We are Out Here B-Rolling

    I tend to have a weird process for B-roll. Sometimes I use this method, sometimes I don't, but for this documentary? It SAVED me. Let me explain.

    As someone that likes to compete in a multitude of intense, time-sensitive competitions, I have learned some tricks to save time and save myself some of my sanity. Because I am usually the camera person or editor in my teams, I have adopted this method where I put all of the B-roll in the timeline and then quickly chop it up until only the usable footage is left on there. That way, once we are done with the interviews and it is time to input B-roll into the sequence, I can simply scrub through and pick out what correlates with what is being said, or easily find replacements for repeated clips. It may seem counterintuitive to go through everything first, but it makes it easier in the end (especially because you are much more familiarized with the footage). Obviously this method is not the most practical for other forms of video creation, but doing this for the documentary made my life so much easier for multiple reasons:

    1. There was a LOT of B-roll, all in different files. Putting everything in one place made me feel more secure about not missing anything, and I definitely felt a lot more organized.

    2. Because of the extensive amounts of footage (there were multiple hours peer interviewee per camera), familiarizing myself with each shot as I cut it up made choosing and finding shots much easier (and quicker).

    3. Due to my plan to mask the TVs and play footage on the screens, I needed B-roll that was completely stable. No pans, tilts, or even small shakes. Because of this, I needed to only be looking at the stable footage I got, meaning I was able to easily find still, usable clips by simply scrubbing through the sequence. This saved me the stress of not having steady enough clips at my immediate access, which was really nice in the moment. Below is a picture of me editing Sabrina's close-up footage (from my camera - Wade and Sammy filmed mostly wide shots and Kim did BTS stuff with her camcorder):

    Also, for some reason, people kept getting in the shot during filming which was a PAIN to deal with in editing. Check out my dog unapologetically walking in front of all the cameras during Sabrina's shoot:

    Also, I think Wade or Sammy left the wide camera running as we set up because I found a long clip of us getting everything ready for Maya. We moved the TVs, set up lights and even explained to Maya what the vision for the B-roll was, despite us already communicating this through the chat (and through the Pinterest board we shared with all of the interviewees). I really enjoyed having so many people on set, it definitely felt great to get things done quickly and efficiently since everyone was committed to getting the best shots possible. Check it out below, I thought it was cool:

    On top of working on B-roll though, I also did a lot of masking work for the interviews. For instance, we failed to realize that there was an Expo marker in Sabrina's shot, so I covered that up, which was a quick fix. However, due to our limited interview filming locations inside my house, the framing/composition of Tess's main camera shot was a little questionable, which led me to mess with some things in post. I brightened the right side of the shot since it was super difficult to get rid of shadows,  which took about three masks (the plant, the wall, and the area where the plant was sitting). Then, because the right side looked huge compared to Tess, I zoomed in the bottom layer so that Tess looked bigger in the frame (and also to cover up her socks and some cables that were fully in the frame). I swear I should have taken out the aperture/ISO/shutter speed numbers at the bottom of the camera's monitor so I could have seen how obviously in the shot it was. Regardless, I think I made it look less unprofessional through some tweaking, although I really wish I could go back and do things differently. We did our best working with the space (turning the camera to the right or left would reveal parts of the house we didn't want to show, so it was difficult). Here are the before and after pictures:

    I also did some color correction for the interviews. I had mentioned this issue when I posted about the filming process, but man, lighting was a PAIN. There were so many clouds in the sky and so much sun that even with the blinds down and lights pointed at the interviewees, the lighting would change drastically. This was especially an issue for Maya, since the periods of light and shadow lasted less time and would consequently fluctuate horribly. For example, there was one answer that Maya gave in which the lighting changed five times. 

I was in pain.

    Thankfully, I was able to even things out with some key framing, which I genuinely thought could only do so much. Thank you Premiere, I worship you <3

    Last but not least, I got Kim to look for some TV show/movie excerpts for the TV screens as I edited, which honestly saved a lot of editing time. The only issue is that we had to screen record the videos since Macs do not have a built-in microphone for screen recording (instead it records the audio as it plays from the speakers, which makes it sound really muddy and gross), which for some reason made the footage super glitchy when I imported it. Thankfully it didn't cause any issues, but I was super scared that it was going to corrupt the sequence. I made a copy of the sequence I was editing and added them onto that just in case, but luckily we did not have any problems. 

    Anyway, things are moving and it's going well! I'm a little worried about time especially with so much of the masking to do once I am done choosing B-roll, but we shall persevere. The deadline is approaching soon, so I'll post updates periodically. Wish us luck!