First Step: Software Recap
The editing process is a long one but setting myself small tasks along the way made it much easier to get done. The first step was to revise how to use the editing software Adobe Audition. To do this I read the guides available on Brightspace and watched several videos on YouTube.
Second Step: Finding Soundbites
The second step of the editing process was to listen through the interviews and find the best answers the interviewees gave me to make into individual soundbites. This was time consuming but vital. What made it easier is that during the interviews I had written down the timestamps next to the questions I had asked so I knew during the editing stage at what time the interviewees answered what questions.
When cutting up the soundbites I did not worry about ensuring they were cut perfectly as I knew this could be cleaned up later in the edit.
Third Step: Research Foundation FM Style
Next I needed to research the style and tone of the radio station I was aiming my piece towards. I listened to several programmes by Foundation FM.
From this I learned about the way the presenters speak to the listeners, how they interview their guests, the type of music they use, and they narrative structure they tend to follow. I made sure to list all this down to incorporate it into my own editing style.
Fourth Step: Scripting
Now that I had completed all my research and selected the soundbites I wanted to use I needed to script the documentary.
First, I decided the order in which my interviews would go. I wanted all my interviews to stand alone so the audience would be able to fully immerse themselves in their stories and connect with the speaker.
I decided I wanted Emily to speak first as she talks very matter of fact about the problems in the industry, then I wanted Patrick to speak next as he was overall quite positive about it and so I thought putting them side by side would show a good comparison in their mindsets. I wanted Seren to speak last as she seemed to offer solutions to the problems and so it created a conclusive narrative arch.
Then, I chose the best answers the interviewees gave that:
summed up their position on the topic
provided in depth and detailed answers
were interesting to listen to
Once I had chosen these I placed them in my Multitrack on Adobe Audition at the general place (beginning, middle, end).
Fifth Step: Voice Over
Next, I drafted the clips I would say in my voice over to link the soundbites together. I wanted to keep my speaking to a minimum and instead have the narrative driven by the interviews.
Because of this I simply introduced the speakers with some background information and the work they do in the fashion industry and then allocated most of the 7 minute time frame to them.
I linked their soundbites together by giving context to their answers or including some statistics about the topic they were discussing. Overall I feel it worked well for me to remain mostly impartial and out of the narrative but instead support those giving their answers.
Sixth Step: Introduction & Conclusion
I needed to decide how I wanted the introduction and conclusion of my piece to sound. I knew that this would be a very important stage in the process as the introduction sets the tone for your whole piece and gains the listeners attention whilst the conclusion sums up your debate and presents the final point you want to make.
I found the conclusion much easier to make as I simply summarised the main message of the documentary and promoted the social media campaign; this was inkeeping with how Foundation FM typically round off their shows.
For the introduction I toyed around with several different ideas. After speaking to Gloria during a Zoom session, to hear more about that click here, I decided to create several different introductions and show them to my course mates to gage a reaction.
The introduction that I felt worked best, and those who listened to it enjoyed the most, was a montage of my interviewees introducing themselves and their profession followed by a narration from me in which I state:
"The fashion industry is made up of so many voices.
But who’s voices get heard the most?
Who’s voices are forced into background noise?
Who’s voices are we able to tune into?
To succeed in one of the most competitive industries in the world you need the odds stacked in your favour, you need the chips to fall your way, you need luck on your side. But it is luck? Or is there a strict status quo holding some people back whilst pushing others forward.
Social mobility has always been, and continues to be a problem for the profession, meaning that it is currently dominated by the privileged and elite.
For those wanting to break into the industry who aren’t from a wealthy or comfortable background it can be a difficult and draining experience for a number of reasons."
I felt this was engaging and interesting for a first time listener and worked well to set up the topic.
Seventh Step: Music
I wanted to include background music that would sit underneath the speaking to give my piece depth and help it flow throughout.
Inkeeping with the style of Foundation FM I chose low-fi, urban music that they often include in their shows.
I decided to use royalty free music as I knew I would be uploading my final piece to Buzz and so it would need to be available to the public.
I wanted to use the music throughout to enhance the narrative of the piece. Because of this I decided to use a piece of uplifting music towards the end of the piece during Seren's soundbites as these are much more positive and discuss the solutions to the problems.
Eighth Step: Gloria Feedback
On Monday the 14th December I handed in an initial first draft to Gloria for her to look over and give feedback to.
Interesting beginning.. using the voices of your interviewees at the beginning is a good idea, but they come and go very quickly. And before we understand what they are saying, your narration starts, so it all happens very quickly, which isn’t quite helpful for listeners.
Your narration needs to be clearer and more confident. You sound little nervous. Are you? You don’t have to be. This is a bold topic. Present it with confidence, so that the listeners will show an interest and perhaps believe in what you are saying. Convince them confidently.
Check around 00:37, is there some editing error?
Can you use ‘those’ words.. check at around 1:34?
Your links between Emily’s various clips don’t flow quite well. The narration is quite quick, fast, without giving listeners enough time to switch between your links and their links. Instead of having Emily’s clips one after another, can you not use them differently, whenever and wherever they are needed, in a more non-linear manner?
I think you have got some good voices and interviews. What you need to do is to work on the ‘story telling’ element, by re-working on the overall flow of the documentary. You can try placing those voices/clips in such a way that they don’t sit in isolation, but complement each other? Is it possible to find any common threads in these interviews and peoples’ stories, which you can interweave together for a better impact? There seems to be some major editing issue between (around0 4:00 and (around) 6:00, so do check it carefully.
The audio levels need re-work throughout the documentary.
I understand that this is not a complete draft. Do check the total length of your documentary.
Overall, this documentary needs a thorough streamlining to achieve a better flow and impact.
From this feedback I was able to correct the mistakes and tailor the overall piece to Gloria's advice.
Ninth Step: Final Touches
The final touches to the documentary I added after the Christmas break. I felt it was important to take a break so I could come back and listen to the documentary with a fresh mind; this would allow me to be more ruthless with what I needed to correct.
This is also the time period in which I put it in action the feedback Gloria gave me.
Instead of placing my interviews in isolation I weaved Emily's soundbites throughout the whole documentary so she supported the answers the other case studies gave. I felt this improved the story telling of my piece.
At the stage I realised I would've liked to rerecord some of my links for better sound quality but due to COVID-19 restrictions the radio studios on campus were shut so I was unable to do this.
Another change I made based on Gloria's feedback was the choice of using expletive language in my documentary. Foundation FM is a digital station and therefore are allowed to use taboo language and often do as it is inkeeping with their colloquial, casual style. Because of this I wanted to include the use of swear words to fit their tone.
However, as I knew this would also be placed on Buzz I felt it wouldn’t be appropriate. Instead, I decided to bleep over them as it would still be impactful whilst remaining suitable for the Buzz audience.
I also took the time to normalise all my audio levels together as she advised.
I cut my soundbites tighter than I had previously to shave some time off my overall piece as I was aware I was several seconds over the time frame.
At this point I felt in a comfortable position with my final product so I listened to it a few times over myself and asked my peers to do the same. From here I could fix any small editing errors before mixing it down as a completed documentary.