Interviews

My interview with Emily went well. We actually had to film twice because the first time something was wrong with the microphones (but that wasn't our fault!) and the audio was really static. So we filmed again the next day. I already knew what questions I was going to ask so it went smoothly and as Emily had already given her answers, she knew what to say also. I think we could've found better lighting and a better background, but other than that I think it's pretty good. While editing, I found it was really hard to cut stuff out. I didn't think I'd have to cut out entire questions, so I was really confused about what else to cut out. But then Muench helped out and cut out a lot of what I had so I could see what to do for future reference. It was also kind of hard finding B-roll because Emily didn't have a ton of skiing pictures on her social media, and Gary Baker (the school photographer) hadn't taken any ski team pictures. So I kind of had to find pictures from other members of the ski team, and also used a bit of video. I think it turned out pretty well all in all.

I was DP in this film. Honestly, being DP is really easy, at least for this type of video. You've got to make sure that the camera is set up right, that the subject is in good lighting, the shot is composed well, the mic is on and working, and that the camera is rolling. After all that is done, you kind of just sit back and make sure nothing goes wrong. It's really simple with interviews because it's just one shot all the way through, you're not changing angles or anything, so it was pretty easy to manage. The only thing I encountered was (as I said above) that our mics didn't work the first time we filmed, so we had to do it again. The second time around, we checked the mics about 3 times so we knew it was working. I think I'll probably do that in every film I do, just to make sure we don't do anything before everything works.

Being interviewed is really interesting. You don't know what questions will be asked, so you'll have to come up with answers on the fly and hope they sound good. Luckily for me though, since we had to film it twice, the second time around, I knew what was coming. That was nice, because I'd had time to think about my answers and what sounded better. But honestly I think the first day was better for my answers. It's honestly kind of fun to just talk about myself and I did enjoy it. 

These interviews were interesting to film. On the last project, we'd met with our group the day before to think about what we might be able to talk about in the films, but we didn't get to do that for this one. So we had to just wing it. My interview mainly had to do with Jordan's dancing, although that's definitely not the only thing we talked about. We went all over the place, but I obviously had to cut it down (which was much easier this time around) so that only the most interesting bits were there. I actually missed a day of class, so I was a little behind schedule on editing. When I came in on Friday I still had to add all my B-roll and I had none of it prepared, except for a few photos Jordan had sent me. Muench told me that, if necessary, I could just slop edit it, that it didn't need to look perfect. I'd wanted to add some more photos in some places where there were cuts, but I didn't have the time so I just let it be. Other than that, it was great! We focused on finding the right background, putting the interviewee on the right third of the frame, and using the key light to find the right lighting for Jordan. 

Again, being DP for these films was super easy, because mainly we just had to set up the shot, get the key light ready (then find the right color light to suit Kerri Ann's skin tone), put on her mic, and make sure the shot looked good, get the camera rolling. And after that, just sit back and make sure everything is working and running smoothly. We didn't have any problems this time around and it went pretty quickly. I'd say this project was really smooth and an easy process.

[never received a link to Kerri Ann's video]

This time around was very different to last time. We didn't have a set subject, so Kerri Ann asked me a ton of different things. That was interesting because I had to take more time to think about things. Before, at least I knew the general topic of what I was going to be asked about, but this time was harder. It was hard for Kerri Ann to come up with questions after a little while, which Jordan and I also encountered while interviewing. I've also realized that while I'm being interviewed, I rarely make eye contact with the person I'm interviewing. I'm not sure why that is, because I usually make good eye contact with people while I'm talking to them, but for some reason my eyes jump around the room when I'm being interviewed. Just a little observation. This was a fun video to make, though I think next time I'd want a more set subject to be talking about.

First Contact: Lost Tribe of the Amazon

      I’ve honestly never been into documentaries much, but looking for one to watch for this assignment proved really difficult to me because I saw a lot that looked really interesting. I ended up choosing First Contact: Lost Tribe of the Amazon. This documentary is about making contact with previously unbothered indigenous Amazonian tribes. An experienced anthropologist is present at the first ever outside contact with an isolated tribe, and returns 9 months later and helps document what it’s like for them to have made contact and what changes that brought them, what they do with what they’ve learned, and so on. It also covers some of a different indigenous tribe that has made more violent and harmful moves toward a town since coming into contact with them.

      Personally, I was kind of bored with the layout of the movie. It was really short, and there wasn’t any music that I can remember. A majority of the documentary was meeting these tribe members and talking about how life is different with more ‘civilized’ items, like pots, pans, even just with clothes. It seemed repetitive and unnecessary because there were a lot of interviews — with different people, yes — who all said roughly the same thing. This sounds harsh, but it really could’ve been done better. The ending felt somewhat rushed, like they ran out of footage so that’s when they chose to stop. It was just very forced and a strange stopping point, in my opinion. I think I also would’ve been more interested in the documentary if the narration had been more lively.

      What I did like was the B-roll they used. They took video of the river running, of monkeys climbing all around, and they even used pictures that one of the children in the camp took while playing with the camera. Each shot was unique and interesting because of that. I can definitely learn from that. Make my own B-roll instead of counting on other people's reserves of pictures and video they might have. It was also interesting to see the way that they took the same footage but edited it different, but edited it or filmed it in different ways so it was more fresh material. One part at the very beginning shows a youtube video, and, instead of taking the video and putting it straight into the film, they took video of the screen with their camera, first of the video square on, then video of the time bar, and a few other variations. Each time you knew what they were talking about without having to reuse the same footage over and over again. I also noticed how they always set up the shot nicely — used the rule of thirds when interviewing, found the right lighting, made sure the background was interesting but not too distracting. Knowing about all these things definitely makes it easier to recognize while watching films.

      I’m really not sure if I would recommend this movie or not. I had high hopes for it because the topic of ‘untouched civilizations’ is fascinating to me. But, again, I ended up being kind of bored with it. It wasn’t an awful movie, but it just wasn’t great either. The narration could have been much less monotone and more engaging, but I did learn some good tips for B-roll ideas and the like. Waist. It was nice though because the whole thing was about 45-50 minutes, so it didn’t feel like a complete loss. I guess if you’re really into this topic, this movie would be interesting, but for me — as someone who is only mildly interested by them — it wasn’t the best.

B-Roll

Photos/video added on top of your own footage that covers up cuts and adds interest to the film. Breaks up the talking with something extra that keeps the audience's attention.

Video Server

Rule of thirds

A composition rule — the subject of the shot stays on either side of the frame, not dead center.

Where are the lights and light stands?

On/near the shelves by the door.

Where do the batteries get charged when you are finished?

On the table next the the shelving by the door. There are ports for charging the batteries there.

JVC HM100

A type of camera used by many professionals and by students at BBA

Lavalier Mic (Lav Mic)

A microphone attached to the subject's clothes that picks up their speaking for the video.

Canon T3I / T5I

A type of digital camera that can be used in film or photography

Director of Photography (DP)

The person who manages the camera and lights, makes sure the shot is composed well and that the subject looks good, as well as making sure everything is working well

Dissolve or fade

Transition options in FCPX — can be used to transition 

Editing

Taking out unnecessary/erroneous footage and placing clips in the right spots; adjusting audio; adding transitions, music, sound effects, and filters; generally cleaning up the film and making it look nice.

Editor

The person who does all the above editing.

Lower thirds

Shoe / Quick Release plate

A piece of hardware that connects to the camera and the tripod the camera sits on. The shoe is what keeps the camera in place.

Transform

An option in FCPX to enlarge a photo to fit the entirety of the frame without stretching the picture

Ken Burns effect

An effect available in FCPX that moves around/zooms in/out of a photo that is named after the creator of the effect. 

• make sure credits include as many people as you can think that helped out — even if they only gave you a picture for B-roll or said a single sentence during the entire film.
• Also in credits — make sure names are spelled correctly!!
• You'll need to change the coloring of the key light for each person — golden tones for more tan people, whiter tones for paler people
• try to edit with the perspective of your audience. What will they want to hear about? Take out anything that's rambling or unimportant to the subject of the interview.