Reading and Writing

When filming and setting up a shot, the lighting can make or break the shot. Natural sunlight is the most common and powerful, but it can be challenging because the sun is always moving, and people look best when the sun is at a 45-degree angle or less (Schroeppel, 81). In In The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video, Tom Schroeppel suggests using reflectors (large white boards to reflect light) or fill lights to combat any shadows that the sun may cause (Schroeppel, 83).

Interior lighting is more nuanced and requires some technique. The main light should be placed to one side of the camera and the fill light should be placed on the other side to eliminate any shadows on your subject’s face. Then, the backlight is added behind the subject to separate them from the background. An additional background light is also helpful to make the background a similar intensity as the subject and to provide depth. One important tip is to keep you subjects away from walls to avoid unnatural shadows on the walls (Schroeppel, 89).

Now that your shot is set up, creating a film with good storytelling is important to note. In pre-production, it is important to make a plan so that your film conveys the right message to the right audience. Storyboarding and creating scripts are an essential part of the pre-production process. This can be helpful when setting up a shot and shooting out of sequence so you only have to set up the shot once for multiple scenes (Schroeppel, 113).

Andrew Stanton, a filmmaker in “The Clues to a Great Story“, says the greatest storytelling technique is to “make me care”. This is key for drawing your audience in and making them care about the content or messaging. Creating a hook will make a promise to your viewers that your story will lead somewhere and that is worth their time.

Sometimes complications arise during shooting and there are many elements you cannot control, especially when shooting outside or with a large group of people. Problem solving is a big part of filming on set and in post-production. However, being creative and flexible to solve problems easily will go a long way in this business.

Research to Inform

This mini-documentary about Chappel Roan is a great example of great storytelling. The story hooks us with an ominous old video footage of her as a child and then reveals the rest of her upbringing and path that brought her into the public eye as a singer. The use of narration, interview clips, and b-roll make this a successful story.

This National Geographic documentary on Billy Barr is a great short story of his life living alone in the woods. The narration and audio hooks us and the narration, interview clips, and B-roll of the landscape helps clearly tell the story. The story builds as they describe his character and then his lifestyle develops into a scientific database for climate change.

This documentary on Lizzie Borden’s house is a very intriguing documentary based on the captivating hook, content, and interesting shots. Although the video is purposely made to feel homemade with dark lighting, the audio is not clear with too much background wind and makes the video less pleasant to watch.

Create

In creating a mini-documentary, I wasn’t sure what to explore and how to find interesting shots. I took a walk in Manhattan and was inspired by the many tourists who were already in NYC in early November. I walked past the famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree that had just been put up and realized how many tourists come to NYC and wondered how much my own entertainment industry depends on these seasonal tourists.

I decided that my mini-documentary/news story would be on NYC holiday tourism and how it affects the entertainment industry. I would interview local artists and tourists to see how much they depend on the tourism. For the conflict, I will explore how the pandemic affected the holiday tourism and how we are still working on improving tourism. I will explore how NYC culture thrives on tourism and supports local artists.

I’ve taken some shots of Rockefeller center, Lincoln Center, and Radio City Music Hall. I need to gather more of Times Square, Broadway marquees, crowds in Times Square, empty streets for the pandemic, and record the interview. I’m looking forward to editing it all into a full-fledged story.

Citations:

Schroeppel, T. (2018b). The Bare Bones Camera Course for film and video.

Stanton, A. (n.d.). The Clues to a Great Story. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxDwieKpawg