Date of crit: Thursday 9th December 2021
Tutors: Sana, Joe, Demelza
[VERBATIM TRANSCRIPT]
(01:06)
Sana: How did you feel watching that on the big screen? How did you feel about the film what do you think is working and do you think you could improve or change?
(01:30)
Robyn: I think we need to look at the levels a little bit because I think there are some points of the interview which went a bit quieter and maybe just be a bit more creative with it. We are planning to go in and do that after this.
(01:39)
Sana: To be a bit more what sorry?
(01:43)
Robyn: Creative with the sound, maybe when the Tiktoks and stuff come up incorporate moreover that or something, we will need to discuss that though.
(01:51)
Abigail: Well I think like if I was given some more time once the edit was done I would to do some actual proper animations. Firstly, those need to be lined up, there not like evenly lined. But, like there are sections where she is speaks and there is not anything we have to like show that and I would love to some fun little animations in there to represent what exactly she is going on about, better than the footage we have. Also the grade doesn’t look that I swear.
(02:20)
Brontë: It really does not, it has not looked like that on any other device and we have seen it on several.
(02:25)
Abigail: Some of it hasn’t been graded yet, because I haven’t been here yet and wasn’t here for the grading of that, so like there’s some bits that haven’t been graded yet, please disregard half of that.
(02:35)
Kate: Yeah we’ve had a real issue getting picture lock like my sound stuff hasn’t even been through ProTools yet, all that was done in avid so that’s why the sound sounds like that.
Brontë: It still needs work.
(02:46)
Sana: Sorry I didn’t quite catch that Kate, so you said that…
Kate: It’s just causing our picture edit like been a real nightmare, so I haven’t had a chance and Abigail hasn’t had a chance to, like the sound hasn’t been through ProTools at all yet so all the sound automation has been done in Avid it’s a bit wonky.
(03:04)
Abigail: Everything in there that has been graded was done like a month and a half ago, two months ago when this stuff had only just been filmed, and the other stuff hasn’t been graded because we haven’t had a chance since picture lock.
(03:16)
Sana: Okay, anything else that you would like to add or anything else you want to say about…
(03:26)
Robyn: I think that our editor with the help of Dori did a really good job with just making what they could with what they have. Cause you know don’t know if anyone else does so much of our interview just didn’t have sound, we don’t know why or how that happened. So props to them for pulling together what they did with the very little footage we could salvage, yeah.
Sana: So you lost a lot of your interview?
Robyn: Yeah, we had so much more so it was really kind of difficult to pick apart a narrative that we could get with what we had.
(04:04)
Sana: Okay I think, I’ve watched this film at different stages and I think you have definitely sort of improved some of it, you still haven’t taken on board quite a lot of my feedback though. But some of it yes you have, which is great and what can I say. Chloe is just a brilliant character, really fantastic and so visual so amazing the way the image, the way she dresses up. I think that the way the film kind of really captures that. I think just that I’m not sure about the new introduction about her introducing her as a student because she is so much more than just a second-year student, it kind of really limits this character right at the start with that introduction. And so it’s not something, I know you need a beginning as it started too abruptly before, I’m not sure that’s the right one. Because I just think you are putting her into a box and that kind of limits the film to be about a student, but actually this is a film about a person with an amazing imagination and visual [inaudible] and so on. And I guess the main thing, the main kind of feedback I have was that I wanted your film to breathe, I wanted to watch Chloe. Those Tiktok videos and I actually wanted to watch them and hear the sound, dancing presumably there’s music. And I wanted her to speak and watch her speak because those interviews you’ve filmed are again really interesting backdrops and unusual, I want to take it all in. So I think your film needs to breathe a little bit. And good that the dressing up sequence is more of a sequence and again I don’t know if there is more that you could do with that. Because I still think it would be nice to see her perform like the footage that you shot for your pitch, you didn’t shoot it for your pitch but you had it for your pitch. That kind of, that little insight was really interesting. So I don’t know was that a decision you made not to use that?
(06:49)
Robyn: I think it was just going to be hard to find where that would fit into it.
(06:56)
Abigail: Especially since she was quite busy and like it was very busy and we were fighting to get time with her. And to ever like suggest to her that like, to suggest anything that involved them getting dressed up and getting ready was kind of like…
(07:12)
Sana: Oh yeah sure, no I’m talking about the footage that Robyn has already shot.
(07:17)
Robyn: I think it's just because it was quite different.
(07:23)
Kate: Yeah I think it would have been jarring a bit because the visual style was so different to what we shot there that we couldn’t quite, it just wouldn’t fit.
(07:30)
Sana: That could be the beginning to your film. You know you could start your filming with something like that and then introduce us to this character talking about…
(07:43)
Robyn: Yeah I was just going to say that I didn’t want it to feel like I had just plonked it in there for the sake of it yeah I don’t know. Maybe you disagree, but I didn’t think it fit in with the rest of it.
Sana: sorry what was that?
Robyn: It wouldn’t have fit in with the rest of the documentary.
(08:00)
Sana: Yeah it would be good to get feedback. Oh, you haven’t seen this, oh you have would have you were there for the pitch, the footage of the performance and maybe class… I don’t know.
(08:13)
Jagoda: I felt this as well because you did use tiktoks and that's also not something that fits in with the rest of it. And think seeing that would be nicer that seeing the Tiktoks.
(08:21)
Maddy: Yeah you could replace the tiktoks with that footage you have already shot. Because you know it's like it’s a dramatic change in aspect ratio and on a big screen like that, you know you want to see more of her. She seems like such of an over-the-top character, you want her to fill the screen.
(08:35)
Sana: I mean I would consider putting them at the start of your film you know it’s such a great way, that little bit of footage was so surprising and interesting and it would be a really nice way to introduce us to the character rather than say that she is a second-year student.
Robyn: Well we can play about with it.
Brontë: I definitely think we should experiment with that. I don’t know how it would work yet but…
Sana: I also don’t know about the music kind of coming in and out at the beginning, I don’t think that works for me.
(09:08)
Brontë: I think it was a little loud.
Robyn: Yeah we’ve spoken about it whether that was the right piece of music or not for it.
(09:17)
Maddy: I think that music with it, with the introduction of her being a student almost, makes it an advertisement for the course she’s doing. But yeah with change of music and change of where you start that would definitely not have that effect.
(09:33)
Brontë: I think the beginning and how we started it was one of the hardest parts of the whole thing. Just because in all of the interviews we did she never introduced herself. And we actually had her do that as a voice recording, like a couple days ago now, and out it in and just said can you just introduce yourself. So we can definitely go back and ask for that and with a little bit more direction as to where we want it to go.
(10:04)
Coleen: I think through the film she talks and does introduce herself, I don’t really think you need that moment where she does introducer herself.
Nina: I think you kind of introduce her in the way you have positioned in the interviews, it’s so smart that you don’t let her just sit at her sewing machine. You play with her in her equipment and in her clothing when she is laying on all the fabric, it looks so good and is such a cool idea.
(10:32)
Sana: And yeah it is really nice, you’ve got great visuals there you should use it. Okay, I pass over to…
Demelza: Yeah thank you. I enjoyed that I agree that the positioning of the interviews is quite genius, of course, she had to do something quite original because of the character Chloe, but you did it really well. And well done her staying put like that.
Abigail: I felt so bad about that.
Demelza: And staying natural she didn’t really perform, but she’s used to performing. I almost felt like it needed a third setup like that.
(11:25)
Robyn: We did, but it had no sound.
Demelza: Ah right. I agree that her introduction, she is far more exciting than the way she pitches herself. And the opening feels a little rushed, so we’ve got a couple of shots, and then suddenly the music drops and she starts speaking and so I think the opening needs work. I understand why you didn’t show her face until that but then I think you could tease that out more as it is quite quick, it’s a little bit unsure. I think everything has been said, I think there is a lot of good stuff there, but I know from the tutorial that a lot has disappeared too, for whatever reason. So if I am taking it as it is now then it is a very well done little bio about a very creative person shot in a very creative way. But it could be bigger in its scope. And I couldn’t hear it very well.
(12:49)
Sana: Yeah the sound mix definitely needs a lot of work, well it needs to be worked. But I think there is scope for you to make changes before Monday if you’re going to plan to do that. Look at what you’ve got and consider adding Robyn’s … yeah I think you’ve got a begging to a film there. Joe.
(13:19)
Joe: Yeah, but I think it is well done beautiful visuals I really enjoyed the film. But by the way, how many followers does she have on Tiktok, is she also an influencer?
Robyn: I don’t know the exact number. It’s in the thousands no?
Abigail: It’s beyond that it’s in like the tens of thousands.
Joe: yeah so she can qualify as a media influencer, but your introduction is more like a student, but at the same time she is a social media influencer.
(13:53)
Abigail: She hates I think she doesn’t like using either of those types, I don’t know why she introduced herself as a student as she doesn’t like being a, she enjoys it but that is not who she is and she hates being a social influencer as well.
Sana: But the thing is that is part of who she is. Is there some way as you as filmmaker for you to without asking her to talk about it to give that information to us?
Brontë: What I will also say the term influencer implies that she is like used as a branding thing and she hasn’t done any advertisements.
(14:23)
Sana: You don’t have to tell us that, in the film, she does doesn't she, she talks about social media so it’s all there in the film. We don’t for us, for somebody who doesn’t know Chloe that’s meaningless, I hate social media I don’t have any followers, it doesn’t matter you know. I don’t even know what they would follow me on. But if somebody has got a big following on Tiktok, Tiktok right? So there must be some way of communicating that, I don’t know if it's like whenever I’m trying to think of a way to like they say something followers, the number that kind of thing. I don’t know is that what you meant Joe?
(15:18)
Joe: I mean, so she is a social media influencer, even though she said she doesn’t want to be labeled like that, that doesn’t mean you can not tell us in the film who she is, she is an influencer even though she doesn’t want to be labeled as. At the same time, you show us the Tiktok videos very interesting, but you don’t really show us anything about … maybe consider what it is like to get that many followers and how they interact with Chloe, how they are inspired by Chloe. Does the performance she put on have a connection with the public with the society, maybe you don’t have all that footage.
(15:59)
Brontë: We could definitely get a lot of that.
Robyn: We could get comments.
Brontë: I had to screen record all the TikToks and as I was looking through they had all the comments there and I can definitely do a montage of the comments.
Joe: So it is a more rounded capture, but you only have like two or three days so you really think about it. But the film is well made.
(16:23)
Demelza: So I understand why you don’t want her as a social media influencer because we associate it with [inaudble] with people just selling things, just for money and she isn’t like that. But we are not saying she is a social media influencer but show how widely her work reaches, so show the amount of followers, comments from people, to show the impact that she has on others. You don’t have to call her a social media influencer but show that she does influence people.
(17:03)
Robyn: Thank you that is good feedback.
Sana: Yeah, so anything else from the…
Jagoda: Yeah I think it’s, it has so much potential, it’s just so pretty and she has so much potential and she is so interesting. There so much going on and I totally know she was really busy, but you ever have the time to like go back to it I think it would be amazing to film her doing these Tiktoks in front of the camera or her changing into their characters. [inaudible], but I want to see it all and I want to see more, her room and how it looks like, from like a further distance. I just want to see more and I think she is really captivating. There is definitely like you are teasing us, I’d really like to know more, but I really liked your lighting choice and I don’t know if that is something she had in her room or you decided, I don’t it was like blue and purple and pink and…
(18:11)
Abigail: Yeah I had like, my dad has these, my dad is like a little Youtuber himself and he has all these little lights that are different colours, so I just took them along with me. Because like I knew on a uni campus like we all did it in first year you like it’s bland.
Jagoda: Oh so it was at uni, I thought like it was in a bedroom…
Abigail: Yeah, Robyn went and got something with her and like and she came back and I had draped shit everywhere and she was like what the fuck.
(18:40)
Jagoda: [inaudible]
Robyn: Yeah it was her uni room.
Abigail: Yeah and they have like a sewing room and stuff and I just took a bunch of the fabric and splayed it onto, like we got some bits she was using for some other pieces splayed them over at her actual desk.
(18:53)
Jagoda: Yeah that was really good, it felt like her own kind of space and so cozy and nice. But the fact that you created that yourself is really good.
Nina: [inaudible]
Abigail: That was the goal, I think giving her anything that wasn’t colourful would have been an injustice to Chloe.
Jagoda: Yeah definitely though, for example, the last shot of her you like her putting on the character and stuff I want to see more of that because that was great.
(19:25)
Nina: Can we keep the last shot longer, because you cut very quickly.
Brontë: That’s the end of the shot, that like to the end of the shot yeah.
Sana: And there’s nothing else of that sequence?
Brontë: No.
Nina: Because I was like why don’t you put the titles over the picture of her getting dressed.
(19:45)
Robyn: For that I went I took a bunch of random footage of her getting ready, so we might have some more stuff.
Brontë: No, I looked at all of that footage and there’s like and there are other bits of her putting on eyeshadow, there’s a lot of her putting on eye shadow. But when it comes to like her preforming and smiling in the mirror and everything that’s actually quite a short shot.
(20:07)
Peter: There kinda of what you were talking about teasing as well, there's kinda a thing with the film where one of the first, it’s so kinda developing, so kinda hypnotic, I keep saying hypnotic I need to find something else to say. But there is this stand to it where one of the first shots in the film we see the parts of the cosplay of Hedwig and the angry inch and then later on in the film in they are talking about David Bowie and that kinda thing. And we keep getting these hints of this discussion of gender presentation and these very clear queer significations and there is that moment where she very clearly talks on David Bowie’s gender presentation and his kinda role model thing. And you keep getting these hints of stands going through the film but it never seems to kind of resolve itself into kind of a more solid thematic strand going through it, it’s fascinating because you can see it there and it looks really interesting and that doesn’t really… I don’t know it was just an observation but yeah it still kinda has that enveloping kind of quality to it.
(21:19)
Robyn: I almost wish we had two or three more months just to shoot more and animate more and really elevate it.
Abigail: I think to ask more as well.
Robyn: Oh yeah for sure.
Brontë: I think the questions was a really like…
Sana: Once upon a time this module used to start in September and end at the end of the academic year. It was a 40 credit module, but that was a long time ago. You would do all your research and shoot in first term and then edit in second trimester.
Coleen: Will we get a chance next trimester to do documentary?
Sana: Yeah next sertmester? Yes, you have a choice to I think with one of the modules to do fiction or documentary on that module. Yes okay, thank you fantastic.
[MAIN POINTS GATHERED FROM FEEDBACK]
Quotes from the Transcript that I feel are the most important/main bits of feedback:
(20:07)
Peter: There kinda of what you were talking about teasing as well, there's kinda a thing with the film where one of the first, it’s so kinda developing, so kinda hypnotic, I keep saying hypnotic I need to find something else to say. But there is this stand to it where one of the first shots in the film we see the parts of the cosplay of Hedwig and the angry grinch and then later on in the film in they are talking about David Bowie and that kinda thing. And we keep getting these hints of this discussion of gender presentation and these very clear queer significations and there is that moment where she very clearly talks on David Bowie’s gender presentation and his kinda role model thing. And you keep getting these hints of stands going through the film but it never seems to kind of resolve itself into kind of a more solid thematic strand going through it, it’s fascinating because you can see it there and it looks really interesting and that doesn’t really… I don’t know it was just an observation but yeah it still kinda has that enveloping kind of quality to it.
(19:45)
Robyn: For that I went I took a bunch of random footage of her getting ready, so we might have some more stuff.
Brontë: No, I looked at all of that footage and there’s like and there are other bits of her putting on eyeshadow, there’s a lot of her putting on eye shadow. But when it comes to like her preforming and smiling in the mirror and everything that’s actually quite a short shot.
(17:03)
Robyn: Thank you that is good feedback.
Sana: Yeah, so anything else from the…
Jagoda: Yeah I think it’s, it has so much potential, it’s just so pretty and she has so much potential and she is so interesting. There so much going on and I totally know she was really busy, but you ever have the time to like go back to it I think it would be amazing to film her doing these Tiktoks in front of the camera or her changing into their characters. [inaudible], but I want to see it all and I want to see more, her room and how it looks like, from like a further distance. I just want to see more and I think she is really captivating. There is definitely like you are teasing us, I’d really like to know more, but I really liked your lighting choice and I don’t know if that is something she had in her room or you decided, I don’t it was like blue and purple and pink and…
(16:23)
Demelza: So I understand why you don’t want her as a social media influencer because we associate it with [inaudble] with people just selling things, just for money and she isn’t like that. But we are not saying she is a social media influencer but show how widely her work reaches, so show the amount of followers, comments from people, to show the impact that she has on others. You don’t have to call her a social media influencer but show that she does influence people.
(11:25)
Robyn: We did, but it had no sound.
Demelza: Ah right. I agree that her introduction, she is far more exciting than the way she pitches herself. And the opening feels a little rushed, so we’ve got a couple of shots, and then suddenly the music drops and she starts speaking and so I think the opening needs work. I understand why you didn’t show her face until that but then I think you could tease that out more as it is quite quick, it’s a little bit unsure. I think everything has been said, I think there is a lot of good stuff there, but I know from the tutorial that a lot has disappeared too, for whatever reason. So if I am taking it as it is now then it is a very well done little bio about a very creative person shot in a very creative way. But it could be bigger in its scope. And I couldn’t hear it very well.
(10:32)
Sana: And yeah it is really nice, you’ve got great visuals there you should use it. Okay, I pass over to…
Demelza: Yeah thank you. I enjoyed that I agree that the positioning of the interviews is quite genius, of course, she had to do something quite original because of the character Chloe, but you did it really well. And well done her staying put like that.
Abigail: I felt so bad about that.
Demelza: And staying natural she didn’t really perform, but she’s used to performing. I almost felt like it needed a third setup like that.
(09:08)
Brontë: I think it was a little loud.
Robyn: Yeah we’ve spoken about it whether that was the right piece of music or not for it.
(09:17)
Maddy: I think that music with it, with the introduction of her being a student almost, makes it an advertisement for the course she’s doing. But yeah with change of music and change of where you start that would definitely not have that effect.
(08:13)
Jagoda: I felt this as well because you did use tiktoks and that's also not something that fits in with the rest of it. And think seeing that would be nicer that seeing the Tiktoks.
(08:21)
Maddy: Yeah you could replace the tiktoks with that footage you have already shot. Because you know it's like it’s a dramatic change in aspect ratio and on a big screen like that, you know you want to see more of her. She seems like such of an over-the-top character, you want her to fill the screen.
(08:35)
Sana: I mean I would consider putting them at the start of your film you know it’s such a great way, that little bit of footage was so surprising and interesting and it would be a really nice way to introduce us to the character rather than say that she is a second-year student.
[REFLECTION]
I feel that the role of producer in fiction film is much more in my comfort zone. I didn't know how different it would actually be, because the bits of documentary producer work I've done in the past has been minimal/to help out when I could because we didn't have a producer, or whatnot/etc.
I struggled to encourage my group to stick to certain dates, which is something I definitely need to improve on. (More so just general organisation of my group and how they go about shoot dates, and also encourage them to participate more on the schedules that I made since they were looked at in the early stages and then just overlooked).
I need to be more of a decision-maker in certain settings. I.e. I wasn't sure about the smaller group shoot dates, but I kind of went along with everyone's choice on the matter because I presumed they knew better than me.
I've incorporated other bits of my reflection on this piece throughout the 'action' plan section. I've approached the next section with the mindset of how we would make our documentary better if we had more time to do so.
[ACTION PLAN]
How we would make our documentary better (my perspective as Producer):
More shooting dates with Chloe, getting a different kind of material of her in and out of costume -- not just interview footage: this would present us with more variety that we could experiment within the edit.
Ensure there was somebody on set dedicated to collecting rushes at the end of every shoot day and asking a member of the crew to carry their hard drive/SSD with them too so we can obtain backups of our footage, making sure no footage gets lost (as this issue deemed an another interview we had with Chloe as unusable)
Even if there may have been a smaller clue in order to try and make Chloe more comfortable and less likely to perform, it would be good for me, as producer, to always be there - and if we feel she is performing because of my presence, I could have been in a different room.
More planning and variations of the animations (rather than it being such a last-minute thing)
Organised/planning presentation of the TikToks: this was an idea that I had quite late in the process, but something that I should have thought of sooner, as in the feedback we had people mention their issues with the drastic aspect ratio change. We could think of ways to improve/make better the background of the TikTok's, so that it's not just a black screen (I mentioned this to my group straight after the crit!)
Every piece of footage should have been logged, so that we would be aware of our coverage straight away - also this is a helpful tool to have as the editor
Rather than presenting options such as schedules and call sheets for when my group wanted it (as they didn't), arrange meetings with the necessary crew and make them anyway, it's a good professional practice, even if your group feels adamant that they don't need any of it.
Talk to the post-production team in the early stages of production, establish our own deadlines sooner during the pre-production process so that they can plan and arrange their time at the editing suites in as much advance as possible.
Set up a system, or have a chat with the editor as soon as the edit is going into the suites to see their plan, and know where they are at -- as people are unlikely to edit and add to the schedules I make
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