third edit / voice over

Today I began the final stages of the editing process. This involved uploading music , recording a voice over and also uploading this into my factual programme. I now need to upload the finished factual programme onto my chosen platform which is Instagram , I am using IGTV to do this. I chose Instagram as a platform because it has the highest average engagement rate over all other social media platforms , as discovered in my research.

I recorded my voice over using a H1n handy recorder with a micro SD inside. When recording the voice over , I discovered that the script was too long by about 10 seconds , therefor I cropped some parts out of the script , and rearranged them into an order that suited the flow of my documentary better.

As well as the voice over , I also uploaded some background music to go alongside the voice over. In an expository style documentary a voice over is heavily used as well as a variety of different shots including an interview.

As you can see here , the voice over is broken down. This is because of things being taken out and re-arranged. This has definitely helped the flow of my documentary better rather than the voice over not stopping at all and not fitting with the shots that are shown.

As a result of the voice over changing , I also moved some of my shots around to be more in-keeping with the voice over.

The music ran throughout the documentary along with the voice over , apart from during the interview. I haven’t used a title page in my documentary due to the fact it is an Instagram video and will be uploaded on IGTV. They don’t tend to have title pages and I wanted this to replicate something that would appear on Instagram.

background music

I am now in the process of choosing the audio to go alongside the voiceover for my factual programme. Music for some , is integral for amplifying emotion or moving a narrative along.

When deciding on a choice of music , the first thing that I asked myself was where I want the music specifically to be within my factual programme and how It could possibly make the audience feel or affect their engagement. The main thing for me to keep in mind was the reaction I always intended to try and create from my audience. Relating this back to the research I did on the reception theory by Stuart Hall. , I always knew that I wanted my audience to follow the dominant method of de-coding information from my factual programme. However , this only happens when the message is easy to follow , and the themes are relevant to the target audience , therefor , it is important that the music I have chosen is fitting to what I want to portray.

My documentary has always had positive intentions. I always wanted to put across the message that although the fashion industry is crazy competitive and fast paced , you can get there wether its starting a small business , or getting your foot in the door with a larger one and working your way up. To reflect how the fashion industry is constantly moving , I wanted to find an upbeat and positive soundtrack that co-insides well with the message I am putting across to my audience , but also the fashion industry itself.

second edit

Moving on to the second part of the edit for my factual programme , The key aspect of this was including my interview as well as the other shots I got of the shops.

This was where I got up to last with my edit , I put together around 30 seconds worth of content that I shot in and around Manchester , all of which I planned and intended to get when it came to putting together my shot list. At this stage , I am discussing in the voiceover facts and statistics about the fashion industry and the number of employers in the industry. I am then moving on to discuss what it is like working in a small business amongst others that are larger , following on from this is shots inside the warehouse of my interviewee.

Here is a closeup of the logo of his business , The Wardrobe Outlet. I included this shot because I felt it was the most fitting to what I was discussing. I felt as though it sets the scene for my audience and they know exactly what his online retailer is called from the offset. It is a bold and clear shot and it is introductory of what the interviewee begins to talk about.

Here is the shot of my interviewee. As shown in my analysis of inspirations , I always wanted to use a coloured backdrop in my interview. I decided to use green. The style of the interview shot is different to that of a standard shot due to the platform I am putting my factual programme onto. Because it is being shown on instagram , The shots (including the interview ) are all landscape , fitting to the way you would hold your phone normally. Films on IGTV are also much more close up and personal which explains why my interviewee is very close to the camera. I feel as though doing this , the audience connects with the film better and you get real engagement.

I took the key parts and what I know from primary research , what my audience wants to hear from interviewee. I here have detached the audio from the video , so that I could have the audio still continue to play , over different shots of the warehouse. It is in keeping with what the interviewee is telling the audience and I love how it has turned out. In expository documentaries , interviews , establishing shots and video and images are used to illustrate with voiceover to accompany this.

The final stage of my editing will be recording my voiceover , inserting this over the variety of footage of shops and items of clothing. Furthermore I will be including music in my documentary alongside the voiceover. Music is used in other expository documentary and also the previous fashion documentaries I have looked at for inspiration. Using music amplify’s what is being put across through the visuals. I want to ensure that I get across the message intended to my audience , discovered through the reception theory I looked into previously. This is that you can make it in Fashion , but it is going to be hard to get there. I want the music I use to have a positive but also busy tone to co-inside with the message I am putting across and also the style of my documentary.

The First Edit

To begin with the practical stages of this production , I began putting together a the first edit of my factual piece. This has helped me gage a better idea of the lengths of shots I have and how they are all going to fit together for the rest of my factual piece. I uploaded the best of my shots and put these into a 23 seconds long edit. All of my shots are around 3-4 seconds long , this relates back to my analysis of inspirations and a previous documentary I watched also regarding fashion. I loved how this was edited and the fact that the shots were quick and sharp because this helped people to engage better with the content. I also asked my target audience whether they liked the style of edit and everyone agreed , therefor I wanted to replicate this in my edit.

For the first few seconds in my script I discuss that the fashion industry is a multi million dollar industry that has been around for as long as we can remember. I have chosen to put this shot of a Louis Vuitton store on New Cathedral street because I think it is an iconic brand and one of the first that I think of when I think of fashion.

Here is one of my favorite shots.

I also discuss how trends in fashion have been introduced , from the invention of the sewing machine, to the rise in ecommerce. Here I have placed some shots of garements in the store to symbolise how far fashion has come in comparrison to when it would take somebody weeks to sew one item of clothing decades ago. This emphasises the fact fashion is always going to be forward looking which is also something I am going to discuss in my voiceover alongside the shots I have taken.

A shot I really loved was a moving shot on escalators that captures somebody who works in the store attempting to sell an item of clothing to some customers. I think that the shot works really well with the facts and statistics I discuss about people employed in the fashion industry. One thing I realised that was that I probably don’t have enough content to go with the voice over , therefor I am going to prioritise another full day of filming in order to get some more shots. I need to update this on my production schedule.

filming day one

On the 8th of November I went into Manchester city center and did the first part of the filming for my factual program. Looking back on the shot list that I made I aimed to get around 11 shots in and around Manchester of different stores , items of clothing and the key buildings and streets associated with fashion. For the first 60 seconds of my documentary , I aimed to film a combination of establishing , low angle , still and moving shots in and around the city. I also loved the look of the store Selfridges as it was glass fronted and perfect for me to film.

As I got into Manchester , I realised that the Manchester Christmas markets had began. This affected the shots that I wanted to take massively as they ran right in front of the selfridges store and all throughout New Cathederal Street , therefor , I was limited to the width and the angles I could shoot at as I did not want the markets in my shots.

I took a photograph of selfridges from a far to show evidence of the markets in front of the store. This therefor stopped me from getting closer to the building and getting the ideal shot that I wanted and have shown as an example in my planning documentation.

I shot the first 60 seconds of my documentary at an angle not as wide and that is a lot closer because of this.