The road up until this point has been a bit a rough. We had some issues with communication and we had some struggles with our main subject. However, after having a really constructive conversation in class things really seem to moving well.

This past week David and I got a lot of footage of students. We asked some of them to read statistics and we interviewed the others about their opinions of WiFi. We also got some B-roll. Annie and Ayanna went to interview the two main subjects that are going to drive our film.

Now all that is left is constructing a good rough-cut and figuring out what else we need. I am not quite sure how things are going to be pieced together. However, I am excited to see how this turns out.

I recently watched the first couple of episodes the F-Word. I thought it was a really cool idea and I am in love with how progressive the film is. I think that this sort of film could not have existed several years ago because of ideas surrounding sexuality and accessibility to internet resources. The series is really intimate and the characters are really lovable.

It’s a bit weird to think about this series as a documentary. This more feels like a show I would watch on television; a reality-t.v show. I wonder if those are also considered documentaries.

I also really respect the film maker in this series. It seems as if they did a really good job of getting comfortable with the couple. I also really like the cinematography.

I am not going to post the five facts that my group and I gathered for this project because David already posted them. I just want to express some of my thoughts about on them.

Again, our group is doing a project on WIFI accessibility in Allentown, PA. The more I learn about this issue the more I become attached to this project. Even though our video will only reach a small number of people, I am very proud of the work we are doing. WIFI is a necessity to function in the modern world. We need it do to things like find and apply for jobs, to learn, and to connect with others. It is so widely used that everyone is expected to have it. However, this is not a reality. There are a lot of people even in the U.S without access. Many of these people are low-income people of color. Thus, this is another example of how a lack of access contributes to the oppression of people of color and perpetuates cycles of poverty.

One of the best of parts about DOC-150 is being able to share the classroom with other students who are interested in film. If you do not know, Lehigh does not do the best job in providing students with opportunity to learn about films. In fact, Lehigh does not do a great job in providing education or resources in really any artistic field. As a person who is very passionate about music and other artistic avenues, I find it draining to be around students who are focused engineering, business, and medicine. What I find even more draining, is being signed up for an engineering degree and not knowing feeling like that’s the thing I want to do with my life.

Of course, this is college and we are all students. This is supposed to be the time where we don’t really know what we want to do with our lives…. I think.  But I guess I am curious about everyone who is taking this class. What do you plan to do as a profession when you are older? How confident are you that you will be successful? Why? Are you going after the goal that you would pursuit if money where no object?

Let me know in the comments below.

Ever since I saw the film Boyhood, I have been really interested in films that follow some sort of growth or progression in real time. For example, I have been thinking about shooting a film that follows a musical artist’s growth from having no fan base to occupying a pocket in mainstream media. I believe my interest in this sort of film paired with my interest in comedy is what drove me to love Sara Taksler’s film Tickling Giant.

As you all know the film follows a man named Bassem Youssef and his ascent from being a heart surgeon to becoming known as Egypt’s Stephen Colbert. Aside from the impactful images and witty humor present in the film, I find this sort of a progression to be the most interesting part of this phenomenal film. In trying to analyze this film solely on story, I am very attracted to the idea of seeing an influential character rise and fall in real life and in real time. Perhaps in this way, the film becomes a tragedy as we watch the deterioration of a fun-loving man we all want to root for. I think this plays a large role in why the film is so impactful.

I know there were questions about how Sara got involved with this film but looking back on it now I wish I would have asked for opinion on recognizing that a story needs to be told. I think it took a lot of courage to follow a story that she couldn’t foresee an ending to.

I have been into watching and analyzing film since my sophomore year of high school. However, only recently has attention turned from watching fictional pieces to watching more documentaries. Of course, this class has played a major role in this.

This and my growing interest in photograph led me to watching a film called Harry Benson: Shoot First. The movie is a documentary about the life of a famous celebrity photographer named Harry Benson. He is the man responsible for shooting hundreds of iconic photos of influential characters in last 50 years or so. He is famously known for his photos of the Beetles and has also taken photos of figures such as Martin Luther King, Michael Jackson, and Ronald Reagan.

The film itself is very good. The director pairs a fair number of backstories about Harry’s most iconic pieces with biographical information on the artist.   It was a very interesting film and I would recommend it to anyone who interested in documentation or photography.

The reason I am mentioning this film up is because it touches on several moral issues that we spoke about in class. For example, Harry tells us about his experiences marching in against segregation with Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders. He mentions witnessing the abuse in form of tear gas and fire hoses on these protesting peoples. He often had inner battles in trying to decide between helping others and taking photos of the horrific events that he witnessed. He often chose the latter. He firmly believed that he was there for a purpose and that was to document what was happening so that others could see. Throughout his life he was faced with this decision many times and he always chose the camera.

This brought up more questions for me than answers. Specifically, I am now questioning the need for documenting events and how much value that has over helping others in a moment. I find myself mostly agreeing with Harry in the sense of understanding place and duty. What do you guys think?

One of my favorite parts about this class so far has been being constantly exposed to excellent content that has not only influenced my ideas surrounding documentary but also my thoughts surrounding my own life and experiences. Watching Newtown in class was no different. I loved every moment of it. I am in big support of its construction and I am in awe of the amount of courage that Kim Snyder had in making this film.

If I were the one making this movie, I know I would have a difficult time choosing an angle. I would probably teeter between focusing on the horror that the kids faced and the difficulty in their life thereafter. However, I think this would be a mistake that Kim does not make. Although, there are probably millions of ways to tell this story, I think Kim’s emphasis on the community and the family was probably the most effective. She was able to work magic in turning a horrific event into as an opportunity for others to take control back in there lives and influence change all while never mentioning the shooter by name.

The Blue Line was a good film, but it was honestly one of the harder assigned films to get through this semester. I personally have a harder time connecting and ultimately enjoying older films. I am still searching for a film that will change my opinion on this, but I do think that The Thin Blue Line has done that for me.

Aside from my complaints with it being an older film, I did find the story and structure of the film to be interesting. As an African-American man in this country, I often worry about of situations where I could be wrongfully accused of a crime and sentenced to prison. All throughout film, I kept thinking about this and putting myself in Randall’s shoes and this increasingly made me frustrated. At the same time, I found it hard to feel bad for Randall himself because he is a white man in an older film. Perhaps, I have some buried thoughts I need to sort through.

Regarding style, I am still a bit unsure about how I feel about noir films. I believe that this film captured that vibe and used it to its advantage. However, I feel like I must see more films like this to really form a strong opinion. I did like use of reenactments throughout the film. I never really thought about this as an aspect of documentary making but it definitely makes sense. Who knows, maybe I’ll even use them in some of my future documentaries.

I am working on a project about a local thrift shop in Allentown, Pa that supports a community WIFI program. From my discussion with my fellow group members our tag line goes something like this:

“A local thrift-shop that is shifting the paradigm of the structure a local business by using its earning to fund a local WIFI program and other community endeavors”.

Honestly, this was not my first choice for a project. I originally wanted to work in the Arts Valley, as this was the idea I originally proposed. However, after meeting with my current group members I decided to commit to this project because I wanted to step outside of comfort zone. As a person who is very interested in music it is often easy for me to work on projects that cater to that subject. However, I think it is important to explore different interests and ideas in order to maintain a more interesting and holistic world view. With this in mind, I am now very excited to work on this project with the rest my group because I am getting an opportunity to learn more about local business and its role in community engagement. I think if we commit ourselves and remember to have fun that this project will turn out well.

Hearing Robert Seidman speak in class was truly a treat. I had not been too familiar with him or his work before coming to class, but his fun-loving personality quickly turned me into a fan. I enjoyed a lot of the scenes that he presented to us in class. I especially liked the clips from his film on Hasidic Judaism and from his film about Billy Strayhorn. It is likely that I will revisit these films in the future.

While I enjoyed his presentation overall, I was a bit confused about the points he was trying to make. I could not tell if he was trying give us some sort of message with each clip he showed us or if he was just trying to share his experiences with hopes that we could draw something from them. I would have liked him to be a little clearer about his intentions. I think in the end however, I did take away a lot from his time with us in class. For one, I was reminded of the importance of compromise in collaboration when he began to speak about his experience working with Hasidic Jews. Another big take away was being exposed to the idea of a scripted documentary. Finally, I feel I have a better understanding about what a screenwriter does and their role in a non-fiction film. These are valuable lessons and ideas that I will try to carry with me as I go on as a documentarian and a film maker.