I've Got Questions

Mood: Curious

Hey! This is just a quick little post before the protest today (yay!), and I wanted to give an update on Kass and I's progress writing and editing our interview questions.

So far, we divided them into three groups: questions for the female protestors, male protestors, and bystanders. We thought it would be interesting to have a few questions targeted towards males who are attending because we think it would be interesting to see what inspired them to come to the protest. We just think it would be great to have some different footage to use if we want it. Also, we decided to try and include any bystanders because it will provide a nice juxtaposition with the protestors.

Here are the questions that we've drafted:

Female Protestors

Male Protestors

Bystanders

I'll update after the protest!! 
Chey :)

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.

Inspirations!

Mood: Excited


Hi! As I said in my last post, my partner and I have selected the documentary package for our final project, and I couldn't be more enthusiastic about putting it all together. As of late, I've been extremely interested in documentaries and real-life stories, especially those related to feminist issues. Therefore, I've been watching a good number of them, and I think viewing a wide range of documentaries will help me to develop a good product.

These two documentaries, for example, are about sexual assault on US college campuses (The Hunting Ground) and the representation of women in relation to gender roles (Miss Representation). Both of them have led me to the documentary package, and I am interested in modeling mine after the same general theme of feminism.

The Hunting Ground utilized graphics to add in information about sexual assault, including statistics and places where it is rampant. It also tracked several subjects who have been victims of sexual assault who tell their stories, as well as advocates for programs to minimize the issue and help support victims. The stories were progressed through indirect interviews.

I have been looking into different ways to pursue the wide topic of feminism and, with growing social movements among America's youth, I've thought about ways to capture it. I'm thinking that teenage activism may be the best route for my partner (Kass) and I to take, but we may have to broaden it to activism in relation to America's changing political sphere. This change would need to be implemented if we cannot gather enough interviews/footage involving teenagers. Kass and I will be brainstorming in the next few days to come up with a way to make this idea work.

I'll update soon!
Chey :)

"Documentary screening to call attention to sexual assault prevention and education policies." New Paltz, The State University of New York, 20 Apr. 2015, sites.newpaltz.edu/news/2015/04/documentary-screening-to-call-attention-to-sexual-assault-prevention-and-education-policies/. Accessed 6 Mar. 2017.

"Miss Representation." Wikipedia, 12 Dec. 2016, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Representation. Accessed 6 Mar. 2017.

Conventions Are Kinda Cool

Mood: Focused

Hey there! Before I begin planning out my documentary idea in depth (I will discuss this more in my next post - ooooh, the suspense), I want to talk about some technical things that I have been looking into. 

I have begun to compile a list of typical documentary conventions that I will most likely utilize for my documentary. In class, we viewed great documentaries such as Meru and Cartel Land that have been helpful in understanding such conventions. My list so far is from what I have learned in class and my own observations from watching documentaries, and it consists of the following notes:

• Narrative format
• Interviews progress story
• Archived footage
• Biased/Established POV
• Hand held camera = realism

Technical Conventions

• Crosscutting/parallel editing
• Lighting techniques to create tone/realism/establish POV
• Non-diegetic sound (i.e. voiceover)
• Sound effects (to create realism)
• Selective editing to achieve purpose

Other Conventions (more contemporary)

• Re-enactments
• Sway opinion, add visual elements
• Montage
• Graphics-Infographics
• Animated Sequences
• Accepted as part of the storytelling realm
• Music – to create tone or develop POV

So far, I am thinking about using graphics and more contemporary conventions to progress the narrative for my documentary, but I will decide on how I want to tell the story based off of the idea that my partner and I agree on. I am not exactly sure of what I want yet, but I do know that I want the documentary to be captivating and interesting to the general population, the same way that the creators of Meru were able to tell a story about mountain climbing that enthralled me. 

Overall, I am excited to see how my technical skills have developed throughout this year, and I hope to create a great product that can be enjoyed by many.

See ya soon (with my fun idea brainstorming),
Chey :D 

Aaaaaand We're Back!

Mood: Nostalgic

Hiiii! My name is Cheyenne Desrosiers, and I am super excited to be doing my portfolio project for A level. Last year in AS was a learning experience for me, and it was an absolute blast. This year, I'm hoping to take all of my knowledge from both of my Media Studies courses to create a great final product.

Opening up my blog again to begin this year's project got me thinking about my final project from last year, and the entire learning process was amazing for me. I got so much out of the blog, CCR, and actual creation of the film intro; I can't wait to see what new ideas and challenges I will develop and overcome with my new project!

I am currently working on making changes to my blog, visually, and changing up a few of the features because items like the title ("Chronicles of a Newbie") are reflective of my project and skills from last year. I'm hoping to switch a few things up to make my blog reflect the more logical documentary that I'll be creating and add in interactive widgets like polls. 

This is what it looks like now for reference:

Take a nice, looooong look because this format is going bye bye soon :)

I have only ever made one documentary in my life, and it was during A level. I learned a lot of great information when my project was critiqued, and I'm glad that I can use those tips to create my new doc. I know now to think about head room for interviews, interview locations, interview subjects, and vectors. I am adamant that my new product will be a reflection of all of the hard work I have put into Media Studies thus far.

I am 100000% ready to begin this journey, and I will definitely keep you updated on any new ideas, conflicts, or inspirations that arise during this time. I cannot wait to put my mind to work to develop something great!

Until next time!

Chey :)