Documentary Evaluation
Documentary Style
Documentary Style
The documentary style I chose to create was an expository documentary. An expository documentary is a documentary that uses voice overs giving a verbal commentary over pictures or video. They usually contain facts, opinions, ask rhetorical questions and strong arguments.My documentary uses a voice over from the interviewees giving their opinions about dogs and reasons why owning a dog is beneficial over a video of their dog doing a variety of activities
Why I chose this topic
My topic I chose was about dogs and the relationship the owner has with their pet. This was a good topic for me as I am a dog person and own a dog myself and I thought it would be interesting and intriguing to meet other dog owners and their dogs and see their relationship with each other as well as learn about why people own a dog and the benefits with owning a dog. I wanted my documentary to only focus on the good things about dogs and the benefits they bring by showing the relationship between the dog and it's owner. I also wanted to capture how compassionate and friendly dogs are within my documentary.
Use of Camera
I used a handheld camera when following the dogs around the garden and playing with their owners because I wanted to give my documentary realism when watched by an audience and make them feel as if they are there with the dogs. When interviewing the dog owners I used a mid shot because I wanted the camera to show the owner and the dog together when the interviewee was talking about their dog. I done this to show the relationship between them. I also used a fish eye on the camera to show a dog licking the lens, when receiving feedback from my classmates they said they really liked this shot. I am also happy with it because it captures the dogs affection and friendliness. More feedback I got was that people liked the close up shots of dogs, such as their nose, tail and face, etc. However there is a shot towards the end of my documentary where the camera cuts off some of the interviewees head which I am not happy with and if I were to do this again I would change the angle of the camera to fit the dog owner and the dog.
Use of Sound
For sound I used the interviewees answers to the questions I asked them and put that audio over shots of their dogs. For some of the shots I felt the audio of ambient sounds in because I wanted to hear the dogs growling and barking, etc in my documentary. However some feedback I received for improvements said the audio on the visual was too loud and difficult to hear the voice over of the interviewees. I completely agree with this, there are some parts in my documentary where the ambient sound over powers the voice over. To improve this I would lower the audio in places balance out the sound. More feedback I received said I should add music in the background. I think this is true, after watching my documentary back I feel it does need music somewhere in there, something quirky and fun I think would work well and compliment the visuals.
Use of Editing
When editing my footage I cut out the interviewers voice asking the questions and make it obvious it was edited out. I did this so the audience just heard the interviewees answering the questions about their dogs. Some feedback I got on this said their was too many cuts, making it look jumpy. I agree with this partly, there was one interview where I do believe there was too many cuts and it also cut out some parts of some words when the interviewee was speaking. For the rest of interviews I am happy with the jump cuts. To hide some of the jump cuts I put visuals of the owners dogs doing a variety of activities over the interview itself, but keeping the audio from interview in. I thought this was a nice touch because while the dog owner talks about their dog in the voice over, the visuals show the dog and the it's owner doing different things together showing their relationship and makes it more fun for an audience to watch.
I also showed the names of each of the dog owners and their dogs together pop up on screen. Feedback I received people said they liked the names being together because it showed the idea of a relationship. Some improvements I received was to change the fades, and add a fade in at the start of my documentary so it doesn't just jump straight in and also add a fade out at the end. I completely agree with this, it will help my documentary look smooth. There was also some fades after it changed to a new interview, however I only used a fade out to black and didn't fade in which made the documentary look unprofessional with the editing. This is something I could change and improve on.
Use of Mise-En-Scene
For the locations I shot and interviewed each of the interviewees in their own homes as it would be easier for them and less stress for the dogs because they have the comfort of their own home. The lighting I used was just the ambient lights in the house, however for the last interview I felt the lighting was too dark and needed another light source.
My Thoughts
I am fairly happy with how my documentary turned out however watching it back I saw some silly mistakes that I could definitely improve on and I felt I could have done better. I'm happy with the shots I got of the dogs and the layout of the documentary but due to timing and the arranging of the interviews with some not being available until a later date and having the interviews at all different days it was difficult to edit properly without all the footage that kept changing and because of this I spend a lot of time filming and less time editing which caused me rush at the end of the project. If I done this again I would definitely organize and manage my time better. I'm happy with the shots, the interviews and how the production turned out but I'm too happy with the editing with a few mistakes and wanted to add a title in my documentary.
Why I chose this topic
My topic I chose was about dogs and the relationship the owner has with their pet. This was a good topic for me as I am a dog person and own a dog myself and I thought it would be interesting and intriguing to meet other dog owners and their dogs and see their relationship with each other as well as learn about why people own a dog and the benefits with owning a dog. I wanted my documentary to only focus on the good things about dogs and the benefits they bring by showing the relationship between the dog and it's owner. I also wanted to capture how compassionate and friendly dogs are within my documentary.
Use of Camera
I used a handheld camera when following the dogs around the garden and playing with their owners because I wanted to give my documentary realism when watched by an audience and make them feel as if they are there with the dogs. When interviewing the dog owners I used a mid shot because I wanted the camera to show the owner and the dog together when the interviewee was talking about their dog. I done this to show the relationship between them. I also used a fish eye on the camera to show a dog licking the lens, when receiving feedback from my classmates they said they really liked this shot. I am also happy with it because it captures the dogs affection and friendliness. More feedback I got was that people liked the close up shots of dogs, such as their nose, tail and face, etc. However there is a shot towards the end of my documentary where the camera cuts off some of the interviewees head which I am not happy with and if I were to do this again I would change the angle of the camera to fit the dog owner and the dog.
Use of Sound
For sound I used the interviewees answers to the questions I asked them and put that audio over shots of their dogs. For some of the shots I felt the audio of ambient sounds in because I wanted to hear the dogs growling and barking, etc in my documentary. However some feedback I received for improvements said the audio on the visual was too loud and difficult to hear the voice over of the interviewees. I completely agree with this, there are some parts in my documentary where the ambient sound over powers the voice over. To improve this I would lower the audio in places balance out the sound. More feedback I received said I should add music in the background. I think this is true, after watching my documentary back I feel it does need music somewhere in there, something quirky and fun I think would work well and compliment the visuals.
Use of Editing
When editing my footage I cut out the interviewers voice asking the questions and make it obvious it was edited out. I did this so the audience just heard the interviewees answering the questions about their dogs. Some feedback I got on this said their was too many cuts, making it look jumpy. I agree with this partly, there was one interview where I do believe there was too many cuts and it also cut out some parts of some words when the interviewee was speaking. For the rest of interviews I am happy with the jump cuts. To hide some of the jump cuts I put visuals of the owners dogs doing a variety of activities over the interview itself, but keeping the audio from interview in. I thought this was a nice touch because while the dog owner talks about their dog in the voice over, the visuals show the dog and the it's owner doing different things together showing their relationship and makes it more fun for an audience to watch.
I also showed the names of each of the dog owners and their dogs together pop up on screen. Feedback I received people said they liked the names being together because it showed the idea of a relationship. Some improvements I received was to change the fades, and add a fade in at the start of my documentary so it doesn't just jump straight in and also add a fade out at the end. I completely agree with this, it will help my documentary look smooth. There was also some fades after it changed to a new interview, however I only used a fade out to black and didn't fade in which made the documentary look unprofessional with the editing. This is something I could change and improve on.
Use of Mise-En-Scene
For the locations I shot and interviewed each of the interviewees in their own homes as it would be easier for them and less stress for the dogs because they have the comfort of their own home. The lighting I used was just the ambient lights in the house, however for the last interview I felt the lighting was too dark and needed another light source.
My Thoughts
I am fairly happy with how my documentary turned out however watching it back I saw some silly mistakes that I could definitely improve on and I felt I could have done better. I'm happy with the shots I got of the dogs and the layout of the documentary but due to timing and the arranging of the interviews with some not being available until a later date and having the interviews at all different days it was difficult to edit properly without all the footage that kept changing and because of this I spend a lot of time filming and less time editing which caused me rush at the end of the project. If I done this again I would definitely organize and manage my time better. I'm happy with the shots, the interviews and how the production turned out but I'm too happy with the editing with a few mistakes and wanted to add a title in my documentary.
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