Ian Flude

Why Documentary?

I am a strong believer in the power of visual media to influence opinion and change behavior. I also believe that young people, being not only citizens of but also voracious consumers of, a media-rich world are massively influenced by the images and messages with which they are bombarded on a daily basis. As a result, I think it is necessary to develop within our young people, the skills with which they become no longer just passive consumers of but rather active participants in the media landscape they inhabit.  One of the fundamentals of this transformation from influenced to influencer lays in an understanding of the codes and conventions of film as well as an ability to effectively document and analyze the world around us using the medium of film. 

Camera and other film-making equipment has become increasingly affordable over the last decade or so. In fact, many independent movie makers and even some Hollywood directors are now using DSLRs to capture some aspects of their output. The fact is, that many young people today carry a camera around in their pocket that is many times more powerful than top film directors had at their disposal for the better part of the 20th Century. However, many do not use this technology to its full potential. 

It was with this thought in mind that I, supported by a team of my colleagues, embarked on the development of a number of originally authored resources aimed specifically at enabling teenagers to develop, film and publish their own originally authored documentary films. 

This program was almost three years in the making, and is still a work in progress. however, the process has been used with students for two academic years and students have produced work which has, given the age group of the students, been pleasing in most cases, excellent in others and, at times, almost professional in quality. Some examples of this work can be seen on the ICT/Film link under the “Educator” tab, or by clicking here.

The development process for these resources aimed at developing a number of skills in the students:

• Understanding the codes and conventions of traditional documentary
• Identifying subject matter and developing ideas
• Storyboarding
• Camera use
• Editing techniques

To this end, a number of high quality resources were developed to enable both in class and flipped classroom activities to take place, creating an “anytime, anywhere” learning environment.

Understanding the codes and conventions of traditional documentary. 

In order for students to develop an understanding of how documentaries are structured and what elements they consist of, a number of “active watching” exercises were developed with carefully chosen clips from existing documentaries allied with analysis worksheets enabling students to identify, reflect on and analyze the use of the various elements within the clip. This is supported by a number of video tutorials which are available both online and in an iBook. 

Identifying subject matter and developing ideas:

Students engage in discussion activities designed to stimulate their thought processes and identify issues, preferably with a direct impact on their community about which they can develop a documentary idea.

Students then work in teams to do research into the topic and gather and share relevant sources. This is initially shared via pirate pad enabling all students within the group to collaborate, share and suggest different angles on the topic. This research is collated, analyzed, and written up individually by each student, enabling each student to come at the subject from a different, individual angle. 

Idea development is done via a series of storyboards. Students are expected to work individually to develop general ideas using a rough storyboarding template. The final idea for the documentary is storyboarded in full.

Storyboarding is explicitly addressed in earlier preparatory units where students are given the opportunity to develop the requisite drawing skills. Choice of shot and plot development is also addressed in materials made available both in print and electronically. 

Camera use:

The basics of camera set up and use are addressed in earlier preparatory units. These concentrate on match action/cutting, shot types and story development as well as the basics of how to set up the equipment. Shown below are examples of video support materials as well as work produced by students in response to preparatory unit assignments.

Instructional support videos for students: 

Student work from preparatory units: 

The following pieces are just two examples from preparatory units completed by students emphasizing correct camera use, choice of shot, as well as match cutting and split edits. 

Example 1:  

In the example shown below, the students were given the task in small groups to analyze typical shot types used in chase scenes and then storyboard, film and edit together, their own chase scene. The challenge was to use creative camera techniques, angles and editing to create an engaging, thrilling and action packed scene using the school campus as a backdrop. Much discussion was entered into about whether guns should be allowed. We finally decided to sanction it since, as a part of the film making process, it gives students the valuable revelation that the supposedly "cool" gunplay they see in movies and on TV is an artifice created by the movie making shooting and editing process.  

Example 2:

The example below is the result of an assignment concentrating on split editing, which in the context of a filmed conversation, allows the viewer to not only see and hear what the characters are saying, but also to witness the reaction of the listener to what they are hearing. The students were given a snippet of script from an existing movie and given the assignment to shoot their own version of the scene using correct over-the-shoulder shots and split edits.  

Editing techniques:

All students are brought up to speed with the requisite editing tools. Much basic editing skill is developed using iMovie with extension credit given to students using more advanced pro apps such as Final Cut Pro and Motion. With all students receiving tuition in pro apps, expectations are shifting to students editing entire pieces in FCP.