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Videography for Documentary Video

Material for Lentera Ide Workshop 2012

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Presentation

• Basic composition• Elements in documentary video• Equipments• Suggestions

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Basic Composition

• Principles of videography composition techniques are similar to photography

• Pay attention to point of interest (POI)• Pay attention on lighting

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Enhancing POI

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Bigger Size

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Sharpness

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Brightness

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Contrast

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Rule of third

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Lighting

• Optimizing the available light sources: sunlight, room lights

• Do not direct camera to the light sources, it will darken the subject

• For portrait, side lights are better• Avoid shooting in the very bright sunlight, best

lighting is before 10am and after 3pm• Use custom White Balance

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Elements in Documentary Video

• Main: interviews or narration

• Filler:– Situations– Actual events– Acting

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Interviews/Narrations (1)

• Can be done with or without interviewer in the frame

• Lentera Ide uses the main actor as a narrator, with gestures as an interviewee person

• Rule of third mostly applied, with some improvisation

• Use tight frames, shallow depth of field (DOF)• Steady shots

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Interviews/Narrations (2)

Similar to “model or portrait photography”

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Situations (1)

• Used to fill the narrations, as a substitution to the actor scenes

• Used as a filler between segments (without narrations)

• Use wide frames, maximum DOF• Usually apply some movements: left-right or

up-down panning

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Situations (2)

Similar to “landscape photography”

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Acting (1)

• Some functions as situations• Sometimes can be use to explain the details in

the narrations• Can use wide or tight frames

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Acting (2)

Wide frame for acting

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Acting (3)

Tight frame for acting

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Equipments (1)

• Cameras that can record in full HD resolution (1080 x 720)

• DSLR is an advantage: – much better lens choices compared to standard

handycam– Can freely apply the photography concepts

• Handycam is needed for long documentation shots

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Equipments (2)

• Always use tripod!• Preferable tripods with levers instead of

ballhead• Sound recorder• Reflector to direct the lights• Optional light sources: desk lamp, torch light• Spare batteries, spare memory card

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Suggestions

• Put more filler to the narrations instead of the actor interview scenes

• Put more angles for the interview scenes• Explore more situations frames, different

angles, different locations, different events• Try high or low angles

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End of presentation