First and foremost, like many of the projects in the class, I find that they are oftentimes much more difficult than I expected! After having taken Brad's Doc class, I think I have a better understanding of what is required for a documentary. Further, I have an understanding of how to interview and just how difficult it is to really fit a documentary into a perfect little mode - when there is clearly overlap. Even if I start out, with a clear intention of doing a participatory doc, there will be observational moments, or even expository moments. But I don't think any film can be particularly interesting if it can be contained in one tightly wrapped little box. I'm a fan of asymmetry...
But in doing the project, I found that I did far more pre-production with this one. I planned on what I would be able to capture, asked many many questions in the interview, brought my camera as much as possible to be able to capture the right footage that would allow me to easily edit. I had lists of the footage I captured and a proposed flow for them as well. But even with all the planning, as I was editing, I wished I had a few other b-roll segments. My subject interviewed fairly well and my final film is a giant mash-up of all the bits I took from his interview. But he said some things that made me think about moments that I failed to capture on film. Moments I witnessed, but I was busy doing other things instead of filming. So, one thing I learned, is that when creating a documentary, to make sure that the actual creating of the documentary and the capturing of footage is the most prime focus. While I might think that I'm good at multi-tasking, it is impossible to film a documentary and be torn in so many other places.
But I am pleased with the final version. I came in several hours early to work on it, in the hopes of being able to complete and upload at BYU; which I was able to do. I think that this example will be a great springboard for my lesson plan with my students into a character study. I think it's also a project that they will enjoy doing.
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