Documentary

For the Jr. Documentary Project we were taught the basics of nonfiction writing and filmmaking. Through conducting research and interviews, we worked to portray a unique topic of interest and express its importance in the modern world. This unit emphasized narrative style journalism through a several month long research-based essay that we wrote in English. In Film, I worked with my partner CJ Hoo to create a short documentary on Winter Lodge, an outdoor ice skating rink in Palo Alto, CA. Throughout the unit we learned how to effectively interview and use visual techniques to authentically portray nonfiction.

Introduction

For our documentary, we had to create a 5-7 page paper on a topic of our choice. I fluctuated between several different ideas but eventually decided on the unseen impacts of rapid technological advancement on the various communities that reside in Silicon Valley. I interviewed 2 long-term residents of Silicon Valley about the work they have done to help amplify the beauty seen here, as well as the social, environmental, and academic impediments they have observed as a result of the modern technological expansion. My final essay addressed the web of complications and how they relate to each other.

This introduction video includes the first paragraph of my documentary. Below is a full PDF of my documentary research paper.

Although this project was challenging to plan and execute, it was an extremely valuable learning experience. I was able to learn the basics of non-fiction writing and publishing, as well as digital skills in relation to formatting, visual aesthetic, video editing, and audio. I found that, across mediums (film, writing, digital media), documentary-making varies significantly. Although the basic skills translated across all classes, I learned things that were specific and exclusive to that particular medium, like angles for Film, colors for Digital Media, and the importance imagery and professional citations for English. My takeaway from this project was, aside from the logistical parts, that planning, professionalism, and organization are key aspects to any project of this size. The process, although much more labor-intensive than the projects I have completed for other classes in the past, was a very valuable experience that allowed me to delve fully into the reality of documentary-creation.

For Digital Media, we took the paper that we created in English and put it into a 6 page magazine-style article that we made using Adobe InDesign. Using the various skills that we had learned over the course of the semester such as elements of design, how to “draw the eye” of the viewer to the most important aspects of the poster, and proper formatting, we created our article. You can read my full formatted 6-page article by pressing on the link below.

Film

For Film, our goal was to create a short documentary about a topic of our choice. With my partner, CJ Hoo (featured on left), we documented The Winter Lodge, an outdoor ice skating rink in Palo Alto, California. Growing up taking lessons and performing on the teams at Winter Lodge, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of revisiting an important part of my life and getting the chance to portray it in a way that made others understand what made it so special. Although we portrayed the sport itself, we focused mainly on the deeply-rooted community of people who work and attend there, as well as the profound impact it has made on the community of Palo Alto and the surrounding communities since its opening in 1956. We encountered many unprecedented challenges, such as weather, lighting, and scheduling, but each of them ultimately resulted in an opportunity to learn and grow as filmmakers.

However, before we dove into the documentary, we were told to create a mockumentary as an introduction to the process of documentary filmmaking in practice, and so we could navigate the challenges or our points of weakness before the real thing and learn how to overcome them. With CJ playing an aggressive self-employed Iron-Man fanatic, me a pretentious filmmaker, and Sierra Prochniak a yule-log aficionado thats allergic to fun, we created a short mockumentary about the 3 of us living together in disharmony. Although this project exposed some our personal technical shortcomings, it was a very fun experience and my favorite part of the learning process.

Our final documentary film was made with 4 interviews from current employees at Winter Lodge who also skated there. Click below to watch our final documentary film!

Ultimately, this project was a profoundly impactful learning experience that exposed me to countless different forms of real-world instances, technology, and skills. Although we encountered many challenges throughout the way, I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to experience an in-depth dive into both of my topics. Even though I was familiar with my documentary topic for film, I learned so much stuff that I would not have been able to experience in any other context.