Holly Powell - Final Major Project
Alcohol Moving Image Interview
Pre-Production Documents
The shot list for both interview shoots doesn't change, but I wrote out another call sheet for the second interview shoot - the first dates for the 18th of March for when the first interview shoot took place, and the second dates for the 2nd of April for when the re-shoot took place.
Some of the other documents such as the Prop and Costume List, Risk Assessment, Meeting Minutes, Location Release Agreement and Foley Sound Checklist seemed useless to fill out because I won't need any of them. Filming an interview means I don't need any props or costumes, there's no risks for the interview since it's just going to be outside and there's no danger. I don't need to make any meeting minute records because I'm evaluating everything anyway and I'm working by myself. Since I'm conducting the interview outside, I also don't need a location release agreement. I also don't need a sound checklist because I'm not adding in any sound effects.
I didn't feel comfortable putting my cast/crew contact details or the talent release form on Wix because I don't want to share personal information.
I also didn't believe that I needed a storyboard because the Moving Image piece is an interview, and besides having someone answering questions, nothing else is actually going to be happening which would require frame by frame explanation.
I want my interviewee to reiterate what they think about alcohol, to get a clear and strong perspective.
If the interviewee hasn't known anyone with an alcohol addiction, I want to know what they would do if somebody close to them developed an alcohol addiction, because I want to figure out whether their perspective on alcoholism would change if it happens to someone they love.
I want to start by asking the interviewee whether they've had any experiences with alcohol before by inquiring about whether anyone they've known has had an addiction. I want to know that if that person was close to them, whether it had an impact on the interviewee's life, because I want to highlight that alcohol addiction can create problems for not only the drinker, but those around them as well.
I want to find out if the interviewee believes that alcoholism can be caused by genetics in addition to other factors, to see whether they think addiction is self-inflicted or isn't the fault of the alcoholic.
I want to understand whether the interviewee believes in the alcoholism disease theory or not and what their view is on it.
I want to also know whether my interviewee is naturally educated on the subject of alcoholism and what the consequences are of being intoxicated. I want to raise awareness about alcoholism, so if I can find out what the interviewee knows about the impact of alcohol, I can also try to spread the message of how bad alcohol abuse is.
Testing Shoot #1
Testing Shot #1
Testing Shot #2
Testing Shot #3
Testing Shot #4
Testing Shot #5
Testing Shot #6
I went and conducted the interview with my friend, but I didn't take into account the noise of the wind. After I asked the first question and I recorded his answer, I looked at the video because I thought the wind would be stronger than the sound of the interviewee's voice. However, I persisted with the interview shoot because I wanted to test out shots and angles, so that this interview was a practice test. However, I did want to look back at the footage at home and see if I could write out a transcript from what the interviewee said, so that he could possibly record his lines separately and I could delete the footage audio, to replace it with his separately recorded audio. Looking at the footage though, I realized it's too difficult to understand what's he's saying, so I want to re shoot the interview.
I also decided to take some photos of my friend in case I wanted to turn the interview into a magazine article as an extra campaign outcome.
Testing Shoot #2
Testing Shot #1
Testing Shot #2
Testing Shot #3
This shoot went a lot better because the wind wasn't an interruption, although the traffic was quite loud. I asked the interviewee the questions again, with the first time standing where he had been during the first shoot, and then I asked him a few of the questions whilst he was standing against a nearby tree. I mixed the different clips because some answers are clearer when the interviewee is against the tree, so I wanted to include them too. The shots above were like the testing shots for some of the questions before I decided to use the other versions of them.
Screenshots of Interview Version 1
I started with creating a custom title and wrote out the first question on it. I discovered I could crossfade the title with the clip. I tried it but I didn't like it very much in the beginning.
However, I started to like the crossfade so I decided to keep it. I then tried to make the background noise quieter by playing around with the audio, but I was unable to do so without quietening the rest of the clip's audio. I wanted to get music anyway for the background, so hopefully this will help. I also continued with adding the next clip and question title, using the crossfade option.
I began cutting the clips for certain questions due to little mistakes whilst filming, such as the interviewee's slight nerves, which I wanted to cut out of the interview. The specific clip which is on pause on the screen of the program was also edited to miss out small mistakes, so I think that taking these out continues giving the sense of professionalism.
I finished adding in the rest of the clips and questions, keeping with the crossfade technique. I also started choosing between clips, figuring out which ones would be my testing clips and which would be used for the interview, because some factors are different, such as the angle of a couple that were shot, which intensifies the sound of the wind and traffic.
I added in the titles to introduce the interview, starting with the word 'alcohol' and following with the message 'Young actor Jordan Benjamin gives his thoughts on alcoholism'. I wanted to do this because I wanted to set the video up, and explain to the audience what the video actually is, and what it's about.
Interview Version 1
This first version of the interview works well, but I want to make the transitions in between clips smoother, and I want to add background music as well to play lowly, so that it doesn't shift focus, but acts more as a filler. The clips I included were of much better quality that the original interview shoot, as the wind wasn't as strong and the interviewee could be heard clearly now. Although the traffic was louder, it wasn't that strong, so the interview went pretty well. The interviewee was amazing to work with and very professional, so I really enjoyed working with him. I also prefer this shoot to the first one I conducted, so even if the first one had been perfect and the interviewee was audible, I may have still re-shot it anyway.
Screenshots of Interview Version 2
I eventually decided I didn't really like the cross-fading anymore and instead separated the titles from the clips. I put the titles on the row below to play at the same time as the clips, which I hadn't realized I could do until I had done it with my
advert editing. I then tried to use the transition Cross to make the change from clip to clip smoother. However, the transition technique didn't work well and didn't look good when I played the full video on the editing program - instead of just crossing to the next clip at the end of the one before, it turned it into the interviewee ending up talking over his own answers as the clip changed, which I didn't like. When I managed to fix it so that it played right at the end, after the interviewee finished talking, I still didn't like it, so I decided to take it out. Instead, I'm putting gaps in between the clips, to act as pauses, which I think will work a lot better. If not, I'll change it to something else.
I added in the instrumental version of the song 'Stay' by Rihanna and featuring Mikky Ekko. I choose this song because I thought it was a calm and relaxing piano based piece, which would suit well as background music. I didn't want something which was too slow and peaceful because it would be too soft, and I also didn't think it would work well with what the interview is about. This song is quite slow, but it is also catchy and worthwhile - the piano instrumental also gives a touch of drama and has a strong and serious sound to it, to make the audience take notice. The seriousness helps to make the audience aware of alcohol, and to realize they should be
listening to the interview. I think it also works well to help drown out some of the background noise, and is suitable with the interviewee's voice.
After that, I started playing with the audio, making the song a bit quieter to keep it in the background, but also work alongside the noise of the traffic and drown it out a bit, which I think this does well. I also made the first clip slightly louder, so that the interviewee's voice can be heard a little better, as it was a little quieter in comparison to the other clips.
'Stay' - Rihanna and Mikky Ekko (Piano Instrumental & Karaoke Version)
I chose this song because I thought it was a good fit to the interview - it's not too over the top, but it's delivery is powerful and makes people take notice. I wanted a strong song, which was still calming too, and I thought the piano instrumental version of 'Stay' helps work against the sound of the traffic and drowns it out, but also works well with the interviewee's voice.
Interview Version 2
This version of the interview was much better than the previous one, although having re-watched it, I've realized that I need to take out the gaps in between the clips because they look like random black flashes, which is weird and doesn't look right. Once I take those out, hopefully the entire interview will look a lot better. I also want to fade the music out more at the end and possibly the clip too.
Interview Final Version
I fixed the random flashes in between by placing the clips together, which makes the entire interview look a lot better. Having done this, I'm finished with editing the interview and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. I also re-uploaded it a couple of times to improve the quality of the video to ensure it's to the best possible standard.
In the real world, this interview would be a personal interview, probably for a viral campaign on alcohol abuse, and would broadcast on video sharing websites such as YouTube or different kinds of social media.