Liam Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 I've been curious to get more into improvisation in film, but last time I tried I ended up with pretty much a montage. I figured someone with a documentary background could see a way to create a plot in it better than I had. I assume you can use B-roll to hide a seam, cut two conversations together so it feels like one, cross cut between two scenes so that you care less that each part is just a snippet... mess with the order. I don't know, I'd be interested in any input or personal experience, or just pointing me in the direction of where better to learn some of this. I know nothing in this area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tupp Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Make transcription text files with time code references to all spoken lines in your footage/audio. Then, edit "on paper" before you even get close to sitting down at the edit bay. It makes the process exceedingly easier and much more thorough. You can add b-roll/cut-aways during the paper edit and/or during the NLE session. If you have a lot of footage/audio (more than ~20-30 minutes), hire a cheap transcription service to make the text files with time code reference. The least expensive transcription services are probably in India and, perhaps, in the Philippines, and they can often transcribe most languages. These services are worth every penny you spend on them. Liam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgreszcz Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 25 minutes ago, tupp said: Make transcription text files with time code references to all spoken lines in your footage/audio. Then, edit "on paper" before you even get close to sitting down at the edit bay. It makes the process exceedingly easier and much more thorough. You can add b-roll/cut-aways during the paper edit and/or during the NLE session. If you have a lot of footage/audio (more than ~20-30 minutes), hire a cheap transcription service to make the text files with time code reference. The least expensive transcription services are probably in India and, perhaps, in the Philippines, and they can often transcribe most languages. These services are worth every penny you spend on them. Also check out something like speed scriber if you are in a Mac as it uses AI voice recognition to transcribe to text with markers. It can also import into most NLE and with FCPX you can search for words and find the clips when the people said those words. Also you can export to PDF or SRT for subtitles. the latest FCPX grill podcast talks with the guy who made speed scriber. tupp and Liam 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tupp Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 By the way, one good site to go to for documentary tips is http://doculink.org/ The Doculink "mailing list" is their forum. sgreszcz and Liam 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Liam. It 's my opinion that documentary offers a far greater range to work with than fiction film... and when you get it right, it actually transcends fiction for, if no other reason than, it's magnetic realism. Now, having said this, there are all kinds of documentaries and for the longest time I had been focused on a cinema verite approach but that has given way to hybrid docs that blur the line between reality and fiction. I recently did a search on documentary editing and could find very little - next to nothing really. But here are two solid examples that represent two very different camps that show a radical divergence in the form. A few other points worth mentioning are: 1) Very often, the story is found in the editing. 2) In fiction filmmaking, the director is god. In documentary, god is the director. 3) Documentary filmmaking can be a vow of poverty... but the good news is that we are now in the golden period of documentary and there has never been greater demand.http://d-word.com/ is a great resource. One of my favorite doc filmmakers - who died doing what he loves - gives an informed masterclass on doc filmmaking and... life: https://dafilms.com/film/8411-planete-doc-film-festival-presents-masterclass-michael-glawogger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Galli Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 just analyze the story, the characters, what you have and try to make little sequences that help to construct what you want to tell on you story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kisaha Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Just try, and do. There is no other way around it. Watch classic documentaries, read a few books, be a more complete person, amd decide what kind of documentaries you want to make. There are dozens of different styles and hybrids between them. A lot of times someone started a documentary for a reason, and found out a different sub plot with more filmic value, or a more important story, or the real deal revealed to him after. Liam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 To be clear, I'm kind of unintereted in actual documentaries. But some of my favorite fiction filmmakers have taken a lot of inspiration from them. I'll definitely mostly have to practice, but it's clearly an artform I could stand to learn more about from the pros. And thanks for all the input and resources so far D.M.Weiss 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansel Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 1 hour ago, Liam said: To be clear, I'm kind of unintereted in actual documentaries. But some of my favorite fiction filmmakers have taken a lot of inspiration from them. I'll definitely mostly have to practice, but it's clearly an artform I could stand to learn more about from the pros. And thanks for all the input and resources so far Ok, then just over shoot everything, keep the camera running between takes and do the tripping cameraman ducking for cover thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael-Kai Posted November 13 Share Posted November 13 On 10/2/2017 at 1:10 AM, Liam said: I've been curious to get more into improvisation in film, but last time I tried I ended up with pretty much a montage. I figured someone with a documentary background could see a way to create a plot in it better than I had. I assume you can use B-roll to hide a seam, cut two conversations together so it feels like one, cross cut between two scenes so that you care less that each part is just a snippet... mess with the order. I don't know, I'd be interested in any input or personal experience, or just pointing me in the direction of where better to learn some of this. I know nothing in this area. Improvising in film can be tricky, but you can make it smoother by focusing on one main idea or person. Try mixing different parts together to tell a story. Watching how documentaries are edited might give you some great ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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