tvp202

Theory on three point lighting

2006-06-11T00:19:00.000-07:00

I’ve been doing some reading and research into lighting and I’ve come to some conclusions that I think will make an interesting blog. Thus the following can be called the James Lake theory of three point lighting.

Back in first year we were assigned a blog about three point lighting. During the research for that that assignment I discovered a number of individuals commenting that three point is a lesser form of lighting, it was dying and was only used by T.V. Being sick and tired of the whole film is better than T.V argument (which is rubbish) I kept doing some reading and investigating. Seems the basis of the argument is that its to crude and too simplistic and nothing more than ‘student lighting’. So my theory is based on the premises of three point lighting and argues its usefulness and legitimacy as a form of lighting.

Lets go back to the beginning. Three point lighting consists of a key light, a fill light and a back light. The function of each is:
Key light: to illuminate the subject from the front
Fill light: to alter the shadow caused by the key
Back light: to give definition to the subject and to show the distance between the subject and the wall behind them.

Having established that, here’s where the James Lake theory comes in.
While three pint lighting is undoubtedly too simplistic to light an entire set, it’s a form of lighting that never aimed to do so. Three point lighting was always aimed at lighting a single individual. To claim that it’s redundant because it can not effectively do beyond what it claims it can do it ridiculous.

The second element of the James theory is that the name three point lighting is quite misleading. Three point lighting implies that the focus is the lighting sources themselves. That is, three point lighting is lighting from three points of light. This definition is, I would argue, unhelpful and does not aid in effective three point lighting. A better name would be three contact/reference point lighting. That is, there are three points on the subject that need to be illuminated to some degree, which are the three points outlined before; one half of the face, the alternate half of the face and the back. As a lighting person these contact points are the points that need to be checked, called reference points. So the focus is one the subject and these points, not on the lights and their position.

It’s also important to clarify the line “there are three points on the subject that need to be illuminated to some degree”. The three points are the contact/reference points. The term “to some degree” is where the real artistry is at. The degree to which those three points are each illuminated is where the feel of the shot through the lighting occurs, where the story is told. The basis form of a scale exists, where 100% is peaked whites and not a real picture and 0% is no light whatsoever. All three of the contact points need to have light on them to some extent (note: the amount of light can be 0%). For example, in a scene in Alias, the two main characters are in the woods in a cabin making out in front of a fire place. That is the only light in the room. So, applying the theory to practice:
Key contact/reference point: black, no light, no definition.
Fill contact/reference point: black, no light, no definition.
Back contact/reference point: orange flames, medium level light, gives outlines and definitions to the characters.

In essence, it’s a silhouette. It’s warm (orange), it’s low lit (romantic) and it’s magical (silhouette). And the effect can be created by checking those points.
The relevance when you are standing on set is simply “I want to create a silhouette, so: …”
Key contact/reference point: black, no light, no definition.
Fill contact/reference point: black, no light, no definition.
Back contact/reference point: orange flames, medium level light, gives outlines and definitions to the characters.

Hopefully that example clarifies what I have been trying to say (my explanation hasn’t been the best). In essence the moral of the story in three contact/reference point lighting it doesn’t matter how many lights you have, it’s about those three points and how light levels on then tell the story.

2006-06-11T00:17:00.000-07:00

My review of tvp202

Lectures
I found the lectures to be really informative and a good ‘springboard’, I guess, into the assessments we had to do. I like that the class generally opened with some kids of a discussion about television of an aspect of television. Using real world examples, and keeping mindful to the fact that what we are learning needs to go into practice in the context of the broadcasting industry is something that is very important for us to be doing at a student level.
I thought some of the videos we watched were really good. As I am also a big fan of lighting, I thought it was very beneficial to see how professionals do it, and also the history of lighting. However, I feel there is a greater need to master class the lighting techniques we’ve learned from the videos because that’s where it really comes together.

Tutorials
My biggest criticism of tutorials is that we didn’t have enough of them. While the theory is fundamental to knowing how to make TV, when it comes down to it, the practical component is what’s the most important. Having said that, I felt that the tuits we did were really helpful. The lighting tuit we did in the studio was, in my opinion, one of the best tuits we’ve ever had. We’d spoken about a lot of that stuff, but to see it really burned it into my mind. That tuit, plus the James Lake theory of three point lighting (see additional blog), were more of less the basis of my lighting assignment for the first assessment. It’s all the little tips and tricks, and hints for how to overcome problems that really made that tuit. Key and back from the back. Every one of my lighting plans has this in it, and it worked. The boom could get in and get audio and the lights could achieve their purpose. That tuit was really good.
The one on camera was really helpful for the news items, and I felt that doing the news stories was nice extension to many of the things we’d spoken about.

News items
The news shoots were a really good idea because we had to get our hands on the gear, had to apply our knowledge, only had limited time, and had to show it to the class. It involved being quick and efficient with time and shots. It was good, but it would be even better, and I think this idea has been suggested, if we did it a few weeks in a row to see the improvement.

Assessment 1
I enjoyed this assessment the most. I like working in small teams like that, and that is the area of production that interests me the most. I think I learned the most from this exercise, but also had the most fun. My major criticism of this exercise is that the scripts were terrible. Can I ask, why are we doing plays for television? If I was going to change one thing I’d pick a TV script, something that was written for camera. I really think that would make such a big difference.

Assessment 2
The docos was an interesting project. Like any shoot there were high points and low points, and I’ve covered much of that stuff in my production reports. However, I really enjoyed working in the Australia Story format, where the interviewees tell the story. It was challenging, but also interesting to see how it would fit together, and how to tell the story through other means that just spelling it out to the audience through voiceovers. The main part about this assignment was that it was group marks. I really didn’t like that, because I had two minor roles, my mark was in the hands of other people all the time, and when they didn’t do things they said they would I was disadvantaged. Without naming names, when someone says they’ll do something then doesn’t there’s nothing I can do to rectify that. I can’t make then do it. That’s my major point of criticism of that assessment.

Bloggs
You and I have already spoken about bloggs, and I will say that I do enjoy them, even though I usually leave them to the last minute. I think it’s a good research piece, and something that I personally learned a lot from. Open questions are heaps better e.g. “research a single cam show and discuss how it’s production elements enhance the show’s franchise”.

I hope I haven’t come across to negatively. I really enjoyed the subject, but I figured you wanted to know where I felt things would have been changed for the better, and this is kind of where I think. So, thanks for the semester Bruce.

Discussion of a show

2006-05-29T05:13:00.000-07:00

Discussion of a show

The show I’ve selected to do my blog on is ABC’s ‘Alias’ created by J.J. Abrams, which is a single camera production. In essence it’s a one hour drama about a woman named Sydney Bristow, who is a spy, and all the various adventures she gets up to with her spy pals (we both know that if I was pitching this show I’d try a little harder). It’s a show about espionage and has plenty of action and the likes, which is fun and makes for uality viewing.

For me personally, there are a number of elements as well as production values that particularly standout in the show.

The fact that it is a show with heaps of action and espionage has considerable implications for the various production elements for the show. The shows themes dictate much of the style and the feel of the show, which is something that is largely communicated to the audience through the production elements. Also, it is important to note that budget and time constraints also have great influence over the various production elements of the show. Budget in a television series is something that’s very very important. Depending on the contract they have with networks that air it, they might be allocated a budget based upon each episode, or brackets of episodes (e.g brackets of 6 episodes are common as it’s ¼ of a 24 episode drama series), or the executive producer or production executive will be assigned money for the entire season and they will allocate it themselves accordingly. Both methods are used within television, but in the case of “Alias” it is my understanding that they paid upfront for a season, however this was not the deal when they first began back in 1999.

The amount of money the show has to play with determines what they can do to a large extent. As “Alias” is one of ABC’s prize shows, and is exported to a number of countries around the world, such as Australia, it is a fair estimate that they have a substantial budget, enabling them to do all the things that they do. In addition, the time requirements they have, being T.V. limits the range of production elements that they can employ to tell their story (Note: this isn’t a defeatist attitude or commenting on the advantages of film over television, I’m just stating fact.

In my personally opinion about modern cinema with regards to time is that with the extra time that films have they really don’t utilize it, because films aren’t better than television, and modern cinema is in a rut compared to T.V which is entering another golden age, but that’s another blog in itself). An episode of Alias takes eight days to shoot, which is quite impressive when you consider the quality level they produce. Then post gets it’s hands on it, and due to all the special effects that have to be added (to be discussed later) it can add about a month. The point of bring that up is that directors, d.o.p’s and actors can have lengthy discussions of the semiotics (which is the study of signs and symbols and other forms of visual cues and how people read and interpret them – see Bruce I do listen in class) of a shot, they don’t have time. They must know what they are doing before hand. In addition it effects the locations they can use. The key thing with “Alias” is that the stories call for the characters to jet all over the world, to exotic and obscure locations. However, to fly the cast and crew from Bali, to Barbados, to Berlin, to Brooklyn all in eight days is just not feasible. Despite this, through the use of CG they can effectively transform locations. This is done through matting, which is a process of creating a “matt” or graphics layer behind the film layer playing. It’s like keying, when you cut a hole in the video and fill the hole with another input. The area they cut out is the background of the location they shot, then because the scene is in Rome for example, they put the Vatican in the background. As a general rule, the “Alias” production team doesn’t really shoot more than about 8-10 miles from their home studio. This use of technology really helps in telling the story and enhancing the show.

For me personally, aside from the story, I enjoy “Alias” because of its high end production values, and the effects they have on the show’s creator’s ability to tell a story effectively.
The first element of the show that really stood out to me when I first started watching it was the camera work. Alias uses a lot of moving camera, which is something that I love by the way, to tell the story. Two major notes are needed here. Firstly, Alias is shot on film, so the cameras they use are all film cameras (they are Panaflex cameras). The second is that while Alias is a single camera production, sometimes they cheat and use two cameras but it’s only on things like action sequences where stuff is blowing up and it’s way way way cheaper to get two cameras than to blow something up twice.

For the purpose of examining camera, the show can be broken down into a small number of situations which directly effect the camera work.

Firstly there’s the studio setting. As a general rule, when they are shooting in a studio on a set, the camera is on either a tripod, a pedestal, or on a dolly or train tracks. Not only does this create movement within the frame, and keep both the story moving and people engaged, but it helps the director tell the story. It is not uncommon to see a 20 second scene of two people talking in an office, where the camera will just dolly along on a big arc beginning with an over the shoulder two shot and finishing with another over the shoulder two shot with the person who once had their back to camera, facing the camera. It’s engaging and it’s interesting, and when edited right it can take a potentially boring talking heads scene and make it more dynamic and interesting. Also, in situations when they’re at a conference table the camera will track past the meeting, almost as if being watched, which really adds to the whole espionage thing.

The second situation is location. Locations shooting is usually where most of the action happens, which involves running, shoot outs, fight scenes etc. Fun for the whole family, so to speak. The fact that it’s off the studio lot and under adverse conditions has major camera implications. Much of the action that is shot on location is in fact done by steadicam instead of laying down tracks. Steadicam is a big thing on Alias, and is used all the time, especially on location. It is usually on location where the big stunts and fight scenes happen. Whether it be running down a corridor being chased by bad guys, or a fist fight in an underground parking lot, many of these locations are places where having camera movement is more difficult than in a studio environment. So, steadicam is wonderful for achieving this. In the pilot of “Alias” entitles ‘Truth Be Told’, the main character, Sydney, has a fight with an assassin in a parking lot and a steadicam was used. The creator/director J.J. Abrams had never shot a fight scene before, but decided that his best bet was to use camera movement to keep the fluency and energy of the fight going. And it worked. And it because it worked it became the franchise for Alias fight scenes ever since.

The third situation is special effects shoots, which are filmed to a blue screen. In this situation special cameras are used, often motion sensor camera, in order to effectively capture the actor performing in a way that can later be transformed in post. One clear example of this occurs in the Season Two finale, “The Telling” where actress Lena Olin jumps off a skyscraper rooftop only to shoot out windows in the buildings side as she’s falling, shoots in a hook, and swing back into the building to escape. It would be out of the question to ask an actress relatively untrained in stunt work to really do that, let alone the nightmare of trying to film them doing it. It was done in a blue screen studio, and the results are quite impressive.

What I’ve outlined is only just a guide line of what happens, often it’s a combination of a number of different elements, for example steadicams will be brought into the studio regularly, and when the location permits tracks will be laid. In the episode ‘Authorized Personnel Only pt. 1’ there is a scene where the main character is fighting a “bad guy” on a moving train, and she falls out the open carriage door and clutches for dear life onto baggage netting which the villain proceeds to slowly cut, while her partner races to the rescue, etc etc etc, you get the idea. Anyway, the fight scene was shot steadicam, not only because it was a fight scene, but also because it was shot in a set, the train carriage, which rocked back and forward as part of the movement of a train. Outside of the train carriage set, was a blue screen studio, so the actors could hangout the carriage without any danger. In post the background shot from a real moving train, done at a different time, is composited in and the sequence was complete. Without spoiling the ending, the hero doesn’t die, her partner saves the day, I know, I was surprised too, but nevertheless it’s a damm cool scene.

Lighting is another aspect of “Alias” that really stands out to me, and something that I really enjoy about the show. “Alias” is shot on film, thus it’s lit for film, and thus its got a very filmic look to it. When I say filmic look, I mean that it’s very creative and tells a great deal of the story. For example, when one of the regular bad guys, Sark, is on screen plotting in his often dank lairs his face is usually half illuminated, which gives the idea that he’s trouble. Another really good example is the main regular bad guy, Slone, who’s this evil old man that comes across as being charming, but is a nasty piece of work (though he’s a damm cool character). When he’s being evil, or scheming and giving an intense death stare while threatening some poor individual it’s not uncommon for his face to be illuminated, but his eyes very dark and almost sunken into his head. This is the same technique used by Gordon Willis on “The Godfather Pt 1” for Marlon Brando. His justification for this was that you never know what this guy is up to, he’s always in the shadows, he’s a real bad guy. This exact thing applies to Slone, and I think that the lighting really shows that here.

It’s important to note that lighting plays a major role on “Alias” because of the espionage thing. It is a show about lurking in the shadows, watching people who don’t know they are being watched. And I think that the balance between light and shadow is essential to a show like “Alias” for that reason. It is what honestly tells the story through pictures.

There are a number of other features that standout with “Alias”, but those two are by the far the biggest.

Having researched “Alias” which involved countless hours watching DVD extras, and some internet browsing, I’ve also concluded that “Alias” not only appeals to me on both a consumer/ viewer level, as well as a proddie aesthetics level, but it also appeals to my own personal leanings within production. By this I mean that “Alias” is the prime example of the production pyramid (preproduction is the foundation and takes up the most time/energy etc, production in the middle and post is at the top taking the least of these things). It may not seem like it, but far more effort goes into production compared to post production, even though production is only 8 days. The level of effort and people involved, and resources utilized in those 8 days are so much more intense than what follows in post. Nevertheless, at the small time I’ve spent learning and making T.V. I can say that the part that appeals to me the most is the preproduction. Aspects of both production and post I find also very exciting, but the preproduction is where it’s at for me, so I enjoy that aspect of “Alias” also.

It’s no simply statement that I’m a big fan of “Alias”. However, to me it’s more than a show (no, this isn’t the part of the blog where I announce my cult). Alias to me is a textbook of what can be done on television. From studying the scenes and production elements (which I’ve been doing long before this blog came about) I‘ve learned to think about the different things that can be done to more effectively tell a story, and to think more about my art.

Resources:
Alias Season one:
Episodes: -Truth Be Told

Extra features: - Alias production diary
- In side stunts
- Deleted scenes
- Gag reels (these are heaps useful because they often screw up and the crew get after cut is called and you can often see equipment or lighting set ups you were never meant to see).

Alias Season Two
Episodes: - The Telling

Extra features: - The making of ‘The Telling’
- The look of Alias
- Season Two Blooper reel
- Second Double audio commentary
- The Telling audio commentary

Alias Season Three:

Episode: - Resurrection

Extra features: - Alias up close: Behind the scenes with the cast and crew
- Burbank to Barcelona
- Blooper reels

Alias Season Four:

Episode: - Authorized Personnel Only Pt. 1
- Another Mister Slone
- Search and Rescue
- Before the Flood

Extra features: - bloopers reel
- director’s diary
- anatomy of a scene

Additional resources

http://www.alias-tv.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285333/

Douglas, Pamela. Writing The T.V Drama Series. Michael Weise Productions. 2005.

Gordon Willis featurette on The Godfather DVD Collection Bonus Material.

Comparing a national and regional news story

2006-05-04T22:22:00.000-07:00

Comparing national news stories with local news stories

There are many differences between news stories produced for both national and local (regional) markets, especially with regards to the various production elements such as camera work, content, editing (and with that pace), and a number of other techniques.

However, before considering the various production elements that differentiate the two forms of news, additional factors that effect these various elements must first be considered. The audience for which the broadcast is being made plays a fundamental role in regarding production elements, as they need to fit with the purpose of the story. Most national and regional news broadcasts are of the same length (both Channel Seven’s Nightly News at 6pm and Prime Wagga’s nightly broadcast at 6pm both go for about 22mins). This means that both news services have only about the same time in which to convey substantial amount of information. Logically there will be more news within the context of a national environment compared to a regional environment, thus a national news stories must only cover news issues that are considered relevant to a wide range of people. They can not cover issues that only effect a very specialized group of people (especially geographically specialized). Regional news on the other hand is designed for such a purpose, to inform a specialized group of people. This means that the news that they cover will be more specified to that particular area, covering issues that would not make national classification.

Journalism aims to objectively present news and current affairs to viewers. In addition (and I understand that I’m treading on some very controversial ground here), news can only really present stories and issues that the public want to see. Journalists, news editors and the likes can select what does and doesn’t make it to air, but that can not (arguably) manufacture people’s interest in them. Thus, journalists must stick to the golden rule of marketing “give the people what they want”.

The relevance of all this is basically to point out that news aims to report the things people want to see and are interested in. But this has profound effect of what they can and will show, which in turn effects the various production elements of a news story.

People in regional areas are concerned with what’s happening in their area and how it will effect them. Thus stories will reflect that need, being centralized and covering issues that may seem to an audience not from that area as trivial, but for locals it is of great importance. For example, Prime Local News had a story on new public toilets that had been build at a public race track – and that’s all the story was about, new public toilets. It was something that was important to them, however it had serious implications to the production elements. There wasn’t a wide body of sources or opinions to call on for this one so there was the one simple statement from the Shire’s Mayor. Then, for the remained of the story it was pretty much Bruce’s Ten out of the front of a public toilet. There was very little to shoot, that were public toilets (and the camera can’t go inside). This in turn effects the editing, it’s not going to be fast paced with quick cuts, it was just shots of a toilet block with a journalist doing a voice over (it’s duration was about 1:30 mins)

In contrast, looking at a national news story, the recent riots that are occurring in the Solomon Islands was the product of the collective interests of the nation. Regardless of where people live in Australia, this effects them and is important. This has major effects on both the content and the production elements for the story.

Content is heavily effected by the seriousness of the story. People want to know where they (as a part of a collective nation) stand and what other people are saying about it. Thus, it will have a number of interviews, John Howard, Alexander Downer, Kevin Rudd. In addition evacuees from the trouble spots, with a number of VOXPOP style interviews with people returning from the area telling of their harrowing experience. Furthermore, there was voice grabs of a news correspondent in the Solomon Islands, which is just an ‘arty’ graphic of a mobile phone, the name of the person talking and their picture. Plus knowing what’s being said about modern television audiences demand to see what’s going on (like that’s some kind of weird condition for watching the news), so the story will need to contain footage of the rioting and the general situation over there, which is usually a mixture of footage the network has shot themselves and bought from other networks (CNN, BBC, American’s ABC etc). The story also contains any public addresses that important people in the area (i.e. the President) have to say.

It is clear that there is an overwhelming amount of information in this story (especially compared to the regional news story) which has serious implications for the production elements of the piece, especially seeing that it ran for only about 2:30mins. All this information is very confusing and it would be very easy to get lost, thus the journalist needs to “interpret” it and summarize the facts in a voice over. As it needs to fit a lot of information in, the voice over will be fast paced and will avoid repeating detail that can be shown. Editing is also effected in a similar way, that it needs to convey through vision and sound lots of information as quickly as practical. Thus, it there will be lots of quick cuts and short clips. Also, there are a lot of ‘L’ and ‘J’ cuts around grabs from interviews which (this is just my opinion, but the logic makes sense) serves the purpose of the “L” ”J” cut, that is easing the audience into the transition more easily, which would help them keep up in a very fast paced news story, such as this one.

Camera work is also very heavily effected by the type of story it is. Interview grabs from politicians and other important people are just single shots and occur at mass press briefings which means that what ever position you can fight to get is basically all the control the camera operator has over what the shot looks like. Camera work in riot areas is often substandard quality, being either (or both) shaky or full of noise from low light, however this is generally excepted by audiences (they understand if cameraman choose not to get to close to a war zone). Other footage is bought, which the camera operator has no control over whatsoever, and is often in NTSC, making it flat and grayish due to missing fields.

Thus it is clear that there are many differences between regional and national news stories, and that those differences have serious implications on the various production elements of each story.

Compare and Contrast two documentaries

2006-04-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

Compare and contrast two documentaries.

There are many different approaches to making documentaries, to telling the story and making the point, and thus the many different elements such camerawork, music, lighting, music, special effects and editing vary from piece to piece.

Two documentaries that take a very different angle to in their approach are the episode of “Australian Story” about drug trafficker and Bali 9 member Scott Rush and the episode “The Great Ship” from the BBC’s documentary series “Seven Wonders of the Industrial World”. These two documentaries both have very differing approaches and features which effects their overall look and feel.

The primary feature to consider when comparing and contrasting is purpose and rational, what is the topic and what is it that is trying to be achieved. In the case of Australian Story, the topic is about the arrest and trial of Scott Rush and its effects on him and his family and friends, describing their emotional journey as they recount the events leading up to Scott’s verdict. Thus is it a very personal story in nature, about people and their experiences and feelings, while at the same time explaining Scott’s story and some of the context (i.e. what Bali is like, how their courts system works, how prison works).

However, in the “Seven Wonders of the Industrial World” episode “The Great Ship”, the purpose and rational are markedly different. It is a historical documentary about the creation of the gigantic ship The Great Eastern in 1851 by pioneer engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The documentary seeks to tell the story of how this ship was created, the people and the problems involved, and the results and advances in technology it had. It does have a strong focus on the characters involved, but it is not the major focus like Australian Story. In addition, “The Great Ship” has a definite aim to connect this occurrence of the past with current society, where as “Australian Story” is showing something that is happening now.

The second major consideration when comparing and contrasting these two documentaries is audience (who is this aimed at?) and marketing (market prospects e.g. initial outlay with relation to potential revenue). With everything made for broadcast and public screening there has to come a point where the creative side of things meets the commercial/business side of things, and compromises need to be made. Thus it is important to understand this aspect of the documentaries as it effects how they tell their story and how much of a budget they will have to execute their story. “Australian Story” is a product mainly for a domestic market as this issue which is very important in Australia has little relevance to most other countries. This has both positive and negative effects for the documentary makers; positive as they can assume the their audience (Australians) will have at least some idea about the issue and will probably have been exposed to it through the media, negative is that because their market is more specialized they will have a much smaller prospect of return and thus a small budget. Both those factors will effect style and content (discussed later) for the piece.

However, in the case of “The Great Ship” is has a far higher prospect for financial return, as it’s aimed at a much wider audience, targeting both domestic and international markets, thus it would have a larger budget and be more “high end”. As a result, the way in which the documentary makers can tell their story is heavily influences by this factor.

These features are just basic differences between the two documentaries, but nevertheless fundamental to how the piece will turn out. Aim and purpose, as well as considering audience, plus resources available are features of a documentary that dictate to a large extent its style and content.

In addition to those various features, “Australian Story” and “The Great Ship” are in stark contrast with regards to their content and style. The content that the two documentaries cover are very heavily effected by both what they need to cover to say what it is they say, their purpose, and to say it in a way their audience understands it. Also what resources they have at their disposal, especially money, define what they can do. Content is largely covered by the aim of the piece. In the case of “Australian Story” it’s very personal in nature, it is the story of people and their emotions, but it’s also about the change in environment, life in Indonesia, and the trafficking of drugs to Indonesia. These various features of “Australian Story” effect the various features of documentary making that give the piece style; camera work, lighting, editing, music and narration, special effects and graphics.

“Australian Story” has a very unique and distinct approach in its style, having no narrator but having the people whom the documentary is about narrate it through segments of their interviews, usually with visuals relating to what it being said. They also have interviews, which is a fairly traditional MCU style shot. The lighting in this is very specific though as it largely tells the story, as different people have different lighting for different effect. In the case of the mother, Christine Rush, she is well lit, with very soft and worm lighting, and a slight spill on the background, which is a warm orange, to give it a warm feel (the whole scene is warm, with nice soft colours, and the camera has probably been white balanced to a light blue cloth). The effect is that the mother seems nice, and when she gets emotional and cries, which she does a fair bit, it’s much easier to feel for her. Further highlighting how lighting helps to create the intended style or feel, when Mike Phelan, head of the Australian Federal Police is being interviewed, his lighting is very dark, with almost half his face in shadow, and a very dark background. This makes not only him seem dark and sinister, but it gives the audience the feeling of the seriousness and the sinister nature of the events that have transpired.

The story also contains re-enactments of events, such as the Barrister, Bob Myers, calling the Rushes to tell them of the arrest of their son, and Q.C. Colin McDonald going through his case files as if for the first time. The camera work here is very dramatic, almost like from a fiction piece, with slow dollies along the desk, or subtle pull focuses. The lighting in those particular sections is also very dramatic, and somewhat sinister also to reinforce the serious nature of the charges against Scott Rush.

The piece also contains strong elements of cinema verite, with handheld, observational style footage. This is a major component of “Australian Story”, and really helps to give it a very personal feel, including the audience in the lives of those involved. One clear example of this is when Ian and Christine Rush are gathering supplies for their son Scott in Indonesia, and all the difficulties and language barriers they face. Also significant is the scene where Indonesian guards storm the prison during the riot, and the Rush family are shown watching. This reinforces the viewer the heartache and helplessness they are experiencing by just standing there, as well as the chaos of the situation with camera moving with the soldiers, making it more emotive and personal. The other clear example of very observational camerawork is when Ian and Christine are sitting around their kitchen table looking through old photos of the family together, making the audience feel almost like they are a part of what is transpiring. The camera work is very diverse throughout “Australian Story”, and the various different techniques used give it not only its style, but also its emotive qualities.

There is minimal music, only really over montages, and most of the sound is natural sound.

There is no special effects used in “Australian Story”, and only two written slates explaining the story further, which occur at the end of the piece.

One thing that the story does make effective use of is photos and additional footage. When the family recount their memories of Scott growing up there is a montage of old family and portrait photos, which also helps to make the issue personal. The use of surveillance footage, and police security footage of the strip search of Scott and the other Bali Nine give clear indication what it was that Scott went through and how terrified he would have been, thus making the audience feel for him.

The real key to “Australian Story” is in its editing, because it is how all the different testimonies are pieced together that tells the story. This is especially true with the way the audio is edited to give a continuous running commentary to events or opinions. Furthermore, interviews are edited to give new insights into the event, like for example Bob Myers asking for who ever was responsible for the arrest of Scott Rush to come forward and give an account for their actions, then it cuts to Mike Phelan of the AFP claiming responsibility for the arrest and justifying his actions.
It is through these various features that “Australian Story” achieves its purpose and gives an emotional and human account of an event to its audience in its makers desired style.

However, the content, and thus the style, of “The Great Ship”, is very different to that of “Australian Story”. Being a historical documentary it aims at presenting the past (people, events etc) and how it relates to today. Although it is still concerned with the historical figures, it is not focused on the emotional journey of the people involved, but more the events that transpired and how they dealt with them. As content effect style, the various features of the documentary are heavily effected by the intended content.

The camera work in “The Great Ship” is very varied, like “Australian Story”. Although it is covering an historical event, with people that are long dead, it uses actors for recreations, and has interviews with them, using written sources to work out what they would have said (often quoting from their personal journals from the time). These interviews take place at a number of locations, such as in an office or on sight during the ships construction. These interviews are very traditional, MCU types. The lighting varies due to location, but exterior lighting is usually just three point lighting with a strong key as a dedicated light source. Interior lighting is usually more dramatic, with shadows being cast across characters faces, especially when discussing things like financial problems. Much of the camera work throughout the piece is traditional documentary style, with almost no cinema verite. It is important to note that everything in the piece is recreated and staged. General reenactments play a major role throughout the piece, such as Brunel walking around the construction site, or discussing plans with his technicians. The camerawork for this is very traditional, like that from one hour drama, and the feel it gives is less engaging with the characters emotions, but more getting an overview of the occurrences while engaging the audience in the story. There is one particular feature of the documentary that has profound effects on camerawork, which is the use of special effects and green screening. Due to the nature of the piece, being about a gigantic ship, and given its high end budget, the use of green screening to recreate the ship is employed to convey the qualities of the ship itself (design, size etc). Shots that involve people need to be filmed, and then compositing is required in post production to include the ship, which effects the camera work.

Music also plays a major role, mainly to convey emotion, such as the uplifting and triumphant score that runs under the sequence where ship finally is launched, or the dark and almost gothic piece that accompanies the scene when the wreckers begin to pull the ship apart and find two corpses in the hull (two kids who worked as riveters during the building of the ship that were probably locked in the hull alive. The documentary outlines how many at the time believed that the ship was cursed, as it suffered great financial failure, as a result of the death of these two children).

As well as green screening, CGI is also used to bring diagrams to life and give them movement.
The editing also plays a major element in the overall feel of the piece but it is very different from that of “Australian Story”. There are two major differences between the two documentaries with regards to editing. The first is that “Australian Story” is the kind of piece that would have been written in the edit suit, where as “The Great Ship” would have been written first as a script as it is historical, thus its form already exists. The second major difference would be that “Australian Story relies on the testimonies of the people involved for voiceover commentary, where as “The Great Ship” has a narrator who tells the story. The editing for “The Great Ship” helps to give the piece clear and definable structure, not only in sequencing all the different occurrences and interviews together, but also by giving it a beginning, middle and end. The middle is just the story of events in chronological order, however, the beginning is a montage that outlines what the documentary is about, and works almost like a teaser with flashy shots and quick cuts. The end is also a montage, but it highlights the link between these events and the present day, showing the effects of the ship, and what it did after its maiden voyage and Brunel’s death, thus achieving the desired aim of the piece.

These various features of “The Great Ship” give the documentary its desired style and fulfill its aim, which is to inform and entertain viewers about an historical event and the people involved.

Thus it is clear that there are many differences between the “Australian Story” episode about Bali Nine member Scott Rush, and the BBC’s “The Great Ship” from the series “Seven Wonders of the Industrial World”. These different elements culminate to produce two very different bodies of work, which is heavily dictated by factors such as aim, audience and marketing and desired style and content and has profound effect on elements such as camerawork, lighting, music and sound, special effects and editing.

Writing the proposal and who to send it to - for Documentary

2006-03-25T17:54:00.000-08:00

The proposal is a written package outlining the various aspects of the intended documentary, from subject to style, background to budget.

However, before writing the proposal there are a few issues to consider in order for the proposal to serve its propose. One of the major pressing issues at the developmental stages of a documentary is whether proposal or research should come first. There are both positives and negatives for doing either first. However, Rosenthal sheds some light on the issue explaining that “in practice, proposal and research are totally intertwined and march forward together”. This approach makes logical sense, but may prove a difficult work load before funding is approved, especially if the documentary’s producer/director is doing this in their spare time around full time employment (which is not that unheard of).
In this situation, there’s one immediate solution, the golden rule of “write what you know”. As obvious as it may seem, topics that the producer/director aim to make into documentaries are something that they are not only interested in, but something that they have already looked into. This could be as simple as going to the library and getting books, doing a “google” on the web, visiting a museum or talking to people relating to subject. Immersing oneself into their chosen topic and finding out as much information as possible is one of the best things a producer/director can do (not to the level that would be achieved once funding was approved, but still to a substantial degree). Furthermore, make notes, as many notes as possible and keep going over the notes to get as familiar as possible with the subject. By doing simple things like that, writing the proposal will be substantially easier, and will help give a more definite approach to the subject.

The proposal serves a number of purposes, however “a proposal is, first and foremost, a device to sell a film”. The proposal acts as a sort of representative of what the director/producer wants to achieve before an actual formal meeting between the potential buyers/investors and the director/producer occurs. This fact has serious implications on how the proposal is written, in terms of style, content, language, format and length. Writing a proposal for a documentary television series with Channel Seven as the potential buyers compared to making a short film for Wagga Wagga local council would be very different and would have to be approached in very different ways. The idea of who to send it to (i.e the buyer or client) should not be an after thought. It is just as important to research the persons or institutions the director/producer thinks will be interested in their project.

So what exactly is needed in a proposal for a documentary? There are no absolute rules, however, for corporate buyers, such as television stations, they would likely have a set of requirements and probably a style guide for how to write and set out a proposal for a documentary. Rosenthal gives a detailed list of items that he includes in his standard proposals, such as: film statement; background and need; approach, form and style; budget; audience, marketing and distribution; filmmaker’s biography and support letters; miscellaneous additional elements.

Film statement: A brief formal outline describing the subject matter, audience, length and format to be shot on (e.g. DV Cam) and a working title.

Background and need: Background summarizes the history behind the subject matter, giving the context. Its length will vary, but it’s purpose remains the same, that is a hook to get the reader involved, to make them feel that the chosen subject would in fact make an interesting documentary.

Approach, form and style: Approach refers to the method of execution, how the director/producer intends to tackle the subject matter. The approach is usually the part that drawns the most interest, because that’s how the story’s going to be told. Michael Rabiger gives a good listing of features that should be present in the approach that he argues are essential for a good documentary. They include: Tells a good story; having good characters with goals who face confrontations and conflicts with people and other events leading to dramatic tension which in some way makes them grow or change; making human truths evident through human behavior and delve into the human condition; to inform, entertain and emotionally move audiences; have a resolution.
These are just some of the things that need to be considered when writing up approach and working out how the piece will join and flow together to create an interesting ad emotionally charged story.
Form and style refers to the way in which the method of execution will take place. It refers to the formal structure of the piece e.g general essay, illustrative story, experimental, as well as the filmic style, e.g Cinema Verite, classic style documentary.
It can also refer to things such as how up beat, cutting edge, and modern it will be.
Form, style and approach is directly linked to who the buyer is, as well as audience and marketing. These additional factors need to be kept in mind when working out how the piece is to look, and how it is to communicate its message.

Budget: Obviously any potential buyer or investor will want to know what the project will cost them. Also, any smart investor wants the maximum return from their investments, which often means reduced expenditure, so they want to have some idea of where their money is being spent. At the proposal stage it is often only a draft budget, however, having a solid idea about costs and budgeting can help to convince investors to come on board as they can be confident that their interests are being looked after.
In addition to budgeting, a shooting schedule with approximated costs may also be provided.

Audience, marketing and distribution: Marketing and distribution in the proposal are only drafts, and are often issues that are decided either between the producer/director and the buyers, or without the producer/director at all. This stage is often optional and is often very difficult. However, audience is something that is very important, even if it’s as simple as a few lines indicating the audience the documentary is appealing to and how it targets them.

Filmmaker’s biography and support letters: Just like any other job, employers (or investors) like to know who they are working with and that they are professional and reliable. Filmmakers biography and support letters are just like a resume, and can help sell the producer/director, their abilities and their project based on previous success.

Miscellaneous additional elements: Anything else extra that helps communicate your idea and your subject.

It is clear that the proposal is a very important document in making documentaries, and one that required a lot of time, energy and hard work. However, as in all productions, having the pre-production tight is always a very solid step towards a tight production that informs, entertains and leaves an impact on audiences.

References:
Rosenthal, Alan. Writing, Directing and Producing Documentary Films and Videos. Southern Illinois University Press. 2002. pp. 33-50.

Rabiger, Michael. Directing the Documentary. Focal Press. Burlington. 2004. pp.207-225.

Ben Ulm lecture at Charles Sturt University 2005.

Test post

2006-03-20T04:09:00.000-08:00

This is a test post.