Documentary

For our Documentary unit, we were challenged to pick a topic that we were interested in and research it. We were to answer the question, “How do you creatively and truthfully portray a significant person, group, place, idea, or issue in the community?” We then gathered many sources including books, websites, and interviews to create a documentary about it in the form of a magazine article. We used Adobe InDesign to do so, which was tough to understand at first but overall a really interesting application. We also incorporated our previous skills, such as Adobe Illustrator to create graphic design elements. This was also a change to practice the rules and elements of design, including CRAP, color schemes, etc. Finally, we got to practice our photography skills.

This unit was already a huge challenge, considering we were doing something bigger than most of us had ever done. It was originally meant to be a book, but due to Covid-19 it was reduced to a magazine. Regardless, I learned so much about the topic that is very important to me, and it helped me to understand people better. I really enjoyed this experience overall, although it was tough. I also hope that my article touches people and sparks at least a little bit of change.

Trisomy X: Xterminate the Stigma

I chose to do my documentary on Trisomy X, a genetic disorder that my sister has. My goal is to spread the message about genetic disorders, and really just people in general, that you really mustn’t judge before you know someone. There are people around you every day that deal with things you couldn’t imagine, so walk through life with an open mind and heart.

Read my article below:

Design Process

The creation of the magazine included original photos and graphic design elements using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

Photogallery

Here are some of the photos that I took for my Documentary.

Writing this piece was an experience as I’ve never been given the change to do a journalism-type piece. Writing is one of my favorite subjects, and I loved being introduced to a whole new world of writing possibilities. Incorporating facts with stories was super fun, although challenging. I may even look into further opportunities similar to this.

Documentary Interviewees

Anaïs is my five year old little sister who I decided to write my article around. She has a genetic disorder called Trisomy X. She is the true reason I chose this topic for my documentary. She loves music, art, the color purple, and pretty much anything else her older sisters are into. She’s super excited to be featured in my project.

This is my beautiful mother, Veronica. She was integral in telling this story. We collaborated to piece together the timeline of events and facts, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her. Together we learned new things about Trisomy X that we wouldn’t have known otherwise.

Jessica Langenhoff is from the Netherlands. I contacted her through a Trisomy X support group. She has the genetic disorder herself, and is extremely knowledgeable on the topic. Her input and new perspective added a really interesting aspect to my documentary. I really appreciate her help and willingness to tell her story and make a change.

She has recently created her own company XXs2info (reads “access to info”) that helps people access medical information more easily and translate it between Dutch and English. The logo is shown below!