Filmmaking Craft
SD cards for 4K video, SSDs and backups for a documentary shoot
Which SD card for 4K video, which portable SSD for editing, and how to offload, verify and back up a documentary shoot so that no footage is ever lost.
Keep readingProgramme
Filmmaking Craft
Cameras, sound, editing, archive research and interviews: the practical decisions behind the films we write about.
Filmmaking Craft
Shot list template and call sheet template for documentary shoots
A copyable shot list template and call sheet template for documentary days, with a worked example and why a documentary list plans coverage, not a script.
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Filmmaking Craft
Camera monitors for documentary: how to choose a small field monitor
How to choose a camera monitor for documentary work: screen size and weight, brightness in nits, focus and exposure tools, LUTs, HDMI, batteries and mounts.
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Filmmaking Craft
LED panel lights, COB lights and softboxes for interview lighting
How to light a documentary interview with an LED panel light, a COB light in a softbox, a reflector and a window, plus three point lighting, CRI and flicker.
Keep readingPaid placement
Filmmaking Craft
Camera angles and shot types: a field glossary for documentary
What camera angles and shot types mean on a documentary shoot: a glossary from extreme wide to overhead, what each one does, and when each one can mislead.
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Filmmaking Craft
Camera gimbals for documentary: when one helps and what to look for
What a gimbal does, when it helps a documentary and when handheld is more honest, plus balancing basics, gimbal modes and phone gimbals for phone shooters.
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Filmmaking Craft
Variable ND filters for video: how to choose the right ND filter
How to choose an ND filter for video: why the shutter needs one, fixed versus variable ND, stops and ND numbers, thread sizes, step-up rings and polarizers.
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Filmmaking Craft
The 180-degree rule in film, and why documentaries break it
The 180-degree rule in film explained: the line between two people, screen direction, honest ways to cross it, and why documentary crews cross it so often.
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Filmmaking Craft
Boom mic and shotgun microphones for small documentary crews
Boom mic technique for small documentary crews: shotguns on camera or on a pole, boom stands, 32-bit float recorders, closed-back headphones and room tone.
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Filmmaking Craft
What is B-roll, and how documentary editors use it
B-roll for documentary makers: where the term came from, A-roll versus B-roll, how editors cut with it, and the moment cover footage starts to mislead.
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Filmmaking Craft
Lavalier microphones and wireless kits for documentary interviews
How to choose and hide a lavalier microphone, when wireless beats wired, and how backup recording, headphones and batteries keep a documentary interview safe.
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Filmmaking Craft
Editing a documentary: finding the story in 200 hours of footage
An editor's method for shaping 200 hours of documentary footage into a film: logging, selects, paper edits, structure, honest cutting and when to lock.
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Filmmaking Craft
Archive footage and rights: a plain guide for documentary makers
Where Canadian documentary makers find archive footage, how licences work, what fair dealing covers, and how to keep a clearance log an insurer will accept.
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Filmmaking Craft
Shooting documentary interviews: light, sound and the chair
A hands-on guide to documentary interviews: the room, the chair, eyeline, soft light, clean sound, a second camera and the consent paperwork behind it all.
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