We’ve often talked about documentary video on this site and the one thing that we’ve stressed time and again is that a documentary topic does not need to be “big” to be good. Many readers look at documentaries like Ken Burns’ Civil War and assume that all documentaries need to be similarly epic sagas. But sometimes smaller stories have even more potential to really speak to people.

For example, take Cassi Glisper’s Next Tooth One Mile, a documentary about what it’s like to live with a gap between your front teeth. Cassi, an independent filmmaker with a decade of experience in short films, hit on the idea when she started doing research into dental options for her own gap. She’d lived her whole life hating her gap, but it was only when she decided to fix it that she really started thinking about what a gap represented.

It’s an intriguing idea for a movie. And one that could grab the interest of any viewer — I don’t have a gap myself, but, having some crooked snaggleteeth, I was immediately eager to hear what people would say to Cassi. In some ways, it’s a perfect documentary subject because it’s something you hardly even think about until someone pointed it out. Audiences have agreed, and the film took home honors at the 2009 International Film Festival Ireland and the 2010 Swansea Bay Film Festival in Wales.

“I planned interview sessions in public areas around the country with the intention to get as many perspectives and insight into the world of gappers,” said Cassi. “I knew that meeting real people and hearing of their human experience would shape the outline for the film,” said Cassi. “On weekends, I would hit the street with my video camera, a friend, and a small sign that read, ‘Got a gap, I want talk to you.’ While out, I looked at the mouths of those passing by. If they had a gap, I would ask if I could interview them for my documentary. Ninety-eight percent of those I asked agreed to be interviewed. I confess that New Yorkers were my toughest audience.”

Cassi’s interviews turned up some surprising results. While she had assumed that most people would hate their gaps, she found that about half of her respondents actually enjoyed having gap teeth. Most people would laugh at first when she explained her project, but quickly became excited at the chance to She interviewed gappers across the United States in California, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, and Georgia, as well as overseas while on vacation in France and Kenya.

“Gappers in the United Stated had varying opinions about their gaps,” said Cassi. “Some felt that society thought they were from a poorer class because they didn’t get their gap closed. Others felt that their gap gave them a unique look, and they liked looking different – not like everyone else. But in Africa, having a gap is a BEAUTIFUL thing. Those with gaps are considered lucky. There are some people who try to drill a space between their teeth so that they can join this lucky group of gappers.”

One of the trickiest aspects of a documentary is always the man-on-the-street interview. It’s relatively easy to get a person to speak with you when you’ve arranged an interview in advance — they know who you are, what you’re doing, have reviewed your credentials and generally know what to expect. Not so when you’re approaching a random stranger! Cassi took a unique approach to set her subjects at ease. She would show them a picture of herself before she had her own gap fixed. This made them more comfortable with me. Most gap-toothed Americans could relate to her ambivalent feelings about her own gap, but the reaction was very different when she showed her old photos to people in Kenya.

“They couldn’t believe that I closed it,” said Cassi. “I remember one guy in particular saying, ‘Cassi, why did you do it? Why did you close the gap? It was beautiful! You could marry a great guy here.’ ”

After completing Next Tooth One Mile, Cassi is working on a feature script, entitled Rice & Gravy, about a friendship between two 13-year-old loners — a third generation Japanese American girl who moves to the deep south from California after her grandparents’ experience in a WWII Japanese interment camp and an African American girl from a long line of southerners.

You can learn more about Producer/Director/Writer/DP Cassi Glisper and her movies at her website.

In video production, knowing how to use a green screen is an essential skill for any producer. It is an irreplaceable tool and can give you a lot of creative freedom in post-production. But in my book, knowing when to use a green screen is just as important as knowing how.

There are so many resources on how to shoot green screen for your project. Forums and blogs are filled with tips and tricks and best practices. In my experience, clients and producers seem to view green screen as a magic tool that makes a shoot easy, and avoid the hassle of being on location. However,  if you’ve had some experience trying to achieve high-end results with green screen, you’ve no doubt been frustrated with the process.

If you find yourself needing a shot of an actor hanging off the edge of a skyscraper, then green screen is probably going to be the most economical, and safest option. Often times, however, I’ve been asked to shoot green screen for scenes when a park, a news set, or a nondescript background was needed.

While green screen may appear to be a simpler option, often times I find that by the time I set up all the lighting properly, and spent the time in post-production to get the key and background correct, my time would have been much better spent researching and securing the right location. Good green screen work takes a lot of forethought and post-production time, and if not done properly, can easily bring down the production value of your entire project.

For interviews or a spokesperson, using a white or black background is a simple way to give you some of the options a green screen shot offers, without the time-consuming task of keying and precise lighting. Some simple editing can allow for graphics and other assets to be placed alongside your talent. I’ve always found white and black backgrounds to be easy to work with, while continuing to keep the production value high without a huge time investment.

So the next time you’re considering breaking out the green screen, consider your options carefully, and make the choice that will result in the highest production value you can achieve.

On May 7th Adobe released Creative Suite 6, and it’s pretty clear that their eyes are keenly focused on video production. While we’re still in the process of writing our review of the software suite, here are a few of the features we’re think video producers everywhere will be excited about.

Adjustment Layers in Premiere – Here’s the situation. You’ve edited together a very complex sequence of shots which features a drunk stumbling from home from a night at the local watering hole. The sequence is composed of several point of view shots cut tightly together, and sprinkled with wide shots of the person walking down the sidewalk. You want to make sure every POV shot is blurry and de-saturated so the viewer can see the world as the drunk sees it. Before, our only solution was to either apply the blur and de-saturation effects to each clip individually, or nest each chunk of shots and then apply the effects. Adjustment layers change this. They work just like they do in After Effects. Simply place an adjustment layer over the shots you want to affect, then apply the effects you want to the adjustment layer. It will transfer those effects to every clip underneath it in Premiere’s timeline. Now, if you have to change the amount of blur or desaturation, you only have to change the settings on the adjustment layer(s) and not each clip or clips inside of a nested sequence. To me, this feature is about six versions late, but better late than never!

3D Text (and Basic Shapes) in After Effects – Have you ever needed to do simple 3D text when working in an After Effects project? Unfortunately, After Effects could never do true 3D. Rather, it could place 2D objects in 3D space. That means if you wanted 3D text, you’d have to put 2D text in a 3D composition, duplicate it about a hundred times, then offset each layer’s Z position by one pixel. What a pain! Alternatively, there was a way to use the Shatter effect and turn off force and gravity to give pre-composed text a bit of extrusion. Still not very efficient. Finally, Adobe has added an extrusion option within the settings of 3D text/shapes. For those that only need very basic 3D tools, this may save you from spending a couple grand on 3D software.

SpeedGrade – Okay, this isn’t so much of a feature as it is a complete product. Adobe aquired IRIDAS, and included it in the creative suite for the first time in this sixth version. The first thing you’ll notice is that it doesn’t really feel like an Adobe product. The user interface is way different. Additionally, quite a few Adobe UI conventions that are ubiquitous in Adobe products aren’t there. The software itself, however, is great. Dedicated color grading software is being used more and more frequently outside of Hollywood. DaVinci, for example, can now be purchased for $1000 on OS X, where it used to be a $20,000+ system only. It only makes sens that Adobe wants to get in on the action. Considering the price for Adobe’s Creative suite hasn’t risen any (in fact, the Creative Cloud option looks like it’ll save you money), having a dedicated color grader is a welcome addition!

Obviously this isn’t a comprehensive list of new features. There’s tons more to look forward to in CS 6, so keep an eye out for our upcoming review!

Mobile Video Apps by Beata Dumaplin

Video making has never been more accessible than in today’s mobile world. Almost every digital device, from music players to smart phones, can shoot video. With the increase in video capture, we have also seen a growth in video editing software, especially for mobile devices. We took a walk around the Internet and found quite a few video editing apps.  Read the rest of this entry »

Tomorrow kicks off CTIA Wireless 2012, and while this show isn’t one that Videomaker normally covers, more and more we’re seeing the video industry embracing mobile technology. It seems like many consumers would rather shoot video straight from their phones rather than mess with a dedicated camcorder. If that’s where the industry’s headed, what does it mean for those of us that want to be a little more creative with our video? Fortunately, we we haven’t been forgotten. Read the rest of this entry »

This week, we have another exciting video tidbit from the Videomaker community. Videomaker’s Facebook friend Tim Heiderich is the brains behind the brand new Internet serial Assignment: Unexplained, an irreverent  satire of paranormal reality television series like Ghost Hunters or Paranormal Cops.

Goth/frat boy Chase Nightblood (Nate Scholz) has assembled a not-so-crack team of investigators to help him unravel the Fortean mysteries of aliens, chupacabras, and yetis. There’s a somewhat shady pet psychic (Helene Udy) who always seems to be working her own scam, a gadget freak who sees sinister government conspiracies in everything (Owen Reynolds), and a random girl  (Ashley Clements) that Chase is hoping to impress with his Bigfoot-finding prowess. In the first season, the team interviews experts, gets lost in the woods, and does whatever it takes to prove to the world the truth about the mythical sasquatch.

“The formula for ghost hunting shows was always the same,” says Tim. “A group of amateur sleuths scaring themselves in the woods, at abandoned hospitals and dilapidated homes, and never, ever finding a shred of the paranormal.   It’s in the style of the successful Reno 911 TV show, and features a core group of improv actors, with a format designed to feature new and upcoming comedic talent. ”

Tim’s been creating comedy videos for the web for a while, including hilarious horror spoof Normal Activity, but this is his first serial — and his most ambitious project to date. We like the show for a number of reasons.  With short episodes, sharp comedy, and easily accessible subject matter, Assignment: Unexplained is a great example of how to make videos for the web. Serious video creators will take note of the series’ use of night shooting as the team wanders through the forest in search of monsters.  It also shows how good a video can turn out with proper planning; the whole project hinged on extensive and meticulous pre-production planning, including seeking permission from the US Forest Service to shoot in state parks.

“Pre-production is the crucible that will determine whether you ever want to make another film,” says Tim. ” Until you finally begin filming, pre-production is a house of cards you’re waiting to see come tumbling down.  For example: To get insurance, you must first know what equipment you’re renting.  But before you rent your equipment, you’ll need to know which days you’re filming.  But you won’t know which days you’re filming until you secure a permit.  But you can’t get a permit if you don’t already have insurance… and around it goes.  During pre-production you have to juggle several things at once and work hard to make it all come together.”

Although Tim’s been working with video for years, he still learned a lot about how to successfully helm a big project while on set.  He advised other video directors to keep in mind the importance of delegating tasks. It not only makes for less work for any one person, but will help you build a network of professionals who all share the same passion for the project that you do. He also encouraged directors to give real thought to their distribution model before they take the plunge into creating a video series.

“Before you shoot, have a distribution plan: where will your series air?” says Tim. ” How often will new episodes come out?  How will you spread the word and drive interest to your site?  Will you submit to festivals?  Who’s going to do that job?  Without a distribution plan, you’ll have just made a very expensive home movie.”

You can see more videos at Assignment: Unexplained. You can also find follow it on Twitter @AssUnexplained and Facebook at www.facebook.com/AssignmentUnexplained.