Film makers tips

Participants and film makers may find the helpful tips on this page helpful along the way.

What’s your story arc? Is it a gentle rambling tale of a generous life, told as a series of funny incidents? Can it be re-framed with an opening statement about the storyteller’s intentions, and where the unexpected occurred? Or is there a big burning passionate goal that your subject wanted to achieve, and your story arc keeps us in suspense as to whether it could be, or was achieved?
Show, don’t tell. If your storyteller says kangaroo, show a kangaroo.
Think about how to frame your subject appropriately. A quiet life in the country could be shown by a distant figure dwarfed by the landscape while a strong character who had to fight all of their life to be recognised could be framed up-close and centred, to show facial emotions and strength.
Only use camera movement if it adds to the story.
Think about how you move from one scene to the next – are you going to jump straight to another scene, or fade in slowly?
How will you light your subject? Indicate type and direction of light e.g. soft golden sunset light.

Pre-interview – this is a chance for you to get to know your storyteller and the story and for them to get comfortable with you.

Set clear expectations about the project and what to expect – how long the interview will be, the topics to discuss and where the interview footage will be used. This helps establish trust and rapport with your subject.
Where will you shoot? – Natural lighting or artificial? Does the setting help tell the story? Will the subject look at you or directly at the camera? Is it a one or two camera setup (e.g. closeup and medium wide shot)? Let your subject know what to expect here too.
Discuss visuals that may help tell the story, so they can be available to be filmed on the day. For example: Artwork, Family photos and memorabilia, Video clips, News articles, Old letters
Check on any areas of sensitivity and “no-go” topics that may be difficult for your subject to discuss. These could be cultural, social or political.
Establish whether your subject has the option to review the footage and photos before they are shown. This will ensure their story is accurately told.

The interview

Start with general questions to get warmed up, before asking the serious questions.
Active listening is important – respond to the answers, ask follow-up questions and continually express interest.
Avoid YES/NO questions. Ask open-ended questions: What was it like growing up in …?
Other questions to draw out more personal responses are What did you learn from the experience? How did that make you feel? Why did you do that? etc
Be prepared to wander off script and away from the planned topic. It could lead to an unexpected story, and it helps keep the storyteller engaged and comfortable.
If your planned questions aren’t going anywhere, try and work out what your subject really wants to talk about and improvise around that line of questioning.
Non-verbal cues – body language, facial expressions or a change in vocal tone – can show you when your subject is more interested or passionate about something.

Switch to Airplane mode if recording with a phone, iPad, or similar.
Make sure your battery is fully charged and you have lots of space on your device.
Film in landscape mode (eg. hold your phone sideways).
The built in Camera app on the iPhone can record at 24fps and 4K. The first few minutes of this clip explains how to set it up for 4K at 24 FPS; there is more on using the latest iPhone Camera, and on the other free, more complicated option BlackMagic Camera.
If you are not ‘locking down’ your camera/phone on a tripod then make sure it has some stabilisation so that footage won’t look shaky.
Sound quality is very important. You can get away with an out-of-focus picture (if its artistic enough) with excellent audio but not the opposite. A stunning landscape will be ruined by muffled and incomprehensible conversation, or intrusive background noise (ie fans, air conditioners, cars, planes, cows, coffee table conversations etc).
The best way to ensure your storyteller is heard clearly is to record from as close as possible and away from any background noise. The storyboard is a good place to think about the recording location and whether it will be easy to get good sound.
For fill-light a silver windscreen shield makes a great reflector. Or an iPad with a ‘Softbox’ app.

Free editing software for Windows – Windows Movie Maker. Quick tutorial on using it.
To transfer photos and videos from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC, see these instructions.
To move files with a USB cable to a Windows computer
- Unlock your device.
- With a USB cable, connect your device to your computer.
- On your device, tap the "Charging this device via USB" notification.
- Under "Use USB for," select File Transfer.
- A file transfer window will open on your computer. Use it to drag files.
- When you're done, eject your device from Windows.
- Unplug the USB cable.
Adding a soundtrack is not essential but can add atmosphere. The ambient sounds of a workplace or a landscape can also be a soundtrack too, especially if you take the time to record a lot, and mix it in without overcoming the storytellers voice.
Unlike social media, you can’t use any music from popular artists as a soundtrack. Some copyright free music sites are:
- Free music archive
- Uppbeat (3 free tracks per free account each month)
- Incompetech (Licensed under Creative Commons)
- Audio nautix
- Windows Movie Maker also offers some preloaded soundtracks
To add music in Windows Movie Maker:
- Download the file from the free music site to your computer
- Click ADD MUSIC in the toolbar and locate the music file
- Drag and drop onto your timeline
- Adjust the duration, or cut out sections
- Adjust the volume and fade-in or out where needed

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