Where BECA graduate students & alumni make media
Montana blog update: Getting close
It's been a while since I blogged about my Montana documentary project, which I'm producing for my MA creative project, so here's an update.
For the uninitiated, for my Masters culminating experience I chose the Creative Project option. You may find the BECA department advises you not to do this, but I took the option anyway. The winds of chance pushed me towards producing a documentary. Through fortune and contacts, I found the Wild Rockies Field Institute (WRFI), a school in Montana that takes students out of the classroom and lets them earn academic credit in a field-based environment. Some courses are kayak-based, others hiking, others are by bicycle. As the students travel, they go through academic elements, such as readings, presentations, and class discussions. It's a great way to learn.
After negotiation and soothing of concerns on their part, WRFI allowed me and a collaborator to join their Cycle the Rockies course, a one-month, 750-mile bicycle ride across Montana, visiting people and places attached to energy. During the month, we'd visit farmers, a wind farm, a hydroelectric dam, policy makers in the state capital of Helena, a coal plant, and much more. This was a month-long shoot where every second was a potential camera opportunity. As a result, we came away with 69 hours of footage, a stunning volume to work with in post-production.
To get up to speed on the whole project, see here to read the blogs I wrote on the road in Montana and during the post-production process.
So, since returning from Montana in June, the post-production process has seen huge ups and downs. Until recently, it was mostly downs. The worst burden was dealing with the fallout of a very difficult experience in Montana with my collaborator. Some time after Montana, what was left of our team relationship eventually ended, largely because I couldn't continue unless it did, and I found myself alone to edit my first documentary from 69 hours of footage - a task that would surely bewilder even diehard professionals! For months with a downhearted spirit, I staggered along, watching, labeling, and transcribing the footage. It seemed to me that what we captured was too poor in quality and my resolve too lacking to complete this massive task. I was anxious and sad, burdened by a project of which I wanted to be free.
The only thing that saved me, however, was the fact that I needed to complete this documentary to graduate. So I pushed on, working late nights and sometimes weekends. Finally, about a month or so ago, I began actually editing the piece after months of preparation. As soon as the documentary began to take shape, I started to feel better. At first, I concentrated on constructing the linear series of events that we'd witnessed. The result was okay but still unspectacular because it was so incomplete.
Then, I identified points within the story where I could drop interview segments related to various themes, to break up the story and add more character. This would help the audience take a breather from the story and enjoy the warmth and humor of the interviews. These segments addressed themes such as what it's like to tour on a bicycle, the camping experience, and the vibe of the group. Once I inserted these segments into the timeline, the piece instantly assumed much more character and I began to enjoy what I saw. The personalities of the students transformed the piece into something fun and very human.
Of course, along the way I had to make many difficult decisions. Whole chunks of the trip which I'd spent hours editing had to be discarded as I felt such segments weighed the documentary down or didn't have anything to say. In fact, one of the most challenging parts of editing this project was knowing what to leave out. Chopping and chopping away is something the audience never sees but the documentarian understands how time-consuming it is.
The next stage, which is on my plate right now, is writing the script. Even now, the documentary doesn't make much sense without the narrator pulling everything together and offering reflections on what is seen. The narrator guides the audience through the documentary and makes its themes more explicit. For a long time, I didn't know if I'd use a narrator but now it seems obvious that one is needed. I'm still pruning the script but I'll soon need to record it. I will be using my own voice for this task.
One of the final tasks will be to add music. This is a big unknown. I don't have any musicians or musical contacts to help me with this. When adding music to much shorter projects, I've typically used CCMixter, a website where people upload music that others can use for free, under the Creative Commons license system. I will probably do this again for this project, although adding music for an hour is much more demanding than for 5 minutes. I suspect that I will use a lot of loops and that I'll repeat music, especially for the interview segments where one particular piece of music will help identify and isolate these sections from the rest of the piece.
The documentary must be completed within a month or so, so it's likely that a watchable version will soon be with us. I'll update you on more when it's ready.
Until soon,
Adam
For the uninitiated, for my Masters culminating experience I chose the Creative Project option. You may find the BECA department advises you not to do this, but I took the option anyway. The winds of chance pushed me towards producing a documentary. Through fortune and contacts, I found the Wild Rockies Field Institute (WRFI), a school in Montana that takes students out of the classroom and lets them earn academic credit in a field-based environment. Some courses are kayak-based, others hiking, others are by bicycle. As the students travel, they go through academic elements, such as readings, presentations, and class discussions. It's a great way to learn.
After negotiation and soothing of concerns on their part, WRFI allowed me and a collaborator to join their Cycle the Rockies course, a one-month, 750-mile bicycle ride across Montana, visiting people and places attached to energy. During the month, we'd visit farmers, a wind farm, a hydroelectric dam, policy makers in the state capital of Helena, a coal plant, and much more. This was a month-long shoot where every second was a potential camera opportunity. As a result, we came away with 69 hours of footage, a stunning volume to work with in post-production.
To get up to speed on the whole project, see here to read the blogs I wrote on the road in Montana and during the post-production process.
So, since returning from Montana in June, the post-production process has seen huge ups and downs. Until recently, it was mostly downs. The worst burden was dealing with the fallout of a very difficult experience in Montana with my collaborator. Some time after Montana, what was left of our team relationship eventually ended, largely because I couldn't continue unless it did, and I found myself alone to edit my first documentary from 69 hours of footage - a task that would surely bewilder even diehard professionals! For months with a downhearted spirit, I staggered along, watching, labeling, and transcribing the footage. It seemed to me that what we captured was too poor in quality and my resolve too lacking to complete this massive task. I was anxious and sad, burdened by a project of which I wanted to be free.
The only thing that saved me, however, was the fact that I needed to complete this documentary to graduate. So I pushed on, working late nights and sometimes weekends. Finally, about a month or so ago, I began actually editing the piece after months of preparation. As soon as the documentary began to take shape, I started to feel better. At first, I concentrated on constructing the linear series of events that we'd witnessed. The result was okay but still unspectacular because it was so incomplete.
Then, I identified points within the story where I could drop interview segments related to various themes, to break up the story and add more character. This would help the audience take a breather from the story and enjoy the warmth and humor of the interviews. These segments addressed themes such as what it's like to tour on a bicycle, the camping experience, and the vibe of the group. Once I inserted these segments into the timeline, the piece instantly assumed much more character and I began to enjoy what I saw. The personalities of the students transformed the piece into something fun and very human.
Of course, along the way I had to make many difficult decisions. Whole chunks of the trip which I'd spent hours editing had to be discarded as I felt such segments weighed the documentary down or didn't have anything to say. In fact, one of the most challenging parts of editing this project was knowing what to leave out. Chopping and chopping away is something the audience never sees but the documentarian understands how time-consuming it is.
The next stage, which is on my plate right now, is writing the script. Even now, the documentary doesn't make much sense without the narrator pulling everything together and offering reflections on what is seen. The narrator guides the audience through the documentary and makes its themes more explicit. For a long time, I didn't know if I'd use a narrator but now it seems obvious that one is needed. I'm still pruning the script but I'll soon need to record it. I will be using my own voice for this task.
One of the final tasks will be to add music. This is a big unknown. I don't have any musicians or musical contacts to help me with this. When adding music to much shorter projects, I've typically used CCMixter, a website where people upload music that others can use for free, under the Creative Commons license system. I will probably do this again for this project, although adding music for an hour is much more demanding than for 5 minutes. I suspect that I will use a lot of loops and that I'll repeat music, especially for the interview segments where one particular piece of music will help identify and isolate these sections from the rest of the piece.
The documentary must be completed within a month or so, so it's likely that a watchable version will soon be with us. I'll update you on more when it's ready.
Until soon,
Adam
Comment
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Comment by Amanda on April 26, 2009 at 8:30pm - You should try talking to the music department. First, figure out what you want it to sound like and have something specific in mind. Then, figure out who the big composition instructor is, tell them what you are doing, and they may be able to set you up with a person who is dying to be the next John Williams. I've gone that route before and it turned out really well.
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Comment by molly on April 8, 2009 at 1:31am - those clouds are amazing. such pretty imagery. looking forward to seeing the real deal!
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