Cycle Three

Pre-Production

• A proposal is a short overview of the production you are planning.
• It is usually only about one page long.
• After you conceive of a production writing the ideas down in the form of a proposal is the next step.
• The proposal should include:
  • Description of the core concept of the production.
  • Overview of players (people in the production),
  • Outline of the plot.
• As you continue to produce more people will become involved in the production, they will want to see your proposal. These people may include:
  • Producer
  • Teacher
  • Funding agencies
  • Crew (assistants, sound person, lighting people, etc.)
  • Actors
  • Interviewers, reporters.
• Present your proposal for review and feedback. The purpose of a proposal is to convince others (or perhaps yourself) that your project is worth doing.

Research

After you decide what topic your production is about it is important to gather as much information as possible about that topic.

Your research can include:

See Interview research

• A treatment is a more in-depth breakdown of your intentions and strategies (your design) for making a production. It states what you are going to show and say, and how you are going to show and say it.
• A treatment is a way to forcing yourself to visualize your documentary. You must imagine what scenes might actually look like.
• A treatment is a “living document”; it can be continually revisited and rewritten through out the process of production. The iterative restructuring, refining, and rewriting of your treatment will allow you a way of understanding your production as it evolves. Not everything can be planned in advance so allow for chance, and the unpredictable.

1. Tell a good story
2. Do not relay value-neutral information like a textbook
3. Relay personal, critical perspective on some aspect of the human condition.
   

• Interesting characters trying to get or do something
• Exposition of information and context
• Revelations of human truths (emotions, reactions, intensity)
• Tension and conflict between opposing forces
• Dramatic suspense or intrigue
• Development of at least one character or situation
• A narrative climax
• A resolution
  

Facts: identify the people and situations you want to work with. State their history, and specifically what is intriguing about them. Make sure to get your statements of fact correct.

Formal Structure: how do you plan to make your proposal cinematic?

Introductions usually includes:

• A contextual over view
• An introduction to the players
• A cultural setting

Define the narrative arc. A classic narrative arc includes:

• A line of action
• A form of conflict
• A climax in the conflict (dramatic tension)
• A resolution

Aristotle said every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

The “classic narrative structure” as described in Cycle Two is an example of a formal structure. Other formal structures include:

• Temporal structures, i.e. a day in the life (Nanook of the North)
• The journey” or “a hero’s or heroine’s quest”
• Event structures, based on a specific event (This is what democracy looks like)
• Biographical structures, based on a personality (Don’t Look Back, about Bob Dylan)

Audience: Identify your intended audience. Specify how you will reach them and why they will be interested in your production. Tailor your treatment to your audience (define your audience). Academic, young-adult, general TV viewing public, kids, particular communities, artistic, etc.

Point of View: Identify your motivations for choosing your topic. List your qualifications and personal interest in the subject. Your point of view is unavoidable so it should be addressed up front. What voice is to be used in the production? Is the narration in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, person?

Methodology: Describe and explain your methodology and anticipated aesthetic. Identify the style in which you plan to make your production. For example will it be historical, behavioral, a docudrama, provocative, observational, participatory, performative, or descriptive? Will there be interviews? Will they be formal or informal? How much of it will be scripted? What type of narration? What types of graphics will be used?

Why should this production be made?
Explain why you documentary should be made at this point in time. How does this production provide a relevant insight?

• The Interviewer – the person asking the questions (you) and,
• The Interviewee – the person being interviewed.

Interview Research:

Back to Research
Research on the interviewee – name pronunciation, title, access, reason for interview

Research on the interview questions – an interview is a form of dialog, the more you know about a person or their subject the better your conversation will be. The interviewee may want to see some of your interview questions prior to the interview. An informal “pre-interview” can prepare both the interviewer and the interviewee.

Background Information – gather as much information about the topic of your interview and of the person you are interviewing. This information can help formulating interview questions and may lead to additional people or interview subjects.

Interview Location:

Context – location as re-enforcement of interview subject or content. Look for interesting backgrounds, objects, and images.

Lighting – check interview location for lighting, natural (sun) light is usually the best

Audio – check for background noise, or possible sound interruptions (phone, doorbell)

Space – make sure there is enough space for the interview to take place. This includes room for the camera and microphone to move for more than one shot. Interviews can take some time so it is important to keep your interviewee comfortable.

Cutaways – scout a location to assess potential images and sounds that can be used as cutaways from the interview itself. Cutaways should reinforce what the interviewee is saying.
Some examples of cutaway shots:

• Interviewee walking towards their place of work (or residence, or site of activity)
• Interviewee doing an activity related to the subject of the interview (e.g. an artist painting, an athlete practicing, etc.)
• Establishing shots showing location of interview
• Close ups of objects related to location or interview subject.

Shoot list – make a list of shots to get either before or after the interview itself.
Some examples of shots are:

• Over the interviewer ‘s shoulder (OTS) of the interviewee
• Reverse OTS shot showing the interviewer listening.
• The nod shot, CU of interviewer nodding while listening to the interviewee
• CU of interviewee’s hands gesturing

Video Basics

A basic knowledge of the technical aspects of video production can help with problem solving during a production.

The format of digital and analog video in North America conforms to the NTSC Standard.

Key elements of the NTSC Video Format are:

• Analog (NTSC Video)
  • 525 scan lines per frame
  • Frames are interlaced so that each frame is divided into 2 fields, 262.5 lines/field
  • 20 lines reserved for control information at the beginning of each field, so a maximum of 485 lines of visible data
  • Ordinary TV has a resolution of approximately 320 lines visible.
• Digital (DV NTSC)
  • 720 x 480 pixels
  • 48Khz, 16bit, Stereo audio
  • Note: 720:480 is not a 4:3 ratio mathematically, however DV NTSC uses a non-square pixel so 720 x 480 DV NTSC pixels give a 4:3 ratio.
• CCIR Standards for Digital Video (CCIR -- Consultative Committee for International Radio)

Video Signal has four main parts:

1. Luminance (Y) – intensity from black to white
2. Black Burst – a synch pulse for timing
3. Chrominance (C) – Colour hue and saturation
4. Colour Burst – a reference to balance colour value

White balance – a way of balancing colour values in your camera to compensate for different lighting sources. Different light sources have different “colour temperatures.” Indoor lights are redder and have a lower colour temperature then outdoor light, which is blue and has a higher colour temperature.

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