The viewing and post-discussion of “Tickling Giants” was definitely one of my favorites of the semester, and left me thinking deeply about the topics discussed. I did not know what to expect when walking into the film, as I had done very little research on the filmmaker and her subject, yet I was still taken for surprise at the direction it took. The integration of humor with one of the most intense topics in today’s world is one that very few would have to confidence to approach as a documentary subject, but I think the film was very well-made and did exactly what Taksler intended. It told the story of Dr. Bassem Youssef, including his careers, family, and goals, while revealing an even bigger story – Egypt’s struggles throughout its nation-wide revolution. Youseff was able to use the power of satirical comedy to gain a strong following and use his voice to ignite change. I think Taksler did a phenomenal job capturing his humor both on-screen and off-screen, and gave us a vivid image of who he is and the passion he has for his country.

From a film standpoint, I think “Tickling Giants” had a nice chronological flow and had the perfect combination of Youseff in his everyday life and on his show. Each shot was intriguing and left the viewer both engaged and curious as to what Youseff’s next move would be. His personality was able to carry the film and the audience felt the effects of his emotion when he changed from an upbeat, funny emotion to an upset and intense one. I liked the incorporation of his behind-the-scenes crew as well, because they helped to create much of who he was and were the driving force behind his movement.

I walked away from this film with several new outlooks, both on documentary subjects and worldly affairs. I am glad I was able to learn so much about one man and his country in such a short amount of time, and again see the power of documentary storytelling at work.

While filming and editing the interview with Louise Frazier I was able to utilize many of the things I read about. During the interview I had a small inconvenience, my mic ran out of battery, but an extra battery pack saved the day. For a moment I thought I would have to go back to the equipment room and reschedule the interview. I learned that it’s key to carry extra batteries for all of your equipment. While editing, I was glad I got room sound because I was able to use it for the “breathing room” at 2:24. I also noticed that I should’ve had broll of Louis with her students but she works downtown so I would have had to ask her to go up the hill, and I thought about that when it was too late. However, I tried to compensate for that by using pictures of her with students. At the beginning of this assignment I thought it was going to be more about Louise’s job, but throughout the interview, I noticed how she talked more about the stuff that she does outside her job. That’s what truly brings her happiness. She loves helping/mentoring her students and she always makes sure they’re okay. Like other filmmakers, who have come in to talk this semester, have mentioned, “you start shooting for one film and end up with another film… The film finds you.”The fine cut was centered more around her interaction with students that than just her job. I was happy with the final outcome and it turned out a million times better than my first interview in making media 1. This interview was better paced, more focused and it hooked the viewer with the intro, 10 seconds into the video the viewer knew that Louis was more than her job description.

Tickling Giants (Taksler, 2016) was probably one of my favorite movies we watched this semester. I loved the style of the movie with the animations and editing of the sound and text. Dr. Bassem Youssef was charismatic right from the start, I wanted to know more. I never knew this was going on and the movie portrayed how important social media has become. It’s crazy to think that the president of Egypt felt threatened by a show. I loved the quote, “If your regime can’t take a joke, then it’s not a regime.” Dr. Bassem Youssef was risking his life, and family, every week by making a couple of jokes and trying to educate people. What I loved about him is how he always kept a smile on his face. After reading a comment telling him to kill himself he still smiled and brushed it off. To endure that type of mental and emotional pressure must not have been easy, but he handled it well. I loved how entertaining and educational this movie was. In the movie it’s mentioned, “comedy doesn’t change anything, comedy changes people, people change things.” Just a simple joke and show can have so much power. At one point, I felt like Dr. Youssef was more powerful than the Egyptian president. After watching the film not only did I feel like doing more research on Dr. Bassem Youssef but watching more of Taksler’s films.

I had a knot in my throat throughout the whole movie. I couldn’t believe this happened, and I still can’t at times. It’s something that I had forgotten about but it’s been on my mind lately after watching it. The home videos made everything more painful because it showed how these kids were before, and that they were more than a horrific news story. The use of the black screen to cut some parts of the testimonies was interesting to me. On one hand, I wanted to know more details about what had happened. On the other hand, I could see why it wasn’t necessary to include all the graphic details of how the kids looked after being shot several times. 

I was impressed by Kim Snyder’s courage to even embark on this journey. I think it’s a challenge that many other filmmakers wouldn’t have taken. There are so many ethical choices to make, that just thinking about starting such a project would’ve paralyzed anybody. The fact that she got started and made the right ethical choices accordingly shows the talented filmmaker she is.

I had never thought about all these mass gun shootings as a public health issue but when she mentioned it, it all made sense. It had always been a possibility for people to go around shooting people, but it wasn’t an epidemic like it’s now. It’s something so common that like she mentioned we have become desensitized to it. I honestly can’t read the news sometimes, because of my own mental health. I know that if I read the news I would have a mental break down every day. We’ve had to become desensitized to all these mass gun shootings and other disasters. If there has been a mass gun shooting of YOUNG KIDS in school and our gun control policies haven’t changed, there’s nothing that will make them change. It breaks my heart, but it’s the truth. I’m glad she brought some light to the pain these families felt. She showed us another side of the story and gave them an opportunity to share their voices. Like Snyder mentioned by watching films like this, and making them ourselves, we can only hope we are bringing about some change.

I studied a lot about the Arab Spring before I graduated from high school, especially because Egypt and Tunisia are Morocco’s neighboring countries. It had also inspired protests in Morocco in 2012. After watching Tickling Giant, I realize that there is so much that was left out of what I studied and comprehended. I really enjoyed the timeline of the entire documentary. It had a start to finish book ending, starting with the Egyptian revolution and Youssef’s journey with Al Barnameg show to the end of his show and  Youssef reaching America, trying to make a new life from himself. The over-arching theme of the repressed population’s free speech is important and relates to many different countries, Tunisia as one of them as well. Taksler succeeds in showing us how satire can challenge the government and how the government can then react to satirists.

Her choice of ending Tickling Giants by telling us how all characters proceed with their lives is a smart choice, showing us that this story isn’t only Youssef’s but everyone who is part of the Egyptian population and those who were behind the cameras as well. It tells us that their lives don’t have a happy ending and that some are still fighting to appease the population with their satire while others are trying to make their ends meet.

The usage of animation shows us that television show (Bassem Youssef) and the internet aren’t the only mediums to address the larger population. The animation also helps enhance Tickling Giants variation of visuals since we are exposed to actual extreme footage that was shot live, the studio footage, and then the cartoons.

I think one of the most tense points of this doc for me was when Bassem Youssef spoke about how celebrities go through points of their career when they face suicidal thoughts. That was scary and from that point on we got to see the lows of Youssef’s career and how he suffered when many of his fans became his haters. That part also reminded me of a similar key moment in Simply Complicated, a documentary about Demi Lovato’s career and personal life. Overall, I enjoyed this documentary but I wish it were a bit shortened. There were a few moments within the last half hour when I started looking at my watch and got restless. It was a g

Finalizing the individual interview project was a little frustrating. After receiving feedback that I knew would be helpful, I opened Adobe Premiere CC to the dreaded red screen. All of my media was offline. After trying multiple time, Premiere couldn’t locate the media so I could only edit my interview from the exported file of the rough cut. I was able to cut full sections in order to meet the length requirement but I couldn’t add/take out b-roll or edit sound. I think I was still able to take some of the feedback and alter the interview, but I wasn’t able to do things like extending one b-roll clip or removing a clip altogether. In terms of audio: when I was interviewing my subject, I used a tascam recorder because I didn’t think to get the wireless lab mic. The recorded shut off during the interview but I didn’t realize until it was over. So, I had to rely on the camera’s microphone. I think this is part of working in documentary: taking what you have and making it work.

Tickling Giants reminded me of the F-Word series and how Nicole and Kristan rely on animation to supplement the story being told. In the F-Word, animation is used to illustrate things that may be hard to show. For example, in the first episode, they use animation to create a sequence about them moving and how they first met. In Tickling Giants, animation is used to connect the title of the documentary with the story being told of Bassem Youseff. Overrall, I found the documentary to be very informative and used the form of documentary well as it explored political unrest in Egypt through the rise of Bassem and his team. After the screening, however, I couldn’t stop thinking about the impact of the film. During the Q&A, Sara Taskler mentioned that Bassem and a few of the people who work with Al-Bernameg had left Egypt and moved to the U.S. and other places in fear of their lives. This got me thinking about documentary as a form of production and how while they can be informative, funny and entertaining for us to watch, they can also cause pain/suffering to others.

I was lucky enough to have already shot and cut an interview for another class earlier in the year, which gave me a bit of a leg up while doing this interview. It was tough for me to choose another subject however, because I feel like I put so much thought into my previous one that I would never get a subject that I was as passionate about. You don’t always have to be extremely passionate about your subject to begin with, however. I learned a lot about my interview subject, Daniel Gonzalez, when I shot his interview, which made me more and more passionate as the project as it went on. I had known Daniel previously, he is a fellow employee at Skillman library with me. I thought I knew a lot about him, but it turns out I knew a lot about his life here at Lafayette, but I knew nothing about his life prior. I think I really tried to tell Daniel’s story through the lens of a student who is part international and part domestic. I think this was what made Daniel an interesting interview subject; he doesn’t fit a specific mold.

I’ve noticed a few key tips when actually shooting interviews that make them successful:

• Make sure you have good audio (use a wireless lav mic)
• Utilize the rule of thirds when interviewing your subject
• Make sure your subject is not looking right at the camera (position yourself off-camera so that he/she looks at you and makes the interview look real ad effective)
• Ask the right questions (prepare them beforehand, and make sure they require lengthy answers)
• Make sure your subject rewords the questions

The thing I still struggle with in terms of interviews is b-roll. It is extremely difficult to get b-roll of a subject from their past without recreating it, which is difficult in itself. Also, when your interview theme is very specific, it is difficult to get b-roll that is specific to your subject. Time is always of the essence with b-roll. There is always a deadline looming and that means you have to ask your subject to take more time out of their day to dedicate to your project. B-roll is something I will have to work on with future interviews, for sure.