I made a documentary and this is what I learned

I can honestly say I put my all into this documentary. Here is a quick back story. I went to school with one of the founders of Savage Squad who goes by the name Warlord Willy but we’ll call him Will for right now. Will hit me up and asked if I could record some of the workouts for them and at the time, I just got laid off my old job due to COVID so I said yes. It was something that allowed me to get out the house and get out of my mind. When you lose a job unexpectedly something happens to your mind and it turns your whole world upside down. As a creative when this happens sometimes you fall into a minor state of depression, actually that depression state can happen to anyone. I went to a couple of their practices and training sections to record promos for their upcoming fights. 

The whole experience was amazing in hindsight. They were all intense yet hand this brotherly bond that was great to see. Little did I know, I was developing my eye and sharping my editing skills doing this favor for my friend. I will say this, if I wasn’t recording videos for them who knows mentally where I could’ve been. Being a part of their crew was amazing and with each video Will would express deep gratitude for the work I did for them. But he will never know how much being a part of that made me feel. For a brief moment in time I was truly happy putting my skills to the test.

One day Will hits me up with an idea on a day in the life type of video following Javaun aka Top Striker. I was on board because it sounded like a documentary, something that I love to film. Long story short, we picked a day and I followed Javaun as he woke up early for training, talked about the fight, and also about life in general. Once I finished shooting and editing the documentary, I sent it to them and they loved it, hell I loved it. At the time I felt that was some of the best work I’ve done in a long time.

 

I learned so much from this one documentary experience that hopefully one day I can keep incorporating into my work. I learned what I like, things I need to work on, things that I need to get in order to be better, and ultimately what I want to do in my life in order to be better at what I do.

 

I’m starting to get an idea on what I like to see in my work. I like using available light to light my subjects. In the documentary I found myself looking for shots where there is a clear example of contrast of hard light and shadows. The more contrast I can put on my subject and the surroundings helps build a certain mood and look I am looking for. Sometimes people love having things well lite and easy to see but for this project I wanted to have a gritty feel. To be honest, that’s all I had to work with. This is why with most of the shots you see either available light coming from the top or light coming from an window.

I love long tracking shots that not only showcases a character but also showcases the surrounds as well. I’m a huge fan of Alfonso Cuaron and Emmanuel Lubezki who are both masters of the long take. Also, Y Tu Mama Tambien is a great film and if you haven’t seen it, I suggest you go watch it. There is one shot where I followed Javaun from when he was taking a break to going on the punching bag. 

When I was editing the documentary, I thought I should cut it up but the mental determination it showed from someone in an tired state still finding a way to push forward and complete his journey or in this instance training was a moment I did not want to lose by cutting it up. I know long takes can be gimmicky but if done correctly and with a purpose they are great shots. I think this is either my third or forth documentary that I’ve done and I think I have the tools and the eye to do this for a long time. For the people involved, this day in the life was met with so much praise but I know that there are some things I need to work on in order to get better.

 

 

You know the old saying “gear does not matter” well that’s a huge lie, gear does matter. Having the most up to date gear doesn’t matter but having the right gear does. Audio is still one of the issues I have with my work and that’s because I do not have proper audio equipment. I have a shotgun mic but if I had a lav mic I think the audio for the interview portion would have been clearer. With some audio edits I think I managed to pull through and get what I needed. 

Since we are talking about the interview portion, this is one of the spots I think I’m most proud of. Even before I knew of Conrad Hall, I always loved a pinch of hard light hitting my subject. Since this was a one man operation and I only have one camera I couldn’t get a second more dramatic shot for some of the more intimate and dramatic parts of the conversation. Somewhere near the shadow side of his face which is a technique some people do. But we live and we learn and we work with what we have. 

Even though I didn’t have much, I did great with what I had and that just leads me to believe I know this is what I’m meant to do. I tried and it was a great experience but I know what the ultimate goal is and I want to achieve that goal one day.

 

This project taught me that I have so much to learn and I have so much I can work with. I want to be a DP or Director of Photography and learning these skills lighting, composition, and working with people will hopefully get me there one day. 

I’m still a huge fan of people like Rodger Deakins, Bradford Young, Conrad Hall, Rina Yang, Ernest Dickerson, and a host of other people. It’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of ups and downs.

 

I loved every moment of this project from start to finish even though the reception it got was lack luster or in other words, no reception at all. Thinking back on it now and in hindsight I do not have a big following. In my mind I thought I was going to get more opportunities to make more of these and bring in more clients but sometimes it doesn’t work that way. 

I was listening to the Team Deakins podcast with James and Rodger Deakins, great podcast by the way, and they talked about being a DP, Director, or anyone in the film industry takes time. Rodger was making documentaries before his big break and before that he stated that he almost left the industry because of an bad experience. He said his first film was a failure and he almost walked away from it. I’m glad he didn’t because if he would’ve quit No Country for Old Men and 1917 might have not been made or at least turned out looking so beautiful.  

 

Sometimes you have to fail and everyone knows that but sometimes the failures can really make you think is this what I really want to do and that’s what it did to me. I wanted this to be bigger than what it was but it did not turn out that way. When I look back on it now though, it was. Savage Squad liked it, Will and Javaun loved it, and I loved it as well. 

 

Overall, I loved it! I loved the things we had to go through in order to make this happen. Getting up early, being a part of Javaun’s family for a day, going through his journey, and ultimately loving something that I created. This project taught me that I have a long road ahead of me but at the same time I think it’s going to be worth it in the end. 

You can watch the full documentary below: