My Role as Driector and Producer

Working as Director and Producer meant that I was active across all stages of production and had lots of different tasks to do. The pre-production stage meant working as a Producer for the most part. I began to gather research articles that could help to inform our idea, by giving us facts and stories with which we could begin to shape the documentary. Location scouting was also an important part, as this would help us to know where we would be filming and to start scheduling. Additionally, location scouting would let us get an idea of what shots could be taken, where interviews could be hosted, and if we would need any lighting, as well as who we could potentially interview (staff or owners who would be present at the time). 

By using the contact information that I had picked up from each store, I telephoned or e-mailed each in turn and spoke to either the owner or a member of staff. By informing them of what we were wanting to film and proposing if they were ok to be interviewed, I managed to build relationships with each contributor and organise a filming day. For one contributor, I needed outside help to find one. Fortunately with the help of tutors, a contributor was found and after a last minute hustle to secure a location (Tramshed) to host his inteview, we had everything set in place for that week of filming.

During the production stage, it was my role to host the interviews. This meant, using the questions I had gathered and by asking ones specific to the flow of each interview, I was able get some fantastic stories and facts about each of the record store owners and the vinyl collector. After the interviews, it was important to get tonnes of cutaways. The cinematographer shot all of the ones from the list, but I was able to pick out or help frame a few extra shots that I saw the opportunity for when we were shooting. After principle photography, members of the group each took a transcript and begun to find and highlight the most important or best parts that could be funnelled down into a story. This then assisted the process of editing.