Documentation

 

At MABELLEarts, we always document our projects with either photos, video, or both. We include fees for photographers and videographers in our grant applications. Along with our other evaluative activities, this footage gives us a lot of information about our work. It helps us share the beauty of our workshops and events with a wider audience, and finally, it helps us secure more funding. A picture truly is worth a thousand words.

Given the importance of documentation, you should strive for professional quality photos and video footage of your artistic process, any final events, and your artistic outcomes (what you made). Of course, if you can’t afford professional documenters, some photos are better than none. But we can’t stress enough how much easier it is to promote your work when you’ve hired people with the right skills. You might also consider hiring a video editor to work with the video footage you collect. Here are sample shot lists of what we might ask for from the people we hire to document:

Photo Shot List:

  • Action shots of community members working together. People sharing ideas, helping each other to draw, carve, plant, weave, etc.

  • Artists demonstrating how to do or make something

  • Artists working with community members (teaching, advising, collaborating)

  • The neighbourhoods and environments the workshops are in and about (whatever is relevant to your project). If the project is about medicinal plants, for example, please take photos of them growing, if about wayfinding, take photos of the places the signs lead to

  • Audiences at the final event and their responses to the tours, art, activities

  • Close-ups of whatever has been made (i.e. of signs, baskets, etc.)

  • Moments of joy, surprise and focus

  • Anything else that captures the spirit of the workshops and events

  • In total, a good combination of close-ups (hands, faces, individual art objects) and wider shots (e.g. crowds, landscapes).

Note: We ultimately ask each photographer to send us a selection of their best 20 photographs, already edited and colour-corrected.

Video Shot List:

  • Action shots of community members working together. Sharing ideas, helping each other to draw, carve, plant, weave, etc.

  • Artists demonstrating how to do or make something

  • Artists working with community members (teaching, advising, collaborating)

  • The neighbourhoods and environments the workshops are in and about (whatever is relevant to the project). Please provide some contextual footage of the places and the people.

  • Audiences at the final event and their responses to the tours, art, activities (e.g. clapping, listening, watching, participating)

  • Short interviews with at least 2 participants at the workshops about what they’re doing, why they’re participating, what they are learning.

  • Short interviews with at least 2 participants/audience members at the final event. What do they find interesting about what they’ve seen/heard?

  • Short interview with lead artists about the project (what have they been doing? What’s the idea behind the project?)

  • Short description of the project by either the lead artist or someone from the lead organization (Where is it? Why does it matter? What’s the idea? What are the activities? Ask them to try to be concise and sum it up clearly in 30 seconds)

  • Any music that is part of the project’s events

  • B-roll of the neighbourhood or environment the workshop is in (sounds, and visuals)