Jack Dalton

Week 1

The Following points are drawn from week one’s reading, chapter 3 of Directing the Documentary, by Michael Rabiger.

When developing a concept for your film, you can draw inspiration from the world around you. Sources of material are everywhere. These can include personal journals, newspapers and magazines, the internet, history, local myths and legends, family and childhood stories and Fiction.
A point made by Rabiger is that you must have a vested interest in your subject matter, otherwise you will quickly lose motivation. Picking a subject that you have an emotional connection to and want to learn more about will help keep this from happening.
Narrowing in your ideas and not biting off more than you can chew is key. This is particularly pertinent to our group, as we have a large range of ideas some of them will not be feasible in the time allotted to us. For example, a documentary on coal in the Hunter would require far longer than 5 minutes screen time to do it justice.
What is at stake needs to be considered. The higher the stakes, the greater the audience engagement will be.
Interestingly, Rabiger states “Frankly, I detest the whole idea of B-roll”. Given how commonly this is used it struck me as unusual that it could be considered a “hack” and manipulative.
One thing that is coming across from the reading as a whole is the notion of ‘show don’t tell’. Avoiding lecturing and instead favour imagery, mood and emotion.

Week 2

In this weeks reading, What is a Synopsis? An Outline? A Treatment? from Screen Australia and the Australian Film Commission, I skimmed the first half, which concerned itself with drama, and focused on the second which was on documentary.

After reading this I quickly realised that perhaps the most difficult part of writing our proposal was going to be keeping synopses and treatments short and simple. It is clear from the reading that a particular style of writing is looked for in a proposal which is different from the forms we are used to writing in.
One point that was particularly needed in this reading was the clarification between the outline and the treatment. At first glance these would appear to be incredibly similar. After reading through this section of the reading I quickly realised that my first draft of the outline was in fact better suited as the treatment, with descriptions of what was happening on screen the whole way through it.
Also helpful was the excerpt of the treatment for Eternity. This was immensely helpful in demonstrating the tone and structure of a treatment. The sterility of it did not come across in the explanation in the same way it did when reading the excerpt.

Week 3

This week’s reading was chapter 7 of Directing the Documentary by Michael Rabiger. It focussed on the research side of directing.

It is important to set yourself restrictions. You need to know what is important and relevant to your chosen subject and what is not. Being aware of this will help distinguish what should and should not be filmed, streamlining not only the shooting process but also the editing process. This will also keep the story focused and meaningful.
Method used to conduct research is subject driven. In many situations building rapport and trust with your subject is a necessary first step. We are fortunate in that I already have a good relationship with the subject we have chosen for our project. This allows us to focus on other areas of research. In this case we are choosing to use a poetic style, looking for the emotional connection to riding and place.
It is necessary to remain flexible and open to change. As research continues through pre-production and production itself it may be necessary to adapt and modify our ideas. Being prepared through research can assist in knowing when a new possible opportunity presents itself and if it will fit with what you are trying to achieve.

During this week I conducted my own research in preparation for the Proposal. This consisted of a preliminary interview with our subject Louis. My main focus was to gain a better understanding of his background in mountain biking and his motivations for riding. Below are the key points taken from this research:

Louis is a Newcastle born and bred mountain biker. He started riding around the age of 10 and grew up riding with a group of other boys who were also very accomplished mountain bikers. At around 13 he started racing, competing in club and state downhill events. He says he was the slowest of his friend group, always being beaten by them at races.
Some of the places he would ride regularly include Glenrock, Awaba, Mt Sugarloaf, Swansea and Ourimbah.
He says “I was fairly lucky with injuries until I got to 16/17 years old. That’s when I broke my first bone and the saga began”. These include breaking collar bones, rupturing AC joints and most notably breaking his leg which caused complications with his Femoral artery.
He thinks the reason he rides is different to the reason other people ride. Other people might enjoy the intense focus, physical challenge or even the scenery. But for Louis it’s all about riding the gnarliest stuff he can. He wants to send the sketchy lines and get loose. He loves the feeling of his heart rate spiking and adrenaline coursing through his body as he hangs on, barely in control.
Louis started working at Drift Bikes, a local bike shop, in 2015.
His Favourite trail is not actually located in Newcastle, it is in Tasmania at a bike park called Maydena.

Photos of Louis in his Earlier days of mountain biking.

Week 4

This week we focus on Pitching and Proposals. We present our ideas to the class and the weeks reading, chapter 4 of Rabiger’s Directing Documentary, gave insight into the process.

At the start of the chapter Rabiger writes “you must focus your ideas ahead of shooting, so you can look for particular material. That’s directing as opposed to archiving.”. This clarifies my role as a director, to look for and focus in on what is needed, not just visually but also for the story.
The reading suggests that one should start with the pitch and use that to solidify and inform the proposal. Each time you pitch your idea you should read your audiences reaction and make changes based on what they respond positively and negatively to. Upon reflection this has been happening within our group for the past couple of weeks. Each time an idea is put forward we will judge each other’s reactions and shape our documentary based off of that.

After our pitch in class one group brought the point that there are many places that are illegal to fly drones and suggested that Glenrock was one of them. We plan to use a drone for several shots in the film as we believe it will add to the production value and has a very smooth quality which we want for certain sections. As I am a director/producer I decided research whether or not we will legally be able to fly a drone in the area.

Rules and regulations for flying drones are dictated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). Their page on drone safety rules give an overview of general do’s and don’ts of flying a drone. It does not, however, have any specifics of flying in national parks.
Policy on flying drones in national parks can be found on the national parks website. According to this source, you can fly a drone within a park as long as you seek and receive approval from the NPWS and it is not a drone exclusion zone.
The NPWS policy page says to refer to the visit a park page to find out if the park you wish to fly in is part of an exclusion zone. However, Glenrock’s page has no information on drones. This will require further research to determine whether using a drone is a possibility.

Week 5

This week’s reading was on recording and microphones. This information doesn’t necessarily apply to me directly as the director or producer, however some of the sound terminology described could prove useful during the editing process when communicating with the rest if the crew during production and post production.

Atmosphere: This is also sometimes known as room tone. It is the ambient sound of a room or environment and is critical to record in case a “hole” in the sound needs covering in post.
Sync Track: This is the audio recorded alongside video. We will probably use some of this in our film to emphasize certain sounds when a mic attached to the camera is impractical.
Post Syncing: Also referred to as ADR, this is a process of rerecording audio to a section of video. We are unlikely to do this for our film as it is outside the scope of our abilities and, from previous experiments of mine, somewhat tedious.
Sound Effect: These are all the sounds that are not atmosphere, score or dialogue. In our film this will mostly be sounds of foot steps on gravel and bike sounds (such as tires sliding).
Foley: This is when sound effects are recorded and created in a separate recording session. It can be used to enhance certain sounds or even allow sounds that were non-existent on set to be added in. We may use this technique to enhance certain sounds or create new sound for any slow-motion shots.

Upon the suggestion of our tutor Catherine, I also read the chapter ‘From Script to Transcript’ in Rabiger’s Directing the Documentary.

The main idea that stood out to from my directors’ perspective is creating juxtaposition of content.
The example used in the book is arranging the interviews of mother and daughter so that their differing points of view are set in stark contrast to one another. Doing this can heighten the audience’s awareness of the dynamic relationship between the characters.
As we are shooting and editing our film I will be keeping my eye out for shots, imagery or sequences that could be juxtaposed through montage to create greater depth and meaning.

This week I also watched a film that was previewed during the lecture A World in Disarray. This film explored the politics and tensions in four key global hotspots of conflict. Although it is a vastly different style of film to what we are trying to create, there were some key features that stood out to me.

The score was used very effectively to create tension. It was not a musical score, more of an ambience used to elicit a feeling of dread in the audience. These techniques could be used in our film to help elicit certain feelings from the audience, albeit probably not dread.
Editing, particularly in the opening and closing of the film, used a similar technique to what we plan to do with cutting to the music. A World in Disarray, however, takes it to the extreme, with extremely quick cuts between different shots in a sort of rhythmic montage. We may be able to utilise this sort of technique to add drama and a sense of speed to our riding sequences.

This trailer exhibits some of the features discussed above.

Week 6

Point of view was the subject of this week’s reading from Rabiger.

The notion of truth telling in film came up several times in the chapter. In the context of point of view, it made me consider our approach to the story we’re telling. Up till this point we have had a particular story in mind and expected that our subject (Louis) will fulfil our planned narrative. However, the story is about Louis’ riding and his subjective experience of it. We need to let his truth take precedence over the one we have planned, rather than manufacturing our own version of it. This is an issue we will need to be careful of when editing in order to maintain the integrity of the film.
Another thought that came to me when reading the chapter is that we may be restricting ourselves by interviewing just one person. Although I love the idea of delving deep into Louis’ psyche and I believe it will work as a film, particularly one this short, I think we need to remain open to the idea of interviewing other people as well. This would allow us to find points of contrast to help engage the viewer, juxtaposing differing opinions. The alternative to this would be highlighting the differences in Louis’ way of thinking to the audiences.

This week we also did our first day of filming. Louis performed very well but we underestimated the amount of time needed to get all the shots we wanted. Even so, we have a solid start and we will be able to fill in any shots that are needed in subsequent shoots. We will definitely need to focus on time management for our future shoots. It was very easy to become focussed on trying to get every shot perfect and spending too much time in one spot. We will need to be more efficient next time.

Week 7

Seeing as I had already read this week’s prescribed reading on producing transcripts, I decided to read a different chapter from Rabiger’s Directing the Documentary. I decided on chapter 12 ‘Directing’.

The section I found most relevant was on directing participants, particularly making them feel comfortable. This is something our group struggled with when interviewing Louis. He was a little self-conscious and it showed on camera. One solution suggested by Rabiger is to give the participant something to do. I think this will be massively helpful for Louis, he says himself during the interview “I’m so fidgety, I always need to be doing something.”. we will just need to work out what we can have him do that won’t create too much background sound while recording. This way his mind will be taken off himself allowing him to open up more easily.
Another helpful hint was making sure to get the subjects to answer questions in a way that the original question can be cut out and the answer will still make sense. I was afraid of doing this during our interview as I thought it might add extra pressure to Louis and cause him to be even more self-conscious. However, if we prepare him beforehand and make sure he’s comfortable then he will probably be able to accomplish this while still being natural.

One issue that became apparent while viewing our rushes in class was that the audio from the lapel mic was not the best quality. There was a lot of bass coming through which gave it muffled tone. It appears as if the mic is facing away from Louis’s mouth, which could mean it is losing the higher end sibilance and instead picking up the lower end reverberation from his chest. It may be salvageable with some EQ applied, however, for future shoots we will need to be more diligent with our set up and checks for audio.

Week 8

With no reading this week we focused on preparing our prototype.

We put together a basic cut of our first action sequence including some the preluding interview.
We developed a workflow that allowed us to efficiently edit to the music. First, we laid down the shots in the order that we felt was appropriate. Then we added the soundtrack and trimmed the footage so that the cuts matched the music.
This method worked well for the prototype, however we may need to modify it for the final cut so that the points of climax and tension in the visual story also match the music, not just the cuts.
Another issue that arose was the lack of screening our files. Although we had watched through all of them, we had not labelled or separated the good shots from the bad shots. This led to some frustration when trying to find a specific clip we wanted amongst the sea of other clips. Separating these will make our workflow far more streamlined.

Week 9

This week’s readings were chapters from Rabiger that focused on the post production process. The first was on assembling the first edit and the second was about dramatic structure.

An important part of the editing process is viewing the material shot so far. After the struggle last week of wasting time sorting through clips to find the right shot, we decided to view all our material again and separate the shots we wanted to use, or were good enough to use, from the rest. It also helped give us a good understanding of what we had available to us prior to starting the rough cut.
The idea of assembling the film visually, as opposed to using the transcript as the basis was interesting. Telling the story through images fits with our plan to make our film in a more poetic style. Although we haven’t relied heavily on the transcript so far, I do think it was starting to dictate how the film was structured. Doing a visual edit as the first assembly could be the perfect way for us to make sure our film is telling a story, not just expositing.
Another pertinent point is the need to show character development. We won’t be able to show this on screen, instead we will need to rely on Louis’s own anecdotes unveil his development as a rider.
Something that we will need to be careful of that is mentioned in the book is not getting caught up refining sequences when doing our first assembly. I feel that this is something that could really hinder the development of our project. If we spend too much time refining a small section of the project early on, we won’t be as open to change later if we need to restructure a section.
Reading about how to structure storylines prompted me to consider that our story could potentially use some restructuring. Our original plan was to split the story into two parts, the first about Louis and his personal experiences of mountain biking, and the second about the community of mountain biking. However, considering the footage we’ve gathered so far, we could be better off re-arranging our story to follow a three-act structure. This would start with Louis riding with the group, seemingly very happy. It would be followed by him crashing and investigating the dangers of mountain biking. Finally, it would end with Louis riding on his own, having overcome the obstacles of broken parts and injuries.
The text mentioned that modern documentaries go deeper into the psyche of their participants. This could be helpful with our future interviews. I had not considered whether our questions were superficial or not but given that we are building our documentary around a single character it makes sense to intimately explore their mind.

Week 10

This week we looked at two areas of post-production that I had not heavily considered recently. The first chapter from Rabiger was on sound and the second focused on titles and credits.

The first and most important point is the need to lock the image before we get too involved with sound. The only exception to this is where the sound informs the image. An example in our film of this is when the final riding sequence is cut to the music. It was necessary to add the music prior to locking that image so that the cuts were in sync with the beat. Other than situations like this, doing sound work prior to finalising the image could lead to unnecessary work being done.
The notion that “less is more in sound” I think will apply heavily to our film. The natural sound of our interviews and much of our primary footage is quite successful in capturing the natural atmosphere of the bush landscape the film is set in. We can rely on this throughout the majority of the soundtrack. However, there could be some parts where we cut back the sound and focus in on just specific elements we want to bring the audiences attention to. A recent video featuring Bryn Atkinson does this to great effect.

I had not considered how we would need to organise our sound tracks. I had originally thought that the natural sound could be on one track and the interview could all be on a separate track. However, as the sound chapter point out, different microphone placement and different settings may require different work. In our film we will most likely need to put each of our interviews on different tracks so that we can use EQ to make them as consistent as possible.
One particularly helpful part of the title and credits chapter was the rule of thumb for how long each title should appear on screen, long enough to read the content one and a half times. I would not have been sure of the duration of our titles without this information.

Week 11

As we near the end of post-production our readings turn to how we can create the best version of our film. This week focused on music and structural refinements.

The us of music in our film is relatively sparse, relying primarily on the natural sounds of the environment. The chapter on music seems to back this decision, with a less is more approach to music. One interesting point on how to use it was making sure it does not simply replace emotions that should come from the content of the film or repeat what is already said visually. Music has the ability to add so much more to a scene, complimenting the visuals rather than just repeating them.
Another useful tip was how to start or end music. A good place to end of a track is when there is another crucial bit of sound to replace it, such as dialogue or effects track. Ending by fading out as you reach this point is good, but it can be even better to recut the music to fit your film. We have applied both of these techniques to our film.
The chapter on refinement and structure highlighted the importance of trial audiences to test your films effectiveness. They provide a fresh set of eyes and ideas, as our crew are not objective anymore after having worked on the film for so long. One suggestion it made was to watch the audience for their reactions during viewing. This could allow us to determine how engaged they are at different points during the film. If they are still they are engaged and paying attention, if they are restless they are probably not finding that part of the film very gripping. This, plus any feedback that we get from them after the film, will inform us what changes might need to be made.

Week 12

There was no reading for this week. Our project is getting very close to completion but there were a few notes taken from our screening which we will use to tweak our project.

The main one was that the pacing could use some minor tweaks in places. This is mainly around the middle of the film where we see Louis lying on the ground after his crash. There were several people who felt that it there it might seem a bit too calm or still and that it could benefit from some adjustment. We will most likely address this by covering more of Louis’ interview with footage from the crash. There may even be a few more tweaks that can be made at the end of this section when we fade to black, bringing up the sound of the ocean even earlier than we currently do to give it a bit more continuity.
There was also some concern that the sound had some strange panning and certain tracks were only coming out of one of the speakers instead of both. We will need to do some tests in the edit suite to see if there is actually anything wrong, although it is unlikely as all our sound was recorded on mono tracks.
I also watched the audience during the preview as suggested by Rabiger in his chapter on refinement and structure. I did not see much restlessness, suggesting that the audience was engaging with the film well. I feel that this technique may be better suited to longer films however, as it is easy to maintain concentration for five minutes, and much less so for one hour.