Creating Documentaries for Social Studies Teachers and Students

by Sara Sutton

Sara Sutton retired this year as the Supervisor of the Impact Center at Tulare County Office of Education.  She created most of the documentaries for the new Tulare County History of Agriculture Museum.

Introduction

Whether you are a student doing a History Day project, or an adult child interviewing your parent about their life, learning to make a video is more than showing the world your raw footage, even though we see those all the time on You Tube.  Quality video production even goes beyond cutting and pasting pictures into an automated video program. Since all the tools we need to make a professional video are at our disposal, all that is left is learning the art of putting it all together.

Choosing the Interviewees

• Resources for interviews can be found from community groups who are given a few months to find their best representatives.  It is better to have subjects that a group can recommend  rather than individuals you do not know, but who recommend themselves.

Capturing the Story

• Interviewees are given the subject and several weeks time to think about their personal experiences relating to it.
• The interviewee is asked to share his or her own personal thoughts and memories. Letting them choose their own subject and timing works best. Let them be aware they can stop and "do over" any part they wish. For the most part let the camera roll uninterrupted. You never know what gems are coming.
• Only if they become stuck are they asked questions to stimulate more memories. Asking yes or no questions yields unusable yes or no answers, and sounds like a therapy session which it very often is. Not asking questions is what makes the interview honest and real.
• Be prepared to relax and listen. They will sense this.
• Positive feedback from the interviewer between segments or stories is encouraging and keeps the material flowing. Be careful not to talk over their speech but if you do, stop as soon as is politely possible, and ask them to repeat for a clean take.

Compiling the Story

• If you have several interviewees log them all and then after studying your notes choose your predominant and pertinent themes.
• My personal style has been to edit by themes. Statements and experiences of the same aspect or subject are grouped together in the editing timeline. This reinforces the subject with several witnesses speaking about the same topic or aspect of the topic, building credibility and retention for the audience. The viewer has an active experience of piecing together the reality of the history and forming their own experience with it.
• While editing, become personally involved enough to know your material well.  Be aware of and calculate the emotional responses it evokes.
• Word your narrative so subsequent statements by the interviewees reinforce your points.
• Use narrative sparingly and avoid the temptation to tell the story yourself instead of letting viewers draw their conclusions from experiences related by the interviewees.
• I choose short and interesting introductory statements to place as attention grabbers at the beginning of the video. I let these tell viewers what the video is about. Engaging music helps the viewer anticipate an entertaining experience. I choose some deeper thoughts and summary type statements by interviewees for the closer accompanied by music that is sometimes the same as at the beginning.

Technical Issues While Shooting the Footage

• Home or studio interviews are conducted with technical details such as audio, video and lighting properly addressed. (Beware of filming in front of windows, etc.)
• In a studio they sometimes can be more open. They may feel their opinions and thoughts are valued by being spot-lighted there. They are removed from daily distractions and become more philosophical. They are not having to represent their homes and lifestyle but only their thoughts and memories. Great care is taken to create an informal, friendly atmosphere. People respond positively to unconditional acceptance.
• I usually don't have the interviewee speak toward the camera. Instead they face a person is sitting off camera slightly to the side who is positive and highly attentive and responsive, giving direct eye contact without giving any audible feedback.
• A pleasant backdrop or green screen gives you flexibility with visuals. People respond differently in a studio than they might in their home.

Technical Issues While Creating the Video

• Process all your footage into the computer.
• Watch the entire raw footage, stopping and starting while you log it by time code and type notes on the content of the interview. These records will save you lots of time later. An alternative is to have someone writing notes during the interview but this is not so helpful if they can't read and note the time code off a monitor at the same
• Good editing techniques keep the viewer focused on the content of the video instead of distracted by unnecessary action. Don't use crazy transitions which contrast and detract from emotion and sincerity.time.
• Text titles are important for names and profiles but shouldn't be constantly on screen.
• I always add low volume background music. Pay careful attention to the mood it evokes. Subjects or segments may have a theme. The music should not distract and should not include lyrics. Moderate tones without punctuating instrumentation work best.
• When I need to cover history that is not covered by the interviewees I place short narratives and images at intervals between segments. I may use this opportunity to segue to new areas of dialogue.

Legal Issues and Protocols

•  Have a release form ready for them to sign.  Show lots of gratitude and thanks for the interview.

Other resources:

http://www.nhd.org/CategoryDocumentary.htm

http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Good-Documentary-Film

http://www.slideshare.net/acarvin/documentary-making-101