Amanda – 2009 Documentary Film

Amanda Lewis

Mrs. Pomerantz

English II, 1^st Block

22 May 2009

The Future is in Our Hands: Live Sustainably

Final Documentary Evaluation

This documentary was a very challenging assignment. For some of us, we were forced out of our comfort zones of English class. We were no longer going to be reading a book and writing a paper on it. I for one was extremely outside of my comfort zone while doing this documentary. For others though this was a break that they had been waiting for. When we began this project, we came up with a set of criteria in which, in the end, we wanted our documentary to meet. The purpose of our documentary was to inform, to persuade, and to effect change. After seeing our final documentary there were things that did not go as planned but many things that worked really well.

One of the main purposes we came up with for this film was to inform. I think we did a nice job of this. There were many statistics and facts that appealed to pathos, logos, and ethos. Also, there were many definitions of what it actually means to live sustainably. I think it was important for us to have so many definitions in the documentary because when we were interviewing people we came across so many different definitions and so many of them were wrong.

Another purpose we came up with when starting this project was to persuade. This documentary gave many different examples of how easy it is to live sustainably. For example: recycling and carpooling. Yet at the same time, we had to make sure that we made it clear that to live sustainably means more than just those things. Sustainable living is a lifestyle, not a few good habits.

Our third purpose for our documentary was to effect change. By showing all the things people can do to live more sustainably I think we did just that. In the last segment, Jake, Julia, and Janelle, gave many examples of sustainable products that could help someone to live more sustainably. For example: fluorescent light bulbs, recycled carpet, recycled tires, and energy sufficient washing machines and dryers. Also to help effect change, I hope that by showing what could happen to Earth and to our environment specifically, will influence people to want to change their habits and adapt to a more sustainable lifestyle.

There were many things that worked well in our documentary. Personally, I think the best part of our documentary were the visual metaphors. I believe all the metaphors took the main idea of the documentary and put it in to perspective for the viewers. For example, group four’s metaphor. Their segment was about the environmental effects of sustainable living. They showed a little paper ball Earth and showed it blowing up; this was to show in exaggeration what could happen if we do not take care of our environment and our Earth. Then to show that there is still time to save our planet, they showed the blowing up of the Earth in reverse. It was shocking and horrifying to realize that we are the ones causing this damage to our Earth. Another visual metaphor that was really creative was group two’s. Bradley and Marquis were shown sitting on a bench together. Marquis was eating some M&Ms and Bradley really wanted some. However, Marquis would not give him any. This really upset Bradley and after seeing the distress that Bradley was in Marquis gave in and gave Bradley some M&Ms. Then the phrase “Sharing is Caring” popped up on the screen. I think this did a really good job of showing how easy and important it is to share and care about everyone and everything. The music that they had playing while the visual metaphor was playing, fit perfectly with it and added a fun element. Another great visual metaphor I want to point out is Jefferson and Joey’s. They had a time machine and showed Jefferson putting Earth into the time machine. He waited a minute and then pulled out a gray ball. In perspective this shows the harm that we are putting our planet in and the dim future we have if we continue to live with our same old habits.

Another thing that worked really well in our documentary was the use of music. Groups, such as group two, used tone appropriate music to help make the documentary livelier. The music also appealed to pathos by helping to show the viewer how he or she should feel while watching that segment.

The introduction to our documentary was another thing that ended up working well. It came together last minute and was a collaboration of ideas from everyone in class. While we were making the introduction I was worried that it would look jumbled and out of place, but the use of the garden pictures and the collages of students hands really came together to help us reiterate our point that the future is in our hands.

Along with all of the other things that worked well, plus the ones that I previously mentioned there were of course some things that did not work out so well. In my group, group one, there were two very noticeable technical errors. In one part, there was a quote on the screen and it had been showing for about five seconds before the voiceover came on. Then the documentary kept going to the next scene, but the voiceover of the previous scene was still playing. Also, there was one quote in a scene that was really hard to read. This could have been avoided by editing better.

Transitions from group to group were another small issue I noticed. They were choppy and sloppy. I think that we should have had a set transition for each change of segment. That way when that transition came up the viewer would know the topic was changing.

There were other small errors, like all of the text box not showing like in the fifth segment, or the text being different than everyone else’s text in the third segment, but overall I think that this documentary had more positives than negatives.

I learned a great deal of things from this project. I was a complete newcomer to film and learned all about how camera angles work and when to use each one, how to record voiceovers, how to cut and edit scenes, and even how to work a video camera and microphone. I could have never learned that much about film from reading books and writing papers.

Through about researching, I knew some things before hand I was able to learn a lot of new things. I was introduced to new search engines and research databases that I had never even heard of before we started this project. It was also made very clear to me that research is hard work and something that has to be done properly. It also takes a lot of time to do but in the end is very rewarding because you learn so many new things.

I did not know what sustainable living was before we started this project, so everything we talked about in our documentary I learned as we were making it. I learned what sustainable living is, how I can live sustainably and what effects sustainable living has on the environment and our future.

Blogging is the perfect thing for me. It is like being twelve and thirteen again and writing in a diary every night before bed, only a little bit different. There are so many cool things you can do with blogging like creating RSS Feeds, having blog partners, and seeing who has visited your blog and where in the country they live.

Creating a documentary is a project in which organization and constant hard work are key elements. I have never had problems with organization so that part of the documentary was not hard for me. It was the fact that I did not really enjoy this project at all.

I love working with people, and when I get a job that is definitely something that I will have to have. In order to do good though I need to be in a group that is motivated and works hard. I did not really have those types of people while working on this project so that was a learning experience. There are going to be times when I will be put in that kind of situation again and so I am almost glad that it ended up that way. It was definitely a learning and growing experience.

In the future I will definitely be able to put what I have learned while working on this project to use. I do not quite know if I will ever use the film things I learned but I will use the blogging knowledge I gained in the future. Learning how to work with different types of people is something I will have to use over and over again in the future, so it was very beneficial for me to learn now. Also, having to work on a project that I do not enjoy will benefit me because now I know that it has to be done and I will get through it eventually. In the end, I think that this was a beneficial project.

We are finally ready for the premier of the documentary that we have been working on for over 8 weeks.
When: May 22, 2009 at 8:00 a.m.

Where: Mrs. Pomerantz’s Room #2003

We read the article “Why Isn’t the Brain Green?” by Jon Gertner

The Pew Research Center released a poll ranking the issues that Americans said were the most important priorities for this year. In very last, ranked 20th was climate change. A few years ago, David H. Krantz (a Columbia psychology professor) and Elke Weber (who is a chair at Columbia’s business school) formed a group who would examine decision making related to environmental issues. Most people agree on the fact that climate change is caused by human behavior, so rather than solely having to find an engineering solution, the solution probably also lies in changing human behavior. “We undervalue promised future outcomes. We are far less likely to make lifestyle changes in order to ensure a safer future climate. Weber says we have a finite pool of worry, meaning we can only worry about so many things at time. Some factors that scientists heavily influence our decision making are: uncertainty, time, potential gain, and potential loss. It has been proven that many important environmental choices were made by groups. We work better in groups, and need to “congregate.”

I think this article goes way above anything I had though of. It takes climate change to a whole new level and even though it is talking a lot about some pyschological things, its really easy to understand and has a good flow. It was really interesting to see all the things that go into making a decision, even though we don’t know we are doing those things.

1. Do you know what it means to live sustainably?
2. What is your definition of sustainable living?
3. Do you live sustainably?
4. Why or why not?
5. What are some ways to live sustainably easily?
6. What are some factors that make it hard to live sustainably?
7. What are some ways to live sustainably?
8. Do you think it is important for people to live sustainably?
9. Do you think that more people will be living sustainably in the future?

We are watching a video about street interviews.

• Preparing: Always tell who you are and why you are wanting to interview and what the interview is for.
• Conducting: Prepare equipment and have it all set up. Make sure you have all your questions ready and that all of your equipment is working and that you have back up. Look at the people. Don’t be afraid to go up to people. Don’t get frustrated.
• Evaluating: Dress nice, make people think you are not some random group. Know your questions. Do get your point across fast and meaningful. Make them think their answer a good answer, give good feedback to get them to keep talking. Get their opinion not yours. Don’t just read off the paper. Clarify questions, make sure the interviewee understands the questions.

Our roles: We need someone to film, someone to be the sound person, someone to interview,someone to find people to interview. CONSENT FORMS.

We watched a video about making storyboards and about how to make a better film. Matthew Needleman had a lot of knowledge about the making of films. He had a lot of good ideas about storyboarding. Such as creating the picture then showing where you want the frame of the film to be. He also stated it is important to not stick to your storyboard and to when you get to the film site to see with your own eyes if it will work. He also made it very clear that it is super important that the film maker takes into considerating how the audience is going to see it. The audience does not know what you are tryingtoshow so you have to show it exactly.

Today we are predicting what different camera shots are used for.

• WS (Wide Shot) – We would use this if there is a lot of things we need to show in the shot. Also we would use this if size was important and if we were showing something in comparison to something else.
• MS (Medium Shot) – We would use this if we wanted to show a lot of the person but did not want to have a distracting background that would take away from the person and their interview.
• CU (Close Up) – We would use this just to concentrate on the person and the person’s words. There would be nothing behind the person that would act as a distraction to the viewer so it would be really easy to concentrate on the subject.
• ECU (Extreme Close Up) – We would use this if we really want to concentrate on what the person is saying and if we really wanted to focus on the person’s emotion.

On Thursday in class we made our first calls to our contacts in hopes of getting expert interveiws. Our group called an environmental lawyer and it was a great success. Franni did such a great job and the lawyer was able to help us a lot and even set us up with other people he knows that would be good people for us to contact. He knew a lot on the topic and was very passionate, so we are really hoping he is going to be able to set up an interview with us. I think he has a lot of knowledge to share with us! Franni was on the phone with him for like 20 minutes!! We also called him the wrong name but I don’t think he heard us so thats good. I’m excited to see what we can learn from all of these people who are so passionate and so knowledgeable about our topic!!!

Our group right now is brainstorming the images of what we want to fill our segment with. We are coming up with ideas for visual metaphors. A visual metaphor is something  that explains an idea through images and visuals.

OUR IDEAS: (IMAGES OF:)

• Landfill
• Recycling bins
• Littering
• Wind turbine
• Trashcans with recyclable things in it
• Video of people walking out of a room with the lights on and wasting energy
• Big solar panel at Northeast
• Video of someone walking right by the recycling bin to throw away a bottle
• Images showing recycling bins next to the trash cans (comparison)
• Re-Usable grocery bags…someone with their reusable bag vs. someone walking out with a lot of plastic bags, showing the brighter side to using the reusable bags
• Someone begins writing something, messes up, looks to throw it away then puts it in the recycling bin
• Overflowing trashcans compared to empty recycling bins

Second Nature, is a group of people dedicated to create change for a just and sustainable future.

They have created the idea of Education for Sustainability (EFS), which is expanding into a national movement. Because of EFS “…more and more institutions are bringing sustainability into curriculum and research, and incorporating its principles into operations and work with local communities.”

CONTACT INFO:

Second Nature, Inc.
18 Tremont Street, Suite 1120
Boston, MA 02108
617-224-1610
info@secondnature.org