Bigger Than Basketball - ID# 71

Homewood-Flossmoor
Documentary
Entry Description

First Year Head Basketball coach At Homewood-Flossmoor Jamere Dismukes Journey on his pursuit of Excellence on and off the Basketball court.

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

  • 3/29 1:59 pm - Keepers: Nice story and overall production value. The multi-cam interviews were done well with the varying camera angles. Nice overall camera exposures and consistency in the look of the piece. The story is an inspirational one and it was enjoyable. Improvements: Don't be afraid to pump in the nat sound from your broll. Nat sound from broll tells so much of a story, and that story is missing in this documentary. It would also keep the music from getting too stale. Let's hear the coach coach! Let's hear the sounds of the game, the sounds of practice, the sounds of the huddle, etc. In terms of the music, you needed at least 3 songs to compliment the various beats of the story. 1 song for his background/upbringing, 1 song for his journey into coaching and 1 for his coaching philosophies and how he is aiming to change lives. The same piece of music is very redundant and it makes the story feel stale after a while...and it's not a stale story! In terms of camera work, you did a really nice job, but here are somethings to consider. For Matthew Lyke's interview, would it have been possible to place him so he wasn't in front of a window? In spite of that the shot was well exposed, but I think all of the natural light from that window would have served him well had he been facing it. That way, his office would have most likely led to a more interesting background. Another thing, and I see this often in HF documentaries, is that the primary interview angles have the subjects looking directly into the camera and breaking the 4th wall. This is almost NEVER done in professional documentaries. Usually, the speaker is looking just off camera, either left or right and keeping the interviewer's eye. Consider making this change as you progress with your storytelling. Good work!
  • 3/5 8:01 pm - Looks great! Good job getting multiple angles of your interview subjects. The b-roll is great. The music is a bit repetitive and unnecessary at times. He mentions the doctorate twice, and being a role model.
Judge 1

Positives: Good overall message that Coach JD is trying to bring to his team at Homewood Flossmoor. Nice lighting and camera work.

Improvements: I do think this story could have been told in a much more streamline fashion. There are several examples of his education and his philosophy. I would have loved to hear a little less from Athletic Directors and Principals and more from his student athletes about how Coach JD has made a difference and how he is inspiring them to be better on and off the court.

Judge 2

Positives: Learning about JD's background and story was intriguing from the start! I loved how his background shapes the way he coaches his students. The camerawork, sound, and editing are excellent!

Improvements: I think the lighting of Matthew's shot could be improved. I would have not filmed him against a window. I also think that you could have trimmed 30 seconds from the ending to make it more concise. Excellent work!

Judge 3

Positives: Great use of b-roll...really nicely done! There was a nice energy and pace to the documentary that mirrors that pace of the game. Music selection worked really well for this. The interview selections were well thought through, and helped me understand a little more of who coach JD is and what the expectations are. I love that this documentary finishes the way a coach should finish any good pep talk...with an inspirational message of resilience.

Improvements: You have the great makings of a character driven documentary, with all the right parts and pieces, but if felt like the narrative became secondary at times to this great footage. When you go into edit, even for character-driven documentary, consider following a "plot mountain" approach of background-->rising action-->climax-->falling action-->resolution. In storytelling, the difference between a hero and just an interesting person is the adventures they go on. How did his "adventures" impact how he teaches/coaches/leads? While it's there (but probably a little out of order in your edit), that part gets lost at times.

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