Evaluation – The True Stars of Filmmaking

Over the course of the past 15 weeks, I have been keen to receive feedback from my peers to
ensure I am reaching my brief and understanding what my target audience (16-24) are after. I
have collected this data in numerous different ways; my prime being surveys/feedback forms.
To start out, during my idea generation section I had my peers help me develop my ideas –
originally, I had three ideas, I asked
which idea seemed most interesting
to them. Evidently, my idea about the
film industry received the most votes
which led me to creating this idea.
However, I also asked in the same
survey how my peers would
personally develop idea 1, 2 , and 3.
Although I may not had used the
developments I was given about my
other ideas this information still
came as a use for me – I was able to understand the type of productions my peers are
interested in to ensure my production speaks to them on a personal level. An example of this
was a response I received in this
questionnaire ‘I would like to see how
technology can actually make businesses
more likely to have their data stolen
online like hackers and stuff.’ Although
this question didn’t apply to the idea I
chose, when it came to planning my
questions for my interviewees, I was
able to involve questions about
technology in the film industry, in hopes
I was able to fill this recipient’s niche.
Using these surveys as a way to develop my ideas came as a good thing, although some of
my survey responses may have not helped me at the time I was able to come back and use
them to ensure my production was the best it could be. Similarly, I was able to use focus
groups with my peers to get a
more personal approach, what I
like about focus groups which
doesn’t apply to surveys is that I
am able to have a conversation
and adapt and evolve their
answers, which when happening
in a group setting leads to
everyone developing each other’s
ideas. As seen in the screenshot
above, I had a focus group with
Maz Kanchwala, Diya Bagha, and Tom Strong. I was given the idea by Maz to investigate a
‘day in the life’ style documentary, similarly to the ‘Geri’ documentary by Molly Dineen
which I ended up researching into, which follows a performative and reflexive documentary
style to enhance the emotion and personality of the interviewee. What I liked about this idea
was that it was a more personal approach, which would lead to my audience having a deeper
understanding with my interviewees. Although during this focus group not many ideas ended
up becoming a possibility which I later discovered during my research and planning section, I
was able to use these ideas to have a better understanding of what they were interested in.
Admittingly, I was able to use this information to my advantage and adapted my interview
styles to have a more ‘conversational’ feel as this is what my focus group suggested to have a
more authentic and personal atmosphere. Using these ideas came as a success when my final
production was completed, as after watching back and reviewing my production the
authenticity from my interviewees is more prominent which is what my target audience
would be seeking.
When it came to deciding where I wanted to enter my documentary, I decided to enter it into
the Norwich Film festival. The Norwich Film festival has a specific competition for
documentaries, the requirements being: Your full
film (watchable within a browser), a 100-word
synopsis of your film, key credits (director, producer,
writer, key cast), a brief director biography, at least 5
high stills from the film (not BTS stills), and less
than 25 minutes. What I liked about this competition
was that the requirements weren’t too strict, unlike
other competitions where due to their list of rules my
creativity would have been limited. I was able to
successfully follow all of their rules as my
production came in at 13:39 which is within their
required times. The Norwich film festival also holds
a screening for their winners annually which helped linked back to my target audience (16-
24) as they have a reduced ticket price for students. On their website they also have linked
their past winners which was able to help me understand what the judges may be looking for.
In 2023, Shane O’Neill’s documentary ‘Clown’ won their first place, and I was able to see
some of the stylistic choices he made which likely stood out, particularly his interview style
and use of emotion throughout the production, Shane was able to build a relationship with the
interviewee to audience which I took inspiration from. ‘Working’ for this competition helped
me have a feel for how it would be when I work for a client in the future, as I had dates I had
to hand in my production, rules I had to follow it gave me a first-hand understanding of the
importance and pride I must take in my work when there is a possibility other people may
view it. Having rules to follow gave
me the opportunity to adapt my
work for a specific reason, an
example being my time frame, it
would have been easy for me to
create a 30-minute production filled
with longer interviews however as
requested I had to keep it below 25
minutes, this gave me the chance for
good preparation for my career after
university.

When doing my research, it was important that I looked

into the different documentary styles to ensure I was able
to give the message I was after to my audience. To do so
I investigated the 6 main documentary types, this
includes: Poetic, Expository, Observational,
Participatory, Performative, and Reflexive. When doing
my research, it was important I understood what these
meant, so I had to look into the codes and conventions to understand the key ideas that they
all followed. As an example, a
performative documentary is all
about the comfort levels for the
interviewee, so I made sure to make
a note of that on my website. I also
decided to include example shots so
I would be able to distinguish the
different styles easily, this would
later help me when I had to come to
a decision on how I’d film and what
I would include in my production.
In the end, I concluded on having my production be a mix between expository and
participatory – I decided on these two options as I believe having an expository style would
be the most efficient way to inform my audience about the hidden careers in the film
industry, using the codes and conventions I had wrote down I believe my documentary fits
into this category, as it is informative. Secondly, I decided on also including participatory
elements. The reason I decided on this was because I wanted my audience to understand my
passion for my topic, and although I may not have pulled it off amazingly due to me being a
bit camera shy, I believe the main codes and conventions of a participatory documentary are
present in my documentary. I was able to inform and challenge my audience on a topic they
were previous uneducated on through my use of high editing, this includes my introduction
with a dramatic title sequence which leads into me questioning the audience about the ‘true
stars of filmmaking.’ The hope of this was to make my audience think about something that
isn’t usually spoken about, the hard efforts that go into film production, all of which is
usually present in an expository documentary. I managed to follow the codes and conventions
of my chosen documentary style, expository and participatory, ensuring that my project
aligns with the professional standards and industry expectations. As mentioned, my
documentary included high editing, an involved filmmaker, and information on my topic
which demonstrated my understanding of style specific techniques. Overall, this contributed
to an improved quality for my audience, therefore offering a higher effectiveness on
educating my audience about the stars behind the camera.

When deciding on the social context

for my production, I decided to do
another focus group to pin point what
I wanted the main aim of my
production to be, after speaking with
Harriot, Charlie, Luke, and Sam we
were able to all come to an
agreement that my production would
be helping my audience discover the
lesser known positions in the film
industry, potentially giving them more career options that they didn’t know exist. The overall
topic for my production was helping audiences discover more professions in the film
industry, as the title suggests, so interviewing different candidates was very important for
supporting my argument. Although I think the two interviews I had were extremely solid and
supported my idea and got my point across, I believe if I was able to have more interviews,
potentially only one or two more, my argument would have been better backed up. Originally
I did plan to have four interviews, another uncle of mine and someone I had contacted
through Facebook, however at the point I am
writing this (2024) writers strikes are having a
huge impact on the industry and the level of work
people are receiving is a lot lower compared to
before – this has resulted in a lot of people having
to find temporary work elsewhere to still have a
household income. This was the case for my two
other interviewees. I do believe this would have
also been an interesting point to speak about in my
documentary, however I had only realised the
ghastly effects prior to me completing my
research, resulting in me not having the
opportunity to research well enough into this
conversational topic to ask questions. The result of this did have an obvious effect on my
production as four interviews would have supported my topic a lot more than two, and as the
two other (potential) interviewees who could not make it both had different careers to my
already interviewees I feel the result of them being included could have had an even larger
impact and spoken to an even wider audience. However, I do think my interviewees had a
huge impact, due to their passion for their careers, and I think it really showed in their
interviews. Particularly, when Kirsty and Steven were discussing the positives about their
roles in the industry, and how fun the job can be, you can really hear and understand the
passion and love for their job in their voice and facial expressions. I ended up using both clips
for my advertisements as I felt their usage of words and encouragement really sold their love
for their careers. As previously
spoken about when doing my
research I decided on using the main
codes and conventions of an
expository documentary, using these
points I was able to do my
documentary justice as I was
educating my audience on a topic
they were likely less known about
before, this includes my usage of
having archived footage to show the
reality behind the cameras. Using my research I was able to sell a lifestyle that people would
have been uneducated on before, through my use of interviews I was able to support my
argument and inform viewers on my main message. Although I feel my lack of interviews
may have had an outstanding effect on my production, I was still able to support, educate and
successfully tell my message to my audience.

As I was doing a documentary, it is hard to control the emotion of my interviewees, and this
could have had a huge effect on the message they were putting across to my audience. As my
informative documentary was aiming to spread a positive message to help young people, it
was extremely important that they were happy and excited. When it came to me planning my
interview dates Kirsty was feeling a bit ill and asked to move the date, however, was okay if
not – I gave in to this request as I thought it was important that she was happy and healthy
during her interview so I would be spreading the right message. Throughout Kirsty’s
interview she speaks with a smile and has a lot of passion about what she’s saying. When I
was researching into different
documentaries there were times when
the interviewee seemed not as
interested in the topic, which could
potentially spread the wrong message.
Kirsty was also very knowledgeable
throughout her interview, informing
my audience on different programs to
jumpstart a career, and giving advice
on networking. When reviewing
Kirsty’s clips it was obvious to me that her passion and aspiration for helping young people
shone through, massively enhancing my production. The same applies for Steven, during his
interviews he had a smile the whole time and was actively telling fun stories which can stand
out to younger audiences, massively enhancing the production value of my documentary.
Although I did only have two
interviewees, I can happily say
their excitement and passion for
my topic is easily spotted and
creates an interesting and fun
documentary. This also links back
to my chosen documentary style
of expository, as their knowledge
enhances the experience for the
viewer, promoting my storyline
even more.
Experiencing problems is common in the film industry, especially when it is a one-person
production. My first problem I faced was finding productions in a similar style I was after
that I could analyse, as I wanted my documentary to have a very specific style and vibe it was
important that I was able to analyse something similar. After speaking to my peers, I was
suggested to take a look at some of Molly Dineen’s work. Molly is well known documentary
maker who has a very specific style
which connects the audience and the
interviewee. As seen here I watched
Molly’s documentary ‘Geri’ where I was
able to take inspiration on her work.
Thankfully, this problem I faced wasn’t
too harsh and left me with an easy way to
solve it. When it came to me planning my
interviewees I was faced with another
problem, as previously spoken about two
of my interviewees had to drop out of my
production due to finding temporary jobs
during writers strikes. Unfortunately for me this problem came too late and there was no way
I would have been able to find another candidate, research into their career and write up
appropriate questions, so I had to make do with Kirsty and Steven. This problem could have
been avoided if I had planned ahead and had backup interviewees, however this wasn’t the
case and I was pushed into a corner with no resolution. I do think I was able to overcome this
issue as and was successful in telling my topic with the interviews I had. I had also faced a
problem when it came to me editing at home, due to issues I had been facing coming into
college causing me a lot of unnecessary stress, so I admittedly took it upon myself to work
from home. Unfortunately, this led to me being required to completely reedit my production
in class, wasting the previous week entirely. Luckily, I saw this as an opportunity to improve
my production and came up with a new title sequence which was more interesting than the
previous. However, this did lead me to be behind in my work, mostly the advertisement
section – which I had to work
on a lot from home and stay
behind in class to ensure I was
able to complete all sections of
my production by the deadline.
I did also face an issue while
editing with my SD card, which
was some of the audio and
footage for my interviews not
coming onto my laptop.
Originally, I was very
confused by this problem
and couldn’t figure out
what caused it, I was then
able to just delete the clip
and move it from my SD card back onto my laptop and it was all working fine. I also wrote
about this editing issue on my ‘Production’ page. Overall, my problems I faced did have an
impact on my time and led me to be behind on some work, however as I have believed in
myself and the success of my production, I have been able to ensure all of my work was
completed. The issue of me not attending college was also a well taught lesson which can
prepare me for university and my future career, I will be able to learn and grow from all
issues faced – including having backup interviewees.

During the past 15 weeks, I have been able to massively develop my skills, from editing and
camera work to time management. Firstly, my title sequence for my production where I did
the typewriter effect. Previously, I would not have been able to do this as I had never really
thought about doing it. However after researching into it I can now say I have learnt how to
do this and would definitely be able to do it without the YouTube tutorial. Throughout the
two years on this course my editing has always been a bit rusty, and something that I would
say I have struggled with. However, I
can confidently say that through my
research into editing skills I have
improved, and I have been able to
create something that I am proud of.
My editing skills will likely be useful
again in the future, as for my
university courses there are all small
sections where I am required to create
a production. Depending on what
career I chose to enter in the future I also may need to use these skills then. Another skill I
have improved is my camera work, originally I learned all of my camera skills at the
beginning of my two year course however have mostly only filmed using indoor lighting
where I have been able to manipulate it using the camera settings easily – during Kirsty’s
interview I was faced with a new challenge of perfecting the outdoor lighting to ensure she
wasn’t too over exposed or the lighting didn’t look too dark. Using the settings such as
changing the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture I was able to successfully ensure that Kirsty’s
interviews were up to a professional standard, something that previous I have never
experimented with. Overall, this
project has been a huge development
for my skills and has been the perfect
way to prepare me for my further
education in film studies,
understanding the basics and being
able to expand on that to a more
professional level is something I have
shown throughout my production
within my editing techniques and
filming.
As previously mentioned, I was suggested by a peer to research into Molly Dineen. As seen
in my research I started investigating what common codes and conventions were used
throughout Dineen’s ‘Geri’. When looking at our two productions side by side by the most
similar aspect is the emotion in both our productions. During my analysed scenes I made key
notes about how Molly was able to bring out that emotion of Geri, similarly to when I was
speaking with Kirsty and Steven, asking them about the highs and lows of their professions
they were able to give me the emotion I was after. However, during Molly’s documentary a
key theme which stood out was her use of handheld camera, this adds personality and once
again creates a more authentic storyline
with the audience. During my focus groups
this was something that was discussed,
similarly we also discussed a ‘day in the
life’ style video to build a solid connection
between my interviewees and audience.
However, when it came to planning this
style of video would have been too
complicated due to the restrictions I had –
such as if I wanted to actually go to a set, I
would have only had certain dates I could
which didn’t fit within my editing and
filming time frame. This idea definitely would have been more appealing to audiences if I
was able to pull it off, however it would have been impossible for such project. Similarly, we
both used the participatory style. We both did this in different ways, during ‘Geri’ Molly used
a voice God when appropriate to explain what was happening in parts of the documentary;
similarly, I introduced my documentary, explaining the large effects that the film industry has
on the UK. Overall, when comparing the two documentaries the similarities are easily
spotted, after taking a lot of inspiration from ‘Geri’ I was able to complete a documentary
which not only fulfil the common codes and conventions that our documentary styles share
(participatory) but also have a documentary which is up to a professional industry standard.

When reflecting on my documentary, the

one key area which stands out for me in
need of improvement was my lack of
interviewees. While my existing
interviews offered valuable knowledge
and insights into the film industry,
having a more diverse range of
perspectives would have easily increased
my production value and spoke to a
wider audience. If I had the opportunity
to do this again, allocating more time to prioritise investigating into more interviewees early
on would be a must, ensuring that diversity of careers is highly represented to sell my
viewpoint. Not only would I be able to achieve a more in depth understanding on the matter
but I would have been able to educate my audience on even more positions in the industry,
which was my main goal. Another idea I would priorities would be using various locations
which relate to the film industry, while I think my production was successful without, I
believe having more interesting locations may appeal to my audience even more. Adding
onto this, I think it would be interesting to experiment with the handheld camera idea which I
spoke about in my focus groups, linking back to ‘Geri’, this would have been a more diverse
approach and would enhance the visual experience for my viewer, capturing the reality of the
film industry while also elevating the on screen experience.