Working on a group documentary has been a tremendous learning process. Early on in our project my group mates and I thought it would be an interesting idea to juxtapose the viewpoints of students at Lafayette and Lehigh’s viewpoints on the internet with voices around Allentown.  Reggie and I shot 3 student interviews that did not make our final cut. At first it was frustrating to know that the time we spent recording and preparing for these interviews would not translate into our end product. As our project came together however my frustrations crept away. We decided that we didn’t want to take screen time away from our two highly captivating anchor interviews. Nonetheless I am happy at the opportunity to have learned through conducting these student interviews, and I am glad about the way our final product ended up.

Sara Taksler’s Tickling Giants was easily one my favorite films screened the entire semester. As an individual comedy resonates with me greatly. Seeing Sara integrate comedy so well into an informative and impactful film about real world events was amazing. Similar to KJ’s work Tickling Giants attacks the stereotype that documentaries all have to share a standardized format and approach. I think I may even enjoy Sara’s work more in hindsight. Throughout the semester I have become slightly fatigued with the standard documentary format and I appreciate Sara’s ability to marry some of documentaries strengths with comedy and animation. Tickling Giants is a great project that has inspired me. Going forward I want to strive to produce work that marries documentary practices with other forms of communication that resonate with my personality.

• At least 55 million Americans lack reliable broadband internet access at home.
• Allentown, along with Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Erie, were among the least-connected cities in America. These cities had all had 100,000 or more residents without internet access. Thirty to 33 percent of households in those cities had no internet access.
• To meet the Federal Communications Commission Internet speed standard in Pittsburgh, it’s at least $44.99 monthly plus tax and equipment charges, rising after the first two years of service.
• 48 percent of households making less than $25,000 had internet service at home, according to Census data.

   

• In Pittsburgh, more people are turning to public libraries for Wi-Fi than ever before. Wi-Fi use throughout Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Library system increased 19 percent between 2013 and 2014, with Wi-Fi sessions surpassing library computer use for the first time, according to the library’s annual report.

Source: http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-publicsource-internet-access-20150717-story.html

Like others I have learned a lot through trial and error while doing our interview assignment. I ended up switching the subject of my interview a few days after our pitches were due. The main reason for my switch was a lack of accessibility to the necessary B-roll to tell my story the way I wanted.  My new subject Miles Davis, is a graduate student at Lehigh who has been an active social entrepreneur on and off Lehigh’s campus.  I saw it as a better idea because of the ease of access I had to my new interviewee, which would allow me to have more freedom to go and re-interview my subject or correct any other issues that may arise. I conducted my interview this past Saturday and it went well. One thing I learned is how important it is to have a good idea of the direction the interview will take as an interviewer. Because I switched subjects after the pitch assignment I failed to have a solid idea of where exactly I wanted to take our conversation, even though I did have prepared questions. I am currently editing my video and a theme is starting to appear slowly, but I could have saved myself a lot of time if I visualized the end product more more effectively.

I also had some camera trouble like others. I had to deal with some audio issues but I think I did well in adjusting on the fly. I appreciate this assignment because it has forced me to put what I have learned in class into action even if I didn’t believe I was ready at first. I am excited to show you all my finished product.

Thanks for sharing your project guys I really appreciated it.The beginning and end sequences for your video were very strong. My favorite shot from your b-roll was the one with the mother handing the plant to what I assume was her kid. The shot sums up nicely what your message is. Some of the shots were a little shaky at the farm so make sure to guard against that going forward. As I said earlier, the symbolism of the adults passing on their knowledge of sustainable living to the next generation works nicely throughout your video. The soundtrack you included also added to the theme of hopefulness in your video. Great job guys I’m excited to see your finished project.

Kim Snyder’s Newtown film is powerful. In today’s day and age where mass shootings have become the norm it has become easy for us to forget the individual stories of the people affected by the tragedies. Newtown gives a voice to a community that more often than not isn’t given the chance to speak for themselves. Snyder uses creative discretion to empower the citizens of Newtown through her film.  Throughout the documentary she deliberately left out the name and image of the shooter. I appreciated her decision so much because like her entire film it was a departure from much of the narrative surrounding mass shooting s in America. Everything from the way Snyder approached families to be in her film to the way she framed the discussion around the tragedy in her documentary did work to mend the wounds of the Newtown community.

The screening of Newtown and the discussion that followed were especially important in light of the events in Texas. In the film a physician from the Newtown area presented the phenomena of American mass shootings as a public health crisis we need to approach these events as such rather than as isolated events. Snyder’s film is so important in today’s day and age, and provides an example of what good documentary work should do.