Oliver Reynolds

Lyons Township

Documentary

Entry Description

This is a documentary about Oliver Reynolds and his journey as a transgender teen.

Judge 1

Positives: Really wonderful job with this. This is so powerful, and you’ve approached it in such a sympathetic and down-to-earth way. You’ve also explored some interesting genre-bending techniques (with poetic reenactments), and for the most part, I thought those were interesting and well done. Thank you so much for sharing this story with us.

Improvements: Above, I complimented your poetic reenactments, and again—I did think that for the most part, they worked pretty well. But I think this is one case where I would stylize them a bit — maybe slightly slow-motion with a desaturated filter or something like that. When they appear as “real life” as Oliver himself, it can seem just a bit contrived or unrealistic. Give us a filter to view them through… and I think that would work a bit better to imagine Oliver’s struggles.

Judge 2

Positives: Strong story and emotional piece - great job making the viewer care and become attached and invested. I really like the way you shot the interview. The look matched the mood of the piece. Great job on the b-roll too! You captured a lot of great shots. Excellent piece!

Improvements: The music was a little louder than it should've been and you could have used a more solemn cut as you got further into the piece. I think the cut you used was on the right track and worked for the beginning. I don't think you needed the re-enactment at 1:30. I think you can get the point across in a much more compelling way with, for example, b-roll of Oliver's expressions. Although the piece worked without it, you may have considered cutting away from the interview to Oliver telling parts of the story candidly. For example, you could've used sound bites of Oliver talking about binding while standing in front of the mirror for variety.

Judge 3

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Judge 4

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