Interview #2 done

 Two interviews down...

So I finished my interview with Mitch Dworet!!! Yay!! Honestly, this interview was so much more than I ever felt like it would be. It was such an emotional and deep atmosphere and it both made me feel so comfortable but also so much pain towards what this man went through. My interview was around an hour and a half with him, but I'll be honest to say that it felt no longer than 15 minutes when I was talking to him. 

It was the most fascinating place where he really put into perspective how much grief can affect a person. He said one quote that just really stuck with me and I'd love to be able to share it with you today. 

"I think talking to a young person, to young people and, you know, how do I, at 65 and as a father and going through my life expressed to you the depth of grief and loss of, of a son of a child, right?"

Now this is one of many breathtaking things he said to me, but I'm really in love with the concept he made with this and it's something I definitely want to put into my documentary within post production. 

So I know this may sound a little overzealous, but I want to start thinking about post production with the two interviews I have done to get a little closer to feeling complete with this, as well as see what things are missing when I interview Lindsay. So essentially, what I did to organize my structure, I wanted to work through the interviews in an easier way. I decided to do this by transcribing my interview in Premiere and putting that into a Google Doc to see the interviews in a visual way rather than finding things in an hour and a half long interview. 

On Google Docs, there's a way to organize your file to have tabs so this is what my tabs are currently looking like. This way everything is super organized. So as you can see, Rylan and Mitch have their distinct tabs for their transcription, and the structure is the place where I can essentially in a way create a script of where I want to place certain interview clips with times attached. 

This is currently super helpful and I feel like this is also a better way to get peers to look over my documentary without taking so much time to watch it and can edit in a less permanent way. 

I'm really excited for my third and final interview with Lindsay as well, and so the plan is that essentially I need to focus my interview more so on the definition of grief, recovery, and trauma, as I feel that is a major part I am missing in the structure right now. 

I think that genuinely this documentary is going to turn out really well and I'm really happy with it

Until next time 

- Emma <3

Interview with Mitch Dworet

 Interview today :))

So my second interview is scheduled today and I'm super excited. Today's interview is with Mitch Dworet, Nicolas's father, and Alexander Dworet's father. As I've said, all my questions are filled out, I have my questions listed and equipment checked out so now it's just executing the interview. We have been set to start the interview at 4:30 and I'm expecting it to run for at least an hour so that's pretty much my plan for today after school...

My main goal for today is just filming the interview, as speaking to Mitch recently, he revealed that he was uncomfortable with us filming b-roll in his house (completely understood). I am going to look into also finding some footage of him, maybe at swim meets or any old footage of him that could be used within the piece. 

I did some prior research on the Dworet family as well to find some talking points to engage with him before the interview starts

This includes 

- Nicholas' passion for swimming

- Mitch's passion for athletics (he's literally running a 5k this morning)

- The focus on grief and recovery 

- Not very open about that day (avoid talking about it mostly) for him to remain comfortable

Now the last point I make kinda sucks for the content of my piece however what I will say is through my plan Rylan will lead the beginning of the piece and Mitch will end the piece mostly with the content of grief and recovery. 

I do still have one more interview after this one, which will be with Lindsay Carpenter at Eagles Haven. This interview is taking place on Thursday at 4, and I plan on filming b-roll with her when I am there. 

A tad more planning happened too yesterday when I got to watch the documentary - Devil in the family - the fall of Ruby Franke, 

This just gave me another aspect to watch about documentaries. This is a true crime documentary (slightly strange for my content but really helpful). 

The main thing this documentary helped me with is just to see the necessity and helpfulness that giving interviews breathing room provides. I find that in the last documentary I did, and just my history with TV, I tend to just put interview clips with constant powers in the middle, but never give breathing room, and I feel like especially with this piece, breathing room is really important. 

They were also very b-roll heavy with establishing shots which I really liked and think it's something very manageable for me to get of MSD which could add to the piece especially in its earlier parts. 

Oh, I also watched American Murder: Gabby Petito, which I didn't love but it taught me to be careful with my audio and really make sure everything looks visually and audiotrially pleasing before I begin working through my interviews. 

But that's all I have for today, so I'll update you tomorrow after my interview 

Until next time 

- Emma <3

Production begins

 And so it begins...

So this week marks the start to major production within my documentary. This means that I will be conducting & completing my interviews by the end of next week. Some things that I need to get started in order for this to be possible are an equipment list, b-roll thoughts, and just really sitting down to think through each step of the interview. 

As I believe I have mentioned previously, Mitch Dworet kindly invited me to his home in order to film his interview. So that interview is scheduled for later this week, and I am going to bring my friend, Oriana Rangel, who's in television production with me, to help with the shot framing and being behind the camera during the interview. 

Equipment, some of the equipment I am using includes 

- A Canon t-8i

- Hollylands (

- Tripod

- Zoom lens 

- Standard 45 lens 

- A rhode for all audio 

- A light kit (if needed)

- ND filters (if needed)

I am more than grateful that my television program at my school allows us to check out equipment, so luckily I will be able to check out equipment for my documentary production. 

In terms of b-roll, I luckily got a large portion of it at the memorial, however, for Rylan's interview, I actually get to go into one of her classes to get some b-roll of her instructing a yoga class. Also, for Lindsay's case,e I am going to film some of her working within the office, in order for the audience to see what they hear at the time.

Currently one of my only major issues is creating all b-roll on my own with situations where I am dealing with individuals who lost their lives. It's been difficult to look past using pictures and really dive deep into more creative ways of creating footage that is used in emotional scenes to cover up jump cuts once I get to the post production stage. 

But that's all I have for you today 

- Until Next time 

Emma <3

No group meeting :((

 Absences are the death of me... 

So this week, as I said previously, I have been crazy busy. I mean I just counted, and after today, I have missed the past 11 days of school. And unfortunately, missing so much class means I also missed our group reflection where we get to talk about our projects and get feedback. 

That being said, I knew I was going to miss this, so I talked to some of my peers within aice media in order to at least partially get some understanding and feedback on my documentary. Some of the discussions we had were just little things like ways to get my interviewees to feel comfortable and a bit on my graphics, and in the future, ways to make sure within the post production stage I am able to have enough b-roll. 

In talking to Mateo, a classmate, I realized that b-roll can be as simple as me going to memorials where I can find pictures (in front of the Stoneman Douglas sign) and really just use what is there for me to use. Also, in case of pictures, I realized I can stage shots with printed out photos or for example, someone looking at pictures on a computer screen. 

So far from talking to classmates, the reception on my documentary has been mostly positive. People really like the focus on grief and healing, and all agree that is the main purpose of this documentary, rather than just sharing what was lost that day. 

Also, I will share something really cool that happened to me tonight at Elon University. So tonight we had a meet and greet at the communications school and I got into a long discussion with a professor in charge of a program called elondocs. 

His name is Colin Donohue and he gave me some really insightful tips on this documentary, having worked on some in the past. I told him about my documentary and he shared with me some tips, such as once I complete my interview, to put it into a Word document and work on the structure outside of Premiere to create a script of sorts. He also advised me to make sure that I really allow breathing room for the audience to take in what is being told to them in a slower, more emotional manner. 

Also, it was really cool to see how an older person really resonated with something I am currently working on and was impressed with the progression of the documentary. 

As I get back to school this upcoming Monday, I am also excited to discuss with my peers the progression of my documentary, especially with my interviews coming up. I wish I had more to update you on, but I am excited to hit the ground running in the beginning production and eventually the post production of this documentary

But until next time 

- Emma <3

Staying productive..

 Life's been really busy...

So I just got back from STN, which is a television trip I go on with my TV production program. We compete at a national level, but that also caused me to miss a week of valuable time in this portfolio project. As you have been made aware, my project started off pretty strangely as I had to film the memorial and one of my interviews pretty early on, but the rest of production has been paused until I researched further. 

Unfortunately, with everything going on it's just been crazy, and I leave today for Elon University, where I am a finalist for a huge scholarship. That being said, my interviews are both scheduled for next week and I really didn't want to lose a week without doing anything productive to move my documentary along. 

Because of this, I wanted to plan ahead and begin to think of title graphics, colors, lower thirds, and everything that will make my post production process smoother. I really loved the idea of using red as a color to symbolize urgency. Also, I wanted to keep my brand consistent to the social media so everything is definitely the same fonts, colors, etc.

Here is what my lower thirds will look like... 

Ignore the blue that's just so I can key out the color on Premiere using ultra key. Buttt this is what my lower thirds currently look like. I used Canva to make them and I am also going to use Premiere to transition it to slide in and then out. I think these lower thirds are simple enough and for each episode in the series, the bottom right corner of the third would be used as a space to put the memorial/schools graphic. This graphic may be subject to change depending on how it fits into the actual edit, but for right now this was one little thing that made me feel like I was being productive in the project. 

Aside from lower thirds, I also thought about possibly using sections to divide up the documentary. These sections would be the subtitles from my outline I told you about previously, but I'll show you what those slides would look like so I can jog your memory. 

These are the three main sections I plan on using to divide up the full documentary episode. I may use these with a lower opacity in the background to show off b-roll as well,l but I am not entirely positive on this factor yet.

I also plan on ending my documentary with credits that memorialize the 17 lives lost, whilst crediting the individuals who helped me with this documentary. 

But that's all I have time for today

Until next time 

- Emma <3

Planning

 Third & Final Interview Plan

The third interview I am filming is with Lindsay Carpenter from Eagles Haven. She is a specialist in grief and the expert within the documentary. I, of course, would love to ask her questions pertaining to the MSD shooting and her personal connection with it, but what's more important is the second part of the doc for her in explaining grief and how individuals can work through those heavy emotions. So, Lindsay is going to be the one who really helps tie everything together. 

I want to think about the same similar scenario of Mitch in that I want a general basis of what questions I am going to ask 

Even though I'm focusing on the general concept of grief, it's still good to establish Lindsay's connection to the community. Here are some questions I'm thinking of:

1. Lindsay, can you tell me a bit about your role at Eagles Haven and how you became involved with supporting the Parkland community?" (This gets her background and connection.)

2. "From your perspective, how did the MSD shooting impact the community, and what were some of the immediate needs you observed?" (This gets her professional observation of the events.)

3. "Working so closely with families who have experienced loss, what have you learned about the unique challenges they face after such a tragedy?" (This bridges the gap between the specific event and the broader topic.)

Now where Lindsay really shines is with the section about grief and recovery. I really want her to explain the complexities of grief in a way that's easy to understand, but also respectful to this community. Some of the questions I want to ask are  

1. "Can you explain what 'prolonged grief' means and how it differs from typical grief?" (This addresses a key concept you've been exploring.)

2. "What are some common misconceptions people have about grief, and how can we better support those who are grieving?" (This helps to educate the audience.)

3. "You've worked with many individuals on their journey of recovery. What are some healthy coping mechanisms you've observed?" (This gives practical advice.)

4. "How important is it for people to find ways to honor the memories of their loved ones, and what are some ways they can do that?" (This ties into the theme of honoring those lost.)

5. "For those who are watching this documentary and are struggling with grief, what is one piece of advice you would give them?" (This is a powerful closing question.)

For Lindsay's interview, I want to create a calm and supportive atmosphere. I'm thinking of filming in a quiet space at Eagles Haven, maybe with soft lighting and a neutral background. I want her to feel comfortable and relaxed, so she can share her expertise openly. I also would like to get some b-roll of her interacting with people at Eagles Haven, or in her office, to give context to her role.

I think this interview will really add depth and credibility to the documentary, but that's all I have for today 

Until next time,

Emma <3