I’m often asked by my students what’s a good sound recording starter kit that provides the most bang for the buck on a tight budget. In response to this question, I’ve assembled the following kits based on gear I’ve purchased and used myself. While I often prefer to use bulkier, higher-performance professional sound gear in […]
Release forms for documentary productions
In a professional documentary production, obtaining proper written permissions is the responsibility of the producer and can prevent complicated problems down the line in the event the project is licensed for broadcast or distribution. The four most common release forms used in documentary productions are: Appearance Release, PDF, for non-actors Minor Appearance Release, PDF, for […]
The seven presentation design habits of great presenters
After years of sitting through way too many banal, sleep-inducing PowerPoint presentations, I finally could not take it anymore and dashed off this missive which I originally wrote for my students. I believe there are seven crucial presentation design habits that will help you develop more engaging and memorable presentations. These habits are focused on […]
A conversation with Elaine McMillion Sheldon about Hollow
Hollow (requires Google Chrome) is an interactive documentary and community participatory project that examines the future of rural America through stories of over 30 residents of McDowell County, West Virginia, an area that is representative of many regional boom-and-bust economies across the country. The project is also available in a DVD edition for classroom use […]
Is Final Cut Pro X finally ready to be viable replacement for Final Cut Pro Classic?
This article is out of date and remains on this site for archival purposes only. If you’re still editing with Final Cut Pro Classic (my way of referring to Final Cut Pro 7.x or earlier) and sitting things out, you will eventually confront a transition to a contemporary non-linear editing system, perhaps one of Adobe […]
Is the Audio-Technica BP4029 the perfect cinéma-vérite microphone?
In an ideal world we would all have a ninja-class boom operator with us on all of our documentary shoots, but short of that we often place a wireless lavaliere on our subjects in order to capture the best dialogue possible while providing them with mobility along with the intimacy of a small crew. However, […]