The 146 Flame (Fall Play I) - ID# 146

Downers Grove North

Natural Audio News Package

Entry Description

Disrupted by the pandemic, the cast and crew put on this year's Fall Play "The 146 Flame" for a virtual audience, working entirely outside and socially distanced.

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

• 3/28 8:52 pm - You had a great opportunity at the beginning of your story to start with that natural audio FULL - turn it up so it’s as loud as your SOTs. Then bring it down when the SOT starts. What makes this category different from the News Package category is the use of the natural audio to help TELL the story. Bring that natural audio from the b-roll up FULL - let that audio help tell the story and not rely SOLELY on the sound bytes. Otherwise, it’s just a news package and not a NATURAL AUDIO news package. Loved how the theatre department adapted in order to make this play happen.
• 3/18 7:54 am - Interesting story! Your interview shots were well composed with clear audio. However, there was heavy reliance on the interview audio. I would have liked to have heard more of the "acting" going on on stage or directing. Some of your b-roll had some distracting zooms and camera movements. Make sure these movements are always purposeful if showcasing them.
• 3/3 2:29 pm - Nice audio in the interviews. B-roll looked good with a wide variety of shots. Everything looked clean and the story is well told- very interesting to see how the drama department is handling the COVID situation. In this category of Natural Audio, it would have been nice to have more natural audio. That's the name of the category for a reason- to let the sounds of the story help TELL the story. Though you have some, it would have been nice to hear a bit more of what was happening on the stage to get a better feel for the story. Overall, the story was solid.

Judge 1

Positives: I like the natural sound in the beginning before we hear from first interview. Good use of supers and a variety of b-roll shots.

Improvements: Center sound from your interviews. Some only come out of one side if listening with headphones. Have natural sound of video clips underneath interviews to heighten the story.

Judge 2

Positives: Creative use of the skype interview, and great thinking letting the audience know exactly how to get tickets and watch the show. For such a small, dark limited space, you were able to find some creative shots for the broll. I wish you lingered on some of them more. I loved the shot of the script being flipped, the computer screen showing what was being filmed, and the shots from behind the ring light of crew members fixing cast members' clothing.

Improvements: Technical fixes: sound mixing was abrupt at times (for example the nat sound at the beginning was very quiet, making how loud the first interview is sound harsh. Adding a small transition between audio bites makes it easier on the ears. Over-reliance on zooming in shots. I understand you probably have to keep a distance because of the pandemic. Cut the shots to not show the zooming to make it seem like you got the wide and tight shot separately. Interview narrative: Set up the story and have your interviewees repeat their answers in complete sentences for a more seamless story. You know that the play was changed to be virtual this year but I don't. Have the interviewees set up that context before going into their answer. Instead of saying "so, it was all on Zoom..." ask the interviewee to repeat her sentence in a complete sentence with the added context. "Because of the pandemic, we moved our play to Zoom" or something like that.

Judge 3

Positives: -Really great job working with low lighting when filming behind the scenes of the production! It's a huge challenge for many to shoot well in the dark. -Nice interview framing and lighting. You did a good job of mixing up all of the voices and including lots of interviews. -Really great rack focus shot in the middle of the piece! That showed creativity and interest in going a step further with your shooting. Well done!

Improvements: -With nat pieces, the audio editing is the most challenging. I think your background audio could have been slightly lower at points, so it doesn't overpower the interviewee's sound. -Another major challenge for audio editing that you can implement to take your piece to the next level would be greater fade ins and outs of the background audio, so we don't hear any jarring cuts. -Really loved your mix of shots, with a big variety, and nailing those wide and tight shots. Don't forget to add those tight and super tight shots! That gives the viewer an even closer up seat to the behind-the-scenes production this story was all about.

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements: