I have now begun adding new footage recently acquired for our short documentary in FST 497, Soul Resident. The footage is great and has a lot of the content we were looking for. A struggle I am currently having is finding where to include the new footage. Our former cut was so tightly put together that I am now having difficulty loosening it to find room for what's new. Making a small change in one spot often means changes that trickle all the way down the timeline.
The new footage includes interviews from two individuals: Joel DelRio Sr. and his son, Joel DelRio Jr. There is B-roll of them practicing parkour on a playground as well. This newly acquired footage included within it topics that I was able to subclip and add to the "topics" folder in our bin. These topics include: struggles of parkour, fears about parkour, and how parkour ties into family. There is particularly good content in the "fears about parkour" topic. The child indicates that he sometimes feels afraid to perform the moves associated with parkour. This sounds like exactly that kind of opposition we have been looking for, someone to express their fears and the real potential dangers that exist with practicing parkour. I think placing that piece of the interview directly after the montage of parkour fails will fit very nicely. The child also leaves a bit of silence before and after his dialogue, which, in editing, allows us to emphasize the impact of his statement. The B-roll includes shots of him that seem very reflective, as well, almost as if he is in deep thought about something. Juxtaposing these with his lines about fears will look good, in my opinion.
The father provides some good detailed answers, as well. He expands quite nicely on topics; however, he says many "Uhh"s and "Umm"s that unnecessarily prolong his answers. This makes the duration of the documentary spike significantly. Thus, I've been working on cutting out those pieces of dialogue and masking them with B-roll. This often means many cuts, which, in turn, means difficulty finding fresh B-roll that makes sense. Despite this, his answers are very good and so need to be included, I think. There is also some good B-roll of them practicing parkour together, while in the same shot. These fit nicely when he is talking about how parkour has helped bring his family closer together.
Today we present on our color grading assignment. What we tried to do in our assignment was emphasize the many vibrant colors of the gyms by boosting saturation. We did not, however, want to do anything too drastic.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Finer Cuts
We have been working on making the fine cuts finer for Greater Heights. Part of the suggestions of the class from our last screening included reducing the vox pop even more and adding found footage of parkour injuries to the section where Tori discusses the YouTube attraction towards parkour. There were also suggestions to do more filming and incorporate more footage that is outside of the gyms. My partner and I split these duties between us. I took the responsibility of reducing the vox pop and adding the found footage.
The vox pop I have been struggling with for some time. I have long agreed that it was too long and I have, throughout the semester, been working to reduce it. With this last pass, I made the most significant cuts to date. I reduced the vox pop down to under a minute in duration. I did this by completely removing the young couple standing in the field. While I do think they had very good answers, the class seemed pretty unanimous in voting that they should be the ones to go. I also cut out some answers from the red-haired lady.
For the found footage, I watched many videos on YouTube by searching for "parkour fails,"parkour bloopers," and "parkour injuries." Many of the videos were quite disturbing; however, I only include those that I feel communicate our intentions but are still viewable by children. These included videos of people trying to do different parkour stunts but falling/slipping/tripping. I tried to fit as many examples of these fails as I could in the small duration i which Tori is describing the dangers of watching parkour on YouTube. As a result, there are many clips in that span that last only a few quick seconds. My intentions in editing them in this manner (and putting them after Tori's dialogue) is to completely bombard the viewer with what could go wrong if children are not properly taught how to practice parkour.
My partner took the responsibility of getting the added suggested footage. She went to the high school and shot footage of Yuri and the included students at school. From what I've seen, the stuff she obtained looks great. It should all fit nicely and give our cut some much needed variety and relief from the gym. She also wanted to do another interview, which she scheduled for last Thursday; however, the interviewee forgot and so was not able to participate. I believe she has rescheduled to get the interview this Tuesday. After she obtains this interview, we should have much more footage and diversity to include in the documentary.
The vox pop I have been struggling with for some time. I have long agreed that it was too long and I have, throughout the semester, been working to reduce it. With this last pass, I made the most significant cuts to date. I reduced the vox pop down to under a minute in duration. I did this by completely removing the young couple standing in the field. While I do think they had very good answers, the class seemed pretty unanimous in voting that they should be the ones to go. I also cut out some answers from the red-haired lady.
For the found footage, I watched many videos on YouTube by searching for "parkour fails,"parkour bloopers," and "parkour injuries." Many of the videos were quite disturbing; however, I only include those that I feel communicate our intentions but are still viewable by children. These included videos of people trying to do different parkour stunts but falling/slipping/tripping. I tried to fit as many examples of these fails as I could in the small duration i which Tori is describing the dangers of watching parkour on YouTube. As a result, there are many clips in that span that last only a few quick seconds. My intentions in editing them in this manner (and putting them after Tori's dialogue) is to completely bombard the viewer with what could go wrong if children are not properly taught how to practice parkour.
My partner took the responsibility of getting the added suggested footage. She went to the high school and shot footage of Yuri and the included students at school. From what I've seen, the stuff she obtained looks great. It should all fit nicely and give our cut some much needed variety and relief from the gym. She also wanted to do another interview, which she scheduled for last Thursday; however, the interviewee forgot and so was not able to participate. I believe she has rescheduled to get the interview this Tuesday. After she obtains this interview, we should have much more footage and diversity to include in the documentary.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Marketing and Distribution Plan
Below is our marketing and Distribution plan, plus budgets, for Greater Heights. I couldn't figure out how to upload the actual budget documents, so I just copy and pasted them below. The formatting appears to have messed up a bit.
St. John's International
Women's Film Festival
§We chose this festival because in order
to qualify, women must be the director, cinematographer, producer, editor, etc.
Both Emmie and
Brooke are quite obviously women, and were the director, producer, and editor.
It is $35 to enter.
Harlem
International Film Festival
§We chose
this film festival because it accepts short documentaries, and the deadline is
coming up on May 11th.
It will be right as our film is completed, and could possibly be the first
festival we submit to. It is $25 to enter.
Topanga
Film Festival
§We chose
this festival because our short documentary is the perfect length film for what
they are looking for. The ideal length of films they accept is 2-10 minutes,
but no more than 25 minutes. Our film will be around 10 minutes, maybe even 10
minutes after more editing.
Adventure
Film Festival
§We chose
this festival because it is specifically for short
films about outdoor sports. While some categories are simply about adventure,
others are about education and activism through outdoor sports. Also, they have
a rolling deadline.
Florida Documentary
Film Festival
§We chose
this film festival because it strictly accepts documentary films, whether
feature of short. It is $45 for students to enter.
La
Costa Film Festival
§We chose this festival because, in doing
research, we learned that they often incorporate sports themes into their
events and presentations. Thus, those who head the festival are obviously
sports enthusiasts, which is right in line with our film. In reading interviews
about the festival, we even learned that “More
likely their ‘demographics’ are
fans of ‘The Short
Game,’ a doc
about kids training for the World Championships of Junior Golf.”
This is similar to our own documentary. They also have a spots feature and
shorts category.
United
Film Festival* Free
§We chose this festival, first, because
it’s free. Second, we chose it because it has a rolling deadline. Thirdly, we
chose United Film Festival because we saw a few sports documentary selections
in its past, which means they must like sports films. Even better, in
researching, we found a documentary, Parkour
Los Angeles, about parkour in
their past selections.
Hot
Springs Documentary Film Festival
§We chose this festival because it is
exclusively documentary. It also emphasizes an interest in sports in its
self-promotion. It even includes a category exclusively dedicated to sports
documentaries.
Asheville
Cinema Festival
§We chose this festival because it is in
Asheville, NC, which means it would be easier to attend, should we get
selected. Also, it is relatively cheap to submit.
| Company | Printing Price (100) | Stamps | Total |
| VistaPrint | $16.47 | $10 | $26.47 |
| UPS | $34.73 | $10 | $44.73 |
| PSPrint | $26.72 | $10 | $36.72 |
| Submission Fee | Supplies | Shipping | ||
| United Film Festival | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Adventure Film Festival | $25 | $0.50 | $10 | |
| Florida Documentary Film Festival | $50 | $0.50 | $10 | |
| Topanga Film Festival | $40 | $1 | $10 | |
| St. John's International Women's Film Festival | $35 | $0.00 | $0 | |
| La Costa Film Festival | $50 | $1 | $10 | |
| Harlem International Film Festival | $45 | $0.00 | $10 | |
| Asheville Cinema Festival | $35 | $0.50 | $10 | |
| Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival | $50 | $0.50 | $10 | |
| $330 | $4 | $60 | $394 |
|
Festival
|
Early
Deadline
|
Regular
Deadline
|
Late
Deadline
|
Fee
|
Date
Submitted
|
Notification
Date
|
Accetpted?
|
Screening
Date
|
Screening
Location
|
Going?
|
Place
to Stay?
|
|
United
Film Festival
|
Rolling
|
Rolling
|
Rolling
|
Free
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Adventure
Film Festival
|
Rolling
|
Rolling
|
Rolling
|
$25
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Florida
Documentary Film Festival
|
15-Feb
|
15-Apr
|
15-Jun
|
$35 ED/
$45 RD/ $50 LD
|
N/A
|
1-Aug
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Topanga
Film Festival
|
14-Mar
|
14-Apr
|
19-May
|
$25 ED/
$35 RD/ $40 LD
|
N/A
|
7-Jun
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
St.
John's International Women's Film Festival
|
18-Mar
|
15-Apr
|
20-May
|
$10 ED/
$20 RD/ $35 LD
|
N/A
|
25-Sep
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
La
Costa Film Festival
|
31-Mar
|
16-May
|
16-Jun
|
$45 ED/
$50 RD/ $60 LD
|
N/A
|
15-Aug
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Harlem
International Film Festival
|
13-Apr
|
11-May
|
8-Jun
|
$25 ED/
$45 RD/ $65 LD
|
N/A
|
10-Aug
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Asheville
Cinema Festival
|
15-Apr
|
15-Jun
|
16-Jul
|
$25 ED/
$35 RD/ $40 LD
|
N/A
|
15-Sep
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Hot
Springs Documentary Film Festival
|
1-May
|
15-May
|
15-Jun
|
$35 ED/
$50 RD/ $50 LD
|
N/A
|
16-Sep
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Monday, April 7, 2014
Rough Cut Screening
Today we screened our rough cut of Greater Heights in FST 497. I thought overall the screening went well. We received some good feedback, suggestions, and critique. It definitely gave us some things to work on going forward.
First, it was unanimous that our vox pop is too lengthy. This is something that I have already feared for some time. Recently, my partner has worked on shortening it down from 2 min 30 sec to 30 sec. Doing this should reduce the overall run time; however, my fear is that it will make the opening all the more abrupt.
Next, people suggested that we install found footage of injuries and bloopers involving parkour. I agree with this point. Such footage would fit nicely in the section where Tori discusses how so much of YouTube parkour is all about style and tricks, but what many people don't know is that those athletes practiced the tricks hundreds of times before ever posting them on the internet. Thus, it is obvious how this could be dangerous for children. They could view the video and get a false sense of courage to go try the tricks without training. If we address this fact by showing clips of people trying and failing at parkour and pair them with Tori's dialogue, it may make his points have a greater impact.
Overall, people said that it flowed well between the topics and that it was coherent, which is a good thing considering that we created different sequences for each topic and then, after completion, arranged and organized them all together to find a story. However, Professor Silva noted that the film is missing a key element, a dramatic arc. He stated that, as it stands, the edit is a great promotional piece that could play at various gyms to encourage parents to sign their children up for parkour lessons. But for festival submission, it is missing an emotional connection, a dramatic struggle. These points I agree with, however, the recommendations for fixing it seem a little difficult to me. Everyone's recommendations involved shooting new footage. Some suggested we get footage of things outside of the gym. Others suggested we find new interviews and have them talk about things that contradict other statements in the film. I'm not sure how feasible these options are this late into the semester. That being said, I do recognize that the vast majority of the interviews focus only on the positives of parkour. And if ever they do relate a downside (such as when Anthony Gomez discusses his failure on American Ninja Warrior) it is only for a very short sentence or two. As a result, I am beginning to wonder: should we market this for festivals or should we aim to make this a promotional piece for gyms and parkour lessons?
First, it was unanimous that our vox pop is too lengthy. This is something that I have already feared for some time. Recently, my partner has worked on shortening it down from 2 min 30 sec to 30 sec. Doing this should reduce the overall run time; however, my fear is that it will make the opening all the more abrupt.
Next, people suggested that we install found footage of injuries and bloopers involving parkour. I agree with this point. Such footage would fit nicely in the section where Tori discusses how so much of YouTube parkour is all about style and tricks, but what many people don't know is that those athletes practiced the tricks hundreds of times before ever posting them on the internet. Thus, it is obvious how this could be dangerous for children. They could view the video and get a false sense of courage to go try the tricks without training. If we address this fact by showing clips of people trying and failing at parkour and pair them with Tori's dialogue, it may make his points have a greater impact.
Overall, people said that it flowed well between the topics and that it was coherent, which is a good thing considering that we created different sequences for each topic and then, after completion, arranged and organized them all together to find a story. However, Professor Silva noted that the film is missing a key element, a dramatic arc. He stated that, as it stands, the edit is a great promotional piece that could play at various gyms to encourage parents to sign their children up for parkour lessons. But for festival submission, it is missing an emotional connection, a dramatic struggle. These points I agree with, however, the recommendations for fixing it seem a little difficult to me. Everyone's recommendations involved shooting new footage. Some suggested we get footage of things outside of the gym. Others suggested we find new interviews and have them talk about things that contradict other statements in the film. I'm not sure how feasible these options are this late into the semester. That being said, I do recognize that the vast majority of the interviews focus only on the positives of parkour. And if ever they do relate a downside (such as when Anthony Gomez discusses his failure on American Ninja Warrior) it is only for a very short sentence or two. As a result, I am beginning to wonder: should we market this for festivals or should we aim to make this a promotional piece for gyms and parkour lessons?
Monday, March 31, 2014
Rough Cut Presentation and Fine Tunings
Today we present our rough cut of "Greater Heights" to the FST 497 class. We nearly screened last week, but ran out of time. I have enjoyed the other rough cuts thus far and think everyone is doing a great job. I am excited to receive feedback, responses, and suggestions from everyone. I believe it will go smoothly and am looking forward to watching our cut on a screen instead of on a monitor. I think this puts you more in the perspective of the audience rather than the editor, which is a good thing sometimes.
In the last week, I have been trying to cut down what I can on the vox pop. As I have stated in previous posts, the vox pop feels a little too elongated and forced. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it leading the film; however, it is difficult to find another place to place it. Also, I have been trying to smooth the intro. After the vox pop, the film immediately jumps in to a short montage which includes our title, "Greater Heights." In my opinion, this intro montage is a little abrupt as well. It ensues without any preparation from the clips preceding. The end of the opening montage, however, is, I believe, effective. It fades out after the words "Greater Heights" and then fades in to some B-roll of Tori teaching a children's class. This is a very smooth transition into our first topic: Tori intro/benefits of parkour for children. The outro needs a little work too, in my opinion. It feels similarly abrupt. Immediately following Tori's last line, an outro montage ensues with music. This fades out and ends the film. I have been working on smoothing this as well. Whatever I do, I feel that both the outro and intro need to be consistent. They are already very similar as is, however, any changes I make to one I think I should make to the other. This is because they are serving similar purposes with similar techniques: one leads us into our story and the other leads us out.
I have decided not to readjust the topics until I have received feedback on our rough cut. I assembled them after completing all the topics and found that they actually flowed together quite nicely as they stood, with a few minor tweaks of course. In my opinion, the technique that Professor Silva suggested for us was quite effective. If you are editing a documentary and are struggling to find a story in the editing room, you should first watch all the interviews, break them into unifying topics, and then edit those topics individually without any concerns for repetitive B-roll. Then, after completing those topics, assemble them together and reevaluate your film. At that point, you may find an order and direction that you did not know was there.
In the last week, I have been trying to cut down what I can on the vox pop. As I have stated in previous posts, the vox pop feels a little too elongated and forced. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it leading the film; however, it is difficult to find another place to place it. Also, I have been trying to smooth the intro. After the vox pop, the film immediately jumps in to a short montage which includes our title, "Greater Heights." In my opinion, this intro montage is a little abrupt as well. It ensues without any preparation from the clips preceding. The end of the opening montage, however, is, I believe, effective. It fades out after the words "Greater Heights" and then fades in to some B-roll of Tori teaching a children's class. This is a very smooth transition into our first topic: Tori intro/benefits of parkour for children. The outro needs a little work too, in my opinion. It feels similarly abrupt. Immediately following Tori's last line, an outro montage ensues with music. This fades out and ends the film. I have been working on smoothing this as well. Whatever I do, I feel that both the outro and intro need to be consistent. They are already very similar as is, however, any changes I make to one I think I should make to the other. This is because they are serving similar purposes with similar techniques: one leads us into our story and the other leads us out.
I have decided not to readjust the topics until I have received feedback on our rough cut. I assembled them after completing all the topics and found that they actually flowed together quite nicely as they stood, with a few minor tweaks of course. In my opinion, the technique that Professor Silva suggested for us was quite effective. If you are editing a documentary and are struggling to find a story in the editing room, you should first watch all the interviews, break them into unifying topics, and then edit those topics individually without any concerns for repetitive B-roll. Then, after completing those topics, assemble them together and reevaluate your film. At that point, you may find an order and direction that you did not know was there.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Rough Cut Assembled
Finally, I have finished all my topics and combined my sequences with my partner's. In all, I was able to edit five individual topics that combined for a total of about 12 minutes. My topics are: vox pop, Tori Nelson personal, Anthony Gomez personal, the benefits of parkour for children, and the stereotypes and possibilities of injury associated with parkour.
The Tori Nelson personal and Anthony Gomez personal sections are fairly recent. I had not originally intended on diving into these topics when I began editing. However, their interviews provided the opportunity to explore their characters a little more in depth. Also, they are both very important figures to the topic being discussed. Based on this, I believe they need to be explored with greater detail. In these personal sections we learn how Tori got into parkour and how it even saved his life. Additionally, we learn that Anthony Gomez was at one point on the hit television show, American Ninja Warrior (which is a competitive show about parkour). Investigating the two instructors in this way gives a little more credibility to their words. It shows the audience that they actually know what they are talking about because they have experienced it.
When I finally put together all the pieces, my guess proved correct: there are a few B-roll shots that are repeated over the course of the rough cut. Pre-assembly, I was not thinking about which B-roll shots I had already used. Rather, according to the advice of Professor Silva, I was placing B-roll in every spot that I felt it belonged, which meant that sometimes B-roll was repeated. The next step is to figure out where certain shots fit best. Obviously, the final product cannot have repeated B-roll; otherwise, it may seem like a mistake. Upon assembly, however, there were some shots that I instantly knew fit best in only one spot. These instances I corrected immediately. What's left of repeating B-roll shots indicates that I am still trying to figure out where those shots fit best. I am hoping that the rough cut presentation on Monday will provide valuable feedback on this dilemma.
I also managed to edit together a small intro with music. This actually follows the vox pop. It seems slightly rushed and a little forced in my opinion, but hopefully the class will have some opinions on it on Monday.
On another note, I intend on tackling the color correcting assignment more aggressively this week. The previous weeks have been dominated by separating the edit into topics and then assembling all the topics together and arranging so that they fit and flow. Doing all that, however, has left me little time to experiment with and better learn the color grading applications. I intend on spending as much time as I can exploring these tools this week.
The Tori Nelson personal and Anthony Gomez personal sections are fairly recent. I had not originally intended on diving into these topics when I began editing. However, their interviews provided the opportunity to explore their characters a little more in depth. Also, they are both very important figures to the topic being discussed. Based on this, I believe they need to be explored with greater detail. In these personal sections we learn how Tori got into parkour and how it even saved his life. Additionally, we learn that Anthony Gomez was at one point on the hit television show, American Ninja Warrior (which is a competitive show about parkour). Investigating the two instructors in this way gives a little more credibility to their words. It shows the audience that they actually know what they are talking about because they have experienced it.
When I finally put together all the pieces, my guess proved correct: there are a few B-roll shots that are repeated over the course of the rough cut. Pre-assembly, I was not thinking about which B-roll shots I had already used. Rather, according to the advice of Professor Silva, I was placing B-roll in every spot that I felt it belonged, which meant that sometimes B-roll was repeated. The next step is to figure out where certain shots fit best. Obviously, the final product cannot have repeated B-roll; otherwise, it may seem like a mistake. Upon assembly, however, there were some shots that I instantly knew fit best in only one spot. These instances I corrected immediately. What's left of repeating B-roll shots indicates that I am still trying to figure out where those shots fit best. I am hoping that the rough cut presentation on Monday will provide valuable feedback on this dilemma.
I also managed to edit together a small intro with music. This actually follows the vox pop. It seems slightly rushed and a little forced in my opinion, but hopefully the class will have some opinions on it on Monday.
On another note, I intend on tackling the color correcting assignment more aggressively this week. The previous weeks have been dominated by separating the edit into topics and then assembling all the topics together and arranging so that they fit and flow. Doing all that, however, has left me little time to experiment with and better learn the color grading applications. I intend on spending as much time as I can exploring these tools this week.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Chipping Away
I am still chipping away at editing topics for Greater Heights. So far I have completed topic sections on the benefits of parkour as it pertain to children, as well as the stereotype surrounding parkour. Professor Silva has advised me to continue this process of editing topics, with hopes that, when done, I can piece together the rough cut like a puzzle.
The first section, benefits of parkour as it pertains to children, is quite lengthy at the moment. It is over five minutes on its own. This is because I sifted through all the interviews and extracted any and all pieces that fit into the topic. In doing so, however, there is much repetition in what people say. Many interviewed individuals discuss how parkour instills confidence in children and allows them to overcome their fears. While this is a great point to include in the edit, repeating it over and over may cause it to lose its value. Professor Silva suggested I choose the clip of the individual who discussed confidence best, and delete the others. That would help save time and strengthen the claim.
The second topic section, stereotypes of parkour, is a bit more challenging. Not too many individuals touch on this topic in their interviews. Due to this fact, I have broadened the topic section to include subjects that seem closely related to it. These subjects include: injuries during parkour, the legality of parkour, and the dangers of parkour. It seems to me that all of these subjects could fit under the umbrella of parkour stereotypes. However, it is also a bit more difficult to find B-roll that fits this topic.
Throughout this process, my partner, Emilie, has also been working in this fashion. She has been addressing topics such as the structure of parkour classes, and defining parkour. There is, undoubtedly, much information in the former. During shooting, she obtained many great interviews with teachers on the structure and technicalities of parkour classes.
One thing that worried me in working in this manner, was the possibility that I would inadvertently repeat clips across topics. For example, I may accidentally use certain B-roll multiple times. Professor Silva suggested I not worry about that, however, because it is nearly impossible to avoid. Besides, if I use clips more than once, I may find that they work better in a different place than I originally intended.
Another fear of mine is finding a place to fit the vox-pop. Finding a place for this type of interview has always been a struggle of mine. In most of my attempts, it seems forced or rushed. In my opinion, vox-pops need to motivated. Thus, my next task will be finding this motivation, searching our story for a place to put these pedestrian interviews, if it needs it at all.
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