Production Pack

                 

                

Storyboard 

The following image is the initial storyboard I did for the documentary. Before I started, I already had a basic image of the angles and shots I would want to incorporate in my work, even though at the time of filming most of the shots were formed there and then. Nevertheless, storyboarding was one of my favorite parts of the creative process because I am an avif fan of making animatics and boards- it is always a nice feeling to sketch and scribble my ideas down in art art form and also gives me a sense of solidity for the project.

Equipment 

At the time I filmed this, I didn't have a camera with me, so all these filming is done by the camera of my iPhone 12 pro. I used a tripod stand for the positioning of the camera for the interview and b-rolls were taken hand held manually. I do believe that If I had better equipment I would have done much more on my camerawork, especially with the interviews and extra shots. 

Sound

Since the documentary falls in a more artistic aspect, I did use a lot of background sound for mood and ambience. Usually sounds are kept minimum in documentaries, especially background music, but because my work on screen was based on art and animation I found it preferable to use  music. There are only two soundtracks used- both are instrumentals of official osts of my favorite Studio Ghibli films- like Howl's Moving Castle. Moving on to the voice over, I was not able to capture the sound in a way i originally envisioned it. My work on sound correction lacked a bit, which is the reason some of the parts of the voiceover seem off and tight. 

Process and Execution

The very first thing that came to my mind when I formed the initial image of what I wanted the documentary to look like, was the use of several scenes from animated films- more specifically Japanese films because I truly believe they bring forth that essence and ambience that I wanted to embed in my work. So apart from the subject’s interview and several b-cuts of her doing her art, I decided to add these small clips from my favorite animated right at the introduction. The introduction of the documentary is basically a mixture of a look inside what the world of digital art and animation is like, along with some of the greatest shots ever created for animated films. It does, in a way, reflect my own love for the topic and how I envision its world to be. Most of the scenes used in the introduction are from Hayao Miyazaki’s films- and other than that, some of my favorite animated series such as Attack on Titan, Heaven Official’s Blessings, etc.

The documentary moves forward to the ‘interview’ portion- this bit is focused on the interview I took of one of my artist friends, who elaborates her own thoughts on the topic and how she sees herself doing this as a profession. It consists of several b-cuts and extra footage. The camera is basically hand held throughout this entire process other than the parts of the interview, where a tripod has been used.

Towards the end of the documentary, I wanted to follow a more ‘inspirational’ theme that would go perfectly with the topic- that is malaika’s own inspirations and what drives her onto moving forward to pursue this as a career. It ends on a quote by Hayao Miyazaki, my most favorite animator and director. 

Behind The Scenes

Some behind the scene images and videos of the recording process!

Malaika ( left) and Me ( right)

Atmosphere and Mood 

I wanted to create a calm, yet colorful mood for the video. Animation in itself is something that brings pure joy and fun through its exotic styles and color schemes. Therefore, I tried keeping everything in all color with no specific hues or sepia, which I do believe clashes with the authentic ' documentary style' but then again- due to the nature of this topic being experimental and art, I had to go over some conventions to create the image I had in my head. 

Challenges throughout the Process 

I have to say, as much as a tried, I was not able to capture the actual image that had been formed in my head the very first time I brainstormed on this topic. This is mainly because of my lack of good equipment and editing skills. As a person who usually does landscape dreamlike photography, and traditional and digital art- working with filming especially on my own was quite the task. Since I was the director, cameraman, producer and editor of my own project with no external help, there were definitely times when I felt that my knowledge and skill was not not up to the mark where I could easily capture what I had in my mind. Making a documentary, or any film in general, is truly something very different from drawing or doing art. For someone like me, who has spent most of her life capturing her thoughts and ideas so easily through drawings, the gap between the ease of making something into art by sketching it down and the hardship of working with camera, with real people, in an active setting, is too much. However, even though the editing process was a bit daunting and I kept messing up my audio syncing- I believe that in the end, I  did try my best on this. As I kept progressing and working on my project throughout these weeks, I learned many new things and even had the pleasure of meeting one of my online artist friends for her interview. 

Takeaways

There are some things that I would like to point out, that I have come to the realization of over the course of this project and would do my best to improve in these aspects.

1- Try to learn editing software in more detail

2- Focus more on audio and sound correction

3- Learn to work with better equipment/ cameras