LAUREN REYNOLDS
Producer and Editor
Role
My role as editor is to ensure all post production elements are complete. Including cutting all videos together, incorporating effects and transitions, colour grading, sound and audio, layout of video, and rendering. Along side this with my role as producer, I will also be uncharge of where we are shooting, organising interviews (who and when we interview), researching and gathering informations, and working alongside the director.
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Interviews
We have contacted both the previous and current manager of the Cambridge Hotel. We have also contacted Boo Seeka, a local band from Newcastle who has played at the Cambridge Hotel serval times. We are still awaiting a reply and hope to be in contact soon.
Research
The Cambridge Hotel was listed to be one of the most violent pubs in NSW, but through the years the persona of this venue has changed and has now taken on the title of being one of NSW best live music venues. It is located in the heart of Newcastle city and frequently hosts a number of live music acts and events.
The daily telegraph has stated that in the year of 2010 the Cambridge Hotel had 16 assaults. Due to these assaults (alongside other venues) the Cambridge Hotel was required to put restrictions in order to decrease the amount of violence. These restrictions being 2am lockouts, additional security measures, no shots or doubles, a maximum of four drink purchases at a time, plastic cups and 10-minute timeouts after midnight. As a result, the Cambridge Hotel slowly climbed its way off the most violent pubs list.
Week 5 - Interviews
When shooting the interviews and especially listening back on them there were a few problems that occurred. Even though we are only using little bits of the interview and we have the perfect clips that we can incorporate into the documentary there were a few minor mistakes that could be improved on in the next interview we conduct.
First would be to ask more open questions which would allow the answers to contain more information and stretch the length out a little bit more. This also ties in with letting the interviewee talk and "freeing yourself to listen" and "knowing when to interrupt". As stated in this weeks reading, when the interviewer listens and uses body motions such as head nods gives the interviewee the que to keep talking without interrupting to ask more questions. Even though theses minor errors occurred doesn't exactly mean it’s a negative. The interviewer did a great job at making the interviewees comfortable which allowed the interviewees to open up more.
Week 4 - Production
Most of the footage we have so far is made up of interviews, archival footage, hand held concert shots. As I wasn't able to make it to shoot the interview scene I took the role of going through and transcribing the footage which allowed me to analysis what was done correct and what could be done differently next time.
First thing I noted was the white balance. As stated in this weeks reading, a white balance is needed for when the video is later colour corrected. By simply holding up a white balance card or a white piece of paper in front of the camera at the start of every shot will allow the editor to use this as a way to pin point what 'true white' is. This will then get rid of any yellow or off coloured lighting while also keeping the colour of the shots consistent. Although this is not essential and the video can still be colour graded without this, it makes colour grading easier and less time consuming.
Also picked up by the rest of the group was the focusing issue in one of the videos, this could've been avoided by shooting a little bit and checking back on the footage through the viewfinder to make sure everything looks okay when it is played back. This problem was easily fixed as we decided to just use the audio of this clip behind a montage or something similar. Along side this I feel as though the interviewees could've been bought off the wall a little bit more to create some depth of field/blur behind them. Also by zooming in and giving them less head space would've worked better to create a more interesting shot.
Week 3 - Pre Production
In the pre production stage there is a list of tasks that need to be completed before/during filming. This includes researching, scheduling, creating a proposal, finding and organising locations/subjects to film, etc. As a team we all helped to come up with the proposal for our documentary, all partaking in research that gave us a better understand of our topic and direction for the documentary.
I found out some history on the Cambridge hotel and how it use to be one of the most violent pubs. Which then resulted in the pub owner changing its rules and regulations, for example: Adding more security, taking away shots and doubles, taking away glass cups, and complying with the lockout laws. This was also mixed with changing ownership and rebranding which tailored to new clientele.
After researching we then found a list of people we wanted to interview for this documentary. Such as current owners, previous owners, local bands that have played at the Cambridge before, staff, booking manager, the Cambridge Hotel spokesman, etc.
Week 2 - Proposal
When coming up with the proposal for our documentary we went along the line with how the Cambridge transformed over time. Looking at how the Cambridge went from being one of the most violent pubs in NSW to one of the best venues for live music. As editor, when pitching how the documentary would look I presented that I was inspired by festival after movies such as the 'Spilt Milk - Peking Duk' video. The way they use slow motion and quick cuts that are overlayed with interviews makes the video cinematic while not interfering with the interview. I also like the way they colour corrected the nightlife scene with a high contrast makes the neon lights stand out from the darkness of the crowd and venue.
Week 1 - Researching
Developing a story starts with collecting/researching. This may be through collecting materials such as newspaper and magazines, searching through archival information and personal stories from past and present. The first idea for our documentary was based off local parks but after researching this topic we decided that it was too hard to find an angle. This is when we decided to run with the Cambridge Hotel/Live Music idea. When researching this topic we found that there were so many angles that were achievable which made this topic desirable.
I was partially drawn to the Cambridge Hotel idea from the archival footage we found when researching. Sparking inspiration on how I would edit this in post production, for example; Having the archival footage overlayed with a VHS tape and leaving these handheld/shaky to make them stand out from clean and stable footage of the Cambridge now.