Filmkit for charities

FilmKit for charities

a guide for making films responsibly

Making films for social change:

Where do you even start? How can charities make impactful films which do justice to their cause, engage audiences and represent beneficiaries well? We look into the big questions around filmmaking for charities and invite you to feed into the conversation.

Molly Clarke

Author

Molly Clarke is the former digital content officer at CharityComms and a Charity Works fellow. She has an MA in International Development and prior to that, she directed, produced and edited film projects both in a corporate and not-for-profit setting in the UK and internationally.

Mike South

Author

Mike South is a freelance charity filmmaker. He makes documentaries that put authenticity and the wellbeing of participants first. He’s made films for Diabetes UK, Samaritans, Versus Arthritis, Parkinson’s UK and Dignity in Dying.

With thanks to narrative for the guide’s design template.

1. Why film? The process behind making FilmKit

2. Representation: framing and ethics

3. Pitfalls of ignoring representation

4. Become a great interviewer

5. Shooting theory

6. Shooting in practice

Section 1

Why Film?

The process behind making FilmKit

Molly Clarke and Mike South

FilmKit authors

Since its inception, film has played a part in influencing the human experience. From wartime propaganda to Pixar tearjerkers, film has shaped thinking, evoked emotion and changed perceptions – for better or worse. As a sector that advocates for equality, we have an opportunity to use film to amplify, enhance, or even lead in our comms. We can make injustice visible. We can inspire people with stories of strength and resilience. We can underline the need for change.

Across the sector, film is being used to engage audiences, increase understanding of causes and empower people to take action. It can be such a force for good.

But making a film can be difficult, stressful and complex. With so many decisions to be made along the way how do you know if you’re doing it ‘right’? Despite good intentions, it’s possible to inadvertently do some harm. To create a positive film experience for everyone, we need to really think about our process – from conception to dissemination and beyond.

To make our films act as vehicles for good, we need to make our films responsibly.

What is FilmKit?

This guide outlines ways that charities can use film for good – good for the participants, good for the organisation and good for society.

To make films responsibly charities need to:

Tell stories that truly benefit society
Empower participants through genuine collaboration
Use charity resources responsibly
Work ethically with filmmakers

FilmKit is the start of our conversation about how we as a sector go about addressing those areas. We’ve pulled together research we’ve done across the sector – and created a live document that we hope will continue to grow and grow.

We’ve chosen to publish this guide in stages – getting you the information you need as quickly as possible – but more importantly, making you part of its creation.

We want this to be an inclusive process, as inclusive as possible, representing real filmmaking challenges in the sector and creating a shared idea of what best practice looks like. FilmKit will be shaped by your needs and your expertise.

What do you really want to know? Tell us.
Have something to add or think we are missing something? Let us know.
Want to offer your expertise? Interested in helping us expand the research? Let us know.
Completely disagree with what we have said already? Don’t hold back!

There are so many ways that this could be expanded, but again, we want to give you what is useful to you.

Here are some of the things we are considering looking at in the future. If you know you’d like to hear more about these topics, give us a shout.

Inhouse vs out of house
Benefits and drawbacks of participatory filmmaking
Getting your house in order – setting up a seamless process for inhouse filmmaking
Getting the right filmmakers (and keeping them!)
Finding the right participant
Costing film effectively

Tweet us using the hashtag #CCFilmKit or get in touch with molly@charitycomms.org.uk

Who are your guides on this journey?

Throughout this guide you’ll be hearing from us; Molly and Mike so let us introduce ourselves…

Molly:

Hi I’m Molly, I’ve been studying/making/writing about film (with varying levels of success) for almost ten years now and have done research across the charity sector about policy and practice in charity filmmaking. I’ll be starting by laying out some of the overarching themes and offering up useful examples that will help you realise how framing affects the subjects in the films you make. Mike calls me the ‘fun police’, but if we start with policing ourselves for just a bit, we’ll end up with content which is engaging, keeps people safe and preserves their integrity. What’s more fun than that?

Mike:

Hi, I’m Mike. I make documentary films solely for charities. I work very collaboratively with my subjects – putting their wellbeing above everything else. I spent five years managing Parkinson’s UK’s film team, figuring out strategy, process and best practice, as well as making a LOT of films. I know how complex making films can be – and how this can play out internally. Over the years I’ve shared what I know with the sector through talks, workshops and mentorships and now I’m super happy to be helping bring FilmKit to you. Whilst Molly’s incredible research will help you think about why you’re making your films I’ll be helping you think about how. I’ll be focusing on practical processes for creating your films and giving you a ton of tips I’ve learned over the years. My advice… find what will work best for you and steal it!

Why now?

Increasingly, with the rise of video on social platforms and equipment becoming more accessible by the minute, video is becoming common place. In fact, internet networking company Cisco predict video will make up 82% of all consumer internet traffic by 2020. In response, charities are setting up in-house teams, relying on social media teams to create bite-sized audio-visual content and generally trying to upscale their video production. As that happens, though, so much can go awry.

People on all sides of the filmmaking process across the sector seem to be experiencing similar problems – lack in understanding where video sits, how difficult it is to produce, how much time it takes, what is realistic with the resources we have, and what can and should be shown to audiences. And though as a sector we have progressed in leaps and bounds in terms of the way we work with and represent contributors in our video content, there are still improvements to be made. If we want video to help us make serious societal change, we have to start by taking it seriously.

That’s why we wanted to make this resource. We, the authors, have been there and we know how many things there are to think about when planning and producing films. Plus, to get buy in for film, we know that you often have to prove it’s value while working on a shoestring and with limited time. We wanted some of the thinking to be there for you – so you can get on with getting the damn thing made.

Who is it for?

Yes, this guide looks at the how and the why of filmmaking. But it also considers the broader issues of the stories we tell, who gets to tell them, how they get collected and shared and whether the ends justify the means. If we want to change the understanding and culture of image making in the charity sector, everyone needs to be on board – so everyone needs to be part of the conversation.

If you have any part in your charity’s films – whether commissioning, conceiving, advising, making, giving feedback or marketing – this guide is for you. It will help you consider whether your films are being produced in a responsible way and in ways that are in line with your charity’s values. It will help you tell the right stories and empower those who tell them. Charity film helps give people a platform to raise their voice and tell their stories so let’s make sure we get the process right.

Importantly, this guide can also help you get internal buy in to change the way your charity thinks about and uses film.

Not everything will be relevant to you – and that’s OK – so just take what is useful!

Where we’ve begun

To start us off, we’ve looked at areas of filmmaking that we believe to be integral to the process. Firstly, we look at how you find a frame, based on what you want your audience to understand about the cause you’re working on, and how you want them to react. We’ll also look at the ethical side to what and how to represent your cause through filmmaking.

If you’re thinking of working directly with someone who has lived experience of your cause in order to produce a film it’s not just a case of grabbing your camera and hitting the road. There are skills and techniques to a thoughtful, comfortable and enjoyable filmmaking process for all involved. For example what makes a great interviewer and a great interviewee? We’ve started by sharing some key tips for getting started.

Let’s go….

Section 2

Representation: framing & ethics

Molly Clarke

former digital content officer at CharityComms

When we are tasked with making or developing films for a charity, where do we start? Of all the many ways we could engage audiences with our message, film – as with other content forms – raises questions such as how do we know which elements to choose to include and crucially what do we need to avoid?

There is a tendency to follow tried and tested methods that we know reap results – looking to other charity films which have achieved their objectives. It sounds logical but doesn’t exactly harbour creativity. This can be useful up to a point (and certainly we will use films from across the sector to build a picture of good practice here), but in some cases this can end up harming our long-term objectives.

The primary argument for poverty porn, for example, is that it raises money to change lives. It tugs on heartstrings and induces guilt, compelling audiences to give. However, beyond being patronising and enforcing neo-colonial ideals, it’s not a viable long-term plan. A study by academics Irene Bruna Seu and Shani Orgad called ‘Caring in Crisis’ which considers the views of the British public on aid campaigns, found that audiences had less trust in charities’ ability to create change, because they had responded to the calls for funds yet continued to see the same messaging.

Further, audiences demonstrated compassion fatigue – the state that people get into when they are constantly being told to be passionate about problems which seem unending or with no solution. This means people switch off from messaging and, over time, feel powerless or even manipulated which leads to them having less inclination to give.

Research by the University of East Anglia’s media and international development lecturer Martin Scott shows that audiences will often look for ways to dismiss charity campaigns. This could be by telling themselves things such as ‘they are just trying to manipulate me’ or ‘they just want my money’. The solution, he says, lies in presenting a story that people cannot so easily dismiss.

“I think the best way of designing appeals is to frame them in surprising and challenging ways that don’t allow us to dismiss things so easily, so we don’t have these prepackaged discursive resources that allow us to reject them and move on with our lives, feeling fine without having learnt or done anything. ” – Martin Scott

But as one fundraiser at a CharityComms creatives group put it– how can we ask for help with a problem, if we don’t show the problem?

To be clear, this doesn’t mean we shy away from telling our audiences about the problems we face, but putting the problem front and centre of all our film campaigns builds a picture in our audiences mind that this is all that exists in the lives of our beneficiaries. That’s simply not true, nor will it result in effective content. We have a responsibility to harness our creativity when planning video content, while retaining authenticity – so how do we ensure this as we build a film content plan?

It starts with finding a frame…

Finding a frame

We can’t begin to surprise our audience without first understanding what they currently think. So, as with anything, understanding your audience has to come first. An integral part of this is understanding how they are processing issues and this is arguably inherently tied in to how issues are being framed, by which we mean the way issues are presented to an audience, and the understanding and response they are expected to take from having the information presented in this way.

A good way to think about this in practice is by asking what your audience believes about your cause/beneficiaries. And if they have a negative view, where does that come from?

As senior campaign strategist and UK lead at the Frameworks Institute Nicky Hawkins put it at the Bond conference, 2019, what is the root belief behind your audience’s views?

Nicky raises a good point here as the research she has been working on at The Frameworks Institute, in partnership with the JRF, on how to talk about UK Poverty, has led to the two organisations advocating for a solutions-focused approach to communication around poverty in the UK.

This leads us to a key area to consider when establishing the root of frames in society; how the media are presenting an issue. This is important because it can help you work out what questions to ask, such as:

what information is already out there?
what stereotypes or misconceptions exist about your beneficiaries?
what effects might this have on beneficiaries’ experience of moving through the world?
how can this be improved?

Nicky Hawkins’ tips from Bond Conference 2019

1. Understand what you’re up against in terms of public belief – what is the root cause?
2. Present a new narrative
3. Reinforce it – there is a tendency to keep trying to tell new stories, though that has a place we need to be consistent with our reframing efforts. A major factor in people considering something to be true is the number of times they’ve heard it.

Can you continue to surprise your audience, while following Nicky’s last tip? Arguably, yes – you don’t need to change your message to creatively tell stories from different angles.

One example which Martin Scott points to was the story of the refugee Olympic team: “I’m not sure how audiences can dismiss the idea that: ‘Oh those refugees, always being so… athletic’?”

This take presents an alternative narrative from the popularised one. It underscores that people seeking refuge from crisis are as diverse, skilled and human as the people from countries facing less strife –in a way that audiences are perhaps less used to seeing.

This new narrative can be reinforced in a host of engaging ways, as exemplified in the International Rescue Committee’s campaign for World Refugee Day, #MoreThanARefugee.

What works particularly well in these films – you can watch the full versions here – is that they all harness the creativity and diversity of their creators and contributors in different ways while reiterating the same message. From spoken word poetry to vlogs, the viewer is drawn to watch different pieces of content all while hearing the message reinforced time after time – that displaced people are more than refugees.

Jamie Wright (IRC) echoed the importance of reinforcing your message at the Raw London Relay event where his top tips for effective video content were:

Don’t get bored of your message: people deserve to know what you’re fighting for so don’t be afraid to repeat your message – you don’t need to keep changing it.
It’s not about you – it’s about your values, and connecting your audience with those.
Tell the story of us – the missions and values we share as a community.

For this to work well, it’s important that everyone is on the same page. Get clear on how you will represent your beneficiaries in all your film content and create documentation for this, to promote unity across departments. A good example of this is WaterAid’s ethical image policy.

What practical action can we take?

Develop framing in line with your charitable values.
Instead of fighting the preconceptions and misinformation you want to change, present a new one.
Be creative in the ways you express your message, but consistent with the message itself.

Representation

If we are thinking about developing frames for our beneficiaries, we have to deeply consider representation.

Again we return to the content ecosystem – our content does not exist in a vaccum and when we are representing marginalised groups, we may be one of very few who are doing so. With that in mind, ask yourself is the way we are presenting our beneficiaries encouraging equality?

Why do I need to think about this when I’m making film?

Because film and video can be a window to the world that our audiences would not otherwise get. With great power comes great responsibility!

When it comes to ethical and useful representation, there is no one-size-fits-all. Best practice in this sphere comes from understanding why things go well and recognising and responding to failure. Below, we’ll look into ways that representation is getting better, and the effects of this, and areas where representation still falls short and what that means on a bigger scale.

Case study

Putting it into context – the content ecosystem of LGBTQ representation.

LGBTQ people are diverse, with a range of identities influenced by gender, sexuality, cultural background, economic background and so on – just like everyone else. In popularised media, there has been a lack of representation of this diversity, and LGBTQ representation in the past has gone from non-existent, to tokenistic. It’s now getting better, particularly with the rise in independent creators, production becoming more affordable and the rise of streaming platforms. But what did it look like when representation was less frequent?

In 1994, a short film was released about a young boy named Trevor realising he was gay and facing thoughts of suicide. After winning an academy award, the film was to be aired on HBO. The producers realised that children across the US were going to be watching the film, including those facing similar issues. Realising there was no national support service for LGBTQ youth, they started the first US helpline for LGBTQ youth in crisis. This was launched ten minutes before the film went on air. So the Trevor Project was born – the world’s largest suicide prevention organisation for LGBTQ young people, and as CEO Amit Paley highlights in an interview with the Queery podcast, “the phone started ringing off the hook that night and it hasn’t stopped since”.

Diverse representation which expresses some realm of the complexity of the human experience allows audiences to connect, and for people who relate to have their feelings validated. Conversely, relying on stereotypes or one-dimensional portrayals encourages a restrictive understanding of the world around us, and of ourselves.

So, fair, accurate and equal representation of LGBTQ people in film can have two major results:

More stories which encourage audiences to empathise with different people can accelerate acceptance of those differences.
Audiences may see themselves in the content, which is important because having media role models can have a positive impact on understanding who they are, feeling a sense of pride and comfort in their identity.

So where do charities fit in?

When charities make films, the audience is made up of supporters, beneficiaries and cold audiences. Crucially within this, many people watching the content will in some way have been affected by your cause – potentially directly. To represent a charity beneficiary as a stereotype or a victim will affect the beneficiary watching it, and the people who make up the society around them. Conversely, actively trying to subvert stereotypes or tell untold stories of your beneficiaries can help beneficiaries feel seen, and help others better understand their lived experience.

This means being aware of where the gaps are and responding to that, so having a range of stories illustrating the diverse experiences of the people we exist to support. It’s the ability to look at the ecosystem and focus attention on what is needed.

It makes absolute sense that charities be at the forefront of making change through their comms – and ensuring that they live their values. In recent years, Stonewall has been a particularly good example. Stonewall’s mission is “to let all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people, here and abroad, know they’re not alone” and their content direction reflects that.

Most recently, they were working with an independent filmmaker to produce Stonewall BAME voices, a series of films platforming BAME LGBTQ people throughout the UK.

Sanjay Sood-Smith, Director of Empowerment Programmes at Stonewall explains in the charity’s BAME LGBT Voices documentary: “Listening to and learning from the experiences of marginalised minorities is a vital part of creating a more inclusive culture. For that to happen, BAME LGBT people need more public platforms to speak safely about issues that affect them in their own voices, and for the diversity of their experiences to be represented.”

This particular episode underscores the importance of representation and what it means for people to find examples of themselves in culture.

Questions to ask:

Who are you not reaching?
How can you find ways to engage or involve them? (note: while keeping them safe)

Should charities be responsible for this?

There’s the argument that mainstream culture can do massive things to change perceptions – but these changes don’t happen on their own and it’s through the work of activists and change-makers, of which charities and NGOs are at the forefront, that there is more of a demand for diverse representation in the media.

This is exemplified in the case of the LGBTQ movement. The representation of LGBTQ people in media has improved in recent years, but not without struggle. The organisation GLAAD has been advocating and working for fair, accurate and equal representation of LGBTQ people in media since 1985.

Despite GLAAD’s years of work though former US vice president Joe Biden famously declared on NBC that “When things really began to change is when the social culture changes. I think ‘Will & Grace’ probably did more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody’s ever done so far.”

Here, Joe appeared to completely forget that people have been campaigning for LGBTQ equality in life and in media long before it was seen as acceptable for two white, cis, gay men to exist on television. That’s not to say that Will and Grace wasn’t important, but it didn’t exist in a vacuum. The social culture didn’t just spontaneously change because someone wrote a witty gay character into a script. Presenting media representation and social activism as two separate entities is inaccurate.

GLAAD was founded 13 years before Will & Grace first aired. So, a media watchdog organisation existed and campaigned for diverse representation of LGBT communities 13 years before the pop culture show “did more to educate the American public” than anyone, in the eyes of the previous Vice President. Will & Grace happened 29 years after the Stonewall riots and in the aftermath of a monumental health and social justice crisis which robbed the LGBTQ community of close to a full generation of its men. Throughout people clamoured to be listened to. Indeed, just the previous year, Ellen DeGeneres caused controversy and lost her career (albeit temporarily) by coming out as gay. A huge amount of work happens before pop culture changes. As charities and civil society organisations, we stand for the people we represent, and have an opportunity to be part of that work.

Wonderfully, our media channels and platforms are becoming more diverse, especially now that audiences have more control than ever before. Platforms are responding – charities need to too. We are part of a multicultural, interconnected world and we are accountable to the people within it who watch our content.

We cannot see our audiences as a monocultural / single issue mass.

LGBTQ charity film often recognises that LGBTQ people will be watching and often, LGBTQ people have a hand in creating the content. This is not always the case when it comes to International development communication, particularly concerning the African continent. Sometimes, the differences are stark.

Section 3

Pitfalls of ignoring representation

Molly Clarke

former digital content officer at CharityComms

Clearly the issue of representation is a big one and should not be overlooked. As charity communicators we need to be unwaveringly conscious of how the way we portray people can change how the wider public view both the subject you are representing and the issues that you are trying to highlight around them.

Therefore recognising not just when the representation of people on film goes well, but also when it goes wrong is essential. Only by learning from the representation failures that are littered throughout history can we as an industry hope to do better.

Here, I’ve considered the good and bad in terms of how we understand and consider stories from across the African continent, looking particularly at Ethiopia, but also looking at specific examples from Uganda and Kenya. It should be noted that they are diverse countries, but I hope this analysis will help consider how we look at and represent nations which are considered as part of the Global South.

Let’s take a look at this idea of representation in more detail and put one such failure under the spotlight…

A personal experience of misrepresentation

Here I offer you an anecdote which I hope helps contextualize what I mean by a failure in representation.

I was 12 when my parents told me we were moving to Ethiopia. I remember excitedly nattering to my Scottish friend about it, as her parents drove us to the swimming pool. Her mother turned around and her eyes widened. She exclaimed ‘Ethiopia eh, I have a joke about there.’ What she said next is awful and I’m sorry for presenting you with it – but I think it’s important that we stare this in the face.

‘What do you call an Ethiopian with big feet? – a golf club! What about an Ethiopian with a big nose?… a bus stop.’

I’m now old enough to understand that, beyond being a horrific racist with a terrible idea of what constituted as humour, this woman’s understanding of Ethiopia was built by the news coverage two decades prior, and the subsequent campaigns which followed.

Speaking to people as I grew, it seemed, though perceptions were less horrific – no one had a picture of Ethiopia in their mind that went further than extreme poverty. Such is the legacy of the seminal televised news report from Michael Buerk and the subsequent Live Aid campaign, etching a picture in the minds of audiences of an Ethiopia characterised by drought, famine and skeletal frames. The images of the city of Mekele in the 1980’s were burned into the collective psyche and passed down through generations. There was no counter narrative. Ethiopia was barely talked about in the press, there were no films set there which reached the western eye and charity campaigns… well, the DRTV ads suggested not much had changed in the seemingly homogenous desert plains of ‘Africa’.

This has real effects on people’s lives and the way that they are perceived. I recently heard author Sisonke Msimang speak about a storyteller she was working with who was a refugee from Ethiopia. Msimang, whose work focuses on race, gender and democracy, told of how the woman felt belittled every time someone in her new residence of Australia expressed “oh, Ethiopia? You’re so lucky to be here.” As Msimang explained with those few words the woman’s culture was undermined and the richness of her history erased. In a situation where a woman had been made quite vulnerable, she is denied the strength of parts of her identity, purely from the perceptions of where she has come from. Make no mistake that this is a result of limited and irresponsible storytelling.

Why am I telling you this? Because sometimes we need to be confronted with the very real consequences that can come if we as charities do not step up to fight for real representation of fellow human beings who exist on our planet.

So I’ve outlined a clear problem of a failure in representation, namely when it comes to Ethiopia, but anecdotes aside where are we now when it comes to failure to represent people on a wider scale? What can be useful is to take specific examples from different areas around the globe and pull out the recurrent problems that can be seen to be repeatedly occurring.

Case study

But we are moving forward! Comic Relief imagery debate is making waves in the press.

The fact that the Comic Relief Debate got so much coverage did feel that perhaps we are moving closer to finding a solution. But when looked at in further detail, it is arguable that much of the rhetoric suggests we have a long way to go.

Let’s start with a positive note – David Lammy’s Twitter thread was excellent. But we should address the fact that this positive quickly descended into the negative as the debate was co-opted to talk about whether or not it was okay for Stacey Dooley to have been there. Still, we are talking about celebrities and white people. They overtake the narrative in the debate around development comms, just like they do in the actual communications we are arguing about. We have all seen the photo of Stacey holding a Ugandan child, but does anyone know that child’s name?

Let’s move the conversation away from celebs and white people – it’s not about them and the more energy we give to that debate, the less energy we have for finding alternative, useful ways of communicating about development projects. What’s more useful is to work through the problem of failed representation in comms which we’re presented with ..

Problem: Comic Relief said that David Lammy had been offered the opportunity to go to ‘Africa’! (why is this not a solution?)

The antidote to the ‘white saviour’ trope is not flying a black British MP out to ‘Africa’. There is a clear and distinct problem with parashooting an outsider into a community they know nothing about, to be the bridge between worlds. Why? Because of two problematic assumptions which arise out of such action.

The assumptions this type of response makes is that one: it suggests we need someone British to visit emerging economies so that British audiences can relate and two; it also implies that Africa is one homogenous place that David Lammy will automatically relate to because of the colour of his skin.

With the first assumption there is the subtext that the people in the community are so completely other-worldly that they cannot connect with a Western audience themselves. Let’s be frank – that’s rubbish. We are all human beings and if you can’t find something about a person which is relatable to other human beings, you’re not working hard enough. While with the second assumption it just as unhelpfully implies that everyone will have a shared knowledge and awareness of a particular continent based on their skin colour. Fact check – David Lammy was born in Tottenham and his parents are from Guyana not Uganda. It’s like expecting a person who grew up in America, with parents from Australia to understand every European walk of life from Helsinki to the Isle of Skye. People communicating issues that affect a community should be in some way understanding of that community and that comes from experience and connection. It does not come from purely being the same colour.

Answer: Moving forward a continuing journey

So what is ‘good’ and ‘bad’ in the context of representing, for example, Ethiopia? It’s the same as anything – a useful frame, considerate of what has come before and diverse storytelling which presents more than one narrative. But to go deeper, let’s analyse what exists already and the lessons that it offers.

There isn’t one way to do development comms and it should be noted that everything should be evaluated on a case by case basis with consideration of context.

As previously noted there are some things which stand out when you start to analyse charities’ approaches to representing their subjects. These are particularly evident when looking at international development communication.

Of course as with all of you, I know people working for these places – they’re smart and thoughtful but clearly the issue of how to represent people from communities that we ourselves are not from is one which as an industry we have still not found the answer to.

Despite all the conversation around breaking free of stereotypes in the sector – we are not there yet, but this does not mean we will not get there.

What we can learn from past representations:

*Useful representation of Low Income Countries (LIC’s) is not:

Portraying people as poor and happy instead of poor and sad. It is not enough to subvert a narrative by plastering a new, and equally reductive one on top of it. The opposite of ‘flies in their eyes’ coverage is not a picture of a singing, dancing community. When changing a frame in order to help reshape a damaging narrative it is not just a case of replacing it wholesale with its opposite. No situation is black and white or happy and sad. Reflecting those glorious shades of inbetween is to reflect the oh-so-human complexity of a given situation.

Top Tip: Whenever I see the kind of film that has clearly just plastered a new happy face on something all I can hear in my head is the famous Skokiaan (South African Song). Originally a musical piece from Zimbabwe, the song’s lyrics were added later by Tom Glazer, where the words of, “Oh-far away in Africa / Happy, happy Africa / …You sing a bingo bango bingo / In hokey pokey skokiaan” were described as ‘ethnographic condescension’ by Time colomnist Richard Corliss, which really is putting it lightly. If you watch your new campaign film back and it too makes you think of this song, bin it. It’s not doing enough.

Exclamations of ‘the people are incredible!’ from astounded westerners. Think of your hometown. Would you say that the people are incredible? Chances are that you think of a range of people who are great, and then a few you don’t get on with. Human beings are complex, and to say that a whole race of people are ‘incredible’ is reductionist and implies that you see them only on a superficial level. In portraying people in such a one-dimensional way you are effectively suggesting it’s fine for your audience to too.

Calling locally based project officers ‘food heroes’ or ‘smiley and enthusiastic’. It could be true, but it is patronising. Remember they are predominantly experts with a huge amount of hands on experience and should be recognised for that. Stop reducing them to caricatures, or tokenistic emblems.

Getting a field officer, rather than a white person, to bring a project beneficiary in front of a camera. Spend time with people and get to know their story. Treat them as contributors rather than something to be observed – they don’t need someone accompanying them on to camera.

“When changing a frame in order to help reshape a damaging narrative it is not just a case of replacing it wholesale with its opposite.“

Working internationally?

Prioritise good interpretation – especially in a humanitarian context. Will you be using local field staff as interpreters? Check out this guidance, prepared for the DEC by Kate Wright.

*Issues are complex and you can end up in the middle when it comes to effective and ineffective representation

As I mentioned before, it’s important to look at things on a case-by-case basis. Things aren’t always clear cut and sometimes charity films that have taken leaps and strides to ensure their representation is clear and true may also include – most likely unbeknownst to them at the time of creating said film – elements which could be seen as representationally problematic.

For example one project which does promote a better framing approach, but still leaves room for improvement is charity:water’s.

“It’s important to look at things on a case-by-case basis”

Case study

Even the best charity videos can still contain elements of the problematic – Ethiopia.

charity:water are clear on their values – they don’t objectify the poor and they check their content with the people who are involved. They created a series based in Mekele, where the original BBC famine report was filmed – though there are grounds for disagreeing with their approach, some things are done well and this is one of them:

Starting with the positive, the series is fun – it’s well shot, well edited, and interesting. Further, it also reflects a more useful picture of Mekele. It platforms the pivotal work of the local NGO and nods to the strides the area has made since it was devastated by famine.

It also actively teaches audiences about some of the cultural elements of Ethiopia which aren’t covered elsewhere, like in this video about meeting the partners:

However, and this is where it gets problematic, what it also does is centre around the charity:water content strategist, who is an American man.

The implication is that we feel the need to put an American person in the middle of an Ethiopian context in order to relate. Pandering to that creates a barrier between the audience in the Global North and the subjects of the film.

Consider the way that Louis Theroux films his documentaries. He may get under the skin of the situation and uncover some interesting issues, but he is always an outsider looking in, digging around with a sarcastic curiosity that the viewer shares. We connect as a British audience to the oddball Englishman, trusting that he will guide us through. We as the audience are led to think about the protagonists the way that Louis suggests we should.

Arguably in this film series a variation on the same style is used here, but for different means. The viewer is still an outsider, because our protagonist is an outsider. The viewer is put in his shoes, perpetuating distance due to language and cultural barriers. charity:water do this quite deliberately at times, to make an effective point. For example during the below film where our protagonist learns just how strong the young girl has to be to transport water each day – a feat that the protagonist isn’t quite up to.

This suggests to viewers that people in Mekele may not be as helpless as portrayed in the past, and that they may in fact have skills that viewers themselves don’t have, yet it relies on the presence of an outsider to make this point.

This could be argued to be useful if done correctly – if it changes the minds of viewers who have no connection to the country and encourages them to look further. However the key takeaway is that the film’s protagonist is an outsider in a country characterised by underdevelopment and poverty. There is little opportunity to connect with people on a deeper level because of the cultural barriers, the language barriers, and often the perceived power and importance which comes with being a white person with camera equipment in a rural community.

Sometimes, things like this need to be documented to illustrate the inequalities which exist throughout our world. It should never be ignored. But this becomes problematic when a country with vibrancy, history and varied and diverse culture is represented solely as impoverished.

It’s not all bad though

To leave this debate about representation and failures thereof on a more positive note it is worth acknowledging that some people are starting to show that it is possible to walk the tightrope between effective and ineffective portrayals.

In her presentation at the Power of Human Stories Conference Jess Crombie, humanitarian communications consultant, pressed that an important finding from her research ‘The People in the Pictures’ was that if we were to show images of extreme poverty, this can’t be the only thing we show. This is why Girl Effect’s project Yegna is so effective and should be looked to as an example of finding a way to navigate the various problematics that are both evident and hidden in everything we do when creating charity films.

Project Yegna’s aim is to empower Ethiopian women and does this through a radio drama, a TV drama and songs from the Ethiopian girl band. Because of the nature of this project, it has two categories of content – one which is part of the programmatic work, so the drama and music videos, and the other which expresses the aims and impact of the project. The former is important as much for Ethiopian audiences as western. I would love to see more of a blend of the two. See for yourself:

The content which addresses impact is a little less empowering, but still ahead of other content out there. The implication is that exposure to the project was the only thing that overturned the young girls’ lives although in reality there is so much more to the project. This may be because of pressure to really underscore that a difference is being made as Yegna has to really hammer home its impact – something that became evident when its funding from DFID was very publicly pulled after the Daily Mail labelled the band ‘Ethiopia’s Spice Girls’.

This underlines some of the problems we face as comms professionals, that it’s often hard to claim impact from communications overall. Change in perception and awareness is far less tangible than, for example, number of children vaccinated. But I’m preaching to the choir if I say that it doesn’t make comms any less important. Yegna was sadly vilified in the press, in an era where the messaging around the UK aid budget becomes more and more insular – not unlike politics across the world. Still, Yegna is going strong with new funding from philanthropic organisations, and the organisation is effective at demonstrating its impact.

But it is not the only story being told through the brand, and the other more longform videos – part of the programmatic work mentioned earlier – are much more engaging in a positive way. Take a look:

This content illustrates that poverty can be shown without being disempowering. Poverty is part of the film, because it’s a part of the context Yegna is operating in. However it’s not the only thing that is being shown about the people. They may experience poverty, but are not emblems of poverty – just like useful portrayals of LGBTQ people are not emblems of gayness or transsexuality.

What now?

It’s refreshing to see diverse storytelling from across the African continent, which moves beyond emblematic representation. It’s fun, fierce and frivolous – which is something Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu wants to see more of.

Fun? Fierce? Frivolous?

Kahiu is a Kenyan filmmaker who set up ‘Afrobubblegum’ in response to the idea that dealing with African stories meant dealing with traumatic issues. She wanted to create and commission art for art’s sake, which celebrated tales of joy, of fun, from across the continent.

Charities can’t just be talking about fun and frivolity – I get that. But it’s really worth watching her Ted Talk to get a handle on some of the discussion coming from people across the African continent and how the single story can shape and influence perceptions.

In saying this, Kahiu’s most recent film, Rafiki, does not shy away from the traumatic. It follows the story of the daughters of two Nairobi politicians who fall in love. Many of their peers don’t accept their homosexuality which is a major point of tension in the film. At the same time it is fun, fierce and frivolous – it shows joy, laughter, colour, culture and personality. It’s multifaceted. Just like real life.

Again, the fact that stories from across the continent are reductive is not just the fault of charities. It’s the fault of the news agenda, of perceived cultural difference, of lack of societal representation, of colonialist legacy and of racism. There are so many reasons that the content ecosystem is the way it is and so many ways it can be fought against. But we do have a responsibility as content creators in this space to be aware of this and to do our part to break down harmful stereotypes. I think being aware of movements like these, and mindful of this when in the creative process is a good start.

Further, the existence of Afrobubblegum is to support and platform artists from across the African continent and diasporic communities. Kahiu has highlighted the importance of having diverse stories from diverse people. This hammers home the point that the best people to decide, review and give feedback on how an issue or place is represented is the people who have direct, personal and lived experience.

What I’ve aimed to do here is to platform some great work which contributes to more positive representations of different countries on the African continent. I’ve also outlined where there is still room for growth. This illustrates that we as communicators can continue to review and improve the way we communicate about the issues we aim to support, to ensure that we are doing justice to the complexity and humanity of our causes.

Key takeaways:

You can show a problem without perpetuating stereotypes
Find ways to show complexity
Platform local voices in holistic ways
Have diverse teams working on and feeding into projects
Think Afrobubblegum – not Skokiaan

Section 4

Become a great interviewer

Mike South

freelance filmmaker

So you’ve found someone with a great story to tell. But that doesn’t mean they are going to be naturally good at telling it.

It’s your job to guide them through their storytelling – in a way that will be most useful to your supporters – while still staying true to the interviewee. You want them to be comfortable, open and truly themselves. You want this to be a positive experience for them. The best way to help you do this is to:

“Have a conversation, not an interview.”

Traditional interviews can come across as constructed performances. A series of pre-written questions, with edited or stock responses. And viewers can usually tell. We are hard-wired to look for tiny clues that let us know when someone isn’t being genuine. A performed series of answers will be less trustworthy and less relatable – and as a result – less useful to your cause. This would be a disservice to the incredible story you’re telling.

It should feel relaxed

Think about the last time you were in on of those ‘small talk traps’ in the office kitchen. You’re both filling those awkward minutes while you wait for the kettle to boil. Now think about the last after-work drink you had with a friend. That (hopefully!) felt super different.

In a relaxed conversation:

You already know things about the other person (Do the Research and Where to Start)
You both want to be there (Collaborating Effectively)
You’re not struggling to think of what to say (Planning Questions)
You care about what the other person thinks (Holding their Focus)
You actually connect with the other person (Creating Genuine Connection)
The conversation flows easily (Make the Conversation Flow)
You feel comfortable asking personal questions (Constructive Challenging)

These are the things you can look to incorporate naturally as part of your conversation. Right, let’s get started and dig deeper into how to subvert the traditional ‘interview’ – and how to have an authentic conversation with your subject.

Do the research

Being filmed is a scary, brave thing to do. Your subject is being incredibly generous – and you should show them that you’re grateful. Make it clear that you respect their time and their story – and will handle it with sensitivity and grace. Your subject, and their time is valuable, so you should:

“Make your subject feel valued,
even before you shoot.”

This means properly researching them and their story beforehand. They aren’t just a ‘supporter’ but a layered person with unique life lessons that you want to hear. You’ll need to learn:

Basic Information about them and of their story. Including names, places, dates of everyone involved.
An overview of their story. Read their case study (if you have one) and turn it into a cheat sheet. Memorise it.
Interests. What are their passions? What do they believe in?
Personality. Are they outspoken? Nervous?
Safety. Do they need someone with them? Do they have triggers or no go areas?

Dealing with difficult situations

In my first project involving addictive behaviour, I was very worried about affecting the safety of my subject and viewers. Discussing details of their addiction could trigger those patterns of behaviour.

Fortunately, the charity had an incredible staff member who gave me very specific no go areas to avoid. They also helped me identify useful ways to approach certain topics in the safest way possible.

My subject was very open and naturally went into those danger areas. Having spoken with the staff member I felt confident that I knew enough to steer the conversation back to a safer place – rather than following their lead. If you don’t think you know enough – find someone who does.

On another occasion, the first time I filmed with an amputee, I knew bringing up the painful subject of limb loss would be difficult. I suggested going to their favourite place (a sailing club) for lunch. I let them talk passionately about sailing for a while, until they naturally brought up the fact that getting onto the boat was more difficult now they’ve lost a leg.

This conversational insight created the opportunity for me to start asking those difficult questions on their terms – in a place they felt most comfortable. They ended up trusting me enough to voice something they hadn’t ever done before, and (almost more importantly) invited me to go sailing!

Where to start

Look up existing written case studies

Your charity might already have a written story. Charities with story managers or media officers should have a system in place for getting this on the first contact. Other comms teams might have already produced something about the person on your website or printed materials.

Talk to your colleagues

The likelihood is that someone else in the charity has already had contact with them. Ask them what they think. Is there anything you should know?

Research them on social media

People’s personality, passions and beliefs are part of their digital life. What they’ve already been willing to share publicly will likely be what they are willing to share with you. Remember though it is important to be upfront about this part of the process. A good way you can go about this is to have a work account for each social platform you use and then you can connect with them openly through that.

Pre-Interview

This gives you the chance to ‘feel them out’, gauge their personality and also serves as a good opportunity for setting expectations for the day of recording. Doing this over the phone is pretty standard – but I usually ask their permission to record the conversations (using an app or external recorder).

An audio recording does a great job of capturing ‘them’ as well as their story. The recording will be super useful to anyone else working on the project – or future ones. The recording will be much more useful to you than a written account. Of course, make sure you have their permission and keep the recording in line with GDPR policies.

Collaborating effectively

“Is this going to go well?” You might be asking that – and so will they. You can help shape the interviewee’s experience before the shoot day. You need to make sure they are excited to be a part of the project and know what to expect.

Case Study

My Diabetes Year – Episode 1.

My Diabetes Year is an educational documentary series that I worked on that helps diabetics manage their condition with confidence.

While working on this series I met Emma and was able to make a long form film with her as she was brave enough to embark upon this year-long documentary series. As we were working together every month – we both needed to collaborate and trust each other – right from the beginning, especially as when we started she hadn’t told many people about her diagnosis.

In this first episode I meet her and her family for the first time. You’ll get a behind the scenes look into me putting her at ease, whilst ‘feeling out’ who she is. I help her with her nerves through vlogging, then transition into more challenging subjects.

You can watch the rest of the series at Diabetes UK.

Find out what they want to get out of the project

Speak to them about what they hope they can gain from the work with you. Whether it’s about sharing their story, helping others, raising awareness etc, getting an understanding of what their needs are will help guide you in making sure the process is as useful for them as possible.

Tell them who you are and why you care

Let them know you’re not just a ‘camera-person’. Share your ‘why’ – why you make films, why you work for the charity, and why you personally connect to their story. Make it clear that you are sincerely trying to tell their story, not just using it to tell the story of your charity.

Tell them this isn’t a regular interview

No-one is ever totally relaxed about an upcoming interview. I personally find it nerve-racking! They might be shy or guarded. They might have had a bad experience with another interview. Let them know this will be a relaxed conversation.

Let them know what will happen on the day

What will filming look like? How many people will be there? How long will it take? These details help them to imagine what will happen – which will make them less nervous. Making it familiar and fun will also help. If they can share their passion with you – it will help them feel in control.

Show them previous films you’ve made (maybe)

This will reassure them that you represent people responsibly and people seem relaxed on camera. Though be aware this could backfire. They might not like your stuff. I usually only do this if interviewees ask a lot about what the film will be like. I make them a private bespoke page on my website, add a friendly message to them – and just add films that are most relevant to them.

They don’t have to ‘get it right’

If you’ve found the right person – someone who shares your charities values – they’ll really want to do a good job. They may try to ‘give you want you want’. Explain that all you really want is for them to be present and have fun. Their answers don’t have to be perfect. It’s your responsibility to do the research, know their story, and guide them on the day. They just need to show up.

Give them an out

Though they might be behind the charity, and want to help – this all might end up being too much for some people. You need to make it clear from the very beginning that they own their story and can back away at any time (even after the film goes out, though this would be far from ideal – it is the ethical thing to do). This should be clear to them at every stage of production, as sometimes people’s mindset changes once reality sets in. Unforeseen personal issues could also arise – and they shouldn’t feel pressured to remain locked into the project during stressful times.

Plan your questions

If you’re aiming to have a natural conversation – won’t writing a list of question just get in the way? Well – yes and no. Planning questions in advance will help give your conversation emotional structure, help you internalize themes, and even help you in the edit.

Your questions are a guide, not a script

Their story will have a few different events, themes, characters and emotional beats. Your questions (and the order you ask them) will be your guide through their story – but shouldn’t dictate how the conversation organically unfurls. In fact – it’s better if you don’t even have them whilst you talk (more on that later). Here are some tips for ‘mapping’ out your conversation:

Start easy

Plan for easy, shallow questions at the beginning. These won’t have much emotional weight and will help set the story’s scene – whilst your subject is still getting used to you.

Group questions into themes

Plan a series of mini conversation, each based on the different area of their story. ‘Being a Mum’, ‘Exercise’, ‘School’ are all little chats you could imagine having with friends. They’ll be a natural order to questions within those themes.

The order will change

People tend to bounce around a little even when explaining a series of events. That’s normal and perfectly fine. They’ll be more on how to deal with this later.

Build up to the deep

Plan to save the more emotionally weighted stuff towards the end of filming – even if it’s about something at the beginning of their story. Your subject needs to trust you enough to be vulnerable and honest.

Surprise them

Try to think of ways into their story that they might not have considered.

Hold their focus

‘Just forget about the camera’

This is the most ridiculous thing I hear said to interviewees. Lights, microphones, cameras – plus extra humans that operate that kit. Even to the most experienced actors can struggle with on set distractions. So your subject will almost certainly definitely find it difficult to relax into a natural conversation. The more reminders they have of the production – the harder it will be for them to be vulnerable, honest and open. I personally choose to solve that problem by using as little equipment as possible – but that might not be appropriate for your project.

But, there are some things you can do to help people relax and focus on having an open conversation with you – even with loads of shiny things pointed at them.

Top tips:

Separate your subject from the kit

You’re about to have some deep chats with the person – so you need to get them comfortable with you as quickly as possible. Do this away from the equipment. Regardless of your location – go to a different space to where filming will take place. Your crew (however big) should set up everything on their own – giving you guys the space to chat. Ideally, they’ve arrived earlier than the subject so there’s not a long fear-inducing wait before you start.

Take them to their happy place

Rather than diving into their story (you’ll want to save this so it’s fresh on camera) talk about other things. What turns them on? Find what they are most passionate about (I’ve talked model trains, grandkids, Harley Davidsons and clowning) – things that they can talk about with ease. If you’re in their environment – get them to show you around. They’ll be clues everywhere to who they are and what they love.

Be super interested – show them that they are worth listening to. Connect with their passions – show them you have a lot in common. They need to know you ‘get’ them – and are on their side. At some point, a crew member can come and give you a nod – showing their ready to start.

Create a seamless transition

Now you’ve got them relaxed and confident – stay with it. Just keep your conversation going as you take them to where the cameras are. Someone could put a mic on them while you talk, and your crew can use this time to make any final audio or lighting tweaks. Give them a couple of minutes to relax into their new environment – it’s still just you guys talking.

Think of the nurse that gets you to talk about your job whilst a scary (yes, they are scary!) injection is happening. Just because it is time to film – you don’t need to ruin the good vibes you’ve created. Everyone in the room should avoid “OK, ready to go’ type statements. Instead, the crew can just start rolling and one of them can tap you on the shoulder. Now you know you’re filming and you can just naturally transition your conversation into your first prepared question.

Don’t read from your notes

OK, so this is a hard one – but really worth getting good at. No natural conversation involves bits of paper with pre-prepared talking points ready to be ticked off. That’s for job interviews – and no-one likes those. Notes are a constant reminder to people that they are being ‘interviewed’. Your priority should be truly connecting with your subject. Keep your eyes on them. Show them you’re listening and transition naturally from one question to the other (More on how to do this later).

Real conversation doesn’t follow a logical order – it actually bounces around quite a bit. You should go with the natural flow of your subject’s responses – and allow yourself the freedom to ask any question you need to. Don’t force the conversation into a structure you have written down.

So are you just going to just wing it then? Nope. Have a series of mini conversations – around each theme that you’ve already planned. You’ll be amazed at how your questions are just in your head. Your subject’s responses will naturally prompt the next question. And you’ll be able to mentally tick off things you know you need to cover. When it feels like you’ve covered everything in that theme, ask them if there’s anything else they would add. Then grab your notes and quickly make sure you haven’t forgotten anything, before moving on.

Create genuine connection

Your subject is already being brave enough to tell their story on camera. So they deserve constant support throughout the whole experience. You support them by truly connecting with them – being a giving interviewer. You need to be an active participant in the conversation – and by that, I mean you need to talk. More than you think.

A real conversation is two way

When we watch most ‘interview’ videos – we are only seeing one half of the conversation. You could be tricked into thinking the interviewer doesn’t really say much. But a great interviewer is constantly feeding the conversation – you just don’t usually see it.

You might think you should keep pretty quiet – because the focus of the film is on them. But for now – they aren’t the focus, the conversation is. If all you do is nod and ask your next question – you’re expecting an awful lot from them. Be the other person in the conversation – a listener and a prompt. Otherwise, they are just monologuing. And a monologue can get awfully close to a performance.

React like the viewer should

You’re telling this person’s story because it’s powerful. Full of surprises, emotions, darkness and light. You want the viewers to feel emotionally connected to the story – to react to it. You are the lucky person who gets to hear the story first hand – so you should react as your viewers will. Be undeniably interested. If your subject makes you laugh… good. The viewers will likely laugh too.
Your reaction lets your subject know their story is connecting with you emotionally – that you are truly with them, in the moment. You are turning an unnatural situation into a natural interaction. You are a boost of confidence.

Give them part of you

Though fairly extrovert, I’m actually quite a private person. Joining the charity sector helped me open up a lot – because there were so many good people around. After a year a couple of my new friends told me I was frustrating. They were telling me about themselves, but I wasn’t giving anything back. I realised I was being a bad friend. I was denying them and myself the opportunity to build a deep connection, because if I wasn’t going to trust them enough to ‘let them in’ why should they do the same?

When I film with people – I often give them bits of my own story that connect with theirs. I’ve told people about breakups, family fallouts, failures and regrets. No matter how different we are – we always have shared human experiences. If someone opens up to you, you’re more likely to reciprocate with your own story. Show your subject this is an equal exchange by giving them part of yourself.

Create the energy you want

“Mike, were you in Liverpool this weekend?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You’ve gone all scouse again…”

Humans are born to connect with others. We all are guilty of subconsciously mimicking other people’s body language, speech patterns or accents. Especially when we are with people we like. My FilmKit co-writer Molly flips from Scottish to Irish to English depending on which family member she’s just been on the phone to (yep, it is hilarious).

This phenomenon can be used in your conversation.

You can set the tone. Whatever energy, body languages and words you use – will likely be reflected back at you. If their story is exciting – be excited. Talk loud. Be expressive. Smile a bunch. If you’d like a certain word or phrase – put it in the question – they’ll likely repeat it back to you. Have open, relaxed body language – and they’ll mirror it. Don’t tell people how you need them to be – show them.

Set the tone you’d like from the conversation – right from the beginning. From your very first contact with the subject – even over email. Emojis are your friend 😍

Make the conversation flow

Because you haven’t tethered yourself to your written list of questions – you can allow the conversation to flow naturally. Though remember – you are still guiding the conversation, and there are a few things that can help:

Start easy and build to the hard stuff

You only have one shot at hearing your subject’s story for the first time. Their story is powerful – so you need their telling of it to be as natural as possible. Your subject needs to settle in, feel comfortable and trust you. Start off with some of the ‘whats’ and ‘hows’ before challenging them with the ‘whys’.

Know which events in their story will be the more emotional ones and save those for later – even if those events are at the chronological start of their story.

If you need them to introduce themselves, have them do it at the end. Early nerves are particularly obvious when some is awkwardly saying their own name. Other functional things like posing for still images should also be saved to the end – when they’ve gained confidence.

Allow for the unexpected

The unexpected is the only thing that you can guarantee will happen whilst interviewing someone. I’ve found most subjects hold things back even during pre-interviews. Fair enough – they don’t trust you yet. But once you really start a deep conversation, your questions will often trigger them to say something powerful you weren’t expecting. No – you didn’t plan for this but have the confidence to go with them.

Some people are comfortable enough to delve straight into hard-hitting events – and can even get emotional right from the get-go. That’s OK – let them naturally go where they want. Mentally reshuffle your questions – you’ll just revisit your early questions later. Grab the reins and steer your subject back when the time is right. Imagine you’re a sat nav. It’s OK if they go off course because you are there to quickly reroute.

Build in extra time

The best chats with friends in pubs are when you go for ‘one after work’ and burn through six hours without even checking your watch. Great conversation doesn’t have a pre-assigned time limit.

You’ll want to have built in some time for spontaneity. Make it part of your plan. Your subject deserves the time and freedom to tell their story comfortably. This is what you say to your manager when you tell you’ll be gone for the whole day. Tell the subject that you want to make sure they have enough time to get their story told properly. Give them an approximate finishing time, but ask them what they have planned for afterwards – and build in some flexibility. Book an open return train – and pack extra memory cards.

The worst thing that will happen is you spend more time with one of your charity’s most interesting people. The best thing is that they’ll give you much more than you were hoping for – and then invite you to stay for dinner.

Be a transition wizard

Natural conversations don’t abruptly change topics. They originally flow from theme to theme – both people constantly moving things around. Whilst you want to maintain the feeling of this – you will want to guide topics of conversation. Holding on key areas, whilst moving away from tangents and dead-ends, will help focus your conversation. A focused conversation is more useful – and easier to edit.

The trick is to use your active contributions to transition from point to point. Once you know you’d like to move to a new area of conversation:

Reflect on what they’ve just said – showing they’ve been truly heard
Give them a personal experience or insight to connect their story to yours – building trust.

Use your contribution to transition to the next question

This could go something like “Wow, I can’t believe how dedicated you are to training. I remember being forced to run when I was in school, and I hated it. If I told my Mum I’d signed up to a marathon she would find it hilarious. What do your family think of what you’re doing?”

This is hard to do naturally – and will take some practice. But you’ll know you’re getting good when at the end of the conversation your subject says ‘Oh, are we done already? That was easy!’. You’ve got everything you need to craft a powerful story – but they just feel they’ve had a nice chat.

Don’t be afraid to steer the ship

Some subjects have a great story – but aren’t very adept at telling it. Unnecessary or irrelevant detail is very common. It’s not your subject’s job to be a good storyteller – but it is your job to guide them (both in person and in the edit) to tell their story effectively.

If you’re subject is giving you stuff you know you are never going to use – it’s OK to jump in and steer them. Reframe the heart of the question if they aren’t getting to it. Repeat the question if it’s been forgotten in a tangent.

This isn’t rude – it’s what happens in normal conversation. However, I do soften this by telling people that their time is valuable to me, I want to do justice to their story – so I might interrupt them at times. People are fine with it. Those who rabbit usually know they do!

Constructively Challenge

As I’ve learnt from my user-generated projects – people don’t usually ask themselves those tough questions that a truly authentic story needs. This is one of the most important roles you have as an interviewer. If a subject is not being truly honest or leaving things out of the story – your viewers will feel it. This will make your story less authentic, and likely less useful to the project.

You’re there to have a real conversation, and that conversation can be made stronger if you challenge your subject into greater introspection. You might see them – truly in the moment – learning something about themselves for the first time. This can be a wonderful, heartfelt moment. Just make sure they’re ready for it.

Top Tips

Your aim is to push them a little, without seeming pushy. Some things to bear in mind:

Take your time

You might get the sense that they aren’t ready to go deep just yet. Guide your conversation in a different direction, then come back to it later. Build their conference and gain their trust with an easier topic. You can then approach the subject from from a different angle.

Don’t accept a shallow answer

You want your subject to tell you how they truly felt as events unfurled. If you get a sense that they are going through the motions – reframe your question in a deeper way. For example, “I’m sure his diagnosis was a surprise to him – but often it’s the partners of people that feel these things more immediately. What was the first thought that came to your mind?”

Offer a different perfective perspective – inspiring them to reflect on events in a new way.

Lower your guard, and they’ll lower theirs

Admitting uncomfortable truths about yourself is very hard. Reliving painful moments is too. Unfortunately – these are the very things that you’re asking your subject to do – to authentically tell their story. If you’ve done your research – you’ll have an idea about what those things are.

Many people are understandably resistant to opening up. But you can push a little – so long as they can see that your ‘tricky question’ comes from a good place – connection, empathy and genuine curiosity. You can even acknowledge that the question you’re asking is difficult – giving them permission to struggle with it.

If I feel someone is guarded, I’ll make myself vulnerable to them. I’ll share some difficult things about myself. The more you lower your guard, the more likely they are to take down theirs. Yes, This does require some bravery on your part.

If something feels off, it probably is

Often you just get the ‘feeling’ that they aren’t being completely honest with you. There’s something there that they just aren’t saying. This could be because they’ve never had anyone interested in this part of their life. They could be afraid to say something out loud, because that would be admitting something is up. Or maybe they just don’t trust you yet. There is one thing that can help here – time. A lot of time.

Challenge Contradictions

Though we all want to appear fully-formed and ‘together’ – we are really all a bundle of inconsistencies. Doctors smoke. Vets eat meat. Anti-capitalists rant from their iPhones. What we say isn’t always in line with how we behave. We create our own justifications for these inconsistencies – to appear well rounded. Our world-views are usually challenged not by ourselves, but by the people around us. If we trust them, we’ll listen and be more open to self-reflection.

So if your subject has contradicted themselves – in their actions or words – point it out. In a nice way! You’re not trying to create a ‘gotcha’ moment – you’re trying to better understand the grey areas that make them complex and unique. Through doing that your content will be richer, as it will reflect the nuance of their personality and hopefully be grounded in authenticity.

Section 5

Shooting theory

What makes films work

Molly Clarke

former digital content officer at CharityComms

What do you need to know about filmmaking to get started with making story-led films? In this chapter, we will consider the basics of storytelling through film. It’s meant to be a brief introduction for those who want to better understand the medium. It’s in no way exhaustive but will hopefully give you enough to get started.

The way you shoot, edit, colour grade, go about your sound design – everything conveys a message to your audience, which they will pick up consciously or unconsciously. Mostly unconsciously. That’s why it’s imperative that you know what you’re doing.

So, er, what ARE you doing? Try to get a handle on this before you start. Are your subjects represented more widely? What preconceptions are you trying to support or disprove? How do you want to present your subject to the world? Representation and ethics are so important. Everything has meaning, so you need to make sure you’re not conveying a damaging one.

This complexity means, if budget allows, it’s best to hire experienced filmmakers, who understand your cause in a real and conscious way. That’s not a possibility for all charities though. This is also why you need time to get the right footage and establish real relationships. The sector is tight on resource, but it’s really worth making a case to clients/ senior management to allow for the time the process takes. This is particularly important when working with people with lived experience, not because they are fragile but because they are sharing their life with you for promotional material and they deserve to be able to take their time. Further, they are the experts on their experience, so the more time people making the films can spend with them, the more authentic the content will be at the end.

We can’t have it all and I’m totally aware of that. Hopefully knowing some of this will help empower you to create your own content.

I’ve written this for communicators in charities looking to try more in-house filming for themselves and the content has been shaped but what you the CharityComms community have told us would be most useful. I’ve included basic things you’ll need for your day-to-day, along with the option to delve deeper. Making charity film means sometimes remembering to think like the charity staff you are rather than a traditional filmmaker. The positive side of this is your ability to understand the cause on an intimate level, although inevitably this probably also means you’ll also be constantly mindful of your lack of budget just don’t let that deter you.

Here’s some of the elements you need to consider when you start to shoot….

Top tip: Filming techniques should be invisible. The aim is to make the process so subtle that the viewer is completely immersed in the world of the film. Sometimes, we break the rules to make a point.

Mis En Scene

This is anything and everything that is in your frame. Those napkins on the table? Part of the mis en scene. Those mucky trainers your protagonist is wearing? Mis en scene, dahhling. This article goes into more detail and might be helpful, but you shouldn’t have to worry about this much. If you’re looking for authenticity, ‘constructing’ the world of the film won’t help. Still, it’s good to be aware of everything which is going on in your frame, because it can have an impact.

The frame is the audiences’ limited window to the world you are presenting. Everything in the frame provides information. Make sure you’re telling the story you want to be telling. At it’s most basic, a soft focus tells your audience “look at this, this is more important than anything else in the frame”.

Composition

Here, we will go into are some basic composition rules…

The rule of thirds

If you divided your frame into thirds, it would create a grid like the one above. This one was created by setting my phone to have a 3×3 grid. The lines and particularly the intersections of the lines are the points in the frame where the eye is naturally drawn. Objects you want to draw to the attention of the viewer are well placed here. Of course not every image you put together should be led by this, but it’s a useful guide.

You might not need this level of detail, but if you want to learn more, check out this video from filmmaker Darious Britt, we’ve skipped the intro for you so you can jump right in.

I think that if you’re serious about cinematography, learning from photographers is the way to go. Sean Bobbit (Hunger, 12 Years a Slave) was a documentary photographer first, and it shows. The attention to detail is such that every frame looks like it could be a photograph. That will grab your audience. If you’re just looking to get some decent content for your social media channels, this level of detail will not be necessary. Still, understanding the possibilities will engage your brain in what is possible, giving you more ability to be pragmatic on set.

Colour

Consider too your use of colour and how it might influence your audience. Colour can evoke emotion, give context, and shape your story. We will go into this further when we consider postproduction, but in this video from CookeOpticsTV , cinematographer Seamus McGarvey talks you through the importance of colour.

The colour cards are particularly useful so we’ve posted screenshots below for you to refer back to later.

Cinematography

This refers to anything involving camera-use – movement, framing, composition, focus change etc.

Camera movements

Pan: Horizontal camera movement

Tilt: Vertical camera movement

Track: Following action

This video from Film Riot, described by Wired.com as an “on-demand film school” considers the meaning behind different camera movements and how these decisions can influence what audiences take away from your work.

Camera focus

Depth of field: the amount of sharpness in your frame. A shallow depth of field is when the focus is selective based on how far away something is from your camera. When everything in your frame is in focus, this is a deep depth of field. This is quite difficult to put into words. Here are some examples:

See how the girl is in focus, while the background is soft? This is shallow depth of field.

Some camera phones now have this as a filter, It clumsily blurs out the background, while keeping the foreground in focus. As you can probably tell, I’m not a fan. What bugs me about this is that you can see that the focus is not relational to distance. This isn’t how our eyes work. Our brains can tell that something is off, pulling the viewer out of the experience.

For contrast, here is a photo with deep depth of field. Notice how all the faces have the same level of sharpness across the frame:

Pull focus: When you change the focus from background to foreground or foreground to background.

Exercise: You can try this yourself. Hold your hands up a few inches in front of your eyes and spread your fingers out. Look at your fingers. You will see that your fingers are in focus and the background is soft. That’s a shallow depth of field. Now switch your focus and look at something you can see through the gaps in your fingers (probably these words? Hiya!)

You just ‘pulled focus’… but with your eyes.

Now, look at your fingers again and move one of your hands closer to your computer screen, while keeping your focus on the fingers closest to you. You can see that your further hand is less in focus than your close hand, but more in focus than your computer screen.

I know how my vision works, why am I doing this?

It’s important to know how the human body works and how we process the world, because film aims to recreate and manipulate that understanding. A pull focus says “look at this thing, now you have awareness of that, look at this – now draw a conclusion”. It is recreating your own bodily autonomy to tell you what is important and force you to draw conclusions about the scenario the film has set up. Isn’t that mad? And powerful? We all understand this instinctively because we watch films every day, but it’s worth being aware and questioning this so you can use film for good.

Okay so, let’s go back to this photo.:

Here’s what I would take from it:

The photographer wants you to know that the girl is in a forest / mountainous range but the girl is the subject, not the environment. She is in focus, on a 3×3 gridline and well lit.

Thus, if this was a film, the context would be supplying you indirectly with information. It could be that the environment she is in is influencing her somehow. Imagine instead that the background was in focus and lit, while she remained soft. The viewer would be looking for something happening, in the background as that is what they have been guided to look at.

Types of shots

Here are some of the types of shots used in filmmaking, and what they are often used for. This doesn’t mean they have to be used in this way, but you can’t break rules if you don’t know what they are. Well, maybe you can, but it would be less fun.

Closeup

As in “I’m ready for my…” This is the one which encourages the viewer to look at the emotional response that the character is giving.

Extreme close up

Like a closeup but…er… extreme. Often this will be on tiny details which you want the audience to take note of.

Midshot

Head, shoulders but no knees and toes. Gives context but you know that the subject is the important bit.

Wideshot

You can see a whole situation. It’s often used to set a scene and to give context to a situation before moving deeper into the action.

Establishing shot

Usually an extreme wideshot which establishes the world or landscape that the story exists in. Here’s a collection of dramatic establishing shots of Hogwarts, the school in the Harry Potter series, for your perusal.

High angle shot

Shot from above. This one is most often used to communicate that the subject is in a state of vulnerability.

Note: When working with vulnerable people, it’s ill-advised to play up their vulnerability with a high angle shot. It can be demeaning. I’ve spoken to charities, such as WaterAid, who have it in their policy that they do not shoot subjects from a high angle.

The below video from StudioBinder, goes into more detail on the different versions of high angle shots and compiles some examples of how they can be used. StudioBinder is a production management software, but their YouTube channel is host to a range of cinematic analyses so is worth having a look if you’re interested:

Low angle shot

Shot from below. This often can make whatever you’re shooting look powerful.

Again, StudioBinder has some nice examples of how low angle shots are used in cinema. Have a look if you’d like to delve deeper.

Get on your subject’s level. It’s important. If you are a tall person, get low, and if you’re smaller, get on a box. The slightest change can make a difference.

What you do with these types of shots will be up to you. Storyboarding can be helpful to get a sense of what you need. I think having worked on so many weddings helped me be pragmatic, because you have to train your eye to find the interesting moment and follow it, which is true of much of real-life filmmaking. Learning what these shots are, what they can convey and why they are useful will help you understand how to build a picture for your audience of your experience on set. If in doubt I go for over-capturing. Not trying to control my environment, but adapting my shooting to how the environment unfolds around me. That’s what works for me though and won’t for everyone! Find your style and what works for your given situation!

Challenge: What are other people doing?

Find a similar organisation and look at one of their films. Consider the mis en scene and the cinematography:

Whether intentionally or not, what does the mis en scene tell you about the world of the film?
Choose 30 seconds and analyse the camera movements, how do they enhance the narrative?
What do you think works?
What doesn’t work?
Are they portraying a message about your cause which you feel is useful?

There’s no wrong answer here really, it’s more about training your brain to think differently and questioning everything which goes into making a film. Plus combine that with your acute understanding of your cause, and the political and social context you are operating in. (Nothing major then…)

Lighting

There are so many ways that you might be able to light people to create drama, intrigue and attention. I’m going to start with the hardest thing though – lighting well.

Key light – this lights your subject

Fill light – this lights the side of your subject which the key light leaves in shadow

Back light – this lights your background

This tutorial from filmmaker Kris Truini is useful to get a visual idea of what a basic lighting set up looks like.

You can create this set up with natural light. If you’re using natural light, you can position your subject so that your key light is the sun, and use a reflector to stand in as your fill light.

This video by Parker Wallbeck, a filmmaker who runs an online filmschool as well as being a regular content creator, goes into detail on cinematic lighting and how it is achieved. It’s worth saying here that most of the equipment will be out of your budget. That doesn’t make learning about this redundant. Understanding the effect of light, as well as ways it manipulated in mainstream film, will give you a better understanding of how to use light in your own films, regardless of whether you’re using expensive equipment or the headlights of your car…

Lighting subjects

When lighting people. Diffusers and reflectors can be really useful. You often don’t want to shine your key light right into the people you are trying to illuminate. It often may be better to shine it away and bounce the light off of a reflector, or filter the light with a diffuser to soften it. Reflectors come in various colours and it depends on who you are lighting as to what will look best.

Silver: cool tone – if your subject has cool undertones then this will complement them

Silver/gold mix will complement people with warm undertones better

Not sure? Look at your subjects veins in their arms. If they are more blue, they have cooler undertones. If they are more green they have warmer undertones. If it’s hard to tell, they are a mix and will look good in both!

Test this out with a range of people and see if you can see the difference. Tell them what you’re doing first though. What I’ve been doing is staring at my colleagues trying to work out what undertones they have. It makes you look like a weirdo and I would not recommend it.

Along with light colour, there are a range of techniques which can help you tell a story with light. This article from No Film School goes into further detail or you can check out their handy summary below.

However, as you’ll notice from all of the examples in the article, all of these are designed for subjects with white skin.

It’s not uncommon for people to learn how to light, shoot and grade white people, as if they are the baseline. In fact, most filmmaking guidance is designed as if the only people who are going to be on screen are white and that’s indicative of a wider problem of racial bias in film. There has been a surge recently in Hollywood falling over itself because it has finally learnt to light darker skins well. We will go into all this in more detail during the practical section of this chapter.

It’s worth checking in here to point out that a lot of film info out there is biased. Most of the film industry is white and male and much of the instructional information out there assumes that its audience will be the same. If you want to learn more about filmmaking, but a lot of the information seems tailored for an audience that you don’t feel like you’re a part of, please push past it. Film needs diverse people telling stories.

Storytelling with lighting

So how do you tell a story with light? By way of introduction, this video from Aputure is great. They are a collective of filmmakers and photographers who make equipment but also put out regular content to share their expertise. Have a look if you want to nerd out (and of course you do, right?)

Stanley Kubrick said that he preferred natural lighting “because it’s the way we see things”. This reiterates the idea of good filmmaking being invisible. If we want to create authenticity, we should aim to keep things looking as true-to-life as possible.

The key thing is that you have to light where you want your audience to look. If there is something in the frame which you want your audience to pay attention to, light it.

Just because you don’t have fancy lighting kit doesn’t mean that you can’t do awesome things. Natural light can be as much (if not more) of an aid to storytelling as stylized lighting.

Tips:

The eye is drawn to the brightest part of the frame – if it’s important, light it.
Light characters based on how you want them to be perceived by your audience. For example, a dark character would have less light than a ‘good character. Of course, that becomes pretty contentious in the world of charity filmmaking as we may not often be looking to show anyone as ‘good’ vs ‘bad’ but this is useful to know so you understand what your audience might take away from the way in which you light someone. Again it comes down to understanding mainstream cinema, which much of your audience will have predominantly exposed to.

Storytelling with sound

Now that we’ve covered some of the basics of shooting, let’s move on to basic sound.

Sound design can make or break your film though, anecdotally, people often don’t think about it as much . In reality, it can be pivotal in immersing your viewer in the world you’ve created and guiding them through the physical and emotional levels of the film.

Key terms:

Diagetic sound exists in the world of the film, ie that the characters would have the opportunity to hear.

Non diagetic sound doesn’t exist in the world of the film – voice over, music etc.

Synchronous sound is any diagetic sound which is matches the action on screen, such as seeing a door close and hearing the subsequent slam.

Asynchronous sound is any diagetic sound which comes from offscreen, for example, raised voices behind a slammed door. This would give the impression that the characters were having a private argument and spark tension and intrigue.

Honestly, I have never really used these terms outside of writing about film, but it will be useful for you to know these while moving through this chapter.

Much of the thinking around sound design will be applied in post production, and that is something we will go into in more detail in later chapters. What is key, to begin with, is having quality sound which does not unintentionally distract the viewer from being immersed in the world of the film. If your sound design is bad, people will know. It often doesn’t get as much thought when it comes to lower level filmmaking because people don’t often get into film for sound specifically.

When you are on set, the most important thing to do is to make sure that you get clean, high quality sound. Don’t believe me? Check out the video below, from non-profit training organisation Raindance Canada, to see the difference it can make.

As is shown here, bad sound can completely ruin your audience’s understanding of your otherwise great film. Not only can bad sound audio cause your audience to disengage, but it can alter the emotion of the story – just as great audio can enhance it. Not convinced? This clip from Production Attic explains the hurdles and common problems when it comes to audio. It’s worth watching it for the Jurassic Park clip alone though.

As you can see from the video above, bad audio can ruin the most spectacular of scenes and make great cinema, well, laughable.

How can sound be used?

As we will go into, sound is recorded separately from the visuals, so though for much of documentary style filmmaking, sound should be captured on set, there is also scope for recording extra sound later down the line.

In Hollywood, much of the sound you hear is added in post production and there are so many creative ways you can create sound to cut through to your audience. Often, the sound that you hear on film isn’t the real sound being captured. It’s a similar sound having been recorded under different circumstances. Tasos Fratzolas explains the extent of this in his talk below fir TEDx Athens. It’s an interesting watch if you have some time to spare, but not an essential one.

But what about the stylistic sound choices you make on set?

There are some really simple things to think about in terms of sound. What volume do you want the people to be speaking at? Having someone whisper into a mic will have a completely different effect from having them shout, even if they are saying the same thing.

Creating atmosphere – atmospheric sound can set the precedent for the world you’re creating, and you can manipulate this by capturing this sound separately.

Imagine a person waking up in a bedroom. You can’t see anything but this person.
What conclusion do you make about the scene if you hear:

the sound of birds chirping in the background?
the sound of thunder and rain?
the sound of construction?
or even of people in the same house arguing?

The diagetic sound can be chosen to evoke certain feelings in the viewer and help contextualise the action. See this in action in the video below, which then goes on to mention a range of tips from filmmaker David F Sandberg.

Build your own sound library with interesting sounds you hear in your day to day life. I’m not suggesting that you do what this guy did and start recording your friend’s infants, but training your ear to recognise the sounds which make up your life is definitely a useful exercise.

Exercise

If you were to be creating sound for the setting you’re in right now, and to communicate what you are feeling, what would you need?

Write out a list, this will get you attuned to the type of sound you might need to tell a story with your film. I’ll do it for my surroundings and current feeling to give you an example:

I’m in a co-working space. There is the background noise of various people’s conversations as well as other people typing around me. There are people milling around, going through doors and so on.
I’ve committed to helping Mike by being in a test video he is doing for his chapter of FilmKit. He is currently clicking together his smartphone rig next to me which is reminding me of the time-pressure I’m under to finish this thought before we move onto filming.
My computer has butterfly keyboard and the space bar doesn’t work very well, so I’m hammering my keys to make sure that I don’t end up typing one long hybrid word.

So, to create this soundscape exactly, I would need the ambient sound, made up of:

people talking
doors opening and closing
footsteps
typing

But because this isn’t key to the scene, I would be happy to record this all on one track. What I would be focusing on getting individual recordings for would be:

the sound of a keyboard being battered
the sound of a rig being built

And then to add to the feeling of being under pressure, some typical (clichéd) devices would be a ticking clock, the tapping of a jittery leg, quickened breath and so on.

As always, the tip here is to watch film – see what they are doing. See what you like and what you don’t. Tune into the sound and how it supports or negates the action and to what effect.

Here are some examples from films charities have made:

Notice in this film by the Sumatran Orangutan Society how diagetic sound underscores the action. The sickly cough of the elephant – for example, has been thought about. That has been separately recorded and added in. Unless they were actually filming a sick cartoon elephant, which I think we can reasonably assume they weren’t. The jungle is never seen, but it is heard in the last scene where the call to action CTA exists. The city soundscape is replaced with the sound of the jungle, transporting the viewer to the rightful home of the animals and reminding us what could be lost.

In this TV advert from Save the Children the sound is essential to the storytelling. As the girl walks, her footsteps and the dialogue keep the flow. The diagetic background noise gives context to her changing surroundings, from the whirring helicopters as she flees danger to the casual laughter of children around her as she walks through a neighbourhood free from conflict. The music supports this too – but we will return to this when we look at sound in post-production.

To better illustrate the role sound can have in a film, I contacted documentary filmmaker Sarah Noa Bozenhardt. Her film Medanit – Cure relied heavily on sound design to shape and inform the narrative of the protagonist, Aster, a visually impaired mother in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Case study

A Q&A with documentary filmmaker Sarah Noa Bozenhard where she explains the significance of the use of sound in her film Medanit – Cure

The opening scene from Medanit – Cure conveys how sound can inform a viewers perception of the environment in which a film exists.

Please can you intoduce yourself?

I am Sarah Noa Bozenhardt and I am a documentary filmmaker, currently living in Berlin, Germany. I grew up in Ethiopia, an experience that continues to form my work as a director today.

Can you tell us a bit about your film, what it was about and what it sought to achieve?

Medanit – Cure was a short documentary film with a poetic narrative and visual elements set in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The short film grew out of my personal relationship with a group of visually impaired women and their children, who lived in a shelter for single mothers that was in turn founded by my mother. Together we wanted to explore cinema as an artistic tool that merges the visual and auditory to create a piece of art that is accessible to both visually impaired people and the sighted community. This way, we hoped that the often marginalized visually impaired mothers and their children would be seen and heard by their surrounding community. Instead of using film as a tool to mark differences and othering, this project aimed to create connections within a community and ultimately between continents.

Can you tell me a bit about the sound design for Medanit, the choices you made and why?

Since sound was such a crucial part of the project to make sure that everyone involved would find themselves in the final film, we put great emphasis on sound from the get go. I held several sound workshops with the visually impaired women and they received their own recording devices. They began to record their environments, songs, conversations and interviews with each other. Many of these recordings made it into the sound design of Medanit – Cure and transport a sense of ownership to the participants of the project, whilst opening the sensory world of the sighted viewer.

How did you use sound to bring the viewer into Aster’s world?

Aster’s voice and the sound of her touch – braiding hair, washing cloth, running her hand across a cement wall – were very crucial to connect the viewer with our main protagonist. Her voice singing songs of past love, and telling endearing bedtime stories to her daughter, are full of intimacy. Aster lets down her guard and with her voice, she leads us through her thoughts, which ultimately construct the dramaturgy of the film’s narrative. She wishes to change her daughter’s name, claiming what belongs to her, stepping away from wishes of her daughter’s absent father. Her songs guide the viewer and listener into an abstract world of lights flashing and darkness. These sounds, which were so closely related to Aster, helped us build a relationship with the audience.

How did you use sound to convey emotion?

We didn’t use any extensive sound scores. Everything was kept simple, and relatable to the recording experience of the visually impaired participants. It was important to me not to define an emotional response, but rather use auditory observations made by the participants to create an environment in the sound scape. I wanted sound to appear more dominant when it was what the women had recorded and marked as particularly important to them. This is for example, how the sound of rain dropping, dogs barking in the distance, chirping of insects, and grinding of coffee opened up the always very tight visual space. The imagery didn’t reveal where we were, but the audio always opens up an environment. If this in turn creates emotion, is a question that the audience can best answer. To me, for sure, it does because I feel extermely close to Aster and her daughter, as if I was invited to join them in their intimate experience of the world around them.

At what points did you use sound as a storytelling device?

As mentioned above, the voiceover recorded with Aster was used as a narrative device, which leads the listener and viewer through her internal reflections that occured during the process of the film project. In the end, it is this voiceover that ties together all the moments we experience with Aster and her friends.

Is there anything else you’d like to talk about with regards to this which people may have initially missed?

To me as a documentary director, sound has become a crucial element in the production because of my experience in making Medanit – Cure. I now always record the sound on location. When I am wearing my headphones and always carry the voices of the participants with me, wherever I turn, I feel very close to them. Their words, breath, heartbeat stays with me throughout the shooting, making sure that I never forget why I do what I do – to create a platform for their voices.

The above introduction to some of the storytelling practices of filmmaking is designed to be just that – an introduction. Hopefully though, it’s got you thinking about the range of ways you can translate your ideas into the language of film. Next, we will look at what you need in order to go about making the content.

Section 6

Shooting in practice

Using the right kit

Mike South

freelance filmmaker

There are so many bits of equipment that can help you make your film – cameras, lenses, light, audio. If you’re like me – you’re super happy geeking out on all this technical stuff… but you still need to know WHY you’re doing it. In the previous chapter, Molly gave you the creative tools to make your films pop. If you haven’t read that yet – do it now. I think those ideas are far more important than what follows in this chapter.

I’ve been giving talks and workshops to the charity sector for years now. I talk about low budget filmmaking, authenticity, strategy, user generated content and interview techniques. The most common question I get asked… “What camera should we buy?”

I get it. You want to make more films in-house… and you do need some sort of camera. However – it’s not a great question. I usually have to respond with some other questions. The conversation usually goes something like this:

BUDGET HOLDER
What camera should we buy?

ME
(Trying not to seem evasive)
It depends. Who will be using it?
What will they be doing with it?

BUDGET HOLDER
(Frustrated) Er… Marketing? Interviews?

ME
OK – please don’t buy a camera yet.

Kit is not that important

What’s your favourite film? Why do you love it? Who made it? These answers are important.

What camera did they shoot on? What software did they edit with? These answers are less important.

The tools used have the least impact on whether a film is great or not. Starting with your film’s most important factors will help you to find the most appropriate tools for the job. In all likelihood – it’s unlikely you need the ‘best’ gear.

Five Hidden Costs (£ to £££)

Don’t think ‘Camera’ – think ‘Kit’. The camera itself actually represents just a small piece of your entire production workflow. A camera will need a bunch of accessories to make it do what you want.
The bit that usually gets forgotten about is audio. Audio is one half of the film experience. Yet no-one ever asks me about which microphone to buy.
Really, a camera is just a fancy box that records light and converts it to a bunch of 1s and 0s. That’s it. The quality of the light and how it’s focussed have the greater impact on what your picture will look like. Without lighting and lenses – you just have a fancy box.
Your footage has to live somewhere – and be edited. We will visit post-production kit in more detail later – but you’ll need to have a game plan for your footage before getting your camera. Generally the ‘better’ the camera, the more money you’ll need to spend after you’re done shooting.
The most expensive bit of your kit is… the person using it. All this kit can be complicated to use – just have a gander at Molly’s chapter. Having someone with this competency, creativity and experience will cost you. The more complicated your kit, the more resource you’ll need to spend. You’ll likely need to upskill existing staff (which means regular dedicated time, not just a one day course) and/or hire someone great. Owning expensive kit without this person is like buying a Porsche and never taking it out of the congestion zone. Don’t do that.

Let them the person who will be using the kit make the decisions

The best way to spend your lovely new video budget is to identify the one main person who will be using your camera kit, and what it is they will spend the majority of the time using it for. Then let them decide what you should buy.

This chapter will be a good starting point for them. Ready? Let’s get started…

Small and Quick vs Big and Slow

To bring your filmmaking in-house – there are two distinct approaches you should think about. Take a look at the below and think about where you are.

If the second option is terrifying to you – if it looks expensive and difficult – it’s because it is. I estimate you’ll need at least 10x more budget and expertise.

As Matti Haapoja encourages other starter filmmakers “If you think it’s way too expensive – then you’re not ready to have it”.

He also mentions that filmmakers are used to the cost of quality kit – but bear in mind that your budget holder might not be. This will mean convincing them of the benefits of these storytelling tools. Molly’s chapter will help here.

But either way, don’t worry. The first option is still brilliant. In a lot of ways better, in fact. Read on to find out why…

Mobile Filmmaking

People have been experimenting with smartphone filmmaking since the beginning. But it was in 2015 that Sean Baker’s Tangerine made people really take smartphone filmmaking seriously. Sean used the same phone that I had at the time. I thought I was cutting edge because I was doing reckies with Artemis and Sun Scout on my iPhone5S.

Looking at my smartphone now, and all the insanely ‘professional’ things it has legitimately replaced (sketchpad, landscape camera, guitar amp) I have to admit – I’m far more interested in it’s filmmaking capabilities than I am by the latest 8K RED camera.

That’s why I’ve recently built a few smartphone filming kits, which I’m now using in my own documentary work – both for shooting myself and sending out to self-shooting participants (more on that later). When advising someone who wants to get into filmmaking – I now tell them to go down the mobile route. And not because I think it’s a good way to transition into ‘proper’ cameras… but because it’s pretty likely that they’ll never have to.

Where the puck is going

This 2011 article shows DSLR’s (Digital Single Lens Reflex’s) starting to become legit in Hollywood. Now this one from 2018 about smartphone filmmaking looks strangely familiar. The rate of innovation in smartphone filmmaking is far greater than in more traditional spaces. For us mere mortals – making docs, interviews etc smartphones are pretty much ready right now.

Here’s a playlist of professionals talking about this. Get inspired.

Comparing DSLR and Mobile in a nutshell

DSLR stuff that Mobile Devices can also do

Optical Zoom from 13mm-56mm (iPhone 11 Pro)
Shoot 4K HDR video (Google Pixel 3)
Shoot 960 frames per second (Galaxy Note 10)
Record in LOG Color Profile (FiLMiC ProApp)
Record 2 channels of 48kHz 24bit WAVE audio (Rode Reporter App)
Edit 12 tracks of media and Color Grading (Luma Fusion App)
Multiple crop formats and subtitling for optimal social output (Adobe Premier Rush CC App)
Shoot RAW photos (ProCam App)
Professional Photo Retouching (Affinity Photo App)
+Coming soon Shallow Depth of Field (Should be usable with a year or two)

Stuff that mobile devices do better than DSLRs

Faster to set up
Lightweight
Smaller and less scary
Droppable
Underwater and airborne filming
Fast backup and editing
Easier to learn
+ Can record 2x camera angles at the same time!

Tooling Up

As I stressed at the beginning of the chapter – let the person you’ve put in charge of video decide on the appropriate tools to make your films. Below is some kit that I personally like, but this should just be a starting point for you. Doing the research and building your perfect kit is super fun – so enjoy! BUT don’t buy anything unless you know exactly why you need it, and with what project you are going to use it.

Note: I’d always recommend shopping around for the best deal. I personally buy the vast majority of stuff second hand from eBay, or new from CVP. For your info here – I’m linking to Amazon because they have helpful customer questions, reviews and related products – even on items that become discontinued. Buying items via the Kit.com link will help support other filmmakers.

Upskilling

I didn’t go to film school. I learned all my technical theory from reading and watching YouTube tutorials. I put this into practice in the field – made mistakes and got better over time. I honestly think this is the best way to learn the technical skills you’ll need – as you won’t get weighed down with too much information you’re not ready for yet. I’d suggest combining theory with practice, like this:

Come up with your film idea
Write down the things you’ll need
Learn how to do that stuff
Use it in your film
Watch your finished film
Reflect on what could be improved
Learn how to do that for next time
Repeat

I could have just written all my technical knowledge in this chapter – but I’d actually just be a middle man. There are already all the resources out there for you. So I’m going to just point you towards those. These resources will help you today – but also next year. These things are all updated weekly – something that we can’t do with FilmKit.

Mobile camera kit: Tips and tutorials

Go for anything that’s three years old or less (one major design cycle)
Make sure you have lots of inbuilt or expandable storage (at least 256GB)
Know your phone’s optimal settings
Some simple accessories can really help your footage; a pistol grip, monopod or even a gimbal will help support the camera during long takes.
Use a tripod if you want to keep the shot still.
Using a longer focal length (most cameras have an extra ‘portrait’ lens) helps to fit the focus on your subject and blur out the background… a bit
Shallow depth of field is currently the one thing where that mobile devices are really lacking

Mobile camera kit I like

Mobile audio: Tips and tutorials

Adaptors can give you two separate channels of audio and let you monitor sound with headphones at the same time
ALWAYS monitor your sound
The closer the mic is to the subject, the clearer the audio will be
You can choose to be ‘run and gun’ with a mini shotgun mic — or attach lavalier mics to your subjects
Wireless lav mics are great for ‘set and forget’ — though they pick up more background noise than a well-aimed shotgun

Mobile audio kit I like

Mobile lighting: Tips and tutorials

Natural light (windows are best) can go a long way
You can supplement with a kicker or backlight
Some hacks from Molly’s chapter will help you
Remember, phones will struggle in low light situations
To get you out of a pinch — you could mount a small light

Mobile lighting I like

And remember a little goes a long way even some of the above kit can take your trusty phone and turn it into a great filmmaking tool.

DSLR Filmmaking

For your in-house kit, I’d recommend sticking with what I’m calling ‘DSLR’ (Digital Single Lens Reflex). That incudes larger sensor cameras from Canon, Sony. Nikon or the smaller sensor ones from Panasonic, Olympus or Blackmagic. Either way – I’d try and keep thing small, lightweight and versatile.

There are more two levels of kit I could talk about – ‘Pro Video’ cameras like the Canon c300 – or ‘Cinema’ cameras like Alexa, or RED. However, for most of your in-house films I really think this will be overkill. For special projects – you could always rent from local companies – or Fat Llama (the AirBnB of stuff).

I suspect for really special projects you’ll be looking into externals – who should have kit of a level matching their price tag. For reference, a charity ad where I was on set that cost upwards of £50k used a RED. A lot of that cost comes from kit choice – along with the production and post-production costs that come with using a camera like that.

Going Big

Below are some ideas of what you could do if you want to ‘step up’. I’ve recommended some affordable options that will go really far for you – if used correctly. But if you look at all of this and worry about a knowledge and/or budget gap – then you might want to stick with the smartphone workflow.

Camera kit: Tips and tutorials

Choose wisely. The camera represents a whole system — dictating sensor size, lens choice, light requirements and audio compatibility.
Resolution isn’t the most important camera feature.
Think about which lenses will serve you best. What will you be filming the most? Do you need a zoom? Low light?
Do you want to move the camera during filming?
How will you keep your subject in focus?
Key camera functions to know are Aperture, ISO, 180-degree shutter rule and White balance.

Camera kit I like

Audio: Tips and tutorials

Audio is usually the biggest weakness with starter filmmakers
A robust system is usually well worth the money
Think about which type of mic is most appropriate
ALWAYS listen to your audio during recording
If it sounds good, it is good 🙂
Recording audio separately takes more work syncing in post

Audio kit I like

Lighting: Tips and tutorials

Like with mobile photography, natural light and additional hacks will still work great
But you can learn how to shape the look you want
You can’t light people of all skin tones the same
When lighting darker skin tones, don’t use too much light. It will wash them out and overexpose other things in your frame
Diffused or bounced (soft light)and is often more flattering
More direct, smaller light sourced (hard light) is more dramatic and created hard shadows