Documentary Filmmaking J Term - The Production Begins (part 2)

 

The Production Begins

We started off the day today by watching the 60-second documentaries that we didn't have time to watch yesterday, and we critiqued them. Doing this helps us learn where we can improve as far as shot composition and editing. After we critiqued our 60-second documentaries, we all split up into our documentary crews and worked on the pre-production of each documentary. Pre-production for our documentaries included three steps: researching the topic of the documentary, developing interview questions, and creating the list of shots required for the documentary. Pre-production took up the majority of the day today, as there is a lot that goes into it, and it's the crucial first step in making any documentary. After pre-production was finished, we created what's called the "shooting schedule", which is basically what days we were going to film what things. Our shooting schedule depended heavily on the people we were filming because they had specific times when they were available. The final part of our day was splitting up into groups based on the production roles we were assigned on the second day (cinematographer, sound person, etc.) and learning how to use the equipment. 

I thought that today was really interesting. It was really productive, which means that I learned a lot. Before today, I knew nothing about what goes into the pre-production of a documentary, and I'm glad that I know now. I also thought that learning about how to use the equipment was interesting. I am a cinematographer for one of the three documentaries that are being made during this J-term, so I learned a lot about using cameras. I went into this already knowing how to use a DSLR camera like a Canon, but I didn't know how to use a camcorder, which is something I learned how to do. All in all, I think today went really well: it was informational and productive. 

The CAS outcome I achieved through this experience was "Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process". I definitely learned a lot about the different equipment that I was going to use to film this documentary. It was definitely challenging to figure out at first because I was working with cameras that I had never used before, but now I am better able to work with different kinds of equipment. I think that I also learned a lot about pre production and how time consuming it is. Although I have made films before and kind of know what the pre production process is like, this was my first time making a documentary, so the pre production process was completely different from what I am used to. I got the hang of it, though, and it was actually really fun. I think that I can definitely use the skills I learned through this experience later on in life.