A2 Media Sasha Jones: Filming Process

Filming our documentary we faced many dilemmas. The weather was inconsistent making it hard to arrange times to film as a group and individually. We also struggled to find interviews as we did have one planned with a local New Look store and upon arrival they pulled out, not giving us much time to re-plan.

During the filming process I found it really interesting, asking the public on their views for the vox pop was a highlight for me, everyone was so helpful and engaging. I interviewed several of the interviewee's I found that all the assistants that participated were really helpful making the filming process go with an ease.
Due to lack of a dolly, at one point we had to drive a car to create the effect of a tracking shot, quick and logical thinking allowed us as a group to make use of what was around us, I feel this has developed our documentary standard as we tried to use a number of different filming techniques that were not professional to create a professional shot.

Taking it in turns to film, ask for vox pop's, interview and arrange interviewing appointments gave me an overall experience. I asked many shops if it was okay to film footage in their shop, this was nerve racking as some people rejected however my confidence grew through the filming process. (As you can see by the photos we took through the process there is one of me asking in the Everton Shop.)

We had to plan our time effectively to ensure we met the days filming that was required, before setting off to the necessary locations we thoroughly planned the day's events, I feel that without this we may have lagged behind. We ensure we arrived at the shops early to ensure they were quiet to do the cutaway shots and recorded the vox pop’s later on in the afternoon when busier and a wider audience available.
I feel as a group we have got much closer, sharing the work load evenly to ensure everyone has a chance at each aspect has made the filming process an enjoyable time as there was no miss understanding in the group.

The best bit of filming that stands out for me is the Clarks Interview. The mise en scene is 100% appropriate to the documentary. The natural lighting and the children's shoes on display make it complete. The Camera work for this interview is also very good, following the codes and conventions of a real documentary. The age of Kelly is ideal for our target audience which is also another bonus. I arranged this interview by phoning up the branch, it took a while to arrange as on some days the manager was not present, I was then directed to head office, and then I finally made the appointment. This showed me planning and scheduling is so important, having to get permission from the right people is essential for the production to continue.

The part of the filming I dislike is the interview with Lisa Kenny, I feel the mise en scene is not very good at all. The lighting is dark, the background is not 100% relevant to shoes however it is relevant to the topic of children's shoes as it was filmed in a child's room. The sound quality is poor due to the fact upon arrival the second time the microphone did not work. I feel the answers are good and detailed and the camera work is effective however I feel that with better planning this could have been done much better. As this is one of the parts I filmed I am very disappointed in what was produced.

We had to arrange for the interview with Sadie and Lisa to take place as we lost the saved interview with Mr. Swindel and had recorded over it. This was a nuisance as we were running to a tight deadline. After filming the two new interviews we realised we could retrieve the lost work, as this interview was are main aspect we re-included it.

Mr. Swindel's interview was very good; although we didn't use a microphone the sound levels were very good. Due to lack of settings in school were the interview took place we had bad mise en scene however it was still effective and illustrated what the topic was about.