Doc School - Shooting Actuality 2
DOC SCHOOL: SHOOTING ACTUALITY (Part 2 of 3)
By Peter Biesterfeld
Research and logistical planning are critical in documentary/reality shooting, but once you arrive on location, actuality has a life of its own. Don't just bring back random shots. Watch what's going on for a while before you start shooting and visualize how shots can be cut together to make sequences out of the unscripted action unfolding in front of you. Don't forget, actuality is as much about sound as it is images. Have your audio strategy figured out.
Let's continue to shoot that education story featuring our music teacher. The school principal has given you permission to shoot during the teacher's classroom time and you have forty precious minutes to tell a visual story. What do you do?
• Arrive early to talk to the teacher about what's going to happen, when and where.
• Scribble it all down or make a mental shot list.
• Put a wireless microphone on the main character, the teacher.
• Beginning: Go handheld and shoot actuality of students arriving. Shoot details of students unpacking and assembling their instruments. Shoot student-teacher interactions. Be sure to get a sound bite of the teacher bringing the group to order. Be on a tripod to shoot her introductory remarks. Shoot an establishing shot of the classroom. This orients the audience and establishes the physical relationship between students and teacher. Shoot lots of close-ups.
• Middle: Shoot lots of close-ups of faces, instruments and sheet music. Shoot the teacher's instructions (the more student-teacher interaction the better). Shoot listening shots of students. Shoot over the teacher's shoulder towards the class. Shoot a reverse, a shot through the students' shoulders towards the teacher. Shoot a variety of shot sizes (wide, medium, close). Shoot long takes to record complete musical passages.
• End: Be sure to shoot a sound-up of the teacher's feedback and closing remarks. Shoot details of students packing up their instruments. Shoot student-teacher goodbyes. Shoot teacher packing up and leaving the room.
• You've already shot the teacher's arrival at the school for an opening. Don't forget to shoot other exteriors of the school before you wrap.
Professional reality shooters bring years of experience to shooting actuality. To them visual storytelling and sequencing conventions are second nature.
In the next Doc School article, you'll find a complimentary toolbox of reality shooting tips and practices you can take into the field.
-30-
(Part 1: Shooting for Storytelling; Part 2: Shooting Actuality; Part 3 Actuality Toolbox)
By Peter Biesterfeld
Research and logistical planning are critical in documentary/reality shooting, but once you arrive on location, actuality has a life of its own. Don't just bring back random shots. Watch what's going on for a while before you start shooting and visualize how shots can be cut together to make sequences out of the unscripted action unfolding in front of you. Don't forget, actuality is as much about sound as it is images. Have your audio strategy figured out.
Let's continue to shoot that education story featuring our music teacher. The school principal has given you permission to shoot during the teacher's classroom time and you have forty precious minutes to tell a visual story. What do you do?
• Arrive early to talk to the teacher about what's going to happen, when and where.
• Scribble it all down or make a mental shot list.
• Put a wireless microphone on the main character, the teacher.
• Beginning: Go handheld and shoot actuality of students arriving. Shoot details of students unpacking and assembling their instruments. Shoot student-teacher interactions. Be sure to get a sound bite of the teacher bringing the group to order. Be on a tripod to shoot her introductory remarks. Shoot an establishing shot of the classroom. This orients the audience and establishes the physical relationship between students and teacher. Shoot lots of close-ups.
• Middle: Shoot lots of close-ups of faces, instruments and sheet music. Shoot the teacher's instructions (the more student-teacher interaction the better). Shoot listening shots of students. Shoot over the teacher's shoulder towards the class. Shoot a reverse, a shot through the students' shoulders towards the teacher. Shoot a variety of shot sizes (wide, medium, close). Shoot long takes to record complete musical passages.
• End: Be sure to shoot a sound-up of the teacher's feedback and closing remarks. Shoot details of students packing up their instruments. Shoot student-teacher goodbyes. Shoot teacher packing up and leaving the room.
• You've already shot the teacher's arrival at the school for an opening. Don't forget to shoot other exteriors of the school before you wrap.
Professional reality shooters bring years of experience to shooting actuality. To them visual storytelling and sequencing conventions are second nature.
In the next Doc School article, you'll find a complimentary toolbox of reality shooting tips and practices you can take into the field.
-30-
(Part 1: Shooting for Storytelling; Part 2: Shooting Actuality; Part 3 Actuality Toolbox)
