WITH VAN IN BACKGROUND:

Can you please introduce yourselves?

Tell me the story about the history of this place. How did it all start?
sidetrack questions: could you describe to me the model of this van, where did your great-grandfather buy it from? how has it changed over time?

How did you learn to make these doughnuts? What kind of memories do you have with ADK as a child? Tell me some of the memories you’ve had with your family in this van.

Were there any challenges that you and your family had to face over the years with your business? If so, how did you overcome them?

I heard that you have a factory in Collingwood, how did that all happen?

Can you describe to me how the doughnuts used to be made before you guys had a factory? What are the differences?

Tell me about your favourite memory with a customer? What makes you guys continue to do what you do?

Your doughnuts are so iconic, people come a long way to get your doughnuts! What do you think makes them an icon, and What do you think makes them so special and unique?

I know that this place has been around for generations. What does this place mean to you and your family?

Is it important to both of you that this family legacy continue? And if so, how do you foresee the future of this business?

INSIDE VAN:

Could you do a brief tour for me?

How do you work with such a small space?

Tell me about a typical working day in the van.

Show me and explain to me how the equipments work?

What is your secret recipe 😉

Could you describe to me step by step the process of making the doughnuts?

ASK CUSTOMERS
Why are you here today? What do you think of the doughnuts?

Do you have memories of when

1. Introduce yourself
2. What is American Doughnut Kitchen?
3. Why are the doughnuts are so iconic?
4. How was the business established?
5. How would you describe the success of ADK?
6. Tell me about the customers that you get?
7. What are your earliest memories of ADK?
8. What memories do you have of your Grand Father?
9. How did feel about continuing the legacy?
10. Do you think the business will be passed on to your children?

What we want belinda to say:

Do you want to see the Arnold’s legacy

Arnold passed away in 1989 and I want to see the legacy of Arnold continue. He would be happy that people enjoy his donuts.

“I would hope that my children and their children will continue what my Grandfather started.”

The American Doughnut Kitchen has been in the Queen Victoria Market since 1950, when my Grandfather, Arnold and his business partner, Dave Christie bought a jam doughnut recipe from a german company. ADK started out as a small business and a van. Now, in 2017, the company has a factory in Collingwood, two doughnut vans that we use for functions and the van at Queen Victoria Market.

In summary

We can do all the interviews on the one day, but can come back if we need to.

Where?

Who?

Julie Boening (Arnold’s Daughter)

Craig Christie (Dave’s Son)

Belinda Donaghey (Julie’s daughter | Arnold’s Granddaughter)

Karl Boening (Julie’s husband | Arnold’s son-in-law)

Notes:

• What emotion are you trying to evoke?  Write down what you hope to get out of subject.
• Limit to 10 questions? Target question 8 to find most about emotions?
• Start with context context questions? What is? Tell me about customers?
• Finish with questions that bring them back to contemporary times?

Community –

How long have you been at the [PLACE]?

History –

What are your earliest memories of the Doughnut Store?
How did feel about continuing the legacy?

“I would hope that my children and their children will continue what my Grand Father started.”

Cresswell, Tim 2014, Place: an introduction, Wiley Blackwell, West Sussex, UK

(Cresswell 2014 and Agnew 1987, p. 12) – The political geographer John Agnew has outlined three fundamental aspects of place as a “meaningful location” 1. Location…2. Locale… 3. Sense of place

(Cresswell 2014, p. 14) – Novels and films often evoke a sense of place – a feeling that we the reader/viewer know what it is like to “be there”. We often have a sense of place about where we live, or where we lived when we were children‰

(Cresswell 2014, p. 18) – But place is also a way of seeing, knowing, and understanding the world. When we look at the world as a world of places, we see different things. We see attachments and connections between people and place. We see worlds of meaning and experience. Sometimes this way of seeing can seem to be an act of resistance against rationalisation of the world that focuses more on space than place. To think of an area of the world as a rich and complicated interplay of people and the environment – as a place – is to free us from thinking of it as facts and figures

(Cresswell 2014, p. 18) – Place is how we make the world meaningful and the way we experience the world.

(Cresswell 2014, p. 119) – Place and memory are, it seems, inevitably intertwined. Memory appears to be personal thing – we remember some things and forget others. But memory is also social. Some memories are allowed to fade – are not given any kind of support… One of the primary ways in which memories are constituted is through the production of places.

Week 2 – Tuesday 12th January

Notes:
Not advised to give questions beforehand. Answers will come across as scripted
Instead explain the theme and topic to the interviewee

Show interviewee that you are invested in their story. Empathise. Show you have done research

Interview setup

Point directional Mic as close to subject

Hiding the mic:
Use felt material (Moleskin) to hide mic under shirt

Room recording of 30s for atmosphere

Input one – Shotgun mic
Input two – Lapel mic

• Ask for full questions
• I need you put the question in the answer
• Demonstrate what a full sentence is. Include the question and describe beyond the question.
• Navigate interviewee through process
• Tell you how you want the question answered
• Tell them where the eye contact is
• Tell them they can pass on a question, but state that there isn’t a question that would be
• Ask questions from iPhone
• Use facial expressions
• Be silent. You have set up the situation. You allow interviewee to fill the silence

 

Interview questions:

• Start with context questions. Start with easy questions and lead towards the harder ones
• Take interviewee through the journey
• At the end ask them if there is anything they would like to talk about
• Finish by brining them back to reality

 

Release Forms:

Print Media Release forms from Factory.
Ask for them to sign release forms half way through production. Change date
If under 18 ask for parents signature

 

In-Class Screenings: 

Screening – The Thin Blue Line by Errol Morris

• Puts the words in the mouths of interviewees. Filmmaker trains interviewee how to answer questions. Answers are descriptive.

Exercise:

What questions are asked?
What do you remember the night of?
What happened the night of the signing

Errol Morris invented the Interrotron. Allows interviewee to look straight into camera between a reflective glass window

The Lord’s Tale

Screening – Geri – The Documentary by Molly Dineen

• Filmmaker establishes strong relationship with subject that allows for a more accurate portrayal.

Screening – T is for Teacher

• Rohan played a coaching role in the interview process

Free Resource: Kanopy Online Streaming service

Recording Place – Week 1 Thursday

Mini Lecture

Aesthetics of Camera

White Balance:
Correct temperature
Natural look
Change settings to adapt to location
Overtime conditions change
Outdoor – tends to be blue
Inside with tungsten tends to look orange
Always use the custom option
AWB is always measuring light and colour. Can tend adjust due to temperature
Indoor/outdoor can appear muddy

Focus:

Broadcast television is generally in focus
Understand your distance
Zoom all the way in on the eye
Adjust focus on light in eyes
Zoom out
Pan tilt to reframe as needed
Adjust focus at every shot
Never use auto focus

Exposure:

Correct exposure: Small amounts of true white and true black and dynamic colours in between
Keep your ISO as low as possible
Aperture/iris

f2:
More light
large opening
shallow depth of field

f22:
Less light
small opening
deep depth of field

 

Shutter speed:
Pal is the Australian standard. it is comprised of 25 frames
Traditional shutter shape is 180 degrees
Sutter speed should be 1/50th of a second

 

Shot movement
Allows us to explore space
Pan/tilt/track

 

Rohan inspiration: Eve Arnold (i.e. misfits with clark gable)

Framing – Rule of thirds:
A formula for creating dynamic compositions which the eye can travel…

A key reason I chose to do the Recording Place summer studio course that takes place between January 3 and the 16th of February 2017, was to improve my knowledge and knowhow of how to make a documentary.

In 2016, I completed a 30 minute documentary called ‘Longhorns’, it is a story about a South Sudanese basketball club based in the Western suburbs of Melbourne. I’m proud of the way the documentary turned out, how it was received and the way the story was told.

In completing ‘Longhorns’, I have a hunger to tell more stories and stories that mean something to me. I know there are many ways I can improve the way I can make my next documentary and the opportunity to learn from documentary filmmaker, Rohan Sprong, is something I couldn’t pass up.

Things I can improve on:

• Improving interview methods
• Efficient and organised post-production and editing techniques
• Knowing and understanding what shots are are needed
• Best methods to film footage
• Dealing with interview subjects

Lentara – Final Presentation

Prior to presentations, Jeff thanked the class for their work and contributions towards their initiatives within Lentara. He brought up the time he first spoke to the collective studio and he is impressed with the process that has lead to this current stage where we are presenting our final outputs.

The feedback we got from Gemma and Jeff was positive. They liked the presentation, process we took and the final outcome.

Jeff mentioned that there is a good chance that Fundraising video will be screened at a an up coming committee meeting.

Where to from here?

Deliverables, including final video, documentation, clearance forms, music licences will need to be uploaded and passed over to Lentara via Seth and Pete. Raw files of footage is also required.

As potentially my final entry for this course, I will say that I am extremely happy that I chose to and completed the Non-fiction design studio. I have no doubt the experience and knowledge I have gained will be beneficial to me in the future. Working with a real non-profit made me enjoy the studio that much more. I hope this studio should be around for a long time and gets the best out of many other students in years to come.

In the lead up to the final presentation of our prototypes, the three videos, logo design and website design, the Men’s She group worked to re-fine each one of them.

Rizki got feedback from Pete in cleaning up the Brimbank Men’s Shed logo and Seth assisted myself and Matt to finalise the video of the 2 minute cut, 30 second and 15 second variations. Seth also assisted with the structure of the 4 minute Documentation video presentation.

Changes that were made to 2 Minute video:

Introduction – Call to action:

Split interview:

Originally “suicide” topic was included in this sequence but was re-arranged to later in the video. It is more appropriate this way.

Additional interview footage:

To avoid potential ethical issues of dialogue being connected to the wrong person, Seth explained dialogue must be associated with the person speaking it. Interview footage replaced some of the cutaway footage.

New information text #1:

Seth brought up the idea that, people don’t like seeing things that have been around for a while ending. This is true and therefore this text was changed to emphasise that.

New information text #2:

To appear more direct and immediate, “closed” was used as opposed to discontinued

Ending:


Now split up into to slides to be more clear.

Lentara Video Presentation Feedback:

Panel:
Gemma, Jeff and Anne-Marie from Lentara
Seth and Pete from Idea Collective Studio

For this presentation we wanted to get feedback specifically for the videos and use it to guide the direction of the individual videos

Feedback from Documentary

• 2 second grabs of shots not long sequences due to unstabilised footage and unecessary shots
• Video should follow a story arc. Ask a question and answer at the end
• Don’t show uncut and unedited footage. 2 sec takes

Feedback from Corporate

• Slow

Midway through the video, Seth mentioned that this video, like the documentary is not going to be engaging to an audience and the panel agrees that we need a more direct, shorter and finish product.

I think the panel also thought the fundraising video would be similar, but I believed the video I produced covers those issues, it’s a more finished product and suggested it should be viewed.

After watching the video, the feedback was positive and it was the approach they wanted to take.

From this, the panel suggested we re-direct our approach to create shortened videos that will support the 2 Minute fundraising video. A 30 second video and a 15 second video. I will also refine the 2 minute video to bring it to as close a final product as possible.

Summary Feedback:

What to do for next week:

• 30 sec video
• 15 sec video x 3 for instagram
• Donation page link
• Quotes for videos
• Possible screening: Town Show
• Community meeting

Ideas from other presentations:

• Storyboard
• Timeline
• Tell a story
• Re-word text
• What is the narrative?

One of my major motivations in creating the feel of this video was an Under Armour ad featuring Michael Phelps. It’s a video I have watched over and over and what I like about it is the way they have used images and music to generate such a strong feeling. It’s poetic. The viewer will empathise with Phelps as he goes through the day in day out routine to become the best he can be.

Note: Matt and Chesmond did a great job of getting some very nice variety of B Roll footage. Was a huge part of the video.

The first draft of the Fundraising video I did:

Style and approach. Pitching video concept:
– Observational
– To generate emotion through visuals and music
– Tell a short story and give viewers a feeling about the characters of the Men’s Shed and what it means to them.

Opening Shot (Exposition):

First Interview:

Second Interview:

B Roll Sequence #1:

Third Interview (Anthony Lai):

B Roll Sequence #2:

Forth Interview:

B Roll Sequence #3:

Information shot #1:

Information shot #2:

Closing:

Slow piano at start:
Music: “Undercover Vampire Policeman” by Undercover Vampire
From the Free Music Archive

Piano melody:
Music: “Summer Days” by Kai Engel
From the Free Music Archive

Under Armour Ad with Michael Phelps:

https://youtu.be/Xh9jAD1ofm4

As part of our prototype we have chosen to produce 3 types of videos:

Corporate Video, Documentary Video and Fundraising video.

I am tasked with doing the Fundraising Video.

Where will it be seen:
Social Media (Facebook, twitter, youtube), Lentara Website, Lentara database

How Long?
2 Minutes – a suitable time to provide insight, but not lose the attention of the audience

Interviews to use:
3 or 4 of the men that can support the overall message and provide strong quotes as well as Anthony

B Roll:
Look through B Roll to collect the best overlay footage

What is needed:
A song to support the general tone of the video. Marking important parts in interviews in Premiere Pro. Colour grading.

What not to use:
As mentioned by Seth, don’t include interviews that put them in a bad light. One of the interviewees stood in an awkward position and the shot wouldn’t be very pleasing to look at. A shot like this shouldn’t be used.

Theme:
Empathy through perspective