On Saturday September 20th I began shooting one of my documentary projects. I was nervous and anxious to begin, triple checking I had all the necessary equipment, enough batteries, and a dedicated crew. The shoot went well overall, however I can list several things I wish I had done better. For one, I would have preferred to have been on audio rather than working a camera. I was unable to hear what was going on with our characters when I was shooting across the gym or in a particularly loud environment. I also would have communicated with my crew early on that I was to be the only one to speak with the subjects. Not because I’m nervous of them saying something inappropriate, but rather because I’m afraid of overwhelming the subject.
I did feel good about my ability to work on my feet and make changes over the course of the shoot. Halfway through we decided to take the lavaliere mic off of one subject and put it onto a subject that I thought would drive our story better. The most enjoyable aspect of the shoot to me was the nonstop energy and ‘heat’ of the shoot. We did not stop looking for creative shots, looking for interesting characters, and ultimately looking to tell our story.
