Making a Mini-documentary, Ep 2: Scripting and storyboarding a video interview

Posted 19 Oct 2021Tue 19 Oct 2021 at 3:43am, updated 19 Oct 2021Tue 19 Oct 2021 at 4:17am

Storyboard for video production contains pencil drawings — Making a Mini-documentary, Ep 2: Scripting and storyboarding a video interview

Logo of ABC Open with text that reads, 'ABC Open Tutorial. How to script and storyboard.'

Benj Binks and Catherine Marciniak speaks to the camera from a backyard.

BENJ BINKS:

Welcome to ABC Open. I'm Benj.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

And I'm Catherine. In this video, we're going to show you how to develop a script.

Benj and Catherine walk towards a house.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

Benj and I are making a mini-documentary about identical twins who want to be surfing champions. We're about to meet them for the first time.

Catherine rings the door bell.

(Bell rings)

A young woman answers the door.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

Hi.

WOMAN:

Hello!

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

Are you Audrey, or are you…?

WOMAN:

Grace.

Grace invites them inside. Her twin sister is seen in the background.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

The purpose of this meeting is to do a research interview and figure out what content would be good for our script.

Benj, Catherine and the twins sit around a table, chatting, before starting the interview.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

If you can, do this in person, because it helps to develop the relationship between you and your interviewee.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

Do you remember the first time you surfed? How old were you?

GRACE:

Seven.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

We recommend that you ask general questions and not probe too deep. Save the more intimate questions for your final interview.

BENJ BINKS:

So where do you normally go surfing?

AUDREY:

Kingscliff.

GRACE:

Kingscliff.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

A research interview is also an opportunity to find out about possible locations.

BENJ BINKS:

Cool.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

What do you hope to do with surfing?

GRACE:

I think try and eventually make it a job.

Close-up shot of Catherine scribbling notes in a notebook.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

It's also a good idea to take plenty of notes.

Camera cuts to Benj and Catherine working on their notes at home.

BENJ BINKS:

Back home, Catherine and I use the information we've gathered during our research to storyboard our mini-documentary.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

So Benj, I reckon this… For our main story on them is…

Camera cuts to a series of photographs of the twins and their medals.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

The fact that they're identical twins is fantastic. That Audrey and Grace wanna be champions, and they'll do whatever it takes to do that. And then the real wow factor, that they were born extremely premature. And so against all odds, they're achieving this. And there's also the fact that they're helping to raise money for other premature babies. So it's nice.

Benj is seen sketching out storyboards on a piece of paper.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

The most effective way to make a mini-documentary is to combine an interview with footage that visualises that story. So Benj and I are scripting our mini-doc with a storyboard.

BENJ BINKS:

Let's start with an establishing shot of the beach and then we'll film Audrey and Grace as they come into the car park and then get ready. And then let's follow them as they train which will give us a beginning, a middle and end of the story.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

The 'day in the life of'.

BENJ BINKS:

Yeah. And that way we can interweave that with the actual interview.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

OK. That sounds great, Benj.

BENJ BINKS:

Cool.

Close-up shot of Benj's sketches of the storyboard.

BENJ BINKS:

As we storyboard, we think about what shots we want — close-ups, mid shots, wide shots, zooms, tilts and pans. We can also decide when we'll see Audrey and Grace at the beach and when we'll see Audrey and Grace in the interview.

Close-up shot of Catherine writing down interview questions on her notebook.

CATHERINE MARCINIAK:

The next step is to plan your questions. I always ask questions that start with words like 'Tell me about', 'Describe to me', 'Explain to me', because they're all storytelling words that invite your subject to give you a really full answer. Benj, I thought I'd start with something really basic like, 'Tell me about your sport and how you got into it.' With the rest of my questions, we'll talk about wanting to be champions, how it feels to surf and then I thought for the premature birth, I might actually get them to use some photos and get them to take me back to how they were born prematurely and what they feel now looking back at those photos.

BENJ BINKS:

Great. Sounds good. Try storyboarding your idea and put together a list of about ten questions for your interview.

SUBJECTS: Arts

YEARS: 3–4, 5–6

How do you decide on the questions for a video interview?

What about how it's going to be filmed? Catherine Marciniak and Benj Binks from ABC Open provide some great tips on scripting and storyboarding a video interview.

This is one of eight clips on making a mini-documentary.

Things to think about

1.Have you ever interviewed anyone? Did you plan what questions you were going to ask them? Why? Do you know what a storyboard is? Have you ever tried doing one?
2.What is Catherine and Benj's mini-documentary about? Why does Catherine say a research interview, that is, an interview before the filmed interview, can be helpful? What are the four main story elements? What does Catherine say is the most effective way to make a mini-documentary? What information is included in the storyboard? Catherine suggests some words or phrases that can be useful at the start of questions? What are they?
3.Why do you think it's a good idea to do a research interview? Write a list, in the correct order, of the things that are suggested for scripting and storyboarding a filmed interview.
4.Plan an interview with someone you know. Do a research interview with them. Choose a couple of story elements that you'd be interested to find out more about. What locations will you use? What else could you film besides a 'talking head'? Create a storyboard (stick figures are fine for the drawings) to outline the main scenes of your script and what shots you will use. What is going to be the beginning, middle and end of your video? Make a list of about ten questions that you would like to ask.

Date of broadcast: 2012

Copyright

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Posted 19 Oct 2021Tue 19 Oct 2021 at 3:43am, updated 19 Oct 2021Tue 19 Oct 2021 at 4:17am