First off, I love the title of this documentary. After watching it, I concluded that it does a good job of describing what the movie is about in the way that it has comedic levels to it while discussing a serious and sometimes disappointing and heartbreaking topic. I love the added animations as well. I think it adds to the documentary because it makes it more childish and playful. One thing I thought was funny and clever was the way they would show the dogs reactions and purposely use his facial expression to hint at a funny or awkward moment.

Overall, I loved the structure of it. I enjoyed that it was separated into multiple episodes. I felt like it was very easy to follow, and I enjoyed everyone’s role in the film. After watching the last episode, I was upset because I found myself very invested and wanted to know if they were able to adopt the baby boy they brought home. I am looking forward to hearing about what happened with that situation.

Stylistically, it differed from the other films I have watched in this class. So far, my favorite ones that I have seen are Grizzly Man, Cameraperson, and now this. I think they all share a sense of character depth than the others. They’re all mostly character driven which I enjoy more than story driven.

I’m going to try to keep this post positive in an effort to send out good vibes. First off, my ideal team will work together. We will all understand that everyone is busy with their respective lives but this project has to get done so everyone will put in an equal amount of work. There is no clear leader in our group. There is no sole individual who reaches out and makes sure logistics are sorted out. If someone cannot make a shooting they will give substantial notice and make up for the lost time in some other way. In my group, no one person adds ideas to the documentary. We will all contribute to the direction of the film and all be heard. My hope is that everyone feels like the project has a purpose and puts 100% of their effort towards it and is not just looking to get it done. No one person should be motivated by another, the motivation should come from the passion brought by the individual herself (or himself). For me, I hope that the group is able to face on set problems head on and roll with the punches. As someone with little film experience, I hope that my group will teach me the ropes and that I can contribute in every way that I can. Finally, we will all lift each other up even in the event that something goes awry.

In general, because these projects are broad there is going to have to be someone willing to compromise in order to keep the project moving and the group dynamic stable. With that, the person compromising should not be the same person because sometimes you have to stay true to your ideas and beliefs.

I just watched the first episode of the F word, and after the first 3 minutes, I can definitely say that I am hooked! I love the overall aesthetic and editing of the film and how it varies from Nouvelle-Vauge-esque “obvious editing” with crayon-drawn circles and words scrawled across the screen to more normal “smooth” editing. The plot line is engaging and the close-up camera shots make it seem very intimate but in a welcoming way. Sometimes documentaries can seem voyeuristic, but with this one, the directing and editing do a great job of making the audience feel valuable and un-intrusive into this personal situation/life.

I am super excited to continuing watching the rest of the episodes and to be able to Skype in!

Lafarm is a multifaceted project that adds sustainability, educational, and nutritional resources to the Lehigh Valley. Even though this resource is doing so much good for the community in which it’s in, it often goes unnoticed and therefore isn’t valued like it should be. We, as a group, hope to shed light on ignorance of the surrounding community members about the incredible project that is Lafarm with the hope of making it a more recognized project.

After watching The Thin Blue Line (1988), I felt that the director, Errol Morris, wanted to send a message about the moral line that police agencies come close to when assessing cases of murder and other serious offenses. In case with the Dallas County Police Department, they wanted to pin down someone for the murder 1982 murder of a police officer.  Since they didn’t have much evidence at the start, they kept pressuring Randall Adams to falsely admit to a crime he didn’t commit, as well as threatening him to comply. As the documentary went on, it seems that the police department was more focused on getting Adams to be guilty because they wanted someone to take the blame, since the case was getting longer than usual and more expensive. But based on Harris’ friends accounts, I think Harris is the one who shot the officer, as one friend stated that he bragged about killing a police officer when he was hanging out with him. Maybe the police didn’t try him before because they assume a 16-year old (at the time) wouldn’t commit such crimes, but I have a strong feeling they arrested Randall, because he was a guy who wouldn’t raise much suspicion from others if they claimed he killed an officer.

I enjoyed Robert Seidman’s talk with our class on Monday night because he really gave us a good idea of the amplitude of works one can create in this discipline. People who want to work in the documentary field can document about anything that they want to. There are so many different kinds of stories out there waiting to be told-about war, about family, about love. A documentary can tell about a person’s life, it can tell about a particular place; there are so many ways to use the gift of documentary.

Seidman showed us some of his documentaries, all spanning through different times and stories of the world we live in. The documentary that was most gripping for me was Riding the Rails. This film depicted the 250,000+ teenagers who lived on the road because of the Great Depression. This film hooked me in because I have studied the Great Depression, but I did not know of the large number of kids who fled their homes searching for a better life. I would like to watch this on my own time to see the stories of why the children left, how they survived, and how their experiences changed their lives.

Seidman mentioned during his talk that he is an atheist, which I thought was very fascinating because of the documentary he created on the Jewish community. He stated how he would get into many arguments with another very religious man while working on the set because they would want to create the film in different ways. It is interesting how someone’s background can shape the way a film is created.

I looked to Robert Seidman’s talk not as a way for him to show us all the great works he’s created, but a talk to display to us what we can do in the documentary field. I felt inspired after his visit with us and feel motivated to document the compelling stories I see around me.

Working title/(decided on): Easton: Win Lose Draw.

Our goal is to observe the change within the Easton community in terms of the growth, change, and overall development it has undergone recently. We will be specifically observing the recent addition of affluent restaurants in the community and the residents opinions on Easton’s recent developments. It’s no secret that Easton has been getting “fancier.” The restaurants are considered $$ or higher on Yelp. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I know myself, and some of my group members, have benefited and enjoyed Easton’s restaurant development, but we are curious to see how long time or short term residents feel about the recent developments and changes.

One Sentence/ Main Question (We plan on answering through out documentary): What happens when a community changes and develops? How do those changes and developments positively or negatively affect its community.

Specifically, we want to focus on the restaurant development in downtown Easton. Over the recent years, Easton has added very successful/profitable restaurants such as, and most recently, The Bayou, The Easton Public Market, and The Oak.

We would like to interview a range of residents within Easton to add commentary on these recent developments. Some of the residents we are considering interviewing are Natalie’s grandma who has lived in Easton all of her life, students of Lafayette College, State Representative Freeman, and more. It might also be beneficial for my group to interview some of the owners or managers of the new restaurants in Easton and the old to compare.

The intention of our film isn’t to shit on Rep Freeman or anyone for that matter responsible for bringing many of the changes to Easton that we see today, but rather our goal is to bring light to the idea that there are winners and losers in situations where a community changes over time. We want to challenge young people to cultivate a mindset where they are considering the impact these changes have on all stakeholders in a community not just themselves.

How is the economic development of Easton’s downtown  affecting different citizens at all levels of the community?