Telling a Story Through a Mini-Doc

READING & WRITING

When it comes to video production, lighting is really a thorn in my side. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Lighting is tough to get right and is completely dependent on the color temperature, angle, and number of lights used.

There is a basic setup that works in most situations and is a great foundation. Three-point lighting involves 3 light sources: key, fill, and back. Key light is the main source of light in the shot, generally placed at one side of the camera and angled 45 degrees above the subject. It’s the brightest and leaves the harshest shadows. To soften it, fill light is used on the other side of the camera. It is not as intense as key lighting but provides just enough light to counteract the shadows of key lighting. Finally, back light is placed behind the subject to separate them from the background and provide more depth.

From left to right: key; key and fill; key, fill, and back. Source: PetaPixel

However, when working with sunlight, things get a little more complex. First off, the sun doesn’t stay in the same place all day so a plan for shooting is essential. The angle of the sun also plays a huge part. The best time of day for shooting is when the sun is about 45 degrees above the horizon, otherwise, it can be very bright and cast shadows in places that don’t normally have them.

There are ways to control sunlight, the main being the usage of reflectors. Reflectors are anything that the sunlight can bounce off of: foil, white foam board, white umbrella, etc. This softens the light so it can be used as fill instead of key.

Lighting is just one aspect of shooting a scene, and this alone can be time-consuming. This is why meticulous planning for every detail is essential. Having a shooting list keeps together the audio (sounds, dialogue, etc), the subjects, and how the shots will be filmed. If you’ve got a team with you, communication is what will keep the production together.

RESEARCH TO INFORM

In my quest for connecting concepts with the real world, I researched documentary-style videos to analyze the storytelling and lighting.

The Terrifying Danger of Wearing Makeup in North Korea is a short documentary about the women who once lived in North Korea and smuggled makeup into the country. There is a clear story told here, and a sense of advocacy. There’s a combination of b-roll, news footage, narration, and interview that takes the viewer on a harrowing journey. I think the lighting is well done, even the shots inside of the beauty shop with the bright lighting.

My family is from the Azores, and it's one of the most beautiful places that I’ve been to. Watching this video and seeing some of the places that I visited nearly 15 years ago was quite nostalgic. There was a good variety of b-roll, narration, interviews, and stand up. I was also surprised by how good the lighting was considering a lot of this was filmed outside and it looked fairly even.

This is an interview with the former governor of my state (Rhode Island), Gina Raimondo, the day after she was sworn in as Secretary of Commerce last month. The lighting for Secretary Raimondo is well done, but the lighting for the interviewer is very dark. I was actually a little surprised by this one, considering it's MSNBC. It’s almost as if she is lit by the light that is bouncing from Secretary Raimondo.

CREATE

Drawing on inspiration from 60-second docs and other quick documentaries, I’ve planned out one about my brother and his friends, and their years-long tradition of playing basketball together. Even now that they are in college in different parts of the state, they find a way to come together and play. They always play at the same basketball court, and they’re not shy in letting others join in when asked. It’s nice to see a group of friends still together all of these years despite life changes, enjoying something together.

Here’s my pre-production work:

cabral_minidoc_preprodDownload