Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Documentary Pre-production

Purpose: To inform people of the Japanese Art of Taiko drumming

Contacts: Sensei of the dojo, drummers/students, maybe some parents, maybe some experts opinions

Interview Questions:

What is Taiko drumming?
Talk about the history of the art
Describe some of the techniques involved.
What made you want to teach Taiko drumming?
When did you first begin Taiko drumming?
Who taught you?
Take me through a daily practice
What are performances like?

Many more of the questions will be a result of impromptu questions for expanding on ideas brought up during the interview.

General Flow:

The Beginning will entail a brief intro of the art, history through scenes of drumming performances, practices etc
The Middle will go into more personal stories with Taiko drumming maybe any struggles
The End will show resolutions to struggles and future prospects in America

Shot List:

Contain establishing shots of the city, dojo
Shots of drumming, CU etc
Maybe go more into shots of just the sensei
Too much shots to just list

Scripts:

Most if not all of the narration will come from interviewee commentary
Our voice overs will sounds too unprofessional
Maybe one or two shots of the interviewer asking the question

Intro:

Est shots of city around dojo LONG SHOTS, then closer maybe to streets, driving by shots, then focus into dojo (with drumming as the music score)

Closing:

Maybe shots of sensei packing up to go, closing the door to signal ending

6 comments:

  1. Its an interesting topic, but you should add more details to the general flow. You should also have a sense of who your going to interview so when you write this you can focus more on the details of the documentary. Overall its a good topic... can't wait to watch it.

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  2. It sounds like a really interesting topic. I like the structure you planned for it. Kinda give the audience a little sense of what its about, the blend in to how it relates to those that practice it. Sounds great.

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  3. Taiko seems like a good idea, but it feels like you will have little to talk about. Maybe you should focus on the lives of people who do Taiko drumming instead of just taiko drumming. I feel like there would be little content in the documentary.

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  4. I think this documentary is a good idea. The only problem is that if your going to include Taiko drumming in general maybe add some statistical charts to see how many people actually do taiko. I think it would have a more powerful effect if you focused on one specific person, because you dont know that you can get a bunch of other people you can interview. Plus if you only did one person the documentary would be clearer.

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  5. This is a cool idea, just make sure to be more specific with what you want to focus on. just saying that you're gonna talk about personal experiences or struggles doesn't really tell us what's going to happen. i also agree with kevin's idea of focusing on one person who does taiko which would make it more personal or relatable.

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  6. i like the idea because many people don't know about taiko drumming and it will enlighten many people to look into it. in this process though, make sure your b-roll has a good variety, not just the drumming and the formation, but the culture around it through desighs and things such as that. this documentary can be potentially good, but can also be very bland if the pieces are not put together properly. Overall, this idea is unique and interesting.

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