Mobile phone documentary Evaluation

Use of A-Roll and B-Roll

The B-Roll in our Documentary was used throughout the video. For starters, the B-Roll was placed right at the start of the Documentaryand inbetween the interviews. The B-Roll was placed in these particular places was due to the fact of covering up jumpcuts in the interviews, this would create a smooth run through the interview. The B-Roll at the start of the Documentary was used so it could introduce the Documentary,a lot of documentarys do this usually at the beginning of their documentarys. The A-Roll in the Documentary was the usage of the interviews. All ready we had four interviews, but i decided to add the two so it could be under atleast 2 mins max. The interviews consisted of the same questions being asked but were edited to match the answers.

Framing of interviews

The framing of the interviews were from a close up point of view, so we could see the interviewee clearly in the shot. Using the rule of thirds, The interviewee appears far from center on either the left or right side of the camera (depending on the position of the interviewer). The interviewee also could not look directly into the camera as this would not look realistic and look more fictious and acted.

Mise en Scene of the interviews
The documentary was filmed in priestley college, emphasizing the youth of the people interviewd (I.E adolescence) The use of B-roll of the mobile phones also related back to the interview as the B-roll played through each interview.

Editing of interviews to remove questions
I mainly took out most of the questions i asked, but placed some questions deliberatly in so it could make sense in the interview. The questions were usually asked at the start of the interviews to make sense of the answers but most of the questions i cut out and put B-roll over them.

Use of stills and Archive footage
There was only one archive footage i used in the entire sequence and that was of the angry birds gameplay. Using this would have relations to mobile phone use as mainly people with iphones or androids play the game. It is also a very popular game making it recognizeable to other people.

Sound and music
The music used through out the documentary were two songs by the artists Daft Punk, the first song which appeared at the start and credits was called "Human after all" and the second song was called "Digital love". The use of these songs were used because Daft Punk are known for their robotic act and the use of technological references. This would make reference to technology like mobile phones and such.

A2 Documentary Mobile phones

Basic Conventions of Documentary making

A-roll-  Usually contains footage of interviewing the subject, E.G

The shot of the interview needs to be important and must look realistic and also relate towards the subject of the interviewer, for example:
Rule of thirds: A techinique used in film and photography, the rule of third uses grid like features on the image and tries to centre the subject onto the. For example, in a documentary, the subject shouldnt be in centre of the camera but instead go towards the left or right that way look like she is actually having a conversation with someone.


An example on how the rule of thirds should be used.

Eyeline: The subject in relation to the rule of thirds again must not only not be in the centre but not look into the centre. The subject must look at his/her interviewee to again make it look more realistic and as if they are having conversation.

An example of the subject making eyeline without looking directly at the camera.

Relevenant background: Similar in film in which they use Mise En Scene, Relevant backgrounds is important to relate to the persons occupation  and/or hobby. I.E The video of Vices Cute bunny competition shows of  rabbit trainers being interviewed. There is also the competition event in the background, identifying their occupation.

Rabbit trainer/competitor being interviewed with a rabbit cage in the background, showing their occupation.

B-roll-  A B-roll consists of various locations, footage of subject ,action shots ect. B-roll is used as either in between jump cuts to cover up the edit or as fillers for the documentary. I.E some one walking.
Archive footage-  Quick snippets of film used from other sources to reference the theme of the documentary. For example, if there is a documentary on space travel, they may add the moon landing onto it. Archive footage is pretty short.
Sound voice over-  Usually consisting of a narration to explain whats going on or to give factual information on the topic. The narration usually consisits of the interviewers voice to give perspective on the situation or his/her thoughts. This isnt always used in Documentarys though and is not that necissary.
Still images- Mainly used for documentarys based on one person where there are photos used for the person growing up. This could also be used for documentarys on crime to show drawings, photos and documentation. Similar to archive image except this surrounds mainly the subject.
Non diagetic sound- This would be for the soundtrack of the doucmentary. This can be important as it describes the mood and emphasizes situations. The songs usually are linked into the thmes of the documentary and are played mainly entirely through the documentary.