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DVworkshops.com Newsletter
upcoming workshops
DV Camera / Lighting Bootcamp
Aug 11 & 12
Final Cut Pro Workshop Aug 13 & 14
4-Day DV Crash Aug 11-14
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Using
Organic Documentary
techniques
During our
workshops, many students
struggle to make their Organic
documentaries work in the
editing room.
The edit is the where most of
the "writing" takes place when
creating a documentary using the
organic method of documentary
filmmaking. I often
refer to this type of
non-scripted approach as
"dealing with the cards you were
dealt", then making the
best out of the cards in your
hand.
Hopefully you received a good
hand to begin with (see
our article on the
5 elements of documentary to
get help with this).
Over the years, after helping
hundreds of students edit their
documentaries, as well as
working on my own, I have
developed some theories on how
to keep a documentary film
engaging to the audience.
I am going to share some of
these with you in this
newsletter.
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Lean-in vs. Lean-back Footage
Understand this, and you will be
able to keep the interest of your
viewer. It is possible
to make them an
active participant in your
documentary film,
instead of a passive potato sitting
on the couch.
What
is Lean-back footage?
Lean-Back footage are
Interviews or Narrated segments
(think history channel type
shows).
What is your
posture while watching a documentary
Interview? You lean back in your
chair and absorb the
information... right? The same is
true when the Narrator explains what
you are seeing on the screen. Think
about it...lean back and watch the
interview, or pictures with
narration on the screen.
What
is Lean-in Footage?
Lean-In footage can be Cinema Verite
/ Chill Footage, or an on-camera
appearance by the Filmmaker.
For example the films of Michael
Moore and Morgan Sperlock (
Super-size me), when they are
on-screen you lean forward to see
what they are up to.
Examples of chill footage are
detailed below.
LEAN-IN FOOTAGE forces the viewer to
do some work to understand
what is going on.
Chill Footage is one of the Best
ways to obtain Lean-in Footage
when shooting.
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What is Chill Footage?
For those of you who
are not familiar with The
Five Elements of Documentary, let me
explain number #3, Cinema Verite
(which we call "Chill footage"
at
DVworkshops.)
Chill footage is when you are just "chillin'"
with the subject of your film,
you might be follow him/her
as they grocery shop, or walk around
a factory that they run.
You do not talk or interview the
subject, just film them as they
interact with others. This
may seem boring to you, but the
right moment will happen, and you
will catch it on tape.
Even
a simple non-eventful interchange
can reveal important elements of
your subject's character.
Chill footage reveals the emotional
element of the three elements of
Character (the others are
External and Inner).
The emotional concerns itself with
the person's Mode/Need, (how they go
about getting what they want).
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Rock'n Roll the edit
Think of creating a Rocking Chair
effect while you are editing.
Sometimes the viewer rocks back, and
some time forward tp see whats on
the screen....Lean-in
and Lean-back You achieve
this by varying the types of
elements presented to your viewer.
For example:
- Edit the
first part of your interview
- Then cut to
this subject's chill footage
- Then put some
of the interview as
audio only under later
part of this chill footage,
- Then cut back
to the on camera interview.
- This is more
dynamic than just using
interviews interspersed with
b-roll and narration.
Try
to think of your documentary as a
tapestry with many different
patterns woven into the same piece
of work.
Click Here to view a clips from a
brilliant documentary from the
1960's, SALESMEN, by the Maysles
Brothers.
They
mix great Chill footage with nice
active Interviews while their
subject are
on-the-go.
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Viewing a documentary is an
experience
Treat the edit as an experience for
the viewer, like
an
amusement ride at Disney world.
Disney would never flash lights at
you the whole ride. They vary it,
darkness than light. Music than
quiet.
While editing your documentary, be
aware of MORE THAN CONTENT and
WORDS. Think about the experiential
nature of your edit time-line.
If
you have just shown a lot of
interviews, add chill footage next,
mix up the textures of the material
you are presenting to the viewer.
Thinking about this mix, helps me
determine what my next edit will be
when
I edit without a script or
storyboard. It guides you to the
right material, and you begin to
act more like a textile artist than
a video word processor.
Besides getting content and
information from your film, the
viewer also experiences the flow of
information, and walks away
with feelings, not just thoughts.
By
changing the modality of your edit,
you can work on engaging the viewer
on more than one level of
consciousness,
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Summary
- Organic
Documentary means
following the story and
dealing with the cards you
are dealt.
- You can
create a good hand by
using all of
The Five Elements of
documentary.
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Lean-In vs.
Lean-Back footage- Use both
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Lean In footage is Chill
footage/ Cinema Verite,
or on-camera appearance from
the filmmaker.
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Lean Back footage can be
Interviews and narrated
segments (Hear-see
footage)
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Create a "Rocking Chair"
approach when
creating the documentary
experience for your viewer.
- An
edit is like both a creative
Tapestry and a ride at
Disney word.
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Change the modality of your
documentary as you
are editing it.
Remember, Logic does not
always equal Entertainment
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Summer Workshops in August
at DVworkshops in San Francisco
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DVworkshops is located in San Francisco,
California
We also provide on-site Training
415-810-5934 |
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