I decided to do a documentary on my best friend, Danielle Denise Fellguth because I was inspired by her disability pride. Although she has cerebral palsy, she has the self-determination to be proud of her disability and share with others about her experiences and spread disability awareness. I didn't really have to do any research about Danielle because she is my best friend and she tells me everything-from her accomplishments to her life challenges. I did; however, had to research about Danielle's disability, cerebral palsy, since I never knew what it was about. My questions were focused and direct because they touched on Danielle's life struggles, the benefits of having a disability, and how she balances her disability advocacy with her school and friends. For my documentary piece, I imagined shooting b-roll of Danielle being a typical teenager who is capable of accomplishing whatever she sets her mind to.
I chose to film at school and my friend's house for my documentary piece because they were the most convenient places to shoot. The quality of my b-roll are pretty good, despite the fact that I had limited amounts of time to shoot them. My most creative shot is of Danielle talking on the phone and working on her computer. This scene is suppose to show that Danielle is on an important call with members of the disability awareness national board she works for. I like the shots for this scene because I used a lot of different camera angles. I did a over the shoulder, close-up, and medium shot of Danielle in the scene in order to make the scene more interesting for the audience to watch. I did use a variety of shot selections, such as scenes of Danielle's daily school routine, Danielle hanging out with friends during lunch, Danielle in the office switching wheelchairs, and Danielle working on homework. My camera moves when shooting the b-roll was a little shaky because I didn't use a tripod. However, by using a tripod for the interview, it all turned out well because the shots were more stable and the audience wouldn't be distracted by the shaking of the camera and the seriousness of my topic would reach out to them more effectively. I tried my best to avoid zooming too much, but I couldn't help panning while shooting. The lighting in my shots are not too bright, but not too dark. The focus in my shots turned out pretty well because Danielle, along with a number of other people in the shots, weren't blurry and remained in focus throughout each shot. My opening and closing voice-over was loud enough to hear and clear enough to understand.
My opening voice-over introduces who Danielle is and how she will be the main focus of the documentary. In my voice-over, in order to grab the audience's attention I said "She is a typical teenage girl, but one thing that makes her unique is her life-long disability". This statement will immediately grab people's attention because it is rare for them to view documentaries on disabled people. My documentary was definitely informative because it tells others that disabled people refuse to let their disabilities hold them back in society. My closing voice over states that although Danielle is disabled, she has the strength to be whoever she wants to be and accomplish any goals she sets her mind to. The final thought I want people to have after viewing my piece is that everyone is equal and everyone has the capability to accomplish anything in life.
While the audience hears my two voice overs and the interview, footage of Danielle doing her daily school routine and working on disability advocacy is shown. I edited it this way because the message in the voice overs link to what the audience will see. The only transitions I used were fade in/out and cross-dissolve. I used the software, Livetype, to create my title and it was amazing how it lets you select from dozens of title animations to use. Throughout the documentary it is apparent to see the unusual jump cuts that break the rules of continuity. This was especially difficult to fix because Danielle often forgot what she was going to say during the interview, or she messed up, so we had to start over.
What I like the most about my piece is the focus on reality, as opposed to fiction. I like the fact that it speaks the truth about our world and how people struggle and thrive in our world. If I had more time to do my piece, I would re-shoot my b-roll, select better background music, and fix the jump-cuts. After working on this project, I've learned that you never know what people are dealing with so it is always better to get to know someone before you judge them.
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