Production Diary

 Day One: 31/03/2022

Today I filmed the college classroom scene- where the contributors were completing work on their computers to show how they use technology. For this scene I used a Canon camera and a tripod to ensure that the shots were steady and not too shaky. I filmed multiple takes of this scene so that when I need to I can look through the different shots and choose the best shot to include in the documentary later on. I also filmed some behind the scenes footage of the actors talking amongst themselves to show the progress of the scene- alongside some still images of the scene. Today I also attempted to film one of the interview scenes but unfortunately we ran out of time and battery on the camera. I managed to film a small portion of this interview scene using another Canon camera, a tripod and a small boom microphone that could be attached to the top of the camera. Seeing as I was not able to finish filming this scene I aim to complete the filming of it tomorrow- using the same equipment as today.

When I was attempting to film the interview scene I set a custom white balance using the settings on the camera. I did this by taking a still image of the interviewee in the setting and using that image as a basis for the white balance. I did this so that the lighting of the shot was not too dark or light. Setting the white balance for interview shots ensure that the scene has good lighting- as if the regular lights were used there would have been a slight blue or yellow tint. 

Day Two: 01/04/2022

Though today I aimed to finish filming the interview scene- the interviewee had lost their voice- so instead of filming today I combed through the dailies from yesterdays footage to try and narrow down what shots I would use in the final product. I have not yet finished looking through the footage yet- but I have narrowed it down to a few shots that I will begin to edit into Premier Pro once I have more of the scenes filmed.

Day Three: 02/04/2022

Today I filmed the first three scenes of my documentary. I set up the camera tripod in the first location and filmed the interviewee completing work and keeping up with the news on his laptop. I took multiple shots of this scene- although not as many as I planned to- due to the interviewee having to lead mid shoot- though I did manage to get some still images of the scene. I ensured that the equipment was all set up again once the interviewee had returned- and began to film the main interview scene. For this footage I set up a Canon EOS 700 camera on the tripod and then attached a Takstar SGC-598 recording microphone so that I could pick up the audio from the interview. I had the interviewee sit in a comfortable position for them and started filming. Throughout the filming of the footage I checked the camera every now and then to ensure that I still had sufficient battery and that the focus was good- otherwise I would have had to re-shoot the footage. I experimented with the distance between the camera and the interviewee- having a few shots from further away and zoomed in- and a few closer up. The audio in all of these shots was a little quiet- but I will fix that in editing. After this interview scene- I filmed the last scene that I needed- which was some more shots of the interviewee using technology in different ways- in which I also took some behind the scenes footage and still images. I also managed to take some still images of technology that the interviewee had- along side some diagrams of technology.

For this interview scene I also set the white balance for the interview scene. This is important for all interview scenes as it ensures there is no tint.

Day Four: 08/04/2022

Today I filmed the next three scenes of my documentary. I took a Canon camera out from college, as well as a tripod and a Takstar mic to attach on top of the camera for the interview. Upon arriving on location I set up the tripod and and camera and first filmed multiple shots of the interviewees using technology for things such as university work or coding. I filmed multiple shots of these scenes so that I could comb through them when the time came and choose the best shots to include in the documentary. I also took behind the scenes still images as well as videos so that I could include these in my dailies.

After I filmed these scenes I also filmed the interview scene. Unfortunately, looking back on the footage now the lighting was not the best- but I can fix this in editing if I need to. I did not get a chance to film multiple shots for this scene- as the battery started to die and I did not have access to another battery or a charger, but I did manage to get the shots that I needed.

Day Five: 29/04/2022

Today I filmed the last scene for my documentary, which was the last interview scene. I did aim to film this on the first day of filming but unfortunately the camera did not have enough charge. I acquired the DSLR camera, tripod and Takstar mic to film this scene. I set up the tripod and the camera and ensured the actor was in the shot. The brightness was a bit high but I will be able to fix this in editing. I took multiple shots of this scene so that in editing I could pick from the best ones. I also filmed some behind the scenes footage.

As of filming this scene I have finished filming for my documentary, and now all I need to do is edit everything else together.