Audio for Group Therapy Documentary

[Peter Ralph]

I’m no audio expert – but I doubt that overhead mics will yield acceptable results. They are fine in a theatre where actors are all taught to project, but try it and see.

Peter Ralph

https://www.shootingbynumbers.com

[Jeremy Pinkwater]

Bill, Please don’t jump to conclusions. We have doctors and therapists leading the reasearch

We seek to examine the effect of the power of the “shared experience” on the quality of life of those battling cancer. Through this examination we aim to raise awareness of these practices as well as to look at the debate surrounding the issue of non-medical healing.

“Over the course of one year we will document and follow a group of women with various cancers who will meet as a group once a week for sixteen weeks and then once a month for the next eight months. It will be these women’s stories and experiences that will be at the heart of the film. We will film all the group sessions, and each member will also be given a video camera to record a personal video journal. We will also film interviews with each group member, their families, their doctors, some leading researchers in the field and those invited to speak to the group.

The three main aspects that the group will focus on will be stress reduction, psycho education, and group discussion. It’s about the power of the shared experience. To feel more connected by becoming part of a comforting and comfortable community of people who understand what you’re going through, because they are going through it too. It’s about dealing with the very real emotional issues that cancer can cause by offering trained, experienced counseling and support.”

[Sam Mallery]

It sounds like a lot of effort is going to be put into your film. My advice is that the person who is responsible for running the video cameras for each group session must also be responsible for the audio. They have to watch all of the footage after each session, and make adjustments to improve the audio each time. They would also have to monitor the sound during each shoot, and again, adjust as needed as each session progresses.

If your plan is to totally “set and forget,” then you can must understand that you will not come out of this a year from now with a quality production.