Besides adding that useful narration, I would really like to see printed dates throughout this film. Because it takes place over five years, you can quickly feel lost, since there are almost no dates listed in the film, other than a few very vague dates listed towards the end. I had a chance to chat with the director who confessed that he couldn’t remember the dates, which is why he didn’t include them. However, even having general dates like, “Spring 2003” or “Summer 2005” would help the viewer to map the timeline in their mind and not feel adrift in a sea of timelessness.
Visual Look
The overall visual look of this film was very good, with lots of dynamic shots that the director obtained on the field of combat, with the actors or behind the scenes as they prepared. One thing I really enjoyed was that there weren’t too many “talking head” shots in this film. (“Talking Heads” are very traditional interview shots, where an actor or interview subject sits in one place and simply talks to the camera. These have a tendency to feel very dull and static.) Instead, to mix things up, Leeser would interview people as they did jobs they would normally be doing. The aforementioned Chris Mitri was interviewed while he was shoveling horse manure, since his Renaissance identity as a squire would require him to do this sort of work. Other active interviews included the chief armorer as he polished armor, or one of the founders as they drove from one location to another. All of these elements help give the documentary a more participatory feel, of being part of the subjects’ life, rather than simply having them tell you about their life.
Despite the many great shots in the film, there were some that were not so good, as when a couple of shots wandered out of focus, which was distracting. (Apparently, these out of focus shots occurred when the director wasn’t manning the camera, which was rare. When the director was DP’ing, things stayed well focused.) There were also some shots that were captured in such low light that the low-lux feature in the camera had amplified all the noise and static to a distracting level. For future films, staging some interviews near a better light source or bringing along a portable Zylight (which is a type of powerful LED light that can have its color temperature easily adjusted) can be good ways to ensure enough light is on your subject, in order to record them without having these sorts of issues.
Use of Audio
The audio throughout this film was surprisingly clean and easy to understand, despite the fact that they shot in outdoor environments most of the time. However, with the few indoor environments, there weree times where excess noise would creep in, largely from equipment, air conditioners, or compressors running in the background. For future reference, it’s always good to turn off any appliances and air conditioners to prevent these sorts of issues. For the current film, running these noticeable tracks through something like Bias Soundsoap or Sony Noise Reduction would help make these issues less obvious.
The music that was chosen for the film worked well, often using medieval and renaissance themes and scores to tie the story and subject matter together.
