Mockumentary
In film class during the Documentary Unit, we were taught how to conduct a proper interview, film it, and record it. We then learned how to effectively edit interview clips together along with “B-roll” (visual representation of what was being spoken) in a narrative style.
In order to practice our new knowledge and skills, we were assigned to create a “Mockumentary”. In groups of three, we created fake documentaries surrounding the loose topic of Freestyle Academy. My group and I decided to create one documenting a secret cult within the school that had become a joke in our Film class over the course of the previous unit.
Documentary Film
After practicing the basics of filming a documentary, it was time to go out in the real world and create one from scratch. Our topic consisted of the same one which we wrote and researched in our English class.
Unlike our narrative film, we weren’t able to plan out our documentaries very much before shooting footage, for there wasn’t any script, and my partner and I hadn’t been able to scout our location due to our sudden change in topic.
During the production stage, my partner Jeannie and I went to the Cupertino Village Plaza and pitched ourselves to several restaurant workers, and after many unsuccessful attempts, finally landed a couple of interviews. We shot and recorded our interviews with Lav Microphones, and then walked around capturing “b-roll” of the plaza to overlay over the interviews later on.
We captured footage until the day before “shelter in place” was enacted in our county, and then spent the rest of the unit editing. Stitching together the clips in a three-part narrative arc was challenging, as well as adding subtitles to our Chinese interviews (especially since neither of us spoke it), but overall we were both satisfied with our end product.
Here is the final product: