Then reflect on the whole process – Consider: the quality and usability of your recordings; the effect of layering and juxtaposition of both the audio and the video and; the things you learnt from working with this kind of audio and video.

I found this to be a really interesting exercise, joining together audio and video together shot on completely different days, with no knowledge that we would have to put them together to create a cohesive one minute piece of film. On reviewing the footage and trying to join together I found that the video that we shot was much more useable than the audio. I think that this may have been due having a week in between recording the audio and the video, as it gave a chance to review and reflect on the footage and think about the video and what we were going to shoot before going out.

I found it hard to find ways to join together the audio and video when editing, mostly because there was little to no connection between them. This lead to me having to edit together and layer the audio I recorded separately, with the audio from the video we shot.

One of the most interesting things I have taken away from this exercise is seeing how other people have interpreted the exercise. Getting a chance to see Miguel’s finished exercise was fascinating as we had the same video footage to work with, but interpreted them in very different ways.

Select from one of the readings and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you. (Please put a full stop when you return so we get a paragraph break. Makes it easier to read.)

Paul Ward’s Fiction and Non Fiction: The Great Divide (2005), explores the relationship between “fiction, non-fiction and documentary” (pg.31) and how these things overlap and interact. He explores how the tensions between drama and documentary and how these can be constructed.

One of the interesting things I found that Ward discusses is how reality TV is constructed and can be considered ‘real’ and how it is constructed. He uses the example of Big Brother to demonstrate how documentary just relies on real people essentially acting, and having a “highly developed sense of performance” (Ward 2005, p.36).

Another of the interesting things I found in Ward’s reading was his discussion of several retellings of Aileen Wuornos’ story. The several different film retellings utilise different levels of fiction and non-fiction to different effects. Ward explores these ‘fly-on-the-wall’ style constructed documentaries allow a different level of intimacy and information than is been expected from traditional dramas.