This is my follow-up to a previous blog post I wrote, just after starting on this project.
Background:
Caine Monroy is a little boy who lives in Los Angeles whose dad owns an auto parts store. While his dad worked, Caine developed a hobby of taking the boxes from his dad’s warehouse and creating intricate arcade-style games out of them, complete with coin slots and ticket dispensers. As it grew, Caine’s Arcade wasn’t getting a lot of traffic until a year or so ago, when a filmmaker named Nirvan Mullick came along and recognized the boy’s passion and creativity as something beautiful. One flash mob and a few million YouTube hits later, the two have used Caine’s Arcade to inspire the world to create! If you haven’t seen the Caine’s Arcade video, please take a minute and check it out now:
Shooting:
I spent most of Earth Week in the classrooms, on the playground, in the auditorium and all over the SSIS campus shooting interviews, B-roll, and of course, creativity in action. I covered the elementary school exclusively and Gary Johnston, a science teacher at SSIS, provided additional footage from the middle school. The elementary teachers were more than accommodating, letting me into their classrooms and letting me get my camera in close and tight on the students’ cardboard creations.
Everything was shot on my Canon HDSLR rig, except for a couple interviews and wide shots that were shot on a tricked-out Canon AVCHD camcorder rig. Lenses were a Canon 50mm f1.8 prime for hand-held interviews, a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 zoom for shots where I needed image stabilization, a Sigma 70-300 f4 for tight telephoto shots, and a Rokinon 14mm prime for the wide angles. Almost everything was shot in 24p, unless it was to be retimed, in which case footage came in at 60fps. See more on “the film look” and frame rates here.
Editing:
This entire piece was organized, cut, graded and finalized within Final Cut Pro X. After collecting and ordering all of my footage and assets, I set down to rough-cut the interviews. This is almost always my first editing step when producing micro-documentaries such as this, since these provide the narrative for the story. I interviewed a number of teachers and students and, as with every video, there was plenty of great interview material that I wish could have made it into the final cut. Heather MacMichael, a 5th Grade teacher, probably played the greatest role in putting the whole thing together, so she was common face throughout the piece. Adam Dodge provided insight as a school administrator. Tara (5th Grade) would explain the process from a student’s point of view, and Vincent and Leo were to add a little (at times comic?) relief from the frenetic pace of the whole production, adding some sound 1st Grader perspective.
Once the interviews were cut and cut and cut again, and I had some semblance of a 3-act narrative, I collected my interviews into compound clips. Then I began going through my footage to see how I could best illustrate the story. It was pretty simple, actually. First, the soundtrack is the instrumental version of “I Don’t Mind”, by Imagine Dragons. I started framing the edit with some establishing shots of the school and B-roll of the students playing soccer, on the playground, etc. to provide context. Then it was a matter of ordering and placing my clips in 3 stages: Planning, Building and Sharing. Just over half-way, I dropped in Vincent and Leo’s interviews to provide some pacing relief and a slightly different perspective (kind of like a bridge in songwriting). The whole story wrapped up with the finished arcade and the “Day of Play.”
Finally, after getting through the laborious task of editing sound (see “Lessons Learned” below) and color correction, the whole piece was output and uploaded to Vimeo. Eventually, it will show up on YouTube. And that leaves us here:
Lessons learned:
1) Sound. I love my Rode VideoMic. As you should know, you can never rely on your camera’s onboard mic for good sound, especially if you are shooting DSLR. The Rode has saved my butt many times. However, this was not a rushed, run-and-gun type of situation. Given the relative time flexibility of the teachers and students, I probably would have benefitted from less noise by using a wired, or even wireless, lav the whole time.
2) Lighting. The fluorescent ceiling lights throughout classrooms (and offices) are a pain. Especially when you’re shooting at a frame rate like 24p. You might notice the flicker effect on some of the portrait shots that these lights created. When I opened it up or decreased the shutter speed to the point where flicker was eliminated, my shots were too blown out. I think one solution would have been to use an ND filter on my 50mm lens, stopping it down so that I could open the aperture or adjust shutter speed to compensate for the lights while still achieving similar exposure and the same shallow depth of field.
I am very proud of this video. Of course, I did not create it alone. In addition to Nirvan, Caine, and all the teachers and students that made the film possible, I should say a word of thanks to Philip Bloom, a London-based filmmaker/DOP who creates short documentaries all over the world and who is a constant source of inspiration and education for me. I must have watched the school video he produced for Facebook, and read his workflow post, 10 times before going into SSIS to shoot. So thanks again, Philip!
-JN
**UPDATE: I was recently informed that the SSIS’ Caine’s Arcade video (above) was among the winners of the Global Cardboard Challenge Video Contest! So excited! Read more here…**
this is super fantastic! thanks for sharing this! now you too, are a source of inspiration for creativity!
xooxxnora
Thanks, Nora!
Congratulations! Great video…I am really interested in your rig. Is it possible for you to go through the different components of your camera? The harness? Eyepiece etc….it looks fantastic!
Thanks, Simon!
Cameras
While I use a few different cameras, I shoot primarily on a Canon 60D. I’m told this camera it doesn’t stand up to the ubiquitous 7D for stills, but for video, it’s the exact same camera — with a few advantages. First of all, it saves to SD cards which are inexpensive, easy to find anywhere, and don’t require an external card reader on most current laptops or desktops. Secondly, it has an articulating screen, which I find invaluable for video. This allows you to position the camera up high on a monopod, run it along ground level, or any number of creative angles while still monitoring the LCD. Even on a shoulder rig, I find it much more comfortable with the screen angled up slightly with a Vfinder, so I don’t have to scrunch up my shoulders on an all-day shoot. And third, the 60D is about $300 cheaper (body only.) Now, both of these cameras are cropped sensor; a significant step up in video DSLR would be full frame like a 5DMIII or a 1D, but I’ll let you research those yourself. So far, I haven’t had a problem with stills either. 🙂
I’ve got no shame in reposting a review from this guy–though I’m not sure why one would prefer CF cards over SDHC. Anyway, I am one of many DSLR filmmakers that practically live on Philip Bloom’s website, and I take what he says seriously.
Support and Mics
When it comes to peripheral gear, I use a few things. I have a couple rigs: an Opteka CXS-1 which makes a big difference on long shoots by taking the weight off the arms and adding stabilization, and an Opteka X-Grip for getting those low angles I mentioned above. I have a Rode VideoMic shotgun and, when I can, I mic interviewees up with either an AT899 lav or Azden wireless setup.
**One thing about lav mics: if you are going to be shooting static subject, go for wired. They aren’t as sexy as wireless, but they are less likely to pick up radio interference. In an age when everyone’s got a phone in their pocket, this is a real concern.**
Monitoring
For static shots I often hook up a Liliput 7″ HD monitor. And when I’m moving around (most of the time) I slap on a Carry Speed 3″ Vfinder to make sure I’m focusing properly — this is important: you really can’t rely on watching that little LCD monitor from a foot or two away to keep good focus; you often find out the hard way (in post) that what you thought was in focus was really not at all.
Lenses
Finally, lenses… The right glass makes all the difference. You’ll want a good all-around lens with image stabilization. I like my Tamron 17-50mm VC f2.8 for general purposes. It’s nice to have a fast prime lens for portrait/interview shots that give you a nice shallow depth of field — I have a cheap Canon 50mm f1.8, often referred to as the “Plastic Fantastic” or “Nifty Fifty.” And a nice long telephoto for those National Geographic-style wildlife shots is useful too. I have my Sigma 70-300mm f4 in my bag at all times.
Of course, there’s a range of other lenses, tripods, sliders, etc. that will help you maximize your shots, but the above is more than enough to get you started. And it’s always dangerous to get too carried away with the gear — you’ll never get out and actually shoot anything!
That about covers it. Sorry for the long post, but once you get me talking about gear you might as well sit back and get comfy. Let me know if you have any more questions and good luck!