The Producer's Playbook: Real People on Camera

Directing and Working with Non-Actors

Amy DeLouise

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317416623
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

Producer's Playbook: Real People on Camera is a no-nonsense guide for producers looking to get the best performances from "real people" to tell powerful stories on video. Director/producer Amy DeLouise brings years of experience to this resource for creating the best on-screen impact with non-actors for interviews, re-enactments, documentary and direct-to-camera messages. With useful case studies and tips on everything from managing locations and budgeting to strategies for managing crews and the expectations of executive producers and clients, this is an invaluable resource for professionals working in reality TV, documentary, corporate video, and more.

• Ample case studies with perspectives from industry professionals interviewed by the author, as well as her own plentiful stories from the field
• Tips are featured in sidebars throughout the text, so that readers can see how the information applies to real situations
• Full-color photographs allow readers to visualize real world production situations
• The appendix includes useful templates and checklists for working producers

CHAPTER 1

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR SUBJECTS

Andy Collins

CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTERS

IN NON-FICTION, REAL PEOPLE are the heart of the story. How you choose them, and how you build a relationship with them before filming, will affect your entire production. When faced with a complex or multi-faceted story to tell, think of all your opportunities as a “matrix,” with the definition of matrix being “an arrangement of parts that shows how they are interconnected.” Before we shoot, I need to find how those inter-connections work in order to make an interesting story. Cup of coffee in hand, I’ll typically ponder this set of story possibilities using a whiteboard filled with potential on-camera subjects. Each one could fill a needed role in telling the story, but also might stand in for a particular audience perspective.

For example, in a story I produced about women experiencing discrimination in higher education, we whittled down our matrix from dozens of candidates across the United States. We ended up focusing on one high-level administrator, one department chair, one PhD candidate, and one professor. They were women with very different personal styles, yet they were all passionate about their stories and we thought they would be compelling on camera. They were also of differing ages, backgrounds, and came from different geographic areas. In this particular story, each woman provided her personal narrative, while also becoming part of a broader narrative about gender bias in education.

Figuring out your “matrix” of people is the first step to non-fiction storytelling.

Credit: Amy DeLouise.

In any given matrix, you might have people who tell parts of the same story. Or they might represent opposing points of view on an issue. Each person brings a unique viewpoint to the content—geographic, gender, ethnicity, age, job type, or other life experience. A character might even serve as a foil to the main character in the story. In the film Cain’s Arcade, one of my favorite mini-docs of all time, the father provides some of the narrative glue for the story, and the back-story on his son Cain. Besides being an important person in Cain’s life, he provides a character foil for the idealistic and excited Cain with his real-world, low-key style. In a short historical educational doc I produced, we used a similar character-foil approach. The main character was a dynamic but also eccentric person. To ground the story, we sought out an interview with a professor who could provide historical context and serve as an outside authoritative voice.

Whatever your challenges and your matrix, it’s a puzzle to be solved. Your solution needs to serve the story. So as you begin to meet your potential characters, ask questions. Not simply “What part of the story could this person tell?” but also “What style of storyteller is she?” and “What can help uncover facts about another character?” When you work your way through the matrix to the right mix of characters, you often “just know” you’ve hit on the right combination. Throughout the pre-production research process, try to build good relationships with all the potential characters. Even if they don’t end up in the final on-camera group, they may help uncover essential facts, or provide valuable photos or footage. And, of course, make no promises about who will be filmed until you are really ready to commit. That way, you keep your options open.

Pre-Qualifying On-Camera Subjects

The best way to cast any program, whether reality TV, educational, or documentary, is to stay focused on your story arc. Who is serving as the protagonist? If there’s not an antagonist, per se, is there a character foil to keep scenes from becoming monochromatic? Are there validators who can support the main character’s story? How will the central conflict or challenge unfold? Will people tell this story (together or separately), or will the narrator reveal it as some kind of dichotomy between characters and story lines? Don’t let others determine your characters. I know there will be pressures. “We need to use this expert, who helped us on the last show.” “We should really have a left-handed, conservative economist represented here.” Or worse, “The executive producer’s nephew is super-cute and will be great on camera!” If at all possible, bring your editor and your executive team into the world of your prospective matrix. Put the show goals at the top of your chart or whiteboard. Show them all the possibilities, and what perspective or texture each character could bring to the story. This is just as true for re-enactments as it is for on-camera delivery or interviews. Ideally, you want to choose from the best of the best, not from the least bad of the terrible.

On reality TV shows, it’s common to look for characters who make a big splash on screen. Pre-qualifying Skype interviews may be quickly followed by some informally taped discussions to see who’s got charisma. Character reels are often assembled by the production company in order to assess each potential on-camera subject and how they might fit or contrast with one another as a full cast. In his article in The New York Times, “Donald Trump, our Reality TV Candidate,” reality TV producer Seth Grossman explains that he can tell in just 30 seconds of a Skype interview whether someone will be the right kind of larger-than-life character for a slot on a reality TV show. He describes passing up a fascinating subject who sold custom-armored vehicles to African warlords because he was too soft-spoken and self-aware to make a good reality TV character.

Casting is a two-way street. You are looking for someone with charisma whom viewers will find engaging, but also someone with whom you can develop a relationship over time. For the show True Crime, producer Benjamin Adams Trueheart casts by making cold calls to investigators.

I get a sense of how willing they are to just talk, whether or not they give simple yes/no answers. If someone is of interest, I build rapport with them through ongoing dialogue—in phone calls, emails—for weeks, even months. I want them to feel as comfortable as possible about the show.

(Truehart: interview, February 13, 2015)

In an interview with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air (NPR, July 8, 2015), filmmaker Asif Kapadia talks about his extensive audio-only pre-interviews with the people featured in Amy, his documentary about singer Amy Winehouse. Asif describes how he built relationships of trust over the course of researching the film, and in doing so, received unique home videos, photographs, and other material to help him tell the story of Amy’s life. In the same interview, we learn about the flip side of the interview relationship from Nick Shymanksy, Amy’s first manager, who appears in the film. He talks about how he was initially against participating in the project. What changed his mind was meeting Asif and his team, and seeing their extensive research into her life story. Building trust and developing this two-way relationship are critical to effective storytelling.

Whatever type of project you are producing, and whatever timeline you have in which to do your research, you will want to become as comfortable as possible with your key characters as human beings. That’s really the joy of working with “real people” on camera. It’s a gift to meet so many different people, and be trusted with stories about their lives. People will often surprise you. Occasionally those surprises won’t be happy ones. But mostly, as the control freaks we tend to be in this business, we need to embrace the relationship-building process that goes beyond casting to something more personal, more real. When you vest this process with the importance it deserves, when you respect your subjects, then the storytelling has already begun.

Casting Children

When “casting” a child—whether for an interview, a re-enactment, or a direct-to-camera situation—you must cast the parent too. Believe me, for every child who wants to be on camera, there is a “stage mom” (or dad) behind them. This person will either be fantastic to work with, or a nightmare. There doesn’t ever seem to be something in between. For me, the best and only way to cast children is in person. You need to meet the child, and you need to meet the parent or guardian involved. I like to set aside an intimate physical space for our first interactions together—a couch or living-room setting, rather than an office. It’s important to talk, but also to listen; watch the dynamic between the parent and the child. You’ll learn right away if the child is really interested in participating. This is the exception to the rule of the phone pre-interview which we discuss in a moment. In person, you can get a pretty accurate read on whether or not the parent will be easy to work with, will be prompt, can get to the shoot location, and if they’ve got any major concerns you can’t resolve. Parental concerns can include everything from the child missing too much school (usually solved by creating a later start time for their appearance) to their child not receiving sufficient compensation (which you may or may not be able to solve; in some productions, you can’t pay people to participate because it is unethical to do so). I once produced an educational show with a cast of real kids, and one parent was so problematic that sadly, we had to remove their child from the show. The parent had too many stressed interactions with her child, and was almost always late for every run-through and taping. It started to affect how the other children felt and interacted. Looking back, I realize that a member of my production team had flagged this potential problem during casting, and I could have saved us—and the child—some headaches by acting on that information from the start.

Pre-interviewing children means building a relationship with both child and parent.

Credit: RHED Pixel.

Casting for a Direct-to-Camera Read

The direct-to-camera read brings out the best, or worst, in non-professional talent. Unfortunately you may not know what will happen until you are rolling. But there are a few ways you can be better prepared. If this person gives regular speeches, try to watch some footage of one or two. It could be shot with an iPhone. The quality isn’t important. You want to know a few things: Do they like to get out from behind the podium, walk around, and interact with the audience? Do they grip the podium as if they are hanging on for dear life? Do they need notes? Have they ever used a teleprompter? (Are you going to use a teleprompter or expect them to speak extemporaneously directly to camera? Oh dear, please say you aren’t going to try that.)

If someone grips the podium, you have your work cut out for you. You’ll need to do their read seated, possibly in a higher chair with good arm-rests and an apple box or two for the feet, so that they can feel more authoritative than when seated in a low chair. For people who are accustomed to speaking to a room, the biggest danger zone you will have on set is that they will view your crew as their audience. They will glance around. They will forget to keep their eyes on the true audience by looking at the lens. As a result, you’ll have “shifty eye” syndrome. So if you have an audience-oriented person, you know right away three things you’ll need to do on set:

1. Keep crew from making eye contact.

2. Spend time helping them to imagine their true audience, just beyond the lens.

3. Have them deliver their talk standing up.

I don’t know why, but for many people accustomed to public speaking, this helps to keep their delivery up-beat and to the point.

Casting Re-Enactments

One of the most challenging environments for non-actors is a re-enactment. What do I mean by re-enactment? What comes to mind is hundreds of people in period costumes, re-enacting a scene from the Civil War. Yes. But a re-enactment is also that short scene of b-roll in your production that results from you asking someone, “Could you please open the front door again?” In this brief moment, you are asking a non-actor to do a re-enactment. And planning for successful re-enactments with real people takes a bit more work than you might expect. The biggest challenge you have to overcome is the notion that because the re-enacted scene is something the person does every day, somehow, magically, they will be able to do or repeat this action naturally in front of the camera. Cinematographer Richard Chisolm says he can always tell when a “fake moment” has been re-created on a shoot, and tries to avoid putting real people into situations that will make them fail.

You’ve got a guy in a low-budget re-enactment. He’s wearing a costume. He’s got to walk in a certain path for the camera. The last thing you want him to do is say “I’m here to see General Billingham.” The audience will say this is cheesy. Use the narrator.

(Chisolm: interview, May 13, 2015)

He’s got a point. Let the subject focus on one aspect of your production—either some kind of action, or something they would naturally say, rather than a specific line of dialogue.

There are a few exceptions to the rule about having non-actors “re-enact.” I’ve found that people who work in noisy, stressful, or equipment-filled environments, such as emergency room (ER) nurses and surgeons or workers in a factory, can usually handle re-enactments without breaking into a sweat. Since they already work in an environment in which they must filter out external distractions to focus on what’s truly important, they aren’t thrown off by additional equipment and personnel. But for most people, doing something they do every day once the cameras are on feels unnatural, and that awkwardness can translate onto the screen.

So to help them—and you—be prepared for your re-enactment, and so you can figure out how you might best accomplish your story goals, you’ll want to do the equivalent of a pre-interview. Even before conducting a location scout, which we’ll discuss in detail in Chapter 3, you’ll want to get a handle on what this scene or scenes might look like. You can ask your program subject to shoot some cell-phone footage of their day, so that you get a sense of where your challenges are going to be. The obvious exceptions to this are re-enacting emergency response, or re-enacting medical events like surgeries. But even here, there may be surprising sources of footage that you can rely on to get a sense of what might happen. A hospital I work with tapes surgeries for educational sharing with medical students. In my city, we have crisis response drills which are usually taped for educational reviewing. And of course, YouTube is filled with civilian footage, so to speak, of just about every activity you can imagine. So take advantage of opportunities to plan ahead for your shoot day.

There are other challenges when trying to re-create a scene with non-actors. It’s often common to find your subject is unwilling to re-do a “moment” for the camera. I had one interview subject who said she just couldn’t place a phone call unless it was to a real person. I was somewhat prepared for this, as I had spoken extensively to the person, and built a relationship over several months of background research and emails. I knew she was both a very literal person and an experienced corporate executive who would want a detailed schedule, with a very specific list in advance of any “re-enactments” we might be doing. We were able to provide this well in advance of shooting, so she could alert other non-actors in the story that they might be called upon to help us re-create some scenes.

When It’s Unwise to Cast or Pre-Interview

There are times when a director needs to roll with the moment, and pre-casting or pre-interviewing can ruin the magic. How do you know? Sometimes it’s the context for the film that dictates this decision. Sometimes it’s the content. For example, for a documentary about Catholic women religious working in Appalachia, our main characters were the sisters, who I learned were not called nuns during my extensive pre-interview process well in advance of our shoot. But the main focus of the film was their impact on poor and underserved communities. The people they worked with were critical characters in the film, and yet ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• FIGURES
• PREFACE
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER 1 GETTING TO KNOW YOUR SUBJECTS
• CHAPTER 2 MASTERING THE BUDGET AND SCHEDULE
• CHAPTER 3 LOCATIONS
• CHAPTER 4 PLANNING YOUR STORY
• CHAPTER 5 CREATING THE BEST ENVIRONMENT FOR REAL PEOPLE
• CHAPTER 6 WORKING WITH CREW
• CHAPTER 7 DIRECT-TO-CAMERA DELIVERY
• CHAPTER 8 SHOOTING RE-ENACTMENTS
• CHAPTER 9 BEYOND THE SOUNDBITE: THE DANCE OF THE INTERVIEW
• CHAPTER 10 CHALLENGING INTERVIEWS AND ON-CAMERA SUBJECTS
• CHAPTER 11 EDITING WORKFLOW STRATEGIES
• CHAPTER 12 MANAGING CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS AND APPROVALS
• WRAPPING UP
• APPENDICES
• GLOSSARY
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX