Production of Documentary

Hi blog! Here’s how production went for the documentary project! 

So, Vicky and I had planned to film on two days, since the Lightning (Varsity) and Thunder (JV) teams would be decided by then, however the first issue arose, the date for the team list release got pushed back, so the rehearsals would not be separated, and would be way more chaotic with double the amount of people to worry about at a time. This was a huge setback because a lot of our planned interview questions and shots relied on the specific teams, but we found a way to make it work. We decided to film mainly in small groups rather than ensemble since it fit the vibe of the tight knit group that we had planned. 

Anyways, on the official first filming day, November 10th, we recorded interviews. Vicky handled the technology, and I asked the interviewees questions. We got to interview Yadrien during guard class in second period, and Julia, Maria and Vivi in quiet places around the courtyard that we found after school from 3-4pm since we had that time to prep before rehearsal. We made sure to put each person in a different spot so that the audience would not get bored, which was ensured by switching up what they see on screen to prevent a repetitive-feeling documentary. Especially since we had a lot of things to highlight about the activity, we put aspects in the back like a flag for Vivi’s interview shot, a rifle behind Maria, and trophies behind Julia. We also interviewed Erick after rehearsal since we wanted at least one to be in the empty cafeteria with the specific shot that we had planned in our heads prior.  

We also shot day 1 worth of B-roll footage (more equipment based). Vicky did most of the filming since I had to be in rehearsal, as I am the captain. This did pose to be somewhat of a problem because I had to both manage my team and pull my weight in the project; however, I knew that I would do a large chunk of the post-production stuff to help balance. I helped her organize some of the staged B-roll of fun tosses as well, which we got inspired by with the “Abstract” episodic documentary. Day 1 of production was a success. Here is a photo of filming an interview this day: 

On November 11th, in media class, we organized the B-roll and interview footage that we had after day 1 to help us stay organized and remember what we especially needed from day 2 of filming the next day. 

On November 12th we were ready for filming day 2. I was doing a lot more of the filming, especially in the first half because Vicky was not available until later. I filmed the across the floors (since this day’s goal was mainly dance and some equipment shots) and the warmups in the band room, which went really smoothly. I also shot some before rehearsal when the team was mainly just bonding, since that was a main point that we would need B-roll for. Vicky came in to film some equipment, but once again I could not help much in the second half due to my own rehearsal. We got a lot of shots in the band room and the cafeteria, and it was especially good because this rehearsal had a lighthearted tone, which was great to represent the connections. This day did not have any main problems and went quite well. Here is a photo from day 2 of filming: 

The production aspect went really well, and I was really excited to get to edit and see it all come together, and I can’t wait to tell you about the name that we decided on.