Hana Ka Hoe (The Paddle Maker)
This piece by P.F. Bentley is just … gorgeous. A great example of what can be done with a video-capable DSLR camera, some simple lights and a great sense of story.
I guess shooting in Hawaii helps, too.
Notes from aside the camera
This piece by P.F. Bentley is just … gorgeous. A great example of what can be done with a video-capable DSLR camera, some simple lights and a great sense of story.
I guess shooting in Hawaii helps, too.
The visual side of this production is wonderful, but this piece demonstrates that sound is the next great story-telling frontier for quality multimedia presentations.
Sappy, canned music that doesn’t create the appropriate feel for a story about a traditional craft in a specific place in the world. No nat sound at all. The buzz and noises from his tools could create an interesting contrast to the traditional tone, one that’s mentioned in the interview. The subject talks about the ocean and the enthusiasm for paddling. Those are things that could be communicated and reinforced through sound, as well.
And the interview itself is a noisy, hissy mess, probably the result of a cheap mic and/or improper placement and recording levels. It could have been cleaned up, however, in post production, and it wasn’t.
Sound is oh, so important. When done right, it has a powerful psychological effect, even if the audience can’t quite pinpoint what it is. There are some studies that suggest that aural memories are even more powerful than visual ones. Network TV often gets it right, especially they have a guy who’s sole job is to collect and produce sound. Local television news is often just as miserable as most multi-media efforts, if you really pay attention.
Sound could be an entire semester-long course by itself. Should it be, given the present course of journalism?