Lesson #18: BUBBLES! // Lesson #19: Interviews

Today we were filming with bubbles, as we are using bubbles as a metaphor to portray how some people can be confused about their nationality. We tried finding different angles and methods to portray bubbles: low, blowing towards camera, blowing from behind camera, zoom in onto the bubble popping, filming shadows, but because of the wind it was hard to achieve the effect we wanted. We decided to include more people and widen our topic to nationality (not just American Born Chinese). We will send out emails for permission to interview people. 

Lesson #19

We are not sure how the flow of our film would be like. We recorded the ambience in the drama theatre, and we made sure that it was as quiet as possible by turning off the air purifier. We also interviewed Henry, as we saw him in the library and realized that he is the perfect "candidate" for our film. However, halfway through the interview, we realized that the shots were focusing more on the books rather than Henry, so we had to adjust it immediately. We also interviewed Celine this morning, and we used two cameras so that we can get shots of her from different angles. However, the audio quality is pretty bad because there were a lot of background noises. We should use the noise reduction function on Final Cut Pro to enhance the audio quality. In the afternoon, we interviewed Irene. We need to film supplementary cutaway shots that are relevant to the content of the interview eg. standing in a mirror / listening to music, but we are not so sure what the best way of portraying the content is. 

We then interviewed Andrea on Sunday. We had a hard time finding the perfect setup for the camera in the Tea House Cafe, because the lighting was quite dim. There were also a lot of background noises. We should have chosen a place that's more quiet. 

20th May
Today we are aiming to film contrasting shots to portray Irene's reading. 

- film relevant shots - eyes, paintings

- rain - wet vs. dry

- on the line "open your eyes" - cover camera, take hand away

- too many bubbles shots - distracting and it gets annoying

- use black screen as opening - introduce irene's face first 

- contrast between red and green is good

Lesson #20: Editing

20th May, 2016

Today is our last lesson we have to work on our documentary before it is due. Our goal today is to start editing our film, as we have finished filming our all footage in the past two weeks. We may need some extra cutaway shots to cover some blurry / undesirable shots, so we may spent some class time going around campus to film more shots. Another task we hope to complete is the transcript of our interviews, as we would like to include subtitles in our film. 

Lesson #16 & #17: 5-Minute Documentary

In our first two lessons of Act 5, we immediately dived into work. Our task is to create a 5-minute long documentary on the topic "Hangzhou Stories". Zhu Laoshi first showed us two documentaries made by previous years - one is about Grassroots and the other is about a Chinese Medicine Centre. As a class, we discussed what could be improved in the two films. For the first film, the framing / composition could be improved, and for the second one, the sound quality can be enhanced as there were a lot of background noises. The subtitles of both films are in white, and sometimes they cannot be read when they are put against a white background. This is something we should remember to consider in our documentary.

After half an hour of brainstorming as we went through many different possible topics like Mr. Karena, Boxing, China Internet Firewall, Greentown Student Gao Kao, we have decided that we would base our documentary on Irene's Beyond project. All three of us are interested in the letters she wrote that surrounds the topic of identity crisis, and we hope to portray her thoughts through a film. 

We created a shot list and noted down some shots that we can include. Zhu Laoshi suggested us to use abstract shots in our film. Our next step is to ask Irene for the script that we need and afterwards begin filming shots that are relevant to the content. 

Lesson #15: Making a Mini Documentary

Today is our last film class before we return from Chinese New Year and Beyond. Zhu Laoshi assigned the class with the task of creating a 1-minute documentary that consists of three interviews in our small groups. Josephine, Michelle, and I went around campus and interviewed Mrs. Grace, Edwin, and a CIS Student (Tina) on their impressions of life in Hangzhou. 

One interesting thing that I learnt today was that if your interviewee (for example, Mrs. Grace) blinks a lot on camera, you should zoom out of the frame, so that the shot includes more of the interviewee's body and would not be so focused on his / her face, as the audience may find frequent blinking to be uncomfortable.

It is also important to film relevant cutaway shots and include jump cuts so the film would be less mundane. eg. When Mrs Grace was talking about how in Hangzhou, "the community sleeps, eats, and works together", we included a shot of our film class editing their mini documentaries.

Final Cut Pro Keys: I for In, O for Out, B for Blade

Lesson #13 / #14: Grizzly Man

Today during class, we experimented with filming 30 seconds interviews / documentaries in small groups. After around 10 minutes of filming, each group showed their work to the class. Below are some things that I learnt about:

1. Leading Space

In addition to placing the interviewee's eyes at the intersection points, it is also important to note that the interviewee should be looking towards the leading space rather than directly at the camera (unless a special mood is to be conveyed). However, the interviewee should also face slightly towards the audience and not too much towards the corner of the frame so that the shot looks comfortable / natural. 

2. Shot Size

In documentaries, medium close up is often the ideal shot to use as it looks most natural. Close ups can be used to place focus on the subject's emotions / face, and medium shots can be used to show the subjects' body movements.

3. Framing

The rule of thirds should be applied and it is crucial to avoid excessive blank space within the frame. The camera should be facing the interviewee at eye line, and the interviewer should stand next to the camera so that the interviewee would not be looking directly towards the camera. 

4. Choice of Background 

The camera should not be facing the light because that would cause the lighting of the shot to be very dim. However, sometimes, there can be too much light, causing the shot to be overexposed. Adjusting the white balance of the camera would be a effective solution to this problem. Also, it is ideal to have diagonal lines in the background as to create depth within the frame. 

Then, we watched the 2005 documentary Grizzly Man, directed and narrated by Werner Herzog. The director applied several different techniques in order to present the interviews in a natural way:

1. Use of Angles

Herzog applied the use of different angles so that the film does not seem as boring, for example, when he was interviewing the helicopter man, he was led through the path that the helicopter guy walked through the day he found Timothy Treadwell's remains. While they were walking, the helicopter guy points at some objects on the ground, and the director also follows by lowering the camera:

2. Limiting the number of interview questions

Another effective way of raising the audience's interest is by limiting the number of questions so that the interviewee's answers would not be too short / brief. Instead of asking short snappy questions like "What is your name?" "What was your role on the day of rescue?", the director invited the rescuer to simply do an introduction of himself (without too much guidance / too many interview questions).