The Man in the Green and Gold Suit | The James Williams Story - ID# 512
Glenbrook North
Documentary
Entry Description
Follow James Williams, Glenbrook North Class of 2010, on his journey to becoming the ultimate Spartan superfan. From cheering on every game to embodying school spirit like no other, his passion for GBN knows no bounds. But what drives his dedication, and how has he earned his title as the biggest fan in Spartan history?
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/14 8:40 pm - KEEPERS: Excellent personal story documentary about James. Great work all around. I love that this was done entirely from the perspective of James and at no point does it come off as ableist or serving another agenda. Your interviews and broll shots are all very well done. I love the clothes line polaroid shots of the stills That's a great way to show off stills in a more dynamic manner. The editing is well paced and your songs are well chosent to drive the emotions of the narrative. IMPROVEMENTS: Your next step as a documentarian is to spend time with subjects in their environment. Film broll of them and save all of that audio. Let's hear nat sound of James in the crowd at a game, selling concessions, at a booster meeting or arriving at an event. This really helps to bring the people you're covering to life and it brings them out of a solely talking heads environment. Good nat sound moments of subjects can also serve as good transitional elements from story point to story point. They're a necessary part of good documentary storytelling. I wanted to see some of those moments in this piece. I think having them would have allowed you to cut some sound bytes out in lieu of using those moments. Overall, great work. Keep telling stories!
- 2/25 12:48 pm - STORY: This is a strong personal narrative. The primary interview sources were all well done, nicely framed, with good audio. The historical b-roll was excellent and really complimented the story. PRODUCTION: Great camera and lighting, great audio (clear interview audio, nicely mixed music bed). This video is edited with an excellent pace; the pacing really moves the story along. It is very clear that you put a lot of time into producing this video, setting up and shooting interviews, shooting and sourcing b-roll, and putting everything together. You should be very proud of this project, regardless of the outcome in the MMEA Video Festival.
Judge 1
Positives: Great mixture of interviews and archival footage. Really tells the story of who James is. Pacing was excellent and information was given in an appropriate manner. Very well done!
Improvements: Music seemed too serious for the story. Lighting could have been slightly brighter on James' interview shots.
Judge 2
Positives: I like the photos hanging from the clothesline effect. I thought it fit well as you were describing a person's history. The video was effective in telling the story. It was uplifting and inspiring. I like that you added the photo-click sound effect.
Improvements: Some of the shots were too dark, or the color was off, or the exposure was off and it didn't fit the story as it was an uplifting story.
Judge 3
Positives: I really liked your intro, hearing students snippets of thoughts about the subject and the camera work follow him around was a great idea that hooked me in. GREAT camera work! The framing on your interviews was great use of the rule of thirds and using the environment the story takes place to frame your shots. Feels very professionally shot. The lighting is good too on your interviews. Superb use of the archival footage and I liked how you superimpose the footage onto the old TV. Very well done. This is a very technically proficient film!
Improvements: In your edit, you have a few "dip to blacks" throughout the film occur quite fast and then a new part will begin quickly. I'm not sure these abrupt dips to black add to your edit. I might suggest trying a few different music choices for the music bed? It sounds, at least to me, a bit too ominous/scary and I don't think that is the vibe you are going for with this subject matter.
Judge 4
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Judge 5
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