After months of scheduling and planning, filming, interviews, and editing, Margie and I have finally finished our project. We experienced many ups and downs throughout this long journey, but I think we can both say that we are very happy with how our film ended up.

The most frustrating thing of the whole process was trying to coordinate schedules with other people we wanted to work with. On top of that, some people who we tried to schedule interviews with would sometimes not get back to us. We had to work around many obstacles that were put in our way to end up with the film we have. When we first decided upon our idea of making a film about Easton’s new restaurants, we wanted to interview newer restaurants such as The Bayou, Oak, and Stoke compared to older restaurants such as Maxim’s 22 and River Grille. As these restaurants are very popular, we could it almost impossible to find a time to interview with them. The three places that we did interview; Tucker Silk Mill, Playa Bowls, and Chocodiem, all came about spontaneously. I believe some of the most interesting moments in a film can happen by accident, and that is what Margie and I were handed.

Another challenging part of the process was editing and choosing what footage we wanted to include. Margie and I probably shot b-roll footage on seven different days, so by the time it came to the editing we had so much to chose from. Trying to organize three different stories into one cohesive piece also turned out to be more challenging than I thought. Once we figured out the order of the story we were trying to tell, it became easier to assemble our b-roll together.

This was the first time I have created a documentary piece with another person, and it was a very beneficial experience. I am very proud of the work that we created together and am excited to show to the class on Wednesday night!

So far I feel fairly good about our documentary. Our rough cut mainly comprised of great interviews with DACA college students here at Lafayette and Lehigh. I am satisfied with the shots, the audio, and there is a good mix of students of different gender and race. All our interviewees are articular and have a lot to say.

Certain things that we are working on changing is explicitly telling the audience more about what DACA is. I also realized that it isn’t necessary to make the location of Lafayette or Lehigh such a grand reveal since our location isn’t that important here, it’s the topic that is. The talking heads in our rough cut get too long which is why we are working on adding more B-roll to the fine cut. Overall, the documentary needs to be a little more emotionally dynamic since most interviews are similar in tone and message, which is important but there needs to be some form of variety.

I’ve also learned that I need to let go at certain points of the project. For instance, Andrea was away for the weekend and she asked to get the hard drive in order to start editing more. I was initially resistant because I felt that we should all contribute to the editing in some way or the other but it’s important to trust your group members. It felt weird because I’m usually used to doing most of the work but in this project I think our entire group is contributing fairly. We are working on a finer cut and getting feedback from the rest of our classmates.

Devin, Anna and I have met several times this week in order to finalize our project. We were able to secure two new interviews, that greatly added to our story arch and provided more background information on not only the importance of shad, but solutions to help shad such as dam removal and reintroduction programs. Additionally, we were able to get film of a professors kids, explaining shad and their migration patterns, which i think will be a great contribution to the documentary.

We have spent many hours editing, and we still have a ways to go, but I think our group consensus is that we are excited for the final cut of this documentary to come to fruition.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1blXg_ciI93eIu_6wQHBG16igMVwf3AAR/view?usp=sharing

During class Monday, Natalie and I gathered all of our footage and tried to make a story arc. Through moving clips around and discussing with Professor Smith, we realized our documentary addresses a point we didn’t realize before and that is the source of food and ingredients. Our documentary addresses the opinions of Easton’s recent restaurant development. Some people say that they are concerned it is going to end up pushing out some of Easton’s residents since it is becoming more expensive. Then we realized through our interview footage that many of the people being interviewed stressed the importance of quality, fresh, and local ingredients and the importance of eating clean and real food. What stands out is their passion. It’s really obvious to see how excited the interviewees are when talking about their establishment and food, their faces light up. Natalie and I are excited for our final product and we can’t wait to screen it.

Overall, I have had a great time working with my group. We were very confident going into this project because we knew exactly who we were interviewing and what story we wanted to tell. I didn’t think there was really anything to worry about until we sat down and started piecing together our documentary. We soon found that a few of our interviews were not usable because the audio was not audible. However, together, as a team, we were able to brainstorm ideas as to how we were going to fix this. Kiera, Josh, and I work really well together as a team and were able to figure out other people to interview. I am really excited to continue to edit our final product and to see everyones next week!

I am really glad that I selected the group that I am in and feel like we have a lot of good footage that will make a great film. It was impressing to see my group members Nely and Tracey go to work with the editing. They demonstrated a lot of creative techniques that if I was doing by myself would have been very difficult to do. This group has been easy to work with and I can’t wait to reach our ultimate goal and finish this film. I think selecting whats most useful and omitting information and shots that you really want to use but just can’t will be the hardest. I feel like we all individually captured great shots, and to see them come together will be even more amazing.

When I was growing up, I played little league baseball for my town from first grade all the way up to about the beginning of fourth grade. I was never really good though, but I think it was because I never wanted to practice outside of our scheduled practices with the team. However, I was convinced I was going to play in the MLB when I grew up. Eventually I left that phase.

Then in fifth grade I started playing recreational basketball at the Boys and Girls Club. Again, I wasn’t very skilled and no one every passed me the ball. So essentially, I rode the bench, but our team made it to the championship, so I couldn’t really complain. That ended shortly thereafter but I would play pick-up at the courts after school and it was always fun.

Once I got to high school, I really started getting involved in sports. I went to a boarding school in Pennsylvania, and, like most boarding schools, I was required to play two competitive sports each year. Freshman year I played soccer, basketball, and baseball. As the years went on I kept up with basketball and baseball. The baseball team was small, so we only had enough for a varsity team. I ended up riding the bench until junior year and by senior year I was starting in outfield. As for basketball, I never made it up to Varsity, considering my school recruits for basketball and we had players who are projected to be top 10 in the NBA draft next year only after one year of college. Still, I became captain of JV basketball junior year and again for senior year. I really appreciated being forced to play sports because it allowed me to enhance my team building skills, learn to work as a team, and, in general, improve my skills in various sports.

With that being said, over these last view weeks, I have been struggling. This seems like a challenge never seen before. There have been a lot of up and downs within my group and I feel like everything I’ve learned and put into practice has vanished. I find myself getting frustrated and disappointed at myself for not being able to understand and perform like I usually do. It’s sort of scary because it seems as though I am missing a part of my identity. Teamwork is one of my stronger qualities, and right now, it doesn’t seem that way. I am going through a constant battle, that eventually I will overcome.

The Hype: Lehigh students enliven campus with their music

This is a short video that was made by the Brown and White, Lehigh’s school-wide newspaper. I really liked this video for multiple reasons. I think, to start, there is a strong hook especially for someone who appreciates music and is fascinated by the art of being a DJ. At first, you cannot really make out what is going on, but then you see. It seems like a lot of trial and error just to see what works.

Additionally, considering I know everyone featured in the video, I enjoyed hearing their side of the story. In most cases, students don’t really know the backstory. All they know is that they are a DJ on campus, that they see at parties and Lehigh events. We take for granted how much time and energy go into doing the work that they do. Sure it is probably fun but you have to prepare and definitely know how to cater to the ground. What good is a DJ that no one dances to because they aren’t feeling the music.

Moreover, on a more documentary making point of view, I liked how the video was put together. The b-roll, especially during the parts with DJ Mike and DJ added to the video. We saw where DJ Mike was in his natural setting, and the was a clip of the strobe likes focusing in and out that was pretty cool. Then, with DJ Zen, the pictures of her during her gig were cool, because we saw her where she was comfortable.

Finally, I was had a question. I liked the part where they showed the Blackbear video, especially for those who may not know who he is. But, is that an ethical violation, to include that video in this piece? Would you need permission to do that? Or since it is for educational purposes, is it totally fine?

https://drive.google.com/a/lafayette.edu/file/d/13WdGP9d4xgcJl0HYvW_YJ_BtR2jXDc4L/view?usp=sharing