Perfectly Imperfect

The Dominican Republic Mission Team, based in Wallingford, CT, has been headed down to La Romana every year since the 90s. Since then, the DRMt has helped to make a transformative impact in partnership with local organizations, including a hospital and several other initiatives. This week, I completed my mini documentary about the DRMT – scroll to the bottom of this blog post to see it for yourself!

Readings 

This week, I read “Some Final Words” from Tom Schroeppel at the end of his book, The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video. This one page section is where Schroeppel provides some food for thought. A quote from this section that stood out to me was about not following the rules. “If you want to stray from the basics, fine” writes Schroeppel. “Just be sure you understand what you’re doing and why; otherwise you will lose control of your work and confuse your viewers.” This concept relates to something I learned as a graphic design student – you must know the rules before you break them. Indeed, this is also true in film.

At the beginning of taking this course, I had no formal education in audio or video production. Everything I have done in this area, up until the point of this course, was entirely self taught. Sure, I had a podcast and was video editing for my job, but I didn’t honestly know much of the rules or  best practices.

Now, I have learned a lot of basic techniques. Some things I have learned and now use regularly in my professional career include:

• What EQ is and how to change it
• How to edit audio in PremierePro
• The importance of ambient sound / sound effects
• How to edit audio in a DAW
• What a DAW is
• The importance of a good microphone, and the differences between them
• How to do lighting properly
• Continuity with a single-cam setup
• J-cuts and L-cuts
• Cutting on the Action
• Jump Cuts (and when and when not to use them)
• What a montage is
• How to edit a multicam video in PremierePro

There’s probably much more than I included on that list, but those points are what stood out to me. Looking back, I’ve learned a lot of techniques that will be truly helpful in all of my future audio and video projects.

Everything that I learned is useful, but perhaps the most useful thing that I learned was how to edit effectively with both a single-cam and multicam setup. In the coming months, I’m planning to film more videos for my freelance content creation projects. Some of it will use a single-cam approach, but I have a couple projects in mind that are well-suited for a multicam setup. This course taught me (1) how to use continuity in single-cam, and (2) how to efficiently edit a multicam project. Both will come to be especially helpful moving forward.

The most difficult aspect of the course was composing the different shots; specifically when it came to the montage video. I had already known about composition from my design background and also through a previous photography course I had taken; however, applying these skills to video is a whole different ball game. Composition in film requires making use of a literal space. Composing shots taught me to think differently about how I place my camera, and how I can use my surroundings and frame them into a compelling shot.

Something I’d like to learn more about is how to more effectively incorporate transitions and motion graphics into my videos. I see a lot of cool content on YouTube and Instagram of more “artsy” and creative-looking edits, and want to try and emulate this style in my own work. At a glance, I can tell it’s somewhat tricky, and that I need to improve my own motion graphics game. However, this is something I’m interested in.

Although I know I will definitely use these techniques in the future with my personal content, I’m already using many of these new tricks and tips in my current role as the Creative Media Lead at TSSG. I’m sure that these techniques are going to level up TSSG’s content as we had into the new year as a startup.

Research to Inform

To inspire my editing abilities for the DRMT documentary, I researched some videos that effectively use J and L cutting.

• A J cut is when the audio comes in before the video.
• An L cut is when the video comes in before the audio.

Google – Year in Search 2024

J Cuts: 0:07-0:13, 0:19-0:23, 0:36-0:38, 0:39-0:42, 0:51-0:53, 1:09-1:11, 1:29-1:31, 2:53-2:59, 3:07-3:13, 3:14-3:16, 3:21-3:23 

This first video on this list is Google’s 2024 edition of the annual Year in Search, which gives a general overview of popular searches in the search engine over the course of the year. I chose this video because every single year, it serves as a source of inspiration. In a time where society seems more divided than ever, the Year in Search shows us how we tend to enjoy and search for the same things – proving that there is more that unites us than divides us. This video uses a lot of J cuts to keep the story moving forwards (there’s a lot to cover in a little over three minutes), and the audio is used to effectively tell the story in addition to the on-text narration.

One example of an effective J cut in the video occurs from 0:19-0:23. Initially, we see videos of rapper Kendrick Lamar while hearing a reaction from a fan about his music. Then, we cut to the video of the fan which we were initially hearing.

Founders Inc.

L Cuts: 0:17-0:20, 0:24-0:26, 0:29-0:31, 0:33-0:36, 0:37-0:39, 0:48-0:51, 0:54-0:56, 1:09-1:12, 1:16-1:18, 1:20-1:21

This second video comes from Founders Inc., a company that I’ve never heard of until I came across their content on YouTube. Apparently, they help people start cool businesses, such as a Web 3.0 startup. In this video, we see a lot of founders, followed by B-roll footage while we still hear their voices – a perfect example of an L cut. This format is used all throughout the video with each founder that is interviewed; driving the story forward while providing effective visual context.

A great example of an L cut in this video is at 1:16-1:18, where we initially see a founder – a music producer – talk about how it’s important how people tell her that they’re listening to her stuff. We then cut to some B-roll of a person going onto Spotify to listen, while hearing the same producer’s voice, but without seeing her as we did in the previous shot.

Notion – Dojo Testimonial

J Cuts: 0:08-0:11, 0:28-0:31, 0:40-0:42, 0:52-0:56, 1:12-1:14, 1:41-1:44, 1:48-1:53, 1:58-2:02, 2:14-2:18, 2:22-2:24

L Cuts: 0:12-0:16, 0;24-0:27, 0:46-0:51, 1:14-1:17, 1:37-1:39

This final video uses a great combination of J and L cuts (not that the other videos don’t, but this one in particular stands out). It comes from one of my favorite project management tools, Notion, and is a testimonial from another company, Dojo, which uses the platform. A variety of L cuts are used to transition from the interviews to B-roll footage. At the same time, J cuts are also routinely used – and they become more prevalent than the L cuts towards the end of the video (which is my only criticism).

A J cut can be found right in the beginning of the video, from 0:08-0:11. We hear the subject talking about Dojo, but don’t see her. She is talking about what Dojo is. At the same time, we see the front desk in their office building, which prominently reads Dojo (thereby setting up the story). After this, we cut to the subject and see her in frame while the audio about what Dojo is continues.

A good L cut is seen at 0:12-0:16. We see one of the subjects talking about how their company does business, and then cut (while still hearing the subject’s voice) to some B-roll of a business transaction in progress. This style is seen a lot through the first half of the video, connecting the subject’s speech to the overall story.

Create

Here is my mini documentary about the Dominican Republic Mission Team! Going on the January trip to La Romana last January changed my life for the better. I may be biased, but the DRMT is more than just a missions team – it is a community of individuals built upon the work that has been going on for 3 decades.

Much of the B-Roll consists of footage I took myself back in January, alongside photos of the DRMT throughout its history.

Check out the DRMT’s story – and the positive impact it has made on the lives of Haitian migrants in the DR – here: