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SDGI BLOG: EXPLORING REALITY II

May 3, 2023
Image from Exploring Reality training programme - choosing the right sound equipment

Maria Corradini continues her Blog which gives us an insight into our Exploring Reality Documentary skills series.

Exploring Reality is a comprehensive documentary training series being put on by the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland. Our talented and passionate class of directors covered the art of storytelling in Session 1 from accomplished documentarians Simon Lereng Wilmont, Vanessa Engle, and Sean McAllister. As the course progresses, each session will focus on one important facet of documentary filmmaking.

Session 2 of the course took our directors on a three-day adventure out to the Wicklow mountains. Training in the skill of self-shooting for documentary directors included camera menus, set up, and tripod to hand-held shooting techniques. Through a series of practical exercises, in teams of pairs, participants learned how to frame and operate the camera both handheld and on the tripod, record good quality sound, and shoot sequences. This technical self-shooting training allowed for creativity and open discussion about a director’s vision. Then it put those ideas into action when they stepped behind the camera to apply what they had learned. We were delighted to have cinematographers Cathal Watters and Stephen Murphy join us on this course and provide their talent and expertise. 

Session 3 was focused on Sound in documentary films, and involved technical training and terminology, microphones, setting up and recording interviews, and provided the background knowledge, theory, and practical skills required to achieve broadcast-quality sound for film and television documentaries.

Led by Ben Meakin, an accomplished sound producer and mixer, who has worked on many documentary series, the class covered the different modes/styles of documentaries and how each has different challenges in terms of sound, using examples of documentaries as case studies, such as Bowling for Columbine among others. Using the various cameras and sound equipment Ben had set up throughout the studio, our directors learned how to set up the equipment, decide what kind of mics and equipment to use in differing sound scenarios, and best practices for recording sound on location.

Many thanks to our guest speakers for sharing their time, knowledge, and experience.

Maria Corradini is SDGI’s spring 2023 intern. She is originally from Pennsylvania, USA, and is currently studying at Dublin City University for the spring semester as a Media and Communication major. She is assisting the guild with organizing the annual meeting of directors as well as the Exploring Reality documentary training course, social media, and content creation.

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