SCARS: An insight into The Hungarian Uprising | A Short Documentary

by Jake McBride
(United Kingdom)

Hi, I’m Jake, I’m 19, and this is my debut documentary revolving around the topic ‘The Hungarian Uprising’. The documentary explores the mind of an aged man who once fought in a revolutionary era in Hungary. The short film delves into his emotions as he relays stories and anecdotes from his time spent as an activist in The Hungarian Uprising, following stories of his survival and the loss of his friends. Covering infamous happenings like the desolation of the Stalin statue, and the shootings which followed.

This is a story told with passion, ranging from experiences in Budapest all the way to conflicts on the Austrian borders. A man witnessed, and now speaks of, the deaths of many of his close friends.

Learn the tactical approach to disengaging powerful armed tanks and how the pressure and fear can break you; but how courage steps in and allows you to move on through the tough and trying times that he faced in the age of a challenged country.

A sincere intimate conversation takes you deep into his mind, unveiling every instance which scarred him, releasing all the information weighing down his conscience.

Delicately condensed into 8 minutes, this documentary highlights a lot of life-changing events that occurred in the life of Gyorgy Szabo.

Now living in England, we can appreciate the dramatic change in his life, and mostly how incredible a man he is for adapting between situations as well as he did.

This documentary is accompanied by harrowing and lonely-sounding tracks by Simon Wilkinson, a composer of cinematic music for film and television – the rights to these royalty-free songs have been purchased by myself.
Pictures sourced by Google.

See through the eyes of a scarred man.

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"SCARS: An insight into The Hungarian Uprising" | A Short Documentary

Please see my YouTube channel for my other work; I’d really appreciate any feedback and comments you can give!

Comments for SCARS: An insight into The Hungarian Uprising | A Short Documentary

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May 18, 2013
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Scars Documentary
by: Desktop Documentaries

Hi Jake, congratulations on your documentary debut. Nice job! You captured my attention right from the start with the story of the 14 year old girl. That's great filmmaking technique to start with something that catches the viewer off guard. And excellent choice of music.

What led you to this particular story and what made you decide to make this film?

Also, can you share with us what equipment you used to make your documentary?

Thanks again, Jake, for sharing!

May 19, 2013
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Reply...
by: Jake

Thank you very much! I purchased the licensing rights to the music through 'Simon Wilkinson's own site (royalty-free music) and strung together three of his original songs. I'm really glad you enjoyed it!

Well, this man is a relative of my girlfriend, after hearing his story previously, I figured it NEEDED to be shown to as many people as possible - this story of courage and of loss is something both inspiring and moving, at least it is in my eyes.

Yes, sure! I used a Canon 550D with the standard 18-55mm lens, simply with a tripod! A very simple set up with quite an amateur-friendly DSLR.

With my future projects I expect to be more adventurous with my filming equipment (I've ordered a camera dolly-car, so I have some good ideas in mind for that...)

Thanks again for your feedback, I hope my response was adequate! :)

May 19, 2013
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thanks
by: Desktop Documentaries

More than adequate, Jake. It's always interesting to know the background on these things.

You have the "filmmaking knack" so keep up the good work and we'll look forward to seeing what you come up with next!

Faith

May 19, 2013
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audio
by: Desktop Documentaries

Oh, forgot to mention. The one thing that will greatly improve production value is to capture good audio. Do you have any audio gear?

If not, here's a good link for some quick info about various DSLR audio options.

Again, best of luck with your future endeavors!

Faith

May 20, 2013
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Response - Audio
by: Jake

Thank you, I appreciate that.

I've just looked into the link for the audio accessories you sent; if I can find something within a lower budget I'd definitely be up for purchasing. :)

May 20, 2013
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audio options
by: Desktop Documentaries

Ah yes, gear can get expensive! I haven't used it myself, but there's a cheaper version of the Zoom H4n and that's the Zoom H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder for $99US. It gets good reviews so maybe that's an option. Of course, the hassle in recording with an external recorder is that you'll have to sync the audio during editing.

Also, you can always connect a mike straight into the DSLR. We've done that and it actually doesn't sound bad at all, especially if your end output is for web only. The main drawback is that you may get some hiss in a real quiet setting and there's no way to control the audio levels or monitor the sound (although there's a workaround with that if you install Magic Lantern onto your DSLR which is free).

All I can tell you is the mics we use which are a bit pricey:
Sennheiser EW 112P Wireless Mic
Audio-Technica AT897 Shotgun Mic

Some other (less expensive, I haven't used myself) options include:
Audio-Technica ATR-3350 Lavalier Microphone ($23) -- do not expect "broadcast quality" awesome sound with this, but it's better than nothing!
Audio-Technica ATR-6550 Shotgun Microphone ($56)

If you're not sure what kind of microphone you need, this page on Different Types of Microphones may help. Or you can start with some audio basics.

Hopefully this gets you started? And maybe someone else can chime in if they have other suggestions.

May 20, 2013
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dslr audio
by: Ray (via Facebook)

Rode videomic pro hands down. Get a beachtek preamp with it to monitor sound if you want.

May 28, 2013
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CONGRATULATIONS NEW
by: Anonymous

Hi Jake McBride,

Interesting work you have done.

Music and words matching perfectly for an emotional story.

Congratulations!

Nuno Beirão Vieira

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