Evaluation

When we were told we were making a documentary on British youth, I wanted to choose a personal
topic that I know a lot about and have experience with. I thought this way I could make a more
accurate documentary. I included an introduction where I explained the topic and what I would
cover in the documentary. I stated what the problem was and why some people disagree with it. In a
documentary it’s important it is presented correctly in order to make sure the message is conveyed
clearly. I think I presented it well enough so it made sense, but it could’ve been longer and covered
more points. I believe my camera work was good and I framed my interview well. I also think I put it
together well so it made sense.

I wanted to make a documentary that showed mountain biking in a positive light as a lot of people
see it as a negative, damaging thing. I wanted it to be more of an educational video rather than an
argument. My introduction is used to show the problem I want to discuss. My interview with Josh
Scott is similar to some of the documentaries we looked at because it’s with someone who is in the
industry and has firsthand experience with the problem at hand. It’s also good to have an opinion on
the topic coming from a more professional view. I also included a more personal question that is
used to show how mountain biking does have an impact on people’s lives and it’s not a reckless
sport. I also included my personal opinion on the topic and why I think there is stigma surrounding
the sport.

In my feedback it was mostly positive; however there were two main problems that people
highlighted. The first was that I should a tri pod more as some of my shots weren’t very stable. It is
good I have received this piece of advice now so I can improve my future projects and present them
more professionally. The second negative piece of feedback I received multiple times was that it
wasn’t very long. This is firstly down to me not planning enough shots, however in future I need to
choose my topics more carefully and make sure there is a lot of info about the topic I want to do my
production on. This will ensure that in future I can find enough information on my chosen topic in
order to make sure I can make a production that is longer and more informative.

Going forward I will make sure I work on my research section more in order to gather enough
information to make a documentary of decent length. I will also research multiple topics in advance
related to the brief to find which is the best to make a production on, I will base this off how much
information is available, if they have any local links that I can speak to and how interesting the
subject is. I have learnt a lot from making this documentary and I know how I can improve on the
next production I make. I think I need to improve on my planning the most because the majority of
the technical aspects were correct, it was just lacking content and length.