DVD Cover

Dan had a good idea a while ago for creating a DVD cover for when our documentary would be released later on. After editing it, Dan managed to come to final cut and this was the result:

Finished Production

After editing our work to the best of our ability, we have finally reached the final production. On Thursday the 12th (This week) we will all be presenting our work to the rest of the class including the Headteacher and others. We have invited Gemma to come to the lesson and watch our final piece as well. The production at the moment is failing to upload to Blogger, so it will be able to be seen soon.

Final Filming

After receiving feedback from our most recent cuts, we decided we needed to re-film the scene with Drew Taylor's manager Patrice Spencer as the original scene seems too dull in lighting and there was not a variety of angle shots. Dan took his camera to Matt Davidson's house who had played the character to film this scene. This interview had more concentration on props and outfits other than Gemma's interview scene. We made the manager French, so we included a wine bottle and filled glass in the shot, and had dressed Matt in a particular way that would represent the character's nationality, such as a scarf and a big flashy coat.
Here are a few screenshots of the filming:

Here was the corrects and other feedback we needed to respond to:

Production Update Eight

During Tuesday's lesson this week, the group went over the production to see if there were anything that needed to be altered. After filming an extra scene for the short music video Fearless, we still had a gap to fill. So Megan suggested we did another interview, so we all decided on interviewing Megan as Drew Taylor's Mum in the school Common Room. Dan will edit this into the production on his own laptop at home, to see if there is anything that needed to be filled or changed.

We also changed the title but writing it out on paper with different edits instead of using a font on the computer. After looking at the footage of Megan as the Mum, we decided that it was too dark and wasn't filmed in the right setting, so we have organised a time and date to re-film it, and possibly the interview with me. It will most likely be filmed after school at Gemma's house.

Schedule Update

After Dan had finished exporting what we had edited, he had wrote up a new timetable for the group. It includes final filming for a short music video, in which we have already met.

Short Music Video Filming

Looking at our most recent schedule, we decided we would use Thursday's lesson and go to the Priory to film some of the shots for an extract of a music video to include as an example of Drew's work in the documentary. We could only film about two scenes, as the other remaining scenes required the characters to be in different clothing. From the screenshots below, we see Gemma playing her character dreaming of the one she loves. The other scene that will be later filmed will be of them together. No props were used in this scene, but Gemma was dressed for winter more thoroughly to show how cold she is without the one she loves.

An In-Depth Analysis

To really make our documentary work, we looked at three different pop stars documentaries (Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift) to get a real sense in what we wanted to accomplish. Out of the three, we chose to look close at Taylor Swift's Journey To Fearless for different reasons. These include: Drew Taylor's country/ pop singing style and Gemma's own personal love towards Taylor Swift.

The opening to the documentary immediately introduces Taylor Swift's love for music and the massive effect it has on her life. Shots included footage of her preforming at various concerts to then contrast against the home footage of her as a child 'preforming'. As a group we thought this was quite a good idea to use to describe the sort of character Drew Taylor is. The footage from the family videos also support the idea that music has always been a big influence in Taylor Swift's life; which was exactly what we wanted for our character. During the opening sequence, there were various shots of her at her concerts with the cheering fans dubbed over the music. This shows how successful and famous she is around the world. This was what exactly we also wanted to include for Drew Taylor's documentary as we wanted to give the same impression; that music is a big part of her, as well as her global success.

The editing as well had gripped us. The opening of Taylor Swift's includes photos, home videos and concert shots, but is all tied together with quick editing to keep it fast paced that would keep the audience interested. The different shots shows the two sides of the pop star, both the busy and well known star that everyone knows and the secret life with her family. This is what we wanted to do for our production to give the same effect for our audience. A voice over through the beginning of the film keeps the audience engaged with the film as well as understanding who she is in more detail. Interviews with Taylor are used frequently through the beginning, and sometimes edited over some photographs of her as a child and gradually growing up. This keeps the audience interested without being bored too quickly. This editing technique we definitely wanted to include in our own production.

Our character Drew Taylor is based upon Taylor Swift. The story our documentary tells is of how this normal teenager had to face constant bullying, to then face her fears to enter a school talent competition and grow to a national superstar. Using the various editing and shot techniques, we wanted to create a unique story that hooks the audience into wanted to find out how she had accomplished all that she has. We wanted the audience to have some kind of relationship with the singer in order to understand her, so we have planned to use interviews with various people and include both old photos of Gemma who will be playing the character and old home footage to create the same effect Taylor Swift's did, to show how much music has had an influence in her life, and the impression it gives of what kind of personality Drew has.