Sound track planning, Practice editing process & Archive footage

My original plan for the sound track was to meet with will and record the song on a zoom recorder, both the song he wrote in Fiji which would be the main song for the majority of the piece and a short acoustic piece for the beginning and end. However, due to issues of being available at the same time, the plan to record has been changed a few times. One alternative option was for will to record the sound track and send the files to me via wetransfer. Due to the fear of not getting it done in time, i am now going home this weekend to record the sound track and ready for editing next week. As a back up plan though, i will research acoustic guitar sound tracks on commons free - a royalty free backing track site. This is just another option, but i am determined to get the written music i desire, as i think the symbolic touch his own music has will really make this piece stand out.

In the editing process i used Final Cut Pro, first combining the scenic shots together to create an opening sequence, where Will will say a short paragraph explaining why he loves to travel and how it has shaped him as a person. It was then followed up with a title page with the name of the piece and introducing will to the viewers. In negotiation with Will, we came up with the name 'Wanderlust - An Adventure Documentary - Will Foster'. This title instantly completed the piece for me, as the word wanderlust means a strong desire to travel. I thought it fit really well with the narrative and fit all the pieces together. I then continued to edit the piece by organising the interview in order from the narrative structure i have previously set out. For in fill shots, i have used more scenic shots from shoot two - dunstable downs, fitted where the audience is still learning about Will and his journey.

Here you can see my first editing process, where we have the opening shots with no voice over or backing track. It opens on the scenic shots on Dunstable downs and goes into a title page for which i had not come up with the title of the piece yet. It then goes into the interview with Will, where he introduces the story.

From here i thought about research i had looked at as inspiration that i could use similar techniques for in my documentary. One in particular that stood out for me was the introduction in the Finding Vivian Maier documentary. At the beginning, its edited so all of her images are shown in a fast pace, leaving the audience curious to want to see these pictures in detail, knowing they would get a chance as the documentary continued. I thought this was very captivating and something i wanted to do for my viewers as well.  Below is the trailer, which you can get a glimpse of how they showed the images in the documentary. i also like that each image has a black boarder space around it, something i will consider for the archive images from Wills trip in Fiji. 

I then went back to edit again, this time with the inspiration from the Maier documentary lay out and added in a picture sequence just before the reveal of the title - Wanderlust. Still using the opening sequence shots of Dunstable downs and after the title begin the interview of his journey and filler shots from the scenic shots in between. I noticed before on my other practice edit that i didnt leave enough gap in between his speaking, so it all just kind of carried on without any breaks in between. This can lose the audiences attention and so i was given some advice to break it up with room sound and allows the piece to flow smoothly, giving the viewer a chance to take all the information in. 

Here you can see i have added in some room sound and broken it up slightly. As this edit is still on going, i have yet to add the zoom recorder in over the sound from the built in microphone in my camera. I am also going to take out some parts which i think is a bit long winded and can work without. This is a major learning curve for me from the documentary i made last year. I am improving my final cut skills that i learnt and trying some new techniques with transitions and understanding how to make the piece run smoothly and not to quickly. Something i have noticed whilst looking back at the edited footage is its all quick cuts and it doesnt allow you to really take all the information in. Now that i can see these errors, i can focus on improvement and piecing it all together. 

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In between the narrative, i want to include archive footage. These will include pictures that he took whilst in Fiji and shots of the memorabilia he collected over his journey. I want to include them in over the parts of the story they relate to and put a boarder around them, This is because the images are a low quality and look pix-elated when fit to screen, as the pictures were taken on compact cameras, phones and go pros. I took pictures of all the relevant memorabilia on my Canon 700D. At first i took pictures outside with a green leaf backdrop, which i thought was fitting to the nature aspect of the piece. I also liked the use of natural light giving a warm natural glow to the props. For things such as letters, journals, tickets and cards, i set up an interior studio, using one LED light to spotlight them, Here are some of the memorabilia shots that will be included as filler shots.

I edited the photos to be warmer, brighter and have more clarity, so the words were clear and the images were vibrant. I wanted them to match the overall look of the piece, keeping the tones similar through out. For these shots i want to use the ken burns tool to slowly pan side to side and from top to bottom, allowing the viewer to read key words and put a visual with the words from wills story.

Here are some of the archive photos that Will gave me to include in the piece from his journey in Fiji. I wont alter them in any way but add them in where they fit with the narrative.

What i like the most about his images is they each have a story behind them, which when he tells his story they can relate well with his words. Including them allows the viewer to go through his experience like they were there themselves, by gripping them with the narrative in relation to the visual. An important thing that i will keep in mind when editing is showing the picture on key words. For example, if Will is talking about the building school project, i will include a photo showing him with the children. This way you can see and hear about them and i find that grips the audience more.