Sound Equipment

As the Canon 600d's internal sound isn't the best quality I wanted to make sure that the sound was clear and crisp as I would be recording a lot of dialogue within my film. In order this this outcome to occur I used a Zoom H1 external sound recorder throughout filming to enhance the overall sound quality. I have a close friend who is a sound design graduate who lend me the equipment and taught me how to use it.

Here is some additional information about the product.

X/Y microphone pattern captures stereo sound with remarkable depth and clarity.


Like all Zoom recorders, the H1's onboard microphones are configured in an X/Y pattern for stunning stereo imaging. Because both mics are arranged on the same axis, they are equidistant from the sound source for perfect localization and no phase shifting. The result is great stereo recordings with natural depth and accurate imaging.

Reduce noise with the built-in low-cut filter

Use the onboard low-cut filter to reduce unwanted background noise and focus the recording. This is ideal for interviews and recording outdoors. Use the optional windscreen to further reduce noise.

Attach to a video camera as an external microphone

The compact, lightweight H1 is perfect for use on a video or DSLR camera. The remarkable depth and clarity of sound achieved by the stereo X/Y mic design brings additional realism and depth to HD video. By combining the H1 with a DSLR video camera, you can create a professional video system with high-quality sound.

Directional microphones focus only on the sound you want

The H1's built-in directional microphones focus on the sound being recorded. Unlike omnidirectional microphones, which pick up sound all around indiscriminately, the H1 mics ignore the unwanted noise behind them.

Voice-Over script

Here Is the original Voice-over script I used in recording

[OPENING SCENE INDIA MONTAGE]

V.O - What is freedom? (PAUSE for audience reflection) Love? Independence? Power? The connotation of this word is so vast. It has many meanings throughout the lives of each individual. It cannot be expressed through a single word.

I travelled to India to find out for myself what this concept of freedom meant to some of the people living in poverty and slavery in Pune, India. I met some incredible people with incredible stories, some of which I am able to share with you.

This is Jos, he lives and works in Hydrabad, India and is Director of Mercy Community development foundation, they provide skilled training and financial service to empower and free the Dalits.

[MAIN INTERVIEW SECTION]

[CLOSING SCENE] FREEDOM IMAGERY

Freedom comes in many different forms whether its being released from restriction, the rein to do as we please or simply dancing around and enjoying yourself. (PAUSE) Ill leave you to figure out what it is for you.

Documentary Feedback

I posted my final documentary piece on a number of different social media sites which allowed feedback to be given and for a wide audience of people to view it. As you can see from the screen shot above I received some great feedback from my peers and many people have said in addition to this that they had enjoyed it and that I had done a good job. I also had great feedback from my teachers and people who I know within the industry regarding the shot selection and editing which is really helpful to recognise for future productions I do. Here is a screenshot from one of my school teachers.

Final Cut Pro 7 software

In post production for this documentary project I used the editing software Final Cut Pro 7.
I was taught the basic techniques and shortcuts to the software by a friend who had been using the software for a long time and knew it well. I had practiced using the software on a few previous projects so that by the time I came round to editing this project I knew what I was doing and was confident in using it so I could concentrate on the film's content more than the editing process.
During this project I also experimented with colour grading and colour correction to ensure that my shots were vibrant enough to show India to its full potential in terms of its vast variety of colours and landscapes. I thoroughly enjoyed this process and developed my knowledge and skills of how to operate the software and use it to its fullest potential.

Here are some screenshots of examples of processes and techniques I used when editing with this piece of software.

Here is an overview shot of the timeline in Final Cut Pro where the editing process takes places. There are 2 video tracks and multiple audio tracks which gives me the ability to play multiple audio files at one time such as ambient background music, the non diegetic voiceover and diegetic sounds from the surroundings. 

During the interview with Jos I used the SmoothCam effect which increases the stability of the image as I did not have access to a tripod at the time. This effect resulted in a smoother outcome making a more stable image for the audience.

In the Browser window in the top left corner shows the number of original media files that were used within the production of the film, including video files, audio files and still images.

Filming diary

Day 1 - 

Still jet lagged from the day travelling before I walked into the town we're staying in on the outskirts of Pune to look around city and find potential filming locations. At the end of the road we were staying on was the main city road where I was able to film a number of B-roll shots, for example the traffic passing by and lanterns at the side of the road which were there for the Diwali festival. The weather was extremely hot and stuffy in contrast to the English weather so was a short filming trip until we headed back to the place we were staying at to refill with water and rest for the days ahead.

Day 2 -

On the morning of day 2 I got into a minibus to take us to the centre we would be working at and used my external sound recorder to record some of the music that was playing on the local Indian radio stations which I could use as background music in my final piece. We then returned in the afternoon to where we were staying so I used this opportunity to walk around the city and the area we were staying to shoot more B-roll footage of the natural surroundings and the establishing shots of the city that could be used in the opening. As I was filming I heard the sound of bongo drums playing in the distance so I decided I would try and find the source of the music. After 5-10 mins I found a bongo band who were practicing. I explained to them my project and they allowed me to record some of their music to be used within the film. I then stayed for another 15 mins whilst they asked me questions about England. In the evening I took my first ride in an autoricshaw which is the Indian version of a taxi, however it's more like a motorbike with a roof. Having said this I was able to capture great shots out of the side showing the travel through the whole city and 'madness' of the city and environment they live in.

Day 3 - 

In the afternoon of Day 3 I was introduced to Jos who was the leader of an organisation that took women who were in slavery and gave them jobs and skills to make a new start to life. He told us some amazing stories of the people he works with. I knew this would be a great opportunity for me to find out first hand what "Freedom" meant to him. I approached him at the end of his talk to us and asked him whether it would be possible to interview him for my project. He was more than happy to and I gave him the question I wanted to ask and without any further direction spoke for 6 minutes straight on the concept of freedom. It was a mad rush in order to make the shot perfect and I ran into my first technical problems when the memory card ran out of space mid take. In the end everything fell into place and it was a perfect opportunity that I am fortunate to have found and gave me the interview I could base the documentary film around.

Day 4 - 

The evening of Day 4 brought on the first day of the Diwali festival celebrations, which meant the city was jam packed with people messing around with fireworks at the side of the road and incredible paintings on the floor of the streets. This was a golden opportunity to get a lot of B-roll footage of the people in the city celebrating and many shots of fireworks in the sky. In the evening me and my dad both set up our tripods on the roof and experimented with our cameras taking photos of the fireworks.

All in all the trip to Pune, India was a great opportunity and a gold mine for incredible footage that was impossible to capture every last image of. The camera and sound equipment worked extremely well and made filming and post production quicker and easier and improved the quality of the final product massively.

Final project concept and location

For my final idea I came to the conclusion that I wanted to base my project around the concept of "freedom". The topic had been on my mind from a long time and I knew from the beginning of this filming project this is what a wanted to base it on. Within the film I wanted to show the contrast between the Western culture to a less economically stable country. However after filming I had realised that this was much more difficult than I had imagined and concentrated on what freedom meant to the people living out in slavery and in a different culture to me. I was privileged to have the oppurtunity to travel to Pune, India to help with a charity project then came up at the end of November 2012. I took advantage of this opportunity to take my camera equipment to film for the first 4 days I was there. I was able to interview some of the amazing people that I met and gather a solid bulk of A and B roll footage, this gave me a personal veiwpoint and an inside look into the lives of the people living in Pune to build my documentary upon. I gathered additional footage from London, England to show the contrast in cultures and how people live their lives through images and scenes from the busy inner city lifestyle, however in post production decided not to use it. I came across many different sites and iconic landmarks within London and Pune which would show clear contrasts between the two cities.

Examples:

        

Canon EOS 600D

The Canon 600d is the digital SLR camera that I used to film my documentary. 

Here is a basic overview of the functions and settings that can be used within the camera.

The video quality from the 18-megapixel APS-C sensor films up to 1080p HD quality.

The camera has many features such as control over the shutter speed, aperture, ISO and gives opportunity to use a wide variety of lenses that gives you the freedom to create a shot ideal for you and to give you access in taking photos or film in low light or bright light.

The high-res, free-angle LCD screen is much more than just a novelty - it's a lot more versatile than the usual combination of optical viewfinder and fixed LCD, providing new angles of view and enhancing your overall creativity. Above all, it's a fun way of composing your images.

The EOS 600D's top-mounted shooting mode dial has a multitude of letters and icons. The so-called Creative Zone features Programmed Auto (P), Shutter Priority (Tv), Aperture Priority (Av), Manual (M) and A-DEP modes. 

There's a host of scene modes including Flash Off, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Portrait and, oddly enough for an interchangeable-lens camera, a close-up mode as well. The majority of these scene modes allow users who do not want to fiddle with shutter speeds, f-stops, white balance or ISO settings to let the camera know what type of photo they are about to take, which helps the EOS 600D / T3i to optimize 

these settings for that particular subject. 

Live View is also used for the Canon EOS 600D / T3i's movie mode. If you turn the mode dial to the position denoted by the movie camera icon, the camera will enter Live View automatically. Before you start filming, you need to focus on the subject either manually or using auto focus as described above, and optionally set exposure and ISO. To be able to do this, you first need to enter the menu, highlight "Movie exposure" on the relevant tab, and select "Manual". Now you can set aperture, shutter speed (within limits) and ISO manually. Note that even if you do not enable manual exposure for movies, you can still use functions like AE lock and exposure compensation if you feel a need for it.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/canon-eos-rebel-t3i600d-for-dummies.html

Throughout my filming I used two lenses. A Canon 28mm-135mm and a Sigma 17mm-70mm both are very good lenses. The combination of the two allowed me to experiment with close up shots with 28-135mm as it has a larger optical zoom where as the 17-70mm lens gave me a wider angle shot.