The Fire Within - Short Documentary

The initial idea for this project was very different, however, due to personal circumstances, this was no longer possible so I had to plan out a new idea very quickly. I was invited to film the opening of an art exhibition and work with the directors of this project to help promote the event.

My responsibilities for this project were:

- To research my chosen topic

- To create all the pre-production documents necessary (storyboards, risk assessments, budgets, location recces, shot list)

- To allocate crew roles on the day of filming and brief them on the project

- To film key moments of the event

- To approach people to ask for interviews and carry those out

- To collect all the audio and video clips and arrange them in the correct order

- To edit together the documentary, including music and colour grading

From the initial idea and planning, I learned:

- How to create a timeline with varying references

- How to preserve a person's memory through their life journey

- How to budget for long trips to potential filming locations

- How to get permission to use public and private locations

- The laws behind confidentiality and filming outside schools

From the new idea and the process behind that, I learned:

- How to plan out a filming schedule very quickly

- How to communicate with the directors of the event

- How to brief a team through sound recording and how to determine priorities

- How to approach someone to ask for an interview

- How to prepare for a last-minute interview and get the information needed out of that

- How to film in a busy public location without getting in the way of the event itself

- How to edit seemingly random clips to be a cohesive documentary

- How to get b-roll footage to fill gaps