Blog Post # 4

"Directing The Documentary"

The packet of reading is helpful because it explains the process of an interview, and not just WHAT to do. It explains HOW to do it. There are even different types of interviews, with connects back to the question: What is a documentary? I understand that there is no solid definition that all documentarians will agree upon, but I didn't know that there were different kinds of interviews as well. Since I might be doing two different documentaries for this project, I can keep in mind using completely different angles for each documentary, so I can explore EXACTLY what I want to with my individual project and be more lenient with the group project. Now I won't be so uptight and controlling (even though I try not to) when it comes to the group project.

Today our group is picking up Joe's camera, to film, because his camera is compatible with the systems used at MTN for editing and everything else that we need. We are still filling out the sheet that our group hasn't turned in yet, with more specifics about the kinds of shots we want. I think the idea our group has is solid, we'll get a decent story, but right now our shot plans and the footage we really want is planned with a "we'll just wing it" kind of attitude. I don't know if it will work or not, but we're planing on getting some great B Roll today, going to film Mr. Christy in his class and perhaps open up the old fire escape for wheelchairs. I hope we can make some phone calls as well to the fire department chief or somebody who deals with finances in the school system that has power over the decision as to whether or not wheelchair ramps are necessary or not. I would like to schedule an interview or two for the next couple of weeks. I want to find out if it's possible to have a fire truck come over to the school and show us what is to happen in case of a fire drill or a real fire. That's where our group is at. I'm going to the final cut pro training on Sunday, noon to five.

Documentary Post # 3

Our documentary group is suffering from a lack of communication. I can't help but feel angry when Stacy doesn't seem to care, but then all of a sudden he'll do something without me and not even tell me, regarding our project. Joe is kind of in between, mostly because he's best friends with Stacy, they live together, and he doesn't want awkward conflict in their relationship, I think, but that he agrees more with my ideas. I feel like Joe and I are on the same page when it comes to what we want to be shooting and what story we're trying to tell, and Stacy isn't. It's nothing that will create serious problems within our group, personally, but I'm afraid the outcome, our documentary, will suffer. Joe and Stacy went to talk to Mr. Christy yesterday about when we can interview him, but the connection was never made, so we're going back tomorrow. Hopefully the interview will happen early next week so we can move on to the interview with Sam Graves and shoot more B roll so we can make a decent trailer. I'm still excited for the project, it's going to be a lot of fun.

I loved all of the questions we were presented with in the reading. I always feel like I have a clearer head when I understand questions that I am working towards the answer. My favorite part of the reading though was the 'Top' of the issue, the 'Heart' of the issue, and the 'Root' of the issue. I always have a hard time separating what I want out of something into groupings that specific, but it's going to be really helpful, especially working on teh documentaries. I'm definitely convincing our group to use that format.

Documentary Blog Post # 2.

I love how the reading refers to making documentaries as an art form. The second paragraph in the reading mentions an interesting point: "Like the evening news?" Is that documentary style? In my opinion, the news is informational media, but not an art form. I'm sure there is an "art" to it, but I'm not sure there is much creativity, or at least I feel there shouldn't be, in reporting current events that are real. I enjoy watching Mock-umentaries, however. "Waiting for Guffman" and "Best in Show" are hilarious movies that are scripted and acted out, but made as if they were a documentary. The main thing that documentaries have, or mocumentaries, are interviews. The reading discusses quite a few mock-umentaries, actually. It seems as though there's a slope or slide between completely fictional movies, and documentaries. Documentaries are as real as it gets. But movies are visions of life, manipulated. The whole idea of a movie is the reality of it. If you get lost in the world of a fiction movie, then it is most likely a great movie, because it makes you feel a made-up world, something that isn't real.

What does hermetically mean?

Our group is making progress. Stacy wasn't here yesterday, but Joe and I went to MTN, picked up a camera, bought another tape because Stacy was supposed to bring the tape, and then filmed some B-Roll that we will most likely use in the documentary. We talked to Mr. Christy and are beginning to set up interview times with him and his students. He was very helpful the other day in ideas that we could use for the project. The main issue I'm having right now is our group dynamic. Joe and I have similar ideas of what we want to do for the documentary, but Stacy has very different ideas and we're having trouble finding a happy medium. The group originally was going to be just Joe and me. I'm not sure what to do just yet. Update next week!

DOCUMENTARY; LET'S GO. #1. (1/7/11)

My group: Stacy, Joe, and myself. Our group has decided on our topic, which is the difficulty of wheelchair access at South High school. We're going to start filming our interviews next week. An idea we came up with is to have the video camera on our lap as we try to maneuver through the halls during passing time to show just how hard it is for students in wheelchairs to make it to class on time. It's hard for students who have the ability to walk to get through the halls sometimes, so it must be ten times harder in a wheelchair. The accessibility issue is just as wrong as the time issue. Since students in wheelchairs have a harder time getting through the halls, it takes them more time. There is only ONE elevator in our school for three largely expansive floors. Students in wheelchairs shouldn't have to miss the first or last five minutes of class and education due to accessibility issues. It raises the question of fairness and equality. A wheelchair student is exposed to less education because they have less accessibility than other students at South High School. I still need to present this idea to Stacy and Joe, but it's where I'm hoping to go with our documentary. Stacy wants to put a lot of focus on students who don't care about it, or are ignorant/rude about it. Students that use the elevator who don't need to simply because they're lazy are possible interviewees, to make the documentary more interesting and more controversial. I also want to interview students who also believe the accessibility is an issue for students in wheelchairs, especially students who went to Michael Dowling Urban Environmental Learning Center for elementary school. I went to Dowling, so I actually might be one of the students interviewed for this piece. I hope we get done in the next week what we have discussed, so that we have plenty of time to edit.

Another path I'm taking in VOICES is doing my own documentary. I don't know what it would mean point-wise, if it would be just for fun, or another actual assignment, but I want to do two documentaries. In the Minnesota Original mindset, I know a fantastic artist by the name of Julie Greenwood, who lives here in Minnesota. She's down to earth, loves animals, has a great sense of humor, and creates breathtaking art. She works primarily with colored pencils, which is fascinating when it comes to the depth produced within her drawings. She did a series completely dedicated to endangered species a few years ago, and I want to interview her about her connections to Minnesota and how it affects her work and lifestyle. I want to know what her inspiration is, because she is one of mine. If it doesn't work out to fit the time requirements for the documentary project deadlines, that's okay. I'll do it as an independent project for the spring. I am hoping to do the interview with her in the next couple of weeks since I will be seeing her soon, before my sister leaves for Spain in a week. She lives in Burnsville, so scheduling a time that will work might be difficult, but I want to make it happen. I'm really excited about this piece.

The Chapter 1 Introduction packet that we read had some really great insight on what a documentary really is. I think it's interesting that the first sentence clarifies that everybody has a different idea of what a documentary really is, but then the rest of the chapter continues on to explain what a documentary really is. From the start, at least the reader understands the chapter is a point of view, no matter how objective the author tries to be. I never knew there could be futuristic documentaries. I always thought it had to actually document something that has already happened or something that is happening as they film. There is also the idea that documentaries aren't just informational videos, but artistic creations that are real. The chapter explains that the best documentaries are those that are made with passion and perspective. The idea that a documentary can impose an "order" of how things are supposed to work is an interesting idea that I don't completely understand just from this reading alone. I need examples to try to understand that idea. The article often mentions different documentaries that are different styles, and I want to see all of the titles they've mentioned so I have a better understanding of the different types of documentaries that can be made and how they fit into categories. One of the main ideas throughout the reading was that a large part of the process of making a documentary is to discover while you create, which I interpreted to mean documentaries are ideas as the open up, blossom, and become flowers. You never know what they'll be like until they're fully grown and finished. The turning point in the article for me was on page seven, second paragraph, "True documentaries are concerned with the values that determine the quality of human life, not with selling a product or service." Documentaries seem to be an intense learning experience, "Be prepared to grow from being wrong over and over again, and know that it sometimes takes great persistence to keep going, especially when you feel defeated," which I am very, very much looking forward to.