George Wing Television Blog

To conclude this proejct I would say it has been a success overall. The Pre-Production stages to this project have had its fair share of highs and lows but overall has come together nicely. This has definitely been the most challenging project for me given the sheer amount of work that has gone into the planning. I feel I have really excelled my potential in this unit and have pushed so hard to plan a documentary as professional as possible. I have tried lookign into the legalities behind the subject and tried to apply a lot of the planning towards our targeted channel. For test shooting we went the extra mile in traveling all the way to Manchester to film for the entire day; this was completely worth it for the outcome. Care and thought has gone into every element of the pre-production package and I hope this reflects well in the package. Our idea has evolved massively since September and even the early plannign stages over the summer. We pitched the idea of making a document...

We finished printing the final book, and we finished off our package with a folder and bound the script into an evidence file. We wanted to include separate files for risk assessments and call sheets and more detailed character profiles.  I'm very pleased with the look of the final package and I feel it comes together as a whole professional piece, with a lot of information. One issue I do have is that for some reason the text from the equipment list ended up in the conclusion for my DoP/Editors statement. I found this annoying as we had spent a lot of money, time and effort into the book. Sadly it is jsut one of those things and if there was a way to ammend this I would. Book On InDesign: Here are some photos:

When referring to visual style, you are not referring to what you shoot, but instead how you shoot it, and that's what makes it your style. Evidence Withheld will attempt to have its own unique style, but one that still follows the conventions of the documentary genre it exists in. This is a target criteria for the style of a documentary I am shooting. My DoP/ Editors statement is a way of putting my ideas on paper. I have included this statement in our production book. I am very happy that I have tested many of my ideas and found inspiration in different formats. Before I start work on my director's statement, I decided to do some research so I know the roughly guide on the content of a statement, and so I knew what exactly I needed to cover off. A statement is “a written description whereby a film director explains the motive and vision behind making a particular film. It is usually included in a proposal to producers or financiers, or in press material made available for ...

Everyone has the right to a fair trial, but just how fair is Britain’s judicial system? Falsely accused Liam Allan investigates why there are so many cases where crucial evidence had not been investigated by the police, or even brought to the attention of the prosecution. All rape prosecutions are now being reviewed after the collapse of some high-profile trials, including Liam’s. This documentary explores our judicial systems issues with disclosure and how there are too many cases recently where only at the last moment the truth comes to light. Liam speaks to some of the people who have suffered the most including Eddie Gilfoyle, who was falsely imprisoned for 16 years, accused for the murder of his wife. The system simply must do better.

'Reported Missing' is a British documentary following case of missing person from police footage and interviews. It lead the audience through the real stories from the first 999 call through to the end where the story concludes. This documentary series is fully engaging and keeps you interested to keep on watching more and more episodes. There is usually a twist, as with most investigations where the story is heading one way, then evidence finds it goes another. This series is something that is very much an inspiration to our own project and I feel the way it is shot and edited is particularly interesting. Interviews: Something I found strange when watching this was the way interviews were shot. They would typically consist of two main shots. One close up, and the other wide. But the way it was shot wide really trapped my attention the most. They always leave a lot of head room and I wasn't entirely sure why this was the case.  "Peoples heads, and in clos...

I liked how formal the set-up Watchdog use for some of their interviews was executed. Whilst this isn’t documentary and is Topical and Live television, I have still taken inspiration from their interview setup. Although this may seem like a typical interviewer and interviewee setup I still think the professionalism behind it is valid for my own documentary practice. This was somehting I saw on television and it was a look I really liked. The single on the interview subject still has the back of the presenters head in frame. The sort of fly on the wall technique is used as a wide shot and is effective in the way it estabishes the setting and also is a shot used constantly to break the interview up and keep the viewers interested. As I have learend from theorits, the viewers attention is short, so we need to change what we are seeing visually constantly. Single shot on presenter. Doesn't break the 180 degree rule and As you can see form the grid I edi...

Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of pictures or videos, used to help in recognizing and organizing them, serving the same role for images as a normal text index does for words. "Thumbnail images help in reducing bandwidth and download time for related pictures of images. They help webpages to be more user friendly and help the surfer reduce download time." (Techopedia.com, 2018) There are some distinct advantages in using thumbnails and I wanted to make mine as distinct as possible. Depending on the situation, the thumbnail can be resized from tiny to medium. It is also more effective than text to describe the actual image and also provides the best option for users to present a large number of photos within a limited space. References: Techopedia.com. (2018). What is a Thumbnail? - Definition from Techopedia. [online] Available at: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/5479/thumbnail [Accessed 7 Dec. 2018].

After breaking down the script, I created a shot list so I would have a good guide to follow for filming. This is something that may be subject to change, but for now, it has all the shots I want. In order to make it easier I broke it down into location, so where we would be filming. Especially as London will be a common place for different scenes and interviews. "A detailed shot list will save your production time, energy, and effort, and (most importantly) it will help help you create a better product."    (The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat, 2018). As you can see, interview setups will be similar in terms of camera positioning to keep a similar trend throughout. I did want to use more Extreme CLose Ups on the victims (Eddie, Liam and Jan) in order for the audience to have more empathy and bring them closer to the piece and to really see their emotions.  "An extreme close-up shows us objects and people differently than we see them. It calls attention to the subjects, ma...

During the summer, I was lucky enough to be asked to take part in a work experience programme being offered to by production company 'Bareska'. In this, myself and three others were given free rein of a professional client project. I was the Co-Producer/Director/editor. I agree to do this project as it was ad-hoc- so a project I was able to work around uni and work and was also a fantastic opportunity for me to practice for my third-year major project, even if I didn't end up doing a documentary. This was fantastic practice in pre-production, directing and just speaking with contributors about a secretive subject. The Symbolism Behind the Chair I wanted to make the chair the focal point t of this piece. I feel it adds story watching Ben walk into frame and the wide shot makes it seem as though he feels alone now he doesn't have his brother, The sun is beaming in which is very atmospheric and quite angelic.  With my roles for the major project, I am going to u...

The color of the show will place emphasis on the color orange. I want the colors to have dark shades of blue or teal, against the bright orange tones that will come across from the skin. I prefer to use the curves adjustment layer in order to give me more control over what I am doing and if it goes wrong I can just delete the layer. Having experimented with these colors in test shoot edits, I have found they look very impressive and enhance the cinematic image aesthetic significantly.  This grading technique uses a combination of adjustment layers; Hue/Saturation, Curves, Levels and Solid Color Fill. Depending on the look I want to achieve for each of the scenes, this process can be altered and switched to fit that. Whilst I don’t want this to be too overpowering and not look naturalistic, color grading videos will completely change the images.  Before color grading: After color grading: After color grading this clip I have found that the cinematic look re...

After filming and editing my first title sequence I found I just didn't like it. I feel visually it didn't really tell the story and came across too Hacker-like which is something I wanted to avoid. In order to progress from this I decided to edit a title sequence I would be happy with, one which has been inspired by a number of different titles, and something I believe would fit into Netflix perfectly. Editing My first mission was to try and find a collection of television archive footage talking about Britains judicial system failings, especially with regards to disclosure. I really wanted to send the message out on disclosure within the police and Crime Prosecution Service to initially sum up what the documentary is going to be about, certain cases that will be covered and to establish that this is an issue, it is topical and very much current. There is very little media coverage on this topic which made the process of finding archive footage all the more difficul...

After using a drone for The Firm Awards, I found it really brought a professional look and cinematic quality to it. It is something I would definitely like to incorporate into our documentary in establishing locations whilst making some great GV's. For example, it would be great to film the court, which we have seeked permission to do. I would like to film the top of the prison Eddie was in, but due to drone laws and restrictions, it is something beyond our means. The following is some test shoot footage which I have tested different color grades on. I wanted to test out the cold blue vs warm orange look. For a cold, dramatic image I will: Create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer. Drag the Saturation slide far left to around -40, nearly halfway to black and white. The de-saturation will add drama to the image. Create a Curves Adjustment Layer. With this adjustment, it's all about the subtle color. Pull down the mid-tones in the Red, Green and Blue channels to a...

Jonathan Young Lighting Cameraman / Documentary DoP Johnathan says "2018 has so far been another superb year of shooting high profile documentaries with glorious images for household broadcasters & brand content." ( The cinematic look is clearly something he is fighting for and is a clear ambition for him. He is the main DoP for both Ross Kemp's programmes and Simon Reeve on his travel adventures broadcast on BBC 2, and trying to encourage the cinematic style to reach more platforms and documentary broadcasters.Young's camera work on both series has received a lot of recognition for its gritty access style and determination to cover an untold story. This is something I am really hoping to achieve myself as DoP; I want to tell these untold stories on evidence disclosure and really hear it from the people it is affecting. This is something I have inlcluded in my DoP/Editor Statement. I have again been nominated this year for the GTC award for camera work e...

A trailer is a commercial advertisement that can be exhibited on television, online or in cinemas. With our chosen platform Netflix being online, they will usually advertise their upcoming programme trailers online with advertising on websites such as YouTube. Because of they style documentary I am going for, I decided to look into other similar style trailers that are available on the same or similar platforms. Netflix being online, they will usually advertise their upcoming programme trailers online with advertising on websites such as YouTube. Because of they style documentary we are going for, I decided to look into other similar style trailers that are available on the same or similar platforms. I went for a trailer which would hopefully attract viewers into watching the documentary with engaging clips and music and a strong use of archive footage, I want to make sure people know its current relevance with footage from the news. It's something not many talk about and is some...

After looking through various arcive photographs online of Eddie and his case, I have downloaded and selected a few of my most preferered photos that stood out to me the most so I could start animating them to test what arcive pictures I would use. Following the two tutorials I found on YouTube, I was able to refresh my memory with the annimating process. I followed the steps and found it harder to create than what I thought I would have been. This was manly due to working ouit what movemments would work and what wouldnt work. Fot example, some of the movements were quite difficult. The first stage was to import the image into photoshop before transferring it to after effects. Again, this supported my choice in ann imation software for the fina edit; everything works so fluidly and the software all intigrates with each aplication. In photoshop, the first step was to separate the image up into layers. This was done by using the magnetic lasso to draw around each part of image wh...