In order to help my team in understanding better the approach we've opted for, I did some research regarding everything a conventional documentary should include:
▶Observational documentaries can be
slightly tricky to shoot, therefore the cameraman needs to supply all the
building blocks necessary to make to edit themselves.
▶Audio is massively important and when
recording it, wear headphones (one ear left to hear what is happening around).
When editing sound, should read through story notes, as the audio should always
inform the shots.
▶For something to cut well when editing,
there have to be a massive variety of shots, tights, mids, wides and plenty of
different angles. Wides help both to cut the scene together and to give a sense
of place. Look for reflections, silhouettes, extreme high or low angles,
anything that can make the shot more attractive.
▶GVs (wide, broad shot, ELS) are often used
to give a wider sense of what is going on: what time of year is it, is it hot
or cold, what kind of weather is it, what time of day is it. The viewer isn't
as aware of the location as the film-maker is, so need to think at: time of
day, time of year and place.
▶B-roll is supplementary footage which can
help to create a more engaging video and can be used to cover hard cuts also,
helping creating a smooth transition to the next shot.
Moreover, I made a pre-list of the equipment we will need when going to Liverpool, with the presumption that we will need to include more equipment in the future.
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London based Lighting Cameraman/DoP, Daniel Haggett <http://www.danielhaggett.com/blog/182-how-to-shoot-reality-or-observational-documentary>
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