Make a documentary that will move people!

 Make a documentary that will move people!

This post was created to help the LHS PBL English students create dynamic documentary films.

Lesson Flow

In class, we watched the video embedded below to build a common understanding of how documentaries are put together and address the audience.

From there we explored a few ideas and then went to editing in WeVideo

Video: Viewing 1

The first time we watch this clip we are focusing on the following three questions.

• What did you see?
• What did you notice?
• How did it start and end?

Video: Viewing 2

The second time we narrowed our focus to look for specific video and editing techniques. We broke into a few small groups, each focusing on one element.

Our focal points:

1. Sound - Whatever your subject is, it should be heard loud and clear. If there is too much distracting background noise, or the subject is super quiet, the whole video becomes nearly unwatchable. Sound can include voiceovers, background noise, music and more. Be mindful of how far your phone is from the subject.
2. Lighting - If you are in a basement, the overhead lighting tends to be too harsh. Dim the lights and add a second light source such as a lamp. The idea is to light the subject from two different angles.
3. B Roll - These are shots that usually have voiceover, music or action. Beyond a voiceover, you can't hear people or things making noise in these shots. B Roll adds context to whatever your video is about.
4. Background - What is behind the subject? A blank background is exceptionally boring, can you move them in front of a bookshelf, car or something else visually interesting?
5. Thread - What was the unifying idea that carried the viewer through the entire video?
6. Interviews - Who did they interview and how did that help build the story?

Examples from the video

Sound

Many of the transitions happened with sound. Moving from one big idea to the next was possible through the uses of cuts and sound.

The crunch of the pizza crust was pretty loud.

Lighting

It appears there are two sources of light, above and to our right. One appears to be artificial and the other is natural.

I have been in a billion break rooms in my life, they are all dimly light. It appears there are two sources of light, above and to our left.

B Roll

Lucie is talking about living in New York City while this pops on the screen. There are a ton of people, a number of restaurants and traffic. Even if you have never been to New York, this links you to any big city.

As Lucie talked about how expensive it was, she purchased a MetroCard. You could see most of the transaction as she talked.

Shopping in the store you could see her pull things off the shelf and add them to her cart.

Background

She could have shot this at her desk, but look at the three dimensional background. There is a lot going on.

Sitting in her blue room while wearing blue.

Thread

The thread is the most important part of any documentary, what is the one thing that carries the viewer from the beginning to the end?

Lucie hits a budget crisis, she is in the store attempting to preserve her budget while buying expensive solution.

Many times throughout the video she shows actual money with a running total.

Summing up the week with credit cards, MetroPass and change. The thread comes to an end here.

Interviews

While we did not hear Lucie talking, the person was answering some very specific questions about a budget.

Each day we returned to someone new answering a question about money.

The greatest part of these tiny interviews was it moved the story forward, helped us transition to a new day and added some additional layers of understanding.

Storyboard

Any video project can be difficult, to make it 97% easier we always recommend using a storyboard. We create this sample for you to make a copy of, or feel free to use something like post-it notes.

The key is to make your thinking visible. If you plan your shots and visuals, the whole project will come together quickly.

This single tool will greatly reduce the amount of work you need to do and increase your grade.

Setting Up for Shoot

Think back to the video...

• What did the background look like?
• How well could you hear the speaker?

One of the biggest issues is sound, if we can't hear you clearly then we quickly stop watching. Control your environment, make sure the surroundings are quiet and there is nothing overwhelming your voice. There are a ton of things that will produce sound that you normally don't hear.

Example of noise pollution - fan, refrigerator, traffic noise, classroom/hallways

Editing in WeVideo

All high school teachers and students have access to the premium version of WeVideo. Your teacher will give you the code if you have not already activated your account. 

In this section we will highlight a few ideas on how to edit on your Chromebook. While you can do this on a mobile device the screenshots below are from a browser.

Prior to importing your clips, create a Drive folder. This folder is where you should upload all your videos. It will make the whole editing process much faster. Please make sure you name your folder something easy to remember like ELA PBL 23.

Importing

I am assuming you have already shot all your videos on your mobile device.

Open the camera roll, select images and click share.

Select Drive.

Choose your folder and save.

Check notifications to make sure the uploading as started. Once complete, you are ready to start editing.

Basic Editing

1. Click Import. Import your clip(s) that you shot for the project.

2. They will start to show up in the clip bin.

Drag the clip to Video 1.

If you are going to do greenscreen, create a Video 2 and add your shots there. Video 1 is used for the greenscreen image. See below for more information.

Editing the video track can be difficult, I always expand the tracks to make them easier to edit.

Cutting the film

1. I have some odd deadspace at the front of my clip I want to remove. I start by placing the play head at the point I want to cut.

2. Click Split.

3. Click the part you want to delete, then delete it.

You will need to add text, the easiest way I have found is by clicking Text on the far left. It will give you a ton of options. Sample to find what will work best.

Click the one you want, drag it to Text 1.

Double click it to add words, move the location and adjust the color.

I usually always toggle on the fade to give it a softer appearance.

You want to add images into your clip so it isn't just a talking head which is boring. I would not recommend coping images from google as they usually show up super pixelated.

1. WeVideo has tons of stock images and video. Click images to start your search.

2. Search for what you need.

3. Drag it down to the Text 1 track.

Adding your own images is just like adding your video clip(s).

1. Import

2. Drag them to the Text 1 track.

I wanted this one to appear as a picture-in-picture.

1. Double click the image to open the editing. Adjust the image, make it appear somewhere in the shot.

2. Add fade.

3. Save changes.

Now the image will appear as I talk and quietly fade away after a few seconds.

WeVideo auto saves but I do not always trust it. If you are moving away from your project, make sure you manually save it.

1. Click the pancakes in the upper left.

2. Click Save.

Adding more text, I wanted it to appear as I mentioned Teds.

1. Click Text.

2. Drag the one I liked to Text 1 track.

To move and edit the text to make it fit the project is pretty simple.

1. Click to open this window. Edit the text and change the color to better contrast the background.

2. Click Transform to move the text around. Then Save in the upper right.

Be very, very mindful if you want to add audio.

Just like adding images, WeVideo provides a ton of free audio.

1. Click Audio.

2. Search, find what you want and drag it to the Audio 1 track. I would recommend decreasing the volume by using the slider on the far left.

If you need another track, click the +Track button and choose what you need.

Greenscreen

Your video must be on Video 2 and the image you want to appear behind you must be on Video 1. You can drag them from one track to the next if needed.

1. Double click on your video. Click Keying.

2. Click the little eyedropper.

3. Click on the green background with the eyedropper.

Save Changes in upper right.

Play the video to test it out, it works like magic!

B Roll and Voiceover

I like to think of B Roll as anytime people are speaking over what you are seeing on the screen. It can be video, without sound, and someone speaking over it.

Voiceovers are just voice over something, like b roll.

I created another track, named it B Roll and added my footage.

I clicked My media on the far right then clicked Narrate.

Find a microphone of some kind. It could be headbuds, earbuds or whatever, you need a good microphone so your voiceover sounds decent.

If you only have your chromebook or mobile, find a the quietest place you can to record.

Have your speaking points somewhere to help guide what you want to say.

Click Record.

3-2-1 then you can start recording.

You an see the b roll and the voiceover.

Protip - reduce the volume on the b roll to zero to prevent it from ruining your voiceover.

Publishing

Be mindful, some videos will take a long time to render, meaning if it is due at midnight you can't publish it two minutes before it is due and it expect it to finish on time.

When you are 100% finished, click Finish in the upper right.

Be super specific when you name your project. Click Set.

DO NOT choose HD, that will be a terrible waste of time.

I recommend also selecting Google Drive as a place to save the final project.

Click Export.

This process will take a while. We have found by clicking HD it will take a ton of extra time and it will not make your project look better as the screens we watch it on are not HD.