Rough Cut - What Next?

We have completed a rough cut of our film at just under 3-minutes long. Personally, I am mostly happy with the way the documentary currently sits, at least in terms of style and tone. We have been able to effectively match together shots of the interview and our b-roll footage. We have also been able to create an opening that sets that the tone of the film before diving into an interview. What the film lacks however, in my opinion, in a sense of variety. What we have so far is good, but I feel that dragging it out for around 5-minutes is likely to get repetitive. As it sits, the film is mostly a few introductory shots, followed by Michael's interview along with its b-roll. What is really necessary at this point I think is another interview, a voice-over, or both. For the second interview, we have emailed Kelham Island to enquire if we would be able to film their exhibits and perhaps find someone to interview. They are yet to respond. Currently, Michael's interview spans across a majority of the film's soundtrack; currently being the only part of the soundtrack other than the diegetic sounds from some of the shots. Hence, I feel it is necessary to fragment his interview into parts, allowing for voice-overs, other interviews, and periods of no speech in order to maintain a good variety of information delivery. The film, I feel is also in need of some music not only to maintain its cheery tone, but also to act a sort of 'glue'; a part that ties the fragments of the narrative together by being a constant throughout.

In addition, it is important to note that judging by the positive feedback we have received about the film's style and tone, as well as the suggestion we received to maintain this style throughout, we have decided as a group to drop our previous idea of having a tonal shift around halfway through, after which we would begin to talk about the decline of Sheffield's steel industry and its possible incoming death. After reading through the transcript of Micheal's interview, we realised that he maintains a rather optimistic tone. After speaking of the industry's decline, he goes on to say that it has actually started to grow in recent years; ending his interview on a positive note. This, coupled with the suggestions to maintain the film's lighthearted tone, allowed us to agree that we should abandon our tonal shift idea; an idea that seems to be becoming increasingly difficult as we struggle to find a second interviewee.