Category: Tech Tips

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Here is a great quick guide to moving from start to finish with your documentary film made by ITF Caroline Loomis

Here are some resources that might be helpful for creating charts, graphs or maps to include in your film:

Charts and Graphs

• Charts & Graphs — spreadsheet software is best if you have data (Microsoft Excel, Open Office, etc)
• If you’re new to making charts and graphs in Excel, here’s a tutorial from Microsoft itself, and one from WikiHow
• Social Explorer (US Census and American Community Survey data)
• Interactive Timelines — Dipity, Tiki-toki

Maps

• Google Maps (My Maps)
• Social Explorer (US Census and American Community Survey data)
• New York Public Library Map Collection
• U Mapper
• StoryMap JS

Data

If you’re looking for more NYC-specific data to create charts from, here are some resources I find helpful (not all of them are on-topic for this project, but some of you might find them helpful) –

Bytes of the Big Apple – including the PLUTO database (I mentioned this one in our workshop)

Infoshare (out of Queens college) features both census data (like Social Explorer) but also public health data, etc. A great resource! (more about Infoshare here)

Investigate NYC is user-friendly, with lots of links to useful data sources.

I Quant NY is a tumblr blog about the stories told by NYC datasets. Great for thinking about the link between data, visualizations (maps & charts) and written analysis.

Finally, NYC Open Data is an amazing resource, featuring all the data collected by the city. It can be a bit tricky to navigate, but it’s all there.

CUNY Mapping Services at the Center for Urban Research works to understand how broad forces like the global economy and immigration are reshaping work, politics, and neighborhood life in large metropolitan areas

What music is fair to use in your films?

The music you use in your films should not violate copyright law, and anything that you use should be properly attributed in the credits.

There are some great sources for fair use music on the web.  Have fun, explore, find new music!

Here are a few places to look:

Free Music Archive

Creative Commons – big list of music sources for video

Soundcloud’s Creative Commons archive

…And here’s some more info on the whole copyright question (and a music video) from ITF Jenny Kijowski.

Please note: Not all audio with Creative Commons copyright is legal to use. There are variations on Creative Commons copyrights. You must avoid works that are licensed as No Derivative Works. This means the artist does not want the work altered, and that includes synching it with images/video in a film.

How should you record your interviews?

Those of you with smartphones or iPads can absolutely record your video on these devices – the quality will be good.

Another option is to check out a Vado or Flip video camera from Macaulay’s media equipment library (full list of available equipment here). The main advantage here is that these two cameras can attach to a small tripod (the gorilla pod) which you can also borrow from MHC.

To check out equipment, you will need to fill out this form:  http://macaulay.cuny.edu/community/doit/av-request-form/

Some important details:

• Requests must be made three business days in advance (Saturday and Sunday don’t count).
• You’ll have to pick up and return the device to the MHC building (not Hunter)
• Loan time is one week; there is a chance you may be able to arrange for an extension but will need to ask permission
• ITFs aren’t involved in the equipment loan process – it’s a direct interaction between MHC and you!

Some things to consider while developing your interview questions:

1. Have opening “warm-up” questions.

2. Make your subject comfortable in the situation.

3. Sequence questions logically, from the general to the more probing.

4. Maker sure your interview questions connect to your ultimate research question.

5. Avoid offending interview subject.

6. Show that you know something about their situation. Ask them to corroborate or disagree with what you’ve researched.

7. Be very, very clear about who you are and what you are doing.

8. Ask questions that address the subjective experience of the individual, not question that could be answered through research or that could be answered in one word. Coax stories out of your subjects.

From Anton Borst (2014)