B Roll

B Roll is a term used in film to describe the section of the film that wasn't necessary to the actual footage. B roll is additional footage that is worked into the main footage of a documentary or interview. An "A" deck refers to the tape containing the meat of the information, such the interviews and important material, whereas the B deck contains additional information such as possible interview commentary, questions or certain descriptions from the person that is being interviewed. B Roll can help to make your documentary stronger, with additional information you wouldn't have had otherwise.

B roll is often played around with by editors, to help improve the documentary. Often times, you will hear actors and actresses say "uh", cough, stutter or do along those lines. B Roll helps to find these imperfections, and eliminates them from the A Roll, and from being heard on the final version of the documentary. B Roll was adopted with the first linear based editing before non linear editing became widely used. The additional B Roll is used in documentaries and fiction for different purposes. It's used in documentaries to additional commentary, questions and anything that can interwork in the main purpose of the film. It's occasionally used in fiction to show flashbacks.

Blog #9-Final Project Brainstorm

We have absolutely been exposed to many different forms of media since the beginning of this class. We've learned how to make wiki pages, public service announcements, remixes, and I blogged for the first time at the beginning of this class. I really had a fun time with all of them, and in addition, every single project i've done in this class has been something completely new i'd never tried before. Looking into the future with the final project coming up, I'm not yet sure what I'd like to do. I know that all aspects of media interest me, but I'd like to go more in depth. The remix project was a really cool new media I liked. Maybe I'd like to pursue something with a remix project again, only with more detail or more in depth with different sources (different and more audio and visual). I do think an aspect of media that I'm very interested in is radio. Really more so, any medium in which I can speak, because I have a lot to say, and I think if I channel that into something beneficial for class, I could present a really well done project. I really did like the PSA for that specific reason. Perhaps I could do something for a final that relates to a PSA, possibly including video as well, just to make it even more visually stimulating. One more idea I can think of right now is something with photography. I've never been very good with photographs, but it has always been something that sparks an interest, that I could enjoy looking into. All in all, I'm not too sure yet what I would like accomplish with this project, because there are so many choices, but I think that when it starts becoming a topic we discuss in class, a lot of ideas will spark from hearing other student's ideas.

Documentary Proposal

Documentary proposals are very important when having the idea to create a documentary. The proposal is created in the pre productions stages of the project, and covers all aspects of the project as well. One of the main reasons for a proposal is the attempts to receive funding from funders, companies, or really anyone who was the power (and money) to help with the budget of the film you are trying to create. Often, a well presented proposal will tell the readers/viewers the story of the film, teach the viewers something new they didn't previously know, gain respect from the viewers while inspiring them, "make human truths emerge through images—not just verbal description" (Filmandmedia.ucsb.edu), and "present a personal, critical perspective on some aspect of the human condition" (Filmandmedia.ucsb.edu). In general, its important that you be interested in your project idea. If you're not interested in it, how are you going to make anyone else interested?

It's important to fill out your proposal completely before submitting it for viewing. Your proposal should include the length of your work and how it will be formatted. You should also include who you think your intended audience will be. This is important because your target audience is everything. When putting out any form of media, you want to have a target audience in mind because that's the audience you're wanting to showcase your stuff to, so make it good in that regard. You should also include what your goals are with the project. It's important to give a full outlined description, as well as the resources you'll need to work with. It's crucial that you'll want to include a timeline in your proposal, so everyone knows the expectations and (hopefully) follows them thoroughly. Lastly, it's very important to label everyone working on the project and their specific roles within the project.

Documentary Interview

There are different techniques you can use when interviewing someone, that'll add to the interview, making it exciting and compelling. While sometimes, yes the interview will take place in two seated chairs (one for the person interviewing, one for the person answering), you can make it more fun and exciting. You could use a hand held camera and follow them around as they do activities. Maybe interview them as they're working around their house, or at work, somewhere fun to watch that isn't too distracting. Also, you never want the person getting interviewed to look directly into the camera. During seated interviews, the person interviewing is on one side of the camera, so the person being interviewed never has to (and never should) look into the camera lens, just at the person questioning them. Another important aspect is that where ever you interview, make sure it's a quiet place. You obviously need the audio of the person speaking, so background noise is annoying and will take away from the whole interview. Make sure your lighting is done well; normally a light on their face is used to accentuate the eyes. If the eyes are lit up, it makes the interview and the person being interviewed seem more compelling and interesting.

Something interesting about interviews is that people are nervous during. Most people aren't very camera friendly, and tense up when they know they're being filmed. A really good technique while interviewing is to re-ask your first questions at the end of your interview. When people first start talking behind camera, they could be pretty nervous, but as the interview progresses, their nervousness tends to fade away and they open up more. Therefore, questions at the beginning of the interview might not have been answered fully, so if you re-ask them at the end, you're more likely to get a more in depth response. Finally, an important thought is to have your questions ready; have them written out so you know what your asking. In addition, you could possibly e-mail those questions to the person who will be interviewed so they're not caught off guard and have time to think of their responses in more depth first.