By Cubie King
Armed with two EOS 7D cameras, two tripods, and four lenses between us, producer Carlos Martinelli and I roll out light and return with hefty results in our frequent collaborations.
We work primarily as editors for CNN so we understand the post process quite well (i.e. compression, audio syncing, editing, color grading, graphics, etc). So before shooting we draw out a game plan, as well as one can, of what we’d like to see and how best to execute that. We shoot what’s needed and are aware of what’s not. I’d venture to say our shooting ratio is around 3:1.
The tone of “Japan Society: A History of Support” was set by Joe Earle, Japan Society’s Director. Mr Earle is an extremely knowledgeable, articulate, and sophisticated fellow, a pleasure to interview. He has a distinct cadence and a wonderful way of transitioning from one thought to the next that dictated our pace.
We shot the interview dual camera, one 7D with a 50mm on the low left and another with a 100mm off-center right. Sound was captured independently with a Zoom H4n audio recorder placed on the table in front of Mr Earle. We used the iPhone app iSlate for a clapboard.
We were conscious to cut and start recording again after about two Q&As to avoid the 7D’s 12-minute maximum clip length (and to make sure what we shot made it to the card). The Zoom recorded only one track of audio for the entire interview. The recording was very clean but we ran it through Soundtrack Pro for noise reduction to eliminate the slight sound of the waterfall outside. And the 7D’s inbuilt mic sound is useful in post as we could simply align its waveforms to the Zoom’s for syncing. Natural sound of the waterfall and the gallery were recorded separately.
Japan Society itself, so tranquil, called for an observational stance. The atmosphere was extremely quiet yet there was a tangible curiosity and enthusiasm from the visitors about what they were seeing and experiencing. The exhibition Bye Bye Kitty!!! has several visually alluring pieces that we aimed to capture without complication. Thus we shot as if we were spectators, seeing the pieces for the first time—which we were—avoiding more flamboyant photographic techniques. Japan Society is very established and seemed to want to express itself cleanly, directly.
The gallery itself was dimly lit, so again the DSLRs really shone. We depended heavily on low apertures and high ISOs. The gallery shots were captured at or around an ISO of 2500. Everything was shot with available light.
The piece was color graded in Apple Color 1.5. The main objectives were to balance the two interview cameras and bring down the overall warmth of the piece.
We approached “Rally to Support The American Dream” completely differently. It had to be guerilla-style by nature. From the start we planned to convert the piece to black and white.
There were two filmic references that informed this shoot: John Ford’s Grapes of Wrath (1940; dp: Greg Toland) and How Green Was My Valley (1941; dp: Arthur Miller). Both have moments which subvert the artifice of classical Hollywood traditions, mainly through cinematography, to humanize, not glorify its characters. There’s a realism that’s intent and earnest. Both films also deal specifically with the struggles of the working class and unionizing and we wanted to capture that mood. We wanted a piece that seemed timeless but which also existed within a larger historic context, and we knew the abstractness of black and white would assist us in this area. We also anticipated that the crowd would be emotional and did not shy away from this aspect; in fact, we embraced it.
We also planned to utilize the 7D’s primary function: still photography. We wanted strong, unvarnished compositions of faces and signs. Many of the signs were Spartan, which worked to our advantage.
The sound of the crowd chants (“What’s disgusting? Union busting!”), Charlie Rangel’s soundbite and the final “The American Dream…was built with our hands” sequence were captured solely with the 7D’s built in mic. In certain situations that mic can be useful.
After the piece was picture-locked the footage was converted to black and white in Color 1.5. We created an all-encompassing black and white color grade for the piece, but of course each shot was seasoned to taste. We weighted the grade’s contrast towards the deep-mids and blacks and veneered it with a light film grain and sharpening to give it a slightly aged, weathered feel. The stills were treated in a similar fashion in Lightroom 3. All graphical elements including pushes on stills, for both pieces, were done in Apple Motion.
“Rally to Support The American Dream” took us roughly 10 hours to complete from shooting to final export. ”Japan Society” was shot in roughly two hours and took about two days to edit.
Coming from a film school background, I’ve always looked at traditional newsgathering and presentation through a different lens. For almost a decade I’ve worked for three traditional news organizations and have often witnessed the visual/aural elements of a story casually sacrificed in the name of expediency and standardization. No matter the story, the structure remained unchanged.
Dan Chung’s statement that “cinematic techniques [allow] people [to] connect to and care about news” is quite apt. Indeed, one could argue that the rapid ascendancy, commercialization, and general audience acceptance of feature-length (and short) documentaries over the past decade – combined with easier, more economical, access to professional grade equipment and software – calls for a reevaluation of how certain news is gathered and presented. And the new pixel-rich platforms of mobile phones, laptops, tablets, and colossal HD screens complement a “cinematic” approach more than their predecessors ever did.
DSLRs are a legitimate game changer: a much needed levellers that shifts the balance–for now–to the technically savvy, to the craftsmen. And for those whose ultimate goal is to service the story: visually, aurally, narratively….it’s time to step up.
Cubie King is an Editor/Producer at CNN (New York Bureau).
