Post Three - Production

 Way before we even began our documentary production, our teacher sat us down and gave us some pointers and ideas as to how to shoot our piece. The most prominent piece that gnawed at me throughout our actual production was the fact that we needed a greater variety in subjects—towards that end, our instructor thought we should have a male perspective (since the other two subjects were female). So, I would have been fulfilling that role. 

The issue that I ran into when I started filming B-Roll for work, however, was that there were a multitude of times where I just could not. Not in the literal sense, of course, but in the sense that by the time I finished doing something, I realized I had not filmed it, or that sometimes it got so busy that even if I remembered to film it, I could not take the time to take out my phone and record while countless customers stood at the counter staring lasers at me. 

Not to mention the greatest issue of location and framing. Even in scenarios where I could and indeed, did film, I could not find dynamic shots and well-framed shots were certainly few and far-in-between. Thus is the issue with filming oneself and this was also something critiqued about the finished product later with our other subject. Essentially, all of the footage I had filmed at work was serviceable to some extent, but while editing, me and the other group members were not too certain of its viability. Spontaneity and unbridled variety are likely good things when filming B-Roll because you just want a range of options, but we weren't too sure where a story could even rise out of the B-Roll I did film. Thus, we never shot an interview with me. 

I took somewhere around the course of two weeks to gather all of the B-Roll footage so it numbered pretty highly. I think in total, I had some thirty minutes (ok, probably a little under) but much of it was not focused or well-shot at all. My production process was a total bummer and it sucked that I ended up having to fully depend on the work of my partners for the production end of things. I cannot say it was the most fair arrangement ever.