How to Capture a Feeling

We have finished most of our filming and are now looking at what footage we like and dislike. Something we have been thinking about is how to show Janaan's condition, as not everything can be said is words. I think the best way to show Janaan's emotions will be to highlights her everyday  activities in her eyes. Some ideas we have are to show Janaan drawing/painting to display her thought and perhaps to show what her dreams display. Another idea we have is to show some of mine and Janaan's old art films that display the idea of distortion (a symptom of Janaan's condition).
Having this added texture will help us to have movement (following kinesthetic film principles), as so the audience will stay connected and active in the journey of the documentary.

Another aspect that we have changed is the film shop part, although we were hoping to film in a DVD shop to film Janaan looking around we discovered a permit was needed for the location we wished to film and upon further thought and discussion with Janaan I found that she visits another location tied to film much more. The media resource centre within the university is an area Janaan visits a lot, she enjoys working in the space and renting films to watch for pleasure and work. I began to take some shots of her in the space and found that she was comfortable and at home in the space which is exactly what we wanted to show, 

We have almost finish our filming process, though some b-roll shots are in the works, I feel we have worked well as a team to get over our set backs.

Music

When looking at music it seems integral to our work, so much so that I have begun to look at different aspects of out documentary that we want to show through music. 

1) Cinematic - as the documentary that's central theme is film (as well as Janaan's condition), I think having an ode to one of Janaan's favourite film would be good, weather it be a small snippet of the audio as she watches the film or and audio that mirrors the epic soundtrack of the film.

2) Nostalgic - The aesthetic of the documentary will have a melancholy, nostalgic feeling to evoke feelings of loss and remembrance from the audience. It is only fitting that the music also mirrors the bittersweet aspects of Janaan's condition as well as to help guide the audience on Janaan's journey to film. This music would be more calming and have an instrumental familiarity as though the audience has heard the tune but can not recall it.

3) Fantasy - Janaan discusses her dreams, and her fantasy drawings, these hold a whimsical feeling to them and almost hold music within them. this music would again be whimsical but more traditional in sound, with an almost Celtic tone. This will help the audience to enter into Janaan's world and display her creativity.

We are not planning to use all of these ideas, rather keep the best aspects of them and work from there. One member of out group had also reached out to a sound design friend who has offered to help us create some original music. By working with him we hope to truly bring Janaan's mind into an audible place,

Filming

We have started to film some of the documentary, though before we began the main interview I decide to take the camera for a night and film Janaan. This really helped to get her used to the camera as well as helping the group to come up with question. We also were able to see the effects of Janaan's mental health as well as hear what impact it has on her.

When filming with Janaan before the main interview the footage came out very natural and interactive and the image was clear but when shooting the main interview we hit and issue, when editing we realised the footage was very bad quality. The questions and answers were very well done but the quality was altered for some reason. We tried to rectify the footage but unfortunately it was impossible so we decided to re-film and possibly use the audio later.

I have spoken to Janaan and my team and we have decided to re-film this weekend to insure the best quality as well as this Janaan has said she would like this as she has much more she would like to add to her answers. Though we have hit a rock we are planning to speed on and create what we aimed to make.

Storyboarding

These are the storyboard's for the main interview and the day in town, they highlight the main shots we aim to take and what they will show.

Shooting scheduled

These are the times we are planning to film for the next few weeks.

Names of crew Hibah Jan, Rochelle Dalgetti, Guillen Gomez, Dan Ceteras	Addresses	Telephone numbers
Date - Tusday 7th November
Location - Janaan’s House	Shots: pre interview, close up’s and mid shots as well as some tracking	Props – none planned	Note – this will not be the main interview only the get to know part.
Times – 4pm-6pm

Names of crew Hibah Jan, Rochelle Dalgetti, Guillen Gomez, Dan Ceteras	Addresses	Telephone numbers
Date - Tusday 14th November
Location - Janaan’s House	Shots: We plan to shoot the main interview from a medium shot	Props – some film books	Note – we will film the B roll shots at a later date. .
Times – 4pm-6pm

Names of crew Hibah Jan, Rochelle Dalgetti, Guillen Gomez, Dan Ceteras	Addresses	Telephone numbers
Date – Sat 18th th November
Location - Janaan’s House, in Brighton	Shots: This will involve close ups of objects, mid/medium/long shots of Janaan on loacation and other shots that will be planned with the setting	Props – film posters, DVD’s, vintage camera’s etc.	Note – This will be in two places so we need to manage our time well.
Times – 11am-5pm

Presentation

We presented our idea to the class this week and received some feedback. These are the slides from the presentation:

Feedback - We got given some great feedback that will help us to improve our documentary, the suggestions made were to consider the use of having the film professor interview because of the shift in tone from the main interview. I agree with this feedback as we want it to be personal and not take away from the main themes and opinions. The second piece of feedback we were given is to consider the shots we will be using and how they will help to elevate our message and tone. 

Overall I am happy with the response we received and am looking forward to continuing our idea and beginning shooting.

Inspirational shots

Shots from films are a point of inspiration for me as I feel so much can be captured in a singular moment, whether it be the lighting, background or format of the shot when these elements meet something truly beautiful can be made. I will be looking at some shots that have inspired me and how I could apply this to our group documentary.     

Lost In Translation (2003), Dir - Sofia Coppola

I really enjoyed this shot, not only because of the background and positioning of  Scarlett Johansson's character (Charlotte) but also the beautiful blue tone. The shot perfectly shows isolation as well as sadness while linking to the surrounding. I feel this shot links to our idea as our subject is someone who may of felt isolated from society and it is important to know how to show this not just say it.  

Grey Gardens (1975), Dir - Albert Maysles, Ellen Hovde, David Maysles, Muffie Meyer

This shot, perfectly shows a moment in time, the subjects are in discussion and natural. This is also something we aim to do as we want to observe and keep the shots as natural as possible. The shot also allows us to see the subjects in regard to their surroundings, this is important as we aim to show how Janaan functions in everyday life. 

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Dir - Wes Anderson  

This shot allows the viewer to enter into the characters likes as we see young  Margot Tenenbaum read we learn she is an avid play write and can see how her room reflects who she is. This shot can help us as I wish to take a shot of Janaan's room and display how her possessions display her personality. 

Bright Leaves (2003), Dir - Ross McElwee

I really like this shot, though it features in a documentary it is beautiful and truly natural. I wish to take these kinds of natural shots without prompt to keep the 'fly on the wall' aspect while also displaying Janaan in an inventive way. It also shows a great deal of personality as the cigarette and sunglasses display the loud character. 

Submarine (2010), Dir - Richard Ayoade

Lastly but by no means least is this shot of Craig Roberts (Oliver Tate) as he looks over the sea, much like 'Lost In Translation' the shot shows isolation while using colour to elevate the tone. I think this shot captures the unknown as Oliver struggles to understand life we feel the sea symbolises this vast world in which he finds hard to grasp. This can help us as we two wish to use symbolism to represent Janaan's feelings and emotions.