Light Up Your Shoot: Tips for Finding Great Locations for Video Interviews"

I’ve definitely made my share of lighting and background mistakes over the last 28 interviews or so. Most of the time it came down to having barely any time to check out the location, then rushing to set up cameras, lighting, sound, and get the person ready.

Here are a few things I’ve learned over the three seasons I’ve worked with STORYHIVE. These work really well for photoshoots too.

If you can scout the location, do it. Try to find places with a mix of natural and artificial light. Think about what time of day you’ll be there and how the light will hit your subject and the background. I always look for something interesting behind them too, like architecture, nature, or even a mural (just make sure you get permission if you’re using one).

Make sure you’re allowed to film there. Some places need permits or have rules about filming, and it’s better to know ahead of time than get shut down halfway through.

Public spaces can be great. Parks, streets, plazas, anything with some character to it. Trees, water, or unique buildings can add a lot without you having to do much.

Pay attention to natural light. Big windows or open shade are usually your best friend. I try to avoid direct sunlight when I can because it creates really harsh shadows. That said, I’ve had shoots where I had no choice, and you just make it work.

Sound matters more than you think. Try to avoid noisy areas, foot traffic, cars, fans, furnaces, anything constant in the background. It’s easy to overlook in the moment, but it shows up later.

If you have time, test the spot. Even just a quick photo or short video helps you catch problems before you’re fully set up.

That’s pretty much it. A little planning goes a long way, and even when things aren’t perfect, you can usually still make something great out of it.

The Power of Community: How to Find the Ideal Filming Location

We’ve filmed in some really great spots around Edmonton over the years. If you’re trying to find good locations for a film project, this is what’s helped me.

Start by just looking into the area a bit. See what’s around, what stands out, what feels different. Sometimes a place has a story or history that actually adds to your shoot without you even planning it.

Talking to local organizations helps a lot more than you’d think. Cultural centres, community groups, those kinds of places usually know the area really well and can point you to spots you wouldn’t find on your own. We actually filmed at a cultural centre in season 2 of Voices, and it worked out great.

Honestly, just asking people is one of the best things you can do. Shop owners, people walking around, anyone who knows the area, they’ll often tell you about places you’d never think to look.

Community events are great too. Festivals, fairs, things like that. You get to experience the space properly and see how it feels with people in it. Plus, you might find a location you want to come back to later. Just make sure you get permission if you plan to film there.

And just be respectful. It sounds obvious, but it really matters. Make sure you’re allowed to film, try not to disrupt people too much, and leave things the way you found them (or better). That goes a long way.

I’m writing Again

I have a lot of notebooks. They’re everywhere. They’re filled with stories, drawings, ideas for new products, photoshoots, and plans for the future.

My daughter likes to open them to random pages and ask me why I never made what’s on them.

Today I found one with an idea I wrote back in 2013, in my terrible handwriting, printing and cursive all mashed together. It was a story.

Around that time, I had taken writing courses through the U of A Extension with Candas Dorsey and one from her partner Timothy, and I was writing a lot. I had even sent short stories to a few online magazines. I got some positive feedback, but they said I needed to revise them before they would consider publishing. At the time, I couldn’t figure out what needed fixing or how to fix it.

I also remember that was when my pain was really out of control from doing too many physical things with my business. So I set writing aside, thinking I would come back to it when things were more manageable.

Fast forward to now. Things are getting better, I’m dropping all the things my doctors told me to stop, so I’m going to start writing again when I’m not editing my documentaries.

This has been my year of “let’s see what happens,” so that’s what I’m going to do.

Tanner has been fully supportive of me writing more, especially after I worked on the script and short story for my partially funded short film. He’s taken on making more pieces for the booth on his own while I figure out how to balance everything and make space for writing again. I’m going to bury this down here to hold myself accountable. I have a couple of people who read this and I know they will ask me how far along I’ve got every time I see them.

My thoughts on being a female cameraperson and a director

The lighting is perfect, set up by me and balanced with the natural light in the background. The cameras are rolling, and I look up to meet the eyes of my subject. Behind her is the beautiful architecture of one of the most famous buildings in our city.

The woman I’m interviewing is one of Edmonton’s best-known artists, and she is ready to talk about why she creates.

On set with us is a female makeup artist, who is also doubling as my grip, ready to jump in if needed. On a low-budget production, everyone except the sound guy wears more than one hat. My host and interviewer is also my co-producer, helping wherever he’s needed, which can be a lot on some days because of my disabilities. Still, he almost never operates a camera or directs a scene.

I ask if everyone is ready. My grip snaps the clapboard so I can line up the audio and video later in editing.

My host begins with a simple question: “Where are you from?”

And then we hear it.

A wall of noise. Yelling, footsteps, chatter, beeping, mechanical sounds.

My co-producer and I look at each other, confused. We had booked the space for several hours. I assume maybe a school group has been accidentally double-booked for a last-minute tour.

But when the group appears, it is not a group of children.

It is a woman leading around 12 to 14 adults.

She looks at me, then at the respected artist I’m interviewing, then at my makeup artist. She lifts her nose in the air, walks straight through my set, and motions for everyone behind her to do the same. People glance nervously at the seated host, at the sound guy, then at me behind the camera, and keep going. They stomp right through.

I am so shocked I freeze.

The artist being interviewed is the one who asks them to watch the cords and cameras.

I rush to the cables plugged into my newer camera, trying to keep them from being snagged or ripped out as the group pushes past. I had saved and scraped for four years to buy that camera.

No big deal.

My second camera is sitting off to the side. I glance at it, hoping it won’t be knocked to the floor. I had spent that morning carefully polishing the lens and screen, thinking about all the places that camera had already been with me. But in that moment, I can only protect one of them.

Would this have happened if three of the five people on set had not been women?

No. I don’t believe it would have.

Afterward, I looked up how often women work in this field. It turns out we are still rare.

In a 2018 article, Emily Geraphty wrote about this exact thing: not being taken seriously on set as a female camera operator.

I am always one of those hopeful people who wants to think, maybe they just didn’t notice the cameras, the lights, the sound guy holding a boom mic over the person being interviewed. Maybe it had nothing to do with me being a woman in charge on a film set.

But I’ve seen the difference too many times.

When my co-producer is the one holding my camera, whether it is on or off, people are careful. Over the hundred or more times we have filmed for YouTube, documentaries, short films, personal projects, and photo shoots, people tend to stay out of his way. Some even ask him politely if it’s okay to cross in front of the camera, promising they’ll be quick.

The moment I am the one holding it, or even touching it, people make eye contact with me and walk right through the shot.

Maybe some of that is unconscious bias. Maybe they assume I’m just holding the camera for someone else, like my co-producer.

But bias doesn’t have to be deliberate to be real.

As of September 2022, Vanity Fair reported that only 20 percent of cinematographers in narrative and documentary film were women in 2021 and 2022.

I have rarely seen sets where women were the ones filming and directing, or where women outnumbered the men behind the scenes. That is part of the problem. There are still too few examples, too few opportunities to even compare experiences.

I hope that changes.

I hope more women enter these careers, because the industry is missing out on talent, perspective, and voices that deserve to be heard. And those voices matter not only behind the camera, but to the women watching too.

That is why I am grateful for organizations that are trying to make space for emerging and established creators from all kinds of backgrounds.

One of those is STORYHIVE, creatively powered by TELUS.

I am grateful to STORYHIVE for actively engaging with creators of different backgrounds and skill levels, and I am grateful to be included as one of their funded creators. Support like that gives women room to step into work they may once have believed was out of reach. It gives people permission to try, even in a world where bias can still make that path harder than it should be.

copy and paste

article https: //www.glamour.com/story/this-is-why-you-dont-see-more-women-behind-the-camera

article https: //www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/09/women-still-underrepresented-behind-the-camera-in-indie-film-world

Want to know more about female filmmakers and the importance and history of women in film? you can check out this great article here.

https: //www.rockandart.org/female-filmmakers-importance-history-women-film/

Happy New Year - 2023

Let’s see what happens. That’s been my motto for my life, and I’m going to carry it into the New Year.

2022 was a huge and very different year for us. It was also a big learning experience as I worked through a newly diagnosed medical condition while creating my first full season with STORYHIVE. I did a shorter season the year before, which is available on TELUS OPTIK TV On Demand.

I have wanted to explore different forms of art since I was a child. I’ve always had big dreams. When I started noticing changes in my health from 2018 to 2021, along with previous health conditions, I knew I needed to move toward expanding my visual art and storytelling into film. I also wanted to share the work and stories of other artists.

I’ve always been a big reader, and I’ve written short stories for most of my life. I wanted to take that further. There is something about having an idea and not knowing if you will be able to follow through because of health that pushes you. It lit a fire under me and made me start learning and trying new things every week.

This has definitely caught on with my husband and partner, Tanner.

Many people may not know that Tanner had a project years ago where he interviewed bands from all over the world and reviewed music. He was very passionate about sharing their stories. I didn’t realize until much later, after we had met and he chose a business degree, that he had originally wanted to pursue journalism and writing, as well as create visual art.

This makes the work we are doing now very personal to both of us. We care deeply about capturing and sharing these stories. You never know how long the window of opportunity will be open, so if you have been thinking about trying something or applying for something, I encourage you to just try it this year. The worst that can happen is being told no or having something not work out, but what happens if it does?

I am feeling hopeful that I can work with my condition and treatments in 2023 while creating my second full season and my short film, along with other projects I am excited about. It took me the full year, but I am starting to understand what makes my condition worse and how to manage it better. Some things are easier to control, like not carrying heavy items, managing stress, avoiding very loud events, and getting enough sleep.

I am truly grateful for the opportunities STORYHIVE Connected by TELUS, the EAC, the CCA, and the EHC have given me over the past two years. Tanner and I also want to thank every participant in our series. You are all amazing. We are sincerely grateful for you and wish you all the best in 2023. All episodes are now available on TELUS OPTIK TV On Demand.

I am also very grateful that everyone involved has been so understanding and accommodating while I learned to work with this diagnosis and figure out how to create both my second docu series and my first community focused series. There were times Tanner nearly had to carry me out because I could barely stand by the end of an interview. Now, with what I have learned, I can avoid most of the major flare ups.

For season two, we once again have an amazing lineup of talented Edmontonians, and we have already filmed the first episode. These are artists whose work you may have seen around the city, or ones you may be curious to learn more about.

Season two is tentatively planned for a mid 2023 release, and Tanner and I are really excited to keep working on this and share it with the community.

Advice on finding someone to do contracts to film your series (low budget series).

This is something I would 100% recommend doing, but it wasn’t as straightforward as I thought it would be.

When we first started looking into lawyers who handle film industry contracts, we realized there are only a small number who actually do this kind of work. I figured I would just make a short list, call around for quotes, and pick one. That was the plan.

It didn’t go that way.

A lot of them didn’t call us back at all. I’m pretty persistent though, so I just kept calling until I finally got through. At one point, I even ended up talking to a higher profile lawyer on his lunch break.

What I found pretty quickly was that, no matter the size of the production or the level of risk, the cost for basic contracts was going to be somewhere between $1500 and $3000. That just wasn’t realistic for us with such a small budget, but we still felt strongly that we needed to have proper contracts in place.

Eventually, I connected with a local lawyer who called me back and was willing to give some advice upfront, which really helped. They were able to provide contracts at a much lower cost, and the quality was still solid.

One thing we learned during that meeting was that a lawyer can’t represent two separate people or groups working on the same project. If something goes wrong, they can’t represent both sides.

Another thing I ran into during all of this was that a lot of the nice-looking legal templates online are made for the US, not Canada, so they don’t always apply.

Importance of choosing a good location: What I have learned from season one of Crafting a Career in the Arts

1)     Make sure there is enough natural light. If you don’t have lights, natural light is the best way to go. However, you have to be careful with it because it changes as the clouds move, the time of day, etc. When we shot in the Royal Alberta Museum, there was an enormous wall of windows with tones of natural light which was amazing, but the tradeoff for that space was the sound. It was such a large space that the speakers’ voices were somewhat lost and there was an overhead fan system which disrupted the footage as well. When we shot with Leela, the clouds changed the light constantly in her home. The best solution for the Royal Alberta Museum, would have been to put a damper on each side of Glen and use a lavolier. Unfortunately, we were allowed 1.5 hours to do everything!!! That includes get B-roll, do retakes, set up the equipment and pick a spot. To do things different with LeeLa, I would have closed the curtains and just used artificial light, but we didn’t bring enough lights with us.

2)     Make sure there are no hidden sounds. This is huge and will make a MAJOR impact on your postproduction editing times and results. When we shot with Daelen’s Forge we didn’t realize there was a low frequency sound coming from a hot tub, which was on the other side of the wall. This sound created a constant buzz/hum throughout the whole interviewer! Sometimes it will would also kick in a bit louder as well. When we shout at the Royal Alberta Museum there were so many considerations regarding lighting, locating plugins and placing the subject no one noticed the fan running way up in the rafters but it made a big impact on the sound quality later and lead to a lot of extra editing.

3)     Making sure to constantly check the camera settings etc when shooting in natural light. Because natural light changes continuously and throughout the day you will want to be sure to continually make sure your exposure settings are adjusted appropriately.

4)     Make sure the background scene is interesting. Of course, it is not always possible to get an amazing location, but being creative with angles or the features of the space can make even a dull location look more visually appealing.

5)     Trying to fit your camera gear in small spaces, to stay true to the subject. This is a major challenge when shooting interviews in the subject’s space. You will not only need to plan ahead to bring your most effective and compact gear but also leave extra time ahead of the shoot so you can rearrange the space to be camera ready. Some of our onsite shoots required us, with the participants’ permission of course, to almost completely empty the room we were shooting in as the space was so small we couldn’t fit anything else in at all!

5 of My Favourite Moments from Shooting the First Season of Crafting a Career in the Arts

1)     Shooting with my husband! This project was a lot of work, but it made everything way better to work on every shoot with Tanner. We had a great time interviewing each participant and scouting out the locations for each scene.

2)     Meeting other artistic people. Doing season one of this series, Crafting a Career in the Arts, provided an amazing opportunity to meet in an intimate setting with a variety of other local artists to hear their stories and their advice.

3)     Capturing the stories of other artists. It was an honour to capture the stories of the artists we worked with. Both Tanner and I found it inspiring to hear their advice and to listen to their stories, so far, unfold.

4)     Realizing how much support is available to artists from our community. Often it can feel like there is no one else you can think of to contact or that the assistance available is simply all used up, but this just isn’t true! There are so many people in our community who are ready to jump in and provide help or advice. Most of them are just a phone call away!

5)     Shooting Edmontons beautiful natural scenes. Edmonton has so many beautiful areas it was kind of hard to pick where we wanted to shoot! It was also pretty to “over” shoot or get distracted by going for a walk while we were out as well. I always feel so lucky that I have the opportunity to film here!

Why does it help for me to be a visual artist, who sells their work, and filmmaker?

There are a lot of films and docuseries about artists. My husband has seen many, and I’ve probably seen even more.

One thing I’ve noticed is that filmmakers who aren’t artists themselves often miss the empathy side of it. They tend to show the artist just going out and completing their work or contracts successfully. There might be a few small bumps along the way, but it usually doesn’t capture how difficult and discouraging this path can really be.

The struggle of being an artist and trying to sell your work is huge. Sharing something you created and convincing people it has the same value as something they can buy in a store is something only an artist truly understands.

I tried to show some of those realities in the first season of Crafting a Professional Career, and that’s also why I included community resources. When I first started selling my work, I didn’t even know most of these existed.

A lot of artists don’t initially think of what they do as a business, so they might not look into places like Alberta Women’s Entrepreneurs, which is a not-for-profit that helps women build and grow their businesses. Years ago, I saw they were offering a free business planning workshop and signed up. Unfortunately, it ended up being one of those days where I had no energy left, so Tanner went in my place.

What they shared ended up changing how I think about selling my art and how I structure everything I do.

Because I’m both a visual artist trying to make a living and a filmmaker sharing artists’ stories, I feel like I understand the daily challenges pretty well. That helps me know what questions to ask and what kinds of support actually matter.

It also puts me in a position to ask organizations the questions I had when I was starting out but didn’t know where to go for answers. Then I can include those answers in my films so newer artists, or anyone feeling a bit lost, have something to refer to. In the series, I also ask each featured artist for their advice so I can pass it along. A lot of newer artists don’t have access to more experienced ones, or they might feel uncomfortable walking up and asking for advice. This way, they still get to hear it.

How can I be an artist and filmmaker when I have invisible disabilities?

I’ve noticed when talking to other artists and crafters, it can be a bit of a hard sell to explain that I make videos too and try to get them involved in my projects.

When I was a child, I had a list of things I wanted to do: write books, become an artist, and have my own TV shows. My dad always said, “Sure, why not?” He told me I could do anything I set my mind to. I know I can’t do everything now, but I can do some things.

I started making videos on YouTube with my husband hosting and helping out, mostly because I didn’t know where to start. We’re almost at 500k views now, which is pretty amazing.

Yes, there are film schools and groups out there, but I couldn’t go the traditional route. A big part of that is because I have an invisible disability, and my days can be completely unpredictable. Some days or weeks are manageable, and others are not. There are times I don’t leave the house for weeks, so I’ve had to learn everything from home.

Because of that, I can’t commit to volunteering on other people’s film sets or attending classes on a regular schedule. What TELUS STORYHIVE offered was something different. It was actually accessible for people like me who want to make film and video but can’t follow a traditional path.

They offer mentorship, one-on-one support, training, and a large community of people who have either solved the problems I’m facing or are willing to figure them out together.

During my first series, I had some major health challenges. My mentor from STORYHIVE helped me through it and made sure I didn’t fall behind. Not many programs would do that. The reality is that people dealing with health issues often need to work on their own schedule. They can still do the work, but their timing might look different from what most people are used to. For me, I tend to feel better later in the day, and not many schools or programs are available in the evening.

I really believe people can be good at more than one thing, and even build multiple careers at the same time, if they feel called to. I’ve always felt called to tell stories through whatever medium I can.

And I actually do a lot of different types of art to keep my mind off my chronic pain and the uncertainty of the future. It’s how I stay present. It’s how I keep going.

Media Post- My Lloydminster now

I was asked to give a couple of words and a behind the scenes photo for a press release for STORYHIVE. I knew I was one of several creators who were asked for our thoughts on STORYHIVE. So I was pleasantly surprised to see the photo Tanner took of me, in the Royal Alberta Museum while interviewing Glen Nipshank, and my thoughts on VOICES 1 mentioned.

Here is the article if anyone wants to check it out and I included the photo Tanner got of my behind the scenes. He went for more of an artistic look to show the camera as the main focus.

https://www.mylloydminsternow.com/53828/local-connections/telus-storyhive-voices-2-0-open-call-for-local-lloydminster-creators/

Copyright Tanner Wilson-Skrocki 2022 at the Royal Alberta Museum

BTS shooting Scenes Around Edmonton Part 1

We went all over Edmonton looking for classic Edmonton scenes! Of course we had to get the scenery around the Muttart and the beautiful Walterdale Bridge, but there were “Edmonton” scenes everywhere to enjoy!

Top 5 Mistakes from shooting Season 1 of Crafting a Career in the arts!

1. 1. Not checking for hidden sounds or machines
   Like… a hidden hot tub. Yes, that happened. Always double and triple check what’s behind walls or curtains. Sound travels.

   2. Not being prepared for the space
   The Royal Alberta Museum gave us an amazing spot right in front of the mammoths, but it was huge and echoey. We should have used a lav mic with the Zoom H6 and blocked some of the sound around the subject. But we had 2 hours and had to move fast to interview my distant cousin about his pottery.

   3. Mixing cameras with totally different colour
   Canon and Blackmagic… not my best idea. It took forever to match in editing, even using Premiere’s tools.

   4. Not booking enough time with the subject
   We often needed more time for B-roll, but only had about 3 hours. If possible, I would come back another day next time.

   5. Not recording B-roll long enough
   I used to film 20 to 40 seconds, but the first part is often shaky or something goes wrong. Now I aim for over a minute per a shot so I have more to work with.

Copyright Amy Skrocki 2022. The spot where we had the interview.