FAQ & Festival

FAQ

Q: Where are you shopping your documentary for peer review?  

A: I'd like to somehow get premieres of my documentary on youtube with out spilling the whole story. This way peers can see videos and hear the audio and I am not spoiling the surprise completely, but rather teasing the documentary.

Q: Why is putting it out there for review, feedback and a competition important?  

A: I think hearing other people's ideas can always shape your documentary and inspire new ideas of your own. Hearing another person's perspective can always shed light on something you yourself didn't think of before. Also you realize that talking with peers that you know have made great productions in the past will always have good constructive criticism to give.

Q: What is your biggest hope and fear for the competition you have to enter?

A: My biggest hope would be to win it; the festival is close enough that I could drive out and accept the award. I'd also settle for receiving an e-mail or notification that my documentary was throughly enjoyed if it did not win. My biggest fear would have to be if it wasn't enjoyed at all or received negative feedback. I don't know if this information could be relayed to me by the festival, but it is still definitely a fear of mine.

The Festival

I'll be entering in The Great Lakes International Film Festival. I chose this festival because the rules and regulations were rather loose therefore granting me the ability to follow my vision without running into problems. I also decided on this festival due to the location; it is very close to the college in case anyone would be interested in going. It would fall under the category of documentary short. The deadline is about January 8th and the festival takes place the following september (around 23rd).

http://www.greatlakesfilmfest.com/

This link will take you to their website where you can see past festivals and the current entries as well.

Meet the partcipants

Participants

                        Susanne Palumbo

Secretary of the First Book Westminster organization also an Education Major and graduate from Westminster College. Palumbo is able to provide the information on the organization, along with a valuable opinion on the production.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD1-P9p4sCc&feature=channel_video_title

Overview

The Quest Production Company presents a documentary digital short about First Book Westminster and the importance of reading.

First Book Westminster is an organization that gives books to children who can’t afford them. The organization works with many other reading organizations in hopes to promote a positive reaction in children towards reading a book. 

Susan Gentile, Rita Hoepp, and Pam Klein are all knowledgeable professionals in their field of expertise. They discuss the importance of reading at a younger age and literacy in general. This research is done to promote the program First Book and persuade the audience to volunteer or donate money for the program.

If children can receive books at a younger age and receive positive reinforcement towards reading them then they are encouraged to read more, which stimulates their reading and writing capabilities.

The documentary starts out with a slow-motion shot of a library shelf along with uplifting music, then audio from an interview on the importance of reading books. The next shot shows a parent reading to their child along with an interview on how important reading at an early age is. Followed a clip from the interview of the secretary of the First Book telling the basics of the program, then clips of children along with interview of a professional giving their opinion on the program. Next a clip of a child reading a book alone with interview from the secretary giving specific information about the organization, followed by shots of books with an interview of a professional. 

The main shots include pictures of children reading, pictures books and libraries, adults reading books to children, and clips from the interviews. 

By allowing the professionals and participants to narrate the documentary the story is told from people who know the importance of reading and First Book. This way the story telling is enriched by what they have to say rather than an announcer generalizing everything. The method behind this is that people say things that are better heard directly than from someone else.

Mentors

On Campus Mentor:

Eileen Morelli

Eileen is the faculty advisor for First Book Westminster and relays important details about the organization. Also she can provide corrections to any errors in the facts that I present. She is an associate professor of education who teaches: 

• Education 302 - Language Arts and Children’s Literature
• Education 351 - Reading in the Content Areas
• Education 601 - Teaching in the Elementary School
• Reading 830 - Children’s Literature

Education:

• Ed. D. - University of Pittsburgh (Education/Reading and Higher Education Administration)
• M.Ed. - Valparaiso University (Education/Reading Specialist
• B.A. - Youngstown State University (Elementary Education –Grades K-8)

http://www.westminster.edu/acad/educ/faculty/faculty_morelli.cfm

Off-Campus Mentor:


David Birdy

Dave is a project manager, technical manager, RED One Owner & DIT, and Video Engineer for sports and entertainment. He is also a new media consultant so if there is one person who could look at my videos and really give me some great advice it would be Dave. I am keeping close contact with him and e-mail him anytime I have clips I want him to look at and give constructive criticism.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001526613382

Video footage

So I have a lot of great video from over the summer, but I'd like to make sure I still have everything from last semester all saved up before I start working on editing the rest. So first thing first is to check my project from last semester and go from there.

Blog

I remembered having a blog all ready set up from a previous class, but forgot the password so after countless attempts of guessing I just reset and wrote it down. Now I can start posting up pictures and keep everyone updated.