Reading about some of the challenges Director Kirsten Johnson goes through helped me understand more about documenting. Specifically that there is a lot of thought and meaning that goes on before the production, details that directors need to keep in mind before filming. A few of the statements that caught my eye, one being able to leave a place she filmed and the other is not being able to provide much resources to the people in the films. With that, I think about how there are people in worse situations than me, living in areas where their needs aren’t being met. If I did documentary in impoverished areas, I would be faced with the same reality as her; that I want to help out but I’m not able to provide any assistance yet and in some cases could hamper with other’s assistance. So the best option for me is to present the people’s stories as accurately as possible, to not take advantage of their decision to be interviewed.  This way I can be respectful in who I’m interviewing and make the film worth seeing.

The second statement is very similar to the first one. Johnson is able to leave the area when she’s done filming, a privilege that the villagers she films don’t have. I already know of this fact, but it’s something that should be thought about just as much. A thing I can take away from it is to try and place the perspectives of the people I’m interviewing directly in the film, avoid skewing what they say and provide a view that may not be observed before.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yaAwUVo7xPgnx_uZlXZ8FHPfGiuCt-l0/view?usp=sharing

In Bernard’s book, I’ve came across a section that went over emotional impact in storytelling. She stated that to get the greatest emotional impact, documentarians need to “show, don’t tell” in their documentaries. To allow the viewer to experience the film on his/her own accord. That way the person can become invested in watching it, as well as become intrigued to see what happens next with the characters and overall plot of the documentary. This is an important lesson that I need to follow, because I want as many people as possible to take interest in the film I help produce.

Last year, I’ve read in the Lehigh newspaper that Bethlehem was in a food desert, having multiple signs of food insecurity in the area. This was found through a graduate class that conducted multiple studies and interviews in the city. As I read more from the entry, I was shocked to hear the info, to learn that people would have drive to nearby towns just to make a decent meal. Then I remembered going to Ahart’s before, and seeing that the store was much smaller than Giant or Walmart and was limited in the produce aisle. After that point in mind, I wanted to find a way to document this problem, to get more attention toward for this.

To do so, I am going to interview the professor who helped created the reports of the food insecurity, talk to residents who are currently facing this issue as well as students, and listen to local programs who are trying to stop the food insecurity in Bethlehem.

My experience with producing the documentary last Monday was very enjoyable. I had a good time collaborating with the group members and learned some editing tips from a few of them. Once we chose the idea to talk about pets, we went with the first logical idea, our dead pets. But including a comedic style to the film as well, so the production wouldn’t be depressing. As soon as we started recording, it just went smoothly. We each had our own stories of our deceased animals, four anecdotes that were good on their own, but together made a hilarious film. We learned some unique info about each other and produce something nice. From this experience, I realized that documenting is as much as providing a stance for the viewer as it is to deliver information that he/she is intrigued in knowing.

Besides the glances I would get from people walking nearby, I had a nice time viewing places around Bethlehem with a cutout frame. After a while, my senses would only focus on what I’m seeing from the frame, as if everything disappeared except the landscape that was in the small dimension. The experiment felt like seeing things through a camera, where the focus was solely on the objects and people in the lens. If I wanted to see something else or avoid stumbling, I would have to constantly shift the frame, giving emphasis to another part of the landscape. Lastly, I felt focused on more details throughout the frame, such as checking out the spine of a leaf or a shoe imprint in mud. When all things are said and done, what I view in the camera will be what’s focused on by the audience and that’s what I need to keep in mind when documenting later.

When I view the world, I see plenty of good things in it. Good people living their lives in beautiful areas around the world. But it would be naive of me to think there aren’t as many disparities in the world as there are positive moments. Two disparities, poverty and pollution, are both connected by the same action, the extraction of resources. Just as the majority resources used today originate from nature, they are also needed in everyday life, as the basis for new medicine, technology, and infrastructure. However, these resources are not renewable, and at the rate we use them, they’ll eventually not be able to sustain us. That’s when the problems will get severe. Knowing this information, I chose Environmental Science to protect people from pollution and to come up with sustainable solutions that’ll not deplete the environment. With documentary, I can present the issues of exploitation directly and discuss why it is important to be sustainable.

As a documentarian, I seek to learn and document social issues within Bethlehem. Specifically, the “food desert” within the city, where residents are lacking fresh meats and produce where they live, having to drive outside the city to access these necessities. I want to investigate why it is that way, the effects of the problem, and what’s being done to stop this issue. By applying a spotlight to the food issue, I can raise awareness of the problem and provide recognition to the programs that are trying to change this issue. Also I’ll get the feeling of helping the community as well as creating another connection between the students and the residents of Bethlehem.