The what I've learned post.

Documentary is difficult but spontaneous.

What I most learned in this class was to pay attention to the things around me. When we started with our first assignments, I really felt inspired by a lot of the short pieces we all screened. So many little things happen throughout our day that we may take for granted. So I learned to be observant, and lately I've been jotting down anything interesting that I see, to later develop a story or character with.

What I learned about my documentary was, that I needed to give myself more time. I was overwhelmed this semester by the classes that I took concurrently. I ended up scrambling for time and energy as the semester went on. I think this semester has really kicked my ass but in a good way. With my doc, I learned how to make something out of nothing. Literally, when I sat down with my footage, I was stumped. I had no idea how to create a story out of what I had. I knew who my character was, and I just had to figure out what I wanted to tell everyone about him.

I certainly wish I had more time to devote to this project, I feel like I could of done so much more, however, shorter and tighter sometimes is better. I feel like I may have overcomplicated the story if I had had more time.

I certainly stand by the idea that you can't learn how to make a documentary without making one yourself. I liked the rawness of it all, and the uncertainty almost killed me but at the same time it allowed me more creativity.

In all, I learned how to develop stories through my point of view.