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13.7: Student Exercises

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    Exercises for shooting coverage

    • Coverage Sequence Drill: shoot a simple everyday action (making coffee, tying shoes) in a complete wide-medium-close sequence.
    • Inductive Coverage Exercise: film at a location with no plan, then shape an edit around the coverage.
    • Interview + Coverage Exercise: pair an interview with supporting visuals, edit to see where coverage succeeds or fails.
    • Sound-Driven Coverage: record a soundscape, then capture visuals that could accompany it.

    Possible Exercise Design

    1. Arrival & Immersion: Students spend 15–20 minutes in a location without cameras—just observing, listening, and taking notes.
    2. First Capture: They then shoot whatever draws their attention—textures, motions, faces (with consent), spaces, transitions, atmospheres.
    3. Reflection Notes: Write a short journal entry: What surprised you? What did you notice only once you slowed down?
    4. Class Share: Screen the footage. Discuss: What themes emerge? Did different students notice the same things or entirely different aspects?
    5. Follow-up Exercise (Deductive Contrast): Later in the semester, assign the same location but with a storyboarded shot list so they can directly compare deductive vs. inductive outcomes.

    Other Ideas to Layer In

    • Shot Type Constraint: Limit them to, say, only close-ups, or only static shots, or only sound-driven visuals. Constraints sharpen observation.
    • Theme Discovery: After shooting, ask students to propose a unifying “theme” their footage could serve (e.g., “transitions,” “loneliness,” “the machinery of daily life”).
    • Collaborative Montage: Pool the footage from the entire class and co-edit a short piece. This shows how inductive material can gain coherence in post-production.
    • Compare with Sound-Only: Have them first record ambient audio, then revisit the space to shoot b-roll informed by what they heard.

    McGuffin Exercises

    1. In small groups (3-4 students), pick a hypothetical doc subject
      (Examples: a local graffiti artist, a beekeeper, a political activist, a high school robotics team)
    2. Invent or identify a McGuffin adventure
      • An upcoming gallery show
      • A beekeeping competition
      • A protest rally
      • A robotics contest

    3. List 3 character traits or motivations the adventure will reveal
    (E.g. perfectionism, community values, need for validation)

    4. Describe 3 types of footage or scenes you would capture to expose those traits
    (E.g. late-night prep sessions, family interviews, moments of failure)

    5. Share with class (2 min per group)

    Optional Homework:

    Watch a doc (or doc short) and identify its McGuffin.
    Prepare a 1-paragraph analysis on how the filmmaker uses it to reveal deeper character motivations.

    This page titled 13.7: Student Exercises was last modified on Sun, 07 Jun 2026 18:56:25 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Steve Shlisky.