Bill Cook - ID# 232

Huntley

Division: AA

Documentary

Entry Description

This documentary is about Bill Cook the magician, how he got to the place he is in the magic industry, what he'd suggest for anyone interested in magic and the people who watch magic shows and tricks.

Recent Teacher Comments

• 4/26 2:08 pm - Font a little bigger on lower thirds. Subject is a natural with the camera and it makes the story fun. Great variety of broll. You need to credit your broll that isn’t yours though. The light directly behind Bill in the interview is distracting. Abrupt ending to the story and would’ve like to seen that end more organically.
• 4/10 1:31 pm - Great subject, clearly comfortable on camera and has a great discovery story. Since he’s already had an award winning documentary about him, it made me want to see more. The Magic Castle in LA is also interesting and I'm sure viewers would love to see more information about that as well. A few rough audio edits could be smoothed out to help with the pacing and professionalism of the final draft.

Judge 1

Positives: The subject is interesting and a unique story.

Improvements: the use of music within this story would have helped move it along. Clearly not enough broll was shot for the story... based on the extremely slowed down shot of the room and the candle / card shot. The shots with no natural sound was very distracting.

Judge 2

Positives: Interesting subject choice. Great use of stock photos and footage.

Improvements: Music is definitely needed to keep the momentum of the piece moving forward. Would like to know more of why he got involved in magic.

Judge 3

Positives: Great hook with Bill’s intro and I especially enjoyed the tricks on video while he is talking about what he does. He’s engaging and a true performer and the film captures that well. The film is structured clearly and is well-directed.

Improvements: The trick when working with someone who’s used to interviews is trying to get behind what they’ve rehearsed. This is a difficult thing to do, but it elevates the film to a new level if you can capture a glimpse of the private person behind the persona. Dissolves during the interview call more attention to themselves than straight cuts.

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements: