BLOG QUESTION BEG/ADV: REVISITING YEAR GOALS

Look back at your goals for the Fall and Spring Semester blog posts. Were you able to achieve your goals? Why or why not? What could you have done differently? Looking back at them, what could you have done to focus more on your goals in the course?

In the beginning of the year, my three goals were:

1. I want to try every "job" or "role", whether that be editing, filming, acting, etc. at least once.

2. I want to find my specialty in film production
3. I want to contribute to the idea or script of a video and help my vision come to life.

I managed to accomplish all of these goals throughout this year. I believe my specialty is editing, but I also have an interest in cinematography which I want to improve on next year. If I could go back in time, I would try to do as many skills as I can to build up my technical skills, and I would try to do more personal projects to build up my portfolio. Regardless, I don't regret taking this class or the opportunities it gave me.

BLOG QUESTION: FILM FESTIVAL REFLECTION

Reflect on your experience of the film festival. What was it like to see your or your classmates' work on the big screen before a live audience? How did this make you feel? How could you improve in the future? What would you do differently?

My film festival experience was great! It was really nice seeing films I haven't seen before such as the iron guns and the film noir. Iron gun code red was really funny and hearing the audience laugh out loud felt really awarding. I was also very grateful to have 4 of my projects shown at the festival. In the future, I want to create more comedic films because it was really cool to see how the audience reacted to jokes and I think comedy is a universal genre that connects audiences together.

BLOG QUESTION: COMIC BOOK HEAVEN

What kind of mood do the filmmakers convey in this short? What are 3 techniques that you noticed that help convey the mood of the film?

The filmmakers are trying to convey a nostalgic and reflective mood. Some techniques they use are man-on-the-street styled interviews, they use a lot of close-ups of the comics and establishing shots of the store to support the information being told by the interviewee. They rely heavily on the story to communicate the mood of the documentary, while the visuals help support it.

BLOG QUESTION: TERRANCE DOCUMENTARY

What are 3 techniques that it uses that you learned about in the documentary? How does the documentary use them effectively? Are there any techniques it uses that weren't in the keynote?

The documentary is shot in a cinematic way that tells the story of the subject. It uses dynamic camera movements and angles. The music emphasizes the sadness behind the backstory of the subject. When the story turns more positive, the music and visuals match the mood by showing how the subject finds community and help. The documentary relies heavily on the mood/theme to communicate the message at the end of how important mental health awareness and help is for our youth.

BLOG QUESTION: IF I DIE ON MARS DOCUMENTARY

What are 3 techniques that it uses that you learned about in the documentary? How does the documentary use them effectively? Are there any techniques it uses that weren't in the keynote?

Some documentary techniques that are used in the documentary are talking-head styled interviews, inter-cutting between b-roll that follows the daily schedule of the astronauts, their family/home life, and also b-roll that supports the topic of the documentary (space, American flag, etc.). The documentary uses this affectively to keep the audience engaged, and to have them sympathize with the stories of the contributors. I'm not sure if this fits into any categories in the key-note, but the b-roll at the end is staged, montage and dream-like, and filmed at sunset which gives a nice concluding ending to the documentary as it is being wrapped up.

BLOG QUESTION: BULL RIDER

What are 3 techniques that it uses that you learned about in the film? How does the documentary use them effectively? Are there any techniques it uses that weren't in the keynote?

Instead of inter-cutting between interviews and B-roll, the documentary shows b-roll that supports the story being told. Towards the end, they show the man being interviewed sitting down but not talking. This emphasizes the self-reflective tone of the documentary. The documentary doesn't just focus on the man's story, but the personality of the animals as well. It showcases the hard work that goes into being a bull rider not from just a physical standpoint, but a mental one as well.

BLOG QUESTION: ENJOY YOUR INTERMISSION

What are 3 techniques that the filmmakers use to tell a compelling story? What kind of mood do they create? How do they accomplish this?

3 techniques that filmmakers use to tell a story include using nostalgia to draw an audience in, They had a clear vision, and they got to know the people they interviewed personally. By showing the passion the interviewees had for their craft, it draws the audience in to the topic. The filmmakers create a nostalgic mood by replicating the "american" experience with drive-ins.

BLOG QUESTION: DOCUMENTARY STATUS

What is the status of your documentary? What is each of your team members doing to support it? What exactly have you been doing? What are some challenges you've been having? How can you overcome them?

My documentary cut for the Metals Technology class is finished, but my group members are still editing their cuts. To help assist them, I've synced the audio for them and helped them organize the good B-roll. I've also given them access to my cut, so they have an example to work off of. As of now, I've been improving my website. Some challenges I faced were trying to figure out the pacing of the documentary, but I think I figured it out by receiving feedback from multiple watchers.

BLOG QUESTION: 5 DOCUMENTARY MISTAKES

In your own words, which of these three are the most important? Why? If there were one more mistake that could be added to this list, what do you think it would be?

Not having a theme or driving question, choosing a worthy subject, and using poor technique to recreate events. It's important to have a theme/driving question because it gives your documentary purpose and it tells the audience exactly what u want to take away from the documentary. Choosing a worthy subject is important because you want to have worthy content to film, and the topic has to appeal to a certain audience. Lastly, it’s important to recreate events correctly in order to create a captivating documentary. If i could add one more tip it would be to make sure you have a good sound recordist/mixer so your documentary audio is professionally done.

BLOG QUESTION: 3-POINT LIGHTING

What are three key points that the presenter makes about lighting? Why are each of them important? What is one point that you would like to learn more about?

To do three-point lighting, start with a hair light, key light, and fill light. The hair light separates the subject from the background, making the edges of them stand out and drawing attention to the face. You want to be careful that the light doesn't shine at the camera as it could create a flare. It can help make your video seem more cinematic. The key light is the most important and strongest light hitting your subject. It's usually pretty close to the subject. This can create certain shadows on the face depending on the angle you put the light on. The fill light can be used to fill in the rest of the shadows and is usually further from the subject. Turning off any of these can create different moods for your video. If you just have a key light, it can make your subject look mysterious/brooding depending on how the shadow hits their face. If you just use a hair light, you could make your subject look dream-like. I would like to learn more about key lighting and hair lighting as they seem to create really cinematic looking shots.

BLOG QUESTION: HOW TO SHOOT AN INTERVIEW

What are three key suggestions that this video brings up? Why are each of these so important? How could you use them in future productions?

Make sure to choose a good location/space to fit the theme of your video. make sure theres minimal noise, enough floor space, and that it has the right circuitry. Make sure to frame the subject correctly by adjusting the angle and zoom. either give them enough look room or have the face the camera in the middle. You can also use another camera to get another angle and that you have 3-point lighting. Choose the right mic for the environment. it’s best to split your audio between a LAV and shotgun mic so you get two lines of audio in case one fails. Lastly, do a sound and picture test to make sure your settings are correct. These are all helpful tips as they ensure that your interview runs smoothly and that it looks and sounds professional. 

BLOG QUESTION: HOW TO INTERVIEW PEOPLE ON CAMERA

What are three tips that you think are the most important from this video? Why?

One tip is to prepare open questions. Having open questions is the best way to get the most out of your question. If you want to add any more supplemental questions afterwards, u can. You also want to give them the final word. The next tip is to ask the subject to repeat the question in their answers, and to not respond until they fully finish their response. Lastly, Don’t give out your questions to get a genuine answer out of your ur subjects. All of these tips will help you get good content from the subjects, and allow for an easier editing process.

BLOG QUESTION: UNDERSTANDING A ROLL AND B ROLL

What is the difference between A and B roll? Why is B-roll needed?

 A-roll is the video/audio that tells the story, it serves as the narrative driver for a documentary. It is usually in the form of an interview. B-roll provides support and enhances the story by providing visuals that go along with the story. It is vital to get B-roll as it is also used to hide jump-cuts within the A-roll. If the soundbite of an A-roll goes on too long, it can also be used to keep the viewer engaged with the topic. It can be used to show the exact topic of what an interviewee is talking about to provide additional support. Lastly, B-roll can be used as a buffer in-between topics to give a break within the documentary.

BLOG QUESTION: WHAT IS B-ROLL?

What is B-Roll? Why is it important for a project? What are 3 things to keep in mind when you're shooting B-roll?

B-roll is alternative footage to your main footage (A-roll). In a documentary, your A-roll would typically be interviews, and your b-roll would be footage that supports the topic/stories of those interviews. One thing to keep in mind when shooting b-roll is to try and do it after shooting your A-roll footage, so you have something in mind to help you choose what to film. You also want to keep the same style/consistency when filming b-roll to make your documentary seem reliable. Lastly, you have to choose what kind of b-roll to film depending on the topic of your documentary. If your documentary is about someone’s story, film b-roll that supports/enhances the narrative. If you’re filming an instructional documentary, film b-roll of demonstrations. 

BLOG QUESTION: WRITING A DOC TREATMENT

What are the 3 key things that this article tells the viewer to keep in mind?  Why are they important?

The approach of your documentary is usually dictated by the broadcasters/funding agents, so your treatment has to be engaging to an audience. It is a good idea to have some background research, and even some preliminary interviews so the stakeholders can get an idea of what the topic of your documentary is and what shape it’ll take. However, you still want your treatment/guide to assist you in the documentary and editing process, since it is a pre-production document. Make sure to make it engaging, but also useful for your production.

BLOG QUESTION: NANOOK OF THE NORTH

What are 2 things that the filmmaker did that are controversial? Why were they? Do you think the film was "authentic" after reading this article? Why are why not? Why is this film so famous?

 The filmmaker didn't show the seal actually being pulled to the surface, and he recruited Inuit people to act in it. People found this controversial because they believed that it made his documentary "inauthentic" and that it shed a negative light on the realities of human vs. nature. I still believe that the documentary is authentic as it shows the resilience of the Inuit people, and like the article says, you can't necessarily fake a walrus hunt if the walrus hasn't seen the script; the struggle of the hunt was real. I believe that is what makes this film so famous, combined with the fact that it was filmed in harsh conditions, just humans against nature.

BLOG QUESTION: WHAT IS A DOCUMENTARY

Imagine you are talking to a person who has never before seen or even heard of a documentary film. How would you describe it? What are some essential elements of a documentary film? What distinguishes a documentary film from a narrative (Hollywood) film or a broadcast news story?

A documentary is a film that showcases the realities and facts of a topic or story through first or secondhand sources. It could range from stories about history, a specific person, place, or thing. Some essential elements of a documentary include an objective or driving question to lead your documentary, you should have a plan on the style of your documentary (such as interviews, narration, etc.), and you should know what emotions or message you want your audience to get out of watching your documentary. A documentary's purpose is to inform/educate someone on a topic, whereas a movies and television have a broader range of style/content. 

BLOG QUESTION: MUSIC VIDEO REFLECTION

Reflect on your performance in your music video group. Look back at your pitch. What was your role in the project? What went according to plan? What didn't? How could you improve future productions?

I was the DoP for my music video group. Pretty much everything went according to plan, and we got things finished earlier than we expected. We didn’t strictly stick to the shot-list, as some shots depending on the location didn’t fit, or we had better ideas. I do wish we could reshoot some parts, especially the car parts and the build up where the main character is driving to the final location. I also didn’t stick strictly to the script in my edit, as some scenes fit better with certain parts of the lip sync. On future productions, I will definitely try to do something more experimental to tell a narrative, rather than what I did for this project.

BLOG QUESTION: SOUND UNIT SUMMARY

Revisit your earlier blog posts about sound. What are 3 things you learned during this unit? What did you learn about them? Explain in detail. What are two things that you still feel you need to learn more about? Why? What was one thing that you found the most interesting? Why?

Some thing’s I learned during the sound unit are how to hide audio hiss/noise, how to correctly check for levels, and how to properly set up a mixer and use a boom mic. I learned that there are many options and settings on audition that you can utilize to hide certain noises in audio. To check for levels on a mixer, you can look at the meter which will show you whether or not your audio levels are peaking into red. Lastly, I learned how to setup a mixer and boom mic using XLR cables. One thing I found the most interesting was learning about the different polar patterns that mics can have, because I wasn’t aware that each mic could be used for different situations depending on their polar patterns.

BLOG QUESTION: THE ART OF SOUND DESIGN

After watching this video, what do you notice about the importance of sound design in film? Why is it so essential?

Pairing videos with sfx and music can amplify the experience by making the visuals feel more dramatic and immersive. You can add sound effects on beat with the music if you want to amplify the pace of a video. You can find sound effects on youtube, epidemic sound, and other online resources. It takes a lot of experimenting to perfect sound design. You can begin by adding atmospheric sound (ambient noises such as nature, traffic noise, etc). Then, you find sounds associated with what the subjects are doing. After that, pay attention to details of the scene such as animals in the background, objects moving, etc. It can be easy to overdo or underdo sound design, so a good starting point is 3 sounds per scene. Base your sound design around your subject.

BLOG QUESTION: USING EQ TO MAKE DIALOG SOUND BETTER

Explain the process of using the EQ to enhance your dialog. Why would you want to use this process?

- Go to effects, filter and eq, and choose parametric equalizer. Turn on high pass filter, set frequency to 60 Hz on the left side. For the low pass filter, leave at default settings. Begin by getting rid of the harshness in the dialogue by boosting one of the mid frequencies, and the Gain -> middle to about 9 dB, and change the Q setting to 20 to get a narrow tool. You can keep adjusting the mid frequency, gain, and Q while listening to your audio in order to find the right sounding audio. You can repeat this process throughout the equalizer columns.