Nick Martinelli - ID# 443
Glenbrook North
Documentary
Entry Description
A documentary on junior Northwestern Men's Basketball star Nick Martinelli, including Glenbrook South basketball head coach Phillip Ralston. This story includes an emphasis on Nick's background, with insights on how he has achieved his success in the current day.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/1 8:42 pm - KEEPERS: Nice story overall. It's not everyday we get to see a D1 athlete at a Big 10 school interviewed, so that was cool. You did well weaving the game footage into the story. The photos and archival footage from his younger years was a really nice touch. IMPROVEMENTS: From a story standpoint, it needed more finesse. As I started watching this, I thought it was going to be a story of overcoming hardships and working hard to reach a certain level. And that was in there, but it should have been made bigger. He speaks about not originally liking basketball. What changed? That was never really covered. How did his game improve over time so that it led to his ultimate landing with Northwestern? For those not familiar with the NW team, what are his present stats and how is thought of around the NCAA? These are all questions that were begging to be answered. Because they were not, the story was kind of flat. Ideally (and this may not have been possible, I realize) but this needed a third voice to be interviewed. A family member, another coach...someone with additional perspective. Work more on your interview set ups. I do realize that with an athlete like that, your time may have been limited, but think about backgrounds lighting and camera angles. Also, here is a simple tip: if you interview one subject and place them on one side of the frame, put the second subject on the other side of the frame and so on. Additional broll was needed. More photos, perhaps GBS game footage from his high school career, etc. More was needed to round out the story and give it more life. Pace your story a bit more and consider using music and title cards to fill in gaps with additional information in a simple way. The piece needed additional emotional pull. Overall, this is a piece with a lot of promise. Keep working on improving!
- 3/4 9:48 am - What Worked Well: ✅ Compelling Subject – Featuring a well-known collegiate basketball player adds intrigue and credibility to the documentary. ✅ High-Energy Opening – The use of action-packed footage at the start effectively grabs the audience’s attention. ✅ Strong Coach Interview – The interview with the coach is well-executed, both in content and professional-quality audio. Areas for Improvement:Lack of Context in Storytelling – The documentary jumps into the interview with Nick without much setup. Consider adding an introduction or framing device to establish why this story matters. Interview Composition – While the locker room setting is appropriate, more creative composition could have enhanced the visual appeal. Experiment with angles and depth to make it more dynamic.Overuse of Stock B-Roll – The b-roll consists mostly of stock footage, but this topic had great opportunities for original, personalized b-roll. Capturing your own footage would have made the documentary feel more authentic and engaging. Overall, this is a great profile of Nick and his career, but refining the storytelling structure and visuals will elevate it even further!
- 2/24 1:45 pm - STORY: Interesting story, but the ending seems kind of rushed. The stress-fracture in his foot part could have been a really cool, dramatic element to explore, but it was just kind of passed over. PRODUCTION: The archival b-roll from his youth is almost as valuable and important as the b-roll from his collegiate career (ESPN, Big10, etc.) The actual A-roll interview with Nick is kind of average, honestly. The lighting could have been a lot better, and the location and framing of the interview shot could have been much better. Seeing a practice golf mat box in the background behind him really distracts the viewer. Also, your angle on Nick isn’t great; you should have had him framed tighter, like a close up (head and shoulders) or a medium shot that ends just below the Wildcats on his shirt.
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