Park Life, Wildlife At Your Backdoor

'Park Life' Review

Director: Chintan Barot

Starring: European Robin, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, European Magpie, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Feral Pigeon, Woodland Pigeon, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Starlings, Green Woodpecker, Grey Squirrel, Red Fox

Documentary 2007, 10m 1 s

www.parklife-chintan.blogspot.com

Review

Parks are one of the last places we would think of when it comes to spectacular wildlife. Stereotypically when we think of wildlife we usually think of exotic palaces and wild animals such as the African Savannah with its Lions, Leopards and Cheetahs, but what about the animals in our very own parks?

‘Park Life’ is a brand new wildlife documentary which illustrates to the audience that you do not have to go to the ends of the Earth just to see some spectacular wildlife, as it can be right at your backdoor. The programme ventures through Rectory Park and watches how the wildlife and its environment adapt to the seasonal changes throughout a year. In this episode, you will see how the animals and the park adapt to the change from the ‘cold, harsh frozen season of winter’ to ‘the life giving season of spring’. With its catchy title sequence and stunning close up shots of the animals including the Robins and Grey Squirrels, Park Life will engage from the very beginning. See Squirrel acrobatics, meet the very unique Green Woodpecker, listen to the adorable Robins singing their little hearts out and watch out for the sly sneaky Red Fox tip toeing around our streets. This documentary gives a real insight into life in a park as the animals really immerse us into their world. Witness natures beauties unravel from the gloomy winter to the bright colourful spring. Park Life will allow you to see a side of wildlife you have never seen before.

Final Message

Overall I have enjoyed making this production. I felt that from the beginning it was always a risky project to do. Things such as not getting enough footage of a bird/mammal or poor footage etc. however I had confidence that I could pull it off. Three things that I believe was the reason that my production was a success at all was:

1. As I am interested in animals, I had a wide knowledge of the animal kingdom and I felt that it has played into my advantage.
2. Watching wildlife documentaries. Even before I carried this project out, I have been watching wildlife documentaries for many many years. For as long as I can remember. Once I learnt about the film language and documentary conventions, it was really easy to understand when I was watching them. Also when it came to editing, I had a clear idea/vision, of how to construct it and the script writing. But I was struggling at the beginning, however it was only once I made a link between things such as animals that I finally had a foundation to work from.
3. I felt over the whole time it was probably my decision making that was the main reason. Every decision that I made, especially the BIG decision was spot on. Even from the beginning I had to make a choice of whether to do an animation or a wildlife documentary and their I have chosen the right one. Also my decision on whether to present my documentary or not, choosing soundtracks and many others.

The whole project has been fun for me. From the filming to the editing. Only when waiting for the Foxes was my patience being stretched, otherwise I was lucky.
To conclude, in terms of the Media Studies Award Evening next year, I just want to wish EVERYONE GOOD LUCK! and may the best production win.

Evaluation

For my practical production, I worked on my own and produced a wildlife documentary called ‘Park Life’. The documentary aims to educate and inform the audience about what animals inhabit our parks, at the same time showing that you do not have to go to the ends of the Earth just to see some spectacular wildlife, as it can be right at your backdoors. The words ‘Park’ and ‘Life’ demonstrate to my target audience, who are people that are generally interested in wildlife, that the documentary is exploring ‘life’, which represents the plants and animals, in ‘parks’.

To succeed in producing a professional wildlife documentary I carried out research into wildlife documentaries such as ‘Autumnwatch’, ‘The Blue Planet’, ‘Wild Events’ and picked up techniques such as voiceover, facts and figures, parallel sound, diegetic and non-diegetic sound, split screen, freeze frame. Also I learnt about the camerawork, such as long shots, medium shots, low angle shots, tracking shots, pans, tilts, zoom etc. and how different angles and shots can give different representations to the audience. After learning theses techniques I went on and applied theses to my own documentary.

I had great enthusiasm when we finally got the chance to start filming, as I personally am interested in nature and animals and could not wait to see what kind of footage I could gain. My big disadvantage, compared to professional documentary makers, was that I was on my own; therefore I could not gain a variety of different angled shots, whereas professionals have more than one cameraman working at the same time. One cinematography technique that I used was zoom in, which is often used by wildlife documentaries in order to make the audience feel as though they are right next to the animal themselves.

When it came to editing my documentary, I used ‘Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0’. Personally I found this time the hardest as I did not have the variety in angles and so I found it hard to construct my documentary, however I did have a large amount of footage meaning that I at least had a wide choice to choose from. After studying “Man with a Movie Camera” (1929), I learnt of soviet montage sequence and decided to apply this technique to the title sequence of my documentary. Also by using mise-en-scene, I put together some of the best shots in the documentary to engage the audience early on. Also the use of having a cross dissolve effect in between each shot allows the sequence to flow. In addition, I applied parallel music and used Terry Devine King’s ‘Nature Trail 3’ as the theme tune for my documentary.

Throughout my documentary, I used a mix of both diegetic and non-diegetic sound. The diegetic sound that I used included things such as Mr.Monro’s voiceover, to anchor meaning to the mise-en-scene. Music soundtracks, such as ‘Sly Spy’ by Igor Dvorkin/Duncan Pittoch and Paul Mottram’s ‘Drifting’ to make the documentary more engaging towards the audience. I also used sound dubs on bird songs such as the European Robin and the Green Woodpecker to emphasize their calls and demonstrate to the audience how beautiful bird calls can be. I combined this with non-diegetic sound such as the ‘natural sounds of the park’ to make the audience feel as though they are in the park themselves and to make the documentary more professional and authentic.

From the wildlife documentaries that I studied, I picked up on the fact that they have different styles of presenting a wildlife documentary. ‘The Blue Planet’ just shows animals and have Sir David Attenborough doing a voiceover, whereas ‘Wild Events’, the presenter Jake Willers is presenting the documentary with the camera interchanging between him and the animals.

I chose to do a David Attenborough style documentary. From ‘The Blue Planet’, I learnt that when watching an animal the narration provided by the voiceover explains the animal’s behaviour. This is something which I applied to my documentary. For example, when we see a noisy flock of Starling’s feeding from the bin bags, the narrator says ‘Here is a flock of noisy Starlings squabbling with each other over the best spots to feed as they pick away this bin bag’. Here I am explaining that the Starlings behaviour whilst the audience can see this visually. The voiceover is anchoring the meaning of the mise-en-scene. This is effective as it engages the audience and educates them about the animals and their behaviour whilst being entertained, whereas if it were to be just facts and figures, it would be too formal and uninteresting. This conforms to Michael Rabbiger’s idea that documentaries should include contextual information, but not too much or too little.

From my Module 2 studies of documentaries, I learnt about how a low angle shot, such as the one used in “Bowling For Columbine” (2002), where we see a ‘low angle shot of Michael Moore triumphant over the villain Charlton Heston’ in his view towards gun control, can portray heroism, power or superiority to the audience. From this, I applied it to my own documentary but with a different purpose in mind. Because a low angle shot can be used to show superiority and power, I used this as a way of glorifying the park and make it look more than just a place with trees and bushes. I also combined it with pans and ‘went across a tree with the sun’s ray’s shining through’. Although parks are set aside for our recreational and ornamental purposes, this shows the audience how beautiful the park can really be.

My documentary will be broadcasted at 6.30pm on BBC2, a public service broadcaster. I chose the BBC as it is a terrestrial channel and therefore I can reach a larger audience, furthermore, because the BBC is very successful when it comes to making documentaries such as ‘Autumnwatch’ and ‘Nature Calendar’. I chose the time slot for the programme to be at 6.30pm as this is when documentaries such as ‘Nature Calendar’ are shown. At the same time I am avoiding a clash with the BBC six o’clock news.

To conclude, ‘Park Life’ does educate and inform people about Parks and by using techniques such as low angle shots to glorify the park. Also I have gone through all the animals in the park, showing what wildlife inhabits the park, whilst using a linear narrative, starting from the morning to night in winter time and then waking up to the ‘life giving season of Spring’.

Word Count: 1,081

FINISHED (week beginning 23rd April 07)

• This week I have completed my practical production, handing in my brief, production and evaluation.
• This week Mr.Bush looked at my edited production for the first time and fortunately he was very impressed, even I was shocked by his reaction. After we meet up on Thurs, Period 5 to tell me where to 'polish up' and tidied it up for the last time on Friday.
• Nothing is planned for next week as i have finished.

Weekly Progess (Week Beginning April 16th 07)

• This weekend I aimed to finish my production and finish off my evaluation.
• Throughout this week, I have stayed after school with Mr.Monro, and he helped me edit the script and carry out the voiceover. It was on Wednesday, that the voiceover was done. However when I put it in my documentary, some bits that were said were not said confidently as Mr.Monro did seem a little nervous at the beginning, however when he got into the flow, he was excellent. Also by me giving him signals (thumps up to start, and flat hand when I wanted him to stop) and from theses signals, I felt that it worked better. So, on Friday, Mr.Monro re-did the parts of the voiceover that I did not like and put it together. Whilst on Sunday, I editied my Brief and did my evaluation. Also, at the beginning I had a BBC Ident- Predator, however I decided I needed a female voiceover to introduce the programme and so I have chosen Ms.Spencer to perform this, with Ms.Stevens as a backup.
• By the end of this week, I aim to complete my 'Park Life' practical production

Weekly Progress (Monday 9th April 07)

• This week I have been continue to edit and have made far more progress than I did last week. As I have other work to commit to, usless I have chosen a day to do Media, I have stayed up until 12pm-1am and done some work.
• This week I have finally found my opening tune to my doc (Nature Trail (3)- composed by Terry-Devine King), and I personally feel that I have created a introduction that even I'm astonished I could make with what I got and also how the music has fitted so perfectly with it. Also I feel its very professional as well and I proud of it. Also I have managed to fit in some of the other tracks I have and put them into the initial documentary. Also detailed touches were being made to areas. The only problem that I have found is that I actually dont have enough footage of the Blackbird. I am just about finished in making the final touches, then I think that I may need to re-create a new script for Mr.Monro to perform on the Monday we get back.
• I aim to finish my production and Evaluation by tomorrow as I have other work I must do (Friday 12th April 07). However I did say that I may create a different version of my documentary as well, a more 'Man With a Movie Camera' style. I will make ago of that however now I feel that my orginial production is working out I may not need to create the second version, however I will make a start on it.

Weekly Progress Report (Week Beginning 2nd April 07)

• This week I was continuing to edit my project
• Good Friday was REALLY a Good Friday for me! I managed to find a website which will be helping me in terms of music and sound www.audiolicense.net. The site a section just for wildlife sounds including sounds for Activity, Drama/Dramatic, Insect, Chase, Flight, Slow motion and Documentary, with a choice of 427 songs to look through of the whole genre. I managed to find at least 3 to 4 songs I could use

1. Drifting (composed by Paul Mottram)

2. Sly Spy (composed by Igor Dvorkin and Ducan Pittock)

3. Winds (composed by Chris Blackwell)

4. Enigma (Paul Mottram)

I did not have enough varitey in my shots so I spent and whole afternoon and evening in the park filming and I was extremely lucky I did as I have captured even greater footage that I before (I would put it down to the beginning of Spring though), but I have lots more footage of the Robin and more shots of the park scenery, also more Starlings and Carrion Crow's. But it was worth it and I feel that this one afternoon and evening could have just strenghthed my work as before I personally feel it was a bit weak, especially in angles and variety of scenery.

• Next week ( week 2 of the Easter Holidays), I intended to continue editing my documentary.

Weekly Progress Report (week begining 26th March 07)

• On this week, I watched lots of documentaries and learnt and picked up even more ideas of how to make my production better.
• On Sunday, I intented to get a lot of editing done, however I feld very tired and could not concentrate, so instead I watched documentaries all day. BBC2 at 18.10, I watched the 'Natural World'- 5 Cats and one camera'. After watching it I was left inspired and also it was probably the best wildlife documentary I have ever seen. I learnt alot about how to construct a documentary. One way that the filmakers illustrated the African Big Cats was by having lots of different angles and close-ups. Also I learnt that each shot lasted no longer than 10 secs. Although the cinematography was great, I put as my favourite purely because Big Cats are my favourites and the footage that was initally captured was what was so amazing. e.g. Footage of a Caracal Cat jumping 10ft in the air and catching a Stork in flight!. But I did notice all the cameraworks and techniques they used. In the end, I did not waste time and now I know how to make my documentary stronger. Also Mr.Bush has recently met with someone who works in making wildlife documentaries for the Discovery Channel and has told me that I could maybe even break the boundaries and conventions by producing a documentary through just using visual images, just like 'Man With a Movie Camera'.
• So in the Easter holiday I will be making two drafts, One with my orginal way, facts, voiceover etc. and one in a similar stlye to that of 'Man with a Movie Camera'.

Weekly Progress (Week begining 19th March 07)

• This week I have stayed up every night working from 10pm till 12-1am doing the production.
• I feel that I have made progress as I made progress but not as much as I would have liked as I was editing at nightime, I understandably felt tired at times, however today (Snuday),I am going to work all day (starting from when I finish this progress report)editing and in between I am going to have to take some time off to revise for the Media Module 1 Mock exam which cuts some of the time off.
• Today I am going to continue editing my production, as I am to have blocked everything in and start looking closer and deeper into things and where am I going to put this shot, effect on audience. Also I am going to gain some help in making my introduction as this is the only area I am struggling with.

Self Evaluation

• Attainment- -A

I feel that I have maintained my standards, although I also feel that I have had a little bad patch.

• Effort- 1

I personally always give 100% in my work in all my work.

• Punctuality - 1

I only came in late once, and that was coming from the park whenI was filming, otherwise, I am always on time for my lessons.

• Submission and Quality of homework- 2

I feel that for the first time I have slipped at this section and I am extremely disappointed as this is one of my main strenghts in media

• Ablilty to work independantly- 1

I am currently working on my own in my practical production hence this is one way of showing my ability to work independantly. But also I work well on my own because I can focus and get progress done with my work.

• Quality of writing-1

I feel that as time has gone on I have improved in the quality of my writing in terms of using key concepts and analysing, however one thing I need to practice on and have lacked in most of my essays is concept flow.

• Organisation of media folder-1

Currently I have organised 3 folders, one for Mrs.Stevens, one for Mr.Bush and the third solely for my Practical Production. Organisation is one of my main strenghts and I feel that I have always been able to find what I am looking for when I am going through my folder

• Oral Contribution in the class-2

I feel that I do make a contribution, but not enough

• Quality of Coursework-2

Currently I am at the editing stage and can't say much about the quality. In terms of cinematography, I feel that some areas I of high quality e.g. A close up shot of a Grey Squirrel, while areas of poor quality such as the shot involving Starlings on a rooftop (which I have taken out). Overall I feel I am progressing and I feel that I can still turn this into a great production from what I have managed to capture.

• Standard of my Module 3 Blog-1

My view is that my blog is always up-to-date and very detailed in what I have done or achieved. Also I like many others like the colours that I have used as it really gives it a natural, park greenery look

Weekly Progress

• Over the weekend, I have finally made a start on my editing.
• While I have been editing, I have found it very hard in that how I could make something out of all my footage, I knew I could, but how was the question. At the sametime I also realised that I still needed even more footage e.g. The Robin, I needed more. However I have managed to find a solution just by planning and organising the structure of my documentary. All I did is think of all the links that I could make and I came up with this:

1. Theme tune- 'Park Life, Wildlife at your backdoors'

2. Introduction to parks (using footage of the scenery)

- what is a park?

- what are parks made up of?

- About the programme series

3. Dawn time (begining of day- Dawn Chorus- Dawn footage)

4. Robins (because they are ususally the first birds to start the dawn chorus)

5. Blackbird (because I have good footage of blackbirds at dawn)

6. Carrion Crow -(link: because both have black plumage)

7. Magpie- (because it is a member of the Crow family)

8. The Tit family, Great and Blue- (because they link with the families idea, e.g. from Crow family to Tit family -link= family), then a shot quick shot of scenery to introduce next mini theme

9. Small flocks of Pigeons- (because to start the mini-theme of flocks, small flock)

10. Common Gulls- (because they are in large flocks)

11. Starlings- (largest flocks, specatacle in numbers, most abundant in whole of park)

12. Green Woodpecker- (because I am lucky to see a Green Woodpecker, good end to the birds section)

13. Grey Squirrel- (because its time to show that the park does not just play host to birds., mammals are their too)

14. Red Fox- (because its the other mammal, nighttime (began at dawn))

15. Summary of Rectory Park - (montage of birds/animals in the show+ shots of flowers, insects and sparkling water to demonstrate the idea that Winter is ending and Spring is coming)

• After create a strong plan, I have found it much easier to create my doc and I now have a strong idea of how to go around editing my documentary
• This coming week I intend to continue editing and also I MUST develop a script as one thing I have found hard to judge how long a scene is against a script. (So far, as I play my footage, I just minic what i may say to see if it may fit in). But by having a script ready, it will make like even easier.

Weekly Progress

• This week I completed my capturing.
• This week I started and finished capturing 2hours and a half worth of footage which in the end took up a whopping 21GB! From Monday to Thursday, I stayed after school until -5.30pm capturing the footage and now I have taken it home to start my editing. In other news this week, I opened up a mini audition for a male teacher to do my voiceover. I auditioned Mr.Bush, who I immediately ruled out, and then I did Mr.Monro, (who before i even started it was my favourite choice), and I ave chosen him purely because he has the best voice. I was intending to do other teachers such as Mr.Jones, however I felt that it was pointless after hearing Mr.Monro. I have chosen him mainly because he has the voice that I am looking for within the school. I feel that he will have to develop the way he says things and this is somehting that I will guide him as the voiceover is being done.
• Over the next week I intend to get a large proportion of my editing done. Also I need to develop my script, early enough so Mr.Monro has time to practice.

Weekly Progress (week beginning 5th Feb 07)

• This week I have made a start with the editing process.
• On Friday, I stayed after school until 5.30pm, capturing my footage in school as I do not have a firewire port at home.
• This coming week I intended to finish capturing all 2 1/2 tapes by Wednesday/Thursday, so I can start editing at home.

Weekly Progress (week beginning 26th Feb 07)

• The work planned this week was to go out and capture the sound of the dawn chorus. I took the digital video camera and tripod as always, however this time I also took the external microphone as sound would be the main feature of this expidition.
• Friday 2nd March 07- On this day I went out in miday and just captured more footage of any wildlife I could get. Also I climbed up two small tree's and got a shoot from a tree. I also tried to climb up a tree to get a look at inside a birds nest, however it was impossible for me as for one, it was way to high, two, the branches are to thin and weak to hold me and three, I would be having to carrying a camera and tripod, meaning I would only be ble to use one hand to move around with, which is an impossible situation Sunday 4th March 07- This morning I woke up at 5.45pm and left and 6.15pm and stayed until 7pm. Apart from being freezing cold, it was a wonderful atmosphere to capture. Also a pair of Geese were flying around and adding to the dawn chorus mix. I also took the chance to re-shoot the 360 degrees shot, low angle shot of the trees and sky.
• Next week I intend to start my editing and first off all, as I do not have firewire port, I will have to capture all my footage, meaning that I will have to go through two full tapes and 20 mins of a third tape. After that I can take it home and start to construct it, develop a script and choose to do my voicover etc.

Weekly Progress (week beginning 19th Feb 07)

• The work planned this week was to go out and do some filming and hope to be really lucky in capturing something spectacular. As always i took the digital video camera and the tripod.
• This was quite a bad luck for me as most of the times that i had planned to go out it was raining. Also what disappointed me about this week was that on Sunday, I intended to wake up at 5.30pm and film the dawn chorus. I woke up at 5.30pm so i could go film the dawn chorus, (which is a wildlife spectacle, but involving sound), however it was rainning. I did eventually manage to get out of the house, later that day, but again due to some drizzle and rain, I had to forfit the trek through the extremely wet and muddy park. In the time i managed to stay out for 30 mins and managed to capture the European Magpie feeding, Common Gulls flyings, and Pigeons feeding.
• My plan (this week) is to extend my filming time to just this week in a last ditch attempt to capture some amazing wildlife, but most importantly the dawn chorus.

Test Screening Feedback

1. MCCAT (Grade A-E)

Media Language- C
Conventions- B
Creativity- B
Attention to Detail- B
Technical Proficiency- B

2. Positive comments:

cinematography?- Good Variety and angles of shots
mise en scene?- Good setting, natural
lighting?- Good use of natural lighting
sound?- Good, clear sounds of birds
conventions? matching audience?- Animals for an animal documentary

3. Constructive Criticism:

cinematography?- Sometimes woobly, shaking, more angles
mise en scene?- Show the environment/setting more
lighting?- Need bettering lighting at night
sound?- Disruption in sound, dont just use internal mic, use external as well
conventions? matching audience?- Don't shoot in urban environment

4. Suggestions and Ideas:

What else would you (or the target audience) like to see in this production? (scenes? sequences?)- More varitety of animals

Suggestions for post-production/editing (music? voiceover? cutaways? montage? cross cutting? titles? slo-mo?)- Use voiceover, maybe follow a particular animal, construct a narrative, sequence

To Present or NOT to present? That is the question

Its' decision time and I have made my choice on whether to present my documentary (or have someone present it) or not. I have seen that the majority of people who have posted up a comment on my blog about presenting or not have suggested that I should present my wildlife documentary as it will make it more personal, fun, interesting and exciting. Also I personally want to present my documentary HOWEVER, my final decision is that I will NOT present my wildlife documentary 'Park Life'. So why have I chose this decision you may ask?

First of all, the main convention of a wildlife documentary is the voiceover. The voiceover is performed by an male adult and as a narrator, telling the audience the the name of the animal, facts about the animal and the behaviour of the animal. As I do not have a voice of a adult male, yet, If I were to present the show (which I want to do), I would have to do the voiceover as well as only one person ever does a voiceover for a documentary. Also It would not sound professional and one of my objectives is to have a professional documentary. In addition, this means I will have to start to open a search for someone who I believe has the voice I am looking for, to do the voiceover for my documentary.

Having someone else presenting my documentary would not be a bad option, however they would have to give up a lot of time! and commintment. Also the person who would present my documentary would also have to get a muddy, and wet as they will have to perform in the park. Its a good option, but a bit complicated and also considering time I dont not have time on my side in order to search for someone that I would find suitable for my documentary.

Earlier in my 'Research' section (Blue Planet, Autumnwatch, Wild Events), I explained about their being two different styles of doucmentaries. As I will not be presenting my documentary, the style of my documentary will follow that of the David Attenborough documentaries e.g Blue Planet, in which their is just the animals and the narrator.

To conclude in terms of my narrative, It will have to follow the aim of the documentary. Now this aim is flexiable and may change to something else due to the footage I have. Currently the aim is 'To show that you don't have to go to the ends of the Earth, just to see some SPECTACULAR wildlife'. This means that I will need some amazing footage of wildlife spectales on my footage. However that can only be decided on luck for me. Time is also not an advantage as professionals have months and years to collect all their footage, whereas I have nowhere near the sametime as a professional would have. So in the case that I do not have any/enough spectacular wildife to show , the aim of my documentary will change to 'To show WHAT wildlife inhabits the parks'. So far, I can say from my footage that I may have not captured enough sepcatular wildlife, therefore, due to the topic I am doing, I have been granted extra time for my filming and I will extend it to one week only, in a last ditch attempt to capture something spectacular.

Notice

(People who have seen testscreens of my work) It has come to my attention that some people have commented that I need to use the tripod. Just to make it clear, every single shot that I used (apart from the night-time footage) I have used the tripod. The reason it may be unsteady at times is because some times I am having to place the tripod on an uneven surface and because when I am filming the animals, I have to capture them quickly as I dont have all the time in the world to set up. I have to be quick enough to capture the animal/bird in the first place, so that is the reason why some of the shots maybe unsteady.
Thank You

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

I have two major decisions I must make:

1. Whether I should actually present the documentary mtself/ or get someone else to do it or To NOT present my wildlife documentary

The advantage of presenting my documentary will be that I can make the project more personal. However If i was to present the documentary, when it comes to the voiceover (which will be used in certain areas), I will have to perform the voiceover. The problem with this is that wildlife documentary usually have a male adult narrating, so if I was to do the voiceover, it would not sound as professional. However ever if i was to get someone else to present it and do the voiceover, then thats a solution. The drawbacks of that is it won't make it personal as if i were to do it. Also to actually find someone, and for them to give up their time just to do it, will be hard as well. (In addition this is something alot of people have talked about when analysising my work).

2. Narrative? Day to night? or even follow a particular animal e.g. Grey Squirrel, give it a name and use the Squirrel as the backbone of my documentary.

The advantage of the day/night storyline is that I can go around the park and randomly find the animals I want and then create a script from it once ALL the footage is collected. The disadvantage will be if the narrative is strong or not. On the other hand, by basising it on a particular animal, it provides a strong narrative backbone. However the disadvantages are that to have a show based on an animal e.g. Grey Squirrel, it would mean that I have to find alot of Squirrels and that most of my footage has to be a Squirrel in order to make it a character. Also I cannot track one Squirrel usless it is tagged like the professionals do, however it has been suggested to me to just find any Squirrel and pretend it is the same one, as most people would not recognise that it is different.

So what to do?? As I have a half-term holiday to do my filming (although I have actually been given an extension for my filming), I must make my decisions as soon as possible. So THIS SUNDAY ( 25th Feb 07), which will be the next day I will go out filming, I will announce my FINAL choice to theses MAJOR decisions.

Animal Profiles (Part 3)

Green Woodpecker

Scientific Name: Picus Viridis

Size: 30-36 cm

Habitat: Parks, woodlands, farmlands, large parks, heaths and coastal dunes.

Description/Info: Sometimes called a ‘Yaffle’. It is also the largest woodpecker (out of 3) in Britain. It is one of the most colourful birds in all of Britain. It has a dark Green plumage, red cap and a yellowish underbelly. Green Woodpeckers have a loud ‘laughing’ call and this is why sometimes it is called a ‘Yaffle’. To beginners (bird watchers), the Green Woodpecker seems to be a tropical bird.

Behaviour: When pecking on the bark of a tree, it alights on a trunk or bough and works upwards with a diagonal or spiral course in quick jerky jumps or runs, halting occasionally with head drawn back and bill held at right angles to its body. As it proceeds it taps the bark smartly, probably sounding it for hollows made by its prey.

Diet: Insects, especially Ants

Conservation Status: Not threatend

Reproductive Biology: Usually the nest is built up on a tall tree. Unlike other nest, which are made from sticks, mud etc. the woodpecker creates a whole in the bark of a tree. The female lays 5-7 eggs and hatch in late April or early May.

Brown Rat

Scientific Name: Rattus norvegicus

Size: 22-26cm, 200-400g

Habitat: Everywhere. Rats inhabit every continent on Earth, even Antarctica. (Prefers colder climates)

Description/Info: larger than the black rat, thicker build, shorter ears and tail, coarser fur. Reddish Brown fur and pale on the belly.

Behaviour: Social animal that live in groups and are nocturnal. Groups can be as big as 200 strong. The hierarchy is not judged on age but on size and weight. They sometimes cache their food.

Diet: They are omnivorous, but prefer starch and protein-rich food e.g. Cereals. Meat, fish, vegetables, weeds, earthworms, crustaceans, nuts, fruits and human leftovers.

Conservation Status: Not threatened

Reproductive Biology: Peak of breeding is in spring and fall. 52 litters per year. Each consisting of 12-22 young.

Great Tit

Scientific Name: Parus Major

Size: 14 cm

Habitat: Parks, gardens, meadows, woodlands, hedges

Description/Info: Largest British Tit. It has a black crown, nape and throat. It cheeks are white and their breast and bellies are yellow.

Behaviour: Resident throughout much of its range, but they do show seasonal altitudinal migration in some mountain areas and local migration in others. They are occasionally territorial throughout year, however they may join hierarchically-organized, mixed-species flocks outside of breeding season. Their songs frequent, simple, and variable, with each male having several repertoires.

Diet: Insects, Larvae, Spiders, nuts, seeds, berries, fruits

Conservation Status: Not threatened, growing

Reproductive Biology: They have a cup-shaped nest built from grass and moss usually in a tree hole or nest box

Starling

Scientific Name: Sturnus Vulgaris

Size: 21-22 cm

Habitat: Open country, open woodlands, parks, gardens, urban and suburban areas

Description/Info: The Starling has a purple/green/ black plumage made up with white spots. Their long thin bills change colour. In the winter time the colour is black, however during nesting time their beak is yellow.

Behaviour: They are aggressive competitors when it comes to competing with woodpeckers for nest boxes, as well as for niches in buildings. They roost as flocks in can reach to a million individuals making it one of Britain’s most amazing wildlife spectacles.

Diet: Insects, arthropods, seeds, grains, fruits

Conservation Status: Not threatened

Reproductive Biology: Clutch of 6-8 pale blue eggs which are incubated by the female for 11 days. They are feed by both parents and are fully fledged after 20-21 days.

Animal Profiles (Part 2)

European Magpie

Scientific Name: Pica pica

Size: 40-51cm

Habitat: suburban areas (trees, parks, gardens)

Description/Info: The head, neck and breast is a glossy black, with a metallic green and violet sheen. The belly and scapulars (shoulder feathers) are in pure white.

Behaviour: The magpie is a member of the Crow family. One particular behaviour similar to the Crow is that when the Magpie walks, it walks with a gait; however whenever it is attracted/interested in something i.e. food, then it will hop quickly sideways with wings just open.

Diet: Young birds and eggs, small mammals, insects. (also eats acorns, grain and other vegetables)

Conservation Status: Not threatened

Reproductive Biology: 5-8 eggs are laid in April.

European Robin

Scientific Name: Erithacus Rubecula

Size: 14cm

Habitat: Woodlands, Parks, Gardens, Hedgerows

Description/Info: Plump body shape and distinctive red face and breast. Sings mostly during the night.

Behaviour: shy songbird. Has learnt to take advantage of gardeners and watch them dig up the ground so they can forage through the fresh soil for earthworms. Robins are very aggressive to other Robins as they are very territorial.

Diet: Insects, Earthworms, Spiders, Seeds and fruits and berries

Conservation Status: Not threatened

Reproductive Biology: Females build cup-shaped nests. Lay and incubates 4-6 eggs for 13-14 days.

Grey Squirrel

Scientific Name: Sciurus carolinensis

Size: 23-30cm, 400-600g

Habitat: Deciduous, trees, hedgerows, woodland, Parks

Description/Info: Grey fur, larger than the Red Squirrel, more successful than the Red Squirrel, Sits with its tail arched over their backs

Behaviour: Live in nest called ‘drey’, 30-60cm in diameter, Active before and after sunset. Mostly during the autumn they are abundant.

Diet: Acorns, tree shoots, flowers, nuts, fruits, roots and cereals. Bury surplus food for harsh times

Conservation Status: Widespread over UK, not protected, considered as pest to some, killed on roads

Reproductive Biology: Litters with 2-3 young in spring, late summer, weaned for 10 weeks, independent for 16 weeks.

Blue Tit

Scientific Name: Parus Caerlueus

Size: 12cm

Habitat: Delicious and mixed woodlands, parks, gardens, hedgerows and nest boxes.

Description/Info: It is the most common Tit from the Tit family. Their colourful plumage of blue, yellow and white make it very identifiable.

Behaviour: They tend to move to suburban gardens when the weather is severe. They feed for food in the tree canopy. However, during winter they tend to spend time finding and feeding from the ground.

Diet: Small insects, Spiders, fruits, seeds and nectar.

Conservation Status: They are globally threatened, but generally successful in Britain.

Reproductive Biology: The nests are a cup shaped and made from moss and grass. The female lays 13-17 eggs in April/May.

Animal Profiles (Part 1)

• Here is an Animal profile of all the animals I have either captured or still intend to capture. Each animal's profile will contain; Name, Scientific Name, Size, Habitat, Description/Info, Behavioiur, Diet, Conservation Status and Reproductive Biology.

Blackbird

Scientific Name: Turdus merula

Size: 24-25cm (10”)

Habitat: Common in woods and gardens/city parks, across Europe and Asia (British Residents)

Description/Info: Black plumage (feathers) and yellow bill identify adult male. First year males have more brown in plumage and brownish bill. Female is more variable, with brown plumage and mottled breast and bill brown (or orange in older birds).

Behaviour: Bold and tame, feeding on ground where walks, hops, or runs; large roosts after breeding season. Flocks in winter.

Diet: Insects, Earthworms, Berries, Seeds, Fruits

Conservation status: Not threatened

Reproductive biology: Breeds April-August. Incubated for 11-14 days. Lays 3-4 eggs.


Red Fox

Scientific Name: Vulpes vulpes

Size: shoulder height 35-40cm, weight (Male 6.7kg, Female 5.4kg)

Habitat: Countryside, Cities (Europe and America)

Description/Info: Adaptable, Most popular mammal in UK Survey, territories 50 sq km

Behaviour: Territorial, nocturnal, Stores surplus food for the winter when times are hard, monogamous (breeding system in which only male and female mate only with one another)

Diet: Rodents (mice, rats), insects, fruits, eggs, birds and other small animals, scavenging in household waste

Conservation status: Not threatened (applies more since recent ban on Fox hunting)

Reproductive Biology: Litter size can range from 3-7

House Sparrow

Scientific Name: Passer Domesticus

Size: (14-16cm) and (20-40g)

Habitat: Towns, cities, parks, (anywhere associated with humans living), in roofs and wholes in buildings. (British Residents)

Description/Info: Males have a grey crown and black bibs. The bigger the bibs, the higher you are in the hierarchy of your colony. There are ranks within the colony. They include the sergeant, . Females are in plan drab brown, and juveniles are similar to females but paler.

Behaviour: Lives in small colonies. In the colonies there are ranks. The bigger the bib (male), the higher you are in the hierarchy.

Diet: Insects, and household scraps, seeds

Conservation Status: Declining

Reproductive biology: Nests in holes in buildings, roofs and trees. 5 clutches of 2 to 5 eggs per year.

Weekly Progress 4

• The work planned was to go out this morning and film more animals and birds. I took the digital video camera, the tripod and a pair of binoculars with me.
• This morning I got an amazing shot of a huge flock of Gull's all flying off the ground at the same time (it was something that you would see on a professional documentary) so I was really lucky as it is one of the best shots I have from all my footage. I also found a Great Tit singing, however I found a beautiful Robin but I ran out of battery power and so missed it completely. But another quite successful outing.
• During the holidays, I will be aiming to look inside a birds nest and also wake up at early dawn and capture the sound of the Dawn Chorus (which personally to me is probably the most beaufitul sound in nautre). I am planning to go out tomorrow and do some more filming. If not then later in the holidays. In addition, on this coming Monday (19th Feb 07) I will announce my BIG decision over whether to present or not to present my wildlife documentary.

Blog Comments

1. What do you think of our blog?

• What do you particularly like about it? What's especially impressive?
  
• What could be improved? What's missing or could be added?
  

2. Based on what you've read on the blog (and maybe seen in test screenings in class) what suggestions do you have regarding what we could do to make our Practical Production really successful?

• What other things could we include in the production?
  
• How should we go about filming any remaining scenes or editing the footage during post-production (+ suggestions for music, etc.)?

Weekly Progress (3)

Saturday 3rd -Tues 6th 07

• The work planned was to go out to the Park and film some more animals. However, In particualr the Green Woodpecker and the Fox
• Saturday's session: I had 6 mins remaining of my first tape, and so I went to finish it off. I managed to get more birds that I needed (Blue Tit, Robin etc.). Sunday's session: was at night as I was lucky to get some more footage of Foxes. I had to wait till 1.15am, till I got a 15-20 second shot of the Foxes (there were two of them), but unluckly a car scared them off. Monday's session I was again at night and again I got a site of the Fox, and much earlier, roughly 10.30-11.30pm. Tuesday's session: Straight after my Tuesday Media lesson, I went home to get the camera and went out to do some filming until 3.30pm. In that time I was lucky again, as I saw what I was after, the Green Woodpecker. Again, in was in an open area. However by seeing it again and also seeing where the Woodpecker had been pecking a large whole in the bark of the tree, usually for creating a nest, I feel that I might be in luck as if my guess is right, the Green Woodpecker lives in Rectory Park.
• Overall I am happy to catch the Green Woodpecker again and the Foxes as they were my prime targets. I still want more though. I am intending to go to the Park on Thursday morning, also I think its snowing on that morning. This is turn will help me illustrate that this series is based in Winter.

Weekly Progress (2)

(Thursday 1st & Friday 2nd Feb 07)

• The worked planned was to capture the animals and birds on my list. As I had media lessons off on both Thursday and Friday, I used all the time available. So from 8.3opm I started filming. To capture the footage I need to take with me both the digital video camera and the tripod.
• Both Thursday and Friday proved to be enourmously successful. On all the outings I had I have got a large amount of my list of animals ticked off. So far I have captured the Blackbird, Ferel Pigeon, Robins, Grey Squirell, Common Gull, Crow and more Grey Squirrels. (Note: I have mentioned all the animals that i want in the list, they are just what 'I am intending and hopeful of capturing for my documentary'). Today (Friday), I was both the luckiest and unluckiest person. As I was in the park, I heard a knocking sound that seemed familiar, to confirm my suspicions, I followed the sound, and when i looked up I saw a Green Woodpecker (right), which is the largest of the three Woodpeckers in Britain, drilling a whole in the bark of the Tree. However by the time i looked to see where it was, It flew away. I was lucky of finding some more, and got them on footage, but in the open spaces. I missed out on a Green Woodpecker pecking a whole in the tree. But next time I go out, I will purposely look for it. I also saw another type of Woodpecker, I could not entirely tell, it was either the Great or Small Spotted Woodpecker, but it just flew away before I even got to set up. Oh yeah, and I got a glimse of a Red Fox. One downside was that I had to keep going back to the house once the batteries ran out (twice on Thursday and once on Friday), Then I had to wait for the batteries to recharge before I could continue with my filming which took up time aswell. But overall, I got some fantastic footage.
• Overall, I have to say from the last two days I have got more than what I had planned. However I've made a decision in that although you are supposed to start editing as soon as possible, I have decided that I will use the full filming time given just in case I miss out on anything and also I still feel I need even more footage. I am getting ready to move onto my second tape. The aim of my next trek through Rectory Park, will be to find the Green Woodpecker, especially now I know where some of their nests are. I am also intending to climb up a tree and look inside one of the bird nest. Also I still need more footage of songbirds i.e Robins, Blue Tits etc. and others such as Magpies and House Sparrow. Also I will have to start staying up again as the Foxes have truely returned. But another job well done I'd say. Tonight I will stay up and look out for Foxes.

Weekly Progress

• The worked planned for this week is to go out on Sunday morning at around 8am and to capture the wildlife around. For this I will need to use the digital video camera and the tripod.
• I went out on Sunday morning and left the house at 8.30am. I feel that today was the first day that I have got some strong and solid footage to use. During my trek in the park, I filmed things such as a tree, scenery of the park, birds nest's, water, Starling, Blue Tit's, Common Gull. However the main highlight of this attempt of filming was my footage of Grey Squirrels, which was one of the animals i intended to capture. Also i was using a variety of shots from long to close-up's to tracking. I only stayed at the park for an hour, because unfortunately the battery ran out.
• From my footage which i gained, I feel that after all my efforts, I've finally got some strong footage to show and feels like a great achievement because my efforts are starting to pay off, however theirs still a long way to! One thing I found very hard was to follow and track the animals and birds, as they move so fast and swiftly. At times when i was filming the Squirrel, when i had lost them in the trees, I had to constantly look around to see where in the tree they were. This will be something i will have to have more practice with. My view is that it has gone just as I planned, in that I go to the right places I know where the animals inhabit and hopefully the animals and birds I intended to shoot will be there at the time. Also I planned that on this occasion that I would definetely get some good, solid footage, which I have.

Research (2)

Wild Events

Wild Events is the third documentary that I had researched. The other two wildlife documentaries that I studied were both broadcasted on the BBC, however 'Wild Events' is boradcasted on Channel five. The presenter, Jake Willers, goes around the world and gives an insight into some of the most amazing wildlife spectacals in the world e.g. The Wildebeest migration, Bat cave, the Flamingo feast etc. The conventions that Wild Event uses combine both 'The Blue Planet' in the sense that it uses voiceover and explains the animals current behaviours, and from 'Autumnwatch' it uses a presenter, in this case Jake Willers. Example, during the Wildebeest Migration the camera interchanged between both the wild event and Jake explaining what is happening . As with all wildlife documentaries facts and statistics are given.

The use of constructing and editing the Wildebeest crossing makes more dramatic and was key in making this documentary successful. Also the use of sound adds to the suspense and tension as the Wildebeest cross the crocodile infested waters. Combination of close ups to see in detail what is going on e.g. Crocodile grabbing a Wildebeest and violentely hauling it down underwater to drown and long shots to show the size of the event e.g shows, as does the picture above, the number of panicking Wildebeest desperately trying to croos the Mara River. Again, the camera shots really make the event more spectacular.

Plan for the Week

Depending on the weather, i am hopeful that this Sunday morning, I can go out at roughly 7am and spend approximately two and a half to 3 hours wandering around the park looking around and hoping to capture some footage.

Research

Natural History Documentary programmes

The Blue Planet

One natural history documentary that I studied was 'The Blue Planet'. The Blue Planet explored the worlds oceans, rivers and lake, looking at marine life all over the planet. From this documentary I saw the typical documentary conventions which i had learnt from class. This includes voiceover by Sir David Attenborough, facts and statistics, cinemtography (long shots, low angle shots, close up), edits (pan, tracking, tilt, cut)etc. But I also picked up on a technique that is more noticably used in wildlife documentaries. I learnt from my research that whenever they show an animal e.g. A Polar Bear, they will give an introduction to the animal and a small fact about them (this could include their size weight and height, population, features etc.). But what i really learnt that i feel will help me take my documentary up a level, is that as the the narration follows the animals behaviour. For example (from the Blue Planet), a Walrus goes to swim into the ocean, so Attenborough says 'Walrus tend to make daily journeys out into the sea in search of clams'. This shows that he is explaining why the Walrus has gone swimming. Its not gone into the water just to have a swim, but to search for clams to feed on.

Autumnwatch
Another Documentary which i anaylsed for my research was another BBC documentary 'Autumnwatch'. This documentary is presented by Bill Oddie (left), Simon King and Kate Humble. Once again i was looking for documentary conventions. Both 'The Blue Planet' and 'Autumnwatch' maybe wildlife documentaries, however the presentation and the way both documentaries were constructed were the opposite. The Blue Planet just showed the marine animal with David Attenborough narratoring on the animal and it's behaviour. On the other hand Autumnwatch has a combination of a voiceover and the presenter themselves actually presenting the programme. Example, when Simon King was talking about the Red Deer in the Island of Rum, the camera was interchanging between Simon King (the presenter) and the animals. Another technique used that was not in the Blue Planet was replay action used by Simon King when he was explaining an incident of a fight between two Red Deer. Another difference was that in Autumnwatch they gave the animals names, just like people e.g. Caesar, Maximus, Percy etc. Similarily they both introduce the animal and explain the animals behaviour, however in Autumnwatch the presenter sometimes tries to interpret and then tell the audience what the animal is thinking or saying if they was a human e.g. When one male Deer comes to challenge another Red Deer for the right to own the best patch, Simon King says what the current owner of the patch says "How dare this fellow try to take over my patch". This demonstrates that he is talking on behalf of the Deer and basically translating, from his interpretation of its behaviour, what the animal is saying, thinking, so we as the audience can understand what is going on. Once again the use of facts and statistics, cinemtography and editing etc.

From My Research

From my research, which i believe has helped me have a better insight into how to construct my documentary and also what kind of footage i actually want. I have learnt that there are two ways of presenting a wildlife documentary, so i've decided that i would like to combine both styles into one. Using the main voiceover idea in some areas and presenting some parts of the show as well.

Animals that I intend to capture

This is a small list of animals that i intend and hopeful of capturing for my documentary:

• Blackbird (bird)
• Red Fox (mammal)
• House Sparrow (bird)
• European Magpie (bird)
• Ferel Pigeon (bird)
• Woodland Pigeon (bird)
• Rats (mammal) - Maybe, but very unlikely
• Robin (bird)- maybe
• Black-Headed Gull (bird)
• Common Gull (bird)
• Grey Squirrel (mammal)
• Blue Tit (bird)
• Carrion Crow (bird)
• Common Gull (bird)
• Great Tit (bird)
• Starlings (bird)

In addition i have researched all about these animals and for each one i have made a animal profile (Name, Scientific name, habitat, description/Info, Behaviour, Diet, Conservation status and reproductive biology). The majority of this information that I have gathered will be in my documentary.

work so far

• Note: I am working on my own for this project

As i am doing a wildlife documentary, i required the camera's early as i thought that maybe I could be lucky and catch some footage during the Christmas holidays. Also i used it as a chance to catch some nightime footage, unfortunately i was unlucky for all my attempts of staying up till 4-5am. But i did not do much day footage as i was using this time to practice computer animation (during the holidays). Before i chose to do this project i was deciding on whether doing an animation of 'Trublez the Dog', a comic i produced in Year 11 or an animal documentary. I have chosen to do this project as i feel it is more achievable and realistic, also considering the deadline for the project. But now i am clear about which project to go through with, i am now going to start putting 100% time and effort into the project. Apart from that i have also done my research and have learnt some techniques that could be vital in making this project a success.

Park Life, wildlife at your backdoors

Director: Chintan Barot

'Park Life' is a wildlife documentary series which aims to show our audiences that you don't have to go the ends of the Earth just to see some spectacular wildlife, as its right near by your local park. In this ten part series, each episode will explore a park and show what wildlife inhabits the park, both during the day and the night. At the same time, the series will return in each season, the first being in Winter (then to Spring, Summer and Autumn), to see if the wildlife has changed and why. The first episode will be based in Rectory Park.