Documentary Evaluation

Documentary Style
Observational/expository/interactive - Questions were asked by myself off-screen and were not recorded, I did this in an attempt that people will not be so aware I am sitting behind the camera asking questions. I also feel that me asking the questions would have taken up too much time and slowed down the pace/mood of the short documentary.

Topic
I decided to use relationships for my documentary topic, as I feel relationships play a huge part in everybody's life, therefore, creating a heart-warming media product for people to enjoy. Also, another reason I decided to go through with the documentary is due to my response in my survey, with only 2 people stating that they wouldn't be interested in watching the documentary.

Use of Camera
I used static camera work throughout the whole documentary as I thought it was would be the best use of framing when holding interviews. However, I now feel that a larger range of angles would have benefited the documentary.Also due to my personal bridge camera not working I resulted in using my parents digital camera (the next best thing), therefore I strongly feel that the quality of the video was poor and could have been a lot better, therefore improving the overall feel.

Use of Sound
I recorded all of the footage's audio through the camera therefore not having/using a separate audio device. I believe this would have strongly benefited my 3 Minute-Wonder giving it a more professional feel as it was one of the things that brings down the short documentary. Also, as I previously mentioned, technical difficulties led for me to result in using a lower quality camera therefore unfortunately having lower quality audio.

Use of Editing
I believe this was one of the most difficult but enjoyable parts of the creation process of my short documentary as it meant I had to cut lots of footage up and put them into the right places. Therefore, structure playing a large part in my editing process. I was faced with the task not knowing the difficulties and time consuming measures that were involved. However, I felt that I overcome these challenges  and even though I was faced with bad audio and low quality footage, I managed to cut and edit the footage I collected with my up-most ability and I believe I was able to create an enjoyable 3 Minute-wonder.

Use of Mise-en-scene
Looking back at my documentary, I am happy with the mise-en-scene. It isn't obvious and in your face as the interviews are under-taken in certain places to created senses of home and authenticity.As my documentary fully consisted of just interviews, mise-en-scene was not a major element of it. All I had to make sure of was that the interviewee's performance was genuine and honest as this is an important part of a documentary. Also that each interview location was different reinforcing the authenticity of the short documentary.

Did the documentary meet my expectations?
In terms of the documentaries content, yes I am. I also feel as I previously commented, that the editing was a successful process. However, , elements of the 3 Minute-Wonder that did not meet my expectations were the quality of the video and audio. This is due to the sound quality not being clear at all times of the video. Also, the picture quality being poor due to the lack of modern technology that I was able to obtain.