the mantelpiece - mark waddington blog

Tree Moves

Why do school media departments buy poor video camcorders?

I've been helping three schools in the Leeds area record interviews for a Leeds Council project.  The schools have enthusiastic and able ICT teachers and the children are engaged with the project.  Among the interviewees are some high profile political figures including Peter Hain MP. The process of researching, preparing and conducting these intyerviews is a superb learning experience.

One of the schools is even equipped with nine Final Cut edit workstations so you'd think that they were well placed to capitalise on this opportunity.  But there's just one problem - there's been little or no investment in decent video cameras that can capture sound via an external microphone.

So if you are a school wanting to go out and conduct video interviews can I recommend a video camera with an external microphone input and a microphone on a long lead.  Google these suggestions:

Sony XR550V Hard Disk Drive camcorder

JVC Memory Camcorder GZ-HM1SEK

Canon LEGRIA FS200

For higher end semi-professional, The Sony HVE AE1 is probably too expensive.

Microphones Audio Technica   The high quality boundary mic is an interesting option for table interviews.

Frankenstein's Wedding

Here are a few of my video clips from Frankenstein's Wedding broadcast on BBC Three last night.

Phoenix Dance and a many more were involve in this at Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds. It was a great evening - crazy mix of theatre, dance, music, party and architecture.  A full moon was out which added to the gothic charm. Impressed that almost everyone made an effort to dress up. Video below photos here

What If Leeds

For those of you who were at the Leeds Initiative meeting, What if Leeds, today at The College of Music, here's the video that was played.  It was produced by volunteers at Oblong. I think that gathering the thoughts and feelings of community members through participatory video - where the makers are members of the communities themselves -  has great potential.  

Download Windows Media version (right click, "save as". 56Mb)

Oblong is an independent, volunteer-led community centre that has been based in Hyde Park and Woodhouse since 1996. It aims to enable local people to develop their skills so they can benefit themselves and their communities. With the equivalent of only three full-time paid staff and over 70 volunteers, Oblong relies on an open, non-hierarchical structure which allows them to participate, develop their talents and take responsibility for delivering services that make a real difference. 

 

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Shortcuts: Framing a TV interview

Poor framing makes a video interview look amateurish. Of course there are many styles of shooting which leaves room for variation.  But if you want to achieve the framing of a conventional TV interview then these are my suggestions.

• Eyes on the top third line of the frame
• Eyes looking into a space towards the interviewer
• You can see both eyes
• Back of head away from the frame but not too much dead space
• Little bit of space above the head but not to much

Any other ideas welcome.

DSLRs - a creative response to the constraints imposed by technology

You may, or may not know, that I have a Canon 5D Mk2 camera which I'm learning to use for video. It's a wonderful invention but tricky to get to grips with re the video.  

There are many challenges using a DSLR for filming like focusing on the fly, seeing what you're doing in the viewfinder and holding the damn thing steady.  

 

Regular video cameras are designed to overcome these problems through years of reference to camera operators in war zones, making music promos or generally hurling them around.  Stills photographers work differently, looking for individual moments with their best eye clamped to a little hole.

Perhaps we should think differently about how we use DSLRs for shooting video rather than bemoaning the fact that they aren't like film cameras. Instead of looking at their weaknesses, think about what new opportunities they present.

Could it be that DSLRs open the way for photographers with an excellent eye for colour and composition to bring a fresh approach to shooting moving images?  Many videographers, in my view, have got into a bad habit of whizzing and crashing the camera around to bring life to a subject.   A stills photographer may be more inclined to look for the possibilities within a specific set-up - considering the precise lighting conditions for that framing and taking care over the details. 

What we see is an attempt to make mobile phones and stills cameras do what is best done by much more specialised equipment.  Instead we should be thinking about what these tools can give us that we can't get from conventional cameras. Can the constraints lead us in a different direction altogether?

This video shot on DSLR is about custom motorcycle engineer Shinya Kimurs by Henrik Hansen. The film reveals movements  within the frame - often subtle - by keeping the camera still; Most of the shots are locked off and could have been taken from a stills tripod. Not bad for a film which is all about motion. 

The careful construction of the film mirrors Shinya Kimurs care and love of constructing his machines. The editing is brilliant and the mastery of audio exceptional.

I think this demonstrates an intelligent and creative response to the constraints imposed by the technology. 

The producer - capturing the hearts and the imagination of the team

What is the role of a video producer  and how does that translate into a school project? What are the benefits of a video project in a school?

In the professional world (in which I've been there for 30 years) there are many different skills and resources that go into producing high quality video.  The reason TV is so expensive is mostly down to the availability of talent both in front of the camera and behind it.  There are performers, photographers, writers, editors and so on.  And it's not just the raw skill that's required but the ability of these people to get on with each other.

The producer has to bring all these people together and keep them functioning as a team with the creative elements being handled by the director. Although often the two roles are blurred or even the same person.

A producer will be required to understand enough about the process and skills required to be able to allocate tasks, encourage good practice, set standards, trouble shoot; They are talent scouts, facilitators, mentors; They manage and plan. They have a stern voice when the project goes off track.  A producer sets boundaries of responsibility and resolves conflict. When confidence breaks down the producer must raise spirits, be cheerleader and offer hope.

TV production teams are messy and uncomfortable places generally. The participants are vulnerable - it's as if their very soul is being put on the line. Then there is the added pressure of impending deadlines.  

In truth, the main source of pressure is the interdependency between team members.  No one person can achieve success on their own and yet they may all want to claim the success as our own. They may have difficulty trusting one another. So to be genuinely creative in this context requires great sacrifice and humility.

The dynamics of even the smallest video project can bring into play these elements.  

Many children have little or no experience of belonging to team like this. They miss out on some invaluable experiences: being needed for their particular talents, the experience of generosity and grace, responsibility with independence, the celebration of success.

As well as these essential team skills and experiences, there are also many other practical skills to be learned - writing, performing, technical work, photography, research, directing, drawing, design,, interviewing, planning, coming up with ideas.

Video production as a team exercise is indeed a great learning opportunity but only if someone takes on the role of producer.  Without someone acting as a producer in the way that I have described the results may be poor and the experiences negative.

A producer must ensure that the video production captures more than simply footage, it must capture the hearts and the imagination of everyone involved.

The Brown Cow - a ghost story

This is one of my favorite films from the recent Keighley Creative Partnerships project.  I like this one for a number of reasons but mainly because I didn't have much work to do.  

The children came up with all the ideas, did practically all the filming and editing. In fact the basic editing was done in Windows Movie Maker and Audacity by one of the year four children.  I helped a bit with the special effects under strict direction.

I also like it because it has some stories in it - and spooky ones at that. Whether you actually believe in them or not doesn't really matter. Frankly, I don't.

The Parable of the Sea

I love this piece created by Andi Mac and came across it again today so I thought I'd share it here.  A very sad and beautifully told story with a message. Proost has it available for download.

Badges, belonging and responsibility

Iconic filmmaking tools - meaningful objects -  become the badges of the children's responsibility, and seeing them all together they actually look like a professional film crew.  I think this is an important visual way of giving them a sense of their individual responsibility and belonging to the team. 

I have been struck by how important is to have the cool looking pieces of kit in the schools I have been working with. Of course if you take a camera or a clapper board into a school the children are going to swarm around them and want to play. But there's much more to these pieces of equipment.

We have been taking small groups of children and training them to be a film crew.  The specialisms break down something like - camera, sound, director, assistant, performer.  One of the things we have to do is to determine which children are best suited to which task.  At first they really don't know, but usually want to have a go with the camera.

After working together on a few small projects preferences begin to emerge. This is usually through  a process of observing and encouraging.  

An interesting strategy (once they've had a bit of experience) is not to allocate the roles myself but to let the children themselves decide. I tell them that I will not be making the decision, but they must decide among themselves who will be director, camera operator and so on.  I give them 10 minutes on their own to negotiate.  Once they have decided there may be one individual who has been sidelined; to the one who is sidelined I give the desirable task of being production stills photographer.  

   

 

Once the team is assembled they take ownership of their specialist equipment - camera, fluffy microphone, clapperboard, tripod, clipboard etc.  

I was very proud when a child who lacked confidence identified that using the clapper board was something he could do very well and announced this to the whole class.

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