Introduction
The Documentary unit was one of the most enjoyable and engaging units we completed this year in Freestyle. In English, we focused on crafting a Profile Article essay, while in Film, we worked on creating a Documentary. For the Profile Article Essay, we had the opportunity to interview someone we believed had made a significant impact, whether in the community or within a particular workspace. In our Film class, we aimed to capture an intriguing and compelling story through our documentary interviews. Additionally, in Digital Media, we worked on a variety of different projects, including our InDesign Article production and the completion of our narrative website. These projects allowed us to further develop our technical skills and creativity, enhancing our overall learning experience during the Documentary unit. Overall, I greatly appreciated the creativity and freedom we were given during the Documentary unit, allowing us to explore and express our unique perspectives.
Film
Our big project in Film this semester was our documentary film, which was one of the longest and most involved projects we tackled this year. We invested a significant amount of time in finding our interviewees, preparing questions for our interviews, developing the theme, and shooting and editing the footage. This extensive process allowed us to deeply engage with the subject matter and hone our skills in various aspects of filmmaking. We also deepened our knowledge of using our Tascam DR-40 recorders by learning how to pair them with Lavalier mics. This technical skill was crucial for ensuring high-quality audio in our documentary films, allowing us to capture clear and professional sound during our interviews.
Mockumentary Film
Documentary Film
Interviewee Bios
Interview #1-English
My first interview was with Janet Abbey who is the founder and CEO of Stand4 which is a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing food insecurity, other basic needs, and educational deficiencies that plague residents of low-income communities. I interviewed Janet because I resonated with her goals for Stand4 and her aspirations for helping the community and thought that her story was worthy of being Shared. She moved from the U.S. 13 years ago because of her husband’s job and she took it upon herself to start Stand4 aiming to help the community.
Interveiwe #2-Film
For our Documentary Film, we were required to find at least 4 interviews, the first interview my partner and I decided to get was Lance Westcott who is the founder and owner of Westcott Therapy in downtown Los Altos. Ever since Lance was young he knew two things were certain, the first being he knew he wanted to pursue a career in physical therapy, and two he wanted to be his boss hence, the reason he started his own physical therapy company. At Wescott Physical Therapy Lance provides personalized and effective treatment tailored to each patient’s unique needs.
Interviewee #3-Film
Our second interviewee for our film was Kirk Jennings, a Mountain View High School football coach and P.E teacher. Coach Jennings was my football coach during my freshman and sophomore years, so I already knew him quite well before the interview. During the interview, he provided valuable insights into how physical therapy can positively affect student-athletes, helping them feel more confident in their ability to play sports.
Interviewee #4-Film
For our third interview we landed on interviewing Dillon Daniels a Mountain View Football Player. He is currently a senior in highschool and has expired ced injuries in track and field and football, earlier this season he experienced a season ending injury during the Kings Academy game. We chose to interview him because of his extensive experience with various injuries, ranging from torn labrums to broken legs. Additionally, Dillon shared an interesting new perspective on our overall topic, discussing how physical therapy can positively impact mental health.
Interveiwee #5-Film
Achilles Walker was our fourth and final interviewee for the documentary film project, and it was my fifth interview overall this semester in Freestyle. His interview was the longest, lasting a total of 50 minutes. Achilles is a well-known figure in the Mountain View High School community, serving athletes as the head athletic trainer. He has extensive experience in sports, having grown up playing football at a nearby California high school and then playing Division 1 football at San Diego State University. After college, he pursued a career as an athletic trainer. His wealth of experience and deep understanding of both the physical and mental demands of sports have made him an invaluable resource for student-athletes. His insights during the interview highlighted the crucial role athletic trainers play in injury prevention and recovery, further enriching our documentary.
English
This year in our English class, we tackled one of our most significant and demanding assignments, the profile essay. Our objective was to identify an individual to interview regarding their contribution to either their local community or the workforce, making a positive impact. Additionally in digital media we were tasked with creating a Article using Adobe Indesign to encapuslate our profile essay we wrote in English.
Profile Essay:
Feeding Hope Article:
Reflection
I valued the interdisciplinary approach, which allowed me to develop a well-rounded skill set. In English, crafting the Profile Article essay honed my interviewing and writing skills, while in Digital Media, working on the InDesign Article and narrative website refined my technical abilities. The film project itself was an intensive process, from finding interviewees and preparing questions to shooting and editing footage. Each step demanded creativity, attention to detail, and perseverance.
My biggest takeaway from this project was the importance of storytelling and how different mediums can be used to convey powerful narratives. I am proud of the final documentary we produced, as it encapsulates the diverse perspectives and experiences of our interviewees, shedding light on the critical impact of physical therapy on both physical and mental health. Additionally, I am proud of the technical skills I developed, particularly in using the Tascam DR-40 recorders with Lavalier mics, which ensured our audio quality was professional. This project not only improved my technical and creative abilities but also taught me the value of collaboration and the impact of well-told stories.