Editing Session

Today we had an edit booth booked so that we could concentrate on aiming towards a final edit for our narrative. Peter and I used the shots that I cut from Sam's interview and fit these into the timeline we had of the rest of the documentary.

We've made a lot of cuts to the video, essentially removing the majority of interviews we filmed. The documentary is now revolved around Sam DS. but also with the perspective of Sam GP. In the beginning of the narrative, Sam DS talks about how skateboarding is an isolated sport, and how that relates to his introverted character. 

This then moves on to how many people are unaware of what skaters do in their day to day activities. This transitions to an interview we filmed in London, in which a father and son debate about whether or not there is a surrounding drug culture to skateboarding. After this Sam DS admits that he did start taking drugs because of skateboarding. Sam GP expands on this and relates back to how a lot of kids will miss school to go to the skate park, and how some of them even sell drugs there. At the end of his discussion he states how skateboarding is more beneficial than being negative.

The narrative then follows as both Sams analyse the skaters psyches and their reasoning for being drawn to the skate park. They talk about how a small community is formed.

The documentary ends with Sam DS commentary on how skateboarders are "not part of the norm" but it's still valuable being a skater.

I think that our narrative now flows a lot better than before, as it makes sense having less interviews. We decided to cut most of them out because most of what they said was quite general, rather than being connected to a personal matter. Also by using various subjects in a vox pop style, it was too much like a news report rather than a gripping documentary.

Workshop 10

In class today, our group reviewed the interview that we recorded with Sam. We cut out the best bits that were most useful to our narrative. A lot of it was quite repetitive so we just used the parts that articulated the message in the best way. 

Pete had also put together an opening sequence with some the shots we filmed. He timed this to slow, hip-hop music.

We also revised the previous outline for the narrative that we had, making amendments to fit with Sam's answers:

Opening

• Broadly defining skateboarding as a culture
• The negative aspects of the culture
• How other people perceive it

Middle

• How skateboarding forms its own community
• The personal effects of skate culture

Ending

• It isn't about yourself as an individual but how one exists as a skater within the wider community

Day 4 Shoot

I used the DSLR camera to take some pictures for the publicity stills that we need to submit for the assessment:

We filmed quite a lot of fill shots of Sam performing actions. We did this from many different view points. This was to make our documentary look more like it's following a narrative, because at the moment it looks quite disjointed with too many cutaways. We filmed shots that would follow on from each other in slow motion.

We filmed Sam from behind as he walked towards the skate bowl. This was to give the audience an insight to his preparation to skateboarding, not just showing off tricks.

We also filmed from the top of the bowl and inside the bowl, so that we'd be able to edit in the match on action style.

We also recorded an interview with Sam. His answers were in depth and he gave his own personal experiences regarding skateboarding. He spoke about how it can be an isolated sport and how this relates to his own introverted personality. Moreover he spoke about his own experiences with getting into drugs because of skateboarding. These answers were perfect for our documentary because they expand on the brief answers we already got from previous interviews, yet in a more personal way.

I also edited a few of the photographs I took. Following the conventions of the skateboarding photography that I researched, I used black and white with high contrast:

Photography + Videography inspiration

For the assessment we must submit 2 publicity stills and a DVD cover. I wasn't too sure what these publicity shots should look like, therefore I conducted some research into how these usually are.

• A film still (sometimes called a publicity still or a production still) is a photograph taken on or off the set of a movie or television program during production. These photographs are also taken in formal studio settings and venues of opportunity such as film stars' homes, film debut events, and commercial settings.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_still
• They tell us the mood of the story we can expect to see unfold on screen and particular still images have become iconic in the world of cinema.
  You may have made the best film in the world but without good quality stills and specials* photography [arranged advertising shoots usually done in a studio setup] to support a solid marketing campaign, no one will see it.
  The thing with docs is that you never know exactly how the story’s going to unfold, which characters are going to end up being important. So you probably ought to be taking stills all along the way.
  
  http://independent-magazine.org/2013/01/hermine-muskat_importance_still_photographer_during_production/

On our next shoot, I will take a camera so that I can take some photographs to use for stills and on the DVD cover. I've looked into skateboarding photography for inspiration:

http://exposemag.ca/ten-years-of-israeli-skate-culture-documented-in-love-child/

http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21524/1/gosha-rubchinskiy-exclusive-images

http://stupiddope.com/2013/09/17/the-new-york-times-highlights-new-york-skate-photographer-allen-ying/

http://theurbanathletica.com/featured/skate-freshness-levis-launches-skateboarding-collection

http://time.com/4163592/native-american-skateboarding-lakota/

The conventions of these photographs is that most of them are black and white with high contrast, which is a style that I like to use anyway. The images not only show the subjects skateboarding, but their connection to their locations and attachment to their boards. Most of the pictures appear to be candid rather than posed.

I also found these videos from Levi Skateboarding:

This documentary is inspiring because it doesn't have much 'talking heads'. It seems like all the interviews were pre-recorded in a studio. The visuals don't necessarily match everything that the interviewees are talking about but show their environment and activities as a whole.

It not only talks about skateboarding and the tricks that are performed, but talks about the subjects personal experiences in their local area. I think that our documentary needs to have a deeper subject matter like this in order to engage the audience.

Prep for tomorrow's shot

Tomorrow we will be filming with a skateboarder, Sam, in order to gain more personal answers that both relate to the brief, and the interview answers we already have.

Interview questions:

• How long have you been skating?
• How often do you skateboard?
• What does skateboarding mean to you personally?
• What kind of impact does it have on your everyday life?

• Are there any negative aspects that effect you personally?
• How do others view you as a skater?
• Do you think there is a surrounding drug culture?
• If so, do you have any personal stories related to this?
• What would you say in response to these negative aspects?
• Would you say skateboarding is beneficial? Why?
• How would you justify skate culture?
• Do you think there's a wider skateboarding culture?
• Would you say that skaters are outcast from the rest of society?
• Thoughts on professional skateboarding?
• What do people think of you being a skater - not cool?
• Are you part of skate community?

We also plan to film at The Level again and get some more shots of the skateboarders. We would like this to look more artistic than the shots we already have. This idea is inspired by Fitzroy Lodge, which features 5 different boxers:

Structuring Narrative

I went through all the footage we have, combining the interviews from the last shoot and from what he had in the pilot. I created a very rough structure of our narrative.

The opening of the documentary will feature a personal interview from the main subject, Tristan. Maddie recorded this interview alone so I have not listened to it yet. However I left a space for where this should go, and put some cutaways from when we previously filmed him.

The next part of the video will feature the oppositional view of skateboarding. The main topics covered in the interviews were:

• Parents think there is a correlation between skateboarding and drug culture
• Abundant stereotypes of meat heads/slackers
• Some people often miss school to smoke at skatepark

This then transitions into the idea that these preconceptions aren't true. Instead it is argued that skateboarding is beneficial. The interviews state that the skaters push each other to do more tricks. The video will then show footage of these skateboarding performing, in an observational style, without narration.

The next section is from the skateboarders perspectives and how they justify their own culture. The points raised were:

• Skateboarding been around since 50s/60s
• Appeals to different age ranges
• More than just a sport
• A lot of skaters working class
• Has a sense of freedom 

The conclusion of the documentary is centred around the idea that skateboarders are outcast from society.

• When they were younger it was not cool to skate
• Now it has become more popular
• Some people think it's lame
• Through skateboarding you become accepted into a small community
• Not accepted as a real career
• Not enough resources/skateparks 
• More skateparks, might be better in the future 

Looking Through Footage

I went through all the footage that we filmed in London, and cut up everything that was useable. We have 10 minutes of interview that we can use, and 7 minutes of cutaway footage.

There were a few main topics mentioned that overlapped in the different interviews. These were:

• Skate culture viewed as delinquent
• Not sustainable (not enough resources)
• It's not as bad as people think
• Not many places to skate
• A lot of people dislike skate culture
  Think that it's lame
  Not serious
• Have to push each other to be better

I think we should group these ideas together, to form the basis our documentary. We can use the negative ideas and then relate back to how the skaters view themselves, and the benefits of skateboarding. I think it was interesting to hear the responses of the children who were aged 11 and their thoughts on skateboarding in the future. I think it would be good to end our documentary by making the audience think about these ideas, in a rhetorical style.

Jessie and I watched one of the student videos from last year to get some ideas on how to improve our own video:
To You, The Sea

• Establishing/location shot (x3)
• Mid shot of subject looking directly into the camera
• Subject performing action (swimming, surfing, etc.)
• How the sea impacts the subject's life

I think for our introduction we should include a montage of slow motion shots of our subject. This would give the audience a dramatic insight to the main character, whilst building up to the main narrative.