Class Notes: Week 12
Guests
Scott - Senior writer at Duke Magazine. Storyteller.
David Mayer - Duke basketball player, filmmaker. Freelancer. Documentary filmmaker.
Michael Faber - Innovation CoLab at Duke. Graphic design class. Teaches in the spring, but the class is full because he kicks butt.
Cara Rosseau - Digital strategy at the university.
Ned Phillips - Independent filmmaker/cinematographer/editor.
Sonja Faust - News & Comms. Lots of marketing. How to get stories in front of the right people.
Cara O’Malley - Videography Marketing company founder.
Shelley Stonecipher - DeWitt Center for Media & Democracy
David Mayer - Duke basketball player, filmmaker. Freelancer. Documentary filmmaker.
Michael Faber - Innovation CoLab at Duke. Graphic design class. Teaches in the spring, but the class is full because he kicks butt.
Cara Rosseau - Digital strategy at the university.
Ned Phillips - Independent filmmaker/cinematographer/editor.
Sonja Faust - News & Comms. Lots of marketing. How to get stories in front of the right people.
Cara O’Malley - Videography Marketing company founder.
Shelley Stonecipher - DeWitt Center for Media & Democracy
Story #2, Team #1: Summer, Serges, and Julian - Claire Wang / Girl Power
My thoughts - Man, I wish we had more breathing space. Only two breaths.
Criticisms/Thoughts
-great subject, lots of interesting things to say and great articulator
-great narrative voice
-great B-roll which was really appropriate and helped further the story
-some perspective shots really, really worked
-great job from a narrative perspective
-some of the interview shots were a little warm
-maybe work on some framing
-in opening sequence, her putting laptop into bag, maybe have another sequence when she is pulling the laptop out of the bag
-wanted to see more of those gaps. the more intellectual the topic, the more gaps you need in order for the lines to sink in
-Shelley wanted a follow-up point with Claire’s parents
From the artists
-Even though Serges, was the DP, they realized it might be more beneficial for Summer to DP the experiential shot because of the female connection.
How to step it up
-Let it breathe
-Include audio of the panel
-Shots of men in panel
-Lower third
Criticisms/Thoughts
-great subject, lots of interesting things to say and great articulator
-great narrative voice
-great B-roll which was really appropriate and helped further the story
-some perspective shots really, really worked
-great job from a narrative perspective
-some of the interview shots were a little warm
-maybe work on some framing
-in opening sequence, her putting laptop into bag, maybe have another sequence when she is pulling the laptop out of the bag
-wanted to see more of those gaps. the more intellectual the topic, the more gaps you need in order for the lines to sink in
-Shelley wanted a follow-up point with Claire’s parents
From the artists
-Even though Serges, was the DP, they realized it might be more beneficial for Summer to DP the experiential shot because of the female connection.
How to step it up
-Let it breathe
-Include audio of the panel
-Shots of men in panel
-Lower third
Story #2, Team #2: Sarah, Hunter, and Will - Candy Carver
My thoughts - Great story and reveals, great shots of the art. Great inclusion of Xia; really brought out the story. Really enjoyed the pacing of the video. Why did you leave the interview footage, especially of Xia, on too long? Some awkward moments there. Also, could’ve darkened the interview of Xia.
Criticism/Thoughts
-Great visuals
-Great subjects
-Cara liked the interview of Xia and how it lasted too long.
-Storyline was beautiful about identifying that she mentors young people
-Amazing final sound byte
-The B-Roll was great, but maybe show her when she talks about Durham being 50% black
-Audio track was good for most of it
-Editing was well-paced; changed pace and kept you watching the entire time
-Show, rather than tell, was executed well.
-Great to change direction, great recovery
-Good B-roll through the window to show the relationship between the two
-Good Durham B-Roll
-Both interviews, no differentiation in them
-Lower third on Xia was lost in the background
-Sound was pretty problematic. There was clipping right from the start.
-Xia interview was washed out
-Never saw the art of Xia; would’ve liked more of that. Saw a ton of Candy’s art.
-Audio levels need to be worked
-The middle section of the film, the melody went away and it was droning a little bit
-Maybe have conversations/experiential interviews between Candy and Xia
Notes from the artists
-Hunter had some issues with audio. Thought that he had correct levels.
-This was not our original story. We had two other artists we were considering, but they didn’t pan out. Bounced back with two other subjects.
-The sun came out right with the clip that was needed.
Tips on Music
-Know the audience
-Lots of narrative beckons less distracting music
-Look for something free
-YouTube Creator Studio
How to step it up
-Bring down nat sound over the sound byte mentioned (50% of Durham is black)
-Perhaps look for B-roll that better represents 50% of Durham is black, or stick on her expression
-Have Candy and Xia work together. Ned wants you to pursue that hard. Wireless mics.
-Never have no audio. No empty spaces ever because of disruptions. To avoid the pops in some sound bytes, add a crossfade
Criticism/Thoughts
-Great visuals
-Great subjects
-Cara liked the interview of Xia and how it lasted too long.
-Storyline was beautiful about identifying that she mentors young people
-Amazing final sound byte
-The B-Roll was great, but maybe show her when she talks about Durham being 50% black
-Audio track was good for most of it
-Editing was well-paced; changed pace and kept you watching the entire time
-Show, rather than tell, was executed well.
-Great to change direction, great recovery
-Good B-roll through the window to show the relationship between the two
-Good Durham B-Roll
-Both interviews, no differentiation in them
-Lower third on Xia was lost in the background
-Sound was pretty problematic. There was clipping right from the start.
-Xia interview was washed out
-Never saw the art of Xia; would’ve liked more of that. Saw a ton of Candy’s art.
-Audio levels need to be worked
-The middle section of the film, the melody went away and it was droning a little bit
-Maybe have conversations/experiential interviews between Candy and Xia
Notes from the artists
-Hunter had some issues with audio. Thought that he had correct levels.
-This was not our original story. We had two other artists we were considering, but they didn’t pan out. Bounced back with two other subjects.
-The sun came out right with the clip that was needed.
Tips on Music
-Know the audience
-Lots of narrative beckons less distracting music
-Look for something free
-YouTube Creator Studio
How to step it up
-Bring down nat sound over the sound byte mentioned (50% of Durham is black)
-Perhaps look for B-roll that better represents 50% of Durham is black, or stick on her expression
-Have Candy and Xia work together. Ned wants you to pursue that hard. Wireless mics.
-Never have no audio. No empty spaces ever because of disruptions. To avoid the pops in some sound bytes, add a crossfade
Story #2, Team #3: Alice and Danielle - Raj Creating Something Out of Nothing
Critique
-Great opening sound byte followed by visual
-Lots of color and amazing cinematography
-Really great scope of him as a person
-Loved how you tied everything together at the end
-Saw a lot of different facets of this guy
-Lots of focus on his actual hands
-B-Roll of the cooking was fantastic
-The texture and detail of his art was finally done. Nice to see him carve that out, chopping into fine dice was really cool. Seeing the dish at the end was really nice.
-Good instincts and keep it up
-Audio felt on and off, maybe room tone, maybe with title sequence
-Maybe work with lines of the farm to match the lines of the art
-Felt quick to introduce those different facets
-Maybe focus viewer’s attention on his hands in the midst of the interview to provide more connection
-Hang on the art shot a little more. maybe get some shots from the front of the linoleum cuts
-Never saw a full piece of his artwork. too many pans. wanted more of the artwork
-Crush the blacks on the farm footage, and stabilize it
-Perhaps compress into two parts instead of three; farming felt like the weakest third of the story. The cooking was more of his personality.
-The farm part necessitated closer shots to match the other two chapters of the video.
-Shelley was still looking for the story.
-Maybe cut this entirely differently and make it a wildly psychedelic exposé to showcase his personality a little better
-Maybe ask him to explain a piece of art
-Was looking for more chapter markers
Carson’s Rule of Thumb on B-Roll: At least three shots
Notes from the artists
-We got an iPhone dolly for some shots
-We checked out the Sony FS100 for the great close-ups
-We went on four shoots. Spent a ton of time with him.
How to step it up
-See more art
-More shot variances; more close-ups
-Condense the farm portion
-Wipe your lenses
-Maybe add music
-Maybe go back and forth between his usage of hands
-Great opening sound byte followed by visual
-Lots of color and amazing cinematography
-Really great scope of him as a person
-Loved how you tied everything together at the end
-Saw a lot of different facets of this guy
-Lots of focus on his actual hands
-B-Roll of the cooking was fantastic
-The texture and detail of his art was finally done. Nice to see him carve that out, chopping into fine dice was really cool. Seeing the dish at the end was really nice.
-Good instincts and keep it up
-Audio felt on and off, maybe room tone, maybe with title sequence
-Maybe work with lines of the farm to match the lines of the art
-Felt quick to introduce those different facets
-Maybe focus viewer’s attention on his hands in the midst of the interview to provide more connection
-Hang on the art shot a little more. maybe get some shots from the front of the linoleum cuts
-Never saw a full piece of his artwork. too many pans. wanted more of the artwork
-Crush the blacks on the farm footage, and stabilize it
-Perhaps compress into two parts instead of three; farming felt like the weakest third of the story. The cooking was more of his personality.
-The farm part necessitated closer shots to match the other two chapters of the video.
-Shelley was still looking for the story.
-Maybe cut this entirely differently and make it a wildly psychedelic exposé to showcase his personality a little better
-Maybe ask him to explain a piece of art
-Was looking for more chapter markers
Carson’s Rule of Thumb on B-Roll: At least three shots
Notes from the artists
-We got an iPhone dolly for some shots
-We checked out the Sony FS100 for the great close-ups
-We went on four shoots. Spent a ton of time with him.
How to step it up
-See more art
-More shot variances; more close-ups
-Condense the farm portion
-Wipe your lenses
-Maybe add music
-Maybe go back and forth between his usage of hands
Story #2, Team #4: Lauren, Quinn, and Marina
Initial thoughts: Loved the story, at first it felt like a marketing video, but then it got into her personal story. When you have B-Roll, please cut down on the “ums.”
Thoughts/Criticism
-Loved the story arc in this one.
-Michael actually liked that the deep details of perfect vegetables weren’t actually shared
-Great choice of the interview location
-Great interview composition
-More clear about distinguishing the company (the locations of the story)
-Wanted more development in “what, produce needs to be a certain shape?” Show me the normal ones.
-Maybe show the handoff between the farmer and her
-Maybe talk to a farmer and see what they have to say about that
-Some of the B-roll audio seemed a little too loud over the interview
-Maybe a little more space between the different sections of the story
-Felt like wall-to-wall conversation. Maybe include some more breathing room.
-Maybe the weird part of her personality is a part of the story
Notes from the artists:
-Thought the farmer part of the story would detract from the core of the story they wanted to tell
-We were plagued by technical difficulties the entire time. We had more scripted answers which was useful but halfway through, the SD card was full and after switching, it wouldn’t reformat.
-She was much more conversational without the camera rolling.
Create a new sequence, drag a piece of footage, click “change sequence settings” then you can copy everything from the first timeline to the second timeline
People will constantly surprise you. And those surprises are what we want to share with the audiences. Sometimes we just have to push subjects.
Tension is very watchable and is interesting to audiences.
How to step it up
-Want to see the farmer
-How she answers the question of “how do you interact with your customers?”
Thoughts/Criticism
-Loved the story arc in this one.
-Michael actually liked that the deep details of perfect vegetables weren’t actually shared
-Great choice of the interview location
-Great interview composition
-More clear about distinguishing the company (the locations of the story)
-Wanted more development in “what, produce needs to be a certain shape?” Show me the normal ones.
-Maybe show the handoff between the farmer and her
-Maybe talk to a farmer and see what they have to say about that
-Some of the B-roll audio seemed a little too loud over the interview
-Maybe a little more space between the different sections of the story
-Felt like wall-to-wall conversation. Maybe include some more breathing room.
-Maybe the weird part of her personality is a part of the story
Notes from the artists:
-Thought the farmer part of the story would detract from the core of the story they wanted to tell
-We were plagued by technical difficulties the entire time. We had more scripted answers which was useful but halfway through, the SD card was full and after switching, it wouldn’t reformat.
-She was much more conversational without the camera rolling.
Create a new sequence, drag a piece of footage, click “change sequence settings” then you can copy everything from the first timeline to the second timeline
People will constantly surprise you. And those surprises are what we want to share with the audiences. Sometimes we just have to push subjects.
Tension is very watchable and is interesting to audiences.
How to step it up
-Want to see the farmer
-How she answers the question of “how do you interact with your customers?”
