Theater Communications - A Class for Everyone - ID# 92

Maine East
Natural Audio News Package
Entry Description

Theater Communications is an elective course offering at Maine East High School that includes mild to moderately disabled Life Skills students and neurotypical peers. Together they learn social skills and improve overall communication through theater games and performance.

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

  • 4/30 4:22 pm - Strengths: This was a wonderful story about a unique course at your school. You had a variety of b-roll and I love how you paused your interviews to allow us to hear what is happening in the classroom. I also liked how you had interviews with so many members of the class community. All footage was well shot, stable, and shows mastery of manual settings. Closing show was really engaging. Areas of Growth: I enjoyed learning about the class and what people get out of it. If you were to do another story on this class next year, I would love for you to push beyond the surface and uncover additional layers in this story to create a more compelling narrative angle. This was so well done though! Keep telling stories.
  • 4/30 3:02 pm - You have an excellent flow between interviews b roll and then the next interview. You give your audience time to digest what was said, the b-roll reinforces it and then it goes a step further. Your story is organized in a very logical way, I understand what it is, why people take it, the benefits it offers. You did a great job of dancing between the interviews, b-roll and natural sounds. Great job. The only thing I might suggest is to mix up your interview locations to give a more diverse looks I kept seeing interviews in the hallway with the passion written on the wall. Don’t be afraid to mix it up to give a little more visual diversity. You did a great job on this story. I enjoyed it.
  • 4/29 6:50 am - What a great class to have! Good framing of the interview at the beginning and a good way to start this story. All of the interviews were framed well. Be cautious of the one student who has glasses on - there was a pretty good reflection of windows/doors in her glasses. Maybe moving her slightly to the right or left might have helped to fix that. Good b-roll in your story. In between the sound bites, you did a nice job letting us hear the natural audio from the b-roll - I would suggest bringing those audio levels up a bit more in those parts. When you bring them up full, look at your VU meter - that level should be the same level that your sound bites are at.
Judge 1

Positives: 1. Your videography really stood out in how you composed your interview subjects. Not only did you obey the rule of thirds, but the way you put them in focus relative to their background in the hallway was superb. That is something many professionals fail to do on a consistent basis. Great job! 2. Your storytelling was also strong. It not only described what the program was about, but it also showcased the opinion of the subjects in a way that was needed for this piece to be even of more interest. I want to give you special applause for actually interviewing a student participating in the program. I think a lot of people may have declined doing so for whatever reason. It can also be hard to pull off for various reasons. But highlighting that perspective is necessary as this was a story about a program that directly benefits them. They deserve to have their voices heard in such a piece and you did that. Great job again!

Improvements: 1. Overall, your usage of natural sound in the piece was good. However, I think there were a few places, particularly at the top of the story where it could have stood out more if you increased the volume or showcased something specific happening in the room compared to dialogue. 2. You also lit the story very well, however, there were a few interview subjects where you could have probably added a little bit more light. But again, you did a good job in this area as well.

Judge 2

Positives: I like that you interview the teacher and several students to show a full story about the class Good job throwing in nat pops of the class Good broll to match what the interviews were talking about

Improvements: Try to shoot your interviews in different spots even if you just switch sides Some of the nat pops felt a little low or forced, example at :41

Judge 3

Positives: I like that you paired interview shots with those in the footage to empathize their role in the class. Interviews are well composed, plenty of depth of field and ideal composition. Interviewees are well-spoken helping the stories understanding.

Improvements: Make sure your interviewee hides the microphone cord during the interview. While it's a small detail that may not matter in the moment, it makes your audience question how much attention went into the piece altogether. I'd love to see these interviews and natural sounds bridge even more. I encourage you to leave someone mic-ed up throughout part of class. Not only will you get clearer interaction for your story, but this will allow for those adlib moments you can't ask in an interview. These are the wow moments that help enhance the overall piece and keep you hooked from start to finish. I'd suggest starting with mic-ing one person up for longer before trying multiple. Find who's story you want to tell and let the rest support you on that journey.

Judge 4

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Judge 5

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