Evaluation of my personal project 16th May

I was very pleased with the finished project and I felt that it was a big improve compared to previous projects that I have done throughout the year as I feel that I have improved technically, for example my camera handling has improved as I have taken the Panasonic camera out on a number of occasions to get more practice this has allowed me to get some interesting and different shots that I have used in my project. Also my use of the tripod has improved too as I can set up the Manfrotto tripod more efficiently and without hesitation as I can properly level it and position it correctly.

Also I feel that my editing has improved I can now find my way around Final Cut Pro more easier, for example I can now do sub clips more confidently than had done previously and add more to the layout and the presentation of my work by using title sequences.

I felt that I presented my project well by displaying it and packaging to make it more professional as I felt that the packaging explained more about what the project was about as pictures helped display this.

I felt that the flow of my project went smoothly, however it might not have been necessary to add title sequences as the interviewee does explains the question well enough for the audience to understand as title sequences could also effect the flow of the piece as it would waste time and audience participation.

I felt that the variety of shots was good as it made it more interesting for the audience as some of the shots, particularly when my dad is running are handheld as this creates a more realistic feel to it also I did a variety of shots, for example some were low angle shots, shots of him running from and towards camera and also point of view shots and the "nostril" shot of my dad. The film RocknRolla inspired me to do that shot.

There are parts in the documentary that don't work, for example the music it does work well in the piece as it helps the documentary have a flow and it breaks the interview questions nicely however the problem with the music is the audio levels which are not as smooth as I would like it to be.

There would be a point in the documentary when my dad is talking where the music would rise suddenly to introduce the next question.

Paintworks Friday 14th May

Today we met at Paint works where "Deal or No Deal" is filmed. The aim of the meeting was to watch all of the previous work we have done throughout the year which included all the group projects and all the individual projects to decide which pieces of work we would choose to show at the showcase at the Little Theatre in Bath.

This was particularly challenging as all the projects were really good and also we wanted to have a mixture of both group and individual projects. Another problem was that we wanted to include everyone and made sure that there was piece of work that someone contributed towards.

When we sorted out which pieces of work we would show and put onto a DVD and in which order, we then decided who would arrange the credits and the intro to the showcase. By doing this we split ourselves into groups our group's job was to arrange the intro, in the end we decided to use stock motion which means taking an object and moving it and each time taking a still picture and by the end you speed it using Quick time.

We did this by making the letters CMP [Creative Media Practice] out of the DVD cases of the project and then building it into a tower and then taking a picture of the tower every time we removed a DVD.

Personal Project 11th May

For my personal project I did the vast majority of my editing on the 7th May which consisted of title sequences as this was a problem in some cases as there were times in the interview were the interviewee would answer the question fully specifying what he was about to say e.g. When did he start getting into running? and if he had done any races before?

I chose music which I thought would create the right atmosphere of the piece and basically tightening shots that I though would make the piece flow better. As this is now done all that was left to do was to export the file and make a DVD menu using IDVD.

This was a long process as it can be time consuming I created a DVD menu that contained a title menu that included a picture as the background of the subject that I was focusing on and the actual file that I used to convert my project which was Quick time Conversion which allows to set the project to wide screen if you wish to.

I previously created a DVD cover for my project as I though this would help with the presentation and make it look more professional. After this was done all that was left to do was to burn the menu onto the disc I found this to go much more smoother than the editing process as the menu did not take long to burn and I was overall very pleased with the finished piece.

Food for Thought 11th May

Today we focused on the evaluation side of the team projects as the editing is now done. This consists of all the team members coming together to have a discussion about who did what and what did that person contribute to the planning, filming and the post production work of the project. This could consist of the filming and the camera work, the sound, the work we did beforehand, for example who came up with the team project and name. Also the post production work that includes the editing and putting together the distribution of the project if it is on DVD, like ours was, who came up with the design of the packaging?

To confirm that we contributed what we said we did, all of us had to go round the group stating what we did and if other team members agreed with our points. Then it was up to Mike to give the end result. We then had the opportunity to comment independently on other members of the group if we chose to, for example how we thought they contributed to the team and whether or not they were an effective team member.

I felt that our group worked really well as we were all reliable and each did the individual tasks that were set each week, whether that be booking equipment or writing out the minutes [which includes who was present or absent at the meeting, what the agenda was for that particular week and what tasks to carry out for the next week] for each meeting we held.

We were all punctual when turning up to shoot interviews or cutaways for our project. Also another reason why we worked well was planning as we filmed most of the interviews and cutaways before Easter which only left us then with the editing to do.

I also felt that we supported each other really well and helped each other out if we had any problems, for example checking to make sure that the interviewee is in the the frame when filming and that there is good headroom, and someone would make sure the sound is properly leveled and that it is not too low or too high.

Also we all kept in contact very well and made sure that we planned and reminded members of the group when we were shooting and remembered to tell them if any thing changed if anyone was unable to make a certain day.

Editing Food for Thought 4th May

Today was the deadline for our group projects and our documentary "Food for Thought" we had the whole day to make sure that there were any other mistakes and if there were we would have time to alter them. This was the hardest part of the process as we found that every time we exported the Final Cut Pro file into Quick time Conversion we would find spelling mistakes and problems with the picture as we wanted it in wide screen and it didn't except the right settings.

There was also problems with the iDVD which was the software we had to present our documentary on a DVD, we found that the choice of menus was a problem as you can customise the menus using your own pictures and certain menus had bars that would block out an important part of the picture that contained the logo of Anna's food. We found that these couldn't be deleted so therefore we had to find ways around it.

Again the other problem was burning the exported Quick time file onto the DVD as this took several attempts for us to get the picture the way that we wanted it as there were issues with the picture size and some exposures with the shots we took so we found that it would take several attempts to get it right.

Another problem we found was the pictures we used in our documentary as these kept being deleted. We had to keep rendering the files and and starting the procedure again by bringing them back in to final cut. It took us the majority of the day to get the file exported and the DVD organised but in the end we were happy with the final piece.

Editing Food For Thought 27th April

Today we continued editing our documentary "Food for Though"we are at the finishing stages now we just added the credits and the title sequences for some of the interviews as some of these had to be rewritten. The main focus we found when writing credits and titles is that the writing needs to be within the frame of the screen otherwise some of the text would have been cut off. We had to make sure that it was positioned correctly and made sure that we had the right font.

We hen added the credits at the end of the documentary, for example who the the director, producer and editor of the piece is and we finished by adding in fad ins and out of the piece to make sure that the piece flowed well and it ended in a professional way and it did not just end with a fade to black..

We also had to find a beginning to our documentary that would help introduce the audience into Anna's [the nutritionist], interest of food and what she has produced for different restaurants and friends that she has helped through healthy food over the years.

Editing Food for Thought 23rd April

Today we continued to edit our documentary "Food for Thought" we focused on piecing together the piece using sub clips and photos as cross cuttings to illustrate what the Nutritionist was saying, for example food that Anna has prepared before in her workshops.

Also to make the documentary flow easier and make it more interesting we added fade in fade out transitions which helps make the documentary flow easier and helps link into the next point that the interviewee is making. This was a useful exercises for me as I learned new skills and techniques that helped me to understand when and how transitions are necessary and when they are not.

Another way of making the documentary flow well is the use of title sequences that can also be used to make the documentary more interesting than just having an interview that is constant as titles explain and set up the next point that the documentary or the interviewee is covering. For example we had shots of Anna sharing her food with members of the public and a title sequence came on before explaining to the audience what is happening next "what did the public think..."

The difficulty with today's editing was deciding whether or not to use clips or photographs to break up the interviews as we found some clips worked well but had faults within them, for example some shots were not steady and therefore shook a lot as these therefore had to become photos.

Another technique we covered was when adding photos we could decide whether the shot of the photo would start by zooming in or out of the to give it a more stylish feel.

Reasearch and personal input for our Documentary Food For Thought

We were all given different areas to research and we all came with different example that helped shape and inspire our documentary. We mainly focused on celebrities and people who have helped change people's lives to make them healthier and therefore help change their diet and lifestyle. I researched "Jamie Olive's School Dinners" and "You are what you eat". I felt that these people have contributed to the change in people's diet and therefore help people out of medical problems such as obesity that is on the rise in the UK.



This documentary was good as it shows members of the public about the food that children are being served for example foods not having the right ingredients in foods like chicken nuggets and children are not having a balanced diet and are being consumed to unhealthy foods than having their five-a-day.

It uses close-up shots of children's lunch boxes and the food hat they are eating to shock the audience make them do something about it and change to gave a more balanced and healthy diet. Also when asking children what certain vegetables were none of the children had the right answer this shows the lack of knowledge and the relationship that children have with food.

The documentary shows the good side towards the end as more and more children are enjoying the concept of eating healthy foods and shows that healthy does not need to be boring as there are close-up shots of children eating healthy lunches. There is the argument that healthy food is more expensive than unhealthy food.



This Documentary You are What You Eat focuses on the concept of what people eat and how much unhealthy food they are consuming. The presenter confronts people into the amount of calories are in the product and therefore try to change their food habits, low angle shots are used to show importance and close-up shots of people's faces to show emotions expressions, for example obesity.

I felt that this documentary was good as it focuses on the lifestyle of the person than just the food consumption and body image as this allows the audience can connect with the person. The documentary highlights illness that are a result of unhealthy foods with red bold titles, such as obesity and heart disease.

It also shocks the audience like with the Jaime Oliver documentary by using close-up shots and tracking shots of unhealthy foods. The use of interviews i the documentary with the interviewer and the interviewee that are used in the documentary are more personal as the camera chooses to keep the camera rolling this suggests that the interviewee is reflecting on her decision to constantly eat unhealthy food.

Another contribution to the project are the questions for the interviews that we carried out in Bristol with Anna and her friends that have attended her workshops

Here are the questions that I came up with for the interviews:

We are researching into healthy food and the impact healthy food has on people’s lives. We are conducting a documentary that shows the impact that healthy food has on people from a Nutritionist’s point of view.
1. How often do you have takeaways?
2. What is your approach to healthy food?
3. How often do you eat healthy foods?
4. Would you buy this cake if it was sold in Supermarkets?
5. What do you think of Anna’s food? How did you react?
6. Would you change your own diet to Anna’s food?
7. Is this the first time that you have had organic food?
8. If so would you have it again?

Editing Our Footage 31st March

After we collected all the footage we needed that included interviews, cutaways and camera shots the next stage of the production process was the delivery of the project as we had to log and capture the footage we had taken and then the real challenge, to filter through the interviews shots we thought would interesting and engaging and try to fit it into a 5-8 minute documentary. This process was difficult as there was a certain way to log and capture the piece it had to be on the right setting and the same setting as the camera.

Me and Mandy started off by watching the interview with Anna and try to pick out lines that could be used as either an introduction or an ending to the documentary. I felt that this was a long process as each sentence had to be taken into consideration as we had to filter through the best bits as the interview was over two hours long. switching the data from different computers was challenging as we had to find different ways of doing it for example transferring files using the drop box folder and make sure each project was saved.

This was a good learning experience as it gave us an insight into the length of time it takes to deliver a film or a documentary as you have time to consider, for example how many cutaways to have in the space of time you have got and where best to add the cutaways but also adding sub clips and where to bring them in..

Filming in Bath 25th March

After carrying out and collecting interviews from people who have been converted and have tried Anna's food for a long period of time. We wanted to show Anna experimenting her food on the public as this included chocolate cake and also savoury food that is healthy and is something that is healthy and allows you to have a healthy lifestyle.

We wanted to show Anna's thought and opinions on hoe she she is feeling allowing members of the public to come over and try her food, in some cases it was food that she was just experimenting with it to see if people liked it as she had never cooked it before and to also see the way people may interpret her food in the end result if they liked it and if so would they buy it if it was sold in shops. We made the decision to set up our equipment carried out the interviews and the food testing in the centre of bath as we knew it would be busy and so that we would get a wide range of different opinions and personalities. We interviewed around six people who all gave good, solid answers as we had to stop as a result of the weather conditions.

My role was coming up with the questions for the interviewer to ask which in this case was Annie. My other role was to be in control of the sound boom when carrying out interviews. Mandy was the director and the camera man who's job was to not only make sure the positioning of the camera was right when carrying out interviews and certain shots, such as mid shots or close-ups but also to film cutaways which we would need to add to our documentary later which could be part of the introduction.

I enjoyed being part of this process as I had a different role to be in control of the sound making sure that he noise level was properly set and that the sound did not peak too high or too low so it was a good learning experience. I also enjoyed seeing the range of different personalities and characters that came through whilst we were interviewing people and the vast majority of people that we interviewed liked Anna's food and would therefore buy it if it was sold in shops.

Filming in Bristol Thursday 18th March

For our group project Food For Thought we had to have a day where we could film Anna in her hometown of Bristol [who is the Nutritionist in our short documentary and has her own website and business] and her daily routine which involved making cakes or savories which she also deliveres to small businesses such as cafes or shops. This then was a good chance to interview her friends who have all been converted to Anna's food in some way purely because or personal or medical reasons which has had an effect on them.

We filmed the interviews using the Z1 camera and Monfrotto Tripod and a boom [which is used to capture sound] to allow good steady camera use as the Z1 is good quality and can also capture good sound and picture. We also filmed Anna cutting and packing cakes that she had made the previous day so that we could use these as cutaways later.

Cutaways are shots that are used to break-up interviews or help to elaborate on what people are saying in a visual way. My role for the day was the camera man and asking questions to ask the interviewees. Mandy's role was the director and the interviewer.

Being the camera man was a difficult job as I found myself sometimes focusing on the person was saying than on the camera itself, for example making sure it was set up properly that we had the right position when carrying out an interview and that we had the right head height, because having too much or too little can effect the outcome of the shot.

We also interviewed the cafes manager on what his thoughts are on Anna's food whether or not it has been popular with customers and if he has been converted to Anna's food himself. Then later on Mandy carried out a one-to-one interview with Anna on how she was converted herself and her personal experiences what she gets out of cooking and how she converts people to a more healthier lifestyle, and also what it feels like to change people's lives.

Proposal for Personal Project

For my personal project I would like to make a short documentary about the preparation and trainingthat is needed to runa marathon. My dad who is th emain focus of the doxcumentary will discuss his day-to-day training to prepare him for the race.

The project will have a begingin, middle and an end. The beginging will introduce my dad, for example what run he will be participating in, how long he expects to train and how it fitsrunnninginto his daily routine.

The middle part of the documentary will focus on training. The end of the dicumentary will focus on the race and I will film the start and the finish. I will present the narrative using interviews using a panasonic and a manfrotto video tripod and experience the training myself with my dad and take part in the documentary as the presenter and a participant.

The issue that I will be exploreing is the increase in popularity of Road Running as this is becomming more and more popular. It gives people the opportunity to improve their level of fitness and to complete with other runners and their own personal expectations e.g. beating thier own time.

Schedual For our Documentary food for Thought

This is the shedual for our documentary Food For Thought over the next coming weeks as it allows us to progess and get most of the filming done for easter so we will have only the editing to do.

Here is the shedual:

• 18th March filming at Anna's house who is the Nutrtionist

• 24th March batch and capture the filming we did on the 18th March. 11.00-11.30 Gatehouse to edit.

• 25th March demo Bath Town Center with Anna who will show us food she has produced and we will film it.

• Tuesday 30th March and Wednesday 31st March 11.00 Gatehouse to edit

• Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd April 11.00 gatehouse to edit.

Food For Thought

For our assignment we are planning to carryout a short documentary that focus on the concept of healthy eating and will aim to show the audience that healthy food does not need to be boring but can be interesting and delicious.

We are aiming to use real statistics that will be shown on the screen to give the audience a more visual feel by using graphs, charts to include the number of people who eat unhealthy food in the U.K and how many peole at their "5 a day" and also camera shots of people eating unhealthy food.

We will aim the documentary around a Nutritionist called Anna who focuses on healthy foods and in the past has made a number of healthy recipes that include healthy cakes and meals as the main section of our documentary will be used to show Anna making a healthy cake , possibly outside infront of members of the public to give it a sort of "fly on the wall feel" to it. This is also good because it gives Anna more publicity and interest to her profession.

Also we will interview Anna before hand to give the audience a chance to See her personality so we will tell her, what we are going to do what we would like er to carry out for our documentary and talk and photograph the various food that she has produced before.

Also after the cake has been made we get members of the public to try it and then use "Vox Pops" to ask members of the public to tell us what their thought and opinions are of the cake and whether or not they would buy it if it was sold in a supermarket.

We will use a Panasonic camera to film the process of Anna making the cake as this will be my role I wanted to use a Panasonic camera as it is small and easier to use to change to the type of angle you want. Also we may use a fig rig and a mono pod.

What got us inspired to do this documentary is the work of Jaime Oliver's campaign on improving school dinners which helped to create healthy school dinners and trying to get students to try and go for healthy food instead of unhealthy food.

Another television show that inspired us is "You are What you Eat" which focuses on a nutritionist helping a certain individual who struggles to eat healthy food and is someone who only eats unhealthy food. By changing their lives the nutritionist Gillian McKieth shocks them by going into their fridges and cuboards and showing them how much unhealthy food they have and are consuming.

Short Documentaries

Documentary film is a broad category of visual expressions that is based on the attempt, to document reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and digital productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a television series. Documentary, as it applies here, works to identify a "film making practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception" that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries.

The word documentary was first applied to films of this nature in a review of Robert Flaherty's film "Moana" [1926].

An example of some short documentaries:

A Short Documentary that focused on a New York Subway Drummer on New Years Eve. I chose this documentary as it focused on the real life of the drummer and his personal life, for example how he makes a living it shows real life experience through his eyes. i liked the use of fae ins and fade outs that create different transitions for example when it moves on from one drummer to the next to create and suggest a new style.


New York Bucket Drummer Awesome Short Documentary - The best free videos are right here

A short documentary about a girl who lives with severe CFS/ME (chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis) and is confined to her bed. I felt that this documentary had a better impact on me it was more personal as it used diegetic sound like voice overs it also has a narrator, unlike the previous documentary, that asked on the spot questions to her parents and how she is dealing with the illness

I like the use of cross cutting the the girl to her looking outside her window and this gives the audience the sense of loneliness and isolation.

The documentary had a beginning, middle and and end. It started off by interviewing the girl and asking about the effects of the illness, the middle focused on the concept of the parents experiences with dealing with her illness and her everyday routine.

For example she said she did not have enough energy to get the the end of the stairs to call down when she needs something so she has to ring a bell.

The documentary ends by the narrator asking her and her parents about her aspirations and dreams for the future, what she wants to get out of live, for example having a normal teenage life e.g. going to University, clubs and pubs and slow getting married and having children.



Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

This is an action film based on an Archaeologist called Indiana Jones played by Harrison Ford and is directed by Steven Spielberg.

The documentary mainly focuses on the making of the film and what it took to make the action stunts and special effects for the film.

I wanted to add this as an example of a short documentary because I love the films and also it is a short look of what it takes, in the way of cast and crew to make a film.

It features diegetic sound like narration and voice overs with the cast and crew and also the famous music. The narrator is Leonard Nimoy who was the first actor to play the role of "Spock" in the famous "Star Trek" franchise.

I felt that the documentary was well constructed as it gave the audience an insight of what shooting a film is like on screen, for example staging and choreographing scenes as well as off screen and what the cast are like.

One shot excersise Wednesday 10th February

On Wednesday we carried out and finished the task that was set on the following Friday the 5th February. It required us to shoot a film in on shot last around a minute. Were not allowed to edit any of the scenes that we shot it all had to be in one motion. Our film was a dodgy deal that had gone wrong it had the characters meeting in a remote location to therefore carry out a transaction.

We filmed by the lake on the University Campus. This exercise was enjoyable as it was challenging because we had to plan and perform the scene before we could actually start shooting.

This meant we had to direct the camera to get the specific positions that we required also the actors had to stand a certain position so that we could capture all the action in the frame and that the actors knew where they were going next so that there would be constant motion within the shot.

We all had a chance to play different roles, for example I sometimes played the role of the dealer then later on we would switch roles as I then had chance to have a practice with directing side of this and therefore have more parctice with using the "figrig" which is a device that secures the camera and stops it from moving when taking close-ups or mid-shots.

This was a good exercise as it encouraged good team working skills and he problems you will face while making a film, for example there were times were there was too much light exposure on the lens and also it started snowing which meant that there were times where there was snow on the lens.

Also we had the problem of people walking in the shot, so we had to plan it very carefully. We focused and based our work on the film "Russian Ark" which focused on specfiic events in Russian history and used the concept of filming a feature lenth film in one shot.

I particularly enjoyed this idea as it was new and original but I also see the challenges that the director had with setting up scenes and filming them all in one shot without any editing and without any mistakes.

Also the Ben Dodd film "Surprise" which both focused on the idea of shooting the film in one shot but this time started with the end of the film with a bathroom mirror smashed and a body in the bath and worked backwards to reveal the "surprise"

scene 1 from mandybriggs on Vimeo.

Robert Rodriguez

Robert Rodríguez was born June 20, 1968, he is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado (1995), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), The Faculty (1998), Spy Kids(2001), Sin City (2005) and Planet Terror (2007).

He has shot short films that have attracted a range of audiences. One of his finest short films that he went on to shoot the action film El Mariachi n Spanish, which was shot for around $7,000 with money partially raised by participating in medical research studies, won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 1992.

I really enjoyed this and finding out more about the director and his previous work as I am a huge fan of his films. Also I found interesting was how he made his films reach such a high standard with only a small budget and how he used editing to create effective scenes.

Camera handling 5th February

On Friday we learnt more about camera handling and Mike went into more detail in describing the different types of equipment you can use to contol a camera as well as the way you hold the camera. For example Mike discussed hand held cameras and the ways in which you hold them, for example arms bent and also to control your positioning of a camera you could lean against a wall.

Other equipment that Mike talked about was the use of the monopod which makes the camera easy to operate and hold. Also the Figrig that is wheel that is used for contol when carrying out close-ups. We also looked at the different styles of filmmaking for example:

• "Touch of Evil" [1958]

• "Rope" [1948] Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, he made the film like a theatre play and shot on four reels of film all in one take that he could show in four bits in the cinema.

• "Russian Ark" [2002]


• "Timecode" [2000]

Oh My God 5th February

Oh My God 2 from Ross Weir on Vimeo.

Today we continued with the Oh My God execrsise but to experiment with the 180 degree rule as me and mandy used the edited version of ours and the aim of the excersise was to team up with another group who was the opposite as we shot the frame from left to right, we had to find another group who shot right to left.

The other aim of the excersie was to show what the frame looks like when the 180 degree line is crossed and to also create a continuous motion to show both characters running but in opposite directions to also create a narration and storyline.

This excercise was varuable to me as it was another chance for me to improve with my editing skills and improve my technique, for example when to cut away at a cetain meoment to craete a consistent and constant flow but to also judge as a story teller what wpuld come next in the scene as the previous task was to collect and edit the shot, throught the use of a shot list, this time we had to develop our understanding of editing through the way we narrate and tell a story.

If I was to do this excersise again I would find a better way of laying out dragging the file onto final cut as this took some time, however I feel more comfortable when creating subclips and feel more confident with using final cut and judging what scene will fit in where and where the right place to cut is.

Oh My God Friday 29th January

Untitled from Ross Weir on Vimeo.

We were given the task of being able to improve our camera handling skills through an excersise that required us to take a series of shots that consuisted of using the 180 degree rule, which means the film ing of a scene will either be carried out left to right of the frame or right to left depending on the directors choice.

We shot around the campus and created a series of continuous motions, in our case it was running and therefore the aim of the excersise was to not only get to grips with our camera skills but to also insert the 180 degree rule of shooting from one frame to the other whether it be left to right or right to left.

The challenging part of this excersise was the camera handling and position as their were times when I did not get all of Mike in the framme, if this was being shown on television it would have cut the frame from the limb and we as an audience would therefore miss the bottom half of Mike. It was hard to judge the correcxt distance for the camera to be postitioned as sometimes I would either be too close of too far away.

Another mistake made was that I took a mid shot of Mike where he reaches into his pocket to get out his phone and then a cutaway is needed to show a close-up, but instead of doing to separate shots I did it all in one take, as a result of this it made it very difficult to edit.

If I was to do this excersise again I must remember seperate shots to enable better quality of shots to make the editing easier and improve the position of the camera and also enable the film to start rolling and use about 30 seconds of film before we start shooting to make sure that the main character is completetly in the frame and that nothing is missed out.