As we head into the downhill part of the school year, I think it's important that we talk about things "that are left". Like what's left at the end of a shoot. When you do your stories, you don't just do the interview; you "mop up in the field."
This is a term I heard about from Dave Davis, Hillcrest High School video production teacher and I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this with you. It is what you do on your shoot to make sure you have mentally checked off those shots that are necessary for you to tell your story. It requires that you ask yourself some questions:
***Do I have my opening shot?
***Do I have my closing shot?
***Do I have all the shots that the interviewee referred to during the interview?
***Do I have reaction shots?
***Do I have a wide shot of the scene, establishing setting?
There are other shots that I could remind you of, but these are the basics.
Think about the things that indicate that a story is over. Maybe someone walking away from the camera, someone turning off a light switch, someone waving goodbye, or a slow zoom out and/or long shot of someone walking across a field. Visualize what type of shot would go best with your story and GET THAT SHOT! Keep your eye out for these shots to happen naturally and get it on tape. Don't stage it. Let it happen organically. You may not use it in the end when you're editing, but why not have it, just in case? You'll appreciate it when you're in the edit room.
Similarly, what about those opening shots. What visually brings people into your story? For example, if you're doing a story on kayaking, why not get NAT sound of someone saying "GO!" for a kayak competition? Or, if you're doing a story about a new restaurant, maybe a shot of someone unlocking the door and opening for business for the day? Many of these shots for your open require that you get to your shoot early. If you're doing a story on a meeting, you'll want to get there early enough to hear the moderator call the meeting to order or someone saying "Good morning". Think about the opening shots BEFORE you go on your shoot, not after.
Once you get used to thinking and visualizing your story before you even DO it, you'll start doing this without thinking of it. It will become second nature. But for now, take this list with you or at least create a shot sheet that includes the shots that you've thought through so you can best tell your story and "mop up" while you are out. And, speaking of that, clean up that edit room!
Describe the opening shot, closing shot, other B-roll that you envision getting to tell the story that you're currently working on. What will you keep your eye out for during your story? What would be the BEST shot that you would LOVE to get for your story?
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ReplyDeleteMarshall Pierre
ReplyDeleteI'm doing my story idea,on the pressure of joinig a military branch. In the opening shot I can have ROTC marching or walking toward the camera. I can also have a shot of different military posters. In a closing shot I can have teen signing Thier contract to the service or I can have them in their uniform. For B-roll I can get shots of army games and casual conversation of the person and their thoughts about joining, and their everyday lifesyle. My best shot that I would love to do is to have them in their uniform at attenion, and their family facial expression as they see them marching. I would keep my eye out for how they feel once they join and the hard times they endure.
My group and I are currently working on a story about Eagle Nation. My opening shot that I envision getting would be of Eagle Nation cheering at a game and showing school pride and we open saying what they do and how they help the team play. For my closing shot I would do like a fade out shot of Eagle Nation getting really pumped and excited. The shot that I would love to get would be of the team that they cheered for winning the game and Eagle Nation surrounding them and congratulating them.
ReplyDeleteLaurian Lackey
My story idea this week was on the very controversial issue of POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER(PTSD). In my story idea write up I told you of how I would start the story off sharing the struggles of students that have parents that have this disorder more specifically, students of parents that were/are in a branch of the military that served in the war in Iraq.
ReplyDeleteMy opening shot would be of the subject getting out of the car in the morning in the parking lot; most likely saying something denoting that it is the beginning of their day such as "Bye, love you Mom." This shot would then be followed by a voice over stating who the person is and why they are significant to the story.
My closing shot would be at the end of the package, after showing my expert on the topic say something about getting help, showing the parent suffering from PTSD looking for help on the internet for veterans/ serving personnel; such as help groups, psychologists, therapists etc.
The shot that I would LOVE to have would be the student crying from the realization that their parent is not indestructible and is suffering from something that is very real and ultimately it, too affects them.
Some B-Roll that would be possible would be of both the parent and the student doing some thing together (i.e. Cooking, cleaning, going for a walk). Some others would be: the student doing work in class, shots of the student being active in their extra curricular activities, really any shots that show the student doing things that convey the message that they have a lot going on and on TOP of it ALL their parent is suffering from PTSD.
My group is currently working on a story on the changes of the HOPE scholarship. Our opening shot is going to be an over the shoulder shot of someone filling out the scholarship's application. The closing shot is a zoom out of the school. When an interviewee talks about text book prices, we cut to a shot of a student flipping through different text books. When we interviewed, we filmed while we told them the changes being considered, so we were able to caught their shocked or relieved faces when they heard them for the first time. That makes good B-roll, in addition to a classroom testing. I'll keep an eye out for updates in the story, and how it might make a student unable to go to college completely. A shot that I would love to get would be a student getting the news that they received the HOPE. More than likely, it would be an exciting moment for anyone close to the student, and the emotions would be amazing.
ReplyDeleteMy story idea this week was on how spring break is coming up soon and how many South Cobb students are going to Panama City Beach and many other vacation spots for the break. During this package I would tell them the rules of how not and how to act while on break. I would also interview the residents of Panama City, club owners, and the police. The opening shoot could be the kids packing up their clothes and telling their parents goodbye or maybe a welcome to Panama City Beach sign. The closing shoot could be the kids all leaving the beach standing together talking bout how much fun they had. My b-roll cold be of clubs, food places, the beach & them swimming. The part that will keep the readers attention is the part when we describe what they arent suppose to be doing... We would talk about things like drinking, smoking etc. This would keep their attention because this is somethings that kids will do and we will hopefully influence them not to do it. The best shoot to me will be when all the teenagers are leaving and they are all standing together and looking happy.
ReplyDeleteCurrently my group is working on a package called "Weeding out the truth" smoking is becoming a very bad habit amongst teens. Trying to persuade teens that weed is not good for you is difficult. An important shot i would love to obtain would be a doctor having a visit with someone who is having medical problems due to weed. A nice opening shot would also be someone coughing. A closing shot would be a student walking down the hall getting arrested. Of course I would blur out the students face. However all my shots are important to me because every little detail can have a huge impact on a package.
ReplyDelete- Diamond Cornelious
My partner and I are currently working on a package about a puppy that was born with twisted hind legs. To improve this package we can get plenty of B-Roll to what the dog has to go through everyday. My opening shot will a close up on the puppy, and zooming out slowly revealing the legs . My closing shot will be of shot of the dog and the camera the on the floor at eye level and the dog crawling towards the camera. I would like to get a shot of the dog playing around to bring out emotion, but due to his deformity it might not be possible.
ReplyDeleteWhy'll my group is putting the finishing touches on our recent package (Lossing Hope)I have been thinking of different possible story Ideas. Such as stories that included, an experiment like kids that do (such and such)and kids that don't thing (such and such) like how does listening to music why'll doing an assignment, over not listening to music...
ReplyDeleteA great opening shot for my current package (The proposed changes to the HOPE scholarship) would be someone filling out the HOPE application. Some great B-Roll would be of a class room where a teacher is teaching and actually engaging the students. Another great B-Roll idea would be students testing or doing classwork and an ending shot would be someone opening an envelope and letter telling them that they will receive the HOPE grant. This will be very hard to do seeing as how we can't get an acceptance letter but we could make a HOPE acceptance envelope for someone to open. Once they open the envelope and read that they qualify for the scholarship, we could get that person either jumping up and down because they're excited or telling all of their friends.
ReplyDeleteMy group is working on a package about weed & its harmful affects. A good opening shot would be of students sitting around talking about how the're going to smoke. a shot that i would love to obtain would be the interview with a actual doctor to get facts. Other b-roll would be of students couging maybe or hanging out with friends. I will make sure I keep an eye out for students that may actually admit they smoke, so we can blur their face out. other b-roll is of interviews. A good closing shot would be of students saying why you shouldnt smoke & then fading out.
ReplyDelete-Sasha simon
My groups package is on the HOPE scholarship. A great opening for our package would be a shot of a college that accepts HOPE scholarships and students walking across the lawn of the college. Good B-Roll would be students in class or the teacher lecturing their class while the class listens intently. I can't really think of a favorite shot to get, I would jsut like and love to get all of the necessary shots we need to finish and make this project look good and amazing!
ReplyDelete-Stephanie Hunter
We're doing our first"real" show. It's actually pretty good! The opening shot is in ta classroom, and I believe that it helps relate to students in the classroom who are currently watching it. Then, the rest is shot in different locations around the school. My favorite part is the stuffed animals! Having props makes the shot a lot more relative and fun. The show will look very professional, yet won't be boring. And it is very DIFFERENT. So I'm excited.
ReplyDeletemy story idea would be on the affects that sports have on students and teachers.for my opening shot i could have the whole school in front of the flag pole or every sport player with their uniform on. while for the closing shot i could film the field and fade away. As for B roll i could add a cupple short clips of differnt game for every diferent sport. then i could also enterview students and teachers on how sports have an affect on them in school, deos it make it harder for them and do they have to put more effort in school than students that dont play sports. well its a start of something and i hope that it comes out as i imagine it.
ReplyDeleteJuan Millan
I was thinking about doing a story on some of the kids that doesn't have regular classes like us. I want all the students at south cobb to feel special and we all is a big family. I've seen kids picking on the special eds kids because they're not taking regular classes like us which i feel thats really amuture. we all is a big family doesnt matter if you white black blue yellow ect. and i want all the students to feel that they are special to all of us weather we show it or not.
ReplyDelete-kemberlee pierre