The documentary opens with an introduction, which poses several questions. The questions are designed to create an emotional connection with the listener by asking them to think about their own experiences of the film and television industry. The script is also carefully worded when describing the distribution industry. The line “ there’s a dynamic sector working hard to connect audiences with TV and film content” is designed to make the subject sound fresh and exciting. In ‘The Radio Handbook’ on the subject of language Pete Wilby state’s:
” Broadcasters place great emphasis on the style of language used in speech radio and the need for clear simple expression when talking to listeners. There is a concern common to all radio stations that presenters use direct and uncomplicated language for two reasons – first because words spoken on air are not permanent and cannot be referred to like words on a newspaper page; and second because there is no visual reference to confirm the meaning that the words are conveying, as there are in television”. (Wilby & Conroy, 1994)
I took that statement in to account when writing the script for the program and feel that I achieved the aims set out by the author. The documentary continues with clips presented in a voxpop style from the interviews, which appear in full later in the program. The voxpop was difficult to mix together because some of the clips were in mono and others in stereo. I used a stereo mono converter in pro tools at the mix down stage to solve the problem. The purpose of the voxpop is to give the listener a brief description of what is involved in the distribution industry and also what to expect later in the program. The second part of the script furnishes the listener with facts and figure about the distribution industry. This is broken up with examples of some distributed materials. I faced a dilemma when deciding on length of clip versus content of clip but decided the material was interesting enough to justify its length and warrant its inclusion in the program.
The third part of the script is designed to prelude the interview. The idea is to keep the script fairly short to allow the interviewees to deliver most of the information in the documentary. The script either sets up the interview (as in this case) or picks up on any points not mentioned by the interviewee. I chose to use the Karen Partridge interview first to set the scene. In the interview she gives an overall description of what the process of distribution is about. I felt it important to give a general overview of the subject’s fundamentals before moving on to the more specific areas covered in the other interviews.
Recording and editing the interview with Susan Osman posed several different challenges. Given the limited resources available I had to decide upon the best way to record the interview. In the absence of a dedicated sound booth the only option I had was to record the interview in the classroom. In his book ‘Basic Multitracking’ Paul white states:
“Choosing the right microphone can be confusing, but as a rule it’s best to use a unidirectional mic (cardioid) unless you have a really nice room, in which case try an omni directional microphone. As a rule though use dynamic cardioids”. (White, 1999)
The room had very bad acoustic characteristics, large windows, metallic surfaces and high ceilings all added to the difficulties I experienced when recording. To minimize reflections and other artefacts such as standing waves I chose to record in the corner of the room facing away from the window. I used a dynamic cardioid AKG Microphone. It had a nice frequency response whilst not being overly sensitive to room ambience. Despite these techniques the sound quality of the recording was far from perfect. I decided after some thought to use a bed underneath Susan Osman’s interview in an attempt to cover up the poor sound quality that exhibited itself in the first part of the recording. In the interview Susan Osman talked about her experience as an independent filmmaker at Cannes film festival so I thought it appropriate to use ambience from the festival as the bed layered with some effects taken from a library CD. I felt this worked well.
The script that followed the interview with Susan Osman was written primarily as a bridge to the final interview with Sarah Pitt. This interview was recorded in the same way as Susan Osman’s. On reflection I feel that this part of the script could have been longer, containing more facts and figures on the subject of rights within the distribution industry, as I didn’t feel Sarah Pitt’s interview covered the subject in enough detail. The program ends with a brief scripted wrap up designed as a conclusion, which upon reflection, listening to speech output from stations such as radio 4 and five live, I feel was too brief. Overall I feel that the program achieved its brief and accomplished what it set out to do – To give a basic outline of the distribution process whilst making the subject of distribution more accessible.
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