Research for my documentary

Busy editing

Nearly there

Editing

My first go at editing was quite enjoyable! Ive edited before, but its only pictures and small filming shorts. So i did enjoy it. All together its a 10 minute and 14 second documentary, which I'm happy with. I like the finished product, the pacing of it all, the way it transitioned from interview to voiceover is what i want it to be.

Second day of filming

On the second day of filming i mainly filmed myself amongst others. I wanted to film myself asking the questions my parents answered in their interview the last time i filmed. So i filmed myself asking about 6 questions directed at my parents. Also i recorded the introduction, i wanted it to be very personal so i recorded myself making a cup of tea and sitting down to drink it, then it transitions to me introducing the documentary, (side note, i don't even like tea).

I tried again to interview Huw, I even had the camera equipment out and i was about to put a radio mic on him but he once again refused and stormed out, The second stint of filming i mainly did voiceover shots, the intro and outro of the documentary. For some reason, when there is a camera in the room, Huw tends not to act up and lovely and nice, so i tried to hide the camera and make it observational. This, however, made the camera quality very low because the room was quite dark, and the audio wasn't pristine so i had to edit the brightness of the film to actually make out what my brother looks like!

First day of filming

The first day of filming, i wanted to get the interviews done. I planned on interviewing my father, mother and brother. My father was first, we wanted to keep everything professional because that is the way i wanted my documentary to be, serious. I asked both my mother and father the same questions so i could get both opinions of my mother and father on the same subject. My fathers interview lasted about half an hour because my father is the longest answer-er of questions on this earth. i had to record him twice because the cameras battery went flat by the time he was finished answering his third or fourth question. My mother though, being as efficient as she is, was only about a 7 or 8 minute interview. So i had a nice contrast of a long winded, very detailed answer from my father and a short, sweet, straight to the point answer form my mother.

I wanted to get an interview with my bother, Huw, but unfortunately he refused to get interviewed, something about him being "camera shy". I did however get a small recording of him storming out the room after i asked him which will be in the documentary. In all honesty, i prefered that because it showed his condition greater than an interview with him.

I also filmed some filler shots around the house of my family so i can voiceover it. mainly of my brother walking around the house and occasionally kicking off over the smallest of things like his min craft game isn't working etc.

My idea

When given the assignment brief, it said you had complete freedom in the topic you choose, I loved the freedom of choice because it gave you a chance to put your own twist on the thing you're making. Foe me, i wanted to make it a personal documentary, that is why i chose to do the documentary on Mental health. My brother was diagnosed to severe Aspergers syndrome I'm 2013 and also he is in the process of being diagnosed with other mental illnesses such as bipolar.

I knew the production of it all will be relatively easy because i will be filming predominantly in my house, so i didn't have to worry myself with many risk assessments and consent forms, my parents and brother were the only people (besides myself) that were on camera so the paperwork wasn't as big as some other people doing their documentary.

Documentary production schedule

Production schedule

·      5^th-6^th November-First block of filming

·      14^th-17^th November- Second block of filming

·      8^th-12^th December- Questionnaire, editing, paperwork

5^th-6^th November

·      Interview with my mother

·      Interview with my father

·      Introduction for documentary

14^th-17^th November

·      Voiceover shots for introduction

·      Evidence of my brothers behaviours

·      Conclusion finished

8th-12^th December

·      Questionnaire- BBC 3 and mental health.

·      Finishing editing

·      Finished paperwork

Documentary research

Research

How my research was conducted

 When conducting my research for my documentary, I used various forms to gather my information. This was to get information on my target audience for my documentary. I conducted the questionnaire on a social media site, I did this because I felt like people would be more willing to answer my questionnaire on the internet rather than in person, on a piece of paper.

Overall, 39 people answered my questionnaire, meaning I think I got a wide variety of participants to answer it. I asked them to answer 9 questions both on BBC 3 and my documentary and its subject, and some general information about the person answering.

The first two questions were general information about the person answering, to get their age and gender, this quantitative research is crucial because it showed the main age and gender of my target audience, thus allowing my to base the style and feel of my documentary off of the information gathered. I found out that my audience were predominantly female and ages between 16-20.

The second part of the questionnaire I focused on the subject of my documentary, which is mental health in young adults. Qualitative research was used here because I wanted to get peoples opinions on the subject. I found out that most people watch documentaries on occasion, they would watch my documentary and that they find that my subject is talked about too often in documentaries or news outlets.

Primary research

This is the research where a person does the research themselves through various forms. Things like questionnaires are a good source of primary research, also interviewing people gives good primary research. When conducting research yourself, the information gathered is most likely accurate due to you doing the research yourself. However, this can be troublesome, as many people tend not to stop and take questionnaires and have an interview, meaning there might not be many people in your primary research.

Secondary research

This is research that has been conducted by someone else such as statistics in your chosen documentary subject or the history of the subject. This is a good source of research as it is relatively simple to access this information on the Internet etc. Although, the research might be dated in terms of when it was conducted thus making the research not accurate to the modern.

Qualitative research

This form of research is opinionated; it is based on attitudes and preferences. Facts and figures aren’t used in this form of research. This is to fins out what groups of people or individuals think about a certain subject.

Quantitative research

Where Qualitative research is based on opinions and attitudes towards a certain subject, Quantitative research is based primarily on numerical results. This is a more detailed and professional way to gather research, a typical quantitative research study recognises a certain amount of people and shows data based upon the findings. For example; looking at the analytics of a popular internet video, these are mainly presented in a chart of graph form.

Documentary proposal draft

Living with two brothers

1x10 BBC 3

My brother has two sides to him. One side is a loving, funny, bubbly young man who is great to be around. The other is a stubborn, manipulative downright evil person that cannot be bargained or negotiated with. Living with a mental illness brings a lot of negative stigma in today’s society, this will show two sides of the argument. From what it’s like to look in and see what it’s like from a bystanders point of view, to 

living with and coping with a mental illness.

My brother was diagnosed with Severe Asperger’s syndrome in 2013, we are also looking into possibly diagnosing him with Bipolar disorder and ADHD. He has struggled to fit in throughout his life whether it being in school life or outside of school endeavours. The effects of such mental illnesses bring a whole lot of strain into his life and everyone around him. I will try to shed some light on what it’s like to live with illnesses as severe as what my brother has with interviews and personal experiences with them. I will also get professional opinions to do with mental illnesses and the stigma behind how they are perceived in today’s society.

I would like to do this documentary because nowadays there are hardly any first-hand accounts of what a mental illness. They are always an outsider looking and voicing their opinion based on facts and figures. No one is saying what it is like on a day to day basis dealing with the problems of a young adult with severe mental issues and the people around him.

I

n conclusion I will try to show what it is like to live with a mental illness for the person with the illness and the people around him. I will make this from a first-hand stand point and make this a personal diary on the life of my brother and our family.

Draft script: Voiceover

Draft Script: voiceover

(To be said in front of camera) Introduction to the documentary

My brother, Huw, has two sides to him. One is a brilliant caring young man with a heart of gold. The other, is a manipulative, self centred, down right evil person who has the potential to be a danger to himself and everyone around him.

In this 10-minute documentary, I will show you what it is like to live with a mental illness and to live with someone with a mental illness.

(Voiceover) Filler shots (Interview with the parents)

…Suspicious about his illness?

My brother was diagnosed with severe Asperger’s syndrome in early 2013 and we are looking into further diagnosis of other mental illnesses such as Bipolar disorder and ADHD. I personally wasn’t suspicious about my brother’s mental illness; my mother though, noticed he was different very early on.

…Someone with such a severe mental illness?

When living with someone with such a severe mental illness it can be very stressful to others around him, you have to tread very carefully to keep the peace.

…Two sides to him?

(Cut to me asking the question, no introduction needed)(Father)

…Different to other boys his age?

In his ways, Huw is much like boys his age, prone to mood swings, back chats etc, but with him, the general traits of a 14 year old boy is heightened greatly. Everything you’d expect from a teenager is now a lot more extreme.

…Particular strain on the family?

(After the interview answer) The strain his mental illness puts on our family is tremendous, it has driven a wedge in our relationship.

(To be said in front of camera)

We can’t hold a basic conversation without there being some sort of row involved. My parents have been on the brink of divorce because we can’t keep on going on like this. Nowadays, my family lives from one row to the next, when we sit down and have a conversation or when we play a board game; Huw has to take the reigns. If is not on Huws terms then he refuses to play and makes it a very stressful experience for us all.

…Suspicious about any other mental illnesses?

(Cut to me asking the question, no introduction needed)(Mother)

introduction

Hello all! My name is Rhys Grainger and I am an amateur filmmaker undergoing my first major project. I have been tasked to create a documentary on a subject of my choice and this blog is here to keep track of all the endeavours i will be doing to create the documentary.