Working on this project was a vastly different experience than our previous projects. One of the first major changes was our level of comfort with the equipment. While filming our first project, which focused on the State College Mini THON, we ran into a lot of trouble with things like lighting and positioning the camera. We conducted our interviews in low light, in front of a reflective window. It wasn’t until we viewed our footage later that we realized what had happened, and by then it was too late. We also used very basic camera angles, with our subjects right in the center of the shot, which created a stagnant, uncreative image. In our second project, a package that featured local Bellefonte resident Bill Benzie and his paranormal activity society, we began to find our footing. We knew we needed to be conscious to utilize a variety of camera angles and to also play with the rule of thirds. On our first day of interviewing Bill, we had some similar problems with lighting. We were filming into the evening and began to struggle with correcting aperture and exposure problems. However on our next day of filming with Bill, we made sure to work with the exposure and light correctly, leading to much better footage. Finally, our third project felt like riding a bicycle. We truly understood what moments required what settings, and we felt very comfortable moving the camera around to get what we needed and wanted from the shot.
We also have improved greatly with understanding b-roll and how to properly film from a b-roll stand point. At first, with our project on the mini THON, we focused on making sure we had the interviews we needed. It was very difficult to start viewing things from a TV perspective, as opposed to just interviewing a subject to get answers. We needed to start thinking about different ways to tell the story, without just relying on our subject’s verbal answers. We began to be more cognizant of our need for b-roll in the second package, especially after editing our first package and realizing how much we were missing. We focused on filming parts of the town, for example, the local streets and landmarks. However we really hit our stride in this final package. We were able to capture b-roll that we feel supported and helped move our story along. Our mindset was drastically different than when filming our first package. We knew we couldn’t just rely on the subject to tell our story. We were able to film footage of children walking in, the candy actually being weighed and sorted, and children signing cards for the troops. All of these were moments that we could actually show our viewers, as opposed to them simply hearing someone else talk about it.
While we have made successful improvements in some areas, we consistently need to enhance our awareness of filming and editing from a TV point of view. We want to make sure we film engaging b-roll, do more work with nat sound, and speak to people who can really move our story forward. While keeping those things in mind, we are ready to continue using what we’ve learned so far in future projects.