case, the main protagonist Amrit. By acknowledging, the presence of the camera when she turns it on conforms to the genre of the documentary being investigative. The talking head gives an impression of authenticity and presentation of facts, because we had not edited the scene, shows that we had used raw footage, creating a more realistic approach.
Furthermore, we paid attention to detail, by ensuring the mise en scene was a feminine colour representing a fun atmosphere, however contrasting this to the emotional scene of Amrit crying. We realised that Amrit’s talking head was a long scene, and would be appropriate to cut down to engage the audience through out the whole documentary, however we decided not to edit the scene to accentuate the authenticity. On the other hand, we then constructed the vox pops with the aim of creating a definition of domestic violence by selecting certain words and phrases, ensuring that the information was accurate, therefore educating the audience.
To engage the audience, we constructed a phone call, where Amrit had called a domestic violence helpline when being abused, she sounded very distraught and traumatised, giving the impression of actuality, and reinforcing the seriousness of the issue. The background was also kept black to ensure the audience focus on what is being said, creating an emotional tone. Similarly, to “Bowling for Columbine” studied in module 2, where Michael Moore shows raw footage of the shooting in the school from the fly on the wall cameras to enhance an emotional attachment to the documentary. The documentary is based on juxtapositions of various sequences, which created irony, for example the opening contrast of women, and the juxtaposition between the two ideologies of feminism and patriarchy. This is similar to “The Man with a Movie Camera” by Dziga Vertov. He used juxtaposition of different ideas and images together such birth and death in order to create more impact.
We employed Todorovs narrative theory by having Amrits story finally come to an end, where she decided to go to the police and report the crime. By doing this the documentary had progressed from the equilibrium of Amrit going out with her friends to the disequilibrium when Amrit had been abused, and then the new equilibrium, where Amrit decided to stand up for herself, which again reinforced the feminist view. This also conformed to Rabigers theory of telling a good story, which helps narrate and structure the documentary. The representation of Amrit was shown in a heroic light, which challenges Propps theory of character roles, as a make is usually the hero. However, we did employ this theory in one aspect, by including a hero and villain, this being the boyfriend who abuses Amrit. We finished the documentary with a number of statistics such as “one on four women are abused” which brings the documentary back the to the issue of domestic violence, with non diegetic, parallel music by Alicia Keys – “A Woman’s Worth” coinciding with the focus on women. Conversely, we could have included more factual information about domestic violence, which would educate the audience and raise more awareness of the issue.
It’s a Womans World will be broadcasted on Channel 4, which is a commercial institution, who often target a similar audience to ours. It fits into this category, as the main function is to inform, thereafter education and entertain. Furthermore, it would be appropriate to show the documentary after watershed, where most young girls will watch television.
In conclusion, It’s a Women’s World fulfils the purpose of entertaining and more importantly education the target audience. We aimed to communicate to the audience the consequences of domestic violence, and encourage women to stand up for themselves. The documentary followed a narrative structure and told a good story which is essential, as said by Rabiger. We explored the issues of domestic violence while still challenging the stereotypes of woman, creating a successful and unique documentary.
Pooja x
Woo Woo!!! Well we've had our final tutorial with Mr Bush, and it looks like we're finally finished! :D What a relief ey!? Hmm well we've worked really hard on it, even though we had some difficulties with the documentary, and ended up changing the whole idea...its all good! Lets just hope that we get a good grade as well. Ofcourse, thanks to Mr Bush, Mr Babu and last but not least the special mentors!
Pooja x
Pooja x
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