Group Meetings

 We had our second group meeting recently

In this meeting, I was able to ask more specific questions about by project, because many parts of it were more developed than last time. Two things I asked about were how to keep interviews informative and engaging, and how to keep the documentary engaging. In terms of the interviews, sometimes interviewees may not answer the question as in depth as desired, which makes it hard to cover the necessary parts of the documentary. Also, because our questions relate to the culture of a person, which is a pretty personal topic, it is not always appropriate to ask the interviewee to elaborate more. Therefore, one of the solutions that a group member recommended, is for the interviewee to explain about 1-2 of their prized possessions. This can be ones related to culture or not, because the meaning of it can still relate to the piece. When explaining this object, it can help an interviewee to elaborate more, because this possession is something that they know very well. It is easy to talk about something that one cherishes, and using this question would provide an opportunity to learn more about the identity of the interviewee, as well as cultural components behind it. 

The second question was in regards about how to keep the documentary engaging. Colin and I wanted the documentary to be educational, but have a tone that is more positive and upbeat, to a certain extent. One of my group members recommended animation. Sadly, I do not have a great talent of drawing, and even tried to attempt it at the beginning of the project. The process did not work well, which is why animation was not the best option. I told the group that my partner and I were thinking about using stop motion. The response about the idea was great. One group member said they liked the idea, and it would make the documentary more engaging and organized. The rest of the group agreed. They also pointed out that it was important for Colin and I to create good representations of our voiceovers, and explain them through stop motion in a way that makes the most sense. We will work on incorporating 2-3 scenes of stop motion, to make our overall excerpt as engaging as possible.