Video: Projects: Documentary Pre-Production

Unit

  • Expanding Skillset

Questions

  • How do we design Interview Questions to tell a good story?

  • How do we plan for getting effective Video Production footage?

What am I making?

  1. Eventually, an edited Documentary video featuring Interview footage (video link - Steve Harvey interviews President Obama)

  2. For this assignment, a Pre-Production page for your Documentary with

    • a Mission statement

    • Interview subject(s)

    • Interview questions

    • Location list

    • Art Direction ideas: costume & set design

    • Shot list (for your Interview shots & "B Roll" footage)

    • Overhead Diagram (for one Interview location setup)

How do I make it?

  1. You can type most information straight onto your web page. Study and follow examples provided in the steps.

  2. For your Shot List, use the Google Sheet template, fill it in, and add it into the page

  3. For your Overhead Diagram, it's recommended you sketch it on paper and photograph or scan and upload the image

    • You may draw it with an app or program on your laptop or mobile device also

Steps

  1. Create a Doc Pre-Production Page on your Google Site

  2. Type your Mission Statement: What kind of story do you want to tell? What do you want featured in the story?

  3. List your Interview Subjects: Who will you interview? Only need 1 person to tell a good story, but more is fine!

    • Release form link

  4. Create Interview Questions: open-ended questions that will encourage your subjects to tell a good story!

  5. List Locations you'd like to film to get footage - where will interviewing happen? Where will you get related footage - parks? neighborhoods? landmarks?

  6. List Art Directon ideas - costuming, and props and objects and decorations for your filming

  7. Use the Google Sheet template to create a Shot List with camera positions, movements, etc.

    • Make your own copy of the template (File > Make a Copy)

    • Cinematography page has resources for types of camera shots and movements

  8. Draw an Overhead Diagram with little camera icons to show where you are filming what at your main location. Use the numbers from the Shot List to number each camera!

  9. Write also What I Learned doing this. And remember - this is just a plan - you add to it or change it later as inspired! There are great camera shots that you won't think of now... when you get the idea when you're filming, just do it!

  10. Publish the page, copy the link, turn it in!

Grading

  • 4/A = Do all the steps, 2 interesting insights about "what I learned"

  • 3/B = Do all the steps, interesting "what I learned"

  • 2/C = Do all the steps, basic "what I learned"

Career Connections

  • In the video industry, workers specialize in certain roles and jobs.

  • Even so, it's good to understand how everything works, to have experienced everything yourself.

  • Independent filmmakers tend to do more of the jobs.

Resources