DOC 150

I did the framing assignment on the quad. What I found interesting was that it really forces you to focus on one specific part of where you are and it definitely did not feel very comfortable to not be able to look around you to what was going on everywhere, outside the frame. People in the frame walking were just there for a couple of seconds whereas normally you could see a person walking for one minute at least. It was hard at first to really just look in the frame and not have your eyes wander outside the frame. This exercise really made me think about the idea that filmmakers really think about what they want within the frame and that nothing is really not thought through. While sitting on the quad, I realized that certain areas around the quad were more interesting than others because it was either a prettier scenery or just more people walking in front of a certain area, therefore having more things happening. Therefore, like filmmakers, based on those differences I chose what I wanted in the frame and what I thought looked better to observe. I tested out different angles and came to the conclusion that having the frame show the entrance of farinon was the most interesting, with people coming in and out of the frame from every angle.

I am an environmental studies and film and media studies double major. Therefore, I have  approached subjects and issues with two different ways. I am always interested when the two topics come together, for example I love watching environmental documentaries and how documentaries can be very effective to convey certain environmental issues but also how it might not be the answer for all environmental issues. With that said, even if I like those movies a lot, that does not mean that I necessarily am very interested in creating environmental documentaries as much as I am interested in watching them and learning from them. I think partially it comes with the huge responsibility it can have to make a film about a subject that is so hard to still fully comprehend or that people have so many different point of views on the issue. With that in mind, I do not think I would not try (as I have never tried making a documentary based on a certain aspect of environmental issues so maybe I would actually enjoy creating one) but I think the main worry would be to pick the right environmental issue, something that would not be too complex. If the issue chosen is too complex it would be harder to unfold it while still being in college and not having as much time as we would always hope for.

I have never created what is considered a “conventional” documentary film but as we talked about in class, the way I mostly document things is through my phone by taking pictures or taking videos. I mostly document places I go that seem aesthetically pleasing, that I find interesting or of places I have never been. For example when I was abroad the past semester I took pictures of all the places I went to in the different countries I visited and in that sense I documented those places in order to show to friends and family. I also take pictures of things I see in the street that I find funny, amusing to show later to people too. I think sometimes I find myself trying to take pictures of too many things so that I don’t forget anything that I see but this leads to me thinking more about just the idea that I have the memory rather than how the picture or video looks, not necessarily thinking if this is the best angle or shot. Therefore, when I look back at pictures and videos I am often not very pleased with how it looks and in the end it always looks prettier how I remember it in my mind from when I saw it in person rather than how it looks on my phone.

I would like to document how dams and increased land use and urbanization have changed local watersheds and, specifically, fish populations in the Delaware and Lehigh rivers and Bushkill creek. My planned focus is the shad population in the rivers, their decline and subsequent restoration, and how human interference has altered their ecosystems. This will be accomplished largely by interviews with people in a variety of fields: those who do research with the shad and other fish in the area, assisted with the restoration, constructed the dam, think the dam should be taken down, local fishermen who have witnessed all of this, geologists from institutions such as Lafayette who can explain scientific issues behind the story, and likely more of yet that I do not know. I hope to use this story that is on a local scale to bring to light how this occurs on a more global scale as well.

While doing the framing assignment, a main focus of mine was comparing what a particular subject looked like when the frame was close to it versus when it was farther away. It was weird imitating the actions of what an iPhone camera would do but with a self-made frame. There was no “automatic zoom” and it felt like using an old camera even though it was only a little piece of cardboard I created. I remember we did this same assignment in our making media class, and I experienced the same things the second time around as I did the first time. I carried out the assignment in the library and people were staring at me and wondering what I was doing walking around looking through a cardboard frame. It is crazy how no one takes a second look at you when you are walking around with your phone in front of your face framing things to take a good picture but when using a legitimate frame, everyone wonders what in the world you are doing. This assignment made me feel as people probably did years ago before fancy cameras were invented.

I made my instagram video about my roommate, Silvia, who is hungry and then goes to Simons to get a sub. I was inspired by page 28 which states, “you want a story’s goals and heroes to be active, which means that you want your story’s protagonist to be in charge of his or her own life: To set a goal and then go about doing what needs to be done to achieve it.” Silvia gets hungry at the library, packs up her things and makes her way to Simons. She’s active about getting what she wants. Her goal is to eat and it’s accomplished by the end when she smiles and says, ”I’m full now.”

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7ork56axztqdk5sOUlTRFh6cG8/view?usp=sharing

I would describe myself as a smartphone documentarian. You can almost always find me taking a picture or video on my phone, so much so that I bought that iPhone 7 Plus just for the camera quality. I love to take pictures of people more-so than objects. I enjoy capturing the best of people and their emotions in the pictures that I take, something that cannot be captured in a still object. Don’t get me wrong, if I pass something cool I will document it to remember it, but I enjoy having people as my subjects. Now that cameras are so accessible on phones, I think everyone with a phone could consider themselves an avid documentarian. Whether it be on a professional camera, or my iPhone 7 Plus, I document little moments that speak to me.

During this political climate DACA students share their story and what it’s like to have basic human rights threatened to be taken away from them.

After making a short documentary on Monday about DACA students I was inspired to make something bigger. When I hear my peers, who have DACA, talk about it their pain hurts me more than my own. They have powerful stories and words that everyone should hear. I realized that they could be the people I give a voice to in the Lehigh Valley. It’s a way to humanize the issue and give a little bit of control to kids who feel like everything is out of their hands. I’m thinking about interviewing different students and capturing their story. I also want to film them right before and after Congress makes their decision because that will be a critical moment for all of us. Lafayette also plans on holding an event to help the community get involved with DACA which is something else I could film. It’s a topic that I feel so strongly about that I fear not doing the topic enough justice. I can let this hold me back or motivate me to make it the best I can. My goal is to raise awareness and put faces and stories to this issue. I look forward to starting this project and seeing what it becomes.

I have realized over the past few years that the best way to learn is to just start, to fully immerse yourself in the material, and Monday’s class was just that. I was excited when I learned what we would be doing in class, and I appreciated the variety of topics from which to choose. As my group members and I introduced ourselves, we were very interested in who attended which institution, and so that topic seemed natural.

We had some trouble with batteries and technology at the start, and so our filming began a little late, but it was fun once we got going. We interviewed each other one at a time, all of us chiming in to ask questions and taking turns listening in the headset and operating the camera.

I am also excited about the introduction of editing programs; I have always used iMovie, and I am happy that I will be able to learn new and more advanced programs. I’m looking forward to spending more time with that as well.