Documentary Shoot Suggestions...

jrazz wrote on 3/30/2006, 2:25 PM

I have the opportunity to shoot some b roll footage for a documentary that a guy out of CA is working on. I will be shooting footage of the local minor league baseball team as the doc is about a player who played for them. I also am going to be doing some landscape shots from around the city to get a feel of the place he lived and played.

I film weddings and enjoy that very much... with that being said, I know how to set up for a wedding and what to look for and what to get but for this, I am unsure.
I have a release in case there are fans that I want to capture on film. I have press passes to attend the game, meet with the team, view the locker rooms, talk to the coaches, etc. I pretty much have full access- So, I would like some suggestions on shots or any other pointers you are willing to give. I know it is b roll, but I would like to exceed his expectations.

Thanks again,

j razz

Comments

BrianStanding wrote on 3/30/2006, 4:42 PM

Oh, man. Fun, fun, fun. I love shooting B-roll. And minor-league baseball, too? With full access? What a treat! Here's a couple of suggestions:

1. Get a mix of wide-angle and closeups. Great closeup potential at a ballpark. Some are obvious: fans hanging on each pitch, mascots doing their routine, the announcer warming up the crowd. Some are less so: rows of bats in the dugout, gloves, the rosin bag on the pitcher's mound, wads of bubble gum going into player's mouths, etc. With full access, you'll get a chance to get shots most people never see: in the bullpen where the pitchers are warming up, for example. Not every shot needs to have a face in it, either. Close-ups of a batter's hands, a kid's hand holding a hot dog, etc. can all be great cutaways.

2. Resist the temptation to zoom, pan or tilt. Your editor is going to be looking for cutaways to cover cuts, static shots are easier to intercut than complex, evolving shots.. Frame your shot with the zoom,, keep the camera as steady as possible throughout the shot.

3. Try to tell little stories in B-Roll. For each shot, try to capture 10 seconds before the action starts, let the action move through the frame, and hold for 10 seconds after the action is complete. Key in on some of the same people as the game goes on, so we see them at the beginning of the game, during the middle, and at the end.

4. Others will no doubt chime in on this, but I don't believe you need a release from every person in the crowd you videotape. A ballpark is a pretty public place, and my understanding is that people attending a game give up a certain amount of their legal expectation of privacy. Certainly in the major leagues, the networks don't obtain releases before zooming in on the pretty blonde in the lower box seats. I would think releases for anyone you interview on camera would be appropriate, though. The team may be able to help you with releases for players; ask the General Manager how to deal with that.

Sounds like an enjoyable project. Let us know how it turns out.

apit34356 wrote on 3/30/2006, 5:14 PM

Congrats, J. BrainStanding gave some good tips. But a slow pan of the old park(video), plus with a digital still pan(360) of inside and outside the park can be useful when the editor is putting together interviews with coaches and fans. A few shots going from the lockerroom to the field, the dug-out to the field; ie...... a slow walk out, running with the team\coaches out, fans entering the park,.... a couple different angles when interviewing the coaches\fans..... And as always, properly light the person being interview! Plus watch the audio, great audio on the interview will impress the editors.

jrazz wrote on 3/30/2006, 6:20 PM

Thanks for the ideas. I am curious though about the legality of capturing a child eating a hot dog or something similar where a face can definitely be made out and not having a release to use it in something like this.

I read a post awhile back about something being filmed with a sign that said basically, "if you walk past this point you are in effect agreeing to be filmed..." I don't plan on doing something like that, but what are the laws regarding this? If I shot someone and the editor chose to insert that clip in the final product and that someone saw the documentary and had a problem with being in it, what is their rights? What is the company's rights?

Thanks for all the helpful ideas both of you.

j razz

filmy wrote on 3/31/2006, 4:01 AM

Think "fly on the wall" for what you are doing. Most any B-Roll stuff is somewhat generic unless the director has requested something *very* specific. Because you say the film is about someone in the past who used to play for the team I would avoid anything "current", avoid focusing on one player for example. Things like wide shots of the entire park, the stands with people in it, birds flying over the park and close ups/extreme close ups of things like the pitchers hand holding the ball, feet running to a base, a mouth eating a hot dog and so on. Visuals that pop into my mind, if I were directing the film, would be a slowpan around an empty locker room, slow shots of an empty field, some shots of empty hallways as the narraiton talks about the players who once played here. I mean these are things that I would be looking for to use. I wouldn't really be looking for anything that made sense on it's own, but rather genric images that I could cut into a story about the past. Someone might think "yeah, so what - a shot of a baseball glove, a shot of the flag waving in the breeze and another of a station wagon pulling into a parking lot." But to me those shots could be cut together with narration about familys going to see the "all American" sport of baseball.

On top of that if you have total access you might try to get access to their archives and shoot any old items from when this player was there.

It would not hurt to have signs posted at all gates that day stating there will be filming going on game" and that "by entering you are giving permission to (PRODUCTION COMAPNAY NAME HERE) film your likeness and your voice." Also have the announce annouce the same statement before the game starts. make sure you capture all this on video as well.

apit34356 wrote on 3/31/2006, 5:14 AM

just a heads up, if you are going to video kid(s) under your direct control,( ie, eat the hot dog over there,....), you will need to have the parents'(both) permission. Posting at the gates will not resolve this legal issue (today). Basicly when a fan buys a ticket to a ball game, the fan can be recorded by the owners of the stadium complex under limited conditions,( varies by state). The club atty should have guidelines for you.

pking36330 wrote on 3/31/2006, 6:15 AM

Using different angles always seems to provide better views and adds to the quality.

Go low-angle and get a couple of balls in the foreground and the stadium in the background. Shoot kids at their eye-level instead of looking down on them. Try and get an overhead shot of the assembly. That type thing.

dand9959 wrote on 3/31/2006, 11:43 AM

extreme-CU of fan buying a ticket....hands exchanging money for a ticket.
extreme-CU of ticket taker tearing ticket stub and handing it back.

similar for concessions ... hot dog purchase, etc.

Do NOT apply this to restroom footage. :-)

jrazz wrote on 3/31/2006, 12:25 PM

Got it, stay out of bathrooms with extreme closeups... what about the showers? Extreme closeups of players popping eachother with towels? I am sure I could get a pretty penney for that footage from the national inquirer :)

Really though, thanks for the posts and I will definitely let you know how it goes. I will probably wait till later in the summer when a promotion will take place at the park during the game.

j razz

jrazz wrote on 7/21/2006, 3:33 PM

Well, today I am going out to get some "surroundings" shots from atop buildings in the city as well as the sunset. It should be a great one this evening.
Tomorrow I film during the game. I will let you know how it goes. I got a list compiled of shots I want to get. If you guys think of anything before 11 am tomorrow, let me know!

j razz

dibbkd wrote on 7/21/2006, 6:40 PM

I think a CU of a good crack of the bat hitting the ball would be cool.

Can you post a link when it's finished?

jrazz wrote on 7/21/2006, 6:51 PM

Sure,
I'll post a link once it is finished. It will be available on DVD.

j razz

Steve Mann wrote on 7/22/2006, 12:02 AM

"Posting at the gates will not resolve this legal issue (today)."

I doubt that it ever did.

Depending on the production and distribution plans, there are people upstream of you who will insist on signed releases of recognizable people without exception.

If you're going to interview any of the players former coaches or teammates, get their sig on a release before you shoot.

Steve M.