The Mini Doc
Reflecting
After taking a course on video and audio design while also reading "The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video" by Tom Schroeppel, I've learned and grown a lot in filmmaking. Before taking this class, I was a recent journalism graduate looking for a challenge. This class and finally project were certainly that.
While taking this course, I was able to refine my skills in videography, editing and video/audio storytelling. One big improvement I worked on during this course was learning more about equipment and lighting. I invested in a lighting kit and practiced the three point lighting rule for the first time. I also expanded on my creativity throughout the course. As a journalism major, I was used to creating one to two minute news packages. During this class, I tapped further into my creativity and expanded on it, being able to create different types of projects besides news stories.
This inspired my creative shots, lighting, angles and overall storytelling and editing. For my final project, I really wanted to challenge myself. My mini documentary is a profile piece on Jay Della Valle who turned his passion for music into a livelihood. The piece is a combination of a creative and business story. I further challenged myself by allowing soundbites to solely tell the story throughout the piece. The only times I narrated were at the beginning and end of the video. By taking a film and audio class, I was able to take advantage of the creative outlet and think outside the box.
Research
Before editing my final project, I refreshed myself on L and J cuts by researching some of the greatest examples in cinema.
"The Jazz Singer"
The first use of the L cut was in the "Jazz Singer" from 1927. Here, the L cut happens when the main character talks on stage while the camera cuts to audience members taking their seats. This L cut is what carved the path for the regular use of L cuts in film.
"Good Will Hunting"
In this scene of "Good Will Hunting," J cuts are used as we see the camera cut to people's facial expressions while dialogue is happening. This allows us to see what exactly is going on in the scene with each character and can allow us to better observe what is going through each character's minds. In this scene, the J cuts are edited seamlessly, allowing for a more dramatic effect.
Create
Below is my mini documentary! I filmed this with a Canon DSLR T5i and used various microphones for different settings. For the interview, I used a lighting kit to create the three-point lighting dimension. This project allowed me to learn and grow and further sparked my passion for video storytelling. Some challenges I faced were technical difficulties with the interview audio. However, with the use of Adobe's AI audio cleaner and my own editing on Premier Pro, I managed to fix the dialogue quality.
I also filmed a total of four hour Broll and interview footage. The biggest challenge was boiling the story down into a few minutes, with a lot of components. However, by allowing the story to speak for itself and focusing on the main story components, I managed to edit the bites down into a cohesive narrative.
Here is the video!