Problem Solving

Problem 1 - Creative Block

Week one was the hardest and most anxious week due to a critical problem that was stopping me to decide my project goal and start the production. In the beginning of unit 13 (FMP), I was prepared mentally for a project around the topic of martial arts under the medium of a short documentary, this made me mentally prepared as I have rotted connections and resources where I can make a semi-professional documentary, therefore I have already started to visualise the steps and production of this documentary, however during mind-mapping the project, my teacher has told me that for a higher grade, which my aim is, she recommends me to get off this topic which I was a big advocate since the beginning of this course and go for a different topic which defines me personally, to showcase my skill set in media production no matter the topic.

Once with this feedback in mind, I have stepped into the abyss for a short period of time, as I felt lost in what topics and media type I have enough resources to maintain a good productivity rate. However after calming down, I have decided to that in order to solve this problem I must come up with a method which help me determine the topic and media genre.

The method I have came up with was to individually mind map the topics I would have in my project, and media genres my project would be, then I would dedicate 2 days period on each of the sections (topic/media genres) to note down what ideas I can come up for the section and what resources, tasks, skills and production time would take, (for example: media genre - poster - I need photoshop and a location, take original photos, use the tools on photoshop and it will take me a week to produce them)

Then after deciding what is the best topic and media genre I would check how compatible are they and what I need to have and do.

With this method, I have decided both my media genre and topic. For the media genre I have decided that the most interesting and in the same time efficient genre would be reflective documentary on myself, because this genre leans a lot on videography therefore, I just need filming equipment, and editing software for the foundation of this project and for further production resources I would just need a microphone and location. Another aspect of why I choose this genre is because I would like to test and practise my skills in the world of videography.

And as for the topic I would choose is street photography, more exactly is what is street photography and my journey into this form of art. The reason why I choose this topic is that the resources needed is outside and everything could feed the topic, therefore not making me searching deeply where to gather resources and information on this topic which makes my productivity more smooth and also efficient.

Although it sounds nice this combination and not to challenging, the only obstacle which slows down the progress is that everything is reliable on the public and weather if they are suitable on the day planned, however I can still manage to prevent this problem by reviewing forecasts and also public mapping apps.  

Problem 2 - Choosing equipment

During week 3, I have started to put in operation my call out sheets and starting to work on gathering footage. This meant that originally everything was planned to be filmed with the selected Canon 70D DSLR, however later on we have changed equipment and chose to go with a different and unexpected camera.

On our first day of gathering material with the 70D, everything was all right in the beginning however through out the day, the camera has started to encounter some technical problems which has slowed down the productivity of the material and overall demotivate the team as we kept crashing into them while being pilled down with uncontrollable environmental errors such as polluted shots, location point unavailable therefore we had to resort into a reshoot.

For the second reshoot we have changed locations to a more controllable location where is was much quieter and local, on the other hand I personally have resolved the malfunction of the 70D by buying new batteries which were reliable and made us get the job done nice and smooth. All though the raw material was good, the problem came in-post where due to its old technology, the highlights and shadows information were not as flexible for me to do any light/colour correction and also colour grading therefore I tried to do my best and kept the footage if there is not another way of gaining better quality, HDR and flexible enough for raw material to edit.

However I have discovered a camera and a method of how to get higher lever of raw material to edit in-post, that is by using Log format video material. This helps my wants and needs for a higher level as the Log format, done in camera, is an option where the camera records in the flattest colour profile with zero contrast or any processing done by the camera, therefore giving me the ability to have as much information possible in the highlights/shadows points to calibrate without any quality issues and also allowing me to create my intended colour grading signature.

 

The problem with Log format was that the 70D did not have such capability, but the school owns a Fujifilm XS10 mirrorless which has the capability of recording Log format, for media students to rent it out. The chance of renting out such a beautiful beast was challenging as it takes a higher knowledge into cameras to operate it, however I had enough confidence to rent it out and putting it up for day 3 of reshooting.

The Fuji has performed immaculately on the reshoot, the higher auto focus technology was amazing as it helps me and my assistant to produce clearer material under a more rapid and effortless flow, also the Log format material came out perfect as I was successfully able to do my intended colour grading and great calibrations. 

Problem 3 - weather

One of the biggest problems which has delayed and slowed the production of my project was the weather. Poor conditions would've been dramatically risky for any of my equipment that I used as the location was outside, on the other hand, for the aesthetic of my shot, I would've needed just enough bright and calm days so that the shot could be suitable for my normal tone narrative.

To gather material I had to wait for a change in the weather which has delayed me with 2 weeks, therefore to recover this 2 weeks of progress I had to push and squeeze as much material in the few days with good weathers that have been separated between weeks.

Problem 4 - More street Photography

According to my feedback, my documentary, although has the topic of street photography, for the viewer, it seemed like I presented more of a vast genres of photography that really not highlight the art of street photography.

As a solution to this problem, I have taken the feedback, and go to gather more photos. The photos that I was looking for it was something which has more urban elements, for example for my new photos, the negative space that surround the subject contains sightseeings of the Colindale modern apartments building also traffic signs which remind the audience that this photo was taken on a urban environment. The impact of this change is that is strengths the narrative as it holds a link of the main topic, this leads to the audience be engaged and not confused by photos which showcases a different genre.

Problem 5 - change from voice over to a explanation video

My intended plan was that, though out the time line, I would like to have a chapter where is more text dominant and dubbed over by me with evidence of the sub-topic that is being presented however this editorial section is very difficult as I struggle with the synchronisation and editing between the text and the huge dub over. 

To solve this problem I have came up with a idea of a talking head of me explaining the history of street photography from scratch, this leads to much better and captivating documentary due to more motion change which is a main attention hook for younger audience, because based on newer generation medium, such as reels medium, are more preferred by younger age groups (10 - 21) and consumed the most due to their constant change nature, therefore this link to my target audience of upcoming photographers/videographers who most of them are active consumers of reels.

Also another benefit of this change is the decline in difficulty, is that I no longer struggle with audio/video synchronisation, this leads to much better productivity and creative outcome as I will no longer have to stress about technical problems or in-sync, because of this shift in focus I will also make my narrative much stronger and my image much captivating.