Photography + Videography inspiration

For the assessment we must submit 2 publicity stills and a DVD cover. I wasn't too sure what these publicity shots should look like, therefore I conducted some research into how these usually are.

• A film still (sometimes called a publicity still or a production still) is a photograph taken on or off the set of a movie or television program during production. These photographs are also taken in formal studio settings and venues of opportunity such as film stars' homes, film debut events, and commercial settings.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_still
• They tell us the mood of the story we can expect to see unfold on screen and particular still images have become iconic in the world of cinema.
  You may have made the best film in the world but without good quality stills and specials* photography [arranged advertising shoots usually done in a studio setup] to support a solid marketing campaign, no one will see it.
  The thing with docs is that you never know exactly how the story’s going to unfold, which characters are going to end up being important. So you probably ought to be taking stills all along the way.
  
  http://independent-magazine.org/2013/01/hermine-muskat_importance_still_photographer_during_production/

On our next shoot, I will take a camera so that I can take some photographs to use for stills and on the DVD cover. I've looked into skateboarding photography for inspiration:

http://exposemag.ca/ten-years-of-israeli-skate-culture-documented-in-love-child/

http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21524/1/gosha-rubchinskiy-exclusive-images

http://stupiddope.com/2013/09/17/the-new-york-times-highlights-new-york-skate-photographer-allen-ying/

http://theurbanathletica.com/featured/skate-freshness-levis-launches-skateboarding-collection

http://time.com/4163592/native-american-skateboarding-lakota/

The conventions of these photographs is that most of them are black and white with high contrast, which is a style that I like to use anyway. The images not only show the subjects skateboarding, but their connection to their locations and attachment to their boards. Most of the pictures appear to be candid rather than posed.

I also found these videos from Levi Skateboarding:

This documentary is inspiring because it doesn't have much 'talking heads'. It seems like all the interviews were pre-recorded in a studio. The visuals don't necessarily match everything that the interviewees are talking about but show their environment and activities as a whole.

It not only talks about skateboarding and the tricks that are performed, but talks about the subjects personal experiences in their local area. I think that our documentary needs to have a deeper subject matter like this in order to engage the audience.