4. Analysis and Evaluation

The documentary has been shot and edited, and now reflecting on the process as a whole it is clear to see what went wrong, why, as well as how it could have been avoided. 

A big set back early in pre-production was that our contributor had to drop out because of the fact that he had to start part time work and he wouldn't have the time to shoot with us, firstly this meant we had to find a new contributor as quickly as possible as the shoot day was not far in the future. We found a second contributor, with a very similar story, but less than a week after we had secured her it was announced that there would be a month long national lockdown. This hindered our progress, as the director I had to alter the second script to suit our new restrictions which meant we could not film outside of University grounds, this changed our whole idea although meant that we could complete filming in less time as we now had much less shots to capture. As our shoot day was upon us the 15/11/20 our contributor had to dropout last minute for personal reasons. This was a big problem as our rented equipment was due back only two days later. Luckily our editor was able to contact a friend that was able to shoot on the 17/11, so after extending our equipment drop off date and securing an empty room to film we were able to start and complete our production. If I was to analyse our choices concerning our contributor, I would say that our first choice should have been someone who did not have as many other engagements and was more available to shoot.    

One of the biggest set backs was on shoot day after testing the sound recorder before the cast call it seemed to be functioning perfectly however, just as we were about to start rolling for the first shot, the display of the Zoom H4n recorder read "no card". This lead to the cast and crew having to wait

for me to take out the card and reinsert it multiple times until the producer (who had also been in the sound

recording class) remembered that to reinsert the card we had to turn off and disconnect the device from 

the microphone, then it started recording and we had to go through another sound test.

Shortly after this, approximately 4 shots in, the recorder began to say "low battery" even though it

was three quarters of the way charged and had only been in use for ten or fifteen minutes. After speaking to

a professional I realise that the reason for the recorder draining battery so rapidly was most likely because

it was running phantom power to the microphone as its battery was dead, to remedy this I would have had

to replace the microphones battery and turn phantom power off from the recorder which would have 

extended battery life. As sound is such an important factor and camera audio recording wouldn't have the 

range or quality to capture the dialogue, I had to take out the batteries from the recorder and replace 

them with spares from my kit case.

If I hadn't have gone to the class the previous week and talked to another professional about preparing for a 

shoot where you are expected to bring you own equipment I would not have known to bring spare batteries 

for my equipment, without this information the shoot would have had to wait for the batteries to charge or

the shoot might not have been able to continue. This being said the class I attended to learn how to use 

the sound equipment did not show how to use the Zoom H4n recorder, rather how to use phantom

power when connected to a Canon C100. Although still useful the class was not specific enough for the task 

I had to carry out. Next time I need to record sound for a project I will check my equipment more 

thoroughly and make sure that the batteries are fully charged before use in addition to the card being 

inserted correctly. 

At times during the shoot it was challenging to direct as well as prepare and position the boom for the next 

shot. I was still able to advise the cinematographer on where to position the camera, how to frame the 

subject and what kind of shots we needed to make the audience feel closer to our contributor when certain 

questions where about to be asked. Although, this was difficult and would have taken up less time if I had 

not been assigned a dual role. as well as this the quality of the production as a whole would have improved 

if I had been able to focus on just one role. Now looking back I should have been asking our contributor the 

questions we had prepared rather than the producer and them doing sound instead. On the other hand though

the reason that this decision was made in the first place was because I was the one with the most experience 

in the field of sound recording so as a group we thought it best to play to everyones strengths.  

The final issue our group faced was when editing, the audio that was recorded on shoot day was very quiet 

once placed on the timeline. This problem was easily addressed by making the sound louder in Premiere 

pro. The reason for this was most likely that the AMP on the Zoom H4n was set to low, meaning that the 

audio that it captured when played back would be very quiet. Due to insufficient training and knowledge in 

using this piece of equipment, I was not aware of this setting. Now reflecting on the shoot day, in the time

leading up to the shoot I could have found an online tutorial to quickly show the basics of this equipment 

as I couldn't access an in person class late notice.

  

Finished Documentary:

 Nixon 2020 Documentary.mp4