Silver

College Applications - Documentary - W2

Wheaton North

Documentary

Entry Description

Documentary describing the stress of college applications.

Judge 1

Positives: 1) Very well-written. The VO narration corresponds very well with the shots and images used. Good transitioning between backstory and interviews - we really get to know each subject. 2) Impressive shot / image selection. Great choices in editing - very professional feel.

Improvements: 1) Balance between interview subjects could be more even. More time was devoted to the first subject. 2) Lighting design and color correction would have been the final push to make this a news quality piece.

Judge 2

Positives: Great use of pictures. One of the first ones I've seen with pictures. Especially the slow moves and website snapshots. Excellent detail of the stress of applications. These three students have very diverse approaches to applying and I think they cover a majority of stressed out students.

Improvements: Never put an interviewee in a swivel chair. They will swivel all over the place and its really distracting. If thats your only option, make sure to stress that they dont swivel. In the guys interview, you are better off putting the plant on the right side of frame rather than behind his head. White walls on the sides and 2 objects dead center isn't as good as subject left, accent plant right.

Judge 3

Positives: Nice variety of interviews, graphics, and individual clips from your subjects' pasts. It all meshed very well to tell a nice story of each student. Good addition of the college bands playing behind the narration, it tied in very nicely with the piece.

Improvements: I noticed the audio dropped out a few times. Try and make sure your levels are all correct so certain clips aren't louder/quieter than others. The interview segments could've been cut down a bit. They were a bit too lengthy and it can get boring for your viewers. Be careful of that.