You sure know your game Mr Meyer . I knew this was good from the moment I found myself nodding to almost everything you were saying . Thanks for sharing this , well worth viewing .
Austin, this is great. I appreciate the list. These are all great tips to remember no matter how much doc experience we have. I totally agree on the last point. Never let the music go louder than the dialogue. Mastered music tracks automatically sound louder, so be very carful with them.
Great advice, Austin. As a DP, there's no excuse these days for clipping skin or anything else. If you have a waveform or histo set up permanently on the screen, you can immediately check and spend two seconds pulling it back to where it needs to be. I'd always advise to not over-rig your rig so it becomes difficult to get into tight spaces. I like working with a stripped down camera, anyway, even on features, so, for docs, it's essential. Miles of rails and cables don't make your work better. A good bean bag-style accessory is great, too, especially for driving shots. Just make sure it has a strap so you can carry it across shoulder. And, finally, yep, show as much as possible, and if you weren't there to capture all of the event, go to where it happened and shoot details of where it happened. There is poetry in the geography of an aftermath.
Well done, Austin. Thank you for posting. There are.some doc series I've watched on TV where the music was way louder than the voice. These are some fairly large budget productions (for a doc). I'm not sure what's happening. I'm wondering if the music was mixed too loud in post, or if it was mixed well in post and the broadcast was simply playing the music track too loud. As a director, I would not be happy to see (hear) that. :)
@austinmeyerfilms I just bought a camera and all kinds of gear and want to start doing videos of my own. But I think watching and then trying to replicate certain scenes may help me. hehe So I want to watch yours
Thanks for sharing such valuable information! Could you help me with something unrelated: My OKX wallet holds some USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (alarm fetch churn bridge exercise tape speak race clerk couch crater letter). How should I go about transferring them to Binance?
Wholeheartedly agree about choosing your main characters wisely. Experts can add credibility, but they’re often not the ones closest to the emotional heartbeat of a story. I loved your choice to stay in the car for the reuniting shot. It’s so tempting to jump out immediately, but there’s so much authenticity in that restraint. What a perfect demonstration of showing, not telling. I couldn’t agree more about not letting gear get in the way. Gear choice needs to be motivated by the story at hand. The overexposure trend you mentioned is something I’ve wrestled with too. Even amidst the S-Log overexposure craze, I’ve leaned toward crafting an image that feels right to me even if it means sacrificing a tiny bit of dynamic range. Your “minding your corners” advice was new to me, and I absolutely love it! I’m definitely adding that to my mental checklist. For years, I’ve felt torn between capturing a variety of angles for flexibility in post and being more intentional with my framing. Recently, I’ve started asking myself, what angles best serves the story and how can it illustrate the narrative in the clearest, most compelling way. Thinking ahead and drawing inspiration from my surroundings has been meditative while helping me be less frantic. I also agree with your approach to chiseling edits. One tip I’d add is to work non-destructively by creating new sequences as you refine. It’s saved me so many times when I realize something emotional is missing and can revisit earlier cuts to find that emotional beat. Amazing video, Austin. I really appreciate what you’re doing. Your insights are so valuable, and I’m guessing there’s a course on the horizon? Thanks for being such a constructive and positive force for documentary storytellers.
Hey Drew! Really appreciate your thoughtful comment. Thanks for putting time into it and sharing your perspective from out there in the field. Glad that many of these points resonated with you, and that the videos have been bringing you value! In regards to a course, there is probably one in the future, but not on the immediate horizon. To be real, outside of my own freelance cinematography jobs, I'm trying to find the right time balance between getting out weekly YT videos and working on my own doc projects that I am directing/shooting/editing. So haven't started working on a course yet. But that also means that I can take some time to see what would be most useful to folks out there... like what would you be interested in diving deep into in a course for when I do create one?
Wishing you all happy holidays! Sending love ♥️
Same to you! Won't be able to view this in full and make notes like I would like to because time is tight, but I always appreciate your insight.
Happy Merry to you. Thanks for sharing your wisdom with the world. I plan on using this video in my college video production class next year.
great video and merry Christmas .
All the best for the Christmas break. Happy Holidays.
@@JeanWJoseph Appreciate you!
This had to be the most honest and transparent video I’ve seen in a minute. But it was low key funny when you talked about exposure! Love you videos!
Haha thanks for watching
Always find your advice valuable! Keep it coming!
Thank you! Really appreciate the support.
You sure know your game Mr Meyer . I knew this was good from the moment I found myself nodding to almost everything you were saying . Thanks for sharing this , well worth viewing .
Thank you so much! Really happy to hear that it resonated with you. Happy holidays!
Happy Holidays Austin... thanks for another one...
Happy holidays!
very good advice in a clear way... you deserve more views ! Congratulations
Appreciate that! Hope you're doing well
Austin, this is great. I appreciate the list. These are all great tips to remember no matter how much doc experience we have. I totally agree on the last point. Never let the music go louder than the dialogue. Mastered music tracks automatically sound louder, so be very carful with them.
Hey Brian! Thank you. Really appreciate you watching and jumping into the comments to share your perspective. Happy holidays!
Solid video, well presented and explained. Thanks for sharing your insights.
Thank you!
this is one of the best advice ive seen on yt about documentary filmmaking good job
Thank you. Really appreciate it!
This is so important, helpful and appreciated!
So glad it was helpful
been struggling on some of this. Lots of failures. I like light leeks for transitions if it is a natural element.
Great advice, Austin. As a DP, there's no excuse these days for clipping skin or anything else. If you have a waveform or histo set up permanently on the screen, you can immediately check and spend two seconds pulling it back to where it needs to be.
I'd always advise to not over-rig your rig so it becomes difficult to get into tight spaces. I like working with a stripped down camera, anyway, even on features, so, for docs, it's essential. Miles of rails and cables don't make your work better. A good bean bag-style accessory is great, too, especially for driving shots. Just make sure it has a strap so you can carry it across shoulder.
And, finally, yep, show as much as possible, and if you weren't there to capture all of the event, go to where it happened and shoot details of where it happened. There is poetry in the geography of an aftermath.
Thank you for sharing your perspective! Love all these tips
This is fantastic advice! Happy holidays Austin!
Happy holidays, Jesse!
Just found your channel. Great infomation! Subscribed!
Thank you!
Nice list, thanks.
You’re welcome!
Very helpful tips. You’ve give me a lot to consider. Thank you.
You're welcome! Hope your filmmaking is going well
Sincere, Honest and Awesome as ever. 🙂🙏
Thanks!
So informative thank you 🙏
You're welcome! thanks for watching
Well done, Austin. Thank you for posting. There are.some doc series I've watched on TV where the music was way louder than the voice. These are some fairly large budget productions (for a doc). I'm not sure what's happening. I'm wondering if the music was mixed too loud in post, or if it was mixed well in post and the broadcast was simply playing the music track too loud. As a director, I would not be happy to see (hear) that. :)
Great video! Thank you. I am subscribed. Where can I watch your documentaries?
Great place to start is on my personal website at www.austinmeyerfilms.com. Thanks for supporting the channel!
@austinmeyerfilms I just bought a camera and all kinds of gear and want to start doing videos of my own. But I think watching and then trying to replicate certain scenes may help me. hehe So I want to watch yours
Thanks for sharing such valuable information! Could you help me with something unrelated: My OKX wallet holds some USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (alarm fetch churn bridge exercise tape speak race clerk couch crater letter). How should I go about transferring them to Binance?
Rewatch the video. The answer to your question is hidden in there like the Davinci code :)
Please update the title to make it specific to documentary filmmaking.
Wholeheartedly agree about choosing your main characters wisely. Experts can add credibility, but they’re often not the ones closest to the emotional heartbeat of a story. I loved your choice to stay in the car for the reuniting shot. It’s so tempting to jump out immediately, but there’s so much authenticity in that restraint. What a perfect demonstration of showing, not telling.
I couldn’t agree more about not letting gear get in the way. Gear choice needs to be motivated by the story at hand. The overexposure trend you mentioned is something I’ve wrestled with too. Even amidst the S-Log overexposure craze, I’ve leaned toward crafting an image that feels right to me even if it means sacrificing a tiny bit of dynamic range.
Your “minding your corners” advice was new to me, and I absolutely love it! I’m definitely adding that to my mental checklist.
For years, I’ve felt torn between capturing a variety of angles for flexibility in post and being more intentional with my framing. Recently, I’ve started asking myself, what angles best serves the story and how can it illustrate the narrative in the clearest, most compelling way. Thinking ahead and drawing inspiration from my surroundings has been meditative while helping me be less frantic.
I also agree with your approach to chiseling edits. One tip I’d add is to work non-destructively by creating new sequences as you refine. It’s saved me so many times when I realize something emotional is missing and can revisit earlier cuts to find that emotional beat.
Amazing video, Austin. I really appreciate what you’re doing. Your insights are so valuable, and I’m guessing there’s a course on the horizon? Thanks for being such a constructive and positive force for documentary storytellers.
Hey Drew! Really appreciate your thoughtful comment. Thanks for putting time into it and sharing your perspective from out there in the field. Glad that many of these points resonated with you, and that the videos have been bringing you value! In regards to a course, there is probably one in the future, but not on the immediate horizon. To be real, outside of my own freelance cinematography jobs, I'm trying to find the right time balance between getting out weekly YT videos and working on my own doc projects that I am directing/shooting/editing. So haven't started working on a course yet. But that also means that I can take some time to see what would be most useful to folks out there... like what would you be interested in diving deep into in a course for when I do create one?