Skip to main content

Production Blog Post 5/2

Over the past week I've been making progress on the Mini-THON Documentary during the "production" stage of this work cycle. With the day of our Mini-THON coming closer and closer, the amount of time to complete the documentary lessens and lessens. The following is a quick progress report on how the documentary's production has gone.

Chair Interviews

One of the only sequences that will be produced during this three week production cycle will be the chair interview section of the documentary. The chair interviews serve as a way to introduce the documentary viewers to the chair persons who have made Mini-THON possible for that year. Due to both having to quarantine as well as having to primarily focus on Man Pageant production, I haven't been able to film these interviews but I plan on doing so this Monday. In years past these interviews have been filmed at different locations throughout the school but look visually simple. After gaining some experience with filming interviews, I know that having a visually distinct background that doesn't detract from the person who is talking is ideal for a good interview. I plan on using the THON office as a backdrop for this interviews as to relate to the theme of Mini-THON. Once this section is complete, I'll be able to easily drop these clips into my timeline and add lower titles with each chairpersons name and committee, similar to what Georgea did last year.

Transitions

For awhile, I've had an idea of how to best transition between each of the sections of the documentary. My idea is to have an overhead shot of a corkboard. On the corkboard will be four blue pushpins. These four pushpins will be used to represent the four main sections within the documentary (Introduction, Interviews, Recap of the past year, "Emotional" section). Below each of the pushpins will be a screenshot of the previous frame of the documentary. In order to visually draw attention from one pin to another, each shot will show me wrapping a blue string from one pin to another (think the red lines used for "evidence" and "piecing it together" in all those crime shows). Finally, the camera will zoom into the printed picture of the video frame before finally cutting to the actual frame. I fell that this idea serves as a cool way to transition between shots rather than cutting to black which has been done in the past. Currently, I have all the materials to shoot this sequence already prepared but I simply just need to find a time where I can film it.

B-Roll

Primarily, the documentary visually consists of B-Roll of content related to what the narration is speaking about. Most of this B-Roll will be footage that I have taken of the course of this year. Some events like Man Pageant and THON Factor have a large amount of footage which should make those sections easy to put together. Other events like the turkey trot have barely any footage which might require some B-Roll to be filmed now specifically to be used for the documentary. Which clips I use and how much I use will all comedown to my final narration which I will have completed after Man Pageant production is wrapped.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Investigation 3/1: The Tools Of Camera Stability

One of the most important aspects of cinematography that goes commonly unnoticed is having the camera steady. Even a slight amount of movement within a shot can pull the audience away from the film, so it is important to attempt to have shots. There are multiple different ways that you can use to stabilize your camera, some of which are more effective than others. Tripod Using a tripod is the easiest way to stabilize the camera while filming. By having three points of contact with the ground, a tripod keeps the camera extremely stable. The camera would likely only move due to very large movements on the ground or strong winds. The one downside to using a tripod is that it has to remain stationary. If the required shot involves moving around, a tripod can likely not be used. Overall, the tripod is the easiest, simplest, and cheapest way to keep your camera steady. (Image Source) Shoulder Rig A shoulder mount is one way to keep the camera stable while also being able to mov...
Post a Comment
Read more

Investigation 11/1: Rear Projection

Friday October 30th marked the release of the second season of the hit show The Mandalorian . While there are many things that contribute to how great of a show it is, the one aspect that has peaked my interest the most would have to be it's use of virtual sets. Virtual sets created in real time using the Unreal Engine makes the world of Star Wars  come alive on-screen at home and for the actors during filming. While the technology that creates virtual sets is amazing and will likely change the way that all films and shows are made, it is definitely something that smaller productions and individuals won't be able to make use of. Instead, the tool available to all film makers that I will be discussing today is Rear Projection. Why Use Rear Projection Rear Projection allows for a cheap and easy way to transform the background of your scenes. The concept of rear projection involves the projection of a pre-recorded video behind your actor. This allows for the actor to act within th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Investigation 11/8: Steadicam Vs Tripod

Previously, I have investigated different tools you can use to stabilize your camera, which can be found  here . Since writing that blog post, I have had plenty of time to test using both my tripod and my Steadicam. While each of them is useful in certain scenarios, sometimes it is difficult to bring both pieces of gear with you for some shoots. For this reason, I have decided to compare the strengths of each to determine which is better for all-around shooting scenarios. Strengths Of A Tripod Using a tripod allows you to get the very smooth and stable shots with minimal effort. From my experience using my tripod, it has been most useful when I have been in front of the camera and unable to closely monitor how the shot looks. With the tripod being able to sit completely still without requiring someone to be near, it can completely replace a camera operator in some scenarios. Tripods also take the edge in smooth tilts and pans. While it is definitely possible to get stable pans and ...
Post a Comment
Read more