The Juices Are ~Flowing~

Mood: Feeling Creative

Hello again! Kass and I have been deeply brainstorming, trying to develop our ideas for the documentary. We are extremely interested in the following topics: digital activism, teenage activism, and feminism.


Since we know that footage is critical with these topics, we decided to search for nearby protests and events that would provide us with something interesting and relevant to use. It would be amazing to document a protest and get interviews from the protestors. We have recently discovered information about a women's rally that might be a great option for documentary footage (whooooo)! It's on Wednesday, March 8th, at Bayfront Park in Miami, and we're hoping that there's enough of a turnout for us to get some interviews and inserts. If we can attend, it will be a great start for our extract, and we'll be able to go the more feminist route (as the rally is for "A Day Without A Woman"). 

We began to outline what our extract would look like and the stylistic route we would like to take. I feel that having a narrator for this type of content would be a great way to convey information about this modern-day activism. Kass brought up a cool idea: to vlog the trip and document how we were involved in the whole process. I think it is a really interesting idea, as it is a style I have seen used in the Meru and Food Choices documentaries. We are going to film using vlogs, as well as have independent footage without either of us as subjects to see which looks better. Hopefully, the idea will work out nicely and the documentary will look professional.

It could be about our journey to understand the current social movements “Women’s March on Washington” and “A Day Without A Woman," and we could show how we researched info about the movements, found out about events, and interviewed protesters and observers about what it all means to them as a method of answering an overarching question - for example, "What are the reasons behind the growing activism in the US?" 

So far, this is a very, very rough draft of what we could film for out extract:

*Begins with information about the event, what issues it's representing, etc. 

- Shots of street/freeway signs - “Miami 5 miles” 
- Vlogging the car trip, explaining what we are on our way to do/participate in
- Establishing shots of Miami/Bayfront Park
- Shots of the water at Bayfront
- Shots of buildings/streets/cars driving/lights changing
- Shots of signs (made by protestors)
- People marching, talking, waving signs, walking through streets, any keynote speakers, people’s reactions to the protestors, talk to organizers/planners
- Tracking shot of feet walking
- Videos of Chey (me) speaking to someone (as B roll)
- Close ups of clothing worn by protestors (pink hats were extremely prevalent at the Women's March, may see some related items)

In editing:
- Incorporate graphics/images of the movement
- Incorporate location where info was found (Facebook event) - as part of the vlog showing how we found the event

*Low angles to emphasize power of protests and people standing up for what they believe in

*Get enough B roll to break up interviews!
*Make sure the sound is clear and loud enough for use
*Adjust interview shots to ensure good amount of head room and no vectors

Overall, I'm looking forward to diving into filming and getting this project going, and I hope you're looking forward to taking this journey with me! 

As always,
Chey :)

"A Day Without A Woman FAQ." Women's March, www.womensmarch.com/march-8th-faq. Accessed 6 Mar. 2017.