Originality & Creativity

Originality and Creativity

Here is the link to our final documentary, with timestamps at the bottom explaining my creative and technical decisions.

0:01- we decided to use crackling music in the background as a classy way to indicate decay, and set the overall mood of the video. 

0:15- for our title sequence, we used pictures of rotting food as an indication of our topic of food waste. I also told the editor to choose a calligraphy font style because I thought it would add a nice touch to the title sequence and the elegance of it would contrast the pictures in the background.

0:25 - 0:38 - we decided to start the video by putting in the responses of our public opinion survey to the question of "how much do you know about food waste?" This is because we noticed that the answers were all similar and so it provided good insight into why such a documentary is necessary in order to raise awareness of the issue of food waste. I personally think that this was effective because not only was it filmed with good camera angles and clear audio, it also keeps the audience hooked at the beginning.

0:40- we decided to use this background music throughout the whole documentary because it's uplifting yet does not invoke any emotions. This is so that the audience can stay focused on the voiceovers and not get distracted by exciting background music. This style of music is also similar to the type of music usually heard in video essays and so it fits the genre of a documentary.

0:44- for our B-roll footage, we sourced videos of supermarkets and grocery stores online- typical places where food is often wasted and something that is often referenced in my voiceover explanation. This is because it will help keep the audience engaged and provide visual links to what the voiceover is trying to explain.

1:05 - 1:22 - voiceover explanation of the causes of the food waste issue begins. For my voiceover, I recorded it in a more natural state and imagined that I was having a conversation with someone. I did not want to invoke a mood that I was announcing something, but rather simply talking to the audience about the issue at hand. I think that this voiceover could have been improved if I used a pop filter to reduce plosive sounds that can often be heard in this particular recording.

1:24 - 1:37 - further responses during our public opinion survey about how much they know about food waste. We grouped these answers together because we saw a link between them, and it provided a good introduction to the next section about the video on the significance of food waste.

1:38 - 2:24 - voiceover explanation of the significance of food waste globally and locally, accompanied by an information sequence. I think the information sequence was particularly effective as it was created so that the timing would fit the voiceover exactly. Not only did the animations convey the most important facts in a concise manner, but it was also visually appealing, therefore keeping the audience engaged. Personally, I am particularly happy with the pie chart at 2:02, because it provided the most visual aid in the simplest way possible.

2:25 - 2:58 - voiceover explanation of the consequences of the issue supplemented with another information sequence. Again, the graphics were made according to the information in the voiceover and timed excellently so that whilst the audience was listening to my factual voiceover, their eyes could follow along with the visual aids. Therefore, the audience could better understand the information being presented to them and still be engrossed in the video itself.

3:01 - 3:25 - voiceover explanation of the solutions towards the issue of food waste, with relevant B-roll footage supporting it. In this part, we again used videos of supermarkets and sourced relevant footage off the internet that our production technician could not get. For example from 3:15 to 3:20, we found a short clip of someone storing food correctly as explained in the voiceover in order to provide the best visual aid possible.

3:26 - 3:49 - a quick introduction to the direct service our group did in the form of bokashi composting with video footage of our group members doing the bokashi itself. I think the B-roll footage here is particularly effective as you can properly see us completing one of the solutions proposed in the voiceover. Not only did we use footage that demonstrated individual steps of the simple process, but also gives the audience a sense of how simple taking action actually is.

3:50 - 4:38 - following the voiceover explanation of possible solutions, we wanted to then include testimonies from our public opinion survey about what people actually do to reduce food waste. Even though the audio is sometimes a bit too loud at times because of microphone issues (such as at 3:55), I think the testimonies were overall very effective as it gave some legitimacy to what the video was trying to propose.

4:39 - 4:57 - a closing sequence to the video with an ending voiceover that provides a short conclusion and sums up the video in two simple sentences. Again, we used B-roll footage of supermarkets, some of which is sourced from the internet and some of which is filmed by our production technician.