Evaluation of my project
Once completing all stages of production, receiving feedback and editing my documentary, I am finally happy with my final project and all the researching that I put into it.
My documentary titled ‘Musical Theatre in the North East’ acts as a homage to the theatre community, expressing how it is represented in the North East - told firsthand by those who experience it everyday. When reading the brief and becoming aware of it being about identity and culture, I knew straight away that I had to base my own project around musical theatre. This has been a huge aspect of my life for many years and is something that makes me feel like part of a community. I believe that documentaries have to be personal in some way, which is why I chose this topic.
Although my original idea came to my quite quick, I then had to consider what the actual content would be when narrowed down - what was the purpose? What am I going to get out of this? As the brief is for the client of Sunderland Culture, I decided to focus in on local theatre groups and organisations to see what they are doing for young performers and how they believe the arts are represented. I also took into account that I volunteer and work for a local drama group, meaning I would easily be able to access space to film, with interviewees I know personally to aid in my project. Looking back at the brief I created in January, I originally planned to look at:
- What does the region have to offer for those in the arts?
- Has the region and its’ facilities had an impact on theatre?
- Are the arts and theatre represented in the right way?
- What is it like being involved in this community in this region?
I do believe I have touched all of these points in my final product. I made it evident through my research and clips that the region has about to offer, that although the North East is not as prominent as it is further South, it still has a major impact on young performers. I believe I tackled the question of representation, talking to those who experience what it’s like and asking their opinions. Lastly, more than anything I believe I focused on personal experiences and what it’s like being involved in the community. Evident through many of my interview questions surrounding the likes of “What is your favourite part about doing theatre?” and “Can you talk about any personal experiences you have had?”. Having a strong focus on this really pushed a positive feel on my documentary. In the earlier stages of planning, I couldn’t be certain whether these questions would produce more of a positive or negative response - yet I am so glad it was ultimately positive. Interviewees spoke so highly of the North East and what it can offer, which I could not have predicted.
Once I had researched local theatre companies, organisations and theatres, I moved onto pre-production, which included location scouting and release. As previously stated, I had easy access to a drama studio, along with people I could possibly interview. This was completely a wait lifted off my shoulders, as I had heard my peers having struggles with permissions for recording and problems arising through finding different locations. I’m lucky to have been given the green light straight away, meaning I could focus on other aspects of pre-production. My peers Lucy and Fern had agreed to help me with production and vice versa, meaning I could proceed with filling in cast and crew lists.
Although, this did have to be changed. On my first day of filming at Sunderland College, Fern was not able to make it, meaning I was left one crew member down and without an SD card. This was however quickly resolved as I came in earlier to set up, making sure I had enough time to ask around for an SD card, which I was able to obtain. Lucy was a great help and I am thankful that she stepped up and helped more than what was originally planned. This filming day went smoothly apart from this and I was pleased with the direction that my documentary seemed to be heading in.
When it came to filming at the STAMP studio, more problems arose. As it was outside of College, I was not able to obtain the equipment I had used previously (camera, SD card, tripod, microphone and lighting). This left me with just my iPhone. I had previously shot with my iPhone on other projects and had to accept that this footage may not be as high quality as the other interviews. However, I did not let this affect me as I was lucky to even be filming there in the first place, so I worked with what I had. The interviewees at this location were extremely understanding and patient when it came to setting up. At this location, I was excited to insert appropriate mise-en-scene - the logo of STAMP in the background. I set up a chair infront of this with my phone being adjacent. This little feature may be overlooked by the audience, however I believe it sets up the scene and reminds the audience of the importance of the topic.
Stated previously, I made the choice to edit on iMovie. Editing went quite smoothly which I was pleased about. Although it took longer than anticipated in production meaning there was not much time to edit, I was familiar with iMovie which definitely improved the journey. One main problem that occurred was the storage on my laptop. Something that consumed a lot of time in the editing process was having to clear up storage in order to import my footage. It goes without saying that if I were to repeat this whole project, I would allow myself more time to edit, which I could have used to Premier Pro to edit on. Although I would have only been able to edit when in class, it would have been better in the long run.
Overall, I believe my final product does fit the brief given to us by Sunderland Culture. I ensured that at all points, I checked with peers and received feedback to know I was on the right track and hear them out on any improvements. Carrying out surveys truly paid off in helping me cater to the audience and put them in the forefront of all that I created.
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