Documentary Critical Reflection

The documentary is representative of the immigrant communities around the United States, more specifically, Cuban immigrants living in Florida. The number of Cuban immigrants in Florida because of conflicts in the country has risen greatly since the 1960s. They make up a significant amount of the South Florida population and are not heavily represented in the media. The documentary focuses on the 'success story' of someone who immigrated and settled down in Florida. Susanna had work, family, and opportunities and was able to sustain them in a much more positive environment than if she had stayed and lived in Cuba.

 

The documentary is able to engage audiences because of how compelling the story being told is. Susanna's story is not conventional, with her moving from Cuba to Budapest and then to Florida. This is a unique perspective on immigration, and she contributes a lot to people's understandings of it in this piece. Her daughter and she both produce great answers and create a real, engaging story that either resonates with audiences or is just interesting and pleasing to them. That, combined with well-edited shot selection, b-roll, and the inclusion of well-selected music, elevates this piece and makes it memorable and enjoyable.

 

 

I think the research impacted the overall structure and how we conducted the production process. As stated in earlier posts, each of the documentaries that we watched taught us what to look for in an engaging piece. "American Promise" taught us that many of the most engaging documentaries tell a compelling, emotional story. The structure should follow feelings, not conform to pre-determined structures. "Exit Through the Gift Shop" taught us that opportunities, if they present themselves, must be taken in order for the documentary to be even stronger. We took this into consideration when conducting interviews and filming b-roll. We staged some b-roll and got many different shots, and we altered our strategy based on the answers that we got out of the interview. Also, in the interviewing process, we would change the structure of some of the questions so that they were answered in ways we could use for the final product and utilize the opportunities that presented themselves there.

Encontrando un Futuro

The YouTube link for the documentary:

 https://youtu.be/5b1nsIzTaP0 

Struggles in Production and Post-Production

The post-production process was one that I wish I had been able to contribute to a lot more. There are a couple issues with the process that I could not help with directly.

One of the main things that was hard for me to contribute to was the shot selection and production process. The documentary was predominantly in Spanish, which I barely understand, so trying to come up with ideas for b-roll and sound bites for the documentary was difficult to help out with. I still tried before and after filming to assist with the structure and discussion of the overall project and finished product, but up until that point, it was hard to contribute.

Another thing is that Premiere Pro, the software that we used for editing, is not easy to share and has multiple people working on one project. Premiere does not allow you to share the project without it being a long process of transferring and sending material that is very inconvenient.

 

Production Process

 On November 17th we began and finished our filming process. As a group we set up cameras for the interviews based on where our subjects preferred to do the interview and began the process of interviewing. 

Apart from actually asking the questions we had written down, a lot of the interviewing process is getting our subjects comfortable. It was much easier because our interviewer was the granddaughter and daughter of our subjects, but there is still the explanation process of how the interviews work and overall getting them warmed up and comfortable to elicit the best responses. We had filmed a lot of content for the interviews themselves which was tedious to edit, but was great in the long run.

After conducting the interviews we began filming some b-roll. We referenced our planning sheet but we also came up with some ideas for b-roll on the spot. It was a shame that we were limited to such a small space in just the grandmother's house and it had already gotten dark outside by the time we completed the interviews. We were kind of forced to improvise and do the best with what we had which was good. The only thing was that when the grandmother was scrolling through her picture book she was not producing the best content and was not going in depth about what was happening in the picture because that is hard to remember and recall so easily. 

Group Research and Planning

Before deciding on what we were going to do as a group, there was a lot of contemplation on what we could do the documentary on. We thought of possibly doing an investigative documentary that centered around high school students because that is what we know and what we are familiar with, but we could not really find a direction in that area that would yield great results.

Thankfully, one of our group members had a great idea for what we could do. Natalia, who is in my group, has a grandmother who had a pretty interesting life leading up to her immigration to Florida. She started in Cuba and emigrated from Cuba to Budapest; from Budapest, she made her way to Florida. We thought that it was something from which we could get a lot of real content that would enhance our documentary even further.

From there, we began to plan out some of the questions that we would ask her to get the best answers. For a lot of them, we asked her how she felt about certain things, not just what happened, to get the most authentic answers. Additionally, we planned out some of the b-roll to have something that we for sure wanted to include in the final piece once we went to film. We also created a specific structure for the documentary that we wanted to stick to before beginning to film and edit. We had picked our subjects, Natalia's grandmother and her mom, and we planned out a time with them to film and ask them questions. 

Documentary Research

Before we could begin creating any of our own documentaries, we had to do some research and watch some as a class.

American Promise: 

The first documentary we watched was "American Promise," a documentary with a filming process that spanned 13 years. Directed by Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson, American Promise follows two young African American boys, Idris and Seun, as they navigate through the American school system. The story begins by documenting them from age five all the way up to their high school graduation. 

The story is packed with social commentaries and strong messages having to do with family and understanding. It is impactful and emotional, and that is something that should be captured in every documentary. American Promise taught me that many of the most engaging documentaries tell a compelling, emotional story. The structure should follow feelings, not conform to pre-determined structures. The documentary was raw and real, and my group and I tried to emulate something that, while not as saddening, still told a familiar story displayed through a natural emotional response. 

Exit Through the Gift Shop:

The second one we watched as a group was called "Exit Through the Gift Shop," directed by Banksy. This documentary follows a man named Thierry Guetta, who films street artists doing their thing. Banksy, being so interested in who Thierry is, especially who he becomes, makes him the main subject. The documentary displays his shift from being an eccentric videographer of street artists to being an even more eccentric street artist himself.  

This taught me a couple of things, one of which is that opportunities, if they present themselves, must be taken in order for the documentary to be even stronger. Banks, although he was never going to film a documentary, saw an opportunity in Thierry's very interesting life story to create a piece that reflects his most eccentric features and his wild journey leading up to who he is today. The other thing this taught me is that a documentary is also a story that can be shaped into what the director feels while maintaining the real feeling of it. Banksy made Thierry look crazy, which was his intention. This is some of the power the directors of a documentary hold. Banksy could have also made Thierry look like a genius, so it just proves the power directors have over what they produce.

We also watched a couple of Op Docs individually.

 

Backflip:

Due to his fear of trying a backflip, Nikita creates an AI avatar of himself to learn for him. The process of the avatar practicing and learning how to do a backflip is shown until the avatar finally masters it and is able to do it consistently.

 

Now I'm in the kitchen.

This Op Doc is about a woman who is reminiscing about her mom's cooking and talks about how much she loves it.

 

These two Op Docs were mainly to teach a lesson to the viewer and elicit some emotional response through that lesson. "Backflip" was about never giving up, and "Now I'm in the Kitchen" was about holding on to your precious memories if they are significant to you. Showing me that it is important that a documentary, whether directly or not, teaches a lesson.

Welcome Back!

 Hi! It's Yoav again and I am back to documenting on this blog. I am currently a junior and I am ready to continue documenting my journey in AICE Media Studies. Our latest chapter was one about documentaries, we watched a couple as a class and individually and then got to start on our own.