Growing Up Scared - ID# 371

York

Division: A

Documentary

Entry Description

A short documentary about queer youth.

Recent Teacher Comments

• 4/23 7:48 pm - All talking heads make this a great Radio story. Unfortunately, your training and course instruction is meant to support the visual aesthetics required for television or Internet playback.
• 3/12 6:44 pm - Great lighting for your interviews: off-beat and fitting to your subject. Your films a clear throughline. I do not have a problem with your bare aesthetic. You thought very carefully about how to edit the interviews to tell a story and that not an easy thing to do. Music is not helping. It is random and very distracting.
• 3/8 2:09 pm - Powerful opening. Excellent backlighting, music, and CUs. Then… it simply repeats. There is no narrative thread, only contrasting talking heads grouped thematically. It would have been more powerful to follow 3 or 4 students and “show” not “tell” their stories. There is no b-roll or visuals, only interviews. This is not a true documentary with a beginning, middle, and end - it is testimonials stitched together in the edit.

Judge 1

Positives: I like the in your face method of the interviews and for the most part, the pacing is good. I love the topic and fact that you gave it a unique voice.

Improvements: The style is great but wish the lighting was more consistent. I understand what you were going for here but felt as if I needed a break at times. Consider breaking this up in some form or adding some creative shots of each person to illustrate personality... The audio edits are a bit rough.

Judge 2

Positives: Nice, candid subjects. Great to hear teens talking about issues they are going through.

Improvements: The cinematography was dark. The film needed broll of stills and/or footage- close up's of hand holding, etc.

Judge 3

Positives: Excellent directing – the questions posed were thoughtful and yield thought-provoking, varied answers. The editing of the interviews together is key to conveying the message of inclusivity and also to keeping the audience engaged.

Improvements: Make sure to use a fill light to get consistent lighting on interview subjects. None of the participants seem uncomfortable talking about their sexuality and don’t seem to need to obscure their identities for privacy/safety. There’s intrusive background sound toward the end of the film that stands out and I think the piece would be stronger without the music.

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements: