Vegetarian Documentary: The Official Title

The working title of the documentary film throughout has been “Green Beans and Everything in Between”. However, after looking after all the footage, we were unsure if this title still fitted in with what would appear onscreen.

 

We came up with a couple of other possible ideas for titles:

Suitable for Vegetarians

A Vegeducation

Vegetarian Options Available

After a brief discussion with our tutor about it, we have been convinced to keep to title as it is, as our tutor feels it sums up the film and that the quirkiness of the title reflects the quirkiness of our interview subject.

Vegetarian Documentary: Logging and Reviewing footage

I felt a lot more confident going in to look at the rushes of our interview with Richard with the Director. I think we both knew that the shots were a lot stronger and better thought out. It was a relief to see this reflected onscreen when we looked through the footage. I also feel that the sound recorded in the interview is a lot stronger and smoother than the sound recorded in the previous interview which I am glad about because as it is a documentary, sound is very important for the audience to hear the information. I used a boom mic to record sound for this interview rather than a lapel mic, as I found when I used a lapel mic on the first interview, it picked up a lot of rustling sounds whenever Lindsey touched her hair or shuffled in the seat, which was quite distracting. I also found it easier to maintain levels on this shoot as Richard had quite a clear, level voice whereas Lindsey’s voice grew in noticeable volume whenever she answered more of the question.

 

I think the main problem with our edit will be deciding which parts of the interview to include, and what parts to leave out, as I feel all of it is interesting and could teach people a lot about the vegetarian lifestyle and the stigma attached to it.

 

 

 

Ducky Steps: Logging and Reviewing Footage

After a shoot, I never feel a 100% relaxed until I see the footage either as rushes or in the editing programme. I had the footage on my laptop over the Easter break, however it was very low quality due to the programming on my computer and although I was happy with the majority of the shots, I couldn’t be certain due to them not playing in the right quality.

 

Sitting down with my Director as she logged the footage, we discovered that the final beach scene we had shot late at night was far too dark. The footage was grainy, and the small light we had used to try and illuminate the characters face was at times very obvious.

 As a result we have decided to reshoot the beach scenes. We have a better idea of what shots we want to do for it, so it wasn’t an entire waste. We were both happy with the rest of the beach scenes.

 

We are both also really happy with the scenes shot on Tuesday 6^th May. Unfortunately I wasn’t present at that shoot as I couldn’t get out of my shift at work, and the shoot was only confirmed a couple of days beforehand. I was quite annoyed not be there, but I made sure I was on hand on the days leading up to the shoot to plan it and make sure the Director knew and was comfortable with what she was shooting on that day. I was told the shoot went well, but again, I wasn’t relaxed about it until I saw the footage.

 

Both the Director and I were really pleased with the Tuesday shoot scenes. I think the camera shots are interesting and the lighting reflects the film noir style of the film.

 

We do still have one small scene left to shoot in the studio. I found someone to play the character for Vera, and the Director and I met with her, and were really happy with her for the role. Unfortunately on the night before the shoot, the Vera texted me to tell me she had been called in to work when we had planned to film.

 

We decided to alter the script slightly so the character of Vera is no longer needed, as that character is causing too many problems and we need to get the remainder of the film shot.

 

 

Ducky Steps Shot Lists

Here is a copy of the shot lists we have developed for the film. There are three separate shot lists for the three different days shoot. The shot lists help to give us a better idea of how long each shoot will take.

1. INT. OFFICE- NIGHT

 

Shot No.	Shot Type	Action	Other
1	Wide shot establishing scene. Pans slowly across room	Barney at desk
2	Low angle MCU	Barney writing	Tightly framed
3	CU of hands	Barney writing
4	Dutch tilt from writing to his face	Barney concentrating on writing
5	Mid shot	Barney is startled as he is interrupted
6	Mid shot- dolly in an arc around desk	Barney looks around
7	Mid shot	“Uhm”	Make sure framing matches café scene- take photos to make sure.
2. INT. OFFICE- NIGHT
8	Wide shot- tilt up as he paces	Barney is pacing the room
9	CU	He looks through blind?
10/11/12/13/14	Mid Shot/ Wide shot from different angles (5)	He paces	Stationary shots
15	MCU	Pacing
16	CU of face	Pacing
3. INT. OFFICE- NIGHT
	Wide shot	Barney lies sprawled at his desk
	CU of Barney’s face	Voiceover and Barney sighs. Off-screen Vera “Your little friend’s right you know.”
	Wide Shot (POV)	Looking at the room
	Mid shot	Vera talks: “He didn’t think you were weak… out of you.”
	Wide shot	Barney gets up	Moves from background to foreground
	CU	Vera: “but you must be.”
	Mid shot	Vera stands up
	Mid shot	Barney steps forwards and points at Vera
	Mid shot- pans and follows Vera. Camera stops when both B and V are in frame - TPS	Vera walks towards Barney. Vera: “You can’t undo… try to fix it”
	Two Person Shot	Vera walks out screen left. Barney takes another step into screen left.
	Mid shot	Vera stops on screen left. She turns her head “You can start by getting that duck…”
	Close up	Barney looks thoughtful (Screen right)

 

Ducky Steps: Shooting Schedule Tuesday 6th May

DUCKY STEPS SHOOTING SCHEDULE TUESDAY 6^TH MAY

 

MONDAY 5^th MAY: Collect equipment from Victoria: Canon XF 100, boom mic, sound mixer etc.

 

TUESDAY 6^TH MAY
Collect tripod and headphones from Steven

 

MORNING SHOOT

Location: Millfield Studio

Anya Call time: 9am
Crew Call Time: 9:30am
Cast Call Time: 10:30am
Crew: Matt
Cast: CHRIS, PAULINA

 

Costumes:
CHRIS: Suit (the same as beach time)
PAULINA: Black dress, heels, red lips

 

Props:
Table and Chair (get from radio studio)
Notebook (same as beach shoot) - ANYA
Office stuff- Paperwork, Stationary- ANYA and take from radio room
Vera mermaid prop- ANYA
Sofa: TV Studio

 

SCHEDULE

 

9am- Find Joe and make sure studio and gallery are open etc.

9:30- 10:30- Set up studio: Move furniture in, set up props, set up lighting.
 
10:30- Meet Paulina at reception. Meet Chris.

10:45 (11 at the latest) Start shoot- Paulina’s scene first- 3. Then do 1 and 2.

 

AFTERNOON SHOOT

Location: Holohans, The Barge

Cast: Chris, Beth, Michael, Luke

Crew: Matt

Costumes: All: “Work” clothes.

Props: Writing Book (Words from scene 1 to be written in it already) - ANYA

 

SCHEDULE
3pm: Be at the Barge, film cutaways of the exterior, set up inside etc

3:30pm- Crew arrive (if not already with Anya at 3pm)

3:45- 4pm: Cast arrive

4:15pm- Begin shooting

Vegetarian Documentary: Richard Interview

We filmed our interview with Richard today, at Victoria's house.
We used the following equipment: Canon XF 100, Boom mic, Sound Mixer

I felt that this interview was a lot more successful than our first interview. We had planned out various different shots we wanted to use in a meeting previously and we decided to change the camera shots every two to three questions so that we knew we had plenty of variety when it came to editing the footage.

We took on board what our tutor had said to us about making use of the background. We put products suitable for vegetarians behind Richard so that any background space was filled with products directly relating to the subject of the film. We made sure to include a lot of colour and variety to make it more interesting. Having the products in the background proved quite useful as it meant at certain stages during the interview Richard was able to pick up an item and talk about or to illustrate his point through use of a product.

Richard gave very interesting answers, and he was very concise and knowledgeable. I definitely learnt a few things about vegetarianism from this interview, which can only be a good sign!

Here are some photos from our shoot:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ducky Steps Communication Issues

Since going on Easter break, I have found it increasingly difficult to contact the Director of Ducky Steps. This was because of the director not having any credit on their phone/ internet access being dodgy/ phone being turned off or misplaced. In another circumstance, I would have arranged a meeting face to face, however I know from experience that timekeeping isn't a skill the Director has greatly mastered so was reluctant to do so as I was very busy and didn't want to have to waste time waiting around for someone.

As a "solution" to these communication issues, I make a point of texting/ emailing and facebooking the Director about the same thing in order to make sure my message gets seen. It is a bit annoying but as long as it produces results I don't really mind doing it. For the organisation of our beach shoot, I gave my number to all the cast just in case they couldn't reach Anya.

However, still feel I am being kept out of the loop to certain extent in regards to the information the Director gives me. Often I find out information about problems that have arisen from other people, rather than from the Director themselves despite me confirming details and being reassured that certain details are sorted.

Obviously I realise that people sometimes get mixed up and make mistakes but I feel frustrated that I am trying to organise shoots but then find out that the Director is helping to shoot with another group.
I will be addressing the communication issues with the Director once I see her face to face, and get her home phone number off her so I know I can contact her on there if desperately needed.

Vegetarian Cutaways: Possible Locations

Today Victoria and I scouted out possible loctions we could use for cutaways that would tie in with our documentary.

We thought we could include cutaways of menus to show what is offered to vegetarians when they eat out:

We are also maybe going to do cutaways of fruits/ vegs in grocery stores or food in shops to show suitablity for vegetarians. We are going film at least some of the cutaways on Wednesday, and probably film some more after our interview with Richard.

 

 

 

Ducky Steps Beach Scenes Shoot

Today we shot our beach scenes at Holywood Beach.
Present at this shoot were:
Me
Anya (Writer/ Director)
Andy (Camera Operator)
Matt (Sound Mixer)
Chris (Barney)
Michael (Candid)

We all met on Holywood Beach at 4:30. We did the scenes at the bench first, followed by the scene when Barney and Candid skip stones. We did the scene with Barney retrieving the duck last, as the director wanted it to be darker for that scene to reflect the Noir of the character.

Here are some photos from the shoot:

Ducky Steps Production Meeting 10/04/14

There are still some things we have to confirm/ tie up, of which I plan to make sure are sorted no later than this Saturday:

 

1. Shot Lists- I did intend on the shot lists being completed by today at the latest, however despite me setting up a meeting between the camera person and the director, the Director seemed reluctant to sit down and go over them with him. I continuously tried to prompt her to complete them; however I could not focus all my energy on making sure this happened because I was also attending a production meeting for the other film.  

When talking to the Director later on, I suggested that we could meet tomorrow and do them, but she said she would just do them herself. I will be badgering her over the weekend for copies of the shotlist to make sure they are completed, and will be ready to help if she needs it.

 

2. Schedule for Tuesday sent out- We have decided Anya and I meet at 9:30am, the crew come at 9:45am, and the cast come at 10:15, but I want an approximate time to aim to finish the scene at.

 

3. Costume List for Tuesday sent out- We have already told our actors what to wear, but this is just to remind everyone.

 

4. Make sure everyone can get to the location at the times needed

 

5. Print out indemnity and release forms

 

6. Print out extra copies of scripts

 

7. Make sure all props have been sourced- Propswise for this scene, all we need is a notebook, pens, a jotter, an apron and some boat or sea related props.

Feedback and Changes to Vegetarian Documentary

Today we got feedback from our tutor about the interview we had filmed with our subject.

Based on the feedback, we have decided not to use the subject in our final film, and instead try to find another subject.

 

The problems with our subject were mainly appearance based, and these were concerns Victoria and I had, but to an extent we pushed them out of our minds because we felt we were more focused on what our subject had to say rather than how she looked.

 

Our tutor pointed out that film is a visual medium, and that our film may be negatively impacted as a result of our subjects appearance.

It was useful to get this feedback from someone who was seeing our film purely as a viewer, and has given us a better idea of what we do want in the film and what we don’t want in the film.

 

We also talked about the framing of our subject, and realised that we needed to make the background and surroundings abundant with colour, food and nature to help portray the documentary subject in a way that reflects the healthy and fresh lifestyle of vegetarians.

 

We also need to further hone in our focus for the documentary, because knowing this will allow us to ask more in depth questions, and receive more thought provoking answers.

 

I think that this has been a very important learning point and has made us think even more about the exact look and feel of our film.

 

We have made some changes to the shooting schedule, and as it stands we plan to shoot:

Cutaways: Saturday 19^th April/ A day of the week beginning 21^st

Richard’s Interview: Saturday 3^rd May

Problems encountered when finding a Vera

Finding an actress to play the character of Vera has proved to be more difficult than originally thought. About two weeks ago (17 days to be precise) I advertised for the role on Gumtree and Studio NI. We had around 12 people interested at the initial stage, asking from more information about the film. I sent a copy of the script to all the possible Vera's and the provisional shooting dates. I arranged a casting for Monday 31st March for the people who continued to be interested in the role after reading the script, and four people let me know that they could attend.
Over the weekend, two of these people emailed me to let me know that they could no longer attend. On the day, they girl who we had been most interested in seeing, based on the CV and showreel she sent us emailed to let us know she could no longer attend but would be happy to send a video audition instead.
Nobody ended showing up the casting, and although I left the casting feeling quite dejected, I was not altogether surprised, having sat in on one or two other castings where little or no people have shown up.
More people responded to the post on Gumtree, and I sent them the script and shooting dates. I also updated the Gumtree with our more precise shooting dates. We have one girl interested who says she will come for an audition on Friday, but at this stage I'm still in the mindset that we still need to find the Vera, so am coming up with a Plan B (and possibly a Plan C) in case the actress doesn't work out for the role.

Vegetarian Lindsey Interview

We filmed the main bulk of Lindsey's interview today. The location was Victoria's kitchen.

Victoria was camera operator and she conducted the interview.

I was on sound.

Lindsey answered questions for about 15 minutes, so we got a good lot of information from her. We also filmed some nice shots of Lindsey chopping up buns (suitable for vegetarians of course) to show that all meals take a little consideration (breakfast/ lunch/ tea/ desserts/ snacks).

Ducky Steps: Recording Voiceover

Today we recorded the voiceovers for the three scenes in the film. It took about two hours, including getting the equipment set up, rehearsing the lines, and actually recording the dialogue.
Here are some images from the shoot:

Vegetarian Production Meeting 3/4/14

We are filming the first of our subjects on Saturday, so we just confirmed the logistics of the interview. The interview is taking place at Victoria's house, as we wanted quite a relaxed, informal setting (but one that looked nice.) We are going to Victoria's at two, and then setting up the equipment, and will interview Lindsey until we feel we have got all the information we would like to have for the documentary.

In the meeting with our tutor today, she talked about wanting us to interview Lindsey using inventive camera shots, rather than a sit down and talk straight to the camera interview. At first I wasn't really sure what she meant by inventive camera shots, but then she showed us a short documentary film about a street artist, which was really well filmed.

Victoria and I are going to think of different camera shots we could use (in addition to the ones we already had in mind), and then discuss our ideas to see if they fit with the documentary themes and messages.