My final cut - Colour Grade

Intro - Winter Scene

Before

After

Enhanced the blues in the shadows and midtones in order to achieve a colder colour palette which connotes and makes obvious that it is based in the winter months. This also amplfies the fact that the town doesn't get any direct sunlight in winter months. Here the town looks very dark and bleak which works very well in contrast with the other scenes in the spring.

Middle section - Spring

Before

 After

Here is the hint of the return of the sun and this scene is based in the spring so here I have bumped up the saturation levels to bring out the greens in the trees but still keep a cold tone in the shadowed valley which contributes to the idea that the town is still in the shadows, not quite in the sunlight. The provides a perfect middle ground and bridge to the ending as the overall colour scheme gradually gets warmer and more saturated as the documentary develops and progresses.

End - Return of the sun

Before

 After

In this last scene the sun is back in the town of Rjukan. So therefore I have altered the colour grade accordingly in order to make it look much warmer through the introduction of more yellow/orange and red mid tones shadows and highlights. This colour grade works very well as it mirrors the progression of the narrative and contrasts the winter and spring months very well.

ending - Sun festival music development

Overall summary of track

I feel that the ending music works very well in tying the whole thing together. The fact that it is the same key waltz as the intro, contributes to continuity as well as bringing back the community aspect which lies so heavy in the intro. Also by having relation to the intro scene, it allows for the last shots to work very well which illustrate a flashback to our first interview with Jorunn in the winter. It has great resemblance of the introduction waltz but is slightly more built up which indicates that there is an event taking place rather than just mundane day to day things. The removal of the wintery bells allow for the track to sound more summery and the strings/melody sound majestic and mysterious which complments and enhances the costumes and outfits worn throughout the solfest.

Reaching the sun music development

Playlist

Track 1
 Track 2
 Track 3


Overall summary of track
This is another track where the composer really grasped our intentions from the beginning. Immediately here, the soft people implies that the audience are viewing a much more intimate and delicate moment of Jorunn reaching the sun on one of her sun walks. The major chords in combination with the minor style melody allow for the piece to feel much more emotionally charged. When the strings are brought in, the track increases to build in apporach to the climactic point. I love how its tailored to our visuals.. so in the cut when we cut back to interview sections, the music is calmed down and reverts back to the simple soft piano which brings the audience in to listen to what Jorunn is saying, letting her be the main focus. The orchestral strings all together in harmony create the feeling of triumph and overcoming an obstacle which goes hand in hand with Jorunn reaching the sun. Once again the music is composed to work specifically to the visuals which works very well with the slow motion shots and also in indicating key moments.

Middle section music development

 
Playlist
Track 1
 Track 2
 Track 3


Overall summary on track

I am very pleased with this track and I liked it from the get go. From the start the composer really grasped our vision here as we wanted the music to add to the theme of chasing the sun and longing for the suns return. This track has a much faster tempo that any other track in the documentary and rises to a crescendo which adds a sense of suspense. Also when the different layers are integrated into the track at different times you really get a build up a story/journey of searching/chasing for the sun.  Also the way that the track interacts with the visuals works very well. For instance, when Jorunn says that she 'stops' and looks around.. the music does also which gives it more impact when the visuals and sound work simultaneously. 

Intro music development

Playlist

Track 2

This track was one of the first responses we got back from our composer following the musical direction that was sent. This was a good start it grasped the feeling of a small town/community. It also has a notes of curiosity. However, when placing this in the intro edit, we felt that it just didn't really fit with the footage and overall feel. And didn't work well with the intention of establishing the town.  

Track 1

After much discussion, we agreed with the composer for him to attempt to create his waltz. This is the first sample of the waltz that was sent to us which allowed us to edit simultaneously as he continues to develop the waltz. This shows a clear basic tempo and rhythm which allows us to begin to get an idea of the pacing of the intro.

Track 3

Here is the next development of the waltz. We really like the way he has included the string instruments which captures the aura of the town quite well. Getting a good balance between the big scale of the valley with the small town that lays within it. However, we weren't too sure with the bells that were included throughout. It gives too much of a magical feel, holding relation to Christmas songs or children's lullabies. 

 Track 4
Here he has adapted the bells, now they have no relation to the previously explained connotations. Now the bells very minimal, contributed to the feel of curiosity and the strings are the main focus which works very well. Also he has added a low brass instrument which initiates around 50 seconds which works well in the edit where people start speaking. Allowing the audience to focus on the visuals and not get too distracted by the soundtrack.

Track 5
Here is a a different version of the waltz in a minor key. This gives a very different feel and atmosphere. We like it, however we feel as if it gives a bit of a negative/sad feel which isn't what we want to do. We want to reflect the positive outlook of the townspeople.

Track 6

This is the latest version of the track. Overall we are very pleased with this piece as it complements the visuals very well. Through communicating with the composer we have insured that certain instruments start at certain points in certain ways. This has provided the basis for an engaging pace to the introduction of the documentary whilst creating the atmosphere that we wanted. 

Overall summary of final track
This music works perfect for the introduction scene as it helps introduce the element of Rjukan be a small town. The fact that it is a waltz provides it with a traditional feel which complements the introduction as a whole. The wintery bells work very well in indicating the season that the intro is based in and as the strings and melody slowly evolve, you get a sense of a build up of a story.

Final cut - Ready to grade

This is the final cut after some minor tweaks, ready to be colour graded.

Passes from colour grader

-In this first pass of the colour grade with our grader there is too much contrast and in some cases also looks a bit too saturated. 

-I don't want the footage to be too drastically changed as it could become quite distracting. Perhaps the footage would look much better with less contrast and saturation to get a much more natural colour scheme.

 - Here the grader has taken out a little bit of contrast however I feel like even more could be taken out.

-Also the overall colour scheme of this pass is a little too green and could perhaps be better if it was shifted more towards the blue tone.

 - This pass is much better tonally as it leans more towards a blue tint which allows it too look colder and more like it did in the winter months

-Also it seems as if he has added a little bit of grain, but i don't particularly like this as it comes across as a technological fault.

After receiving these passes from the colour grader, I am not too pleased with the progress overall. Therefore I will attempt my own grade of the cut as the grader couldn't totally grasp our vision. 

First Audio Mix

Notes on first Sound mix 

-I like the wind ambience 

-All audio sounds good 

-Remove church bells at the start (01:00:29)

-The end of the final music cuts off early

-Faded audio out for speech, does it ruin the tempo of the edit? Can we get away with it being a touch louder? Subtitles

-Gap before ‘Direction’ (Øystein)

-Sync 01:01:29

-“S’my name is Jorunn’ 01:03:39

-Music should be faded by the end of the shot at 01:04:47 

-Fade final cue in 

-01:08:25 'to the market place' sounds stutter

Response from sound dubber

- Can we please ditch the church bells at the start? I really like the idea but it gets a bit confused with the music I

think and so it doesn’t sit quite right. 

- No problem at all.

- At 01:01:12:16, I notice you’ve removed the hesitation (“er”) before the word “direction”.. With it cut out I think

maybe it sounds a bit too choppy/hesitant. Can we drag that section out to include the “er” again please? 

- Will take a look

- 01:03:39:06, There’s a “s” sound at the start of the vocal where the previous word she says is “yes”. Is there

any room to cut that a little later so it sounds more like “my name is Jorunn" as opposed to “S’my name is

Jorunn”?

- Will take a look

- The transition between the third and fourth music cue is slightly wrong. 1M3 should be fully faded out by the end

of the shot at 01:04:47, there is then a couple of seconds gap with no music before 1M4 cue comes in. Basically

this should fade out/come in exactly as it does in the cut we sent over with the audio project.

- I used the timings in the AAF for this. Will take a look.

- The version you sent me cuts abruptly at the end of the final cue (after the credits finish rolling). Not sure if

you’ve cut the export too short/not allowed the cue to finish?

- The picture I have here is 9m 41s 14fr long. The music cue extends past this by another 11s and 13fr. Currently I've faded it down to match the length of the picture, and definitely isn't abrupt this end. Can you let me know what you want me to do? 

- 01:08:25, "to the market place”. I think you may have cut out the word “to”. Sounds a little jarring at the moment

just because it kind of sounds like she’s saying “sunshine the market place”.

- Will take a look

- Did you replace the camera sound of the car at 01:00:42? Originally, it had a nice, old rattly sound to it.

Wondering if we can get some of that back and make it a touch louder if needs be? No worries if not!

- It still uses the original audio, but have added another FX underneath to make it sound less thin. Will take a look and see if I can bring out more of the camera audio.

- I understand that we need to fade the music slightly when speech comes in, but I’m wondering if sometimes it’s

a little extreme and therefore affects the pace/impact of the edit, particularly the build up at the end (as it’s a big

finish). Maybe we could try making these fades a touch more gradual and increasing the music volume behind

interviewees’ speech somewhat? Most noticeable at 01:00:50, 01:01:06, 01:02:36, 01:04:07, 01:07:46, 01:08:20

and 01:08:48. We’ll have subtitles throughout as well so I’m not sure we need to leave quite so much room for

the interview speech.

- Having the music any louder will definitely make intelligibility suffer. I would say at the moment, it's right on the verge of being too loud already, and certainly wouldn't want to raise it under the poorer quality dialogue sections (the first two on the list above for instance). I would absolutely recommend not raising this any further. I'll take a look and see if I can make the transitions a little more seamless - but the volume is good.

- Can we check the sync at 01:01:29, 01:05:12:14 and 01:05:38. I think these three shots are eeeever so slightly

out.

- Will take a look

Added credits

For me the theme of the return of the sun lays so heavy throughout the documentary. The director came up with the idea of convey it further even into the titles and credits. Throughout the documentary yellow text for titles will be used in order to act as a metaphor for the sun. Also we could further apply this to the credits as well. In order to imitate the return of the sun we decided that we could perhaps fade the credits in from the bottom of the screen and as they get higher in the screen, they get brighter. Ultimately continuing the prevalent reference to the sun and its return.

New Solfest Cut

Here I have improved the ending very much so, before it felt too long and slow with the constant slow motion shots with nothing breaking them up. Now I have got rid of some of the slow motion shots and also, similarly to the middle section, have intertwined more section from our interview with her which speeds up the pace and makes the ending more interesting and engrossing. In order to try and bring the documentary to a more significant and effective ending me and kieran had to revisit the interview footage. This would help break up the section, whilst also reinforcing the sense of character attachment that we feel towards Jorunn in the section previously. We were able to find sections that were more conclusive and rounded off the narrative much better than before. This can evidently be seen where Jorunn talks about community love and coming together which is complemented by the busy Solfest streets.

We also decided to revisit old footage from previous trips where we came across our first ever interview with Jorunn that we shot back in the winter.  When placing this next to the spring section a big contrast could be seen. This was due to the juxtaposition between the sunny colourful busy spring with the bleak atmosphere of the winter. When put side by side, this created a great deal of impact and made for a powerful ending.

3-10 min rough cut

This was just a quick test to see how well the middle section flowed into the end section. This work very well as the middle section concludes with Jorunn talking about washing her windows when the sun comes back. Therefore the ending begins with her washing her windows, ultimately indicating the passing of time in an interesting way. The ending still needs a lot of work!!!

Ending rough edit

This is a rough cut of the final section of the documentary with some placeholder music. As it stands, it feels far too slow and boring a repetitive. Maybe it could be broken up with more interview sections like the middle section of the documentary which worked well. Also this doesn't feel like a sufficient enough ending. It doesn't feel conclusive or some up documentary. Also this ending doesn't seem to live up to the climax of the previous scenes. We considered perhaps ending around 6:45 mins in after this climax. However, this also didn't feel like the relevant ending for the piece. Despite this, the Solfest still felt like an important part of the documentary, the struggle was to make it interesting and worthy of being an ending. We could try including it along side the credits but it may be confusing and almost separate to the rest of the film. This would defeat the object of trying to bring the documentary to a close.

Intro to middle section

Here, I have tested how well the intro transitions into the next section as well as create a rough cut of the middle section as well. Firstly, here you can see that the now layered waltz of the intro makes it much more engaging to watch and feels less slow paced and repetitive. As aforementioned in my previous post I wanted to shorted the first shot, this makes it more snappy and more intriguing. We also have included some text at the start in order to explain the issue more clearly. I think that this works very well as it is short and provides the necessary information. Also the yellow text have further relation the sun and contributes to the theme. Another improvement made was that at 1 min 20 secs  I changed the shot from the previously sunny drone shot and it know fits in better with the other shots for continuity. I have also included more establishing shots in order to illustrate the aesthetic of the town even better.

I love how well the introduction transitions into the next section where the characters are talking about the sun returning and slowly coming down the mountain into the valley. The works so well with the next section as it initiates with a time lapse which visually illustrates the aforementioned. Accompanied by diagetic bird noises and the drone shots displaying the line of sunlight getting ever so closer to the town. Together I believe the viewers get a good sense of the spring and the anticipation of the return of the sun. 

Here is also the introduction of the main character Jorunn who epitomises the towns aura and spirit through here passion about the return of the sun. The way in which her audio comes in first over other shots and then cuts to her after works very well and looks very sleek and professional. Here she introduces the idea of her "chasing the sun" which instigates the next sound track. We follow her going on one of her "sun walks" and the music really captures the emotion and theme of her chasing the sun. Also the fact that the interview has been intertwined with the sun walk increases the pace of this sections and makes for a more dynamic narrative.

I also really like how the visuals interact with the music, specifically when she says that she "stop.... look around". When she says stop the music also stops which works very well. She gradually gets closer and closer to the sun and when she does, the music changes to a much more emotional piece. This more emotional piece is complemented and amplified by the slow motion visuals.

The ending of this section sets up for another interesting transition. Jorunn concludes this section by saying that when the sun comes back they all "wash and polish the windows". The next section could therefore begin by showing her cleaning her windows when the sun returns.

Middle section rough cut

Fill in some black gaps - unnecessary
Try and see how well this transitions from the intro
Do we need the timestamp or is it clear enough through the footage

Middle section end test

Here I have done a quick rough cut of the ending if the middle section. By using place holder music to try and gain an understanding of the mood, I have been able to identify that this section has the potential to be a very climactic and emotional section. Soon we will be able to approach this section with our own bespoke music which will be tailered to our visuals. Perhaps it will work very well with the slow motion shots as it climaxes, and then when it cuts back to the interview shots, the music calms down again.

middle section rough cut alternative

Here in this test I have tried to introduce the idea of not using music and just ambient sound, however I feel that it slows the pace down a bit too much. Also I have just tested out getting rid of the sun chasing soundtrack just to see how it would change the mood of the piece. The middle section doesn't work well like this as the pace and dynamic isn't as effective.

Intro rough 2 alternative music

Here I tried to bring the music in at a slightly different point. I tried giving the intro some breathing space by including some ambient sounds to relay the calm peaceful nature of the town. I feel like it works well but I always love the way that the music comes in with the drone shots in the previous edit. Using ambient sound will definitely be considered at some point of the documentary as it helps convey the mood of the town very well.

One thing we thought about was whether in include us asking the questions before the character respond. This interaction making the documentary maybe slightly less formal but i feel as if it is important that we do include these interactions. This is because they help progress and develop the narrative. Without the interactions some of the statements from characters that were used, wouldn't make sense by standing alone.

Intro rough cut

Here is the first rough cut for the introduction of our documentary. At the moment it feels quite long and repetitive but I think that this is due to the soundtrack being in its most basic form. When the layers are added to the music, I feel that the intro will become more engaging. By starting to edit we can identify parts of the intro where the music could increase in tempo/drama. But i like the way the beats of the waltz will complement the cuts between shots. I feel that the shots used establishes the town very well which is accompanied by descriptions of the town both geographically and emotionally. The cutaways are working well to help explain what some characters are saying, the cutaway at 1 min 20 secs may look a bit too sunny, can we use a different shot??


We could consider short text at the start of the introduction in order to introduce Rjukan even clearer. Also the first shot feels a bit too long to start with, maybe I can use a smaller section of it and use the rest later when the townspeople are table about when they get the sun and their personal accounts with it.

Overall I feel like we have grasped the sense of a small community very well through the way i have edited it. The way that people finish each others sentences and all are talking about the same thing conveys this very well. The interchanging style between characters works very well and shows how important the sun is to them through how passionate they speak about its return. 

Poster ideas

Speeding up workflow - Editing in proxies

Notes:

Premiere Pro and Media Encoder
Open premiere pro
Ingest settings
select create proxies option
select preset 1280x720 H.264
creates lower quality versions of imported clips
quicker workflow and editing
proxy destination - same as project
import media 
media encoder creates proxies in background so can continue editing 
source monitor - button editor - drag toggle proxies along side other icons - then click icon
this then allows me to use the proxies
use 1/2 or 1/4 quality playback for even smoother workflow

settings to export before grade

Notes:
Format - Quicktime
Video Codec - Apple ProRes 422
Field Order - Progressive 
Aspect - Square Pixels (1.0)
Use maximum bit depth and maximum render quality 
Use previews

Music Direction

Here is the directors music direction which is both beneficial for me and our composer Joe Donohoe. For me this gives me a clear understanding of the feeling, emotion and themes behind each scene, therefore allowing me to start thinking about edit pacing which will ultimately correspond to the musical score.

Our Doucumentary structure

• Intro - introduce Rjukan visually through establishing shots as well as descriptions from residents "Rjukan is a cosy town" "Melancholic.. small town" 

• introduce issue/topic - absence of sun

•  montage of people describing when/how they get the sun back in the spring. Link this section with the next by ending it where a character talks about the sun gradually coming down the mountain and into the town.

• next section begins with a time lapse illustrating the sun moving down the mountain.

• Introduce main character Jorunn

•  Follow here on here journey on how she goes on her sun walks to reach the sun when it doesn't reach the town

• combination of interview and cutaways

• this section finishes with Jorunn talking about when the sun comes back she washes her windows

• The ending section begins with Jorunn washing her windows and follows the event of Solfesten which celebrates the return of the sun.

Trip 4 - Focus

Narrative Focus/Direction with Kieran
- We really need to drive home the community aspect of Rjukan that we document so well in the film's opening. To do this we will conduct interviews to correlate with the film's opening sequence, documenting the reactions of Rjukan's residents to having the sun back permanently.
- Catch up with Jorunn! When we last met Jorunn, her house had not yet been reached by the sun. Now it will. Jorunn's line 'When the sun comes back, we wash and polish our windows' may be good to visualise as an entry point to the final section of the film.
- Sølfest should be a balance between the community's experience, but also Jorunn's as a representative figure of the town. We may have to split as a crew so that some of us are with Jorunn, and some of us are capturing other aspects of the Sølfesten.
- We need to show the scale of the event. Depsite the fact that Rjukan is a small town, it is notable that over half of the population attend Sølfesten. It is important to show that the festival is a community affair. Shots that may reinforce this: - montage of people coming from their homes - video portrait montages of people dressed in their different outfits.

Short-Documentary Structure

Introduction: The introduction should captivate your audience and make them want to watch more. Here is a great opportunity to tell your audience what your documentary film is about and what you will be including in the main section. Most documentaries have a short introduction at the start to introduce the topic, the characters, and subjects.

Your documentary could include a short introduction with a voiceover to introduce the audience to the making of the film. The introduction will also include clips from interviews from the main section to introduce the cast and crew from the film. This gives the audience a little taste of what is to come and what to expect.


The body or main section: This is where you tell your story with your interviews, voiceovers, and video clips. It’s an opportunity to explore your topic and to pick out the interesting information or the moments you would like to present to your audience. It’s also a chance to get to know the characters and understand why they’re involved in your info film.

In one crew’s documentary, the main section will include interviews from the cast and crew of the film, video clips to go with the interviews, and facts and information about how the film was made and what inspired the story. The aim here is to present information that the audience may not know and to promote the film.


Conclusion: Ending your film with a conclusion can help the audience members make up their minds about the information you’ve presented. Your conclusion summarizes the main points covered in your film and brings the story to a natural end, leaving your audience feeling informed. This may include the answer to a question asked in the introduction, or the end of a journey started in the introduction.

You may wish to include information about the subject at the end of your info film with a call to action, which is a way the audience can respond to what they have just watched. Calls to action are often used with charity or promotional films that leave information at the end. The conclusion for one crew’s documentary includes some final quotes from the film crew and cast about how they felt about making the film and what they enjoyed most.

Always aim for the audience to…

• Pay attention from the very beginning.
• Engage in the narrative to the very end.
• Ask a question of the work.
• Turn that question onto themselves.
• Feel changed after experiencing the narrative – in some way.

A mini documentary is a great way to share your story if you don’t have the time or budget (or need) for a full length feature documentary.

The length of a mini documentary might be anywhere from 2-25 minutes. A mini-documentary might also be referred to as a short film or mini-doc.

Mini-documentaries are a fantastic way to get a message or story across in a limited amount of time. A common way that mini documentaries are used is to share the story/mission of a non-profit organization or business.

A technique that can be successful within the time constraints imposed by the micro-documentary format is to make a strong personal connection or statement up front or present a powerful set of images connected to a single theme with your focus on a single character, story, event, place, or process. Then, from there, there are several editorial frameworks you can use depending on your approach:

1. If you are doing an issue-oriented micro-doc, expose the issue and what you’ve learned is necessary to address the issue, then, use a specific person or organization’s work as examples of that solution, all tied together by a single theme, or
2. If you’re doing a personal profile, I suggest showing the person working and the process they go through to accomplish their work, followed by the person’s (and possibly a third party’s) reflections on what the work means to them or what they learned from it, all tied together by a single theme, or
3.  If you are having someone tell a specific story about something they did or made, show the person talking and use cutaways to illustrate the story they are telling, have the person tell the story in a concise manner and use your questions to evoke alternative sound bites to make your editing easier. Make sure you get some reflections on the part of the storyteller which will help you achieve closure, a good short story is one or more anecdotes, each followed by a moment of reflection, all connected in some manner, or
4. If you want to convey an impression rather than tell a story or convey a message in a conventional manner, you can take the viewer on an audiovisual journey crafted with a sequence and/or collage of images based your observation of a single place, a specific event, or a particular process, without a central character to drive the story, yet tied together by a unified theme.

Each of these frameworks can be effective in helping you structure a compelling micro-documentary. There are other possible variations, you can mix and match as needed, however, the key challenge to keep in mind you have accomplish your goals in a  short amount of time, so your video must be tightly structured in terms of the ideas, events, or issues covered and the number of characters driving the story. There is little or no time available for subplots, secondary characters, and backstory.