CONCLUSION

I will like to formally thank our talented lecturer Jillian wickham for imparting such knowledge onto each and everyone of us and to S.B.C.S for providing us with the resources to make this happen.

And special thanks to ALL my team mates who had equal input in this production and helping me as an assigned Director and trusting me to spearhead our production. WELL DONE TEAM!

TIME TO EDIT
NOV 30th

The team came together and pitched in ideas while Maria and Maurissa edited. But ultimately, the true picture began to reveal itself when we actually saw all the footage and old ideas that appeared on the proposal were replaced with new ones but the ultimate goal remained the same and that was achieved. As for the number of interviewees we wanted to capture has proven to be difficult due to many subjects being hard to reach or very busy. Audio was another slight issue due to the fact that the clip-on mic wasn't top notch. We unfortunately didn't meet our completion deadline we actually barely submitted on time due to many issues revolving around computer software, hardware and traffic. But finally we submitted, did our brief presentation and sat with our classmates and lecturer and viewed our production which was entitled "UNQUENCHABLE" for the first time on a large projector screen, from the round of applause we received and the nod we received from our lecturer it appeared that we did well. 

LESSON

Although the production was 70% of what I wanted it was still a great first attempt and we all learned a lot from this production from time management to team work to critical thinking under pressure. 

I would recommend that next time we start earlier, research deeper into the life of the subjects, use better audio equipment and NEVER underestimate the importance of a script for editing, a shot list and the power of communication.

SHOOTING DAY 5

Nov. 25th

OBJECTIVE

Interview former Synergy Soca Star, Blue. Her title in it self made her relevant to our list of interviewees.

LOCATION/EXECUTION

The same television studio that we did Fireball's interview but with minor adjustments e.g. I used a dish light to highlight her edges but also allowed it to be within the frame to give an artistic feel and also hide the backdrop we used prior for Fireball's interview.

LESSON

Do not be afraid to try new things.

SHOOTING DAY 4

NOV 19th

EQUIPMENT

.One DSLR Canon camera with a 50mm lens

.One tripod

.Clip-on mic

LOCATIONS

The Amphitheater in St James, why? because this was where it all started for him and we know this location would spark a lot on memories.

Our other location was supposed to me the National Academy for Performing Arts but due to the bad weather and lack of equipment available for the school to lend us we had to improvise and this resulted in one of our best decisions so far for our production utilize the television production studio at school which provided great lighting and back drop. Both Fireball and Blue's interview were shot here as well as the intro shot using a lighter to reveal his face.

LESSON 1

Monitor the weather before heading out to shoot.

Improvise before giving up.
Write a script even for an interview for editing purposes.   

PROS

Near perfect lighting and had full control of the light and the environment

CONS

Unfortunately the memory card got corrupted and we had to discard 13gb of well shot footage.

Had to explain this to my team in a manner that will not discourage any team members.

Had to re-shoot the interview the next day.  

LESSON 2

Export footage on-site and always carry another memory card.

MEETING

NOV 18th

The entire got an opportunity to meet (which was rare) and we were discussing the footage we captured so far and a problem arose, some of the members were confused when it came to understanding how the documentary supposed to flow from start to finish. I suggested that we use the interview as the main foundation and build the visual from the scenarios that Fireball mentioned they understood the plan but the real issue was the fact that the interview wasn't detailed enough and we needed him to elaborate on certain details of his life story a little more.Our only option was to re-do the interview, Ryan and I set a date and went out to capture it.

Learning from our mistakes from our first shoot we were better prepared, on the same page and knew exactly what we wanted.

  

SHOOTING DAY 3

NOV 11th

OBJECTIVE

Interview second place winner Kimba Sorzano and Fireballs' two back up singers Hayden and Shay

SIGNIFICANCE

Kimba was very instrumental in getting Fireball in the right frame of mind back stage before his performance although he was a competitor.

Both Hayden and Shay are very talented vocalists that merged with the entire stage performance of Fireball perfectly. 

EQUIPMENT 

.Two Canon t3i DSLR cameras

.One shot gun mic

.One clip-on mic

.18-55 and 50mm lenses

LOCATIONS/EXECUTION

Kimba agreed to meet us after he got a call from our editor Maurissa. At first the interview was supposed to take place at Kimba's home but we wanted to conduct the interview in such a way that going from location to location would be easy. so we decided to capture Kimba interview at the water front and use the building as a backdrop and a low angle to make the shot interesting. 

Hayden and Shay are both barbers and work at a barbershop at the end of the Brian Lara Promanade near the Cathedral which wasn't very far from the Waterfront, Kimba also agreed to come with us. The barber shop was surprisingly well lit so lighting was not a problem but finding a good angle was. So we decided to let Kimba sit on the barber chair and let Hayden actually give him a mark while interviewing him to make it interesting.

 SHOOTING DAY 2

After learning from our experience from shooting day 1, I ensured that Ryan and I had the same idea while heading to capture some cut-away footage. Fireball was born in Sea lots but grew up in Laventille and both areas are located near the Port of Spain area, while deciding to capture footage in these areas we also had to consider our safety and the safety of our equipment so we decided to capture the footage on the move and from afar which proved to work quite okay because we didn't need a detailed tour of the area just establishing shots.

NOTE

We made our subject tell HIS story and we created the visual so the first interview from shooting day 1 was the foundation for the concept and visuals.

SHOOTING DAY 1

OCT 29th


The first day of our shoot as the Director a lot of choices had to be made in terms of how we go about executing the shoot for example:-

Equipment 

.Two canon t3i DSLR cameras -  Very light and easy to maneuver in small spaces.
.One tripod -                                    Stability is always necessary.
.One shot gun mic -                        Directional with decent frequency range.
.One wireless clip-on mic -            Perfect for interviews.
.One 18-55mm lens -                     Wide angle capability.
.One 50mm f1.8 lens -                   Very sharp, wide aperture which means more low light                                                                      capabilities.

Location

Fireball is an artist and to interview him in a musical environment will feel more natural and fit his character also we agreed that the location preferably a 'Recording Studio' should be one that he is currently working with. Premiere Studios is a recording studio located in Arapita avenue and its not a cutting edge master studio but its official and produces cutting edge productions and fireball was working on a production there so that was perfect for the first shoot.


Lighting

Ryan (camera operator) and I decided to use the natural light and keep the in-studio ambiance to give a natural feel.


EXECUTION 

PROS

We set up one camera to acquire a static composition and another camera hand held to capture the more detailed aspects and add more dynamics. This worked will and created the impact and feel we wanted.

CONS

We took way too long to set up for the shoot due to indecisiveness between Me and the Ryan in terms of camera settings. I preferred to shoot at 24 fps (frames per second) and he wanted  to shoot at 60 fps also during the camera adjustment the aspect ratio of one of the cameras was also changed resulting to the clip being smaller in the project window while editing.

LESSON

Director and camera personnel need to work closer together and communicate prior to the shooting day to ensure that they are on the same page while on the field, shot choices, lighting, settings should be finalized before the shoot.  

 ROLES


We all held a meeting to assign roles for the production but although we emphasized that each team member be dedicated to their role assistance is always welcomed to foster team work.

PRODUCER -                             NATASHA RAMNATH

DIRECTOR -                               DYLAND THOMAS

RESEARCHER -                         TRACY JORDAN

CAMERA -                                  RYAN  BASCOMBE

AUDIO/LIGHTING                     DYLAN THOMAS

EDITOR                                       MARIA PANTIN / MAURISSA ARMSTRONG

                                                         BRAIN STORMING
SEP .26th

Me and the team got together and tried to come up with and interesting concept and subject and realistic deadline. the first idea was to do a documentary on the state of pollution in our capital city Port of Spain. although it was a very great idea, we all considered especially myself and Ryan Bascomb, 'with a production like this we may have to get "dirty" and venture into polluted areas and the Beetham Dump may be definitely a location worth visiting so..... which one of these pretty women in our group are willing to make such a run'? .......silence...... ummm okay next idea. from this moment and beyond we decided to come up with something that was interesting, simplistic and also fun. Our next idea was a documentary on 'the purpose of life' although very interesting as well, to execute this the way we wanted will infringe on our deadline which was November 27th. Our final idea was to document the life of an Artiste, but who? because the artist has to be one that isn't surrounded by over protective management,dont have an extra busy schedule, very humble and down-to-earth, must be relevant due to their accomplishments, have a story to tell and easy to get on to. for me only one artist came to mind, 'Fire Ball'

                                      

Fireball became the first winner of the first Synergy Soca Star competition in 2006 with his smash hit 'Danger' and that led him to many major opportunities. one of these opportunities was a meeting with a very French record producer and owner of  label yellow productions who remixed an already successful single from fireball named 'What I Want'which quickly climbed the billboard charts

What made Fireball so significant is the fact that his deal apparently fell through the cracks and he returned to Trinidad and can be seen selling his CD's on the streets of Port of Spain and Trincity for $25. a lot of misconceptions surround the real story behind his his fall from grace but the fact remains , no other artiste from Trinidad and Tobago topped the chart like Fireball did so his story was on that will clear the air on a lot of things surrounding this super star.