Band Camp to Game Day: Building Wildcat Pride - ID# 438
Libertyville
Documentary
Entry Description
Documentary about the process of becoming a marching wildcat and the impact they have on their community.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/28 8:59 pm - +Good b-roll, lots of coverage, interesting information...learned a lot! -Usually best to put a person's lower third on the opposite side of the frame from the interviewee's body, there's a lot of the teacher talking--would have liked to see the students speaking more, story is pretty surface level, would be nice to hear more NAT audio
- 4/6 8:57 pm - KEEPERS: Really well shot piece overall. The amount of broll you acquired pertaining to marching band is really impressive. Visually, I felt like I got a good grasp as to what being in marching band during camp and during the season is like. You also did well in letting us hear from a number of different voices to tell the story. The various marching band songs were appropriate and fit in well with the theme. IMPROVEMENTS: The main issue is the lack of natural audio. I wanted to actually hear everything happening as it got workshopped and rehearsed by various individuals. I wanted to hear the band director coaching/conducting. I wanted to hear the drum majors coutning off steps, laughter during breaks, sounds of various instruments tuning up, the sound of 99 people coming to attention. Natual audio in a story like this is an absolute must. It also allows you to use natural audio and broll for transitional moments in the story--parts where the talking heads stop for a moment and we hear and see just that natural environment stuff. That serves as a break for the audience and it can more efficiently move between story beats and introduce new people about to be interviewed. Moving forward, please consider working that into your future documentaries. Be more consistent with your interview set ups. Follow rule of thirds always. Many times the student interviews were center framed and the students didn't always know where to look. Have your interview subjects look at the interviewer and not directly at the camera. Look to other documentaries to discover the method to this. Overall, there was a lot to like here!
Judge 1
Positives: -Editing cues were fantastic (timed to music etc.) -B Roll in general was very strong, good variety and well shot -informational, genuinely interesting information
Improvements: -poor lighting on main interview subject -let's hear a personal story to make it more emotionally intriguing
Judge 2
Positives: The editing cadence that drives the story telling is impeccable. that has a lot to do with how the marching positions are shot too. when we see an explanation for a marching maneuver shot on screen, everything is really enamoring. So props not only to the editing, but to the cinematography.
Improvements: all that being said before. I can tell you didn't hit the ground running with the film being born in the editing room. the beginning in particular, though I can see what the editing schematic was intending, translated to something unfocused, hidden behind really good b roll. you lose steam that way later on when you stop showing the specific things you are talking about on with just b-roll. that's all ok. and typically that's how news is processed. but for documentary. you want to be careful with how you are manipulating your images, and making sure the b-roll from the V/O is all on the same page. Otherwise great shot! Judged by: NAC
Judge 3
Positives: The graphics were easy to read. Loved all the changes in angles for B-roll, and the slow motion was used really well. Great compositions and movement in the shots. I really like all the footage, the variety that you had day and night and during training. Really added to the story.
Improvements: The story wasn't clear to me. Maybe some dialogue could have been excluded? Better questions are asked during interviews. More interviews to choose from. A few glitches in the edit. Try not to use autofocus.
Judge 4
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Judge 5
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