Joey: In the Limelight - ID# 61
Glenbrook South
Documentary
Entry Description
A documentary about Glenbrook South student Joey Hitzeman. The documentary focuses on his role as student director in the fall play, Peter and the Starcatcher. As well as his passion for theatre and his dream is to make theatre more accessible for everyone.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/2 4:53 pm - Keepers: This is a very well done documentary. Excellent storytelling from multiple viewpoints. The production value in terms of the audio and interview set ups is very strong. The story's message is a good and important one. It could be argued that theater should be much more inclusive than it is and I hope that people like Joey will be the ones to tear down those barriers. Improvements: I think this piece would have benefited from more broll and natural audio. We don't really have that in this documentary. Almost all of it is non-stop talking heads. I wanted to see and hear Joey give feedback and assist in the direction of a play/musical. That is he next step you need to take as documentarians. Tell the story in multiple ways. Use broll and natural audio to shape your story and then have interviews fill in the informational blanks. As a viewer, I want to see and hear these amazing people in action - I don't just want to be told about it. That's the missing element in this. Overall, good work. Keep producing content and keep working to get better!
- 3/6 6:14 am - Great job getting multiple angles of the interview subjects. Great b-roll that fits what is being said. The video looks great, and the audio is clean
Judge 1
Positives: What a great inspirational story! You all did a wonderful job humanizing Joey and allowing the viewer to see that despite his challenges - he has a passion and is an INCREDIBLY intelligent person! I really LOVED how you brought out those important elements! I thought the lighting for your interviews was also a nice touch considering the subject matter of "Theater"
Improvements: Be careful to make sure your cameras are both in perfect focus. At times the side angle camera or even the straight on camera interview looks were a little soft. From a story perspective - I was surprised to learn that Joey had a twin brother. As much as I liked you keeping the story about Joey and finding a great way to Humanize him - I really would have been impressed if I had also learned what life is like for Joey's brother - I can only imagine the conflicted feelings he has as he sees his twin deal with cerebral palsy? Does he feel guilt? Is he inspired by his brother? Etc.
Judge 2
Positives: This story is incredibly touching! Learning about Joey's passion for theater is inspiring. The lighting, sound, and camera work are excellent as well!
Improvements: My one note is that I think the video could be cut down by 30 seconds to a whole minute. The pacing starts to slow down in the middle of the video. This is a minor nitpicky note because the entire piece is excellent!
Judge 3
Positives: This story was phenomenal! The interviews were really enjoyable and well shot and lit. I love the use of older family footage. Very well edited. I actually love that you didn't "lead" with the disability, but managed to seamlessly weave it into the story. Very well done, all around.
Improvements: Overall, the lighting and camera work were really well done. I would have considered lighting the interview with Joey slightly different (stronger key light). I also noticed in the interview with Adam Harden, your two cameras cut across the axis of action. While I'm not one of these people that say never do it, none of the other interviews did that, so it felt jarring. By all means, break the rules, just have a reason to do it.
Judge 4
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Judge 5
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