Generation Gratitude - ID# 99
Deerfield
Documentary
Entry Description
Generation Gratitude is a local nonprofit doing good, born of a social media post, and even fostering a wide community response in the face of tragedy.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/16 9:14 pm - Keepers: Nice work with your interview setups and audio. The production value was consistently good and the exposure/colors of the shots were mostly consistent. Improvements: In terms of story, what's really missing is a clear soundbyte defining Gratitude Generation's mission statement. I'm assuming that this must exist somewhere if they're a 501c3 organization. This piece really needs that statement to thread the needle between the two story points of the documentary: it's history and founding and stepping up for Highland Park. Brady's interview setup was fine but he was looking to the short side of the frame. Typically, he should look to the long side. Work a bit on editing with your broll. It didn't always feel like the broll was being cut with a clear purpose. Sometimes the shots felt a bit forced rather than helping to push the story forward. Also, make sure that when you cut to shots that they are steady and consistent in terms of their movement from the beginning of the shot to the end. A time or two I saw wide shots that would start static and then begin to pan towards the end of the shot. Watch your music mix. It really drops off during the Highland Park segment and this is a point where compelling music to match the mood would really benefit the piece. The music in general didn't always match the emotional mood of the story. It sort of held on one level. Use music purposefully so that it drives the emotion of the story. You needed a biggger change in music once the Highland Park segment started. Overall, there is a lot of good here, but work on polishing everything a bit more and make sure your story is the best it can be.
- 3/6 6:56 am - The video looks great–the color, framing, etc. Good use of b-roll–a wide variety of shots. Good job shaping the material through numerous interviews. Some shots could have been framed a bit better or were a bit dimmer.
Judge 1
Positives: Nice job getting several voices to speak about gratitude generation. With a story that didn't appear to have a lot of visuals - nice job putting the viewer in the Gratitude Generation environment and seeing the volunteers interact with each other.
Improvements: My biggest recommendation is to provide more information about Gratitude Generation. As a viewer I am not clear what their goals and achievements are? What do they give, who do they give to, how much have they given in the form of what? Money, gently used items, etc? What are their long term goals, how many volunteers do they have and how can I get involved if I wanted to help? From a technical perspective - two recommendations. See if your camera has 23.98fps capabilities. Shooting at 30fps (frames per second) gives your footage a flat "Video" look. 23.98fps gives your footage amore polished cinematic look. Also, watch your camera movements. If they are shaky, try not to use them or go back and make your camera moves smoother and consider allowing a shot to settle before you make your edits.
Judge 2
Positives: The story is excellent! I enjoyed learning more about the organization and how it positively impacted people inside and outside of the organization. Learning more about how the organization helped the Highland Park Community after the 4th of July Shooting was very touching. I appreciated how you interviewed several candidates who all brought their own perspectives to the video as well.
Improvements: The lighting could be improved because it looked flat at times. I would have also made the music a touch quieter and maybe even leave it out at times throughout the video. Great work!
Judge 3
Positives: The camera work on your b-roll is really well done. The pace of the edit and the music selection work nicely together. The audio work on this is wonderful! I felt like the narrative was really clear to follow, with great interviews.
Improvements: When interviewing for documentaries, we're almost always at the mercy of the filming location, so we have to work with what we're given. When possible, I would consider moving my interview subject away from the wall as much as possible and maybe raising my key light, to eliminate as much shadow as possible. While it may seem minor (and it is), consider checking your color and exposure between shots. Doing a really good color correction can be time consuming and since it's the last part of your project, often gets sacrificed (even in the professional world) for time/budget reasons. Many times, you can get by without it, but in situations where your interviews have similar/identical backgrounds, dialing that color in so that they have the same color temp and exposure can really help tie your video together.
Judge 4
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Judge 5
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