Documentary Pitch

Purpose: make people aware of a SF-run organization named “United Playaz” and how it reaches to troubled youth in order to strengthen their self-confidence and also strives to teach young adults how to make smart decisions in violent situations.

Contacts:
Misha Olivas - (415) 573-5138
main building - (888) 975-2929
misha@unitedplayaz.org
Rudy Corpus - (415) 573 6219

Interview Questions:
workers/leaders/supervisors:
Can you tell us about yourself?
Where is United Playaz located? (background of neighborhood filled with deliquants)  
What is United Playaz and what does it offer in terms of opportunities/aid to kids?
What inspired you to join/be a part of United Playaz? (what are your contributions?)
What is your role in running United Playaz?
How has United Playaz changed people’s lives? Has it changed you?
What do you have to say about children going through rough times right now?
Personal stories you’d like to share?
***ask to take us around places of the building/streets. showcasing historical significance or location of some of the areas.
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teens/adults/parents:
History of life before outreach programs such as United Playaz?
What does United Playaz mean to you?
What have the people here done for you?
How does it affect the community? Are you glad United Playaz exists?


Shot List- What images do I need to make the visual part of the story work? Interviews use mostly Close-ups, Waist shots, and B-roll. Background should also be considered. Usually at least 5 to 10 different shots are combined for a sophisticated piece.

Interviews - MCU/CU/MS (depending on space)
Opening:
LS of cars
ELS of citizens
LS Crane/Tilt-Pan of United Playaz building
Handheld walkthrough of building (sped up)


B-Roll
LS Kids playing around or whatever
MS Workers interacting with children/at desk
CU of back of t-shirt “It takes the hood to save the hood”


General Flow:
beginning - shots of streets of San Francisco. Police Cars. Homeless. Stores. Streets with Graffiti. Cars buzzing by and children waiting or standing on the block. Voice-over of one of the employees explaining where United Playaz is located. Explaining the crime and bad influences of the city life on people. Hip-hop track? Then transition to what UP strives for and goals. Middle - interviews with UP employees/kids.
Shots of the places around the SF including inside of UP.
personal tour of the streets along with one of the creators of UP.
B-ROLL.
Ending - The main director of the group speaking positively about their work towards improving the lives of children. Personal statement that is inspiring and motivational. Ending shot of the crew helping children or just them having fun with the children, or a child holding up a sign of United Playaz. Oh or maybe a still positioned camera that switches between all the individuals who are in UP. ideasideasideas.
Scripts: This is the written portion of your piece that is included either for the broadcast script or for a voice over that pulls the different interviews together.

Intro: (voice over) short spiel over how rugged and how looming the streets of SF can be. talk about the influence of gangs and police activity in the street and how United Playaz is stationed. desired to help the youth and prevent a life of wrong choices.
Closing: (voice over) over all the shots of UP workers helping people or forming strong relationships with one another and their guests.

Known Universe: Alien Contact - Review

Known Universe: Alien Contact

Aliens. A question that has been among the minds of many for many years. Are we alone? Does alien life really exist within our galaxy? This documentary effectively demonstrates the possibilities of discovering alien life and the efforts mankind has taken to make it happen. 

This material within this National Geographic documentary was used effectively to attract and interest the audience. After a quick display of flashy b-roll, this documentary starts with a voice-over that introduces the audience to a narrator. This voice-over uses a hook to attract the audience, while also providing a bit of backstory to the purpose of the documentary. The narrator proposes the question about whether we are alone or not in space. It even samples a bit of the interview, and this sampling hooks the audience, as they are curious to know the responses from a scientist's perspective.

For the interviews themselves, they seemed a bit cliche, but well executed nonetheless. Interviews in this documentary were filmed at a standard medium shot from the waist up. Nothing too fancy or artsy, but the visual attraction came from the background, not the interviewees. The background of most of the interview pieces comprised of either still frames or animated images of something relevant to what is being said. On other interview pieces the background consists of a static yet convoluted setup of scientific gear and gadgets. This vague confusing scientific equipment catches the viewers eye and interests them.

Although visuals are interesting, the sound design in the documentary deserves much credit as well. As I watched this myself, I noticed that the volume of the soundtrack increased as the narrator was making summaries of his final points. This happens right before the documentary goes to a commercial break, and then brings up a new point when resuming. 

As for the soundtrack itself, I found it entirely fascinating. The score is comprised of fast-paced, epic, and adrenaline-pumping drum beats, accompanied by a smooth, slowly rising orchestral section. As ironic as it sounds, it works well. See 28:00 for reference. This type of music is used when either summarizing a point or introducing a new one. This method typically keeps the viewer interested as the narrator finalizes an idea and proceeds onto a new one. As for what goes in between these pieces, the sound takes a kind of subtle, eerie tone, when describing the vague unknowns of life in space. The score accompanying this documentary was definitely outstanding.

Outside of the voice-overs and interviews, the documentary takes the interview even further, by placing the audience in an actual situation. For example, when the documentary introduces the vertical gun, instead of giving an interview about the experiment and supplying animated still images or small video clips of the test, the filmmaker goes on-site and records almost all instances in where the experiment is being executed. He films the setup of the gun, the reactions of the scientists, and even the moment of truth when the bullet hits the sand. This sort of interaction is what makes a documentary a good documentary, and that it makes good efforts to keep the viewer interested and amazed.

Overall, I was certainly interested in this documentary and it definitely did not disappoint. Being past midnight, I amazingly found myself still awake at the end of the documentary. The visuals were astounding, and it even managed to make still-frame images look amazing. The interviews were great, very coherent. The score was simply fantastic and the design on the placement and manipulation of audio was definitely captivating. Lastly, there was much viewer interaction with the documentary, which kept me intrigued throughout the entire documentary. It's great, 5/5