When telling a story, people connect to real stories with other people. One example that Katy gave was a documentary that she produced called Pushing the Elephant (click to watch the trailer). It was about a lady named Rose Mapendo from Tutsi, Congo who was separated from one of her 10 children during a violent war. Her daughter was 5 years old when she had to leave Congo and relocate to Arizona, thinking that her daughter was dead. Almost a decade later, Rose and her daughter reunited to start a better life. If you look at the title, you would think that it's a documentary from a discovery channel about elephants but it's as simple as unity. You can't push an elephant alone but if you unite no matter what the circumstances, the elephant will move! This wasn't just a story, it was a intimate recount because Katy and her crew had to relive Congo refugees struggle, pain and emotions with them.
Stories have been told for decades in many ways but what matters is that what you are saying matters to your subject. While watching the video, it created an emotion of caring and sympathy, which is a sign of connecting with your subject. You always want a response from your subject.
Besides connecting with your subject and the positives about collaborative film making, there are some steps that I learned in producing great stories.
Below are some factors that we should consider in story telling.
Pre pitch Stage
-How do you want to represent the reality of the story that you are trying to tell.
- Cliche story telling isn't bad but try to use them as rules???
-What is the best approach to your subject?
- What is your subjects interest?
Ask Yourself
- What is the story I am seeing before me?
- Am I asking myself the hard questions and not the complex questions?
- What is my philosophy about the world and how it works?
- How does my philosophy tie into the story that I am trying to tell now?
My Trip to MTM with Sora
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| Sora on the train to Tenleytown Metro |
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| The blue bus shuttle that Sora did not wait patiently for but I did!:) |
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| Me, in the wrong registration line after riding pass the correct AU campus! |
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| Cool Moe Sora... |
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| Sora is getting his name written on a sticker since he didn't follow Hanff's directions for registration! |
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| Katy Chevigny was the Key Note Speaker for the night. |
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| Yes, I was a little bored so I started a photo shoot during the presentation. |
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| Usually people get two thumbs up but it's cool! |
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| Sora, paying attention... |
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| I was utilizing a great feature in my HTC Evo smart phone and snapped the one and only, Professor Hanff! |
I'm leaving now because it's getting late and I have to do this all over again tomorrow...thanks for the opportunity!
Great work....you've done a good job at a very readable synopsis of a complex procedure. As a group, the UDC students made a great impression on both the AU faculty and the working professionals at the Media Matters conference.
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding in some images! It makes the event more like a narrative story...one that the students who weren't able to make the event can appreciate...and maybe even make them jealous enough to come next year.
I hope that you and the other attendees internalize the idea of connecting with other people (not institutions and acronyms) and doing this connection through compelling stories.
Great work!