GW: DOCUMENTARY/INTERVIEW EDITS & PICK-UPS

Initial Assembly Edit 
The initial assembly edit was fairly quick to do as I was able to synch up all of the different cameras and let the action play. One that was harder to do was the camera on Brian as it had no sound. I had to use the sound from the camera that was on me even though the shot was substandard and then synch the footage of Brian with no sound to this soundtrack. This was really tricky and time consuming to do although I did clapperboard with my hands and when this was in vision it was much easier to do. Once this was done it was a matter of choosing the best takes of each of the shots. I kept the cameras rolling throughout all of the attempts and this made synching the footage easier BUT it did mean that there was a lot of footage in the timeline. So I put al the takes in the timeline synched them all up, chose the best one then discarded the rest.

There was also issues with footage from the hand-held camera where it was just a lot of short shots and not coverage of the whole scene from start to finish and all of the lines. Some of this was fine as it was just GV's but the shots that had talking heads had to be labelled and then the right place in the edit found. This was done last when I had all the best takes in place.

One other issue was at the ending where the wide shot did not cover all of the takes. This was a little bit of a hassle as it meant that until I got my pick-ups I only had two decent shots to choose from. Luckily the end of the interview is a little more frenetic so the shots can be more cutty to build tension and this was possible.

The interview flowed pretty wellI left the interview a little baggy though as I knew that I would have the pick-ups to put in to replace the substandard shots of me. The pace was good but in the final edit I may want to try and build the tension more and be more frenetic in the cutting when ben explodes at the end of the interview. There is plenty to work with though.

Re-shoots
Before I completed the editing I had to get the re-shoots done to correct the mistakes on the footage first time around. This was done as pick ups of just my lines. Fortunately the other actor was around to read me his lines and also to give me an eye line. I needed a little coaching to hit the lines and to make sure I did not act as the fluidity of the earlier shoot recording on all 4 cameras was gone and this footage needed to be cut into edit that I had already.I think i did well and Brian an actor coached me but I had to be careful not to "act" but to just be myself as this worked well in the first shoot and had the right feel and tone.

As well as all of this sound was checked and so were the images and lighting so no errors were made this tim. I also managed to get a cameraman friend to shoot this for me so the quality was good.

One minor issue was the fact that I had not shaved and in the intervening 6 days between shot one and this one I had not shaved. I remembered the shots and took these on my phone as reference, lighting, props and my costume but overlooked this. This was not a problem in the Wide shot as you cannot see but in the roving hand held and new MCU and MS of me it does show. Tiny shots from the hand-held will work though as it is hard to see. In a way this accident adds another dimension to the piece as the sell is that it was all shot in one 10 minute session continuously. As I am trying to make it 99% right the highly observant may notice this and question it and therefore it's authenticity which i do not mind.

Adding the re-shoots to the edit
Once the re-shoots were added the piece looked a hundred times better as a complete interview package. There may be issues over grading as the footage from all of the cameras looks slightly different. However I like the rough a and ready feel of this it makes it look less polished and gritty and may keep it. I will also try grading though to see what it looks like more polished.

Overall the sound is good but it may need a polish in Adobe Audition to clean it up a little.

The piece did have a nice flow to it and did play out like it was all filmed continuously in 10 minutes as this was the premise. Another area that will need solving is the into. I did not film the set up of the crew that was being taken to the location due to the fact that it would have taken too much time and I am not sure I could make it work without it being over-dramatic and cheesy. So I think I will either have to shoot a short intro to the piece with me OR find a way to do it with titles. The conflict can possibly come across better in the titles so I will try that first.

Areas to work on before the final cut.

• Consider grading.
• Titles for the start and credits for the end.
• Solution for the opening of the piece.
• More/longer awkward pauses in exchanges when I am challenging him.
• More pacey editing at the end of the piece. More cutty and disjointed to capture action.
• More use of close ups of both faces to build confrontation, conflict and action.
• Possibly more abstract GV's as I loved their awkwardness.

GW: MANIFESTO EDITS

The manifestos are basically clips that would be seen online of Ben Wright promoting his cause. The aim was to make Ben seem mysterious and still keep the audience guessing as to if it was him or not and careful lighting would do this. Thinking of a backstory for these they need to feel as though they feature and are written by Ben Wright (in his early 70's) but that due to the funding coming in to the organisation he had a creative young team of technical people working on them to create them.

The web would be an excellent resource for Wright and he is appealing to a wide audience. However the target audience are younger the next generation who will inherit the problem and are likely to be more pro-active about the subject so they will need to appeal to this age group predominantly.

I have selected three in what I imagine were a landslide of Vlogs online as this would be a great platform for Wright to promote his cause. The three manifestos need to build in intensity and ferocity as they evolve and Wright resorts to stronger language and calls to action when he realised that passive action is not working. The first will be a simple introduction to the fact that he is back. The second will outline all of the issues that need to be acted upon and fingers will be pointed. The third will be a frustrated call to arms urging people to rise up and act on the issue. Also it will threaten to expose his incriminating information on the governments and the fossil fuel companies.

They currently fit into the running order of the video installation like this.

1: Local TV news piece. Set up the issue and backstory.
2: Online manifesto 1. Introduction and back.
3: Online manifesto 2: Selling key points as to how the public have been hoodwinked etc.
4: Documentary/Interview. Confrontation interview with Ben wanting to promote his cause whilst his interviewer is really after the dirt and scandal of the story.
5: Online manifesto 3. Call for action.

All three of these manifestos were shot in a similar style two cameras and recorded twice to offer a variety of shots to cut together to play with pace and add interest to them. They were all shot in a black studio and the first two are lit only by a key light and back light to keep Wright looking mysterious and hidden and hopefully keep the question of is it really him still alive. The only difference being the third where he has now come out of hiding and dose not need this tactic. I have outlined the editing styles below.

Online manifesto 1. Introduction and back.
Short at only 45 seconds and a slowish pace but some cuts between different shot sizes. Once I had edited the actual manifesto video I put it within the Blog that wright had been using to promote his cause. I had built this earlier and I simply put the video in a layer over the top. This was to not just show the video but to give the impression it lived online to add to to the authenticity.

MANIFESTO 1 FINAL from Jon Saward on Vimeo.

Online manifesto 2: Selling key points as to how the public have been hoodwinked etc.
Over 2 minutes long and a little more cutty as Ben is more passionate and trying to sell his message. Cuts between cameras more than manifesto 1. I have not included that here for now as I am unconvinced that it is need in the final piece.

Online manifesto 3. Call for action.
1 min 30 secs minutes long and a much more cutty. Ben is angry, forceful and on a roll aggrieved that the movement is still making no traction. many more cuts and harsher cuts to give it edge. Once I had edited the actual manifesto video, as with manifesto 1 I wanted to not just show the video but to give the impression it lived online to add to to the authenticity. In this instance I built a fake youtube page which took a while but the watched count and branding worked well in my opinion to create a real authenticity. To finish I simply put the video in a layer over the top.

MANIFESTO 3 FINAL from Jon Saward on Vimeo.


The finished edited pieces worked quite well but did seem overlong. I think in trying to keep what I took out of the script to make that work I simply decided to add it in here as I liked it and due to the work put into writing it. The real issue seems to be with manifesto 2 which is very long. 1 is much shorter and 3 pacey so it is not so noticeable. 2 may be surplus to requirements.

Shortening and adding GV's.
To try and enliven the manifestos I did try and shorten them. This was tricky for 1 & 3 as they rely on everything that was in them. But I did manage to shorten 2 but I still feel it may not be necessary. I also tried adding in GV's and archive footage. this did make them more interesting but did detract from Wrights please and message and it was hard to find GV's for all areas. I personally prefer him on screen rather than the same old Global warming images we have seen a hundred times.

The Global Warmning logo
I added this to the start of all of the clips. I was considering doing something a bit more clever and animated but that take time to do and more importantly would also extend the length of the manifesto pieces themselves. In order to keep it clean and the length down i went for a very simple logo. I did try it at the beginning and the end but with Wrights last line send off felt that they were not needed at the end and this kept the length down too.

Adding Music
One issue that I feel the whole piece needs (perhaps excluding the TV News piece) is more light and shade. Wright is coming across a little staid and I feel that this could turn the audience off as he bangs on about global warming. I tried experimenting with a music bed under the manifestos but this detracted from what he was saying. Thinking back that the technical team behind the production of these in their fictional universe are young and the target audience are young I thought some fun could be injected through the music.

So I researched lots of songs that had the lyrics hot in them that people may be familiar with. Yes this is a little tacky and not like Wright but I love the irony of using them and it does inject a sense of energy. The music is pop in genre and bouncy so works contrapuntally and in contrast to the video and the message. I feel it does not detract from the seriousness of the message as it highlights the light and shade of the fun music and very serious message.

Another plus of the music will be in the gallery when my work is screened it will inject some energy and hopefully interest in my work and get people interested.

GW: MANIFESTO STUDIO SHOOT

The manifestos are basically clips that would be seen online of Ben Wright promoting his cause. The content for these was originally written as dialogue for the documentary piece in the installation. However it was simply too wordy and a huge amount was tripped out during the final draft. My idea was to repurpose this though into the manifestos so Ben could still make these points. In order to make this easier I decided to film them in the TV studio using an autocue for the actor to read. It would also give me huge control over the lighting and sound. The aim was to make Ben seem mysterious and still keep the audience guessing as to if it was him or not and carful lighting would do this. The manifestos currently fit into the running order of the video installation like this.

1: Local TV news piece. Set up the issue and backstory.
2: Online manifesto A. Introduction and back.
3: Online manifesto B: Selling key points as to how the public have been hoodwinked etc.
4: Documentary/Interview. Confrontation interview with Ben wanting to promote his cause whilst his interviewer is really after the dirt and scandal of the story.
5: Online manifesto C. Call for action.

The shoot went really well and the auto cue made remember the lines and technical information easier for the actor. I checked the sound regularly after the issues with the last shoot and shot one of the cameras myself using a student for the other one. The aim was to make the piece catty and punchy so I got a straight MS and MCU on my camera and the other camera got CU and BCU from interesting angles. This I feel will enable me to cut it together interestingly in the edit.

The mise-en-scene was kept pretty simple and a clean black background to draw all focus and attention to the character of Ben. The clothes were of a kind that I had discussed with and chosen from the actor (Brian's) own wardrobe and in keeping with his character. As far as lighting goes this was different for the shoots. The first and second manifesto I want to keep the audience guessing as to if it really is him or not. To achieve this I used very, very low key lighting on Ben and a harsh backlight to give him a halo effect and make it hard to make him out, to keep this mystery. For the final manifesto it comes after the doco interview and he is now putting himself front and centre of the movement and out in the open so I lit him to be visible to the audience. The sound was set up out of shot and recorded through a TASCAM Mixer AND into the camera and regularly checked.

What I have learnt and will take forward.

1: Make sure eyes of talent stay still when reading the autocue. If not they fair to address the viewer directly as eyes move left to fight. This looks unnerving but weirdly it works in my opinion as it makes Ben look a little shifty in the properly lit manifesto. At the same time is does distract from the direct address to the audience that I was after and that feeling of it coming from the heart and being unscripted. So I am a little conflicted over this area currently. Compromises were made to make the shot achievable for the actor to communicate all of the facts and figures so it was a necessity. Also I feel it is believable that he is starting to gain momentum and the TV show, studio and autocue are resources he may have access to from funding and supporters.

2: Make sure the script is nailed before going into the TV studio. More read throughs and checks as to how it will play when said out loud. Corrections were needed in the TV studio and whilst these are easy to do on the autocue it would be more professional to have carried out a read through and edited the script with the actor before the shoot.

3: I love the control that I have in the TV studio and is is where I am happiest and have been for most of my pieces from Siblings, through to Amen Break and also this element. My understanding of and control of the studio space and resources is a real asset and the USP of my practice. The control of space, kit, lighting and environment I really enjoy.

4: The shoot went well but I feel the script and direction could have been stronger. Looking back at the rushes as I write this Brian played the character according to direction and script but I should have made him more likeable. There needs to be more light and shade and for him to charm us more and endear himself to us. It is a little preachy in places whereas charm and a little sugar would lighten the tone and make us empathise with Ben more too.

GW: DOCO SHOOT ISSUES

I transferred my rushes from the doco shoot yesterday and finally viewed them today. It was A bit of a nightmare and real disappointment from the doco shoot with Brian yesterday as there are in my opinion some real issues with them. The problems stemmed from being under-crewed due to availability of collaborators and crew and also using some of my students and possibly expecting too much from them. Some of the footage is great and the shots of Brian are great, the wide shot is solid and some of the hand-held camera footage is good too. Brian's performance is good throughout and although and sells the issues well. It is more due to my direction than anything else but it would have been good to make him more likeable and charming as this would have endeared the audience to him more. However he plays the role well staying on the realistic side of acting and plays off well against me.

The issues stem from being under-crewed, the crew (students) being relatively inexperienced and myself doing too many roles and taking my eye off the ball. I was the writer, director, producer, actor, art director as well as being camera and sound supervisor and it was simply too much and too many balls to keep in the air at once. Looking back I needed a sound-person, third cameraman and ideally a production assistant. Budget for this and the fact that I was shooting in a small space at a friends house led to me not being able to do this. Also due the the lengthy set up of the shoot I was too eager to get shooting and should have run more thorough checks but due to the restlessness of cast and crew I did not do this!

The main issues are two fold. 1: There are sound issues. The main camera that was recording the sound did not record ANY sound. My student who was using that camera was listening to the sound coming into the mixer BUT the feed from the mixer to the camera did not work. This is a schoolboy error but the blame lays firmly with me not my student who was relatively inexperienced with the kit. The issue stems from the fact that the TASCAM sound mixer was not used to record the sound just balance it and then feed this mix to the camera. So even though there was sound going into it where it was monitored there was no sound outputting from it to the camera. I should have checked the sound back from the camera and also checked the leads were set up right. I should have monitored the sound more frequently myself too. The sound was recorded on all of the other 3 cameras though but only on their in-built microphones so there IS SOME sound. It is usable but unfortunately not as good as it could or should have been. However I may well be able to polish it a little in post-production and call in the help of some sound designer/recordist friends.

2: I am really unhappy with the shot of me which is poorly framed with not enough looking room, not as well lit as Brian's shot and the focus is not 100% sharp. The main issue was that this camera was unmanned due to only having two crew and myself but I was busy doing too many roles as mentioned earlier. It was obviously hard to check this shot as I was in it but I should have got the crew to shoot some footage and then viewed it back. It really needed a cameraman on the camera too as then the shot could also have been varied between MS and MCU. below is an example and contrasted with a shot of Brians.

Putting it right.
1: Time and availability of myself, crew and actors mean that a complete re-shoot is going to be tricky so it will gave to be pick ups. To keep the time down I will only shoot pick-ups of the footage of myself. The plus side is that the footage will be better and that I will be able to get the MCU and MS that I am after and address the framing and lighting. The issues will be continuity, making sure I deliver the lines right so it all cuts together. In order to try and make sure this goes right my actor Brian will be there for eye lines and to do his lines to make sue my phrasing and performance fits. I will also take the rushes from the last shoot to match the lighting with Brian's footage. Sound wise I am going to speak to friends who work in sound and decide if it is best to record the best sound I can or to recording using the camera in-built microphone again so the sound will be the same.

2: In terms of the sound I will need to enlist the help and advice of the sound guys I know. The sound is not awful and the dialogue is still fine to listen too but there is some background noise that I want to try and reduce. If all this fails I may decide to put a disclaimer on the titles at the start of the piece. The premise was that we were given the interview shot at short notice and then taken to an undisclosed location for the security of Ben Wright. I could put in the titles setting this scenario up at the start that there were sound issues to not only allow for the error but to give a sense of realism to the shoot. Under the premise obviously a re-shoot would have been impossible.

On a positive note there is some really good footage in there and it has real potential to get the feel that I am after...

GW: DOCO SHOOT

A hugely busy and very stressful day BUT with the help of my actor and crew we got the 10 minute documentary shot. IN ONE DAY! The experience was aid though by two of my brightest and best students who acted as cameramen in both senses of the word as they were in it too. Brian our main actor was a joy to work with. As we shot around his house in his cabin in the garden he was hugely accommodating and even threw in lunch, snacks and drinks all day!

Things to use when moving forward.

• There Do not try and be actor, director, producer, camera supervisor, sound recordist and art director. Too much and it works to the detriment of the piece however needs must in this case.
• Location important and a great location to choose but not to the detriment of lighting issues which due to the exterior quality of the shoot was changable and led to issues of continuity. Also space was at a premium.
• Set dressing was important. Whilst the location worked really well as a non-descript earthy building/log cabin that could be anywhere a few photos and books personalised the space. Also all of the items from the actors really helped create a character for it too.
• Costumes too were really important. The choice from Brian's wardrobe (after much deliberation) worked well and was sciency enough and relaxed but avoided new age hippy. I wanted to look smart casual so a shirt, jeans and shoes achieved this and went for media type and professional but not too smart. After many thoughts I asked the cameramen to dress in their usual clothes which worked well too. I did get them to bring 2 tops though just in case any of theirs were inappropriate.
• Work with experienced actors as they are so much more professional.
• Make sure the actor is happy the environment was not the 100% for shooting in but the actor was very comfortable and at home and this really aided the shoot. A good personal relationship worked well with the actor as well in this case.
• Story-boards were a necessity as they gave me a shorthand with the cameramen.
• Get a production assistant to log and make notes of the footage as this was a job too far for me alongside everything else. Shooting with 4 cameras there is going to be a lot of footage and management of this could have been stronger.
• Pay more attention to the cameramen as I put  a lot of trust in them but looking at some of the rushes even more direction would have helped.
• Working with students was fine in terms of expense but more experience and not as much teaching from me would have taken a lot of pressure from my shoulders.
• Make sure a clapper is used at the start of EVERY setting off of the cameras.
• The lines were an issue for both of us but especially for me. Make sure the script is ready earlier and more time is made available to learn it.
• Leave lots of time for setting up. the set up took 2 hours. This was due to me being a little rusty, 4 cameras being used, lighting changes demanding re-sets and also sound issues.
• The shoot worked well in terms of planning. The idea of doing it as a documentary and filming with 4 cameras meant that there was only one set up not multiple and it allowed for the easy shooting of the script in chunks. This also aided the fact that the script was not 100% known by either of the actors.
• Breaks for the crew are invaluable. They also allow time for reflection and build unity. After a stressful and long set up and a shoot of the first third a break was invaluable to settle everyone down and discuss ideas and the way forward.
• Be open to ideas from the crew. Collaboration is good. My two cameramen both suggested a couple of interesting ideas shot wise and even in one of the scenes for an extra take that hopefully will add to the project.

GW: THE ADDITION OF VLOGS TO THE INSTALLATION

Working through the drafts of the script for the documentary interview element of the installation I have realised that it is too long. There is simply too much in there and it is to the detriment of the drama and confrontation (chess game if you like) that I am trying to establish between myself the interviewer and Ben Wright. I did a lot of research and found a lot of the facts, stories, politics and science about global warming really interesting and think the audience will too, so I do want to keep the best of it in the piece. However within the documentary interview script hey end up being too fact, preachy, statistics at times and boring and I feel they will lack some of the drama they are designed to have and possible lose the audience.

Deciding to pursue the idea of stripping out some of the facts, exposition science and arguments as they do not sit well in the piece though is one thing but what to lose and how to re-purpose this into another way to the audience is a different story. It MUST fit in with the narrative of the story and installation. They MUST also be personal, short, visually interesting, communicate the message effectivelyI considered many options and also want this content to feel different from the other elements I will be using. I have outlined what I was considering and my feelings on all of these below.

1: Animated Virals.
I have tried some of these and they are time consuming.they can work though but also unless using real characters can not have the emotional connection with the audience. they are immediate and often funny but lack a little in depth and emotion..

2: Kinetic Typography
This works with some of the more basic messages but as well as being hugely time consuming lack a little of the emotional appeal of a real figure telling the audience the facts.

3: Vlogs.
Really interesting way of doing it and can be simply filmed and break the fourths wall having that direct to audience feel. Great for listing ideas and thoughts quickly.

4: Keep them in the documentary interview still.
Not really an option this as it would make the documentary far too long and too hard to shoot. the idea is to strip them out and even after thinking about possible ways to include it feel this is the wrong option.

So weighing up all of these and doing a little development on how they could work I have decided to do short Vlogs (Video Blogs). These will be used as new additions to the installation and work with the other video elements. These will be sold as Ben putting them  up on his Blog and also online youtube etc to get his message out to his audience and hope that they go viral. It will basically be him selling his cause and possibly the organisations manifesto directly to the audience breaking the fourth wall. Stylistically these can be pretty interestingly filmed. As there will be a few very short vlogs I think I can be playful within the context of the story narrative too as early on I want to create a sense of enigma. I aim to keep the audience guessing as to if the returned figure claiming to be Ben Wright is actually him or not. So the first couple I think can be shot hiding much of Ben away to keep them guessing. Back lit, low key lighting, focus pulls

As a refresher of what the documentary shoot has to do and the role it performs in the whole piece and how the Vlogs and manifesto and issues that Ben will be campaigning on through them will slot together. This needs a to have a good narrative structure so I have really plotted this out and researched around academics and experts in the field and applied their ideas and theories.

ACT ONE
1: TV News Piece (3-4 mins)
The role this fake TV local news section will serve is a good set up for the video content that I am assembling. In about 3 minutes it does a really good catch up of the story so far, gets out of the way lots of exposition and back story and also has the sense of enigma I am after. I may also use a little bit of Vlog within the news piece to establish it and to illustrate the fact that Ben MAY be back!

This all happens in the first act of a screenplay generally the first quarter. Within the structure of the whole piece this is what narrative academics Todorov calls the equilibrium and Labov orientation. Screenwriting guru Syd Field calls them the set-up. They are pretty much all the same thing though. Field also talks of a plot point which spins the action off in another direction and this also occurs in this as it is the fact that Ben MAY be back!

ACT TWO
In the pieces that follow we now need to try and create some drama for the audience. The character whose journey we follow is Ben Wright and even though he is not playing out all of the drama in these his story and character arc is what takes the audience through the installation. Drama comes from conflict and for Ben this is in the form of not being acknowledged, conflict with governments and the fossil fuel companies, his past having faked his own death and run away. There are also the larger less personal and overriding conflict against the climate change issue he is fighting and creating awareness and change.

The elements 2-3 below will incorporate all of these in them and generally it is regarded as act 2 in the three act structure. Field called this middle section of a screenplay the confrontations, Todorov problems/enigmas and Labov complications and once again they are really saying the same thing. We need conflict to generate interest and hurdles to jump over and hoops for our hero to jump through to create drama.

2: VLOG (1-2 mins)
This will be the introduction into some of the issues that Ben wants to raise. We will have set up the Vlog in the TV news piece and what it is so we can get straight to business here. Ben will protest against apathy, fossil fuel spin, governments being bought and use this as a real call to arms. As of yet the enigma will still be there as to if it is actually ben or not.

3: Documentary Interview (9-10 mins)
This will be the audience finally getting to see ben in the flesh. The piece will be a sit down interview with a film-maker (myself) which he has been led to believe will act as a platform for his cause. However the film-maker whilst interested in the issue is really after the big expose and stories behind Joes murder, Bens faked suicide, and all of the conspiracy theories and dirt that surround this story. A game of cat and mouse ensues as I try to get him onto this topic and he dodges the issue before finally exploding at the end. The end of this piece of content will be what Syd Field calls the second plot and Labov the climax. This is where something happens that moves us towards act three and a conclusion.

ACT THREE
4: VLOG (1-2 mins)
This will be the final act and what Field and Labov both call the resolution and Todorov the new equilibrium. It is not really a happy ending and itself has a sense of enigma as it is basically Ben's war cry for action "by any means necessary" to fight global warming. He will set out his manifesto for change and motivate the public behind the cause. He will also make threat to the fossil fuel companies and governments making them very aware that he is about to go public with the incriminating evidence he has on them.

This takes us to a climactic ending. In the bigger picture if this was a 120 minute screenplay all of the above would be the first act.

GW: SCRIPT READ THROUGH & ALTERATIONS

I met with my actor today with the 4th version of the script for a read through and to tweak it. The script was down to 18 pages due to some trimming I recently did but was still too long. The aim for the piece was to be about 10 minutes tops and the video content in it's entirety to be no more than 15 mins which is a length I feel people will find OK to disseminate in the gallery space I will be installing it in.

The aim for working with the actor was to also use him as a script editor. I have worked alongside Brian Ralph (the actor) in my job and through discussions and email exchanges on this project he has developed a good feel for the character and the fake documentary if not 100% the installation piece as a whole. So I have been closely working on using him as a sounding board. Due to the lateness of the day in getting the script ready due to holidays etc it has only given me a week to go through it with him. I had got someone else to read it and they pointed out some issues but I really needed a collaborator and someone who understood scripts and acting to collaborate with. I am far too close to the subject and although I feel I know what needs to be cut I need someone to help me see the wood from the trees. It will also be good to get a fresh perspective on the harnessing of all of my research and writing and see what they feel the hot topics, interesting information and hooks are and what is surplus to requirements, repeats itself, does not drive the story forward or inform, educate and entertain the audience.

I have also decided to pursue the idea of stripping out some of the facts, exposition science and arguments as they do not sit well in the piece. They end up being too fact, preachy, statistics at times and boring and will lack some of the drama they are designed to have and possible lose the audience. So they will be used as new additions to the installation and work with the other video elements. These will be a mini Vlogs (Video Blogs) as mentioned in a previous post that Ben would have put up on his Blog and also online youtube etc to get his message out to his audience. It will basically be him selling his cause and possibly the organisations manifesto directly to the audience breaking the fourth wall.

I have however whilst earmarking some of the areas I think could go from the doco script and instead be used as Vlog posts left a lot of them in. I want a second opinion as to which could be used as Vlog posts and which could stay within the script as some stats, data etc will be needs to tell the story and establish bens arguments and credentials as a climatologist.

As a refresher of what the documentary shoot has to do and the role it performs in the whole piece and how the Vlogs and manifesto and issues that Ben will be campaigning on through them will slot together. In order.

1: TV News Piece (3-4 mins)
The role this will serve is a good set up for the video content.
2: VLOG (1-2 mins)
3: VLOG (Addressing issues)
4: Documentary Interview (9-10 mins)
5: VLOG (1-2 mins)

The issues we discussed are all listed here and I was aware of most of them but as I mentioned needed fresh eyes to help me to solve. and we needed to work to solve. Underneath are all areas to work on and develop for the future.

• The script was far too overlong. Currently by nearly 50%!
• The script was far too wordy and in places was not written in normal speak but film speak. As
• Lots of shoe horned in exposition.
• Far too much in the way of data, statistics. Will lose the audience and very hard for an actor to deliver.
• It is a little bloated in terms of story-telling. What exactly is does the piece need to do individually and in the context of all of the other elements of the installation?
• A little too much elaborate and flowery dialogue. Keep a few zingers
• Needs more scene descriptions.
• Need to see what I can not SAY but get Brian to ACT!
• Try to add more light and shade, serious and FUN if possible. make sure character of Ben is likeable AND passionate not just tub-thumping.
• In future develop the script much earlier and give the actor more time to learn.

The meeting lasted all day (7 hours) and was hugely productive.

CONCEPTUAL ART

I was reading around as I am still trying to place my practice and current piece of work even at this late stage in the day. Yes it has strong narrative and character sensibilities and the structure does fit within the Trans-Media genre. It has a strong ideology and messages and values and a social conscience and is a campaigning documentary sensibility but that still does not properly define it.

For years I have not liked my work to have nice aesthetics and look good but this is not what I am all about. The idea behind the work is more important always to me and certainly the concept are paramount. I want to communicate an idea through the concept. The penny then dropped am i really interested in and creating conceptual art?

Heading to the excellent Tate website for a definition here is what they said.

"Conceptual art is art for which the idea (or concept) behind the work is more important than the finished art object. It emerged as an art movement in the 1960s and the term usually refers to art made from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. As a definable movement conceptual art is associated with these decades but its origins reach beyond these two decades. Marcel Duchamp is often seen as an important forefather of conceptual art, and his readymade Fountain of 1917 cited as the first conceptual artwork."

I really relate to LeWitts statement in his essay Paragraphs on Conceptual Art, "In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair."

Conceptual art can be apparently almost anything. This is because, unlike a painter or sculptor who will think about how best they can express their idea using materials and techniques, a conceptual artist uses whatever materials and whatever form is most appropriate to putting their idea across – this could be anything from a performance to a written description. Although there is no one style or form used by conceptual artists, from the late 1960s certain trends emerged.

Researching further I discovered that many artists whose work I admire are considered conceptual artists or have created conceptual works. Richard Longs land art, Bruce McCleams body art, Gilbert and George, Sol LeWitts diagrams on how to make  drawing as well as lots of "found footage" artworks.

Is my piece conceptual art? I think it is the idea(s) behind the work are more important to me that the finished object although I want it to be good as it can be. The decisions and planning are carried out beforehand in my pre-production and the execution can be perfunctionary I would quite happily develop the idea and then let someone else execute it form if given the chance. Even though I primarily use video I am now straying into create props and artefacts too. This is an area i will definintly look into more moving forward.

GLOBAL WARMNING: DEVELOPING THE DOCO SCRIPT V4

I had left the script for a few days to ponder it and now opened it again. Version 3 was still way over length and clocking in at 21 pages. However with a fresh set of eyes and perspective I realised that I could easily cut some sections that repeated themselves somewhat and also streamline a lot of the dialogue. Doing this I managed to get it down to 20 pages still nearly double the length I was aiming for.

It was definitely playing too long and laboriously though from a test read through I did with a friend. The characters were working well and the combatorial moments were really getting there BUT the data and details on the global warming issue were still too long and I was having trouble letting go of them because even though I knew this I really liked some of the writing and was having trouble letting go of it.

It was becoming hard to see the wood for the trees.What I really needed was afresh set of eyes and a script editor. Not knowing nay who would work for free I decided to call my actor and to see if he would be happy to work on the script with me. I explained the issues ands as he has written scripts himself and was very interested I the project he agreed to help. He also provided some excellent advice that I knew but had not been adhering to "Show, do not say". he reminded me that he was an actor and a look or gesture could speak a thousand words. He was more than happy to help put this element into the script and as I knew he had a good grasp of the character I was more than happy to take him up on the offer.

Following his advice I did manage to strip out another page or so of dialogue replacing it with scene direction and action. I also took the time to go through and be super ruthless marking the areas on the script that I felt MUST stay and those that could possibly go. I did not take them out immediately as I wanted to use Brian my actor as a sounding board and second opinion> BUT this did make me prepared for the script edit as I had decided which battles I would fight for if it came to it and which I was happy to concede.

GW: USING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CINEMATOGRAPHY & FILM LANGUAGE

I wanted to develop this idea concerning the use of cinematography in the Global Warmning project before my shoots. I want to keep the feeling of realism in the documentary style pieces however I want to manipulate the audience a little using cinematography within the framework that the documentary style allows.

TV News Piece
For the TV news piece I am going to have play it pretty straight in order for it to look real and right. It will follow the formulaic conventions of TV news. The reporter will need to be at eye level and address the camera breaking the fourth wall for his pieces to camera in a MS (mid-shot) perhaps at the start and MCU (medium close up) possibly at the end for the outro.

The shots of the interviewees will be the traditional MCU to MS and the GV's of them for cutaways looking at things, doing etc in their environments will be a mix of shots. I want the climatologist in a sciency looking office and the woman an old friend of Wright in a  home environment

Manifesto Pieces
These are designed to be campaigning pieces that will go online so again break the fourth wall with Ben Wright addressing the audience directly. Shot sizes of the main camera angle will be very traditional MS and MCU. These will be mixed with BCU (big close ups) and CU (close ups) shot from very different angles. This will add real creativity and mystery as the audience will not be used to seeing these sort of shots. they will allow probing of Wright and putting him under the spotlight of the audience as they try hard to see more of him. The very CU work will again not fully reveal all of his though but parts of him. The camera height here will be a little under eye level so Wright looks more powerful and looms a tiny bit over the audience making him look strong.

What is also very important here will be the mise-en-scene as I want Ben Wright to be obscured slightly so it is hard to see him. Masks etc could be used to hide but these would be too OTT and possibly intimidating mystery I want intimidating I do not. The easiest solution would be lighting. These will be shot in a TV studio so I have lots of control over this and a mix of strong backlight to create a halo effect and a low key light to put a little light on his features will work well.

Documentary Interview Piece
This piece allows for more creativity BUT it must still feel like an interview but with a youthful crew creating it it can work a little outside obvious convention. the premise of this piece is that it is a one shot chance at interviewing Wright. therefore if I was in charge of shooting it for real I would make sure I got as much coverage as I could. It would be shot as an interview due to time and also will avoid the  need for the interviewee to put the question from the interviewer (who would be cut out at a later date) in the answer. This will also allow for drama to play out as they both play a game of strategy one trying to dig deep and the other rebuffing him. For this reason I will cover the shoot with four cameras.

Camera 1: A WS (wide shot) covering the whole scene with lights, crew cameras and setting in it as well as myself interviewing and Ben Wright. This will cover all of the action and provide a go to safe shot if one is needed. It will also cover all of the action in the scene if any happens and be great for setting up the interview showing the process of the shoot to the audience. It will provide a warts and all look for them at the interview. the camera will be at eye level and reveal the location only not the surroundings to keep it a mystery and the log cabin could be anywhere. This shot will remain the same throughout and will be shot on a wide angle lens and this will give it a deep depth of field that will make sure the whole scene is in focus.

Cameras 2 & 3: A Shot of the interviewer AND reverse shot of the interviewee in MS & MCU. The MS will be used for more general questions and for the more heated and tense and emotionally charged questions and responses the camera will move in for a MCU. The only exception to the shot size will be on the interviewee where a CU will be used for very emotionally charged moments. The closer shots CU & MCU allow for more emotion to be conveyed in the frame by the actors to the audience.The camera will be at eye level and the interviewer and interviewee MUST both have looking room. These cameras will be shot on a standard 18-55mm lens.

Camera 4: This will be the probing and creative camera. It will be given license to get lots of CU details of the shoot to add some texture and feel that the participants are under its scrutiny. It will be hand-held and this will also give a real fly on the wall feel that the more static cameras will not be able to get. This will also give the footage from this camera a restless energy and kinetic feel.

Shots will include ECU of the faces of the participants, feet, hands, fingers wringing pans from one participant to the other and also pans in from objects in the set to the characters. It will also pick up the details of an interview shoot such as the other cameras, lights, microphones and question cards to create a real behind the scenes authenticity to the shoot. It will also gets lots of GV's (general views) of the location and elements in it, books, photos, artefacts to add texture. This camera will use a prime 1.8 50mm lens. This will give it a really shallow depth of field and allow focus for the audience on details and minutiae of the scene. Extra close ups for emotion to drag the audience into the scene will also be beneficial.

The mise-en scene will be a log cabin which is very atmospheric and no other details about the location will be shown so it could be anywhere. It will be set dressed with objects, books and photos that are in keeping with Bens character and plenty of books on the global warming topic. The costumes will be Ben looking smart in shirt tie and cardigan looking like an older man but neat and tidy. I will be wearing smart jeans, shoes and a shirt but looking more contemporary but smart all the same. the crew will all be dressed don in comfortable clothing.