T351 Week 7 - Spring 2013

Agenda:

• Interview / Lighting tips
• Review treatments
• 1st look at the new Arri L7C light
• Review tips for next week's Midterm

Reality check:

• Shoot Interview / Feature Stories this week. No lab this week - take the time to shoot & edit your interview / feature story projects. You should have turned in your pre-production materials proposal already. This includes the proposal and list of questions. If not (or if you changed topics), turn them in (hard copy or as an emailed Word/PDF to both your AI and instructor) in order to get any points for the pre-production. Here's a link to Anton Goddard's Interview/Feature Story he did with Mark Gallup last year.
• Also due this week (either a hard copy or an emailed Word/PDF to both your AI and instructor):
  • Lighting Exercise critique
  • Art Video proposals and treatments (scripts or storyboards will be due the following week).
• Next week's lab: You will have the first part of lab to fine tune your Interview / Feature Story. Please make sure you have a working rough cut by the start of lab next week. We'll start watching these around 10:30 AM. Remember these need to be either 2 or 3 minutes.
• Final Project proposals & treatments are also next week in lecture.
• The week after next, your Dramatic Storytelling proposals and treatments are due in lab. We'll pitch ideas and select storytelling partners/teams.

The interview (setting, lighting, audio, background):

Are there distractions in the background?
Subject lit - stands out from background?
Is it quiet?
(show clips?)

In general:

Just because the subject is framed well doesn't mean it will look good. It needs to be lit.

Just because the subject is lit doesn't mean it's lit well.

And even if it looks good, the interview must sound good too.

Interview / Feature Story Tips

Here are a few tips to help you approach a news/feature story based around interviews.

Planning

• Research the topic & formulate your basic story idea/angle. Think about the flow and create a treatment.
• Discuss the topic and questions in advance with your interview subjects. Listen to their suggestions. Rewrite/restructure your treatment as needed.
• Schedule the taping and if possible, make a site visit in advance of the shoot. By visting the site before the shoot you can minimize the risks of surprise problems (E.g. noisy blowers, walls of windows). Be sure you have time after the interview to shoot B-roll.
• Interviews/testimonials can be shot in interesting locations. While it's not feasible to always be able to bring a light kit to every interview, you can at least pack a reflector or an LED light along with a stand.
  • Where would you shoot the director of the Musical Arts Center? What would be in the background?
  • What about an ice cream vendor who works out of a van?
  • How about a skateboarder?
• Remember that you'll want access to the location to setup lights and audio about an hour before you start taping the interview. As you consider possible locations, consider the following:
  • Is it quiet? (fans, construction, car & pedestrian traffic)
  • Consider the background behind where the interview subject will be located. Does the background tie in with subject or content, or is it a distraction? Can you position the camera far enough away from the subject to get a small depth of field?
  • Is it free from problematic lighting issues (large windows, etc.)
  • Enough room to set up lights?
  • Adequate power sources for lights and monitors?
  • B-roll opportunities?
• Discuss clothing/makeup requirements with your interview subjects. (Avoid white clothing, commercial logos, other people's intellectual property, etc.)
• Think about and plan the B-roll - this is what makes the story interesting.

Production Set up

• Assemble proper equipment and supplies (bring two of everything if poassible)
• Get to location an hour before the start of the interview. This will give you time to set lights and check audio. Use your PA or a stand-in to check framing and lighting. Be sure to keep your subject's focus/gaze close to the camera. (If the interviewer is too far away you'll end up with a profile.) You want to see both eyes clearly. If you see the reflection of light in the subject's eyes, your key light is in the right position.
• Is camera level? Distractions in the background. Is lighting close to perfect?
• Make a test recording, set time code, record color bars and wait....
• When the guest shows up make them feel comfortable. (Sometimes I provide some water, etc.)
• Schmooze and thank them for their time. You may need to explain the rules/process.
• Have them sign a release form.
• Check talent’s physical appearance (hair, clothing) before shooting.

Production:

• Is the subject framed nicely? (Strong composition following the rule of thirds with proper lead room and head room, pleasing background, nicely lit, camera level, etc.)
• Don’t forget pre-roll and post-roll. (I usually just keep rolling during the whole interview.)
• Check audio levels at the meter and monitor the recording with headphones
• Give yourself room for a slow push in if needed. I almost always shoot at a MCU or CU with room to move into a CU or ECU (Use a sloooow zoom in for intense emotional moments)
• Keep your eyes open for potential problems or bad habits. (Collar straight? Hair neat? Bad Habits: rocking back and forth, shifty eyes, etc)
• Start recording and ask your subject to spell his/her name and title. You might need this for their lower third ID graphic. If you forgot to get a talent release, record an on-camera release.
• Use an “ice-breaker” question to start. (So when did you first get interested in _______?)
• Ask open-ended questions.
• Don’t interrupt - always wait an extra few seconds before jumping in with the next question.
• Listen carefully to the responses (They might lead you to another angle.) Also consider your planned B-roll and any other footage you also need to shoot.
• Look interested. Nod and act encouraging.
• Don't hesitate to have them repeat the response if there is a noticeable flaw or if you want to get a closer shot for editing.
• Sometimes you need the question restated in the answer.
• With microphones in place record at least 30 seconds of room tone.

Wrap

• Ask the talent if there is anything they'd like to add.
• Ask the photographer, PA if they have any unasked questions.
• Review part of the interview
• Don’t be afraid to ask the talent to redo parts of the interview if there are any technical problems.
• Shoot appropriate location B-roll.
• Thank your talent
• Shut lights off immediately and strike all other equipment before putting lights away
• Remember which batteries are dead, which have some use and which are still fresh.

Shooting B-Roll

Can you name some specific techniques that you can use to make sure you get outstanding B-roll?

• Shoot mini-continuity sequences (think about the 180 degree line, cut on matching action, etc.)
• Shoot film-style (Changing shots by 30% or so, and overlapping, repeating action)
• Remember the rule of threes (consider the shot you are taking, the shot you'll use before it, and the shot you'll go to after it)

Avoiding Jump Cuts in a single character sequence: Sometimes you need to shoot a sequence of a subject for B-roll over an interview or for a montage. When shooting, have the talent enter the shot or leave the frame, or use a camera movement to change the focus either up to or away from the subject. The reason is that we don’t want to cut from a shot with the subject in the frame to another shot with the subject in the frame. (Home Alone 2 example)

Editing

• Start with something to capture the audience's attention.
• Let us know what this will be about in the first 30 seconds.
• Avoid jump cuts
• Cut out "ums, yeahs, and buts.."
• Use several shots at a time for B-roll (not just a single shot). This lets you set a rhythm and use the mini-continuity sequences you have artfully captured.
• Find a strong close/conclusion.

Proposals, Treatments & Scripts

Some students (and producers and teachers) don't know the difference between a Propgram Proposal, Treatment and a Script.

Program Proposals (see Jim's Program Proposal overview) Program Proposals describe the purpose, scope, production method, and budget of the production. The two most important things to start with are an objective and a target audience.

For short productions, the proposal can include a treatment. For feature-length films, and longer-length productions, the treatment is usually a separate document.

Treatments are essentially condensed versions of the scripts. They don't contain detailed production information, but should concisely describe the story, the act structure, and the scenes within the acts. Treatments can show precisely how the story flows by describing the dialog and action of every scene. (If the scene does not advance the character or the story, cut it out!) I typically title my scenes and describe them as a paragraph or element in my treatment. Check out the actual treatment I used to pitch the Elkinsville documentary I produced for WTIU.

Scripts (See Jim's script overview) Film style vs. two-column.

Everything can be scripted in advance. This includes documentaries and music videos. I like to compare producers to lawyers. They shold never ask a question that they don't know the answer to. I always try to know the role that someone will play in a production before I go to interview them. If not, it's because not enought time has been spent in pre-production.

You can determine, visualize, and create the flow of an entire documentary simply by spending time doing pre-production.

Almost all of the documentaries you see on PBS, Discovery and the History channel have been planned and scripted before any production takes place. Producers and writers research the subject and approach well in advance of production. There is an unscripted approach referred to as "exploratory". It has merits, but is typically not used when large amounts of money, gear and time are at stake.

Consider your Interview/Feature Stories. How do you want it to begin? Close your eyes and imagine how you would like to introduce the viewer to the subject.

How do you get every shot you need? Visualize every shot & write it down it down in your script.

 

Arri's new L-Series light

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFYjo8p-aDY

This light is unique in a few ways:

• It's a fresnel LED fixture.
• You never need gels! It has variable color temperature.
• It can be controlled via the DMX port. (And upgradable firmware via a USB port.)
• It uses less electricity and operates at a lower temperature. It puts out more lumens per watt than a tungsten or halogen-based lamp.

More info can be found at http://www.arri.com/l-series/index.html

Midterm Quiz – next week

Review on-line class notes and readings

Cameras

Review lighting (eg broad vs narrow) and Cybercollege units 27, 28, 31 & 32.

Review Continuity: Insert, cutaway, thematic (montage), continuity editing, parallel editing, 180 degree line (Cybercollege 50-52)

Review technical continuity (Cybercollege 53)

Review the tech info (Waveform monitors, etc) and timecode (Cybercollege 16 & 57).

Waveform monitors and vector scopes should only be trusted after seeing SMPTE color bars through them to ensure that they are caliberated. They don’t adjust the signal. They only show you its characteristics. Adjustments must be done at the camera, camera control unit or with a TBC (time base corrector).

Waveform monitors - graphically display brightness (luminance) information along with sync pulses Used during studio production & sometimes in the field. Found in every decent post-production/edit room. Very useful when tweaking video signals with TBCs or making graphics.

• Scale starts at –40 – goes to 0 then up to 120 IRE Units (Institute of Radio Engineers)
• One f-stop translates into about 20 IRE units
• NTSC black is 7.5 IRE. Digital and PAL black is 0 IRE. This is often called the “setup” or pedestal” adjustment.
• The brightest white is 100 IRE
• If the display is up over 100, your image is overexposed
• If the display is well under 100 (and you’re not shooting a dark scene) your image is underexposed. The blacks are getting compressed.

Vectorscopes – display color (phase) information. They have a round pattern on the display glass along with targets that show where all the colors in a color bar signals should go.

 

 

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