Documentary

Introduction:

“How do you creatively and truthfully portray a significant person, group, place, idea, or issue in the community?”

One thing I learned in the Documentary unit is how to let the story tell itself. The best way to portray an idea is to observe it and let the story speak for itself. Throughout this unit, I learned how to properly interview people by getting comfortable with my interviewees and allowing them a safe space to share their stories. In English, I decided to do a piece on AVID, a class that helps students stay organized and prepares kids for college. My essay is geared towards the benefits of taking AVID if you’re a first generation or low income student. I decided to write about this because many of my close friends are first-generation students in AVID and I’ve seen first-hand what the class provides for them. In Film, my partner Tegan and I did our documentary on the persisting presence of antisemitism in our world as a “call to action” type documentary. We interviewed 2 Holocaust survivors and a few different generations of Jewish people to portray how things have not exactly changed for the better when it comes to antisemitism.

Documentary Intro Vid:

In Digital Media, we learned how to used a new software called After Effects to create an Introduction video to our Documentary research papers. We learned how to make our static pictures move with the Ken Burns effect. I decided to use inspirational music to support my claim that AVID can offer so many resources and can inspire you to do great things!

Documentary Research Paper:

I did my Documentary research paper on AVID, which is a class that prepares students for college. I did this because all of my friends in AVID are first generation, low-income students whose parents don’t know much about the college process. AVID helps with things like organization skills, FAFSA, scholarships, college application process, etc. I interviewed a girl in AVID who was called a “pioneer for first generation students” because I thought that she was a perfect example of how AVID can help students become their best selves.

In Digital Media, we learned how to create flyers in Indesign so I made one on my topic.

Film: Mockumentary

In Film, we had to make a Mockumentary to learn how to learn camera placement and to get the feel for how to do a documentary. This was super fun for me because we got to be creative with what we did and I got to do with my friends!

Film Documentary:

After the Mockumentary, we had to learn to apply those same skills to the Documentary. I worked with my partner Tegan to create a documentary to educate people about the persistence of antisemitism today. We were both passionate about this topic and I learned a lot about how to connect to people and what techniques to use to support the idea.

Reflection:

Overall, I’m very happy with how all my projects turned out but I felt a bit rushed with my Film Documentary. I definitely could’ve revised my Research paper more and got it to the best it could be but unfortunately, I didn’t. I’m very proud of my Film Documentary because I was able to connect with people and give them a platform to speak on antisemitism. The most important thing I learned in the Documentary unit is that you can make a change and be a voice for underrepresented people, things or ideas.