Posts

Showing posts from February, 2024

I found my Sacagawea | Blog Post #34

Image
 A few short moments after the adorable chicks and mom were photoed, i decided to talk with some locals and see their perspectives about the birds. Hence my wonderful interaction with the woman we are referring to as Sacagawea: I had a lovely conversation interviewing her and seeing how passionate she was about the birds. She was actually more interested in the birds than able to hold a conversation in the interview. Nonetheless, her passionate responses were heard! I'll catch you all soon in the next post!

First Post! | Blog Post #33

Image
So the first post of ten planned posts have launched! These covering my recent excursion to a park in which I walked about trying to take shoots and surveying the land for opportunities. I felt like Lewis and Clark except i was without a  Sacagawea (history joke).  I had the lucky opportunity to capture this image of 3 Sandhill cranes. An adult, and two adorable juniors! I wouldn't have been able to find them if it wasn't for the group of people that had gathered to look at them so to that i say: Thank you! The community is pretty gentle and kind and were subtle to not make any startling moves. These adorable birds are going to be the center point of my film; Lovely progress so far!

I'm behind on this stuff... | Blog Post #32

Image
Social media is one of the largest talks of my generation. Its no secret that everyone knows how to use it and uses it often...except for me. I grew up with a traditional Egyptian family that didn't still is not a fan of social media or technology. As a result, i have a very late start on learning social media. While many people know how to use Instagram, I am not one of those many people. As a result, i had to look at tutorials and watch how to videos. While i do use Instagram regularly, I only use it to scroll through reels and stories. Posting content and images are a completely new experience for me and i am ashamed to say that i have no clue how this stuff works, but I'm learning and doing more tutorials.  So that last paragraph was written 15 minutes ago. I have been watching tutorials and at the moment I'm about to upload my posts and add to my story for the first time. Keep on reading and look out for the next post where you will see our first Post for our documenta...

Shiny New Location | Blog Post #31

Image
The city of Tampa park is the perfect filming spot as it has all corners of nature within it. Its abundant greenery makes for quite the environment to film in.  The diverse flora and fauna provide a visual appeal and many opportunities' for back grounds and shots. The different areas within the park, such as open fields, wooded areas, and water features, provide flexibility for storytelling. The accessibility of the park is an advantage especially for smaller budgets due to their free cost for entry and the public access that comes with it.  Utilizing the natural beauty of a park can create visually appealing scenes without the need for extensive artificial elements. Thereby reducing costs to construct a set.  Last but not least, we are able to interact with the community and get excellent shots with them! This new location should allow me to execute my vision! I'll be able to capture wildlife and get interviews with the locals. This helps further progress my film to one...

Story Boarding | Blog Post #30

Image
The story board is one of the most important parts as it is the main guideline to follow when making the documentary. It helps guide your shots and where the story is going. It is also a plan that allows you to know the chronological order everything will be aligned in. The storyboard is the backbone to your film and very much the skeleton for the muscle to be supported by. Here we have 7 Panels all with a good general idea that will cover each section of the film. The introductory segment features the bird being introduced as the topic. It then is followed with almost an infographic of information on the bird. Then we cut to people being interviewed to see their awareness and what they think of the bird. Additionally we spread the idea of research and wonder. Lastly we tie off the film with where we began, in the wilderness. This story board will greatly accelerate the time until recording starts. Next post we will talk about the Instagram page. So come join me on the next post for so...

Planning | Blog Post #29

You may have noticed by now that this small section of posts have been all ending with "-ing" and to my brilliant credit, it creates a small pattern to break the monotone titles of blogs. Your probably here to get an update on my plan seeing as how its called... planning. There are a couple areas to start on, but do be aware the timing is critical and as a result we must work overtime here.  The first part of my masterful plan includes finishing all the advertisement portions by the coming Friday of March first.  This entails the Instagram posts and the movie post card all while creating blog posts to update my dedicated audience (you). The second part of my plan is to go and film the documentary all while engaging in creating interviews with people to see how aware of the natural world they are. Not to worry, i will always ask for permission before i interview. The third part of the plan is to edit the filming all by the 11th of March. This is a short deadline, i know, and s...

Instagramming | Blog Post #28

Image
The last gave you all a very general over view of what social media is. If you bookworms are actually reading these posts, then you would also know that i am deciding on which platform to use. Well if your wondering which one it will be, then wonder no longer! I will be using Instagram! Why Instagram you might ask? Well my estudiant patron, I'm glad you asked! Instagram's visual appeal as well as aesthetics and design play a crucial role in attracting users to the platform. Instagram additionally has the highest engagement rate of any platform with lots of users being continually active here. Additionally they do targeted advertising which allows business or films (you can see what I'm getting at) to promote products to relevant audiences. Stories and Reels can be small pictures of clips that further enhance the immersive advertising experience. Now you see that Instagram isn't a choice, its the best choice. Its even a no-brainer at this point. With our main advertising...

What's social media? | Blog Post #27

Image
Ever wanted to take a warm cup of tea and sit outside to read? Feeling that cool crisp wind lightly caress your neck? Maybe even feel yourself warming up from the drinking the tea? Its a wonderful experience, one that just you, the wind, the tea, and the newspaper. For my older audience, the newspaper is a familiar form of media. It has articles with every opinion fact and local events as well as national ones on it. That media still exists today but in a different form: Social Media. Social media is where users can generate, distribute, and swap information, ideas, and multimedia content within virtual communities. These platforms allow for communication and interaction, enabling individuals to establish connections with friends, family, and individuals globally. Key features of social media include the ability to share text, images, videos, and other content, as well as engage with others through comments, likes, and shares. Prominent social media platforms such as Facebook, X, Insta...

Edutainment? | Blog Post #26

Image
Your glorious cinematographer has decided to create a film following a theme of both informing audiences and engaging them. I draw from Attenborough's success with informing audiences however, i look to You Tube and content creators for the engagement portion. As you can tell by the title, there is a term called edutainment.  Edutainment, a dynamic fusion of education and entertainment, creates a captivating and enjoyable learning experience. Instead of relying solely on traditional teaching methods, edutainment leverages the power of entertainment to make learning more accessible, memorable, and fun. This allows the storytelling aspect of the documentary to become more effective and creates an informal and comfortable sphere for audiences to feel that its less of a seminar and more of their favorite show! All of the viewers will be mine *Laughs Evilly.* This theme is so widely used as shown by this Novakid advertisement. To engage children to learn, fun practices are being develop...

Documentary Research | Blog Post #25

Image
Who better to draw wildlife documentary from than David Attenborough himself! He is an icon in the world of informational documentaries as he has been in many and created many on the natural world.  Sir David Frederick Attenborough is a British broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author.  Attenborough has been actively involved in environmental and conservation efforts. He has spoken out about the impact of climate change and the importance of preserving biodiversity. David Attenborough's influence on the popularization of natural history programming and his dedication to raising awareness about environmental issues have made him an iconic figure in both the scientific and entertainment communities. Attenborough's advocacy work extends to various organizations, and he has received numerous awards for his contributions to broadcasting and conservation, including multiple Emmy Awards and a knighthood in 1985 by the Queen of England. I have chosen to watch the film preh...

Who is our feathered friend? | Blog Post #24

Image
The sandhill crane has had a long history. These birds have one of the longest fossil records of any bird in the whole world! Dating all they way back to 2.5 million years ago.  These birds have thrived in North America and are migratory birds. They came under threat and became critically endangered species before the US Migratory Bird Treaty Act was put in place. This act prohibits the take of migratory birds without permission from the interior Department of  US fish and wild life service. Adults are gray overall; during breeding, their plumage  is usually much worn and stained, particularly in the migratory populations. There are a few sub-species but they are found in Mississippi  and Cuba. These subspecies are endangered as they are isolated and do not migrate. These birds create a loud sound that can be heard from a distance as if they are saying "r." Now that we have a better idea of our feathered friend, we could get on to developing a story board. Our star w...

Rebrand | Blog Post #23

Image
 Its been a rocky few weeks, with plenty of ups and downs; that is a lie. Its mainly been downs with plenty of issues happening. My designated actors have become busy and are unable to act and unforeseen complications with life in home and at school have come up. As a result, i have decided i need to shrink my ambitions and do a documentary instead. Now i know, some of you might be worried for my timing to the film festival or were excited for such a film with up and downs. Instead i offer you a documentary about the Sandhill Crane. These birds are seen often by Floridians, but yet many don't know their names or even know much about these birds. I wish to go into depth and create a documentary about our feathered friend! Instead of fantasy, lets go local and sustainable! See you all in the next post!