My posts, as of late, have been very long and historical. So I thought I’d break it up today and share the trailer for my documentary, premiering on Friday.
“Heartbeat: The Love Machine Story is the biographical tale of one of Ottawa’s top pop-rock indie bands: The Love Machine. Working hard on their first full-length album, the band members fight financial troubles to pursue their dreams.”
Me and three others produced this documentary for our Doc class, and I’m really proud of how it turned out. I’ve always thought that if I was going to do any journalism after J-School it would be documentaries. We got to work with a professional camera man and a professional editor, which was a great experience. And the band was awesome.
So here’s the trailer… which I don’t love (I didn’t make it…) but it’s for a documentary that I DO love, and will hopefully find a way to post once I get my hands on a dvd of it.
As much as I hate journalism, I have always found the academic study of media interesting. I wrote an essay in first year, for JOUR1000, about censorship in the Vietnam War, specifically the coverage of the My Lai massacre. Four years later, I am revisiting this topic for JOUR4000. My essay this year is about embedded journalism, and how exposing something like the My Lai massacre isn’t possible in today’s conflicts (specifically the Iraq War) because journalists are most often in bed with the military and heavily censored (whether imposed or self censored) because of it. But the reality of way wars are fought now means that it’s even more dangerous than before for journalists to go without the protection of the military. But what price do you pay for the protection? Is the public interest served by embedded journalists?
Sometimes, journalism is interesting. Sadly, I have to finish this in the next 12 hours…
I went to the Science and Technology Awareness Network conference this morning with my science reporting. We were there to watch the speech of Adam Bly, the creator and editor of Seed magazine. It cost us $25 to go (plus parking) and I was not impressed at having to get up even earlier and get downtown for it.
But I honestly really ended up enjoying it. Entirely because of Adam Bly. He gave a very powerful presentation about science globally. He emphasized that everyone should be science literate. All 6.7 billion of us.
This is interesting to me because I don’tdo science. I don’t get it, normally. I will never be a scientist (unless maybe you count an archaeologist). But the truth is that science effects everything. It’s the reason life is so different from the way it was just a hundred years ago. We have learned more about the world in the last hundred years than humans had since the beginning of civilization. Science is important to me, even though I’m not doing it.
The other thing he talked about reminded me, for the first time in a long time, the reason I went into journalism in the first place. He has this ideal of journalism being the vehicle for change. He won’t accept less than perfect from his publication. It isn’t lazy journalism, deadlnie journalism, where you write shit 364 days of the year, and write one good story one day. It’s not tired journalism.
Adam Bly said journalism, for him, is activism. And that’s why I used to want to be a journalist. To make a difference. But four years of j-school have taught me to expect the media to be mediocre. To expect that as a journalist I could never change the world.
I don’t want to be a journalist, because there are too many things wrong with journalism right now, and I don’t have the energy to change it. I know that makes me a bit of a coward, but I’ll leave change in the hands of people like Adam Bly and Barack Obama, to create “a world connected by science and imagination.”
JOUR4000 - the stupid generic J class we have to take.
JOUR4207 - Professional Practices: Television Reporting
JOUR4201 (or something) - Specialized reporting.. either Arts or Science. Maybe Social Issues? Really, whichever one someone will take with me. I know I will hate whichever one I choose.
JOUR4208 - Video Documentary
CLCV2300 -Introduction to Archaeology
CLCV3201 - Studies in Greek History (the Spartans!!)
CLCV4something - some type of fourth year classics class that I have no idea what the topics are yet. Or when they are. Or anything.
This is a good distraction from the sadness in me right now. Dreaming of the future always is. Plus side is, got the official letter offering me $2500 again for next year. So at least that’ll pay for my summer courses. Money stresses me out. But I should get paid (finally) on Thursday.
One exam down, two to go. I think I kicked Greek and Roman Lit ass, personally. Hopefully I did, since it was worth 50% of my mark.
I also randomly got a phone call today from the Toronto Star. I had applied to be one of their photographers back in November. Which I didn’t get. But now they want me to interview for a job as one of the Photo Editors. Basically, he explained, exactly like my job at the Charlatan but on a larger scale.
The problem? I already have a summer job that I’m really excited about. In Ottawa. That pays $14/hour. That means financial security for next year. Toronto Star would pay $9.50/hour ish. And I would have to move to Toronto for the summer, which would mean spending nearly everything I made. Which would definitely change my plans. But… but… it’s the TORONTO STAR! I mean… it would basically guarantee me any photo job I wanted when I graduated.
So it’s this huge dilemna. Of course, I have to interview for the job first. So I guess I’ll go to Toronto sometime this month for the interview. And then see what happens? It would be such a hard choice to make.
Sometimes life really surprises you, eh?
I thought when Fae and I took this challenge, to think positively about our lives and see the effects.. I thought for sure it wouldn’t make a difference. And definitely wouldn’t work. But now I’m not so sure. I mean, it’s hard every day. But… somehow I feel like a puzzle who’s pieces are starting to fit together again. I’m hopeful for everything coming up.
I hope I’m not cursing myself and speaking too soon. But I feel this is good. For both of us.
And it was raining cats and dogs outside of her window And she knew they’d be destined to become sacred road kill on the way And she was listening to the sound of heaven shaking Thinking about puddles.. puddles and mistakes…
documentary, journalism | Hezabelle April 1, 2009 | 
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