The Production Process for BECA 580

Perhaps you’d like to get a sense of the production process for a video like the one we’re doing for Manos de Esperanza. That would give you a sense of the amount of work this involves, and what we are doing in our “free time” in El Salvador.

First, we have two production teams, each working on a different video for Manos de Esperanza. One of them is a shorter piece that is more scripted than the other video. Team members know exactly what they want, in terms of video and audio, and they are focused on getting that. The other team is doing a longer piece that is documentary in style; the structure depends, in large part, on what the students learn from the interview process. Both teams begin with a treatment – a visually and aurally written description, in present tense, of the content of the video. We began writing the treatment at the end of the spring semester while we were still in the U.S., and we flushed it out within the first few days of arriving in El Salvador.

Incidentally, each production team has a producer, a director, two camera people, an audio person, a writer, an editor, and a production assistant. Students have learned the responsibilities of each role in earlier classes, and they stay within their roles during the production period.

From the treatment, the director develops shot lists, and the team determines who will be interviewed. Simultaneously, the writer develops a preliminary script and interview questions for each interviewee. The shoots themselves involve getting the shots and the interviews the team determines they need. At each shoot, students get B-roll, or shots that provide the setting or sense of place, or shots that reflect topics the interviewee is talking about. At each shoot, the audio person monitors the sound that is being recorded, both in an interview and in the background. For example, in a recent shoot at a school, there were birds chirping, a rooster crowing every so often, and children laughing. That ambient sound is an important part of the background for the video, to give it a sense of place.

After each shoot, the editor (or his or her designee) “captures” the video (or transfers the video into digital form), and logs what is on each piece of video. Interviews must be transcribed, along with time code. In our case, the interviews – conducted in Spanish – must be translated word for word to be used by editors who are not fluent in Spanish.
As the video moves ahead, the script becomes more solid, constructed in part with quotes from the transcriptions of the interviews.

The editor then puts all of the pieces together into a “rough cut,” or preliminary edit. It is useful for the client to be able to see, and comment on, the rough cut, and for team members to offer comments or suggestions, as well. We are attempting to have a rough cut of each piece done by the time we leave El Salvador on July 10th. This is all being done on laptops and hard drives. Finishing the rough cuts will be a big job, but it is to our advantage to have them done before we leave the country so that work on the production can proceed once we are back in San Francisco.

Typically, each piece undergoes several edits before a final edit is done. At this point, students are working on stationary editing equipment in the BECA Department at SFSU, as well as on an editing program on laptops. After that, the audio person adds music, where appropriate, and “sweetens” the sound. Graphics are added at this point, as well. When everyone is happy with the piece, it is screened for family, friends, and the SFSU community. (Actually, the screening date – set far in advance – serves as a “drop dead” date for finishing the video.) This year’s screening is tentatively set for October 14th. Once we have had the screening, we give the finished product to the client, Manos de Esperanza.

Put the screening date on your calendar, folks. It will be a great show!