I feel that(thanks to Kim’s advice) I need to organize my thoughts through writing it down. I have been relying too much on the conversation with Edge, and I need some more footages that can include the heart of my documentary. Thus I have been trying to think about what I want this documentary to be about. The documentary will be about the homeless newspaper and what it does to the homeless people and the general public, and Edge and lady Valerie is the main voice. However, Both talking heads are kind of beating around the bush, and I have hard time connecting the two person due to the lack of verite footages, such as him picking up the newspaper at the office. The situation is also down – the new issue is far from coming out, and the vendors are mad that there are often no one in the office. Talking with Edge gives me a lot of good character demonstration footages, but still not to the core. Thus, I feel that there are two footages that are essential for the heart of the documentary.
1. the Verite shoot in the office: This I have been putting off because I was trying to go with Edge. If I get to go with him, that is the best situation, but it is hard because it is hard to make plans with him. The office footage(editors working on articles, coming in of the new issue if lucky) will, with or without Edge, provide nice b-rolls and the link between Edge and lady Valerie’s talk. I will deal with it by next Monday. I will shoot b-rolls and look for street poets in downtown to get some poems and other homeless voices.
2. the reception of the paper by general public: I have a few friends interested in reading the Austin Advocate News Letter. I will shoot their reaction to the paper, and their comments. Edge’s comment that the newsletter provide a bridge between the homeless and the housed people, thus comes to life, and will be the heart of my documentary. I scheduled shooting with my friends this Thursday, and I will try to catch the buying, the reading, and the reaction of my friends. These will be stitched together with many sales footage by Edge.
the Focus of the documentary: This has gone through a lot of changes since the beginning of the shooting. First, it started as ‘what is the hardship of the Austin Advocate, and why is it having hard time?’ as I began talking to the board members. Then, as I came to know Edge and his optimism and acquiring this distinctive rhythm of documentary through Guadalupe street shooting, I began focusing on Edge’s personality and his relationship with the office members as financially and mentally interdependent. However, as I began editing, I felt that there are questions unanswered, something very basic for my documentary to be meaningful: ‘what is this newsletter’s worth and meaning, to the general public, as well as the homeless people?’ Picturing the voice of homeless being heard by the public through the newsletter is the final purpose of this documentary.
Hi Dong, this is a good exercise, to think aloud about the core message of the doc. I am in agreement that different kinds of footage are missing, and what you've outlined should give some variety to the scenes. I think that ultimately, we'll see and understand all of these themes you've described throughout the piece- from Edge's optimism, to the struggle of the paper, but nailing down what the over-arching thread will be is essential.
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