This wiki is created to provide you with useful tips and resources to guide you through the production of documenting your school. If you have any questions or concerns, please refer to the discussion tab at the top of this page and leave us a comment. We'll be happy to get back to you as soon as we can.
Here is a short movie about re-thinking planning for moviemaking. This movie address
1. A tip on getting students invested in their project
2. Technology is not the challenging the part
3. The advantages of working in larger groups
4. Keeping your projects under 5 min
When shooting your project it's important to know what areas you are allowed to record in and which are off limits. For example, government area's are usually always out of the question (unless you have connections or the money for proper permits), places like train stations, airports, or private areas like the mall or even some public parks are off limits. Make sure before you shoot your production you have the permissions you need.
For the most part, if you want to shoot in local areas in your city, talking will get you a long way, especially if it is a school project. For example, talking to your local coffee shop or restaurant owner about filming inside their place is not very difficult and for the most part we have seen that they are usually excited to be a part of something like that.
One important tip is to carry location and model releases for the places and people you are shooting. Below are links to some example release forms you can use for your projects.
An abstract movie, sometimes referred to as a mixed media project, has multiple media elements. For example, it can have multiple forms of text, music, graphics, special effects, color and video filters. These movies go beyond your traditional documentary or narrative both visually and story wise.
Click Here to see an example of a abstract movie.
Video essays are another form of abstract movies. Video essays are different then your standard documentary because they don't need to have an actual interview and are different than narratives because the storyline is communicated generally through a scripted voice, images, music and/or text.
Click Here to see an example of a abstract movie.
