Mark Blevis

I’m a firm believer in the principle of learning something new everyday (in fact, it’s the first statement in my personal manifesto).  Gaining new knowledge means exposing yourself to new opportunities and experiences. Whether it’s a new approach to something you’ve done before or a whole new activity, I recommend building on your foundation and trying something new everyday.  That’s how I tackled Rock Stars of Reading; a complex video and audio documentary project I’ve worked on for the last six months.

Before I share some of the lessons I learned, here are some statistics that help illustrate the scope of the project:

• source video recordings:  13hrs
• source audio recordings:  25hrs (includes sync-audio)
• source photographs:  1200
• editing time per video episode:  330 hours (averages to just under 16 hrs/episode)
• produced video programs: 2 hrs and 56 mins (13 episodes)
• produced audio programs: 2 hrs and 18 mins (8 episodes)
• total production: 5 hrs and 14 mins (21 episodes)
• the project is completely self-funded (no advertisers, sponsors or grants)

CAMERA WORK AND VISUAL EVIDENCE

There’s a lot to be said about spontaneity and capturing the moment.  Rock Stars of Reading depended on the recording equipment being the eyes and ears of the event.  Having said that, it would have been helpful to plan some of the camera work to ensure steady shots and good visual evidence.  In fact, the biggest hole in the documentary series was the abundance of b-roll at the expense of sufficient and effective visual evidence.  I didn’t know the distinction when we set out on the trip; I’m painfully aware of it, now.

I should note that we only bought our “spur-of-the-moment” video camera 12 hours before we set out for principle photography so starting with some basics like shopping around to pick out and buy the best camera for the job would have been a good start.

SUPPORT CREATIVITY WITH HEALTHY HABITS

Rock Stars of Reading was a hobby project so most of the editing and production work was done between the hours of 9pm and 3am.  That means I limited myself to three hours of sleep quite a bit and once pulled that 9-3 shift six days in a row.  I have nothing against being hard core about work you get paid for and hobbies you don’t, and I know about the power of working on creative projects when the world around you is still.  However, it’s important to eat well and get plenty of sleep, particularly if you’re engaged in demanding creative projects.

CONNECT WITH THE PEOPLE AND MATERIAL

Because I spent so much time (virtually) with them during the editing and production phases of the project, I became tightly connected with the people featured in the documentary series.  I became intimately familiar with their ideas, manners and words.  This offers a significant advantage since I was able to ensure that the messages they delivered were properly communicated in both video and audio (remember, they delivered them in person and the messages are received differently through a viewfinder than when two people are in the same physical space).

The disadvantage to this type of connection is you can feel artificially close to the characters and after 330 hours hanging out with them, you feel an absence when you realize you won’t be up with them from 9pm-3am tonight.

REVEAL THE STORY

At PodCamp Toronto I delivered a presentation called Content Paleontology: One approach to media production workflow and creative process.  The concept is that I don’t decide what the story is nor do I draft it, write it or tell it.  I go to where I believe the pieces of the story are and uncover them, record them and organize them in the way they reveal the story to me.  It’s an amazingly invigorating and exciting process that I as an editor/producer participate in — I don’t lead it.  Being a good editor means being able to identify the pieces that tell the story through their presence or absence from the final production.

KNOW WHO THE STAR IS

The star of the video is the combination of people, content and context that form the subject of the documentary.  As cinematographer, sound recordist, director, editor and producer, you are merely the vessel through which those stars shine.  Be minimalist in your appearance on the screen and how much of your voice appears in the final product, even if the documentary is meant to be fun and interactive.

By way of example, Michael Moore often places himself at the centre his controversial films which makes him as much of the story as the targets of his films.  That might have worked well in his personal essay Roger and Me, but the line blurs when it comes to his more critical films which Barry Hampe refers to as Docuganda.  Conversely, the only time you see or hear from Ken Burns in his brilliant and epic documentary films including Baseball, Jazz and The War is in the opening and closing credits.  His award-winning films are respected because they’re reflective, powerful and they let the people, places and events that shaped the world tell the stories themselves with minimal narrative.

In the case of Rock Stars of Reading, I reserved my appearance as the main character for the first and last episodes of the series which served to set up and conclude the purpose of the documentary and considered what changes our experiences have had and will have on us.

And those are five of the many lessons I will take with me to my next project.