Interviewer 1
For this assignment, I interviewed River. I had trouble coming up with questions to ask him, but it got easier as we started talking. This video was much easier to edit after my reviewing Final Cut Pro from last year with my plushie. It was hard to find good b-role for some of the things that we talked about in the interview, because River didn't send me pictures of his family and dog. However, I made it work with what I had from the internet. I think River did a really good job being in front of the camera for the first time. I think the lighting and sound were both good, however I didn't like how the frame turned out. There was too much space to the left of the screen which is something I'll fix for my next interview.
Interviewee
At first I felt a bit uncomfortable and awkward repeating the question, however as it went on it got easier. This wasn't my first time in front of camera but I still get nervous. Gabe did a good job editing and putting b-role in for this video. Along with River's interview, the frame had too much blank space to the left of River however the lighting and sound were both good.
Director of Photography
*Gabe's interview that I was the DP for was lost on the SD card so River interviewed Tommy because he was sick!!*
Interviewer 2.0
Interviewing for the second time was easier for coming up with questions and holding the conversation. In the first video I deleted the video and detached the audio when I added b-role however this time I did it correctly and put the b-role over the video and ken burns's-ed it. The background of this video was much better than the first round of interviews. We did a better job positioning the camera using the rule of thirds however we should have brought the tripod up more because the angle is too low on Matt's face. Other than that this interview was much more successful than the first.
Director of Photography 2.0
This was my second interview being the director of photography. This time around I set the camera up with a better background however I didn't put it up high enough. The angle is coming up on Aisha's face which is something I'll make sure to fix next time. In this video we had to turn the light to a gold setting for Aisha's skin tone. The lighting and sound turned out good the only mistake I made was the camera angle. I learned a lot from this interview and I'm excited to learn more.
Interviewee
*Aisha couldn't figure out how to send me the link to this video however it will be up when we get back to school on Monday!!*
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Being interviewed for the second time I felt more comfortable in front of the camera and repeating the question. In my first interview I forgot to repeat the question so some of the footage couldn't go into the video, however this time around I got better. This lighting and sound were good, however just like the other videos, the angle of the camera could have been higher up. Along with Aisha's interview, we put the lights on a gold setting to match my skin tone so that I didn't get washed out.
Documentary Review
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Grace Pinkus
January 30th, 2019
Cinema Documentary Review
Muench
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For this assignment I chose to watch the documentary ‘Three Identical Strangers’. I chose this movie because the trailer really pulled me in and it’s different than a lot of other movies I watch; I wanted to branch out and watch something I wouldn’t normally choose. Three Identical Strangers is a compelling story of triplets separated at birth. In 1980, the three were given up individually for adoption to different families. 18 years later they were accidentally and ecstatically reunited by astonishing coincidence. The three brothers were unaware of each other’s existence, as were the adoptive families. David Kellman, Eddy Galland and Bobby Shafran became huge media stars: They were on every TV show and newsstand. While the three sat back and enjoyed the spot light, their adoptive parents were enraged and seeked out answers. In a 1980 article in The New York Times about the men, one of their surprised mothers, Claire Kellman, said, “They talk the same, they laugh the same, they hold their cigarettes the same — it’s uncanny.” The film follows the three brothers through a rollercoaster of a story. I was really impressed with the clever work of director Tim Wardle. This story is really well told by the characters and keeps the viewer engaged and entertained the whole time. One thing I really liked about this movie was the progression of the plot. Wardle turns their mysterious history into a detective story in reverse, one that begins with the seeming happy reunion and then moves back and forth across time. This format of the film grasps the audience with a huge plot twist. After reviewing interviews in class, I got a lot out of watching this film. The interviews of the story tellers were in good lighting and the sound was very clear. Not only was the filming well done, but every interview and all b role was relevant to moving the plot forward. One thing I noticed about the b roll was there are many instances where there are fictional re-creations. This makes it seem as if Wardle seems more invested in delivering an entertaining documentary than an informative one. As opposed to a lot of other documentaries I’ve watched in the past, this one seemed much more scripted than natural. I think this aspect of the film is what made it so smooth and engaging. From a cinematic view, during the interviews I noticed that the camera kept rolling at times that the story became too much for the actors to talk about. They kept filming as they cried and stood up and left the shot; for me this added so much more to the film then any scripted storytelling could have. The real emotions that could be felt through the brothers throughout the film is what made the film so incredible. I would 10/10 recommend this movie for anyone looking for a heart-wrenching mystery. From my experience in cinematography so far, I have noticed that I view films different now that I’m watching with a critical eye and searching for things I’ve been taught. I believe I learned a lot more about documentary style films from just this movie and I can’t wait to explore more.
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