As Natalie and I begin thinking about our documentary short film coming to an end soon, we have been working harder than ever to get everything we want accomplished. One obstacle we have been facing is the lack of response from potential interviewees. We discussed this frustration Monday night and it is definitely an obstacle that is hard to cross over. We had an interview planned for Tuesday and when we arrived and got everything set up, we realized we had a defective microphone so we had to embrace the embarrassment of asking to reschedule for today. Good news, we went today and the interview was great and incredibly useful to our overall story. Then we went to the Easton Public Market and did quick interviews with some of the employees. We tried interviewing as many as we could, but many appeared to be camera shy and were not comfortable with being on camera or being interviewed. We did get some business cards from potential people interested in a more formal interview and are hoping those work out so we can have a wide variety of speakers in our film.

I absolutely loved Taksler’s film. Immediately after the credits ended, I turned to the people around me and started raving about how much the film moved me. Some of them did the same; it was a wonderful experience to share. I was so glad I had others around me who had just seen what I had seen. On my way back up to campus I texted my family group chat, telling all of them they just had to watch it. I still find my thoughts are often focused on Youssef’s battle.

Political satire itself is a nonnviolent act, and yet Youssef was met with violence; he told jokes, while others spoke of his death threats. Satire where Youssef worked requires much more courage than the same does in other countries. This bravery is seen not only in Youssef but in his coworkers, his team. I admired them so much throughout the film- they came together to try something new and wild and revolutionary.

The power of the emotion that I felt through this film experience is a testament not only to Youssef and his crew but also to Taksler’s storytelling ability. She conveyed the subjects’ will and sadness and thoughtfulness so clearly, I felt as though I was there experiencing these things with them. I was empathetic the entire time- when they were celebrating, I was celebrating. When they suffered a loss, I felt as though I did as well. Being able to elicit empathy from the audience is something I can only aspire to do in my own small projects now.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FMsykLluKjKXB9awv9lDhqdnZroqqtij/view?usp=sharing

Things that I liked:

• How I had a timeline of Mikes journey through football
• The b-roll that I did get like the jumping jacks and interaction with coaches
• The lighting and focus

Things I wish I could have done differently:

• Mike tended to ramble which meant I had to cut him off and use a crossfade to make his floating head, less awkward. More b-roll would have helped make his head float less
• Interaction with his teammates. Getting b roll of him not at practice
• Incorporated his family and girlfriend. Mike talked about how his family and girlfriend have helped him get to this spot. Unfortunately, with the time restriction, I wasn’t able to fit that in nicely.

Biggest problem I ran into

• I had a shorter interview with mike that had some great stuff but the audio was bad because of the room I was in
• I could not get permission to be on the sidelines of the game, therefore, missed some b roll opportunities.

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https://docs.google.com/a/lehigh.edu/document/d/1–4ky9nQoHJVBOZGJ2qVfQQtvxBtVMq9Jvyhh5EtTp0/edit?usp=sharing

Impressed would be an understatement when it comes to the documentary Tickling Giants (2016). When I saw the poster for the documentary, I thought it was going to be an animated film. It clearly is not just an animated film, but I was so intrigued by how Sara Taksler was able to incorporate the animated figures into this film. This stuck out to me the most because you don’t usually see this in films unless it’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid. (2010).

I thought everything about this documentary was incredible. The story of Dr. Bassem Youssef is one that many people have not heard before. When I was first watching the documentary, I thought Bassem was crazy to even think about hosting a talk show when there was that much drama occurring in Egypt. However, as I continued to watch, I started to praise him because I realized that he was so brave to take on something that he was so passionate about. He put his life and his family’s lives at risk but he did it because he loved it and he wanted to help the people of Egypt feel less tense. Bassem’s story is so unique and I truly believe this is a documentary everyone must learn to appreciate: not just because of the powerful plot, but to appreciate our country because at the end of the day we should be so grateful for all of the freedoms and opportunities we have here without being threatened by the government.

Tickling Giants was awesome! I really loved every minute of it. One of the reasons I liked it most was how informative it was about what had gone on and what is currently going on in Egypt. This information was presented through an extraordinary character who struggled to cope with the repercussions of expressing his views, and a lot of the country’s views, in a society where political jokes will put you in prison. It’s so sad to know that the people in that country don’t have a voice. There was a lot of moments where Bassem is visibly anxious before walking out of stage to do his regular routine of laughing and making jokes. It was hard to watch the story unfold through his character because of what he and his family and staff had to go through. It makes me think about how despite some of our country’s downfalls, at least people can joke about politics without being silenced to the point of jail time. In a way I feel elated that the staff made the show happen. They wrote jokes and were able to express their voices through Bassem’s show. Working in a likeminded environment like that is the kind of thing that builds a strong community of people and that strength can ultimately lead to change. Having Bassem as their leader of sorts must have been truly inspiring, especially when he gave those short speeches before a show to remind them that what they are doing means something and to be confident in that. This brought Bassem’s humanity to life. How can you not fall in love with his character? He is such a genuine person. It got me thinking about humanity. How did Bassem get to be such a thoughtful person when he grew up in a such a suppressive place? To me, this represents hope for the Egyptian people and for societies everywhere.

I think Kenzie, Luke and I are feeling pretty good about our documentary. We will be able to successfully isolate our initial vision of opioids addiction’s effects on families. We already have one interview under our belt. The interview was with an ER nurse whose husband suffers from the disease of addiction. We have two more interviews lined up for the end of this week along with an opportunity to shoot some much needed broll. The broll will be in a church where a parent support group meets to get informed and discuss their concerns with their loved one suffering from addiction. We will be interviewing the group leader as well as a husband and wife who attend the meetings. This leaves us sufficient time to edit. It is definitely crunch time, but we will get it done.

title: Digital Deserts

Logline:In an increasingly technologically-connected world, this film interrogates the accessibility and necessity of community wifi in the city of Allentown.