One film-maker shares his process on three projects: a mini doc, a music video, and a solo narrative.
Although he describes himself only as a cinematographer, Danny Gevirtz is an all-rounder – and, above all, a true visual storyteller. No matter the genre or the subject matter, his understanding of narrative informs his choices behind the camera and in editing.
1. Documentary
Here, Danny screens his “mini doc” Bad Mama, and then talks us through his experience making it – beginning with taking time to get to know his subject, to best tell her intimate story:
Notice how Danny packs multiple emotional narrative threads into Bad Mama‘s three minutes: by cross-cutting between the separate stories, each of which contains its own dramatic arc, and which build the overall dramatic arc (This Guy Edits has a great breakdown of this approach):
2. $0 Music Video
Shifting from documentary to music video, and from narrative to pure aesthetics, Danny’s focus is still the subject. This informs his choices (composition, lighting, colour, finish), which makes his music video for Noah Guy a portrait of another kind:
3. Solo Narrative
Danny himself is the subject in this self-isolation short narrative – demonstrating that, above all, good visual storytelling is about planning…
Further Viewing
Other film-makers share their techniques for filming solo:
And if it’s documentary specifically that you’re interested in, here are more approaches from In Depth Cine…
… as well as tips from fellow YouTuber Mark Bone: