Documentary Production: Critical Analysis

Critical Analysis 

This short documentary is one of the most difficult tasks that we been given, due to many reasons. In order to produce this documentary, we have traveling around London and also to Brighton to filmed. In this documentary project most of the team members work so hard in order to produce the best documentary ever.

This documentary has using the materiality documentary mode in presenting the main character, because we believe that object always say something or mean something to the owner. For this character camera and anything that related to the camera is an object that very important and meaningful, this is why camera always appear in many scenes with the main character. For the main character camera is not only a tool, camera is a passion and friend that helping him to reaching his destination.

Another concept of this documentary is to break point of view in stereotype of the Eastern European in the perspective our audience who is Western European, because people often thinking that the Eastern European can only be a labour worker or something that not related to creativity. This documentary has breaking this stereotype and ideology, we want to make people realise that those people can be more than just a labour worker and use him as an inspirational character for other people.

In relation to the materiality this is why the documentary is beginning with introducing the main character together with his camera. The opening scene of this documentary has been designed very well, because it has included many elements and object that meaning something to the main character such a camera that he is holding in his hand and the location that shooting the opening scene also meaning something to the main character. 

The outcome of the documentary is very good in my opinion, but it still not the best. If the production team have more time or a chance to re-work on this documentary there is few things that could be improve. The improvement that the documentary should re-work on is the lighting and of the interview scene, in this particular scene the main character face is quite dark due to the camera is facing directly to the light. If the production team have a chance to go back in film this documentary against this should be fix. 

Documentary Production: Post-production progression

Post-production progression 

Post-production is one of the most important stages of film making due to this stage is a stage that the film or documentary is been more visual. During this stage, the director of photography, editor and me who is the director of the documentary and director of the team have met and had a look on assembling of the footage for the first time. In post-production on stage I, the director of the documentary and director of the team together with the director of photography have listened to a feedback from the editor about what kind of short that we need more and what need to be improved. 

At this stage every team member who must contribute in work of post-production has done their best to make this documentary coming out as good as possible. During the post-production stage me as the director of the team has discussed with the editor about the footage that I have filmed together with the director of photography, on what need to be improved and what kind of short that the editor wants more such as, a Broll short, cutaway short and etc. During this stage, I also discuss with the producer on arranging some more shooting date with the character regard to the feedback from the editor about extra short that she need to have for the editing. 

During the post-production stage we have meet and discuss on everything to make this documentary coming as good as possible, everyone has done their best to make this project be the best project of the year for us.

Documentary Production: Career Aspiration

My career aspiration  

In year time where I will be? What I will doing? This is a question that I have asked myself for long time, it is a question that I think I could not answer it because no one can predict a future and sometime thing is not happened right what we expect it to be. In ten years' time one thing that I quite sure of is I will be somewhere in Thailand, but for the career am still not sure what it will be.  

From expectation there are many careers that I would like to do such, and I think that can do it for many reasons, first type of career that I might see my doing in the next ten-year time is a university lecturer in South East Asia history and culture due to the reason that I will do a master degree on this subject and I have an older sister who teach in this course. My next careers that I might see my elf doing in the ten years' time is working in the Ministry of Foreign affair in Thailand or at the Royal Thai Embassy somewhere abroad due to the reason that my parent have a friend who work in this area.  

This is just an expectation that I am expected to see myself in ten-year, but who it might not happen or it might happen. Just let it be. 

Documentary Production: Progress reflection

Documentary production A documentary is a form of film making that I have interest for a long time, so this project is a project that I am enjoyed the most in producing work. In the post-production of this project, it has been a difficult time for me, because of the brief is very limited my creativity, so I have to try to find a way to work with the brief that I have been given.

During the early time of post-production after I am getting used to the brief everything it seemed to go well, the main character Susana and story have been prepared, shot lists and camera work has been designed and the documentary is almost ready to be shoot now we only have to wait for Susana our main character to confirm the shooting date with the producer and every team members is care about this project and put a lot of effort into making this documentary.

Everything seems to go well at the beginning and I have a feeling that the project will come out great, but my expectation is been ruin because of the Susana our main character is lack of responsibly, every time when the producer of the documentary who is a friend of Susana our main character contact her about the shooting date Susana our main character all way said can we do it on next week any other day, then when it comes to the shooting, Susana our main character all way make an excuse to not shooting on the day that she has told us. This problem has been carried on for about 3 weeks until I feel like this will not if we keep continuing with this person.

In order to solve this problem, we as a team has decided to change our the main character for our documentary in order to move forward, because if we still use Susana as the main character for the documentary I have a feeling of this documentary will not be made.

Documentary Production: Camera format

To produce one documentary, it contains so many elements in order to produce it, as a film student who has been taking part in few production groups and also taking a role of director of photography (DOP). I personally prepare the short list or idea of how each short will be shot during the pre-production, but before I can design a short list first, I must know what kind of camera I will use for this filming and what format is suitable for the film and camera.  

When talking about camera format many of new film maker or anyone who done know about filming and edit most likely suggest me to film in 4K for the best quality images, but I personally follow introductory in thing that I have been taught because not every camera is capable of filming 4K, but if the camera is capable to film in 4K and what about the output. For this documentary I will use Sony fx100e this camera cannot film in 4K so the format for this camera is HD resolution 1920-1080 and frame rate is 25p and speed shutter at 50 double of frame rate it’s enough for me to have a good quality images. The reason of set frame rate at 25p it's becasue it is common frame rate setting that using in Europe. Other than images sound also important for this documentary due to this documentary is also contained an interview part so sound of the interview have to be crystal clear. 

For the sound I have chosen to use lavalier microphone in order to capture a perfect interview sound for the documentary, reason that I choose to use lavalier microphone is because this kind of mic is purpose build for interview so it will not capture any of location sound like the shotgun mic, because for this documentary sound of the location or the diegetic sound is unnecessary for my documentary.

Documentary Production: Market observation

Observe object and space The object for someone it just pieces of material, but for someone, it might be more than that, for someone objects can fulfill their life, dream, and passion. In today blog I will share with my experience of observing people and how their interactions with an object, so to observed people with the object the perfect place that I think that the object will bring out his or her personality to the public view is shaping center. In observing task I have chosen to visit a Bicester shopping village in Bicester Oxfordshire, at the shopping village I have seen many people with many difference stereotype interact with many different kinds of object. Find the type of people or stereotype that I see that most lady and the object that attract them the most is a handbag especially big name handbags like Prada, Gucci, Coach and many more. The stereotype of a lady who is interacted by those brand name handbags is mostly wealthy person and some also might be well-educated due to their behavior and manner and I also see that those handbags also pull out their true nature of being a mother, because when there handle the bags the lady is treating those bags like a baby that need to be handled with care. At the shopping village I had visited almost every shop, but still, not all of them due to the size of the shopping village is very big and some shop is not my type of interest. While I was there is one shop that has to be queueing if you want to get inside and that shop is Gucci, this Gucci shop is one of the biggest shops in the village. At the front of Gucci many people are queueing and waiting to get inside and buy whatever their and there can afford, the reason that Gucci shop is attractive so many people are due to the brand that is a global exception as one of the top fashion brands of the world so that is why many people can give their time in queue at the front of the shop so their can buys and own one of the big brand names produce. When talking about Bicester shopping village everyone who into shopping will know that this village is the biggest brand name shopping village in the UK, so the perspective of people that never visit this village will think that most people that go there have to dress nice or wearing an expensive product, but it not true from my experience not everyone wears brand name produce or dress expensively they just wear whatever they want to wear. I have voted this village in order to blogs about this but it is impossible for me if am not shopping or by anything, so I shop just a few items that not so expensive but most of them are a shoe. A shoe is an object that caught my attention and it an object that I spend most of my money into.

Documentary Production: S21 Khmer Rouge Killing Machine

S21 Khmer Rouge Killing Machine

S21 Khmer Rouge Killing Machine is a documentary about former prison guard during the time of Khmer Rouge or The Communist Party of Kampuchea or The Red Khmer leading by Pol Pot. Khmer Rouge is a communist party that activates in Cambodia during the booming of Communism in South East Asia allies with Communism party of Laos, Communism party of Thailand and together with People Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam or Viet Cong. This documentary is talking about the time that Cambodia is ruling with Khmer Rouge or the communist and the experience of people who live at that time. This documentary is presenting out in a style subjected POV so the spectator experience is focusing on the subject is the Victim and the prison guard and their experience.

Plot structure of this documentary is a normal documentary plot structure that starting with SETUP that inform people with a brief information of the story, in the S21 case it starts with a footage of the success of Khmer Rouge ignorer for the audience to know what is the background history of this documentary to the history of subject. Then it comes to the BODY, the body of this documentary is a story and experience of both former prisoner and former prison guard. The body part is the most important part for this kind of documentary because this part is a part that contains a lot of information about the subject of the documentary and this part is a part that builds up the emotion and informing on the incident of the character.

After the audience being informed by a lot of information about the subject life experience and the documentary has shown the SETUP and BODY of the documentary already now it comes to the last part of the documentary which is CONCLUSION when everything comes to the ending and the question both from the character and the audience will be answer. In the CONCLUSION part, former prison guard and the former prisoner came together for the first time and the guard being questioned to answer, so this is the part that we can see every former prison guard emotion and feeling that there have about the pass. This part is the most important in comparison to fiction film this is the climax where everything going to be sorted.

 In term of narrative structure, this documentary has nothing difficult but in term of historical referencing it’s very complex and also the emotion, mood, and tone of this documentary is quite complex because this documentary is talking about life and war, so when it comes to a story like most documentary will appear tone the supporter of one either side but for the S21 the maker is communicated story from two perspectives but be able to do it evenly, I believe that the reason is that the maker wants us an audience to make the decision to choose the side by our self.

Documentary Production: Documentary Synopsis

Documentary Synopsis and treatment of family member story of their life. A story of my grandfather 
An old man who in the age of 72 the second son of a Chinese decadent family in Thailand, a man who been pass so many things and many interesting events throughout his lifetime. A story is begun in his young age a young man in the early 20 not graduating from a university because of a strong belief that a successful life is not depended on high education and any university but it depends on us. At the age of 20 he has been elected to become a head of a family who having power to control every family member and business under our family name. Chinese family structure is the difference from a western family structure, in Chinese family structure we have a line of control due to most of the Chinese family is running a business so the line of control in a family is quite similar to business control from the top to bottom. At a young age, he has become the head of a family, from a perspective of other Chinese families and business partner he is a young leader who very passion and talented but from a perspective of a Thai police they see this young leader as a threat to them, due to the amount of power in his hand is way more than the police our family has become a family of Mafia in the perspective of police. Throughout his lifetime since the time that he has become the leader our family always in conflict with the local police. In the early age of 20 he is leading our family to become one of the most powerful families in the country, but this is not easy due to that time country is governing of a dictatorship of the military government, but because of his brightness he knows how to deal with this dictator to get the most out of it. He has become a business partner to the government in exchange for the right of controlling southern district of the country, which mean every business no matter large or small that want to open have to be allowed by him to so it can be open. This is how young men build power for himself and for our family.

Documentary production: Interview

The interview According to the Interview Strategies of Jerry Rothwell and to his idea of contributor roles, I personally see myself as a witness and participant according to Rothwell strategies in many events that happen my life or in other people life that was related to me personally. As a witness to the event I also experience a similar emotion to the participant, so I quite confident to tell the story out in the same emotion as the participant. An event that I saw my self as a witness and also a participant is one of an event that I could not be forgotten for the rest of mine. This event happened in July 2017 in a Hospital, a man who was my uncle, teacher, and also my role model in a team of manner are suffering from the last stage of cancer were resting. In one of the Tuesday, I and my family and his family are celebrating his daughter birthday together and expect that the birthday celebration could help to fight with cancer somehow, as the party he looks happy and enjoy. As a witness to the event I personally see and witness a good quality family time and hope that he could live longer, but every expectation and hope that I have in that Tuesday is tumbledown within 12 hours. We all return home after the party with hope, but walk up with bad news, in the next morning my mom has received a call from his wife that he almost pass by so can we all go to the hospital. After the phone everyone was rush to the hospital at the time around 8:00 am, when we arrive he looked so bad and different from yesterday, he looked totally like a different person. I was standing next to his bed looking at him, he breathes hard then soft and continues like that for not longer than 10 minutes, and he stops breathing. At the moment that he seems to stop breath I was rushing out to get the doctor after doctor enters the room he looks at the patient and looks at us, the doctor says nothing but we all know what is the message that the doctor tries to communicate to us. A man that I see as a role model pass away in front of me, and he is the first person that I saw the last moment of life.

Documentary Production: Museum visited

Museum visited

Hi, everyone today I would like to share you my inspiration after me visiting a museum in London, the museum that I have visited this time is Victoria and Albert Museum or V&A. In this museum, I have seen many antiques from around the globe, but there is one type of antique that had attracted my attention so much is an antique from South East Asia and China. An antique from these two areas had got my attention due to my interest and background, yes! I am a film student but like said before in my introducing blog “film not only my interest”, but it just one of my big interest, another interest of my is history special Asian. When I saw an antique from Asia it all way remind me of where I came from and who am I, my big ambition in film making is to tell the world about the history of my people and who we are, but there is a time that I have forgotten about that, so the antique in V&A had reminded me this ambition

Documentary Porduction: 1min me

Documentary production: Portrait

Documentary Production: Introducing

Hi everyone it been long time sicne I has post on this blog, first thing I want you to know more about me.

Other than filmmaking I also interest in traveling, my motto is life is journey. Traveling help to exploring this world and help me to understand about planet.

Life is too short to learn everything about this planet and about our species. Every hours, minute, second that pass by we should use it correctly.

One thing that I want our species to understand is we not the greatest species on this planet, many people misunderstanding about this. Just open your mild and look out side there is many pieces about their that intelligent in their own way, please stop thinking that we are the great because we are civilise. This is how I think!!