During this weekend, I experienced my first night recording. Before I got the recording set up, I got some advice from my peers on how to do so, such as increasing my aperture, making the camera shutter speed slower to receive more light, and keeping the ISO at a decent level that doesn’t show grainy video. Unfortunately, the camcorder I got from Lehigh’s media center doesn’t have an iso setting, nor an aperture and shutter speed setting. But I made it work after watching some Youtube videos regarding the camera, such as figuring out that the gain setting works similar to an iso setting. Even if the video doesn’t work for the documentary video, this was a good learning experience that helped me do better in the future.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/156Q7wa5qs0XzANKH1actpB9tR86RQZN5/view?usp=sharing

Made some slight changes with  the video and adjusted the volume from the rough draft.

After seeing the Shoah video on Monday, I was interested in viewing it again. Soon realized that Bomba’s interview was still not easy to watch. Having a calm composure at the beginning of the interview must have been difficult measure for him to achieve even years away from the event. To come to grasp that his job was the only thing standing between him and getting killed in the gas chamber is terrifying to think about. Not to mention that he had to cut the hair of people he knew in his village, having to lie to them that they were only being brought for a shower. Though Bomba’s composure crumbles once he starts talking about witnessing a friend cutting the hair of his wife and child, trying to embrace them for as long as he could. That part stung, I could feel some of his pain as he tried to hold back tears and refrain from telling the story.  But Lanzmann had to press on so that the story could be heard. A difficult but necessary choice. In a way, the Lanzmann’s decision to push Bomba to respond is similar to how Andrea, Shreya, and I have to push our interviewees to talk about their experiences with DACA. It is not easy to press on them, but a necessary thing to share their story.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sgaimdB25XhSXALUKkwfJLNsdjdeGWvn/view?usp=sharing

“Night and Fog”  is a gripping documentary about the atrocities of the Holocaust, filling me with anguish and sorrow as I witness hundreds of lives being lost from the concentration camps. The documentary eases the viewer gracefully as pictures of beautiful meadows show up on the screen, but brings the realism of the event as soon as the camera pans onto the wire fence. Seeing a concentration camp 10 years after it was operated,  I still feel tense, as somehow the feeling of pain is imprinted in the area. Buildings that were once stored with prisoners, freezing and fearful of the next day, resided here. Medical centers where the bedridden were given the same kind of ointment for all types of illness, experimented on, then left to die resided here. As the director stated, the buildings looked identical, and what may have looked like the barracks a prisoner was staying in before, could have been the gas chambers. There was no safety for the prisoners nor privacy as the video shows, people of many professions and walks of life were being called as numbers, being separated from family and friends forever.

The director’s calm and affirming voice adds gravity to documentary, as present-time video of the camp was matched with the black-white photos and footage of the camp in full-force. Towards the end, I like how director provided film of SS officers and commanders saying they were not responsible for the horrors that occurred, and then the director stating: “Then who is responsible for it?”, a statement that get rid of the excuse that the officers were only doing what was instructed of them. From beginning to end, the documentary was compelling and has me thinking of how there are still similar atrocities occurring today.

The title of my solo interview is “Through The Eyes of a Photographer” with photographer of the Brown and White newspaper, Roshan Giyanani. Since freshman year, Roshan has been a key member in Lehigh’s news outlet, taking photos that capture the raw emotion of stories he’s been assigned to, such as the 2016’s debate on Presidential candidates ; giving readers a view at an important moment from each event. Also before I took Documentary Storymaking , I took a journalism class during sophomore year and was a part of the Brown and White. While I was there, Roshan was a helpful guide, open to any questions I had with assignments and provided advice throughout my drafts. I believe he would be open to expressing his talents and views of photography to the lens. Since photography and cinematography share many of the same fundamentals through documenting stories, understanding how Roshan describes a story would be meaningful for improving my documenting skills as well as seeing another perspective up close.

The location of the interview will be interview will be the Media room at Coxe’s Hall, the area where most of the planning and production occurs at the Brown and White. He would be sitting at a table next to white board and computers. This would show the area that Roshan works in as a place that is busy yet productive, getting captivating news content out in a minute. During the interview, I’ll ask him some questions relating to what does he enjoy about photography, what does he look for in his photos, and what are some of his favorite photos he taken at the organization. With his favorite photos section, I’ll try to zoom on the photos to capture the details he is mentioning and his expressions towards them. Throughout the process, I’ll have a few close ups of Roshan as well as some medium shots. For B-roll, I’ll have Roshan looking through the camera of his, writing notes, and looking through a window in the Media room.

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.

The first thing I noticed when watching Johnson’s Field-Of-Vision, was a group of kids staring silently at a white blimp. I was surprised to hear only the sound of wind in the beginning scenes, where I was waiting in anticipation. Then to have that silence interrupted by the sound of a man mining gave it a nice, ambient feeling. Though, that feeling soon changed once I saw text stating that the blimp was a U.S. Army Surveillance Device, going around and monitoring the people in Kabul, Afghanistan. I felt some empathy for the villagers having to continue their daily lives, while constantly being surveyed in the sky. But once I saw that same white blimp above the green lawns of Aberdeen, Maryland, the parallel came out in an instant. We are being watched by our own government just as much as the villagers are in Afghanistan. The same issues that are being faced overseas regarding surveillance affect us just as well, and in my opinion, makes us more suspicious on what the government is doing. Now right after feeling this discomfort, I chuckled at the response of the U.S. military spokesperson in regards to this. To say that there are no cameras on the blimp and it is only being used to detect incoming missile strikes is hilarious; if that was the case then it would be just as effective to place a hot-weather balloon with the words “ARMY” on front and equip it with missile detectors on it? That way people can at least know where their tax dollars are going to. But even though I felt dismayed to see the government surveying both ends of the pond, I’m glad that Kirsten created this documentary. She puts a lot of care into each scene and makes the story flow smoothly from start to finish. From the video, she helped me see another connection between one culture to another.

Going back and remembering the film, I realize it was one of the best documentary I’ve ever seen.  Now I’ve seen documentaries that delivered a powerful message and show a side of the world that was new to me, but I have never seen one that did more than emphasizing the rough realities of life. Johnson showed a whole range of emotions, from somber to joyful and everything in between. The film was captivating not just to see how people made it through their hardships, but to see the small delights in the day, things that bring out a smile. Whether that could be from watching an African dance ceremony, capturing the rapid motions of a man’s face as he moves to the beat, to pouring a glass of home-made grape juice, seen after the closeup of the multiple colors of grapes in a basket. It was balance between good times and hard times, and that’s something I thoroughly enjoyed from the documentary. It was also nice to see moments of total surprise, such as Johnson sneezing moments after lightning strikes and the sudden movement of snow after her friend vents out. These moments are never intended, but add a sense of wonder when captured on camera. A great film to watch.

Also, it was nice to see that Kirsten was so down-to-earth when answering questions. She made her responses interesting to hear, allowing us to know more about the process behind the documentary and give her own insight on it. A pleasure to view.

When looking at the sheet of topics, I feel that #4, #12, #1, and #19 are the ones I would have the most interest in filming. #4 can show a meaningful view of the current lead pollution that’s affecting Allentown and #12 could be a nice documentary to see how items can be used again when the original owners don’t want them anymore. Additionally, it would be good to view the Lehigh Valley in another perspective, to learn more about cultures that are around here and #1 would be a great option to document that. #19 is good way to show the future of Lehigh Valley. Being able to interview kids who  are creative and ambitious would be a wonderful experience to be a part of, and is another way to directly connect to the community. Any of these options would be fine with me.