Production

Camera

My camera of choice was a Canon 700D. This is a 1080p 25fps camera body with the ability for interchangeable lenses.  This was important to me because I needed multiple different FOV for different shots. A high quality DSLR camera allows for professional grade, fully customisable settings. This means that I could adjust every shot to have the exact aesthetic that I was after. It also has a tripod mount for stable images - for this I used 2 different types.

The gorilla stand: 

Small, bendy tripod for stability is areas where a conventional set of legs could not fit.

 Conventional Legs;

6ft tall sturdy set of metal legs to stabilize the camera. This particular set came with a ball head for quick and easy shot adjustment.

Lenses

Canon 18-55mm Kit Lens:

I used this lens for its wide angle capabilities. Although not the crispest image, it allows the shot I set to open very wide. This means that I can get more of the subject in place without having to move the camera; Therefore, getting a wide shot at close proximity. The downsides to this lens are the poor image quality and grainy low light capabilities. 

Canon 50mm Lens:

This lens was a recent purchase and was one of the best I've made for myself. This lens allows me to get crisp clear image quality even in low light and allows for a super shallow DOF. However, the only downside is the fact that I need a lot of room to get the shot that I want. At 50mm, I need to ensure that my camera is set back far enough to get the whole subject in.



Audio

Rode LavMic:

With the rode lav mic, I was able to capture high quality audio without the need of expensive compressors or phantom power. The audio quality is crisp and hassle free...

The issue is that I lost the Mic at a very early stage in the recording process. With no money to spend and no time to loose, I looked for the next best thing.

The Sony PlayStation 4 Mono chat earbud was found in a tangled mess amongst XLR cables. Although not a professional option, it had the 3.5mm jack and microphone combination that I needed to shoot my film. 

Lighting

The Neewer ring light was a last minute purchase on the January sale. It was a crucial part of the doc as I used it in almost every shot that I filmed. Even when it wasn't necessarily needed, it was still, used a fill light.  

The light was helpful because it has 3 colour temps and dimming capabilities. meaning that I could place the light anywhere I needed to and with any colour preference to match the mood of my shot.

Production 

Rule of thirds -

I was viewing a Now TV show called "your honour", and it got me thinking about composition of shots. The way that the cinematographer used framing to emphasise the narrative gave me the understanding that the camera is an actor within itself. The framing and movement of shots is something that requires planning and skill. However, in documentary style filmmaking, this is often not an option. In an instance where footage is a one time opportunity, you have to be prepared to go along with the subject. In my case, I shot with composition in mind; The rule of thirds was always a consideration from start till finish. 

The cinematography in the drama influenced my creative choices to think more about framing. Obviously, the show uses movement to help move the narrative in the needed direction; However, as the only camera operator, movement was not an option for me. For this reason, I needed to ensure that almost every shot was either framed with compositional symmetry in mind or with some form of movement.  

When I talk about movement, I am referring to either movement in the foreground or background of a locked shot. I believe that too much movement in a shot is a distraction but, if used subtly, can add an unnoticeable interest in the shot. 

For example, the first cinematic shot was used to establish the mood of the doc. As there was little to no movement in the shots, I recorded half an hour long takes and used the 'speed' tool in Davinci Resolve to create hyper lapse. This meant that I could use a boring 5 second clip, and have half an hours worth of movement. It is subtle but satisfying to the eye.

In the second establishing section there was light snowfall, and so a hyper lapse would have made the shot too busy. Because of this, I left them unedited (other than colour correction).

For shots where I was not so much in control of the setting, I used household items to create movement. For example, in the shots where I am addressing the audience, a candle can be seen in the background. This gave the image a subtle flicker effect that looked great alongside the lighting setup I had created. This obviously wasn't enough for me, so I layed an incense stick along the rim of the candle; This gave off a thick smoke that only looked great on camera, but also filled the room to help with the intimate aesthetic. 

This particular shot was going to be very important. It was the primary storytelling aspect of the doc, and so needed to be the highest quality part of the production. I put a lot of time into planning this scene to ensure that everything was the absolute highest quality that I could produce.

The lighting, colour grade, and sound design was all specifically thought out to create the exact aesthetic that I was after. 

The B-Roll shots were used to emphasise the important information that I give to the audience. Everything that I thought was worth talking about I created high quality B-Roll so that I had something to back up my point. The reason some of the imagery was a noticeably lower quality was due to my use of phone camera. A 720p low megapixel camera sometimes was the only option I had. However, I edited these sections amongst the DSLR footage to keep the high standard.

The montage/establishing sections were where my editing skills were challenged. It was my first time using Davinci Resolve, and I needed to learn fast. My editor of choice (premier Pro) had failed me due to my low spec system and even Davinci was a struggle to run. However, colour grading and keyframing had to get done. And a challenge wasn't going to stop me.

The shot above required me to learn key framing. Although I can do this in Premier, Resolve worked slightly differently. 

Unlike premier, resolve does not use frame by frame masking; Rather, tonal keying. A shot like this used a 'Luma Key' to separate the foreground from the background. Although not as manual, this way of doing it is often more detailed. 

Sound design -

Upon starting production, I was assuming that my sound design was going to flop. I had to use a toy headset as a lapel microphone, and hadn't considered the music choices yet. Because of this, sound design became a "fix it in post" scenario. I made do with the tools that I had and was able to achieve the unthinkable. 

Using a VST, I was able to adjust all of my EQ and even add compression in post.  

The results from these effects saved the sound design completely. I was amazed, and it made me want to experiment with reverbs.

EDIT 1/2

Overall, I had captured 22 hours of footage and compiling these was along and draining process. With more time, I will get to through the workout section of the Doc.

I believe that the production is my best work yet and I cant wait to see the final Product.

 

Thoughts and feedback:

• The fonts do not match
• The interview section includes no lower thirds
• There is no conclusion

The feedback was very helpful to me. These were things that I had considered before publishing and yet I did not act on them. 

The interview sections contained harsh language and negative opinions. I decided to leave this uncut, as it presented the idea that over time opinions of myself from the perspective of others not only changed, but they began to speak about me with higher respect.

Edit 2/2

The second (and final) draft of the documentary. Releasing an early edit was useful because it allowed me to receive feedback for improvement. I listened to this, and released the Final edit.

Overall, I am not happy with the outcome. The project had a lot of potential, but was let down in the second half of the edit. 

This is because the audio track of the second half became corrupt. Due to this, I had no content to release as a conclusion. With no time to reshoot, and no time to overdub, I was left with only one option. I was now left with hours of footage and began creating a montage section to end the film with. Originally, I had intended to use the song 'Chelsea Dagger' by The Fratellis; However, this track is protected by copyright laws and so would require a license in order to use it. It seemed that creating a conclusion to the doc was harder than I had hoped. In the end, I sourced a royalty free rock track from freemusicarchive.org. This was perfect, and gave the doc a conclusion I can only describe as 'salvaged'. Amongst the audio track is a muffled sample taken from my weight discussion. The sample has me confirm that I can lift the 23KG weight (as apposed to the repeating image of the 5KG). The following shots back up the audio by showing the full weight limit on the bar. This was a creative choice, not an accident. It is easy to understand how one might feel that the track is out of place. But, it is dialogue that helps to emphasize the imagery on screen.

As for the font, I ensured that 'Impact' was always used. 'Impact' was chosen based off of its bold/ minimalistic design. I did not want a font that would take away from the cinematographic style. Something too eccentric would not coincide with typical fitness media, and font with a colored border will be inappropriately targeting the doc at a younger audience.  

The interview section was not something that I could have planned. As the documentary style is that of a 'Run-And-Gun', the camera needed to be set up when and where the subject was comfortable. What the subject responded with was not scripted. Because of this, I had to work with the footage I had. Ultimately, the themes in the interview section were deemed too inappropriate for a younger audience. Because of this, the target audience automatically shifted to a definite 15+. Fortunately, this relates with the mature themes of 'The Devils Hands' doc; And, so works in my favor.