Being Behind the Camera #1
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Being behind the camera, at least for this project was less difficult than I expected. I got to understand the rule of thirds, having the focus of the shot to be off to the side, and I got a good grasp with the lighting, to make the interview look good
Interviewee #1
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Being interview was a lot of fun, but kind of awkward. Just not used to being in front of a camera was weird for me. Just thinking of answers to questions on the spot, was more difficult with a camera in your face. The lighting was very bright, almost blinding especially with it right at my eye level.
The Interviewer #1
Being the interviewer was fun. To think of good and funny questions was entertaining. It was tough at first, to try to think of elaborate questions, which she could build upon more and really get to know the 'story' of the interviewee. I could be more prepared with questions in the future, so it could run more smoothly and have less cuts when editing later on. We don't have the interview of Madison, I grabbed the wrong footage of the SD card and then deleted it so I just ended up editing myself.
Being Behind the Camera #2
Being behind the camera the second time was a bit easier. Knowing to instantly put Michael in the shot to the side, using the rule of thirds by myself without being reminded. Also getting good lighting wasn't really in the picture this time, because our light wasn't working.
The Interviewer #2
Being the interviewer for a second time was easier, I thought of some more questions ahead of time. This time I picked up quickly that Teddy wasn't repeating the questions, so I reminded that nearly every time. It wasn't as smoothly as I think it could've gone, it kind of jumped around from random subjects a lot. I could have asked and/or elaborated more on something specific. Editing was so much quicker and easier this time, I finally realized how easy it is to add B-Roll, and cover up the cuts with them to make clean transitions between the cuts.
Interviewee #2
It was easier being interview a second time. With Michael telling me ideas of what questions might be, I had some time to think about what to talk about. Yet again, it is still intimidating to be behind the camera, which still makes no sense at all to me why I just start losing focus and not being normal.
I watched a documentary called Ronnie Coleman: The King. Ronnie is a professional bodybuilder, and I chose it because being an athlete myself, this caught some interest. Ronnie grew up in high school being a smart responsible kid. He played football, track, and was on the powerlifting team. He came out of college looking for a job in accounting, which he had no experience in. That didn’t work out, so he ended u working at domino's, which he disliked very much. He was very poor at the time, but looked forward to it so he can eat, because pizza was free. He worked for the police department for 12 years, and was a pro bodybuilder for ten of them. He worked out six days a week, Monday to Saturday. He was always the hardest worker in the room. He always tried to be the very best at everything he’s ever done. Over the course of his life lifting heavy weights, he had to get eight surgeries to date, on his hips, knees and back. When he retired bodybuilding, he also started his own business, with sports nutrition supplements. Due to all the surgeries, he is almost always in pain now headed into yet another surgery. He has been on crutches for years now, and still wakes up at 4:30am and trains every day consistently. He clearly has one hell of a mentality.
He got interviewed towards the beginning and the lighting is very bright, and above eye level. A lot of B roll throughout this interview with him talking while showing videos and photos of him. In the interview, he is never in the middle of the shot, always to the side. In between shots occasionally he is not talking, just a black screen with calm music, with writing in white, which really added a whole other level of feeling to it.
In general, I don’t find documentaries at the top of my must watch list, but I did really enjoy watching one for a change. If you edit it right and film it right, you get put right in the shoes of who the documentary was about, which I felt watching this. Especially after finishing our first interview, now starting our second one, this made a great example of one, except this was a lot bigger. Majority of the B-Roll was videos coordinating with what he was talking and reflecting about. Which gave us his thoughts on his life, looking back on these shots of himself. All in all, I would recommend this documentary. Let alone if you are interested in Ronnie Coleman, or bodybuilding, it just shows the life of one of the most motivated and passionate people alive. How it was filmed was motivating for me as a student, just to compare the minimal work I have done compared to a documentary on Netflix. After watching this I have learned to really appreciate and notice all of the hard work that goes into a movie/documentary. It took us forty-five minutes just to get our first interview done, and at can’t even imagine how long this took.