Production Stills

All Photos by Sophie Squire

Planning for Documentary

In the sound sync session we learnt about recording sound with the footage by connecting the microphone to the XF100’s. However, we intend to use DSLR’s, which cannot accept the XLR connection of the shotgun microphone we intend to use. We decided to use DSLR’s due to their ability to deal with low light better than the XF100’s. We wanted to use minimal artificial lighting, so are only using hot-shoe lights for some footage. We intend to mostly use static shots, however after the store owner Bally showed us the size of the building, we decided following him using a shouldercam and wide angle lens as he talked would be a good idea.

Aesthetically, we hope to create a contrast between the colourful shop interior and the dark, abandoned areas of the building awaiting its restoral. We intend to use multiple interviews – One formal interview with Bally about his vision, informal interviews with employees, and the building tour. We hope to use music with the shop footage, and no music with the rest of the building, instead using interview audio over the tour and static footage, so viewers can create a link between the abandoned areas and his vision for their restoration, capturing not only it’s present state but an optimistic vision of it’s future through Bally’s eyes.

Documentary Ideas Pitch Presentation

The Archive by Sean Dunne - 200 word response

The documentary is about the closure of and selling off of the worlds largest record collection. It focuses heavily on the owner and his emotional connection to the collection rather than the collection itself, becoming more emotive as the documentary reveals he is legally blind and selling the collection off, before finally breaking down into tears. The documentary is made up mostly of interviews with the owner and his wife, as well as footage of the shop and the owner talking about certain records. Stylistically, there is no handheld camerawork, always using a tripod or track. It uses old photographs to tell the history of the shop. The soundtrack uses old records of significance to the owner, before ending with the crackle of a record without music. The editing is slow paced and minimal. The controlled camerawork, slow editing and use of music fit the subject matter well, as little action is occurring, and the music mirrors the subject matter and makes the film more emotionally provocative. The turning off of the lights also suggests closure and is a powerful image. I enjoyed the film, and found it successful in being informative and emotive.

Vimeo Link