Several of the ideas discussed for potential documentaries have intrigued me and provoked thought about which topics would be best to explore – especially those specific to the Lehigh Valley. Two of the themes that seem to be prevalent throughout these ideas list we were given were the food industries within the Lehigh Valley and the life and culture that exist in the valley. If we were to explore the topic of food, I’d be interested in “Urban Desert” and “The Loss We Can Gain,” both dealing with food scarcity and food waste in our communities. The two stories ideas that caught my eye regarding life and culture in the valley were “The Arts Valley” and “Life in the Valley.” Doing a version of these stories or combining them into one would be an exciting documentary to make, especially because there are so many hidden parts about Lehigh Valley’s culture that should be brought to light.

This instagram story emphasize Chapter 3: Finding the story, specifically the serendipity portion of the text. I posted it on instagram on September 11 

There was a lot of really great ideas that our class thought of and I thought it was particularly interesting that there was a lot of overlap between the ideas.  My idea, “Easton–To Infinity and Beyond” is almost identical to “On the Rise”  and a “Marketable Modernization”, but just coming from all different angles. I found it interesting that the title “Marketable Modernization” immediately put a positive spin on the rise in new industries/businesses in Easton, whereas I felt that “On the Rise” and my title had more of a cautionary feeling associated with it. This is important to note because I think it brings up the question of which angle or bias we should come at the subject with. Do we place the idea of gentrification in viewers’ minds right away, or leave it open to interpretation and refer to it as “modernization”?

A few other topics surrounding food deserts and food scarcity (“Urban Desert”, “The Loss we Gain”, and “Reconnecting with Our Food”) could also be interwoven with these ideas of gentrification since a lot of the new businesses that come in to Easton have done nothing to change the fact that it is a food desert since they are so expensive and less accessible to the average person.

For me, the most important part about filming a documentary is to choose a topic that myself and the other students are equally passionate about. I hope to connect with new people whom all have a variety of different strengths so that we can work together to really create and pursue an engaging story!

It is easy to tell from Kirsten Johnson’s Director’s Statement that she not only is a talented documentarian, but that she is a strong and determined person as well. The two lines in her statement that stood out to me are, “I follow stories the director I work for does not need and/or want me to follow” as well as “I fail to see or follow stories the director I work for hopes I will follow”. In these two lines, she is basically saying that she wants to follow her heart, and although someone might be telling her to do one thing, she wants to follow her ideas and her thoughts. I thought these two sentences were eye-openers because this shows that Kirsten doesn’t want to do what she is told. She wants to show her creative side to her audience. I have heard of Cameraperson, but I have never seen it. I am really excited to watch the film and hear Kirsten’s view on how this project came together.

Frolf is a game, but it’s bigger than that to me. The path we weave through campus has become a familiar part of every weekend, and teaching underclassmen the same way upperclassmen used to teach me makes me feel far too old and mature.

Bernard talked a lot about story, which for me is something that is hard to significantly develop on the fly. Her description of “finding” the story during production(P 34) is the very definition of social media in my life. She described how there is a misconception that documentarians somehow stumble upon wonderful stories without planning. In reality, there is always a complex, well thought out plan that has been formulated in advance. Occasionally, this plan will change slightly in production or post-production. However, this does not imply that a lack of plan would have yielded the same results. Thus, I asked myself how can I merge the intention of this assignment with the ideas presented by the reading? My plan for production was a hybrid between the two: I decided to go out without a super concrete plan for shooting, as this is always my approach for social media. In the moment, some event grabs my attention, and I simply pull out my phone and start recording. However, I planned on recording a great variety of footage, interviews with others and myself, footage of throws,  and selfies of myself. Thus, in post production I would have a variety of distinct stories that I might be able to tell with all of the different pieces I had recorded.

In post production, I asked myself what is this story about? Is my story relevant? Do I have a legitimate hook? This exercise was a struggle on both of those accounts, how do I make someone care about something that it is important to me. Therefore, I realized that this video is about me, and what frolf means to me. Rather than an explanation of what frolf is, or perhaps a montage of good shots, this insta video is supposed to be my experience of frolf. A pov through my eyes of how the game is both a tangible activity and a cultural artifact of my Lafayette experience.

IMPORTANT Password to view: documentary

As I read the list of potential topics, I realized that all of these are really strong ideas that could turn out to be amazing stories. One of the stories that stood out to me the most was the story called “Bad to the Bone” about animal abuse and animal shelters in the Lehigh Valley. I love animals, and I believe getting the view of volunteers at the shelters would be such a great story, because many people probably don’t show interest in the shelters. However, it would be extremely sad to film these animals that are dying because of abuse and negligence.

Another potential topic that I find interesting is the one titled “Easton–To Infinity and Beyond”. The city of Easton is growing at a very fast pace, and it would be fun to listen to the views of people who live here. Downtown Easton as well as the College are making some changes, and not everyone has the same view points on it. Interviewing the mayor as well as owners of the restaurants downtown and professors are just some of the people who could be included in this documentary. Either way, there is so much to explore in the Lehigh Valley and I believe there are many possible stories that would be great to produce.

I can and will leave a place I film (a way, a refugee camp, etc.) when the people I film cannot.

Kirsten Johnson’s line jumped off the page and into my heart as soon as I read it. Even though there are other moving and significant lines, this one spoke to me because Johnson was recognizing her privilege. This is something I often think about as I try to understand the fights raging through the U.S. and the globe concerning race, sex, and sexual orientation. My privilege is always that of an insider; it seems on any issue of social injustice, I am on the inside. My rights and opportunities are not being threatened, rather it is the people marginalized to the fringes of society. Thus, I often ask myself as a film maker, what right do I have to represent these issues of injustice? Is this my fight to wage? Ultimately, Johnson’s line speaks to these questions by acknowledging that her privilege is, on the surface, unfair. The previous and following lines are also very telling: “The people I film are in immediate and often desperate material need, but I offer little to nothing material” and “I traffic in hope without the ability to know what will happen in the future”.

To me it seems that all Johnson can offer most days is a lofty sense of hope. She cannot feed hungry children, clothe cold families, or bring aid to war torn communities. Instead, she brings a magnifying glass of sorts, hoping to bring exposure to a hidden part of the world. The best case scenario then is that Johnson can change someone else’s perspective. Knowledge is power, and spreading the word is often times the only reasonable goal a documentarian can set for themselves. A critical rule of fundraising is to never use your own money, and after reading Bernard it is abundantly clear that finances can be a harrowing challenge. Thus, to expect a film maker, that is someone who intimately examines issues and injustice, to solve those problems in real time seems to be both a natural and unrealistic instinct.

When I make a film, I too will be able to walk away from the war zone of injustice. The truth is as passionate as documentarian’s are, for many western film makers this is just a day job. There is a markedly different life waiting after the project is finished. Thinking about the other side, where there is no escape, Kirsten Johnson’s words resonate with the truth and compassion of a documentarian that I can probably learn many things from.

It may sound naive, but before reading Part II of Bernard’s book, I had no idea of how much truly went in to preparing for a documentary. I guess I just assumed that someone thinks of an idea for a documentary and then goes and shoots it, but Bernard made me realize that finances are the ultimate player behind whether or not a film gets made. When I think about movements made within the arts, I always think about passion. I think about people who are going after what they want to do, whether or not that makes them financially successful or not. However, this book opened my eyes to seeing that filmmaking is just expensive in general and that financial backing is just as crucial as passion to get the film off and running. It is scary to realize how much time and effort must go into pitching one’s documentary idea to get funding for every step of the way and that discontinuing a documentary just right before completion could realistically happen. I really enjoyed Bernard’s pointers for proposal writing especially about avoiding “unfounded hyperbole” and “overproduction”.  Documentaries stem from the director’s passion, and so the proposals are truly the first round of getting someone else just as passionate and excited as you are on the subject matter.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8tOHqRBhENbelhKMmx4QTIzWUE/view