documentary

documentary storytelling

There are so many stories all around us that go unnoticed. Some are just thinly veiled, while others are draped with so many layers that only a vague shape can be made out, even by the keenest of eyes. Either way, most of us rush right past all types of stories everyday, the fog of our thoughts and emotions preventing us from seeing what is right in front of us. 

For this project, we were instructed to push away the fog and search for stories before uncovering them with a flourish, allowing others to see them as well. True documentary filmmakers and journalists have this ability to identify and refine hidden stories in order to comment on life. The stories that came from our minds during the narrative unit were beautiful, but there is something particularly magical about finding stories that exist in the real world and sharing them with others. 

the subject

When we reached the documentary unit and began discussing the parameters of the project, I was suddenly struck with a very exciting idea that I was not very sure would be realistic or attainable. I had been following Zack Jot’s rise on TikTok for nearly a year and had loved watching a dancer I knew from the community meet so much well-deserved recognition. Zack was experiencing a kind of growth that was especially rare due to the pandemic. While the rest of us had holed up in our chrysalises, Zack had undergone the transition from a caterpillar to butterfly, bud to a blossom, emerging as a spectacle of talent and joy and success and wonder. 

I would see comments under his TikToks asking if he had danced before. Bored TikTok scrollers would wonder: “How can he be so talented? How can he dance like that, effortlessly floating through each move like a deer prancing through a forest? How?” Jealous TikTok scrollers would wonder: “How did his very first video blow up to 1 million likes in a week? How did he rise to TikTok stardom so quickly? The algorithm is rigged!” 

I, a TikTok scroller with a little more context, would sigh in relief. I had seen Zack’s hard work and dedication to dance over many, many years. I had seen him practice and attend conventions and ask questions and train in different styles and work with his peers and choreograph and study and learn more and more and more for hours and hours and hours. What a beautiful thing for those hours and that passion and those skills built over years to pay off in such a big way. It gives me hope and faith.

english

In English class, we began the unit by studying different examples of profiles that employed the same narrative structure that we would later use to write our own.

After getting a solid idea of what an effective profile looked like, we began the process of getting our interviews and doing the research. Although my final profile mainly focused on Zack and his journey, I made sure to do additional research in order to understand the context of the dance industry and the impacts of social media on it. The more research I did, the more I was able to understand the relevance of Zack’s story to broader audiences/the industry today.

Read my profile below!

http://freestyleacademy.rocks/~BrynK/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Kelly_Bryn-Profile.pdf

digital media

Once we had written our articles for English, we began producing videos and magazine article layouts to go with them. Using Adobe InDesign and After Effects, I was able to make additional media to enhance the content of my profile and make the experience more interactive. The introductory video was shown above, and my magazine article can be seen below:

https://issuu.com/freestyleacademy/docs/article_by_bryn_kelly?mode=window&pageNumber=1

film

In order to practice for such an ambitious project, we did a “mockumentary” in film class: a silly, lighthearted film that would allow us to practice the skills we would need for documentary.

For my mockumentary, I chose to focus on my little brother who ranks among the top 3,000 Valorant players, earning him the badge “Immortal”. It is both impressive and concerning :). Practicing using Nate as my subject was actually perfect because I was similarly following a person known for a special skill (Zack/dance) in my actual documentary.

After learning how to do a dual camera setup, how to use a microphone/audio recorder, and how to ask the right questions, we were ready to begin on our documentaries.

I worked alone for this project; it was too difficult to coordinate schedules with anyone else, as I had to go to Santa Cruz to get footage. My mom did an excellent job as driver/camera assistant, since I am not allowed to drive on 17 on my own haha!

The production part of the process was so much fun. Getting to talk to a really interesting and talented person about something they are passionate about for an hour and a half was a dream. I loved learning about Zack’s story and hearing different perspectives from my three interviewees on the dance industry and social media.

Post-production was more complicated. I had gone a little overboard with my interviews and had mountains of footage to sort through. Piecing together a story proved to be far more difficult than I anticipated, and I certainly gained an appreciation for documentary filmmakers who have to distill down hours and hours of footage to a (still long) two hour film. My film only ended up being 15 minutes long, but putting the story together proved a challenge.

After struggling with footage in Premiere, I decided to take the old-fashioned route and use note cards. Using the transcript I had made for English as well as the copious notes with time stamps I had taken throughout the process, I put quotes and b-roll onto note cards (with help from my mom :)) and then sorted the note cards into something resembling a story. My kitchen table was covered with these note cards for days, but it was definitely worth it. The cards were instrumental in getting to the final product.

my siblings trying to eat dinner ft. my cards 🙂

Once I had my note cards sorted, I began editing together an audio cut. I found doing both audio and video at once to be too complicated (especially due to the dual camera setup), so I decided to put the audio together first, finalize that, and then start doing video. This made the process much easier, and it allowed me to revise my story without having to get rid of a ton of work.

And then finally I arrived at the fun part. Video! Graphics! Details! The film began to come to life. Watch the film below — I hope you enjoy it.