Introduction
The Documentary Project introduced the question, “How do you creatively and truthfully portray a significant person, group, place, idea, or issue in the community?” For this project, students portrayed an intriguing person, group, place, idea, or issue, gathering primary and secondary research sources to develop a meaningful perspective about their subject’s significance in the Silicon Valley community and/or world. In English, students wrote a research-based paper that served as the copy for the magazine article in Digital Media and the text for the Documentary Book in Design.
The vision and inspiration I had for my Documentary Project was my grandparents, Frank and Teresa Wu. Having immigrated from China to Taiwan, and later Taiwan to America, my grandparents have a unique story of being elderly Chinese immigrants in Silicon Valley, which inspired me to explore their story further and share it’s significance with the community.
English & Digital Media Production
For the Documentary Paper in English, I chose to focus on my grandparents, Frank and Teresa Wu, whose journey from China to Taiwan and eventually to America represents a powerful story of resilience as elderly Chinese immigrants in Silicon Valley. I felt that sharing their experiences would contribute meaningfully to the broader community, and ultimately decided they would be a great subject to write about.
This process included conducting preliminary research, coming up with interview questions, and conducting the actual interviews with my grandparents. After completing the interviews, I developed transcripts to refer back to when selecting quotes to incorporate in my paper.
One of the biggest challenges I faced was time management—keeping up with the various deadlines while balancing research, writing, and interviews. I also struggled to find relevant secondary sources that supported my topic. However, I’m very proud of the final outcome and believes this essay shares a heartwarming and meaningful story that shows the significance of my grandparents in the Silicon Valley community today.
In Digital Media, I adapted my paper into a magazine article, editing the content for a visual format with pull quotes, photos, and graphic design elements.
Design Production
In Design, students were challenged to design a book layout for our Documentary paper in English. To do this, I first made a Documentary Book Mood Board, where I compiled possible color schemes, cover/page layouts, fonts, and graphic design elements for my book.
After creating the mood board, I used Adobe Illustrator to create 3-5 graphic design elements that would fit the topic of my book (my grandparents + Chinese culture). Additionally, I went to my grandparent’s house to take photos of objects, archive photos, etc. to include in my book.
When I finished making graphic design elements and taking the photos, I created the InDesign document, where all of the photos and graphic design elements would be added to create the final book design.
Photo Gallery
Final Product
Interviewee Bios
Frank & Teresa Wu – Frank and Teresa Wu are an elderly couple living in Silicon Valley, who originally immigrated from China to Taiwan in 1949 and from Taiwan to America in 1972.
Education:
Frank – National Taiwan University, Stanford University
Teresa – National Taiwan University, CalState LA
Occupation:
Frank – Civil Engineer, consultant (retired)
Teresa – Chief Librarian & Librarian Assistant, System Programmer, & Consultant (retired)
Reflection
Reflecting on the Documentary project, I’ve realized that this experience allowed me to grow in many different areas including writing, design, and photography. Not only did I grow technically, but I also grew as a person. Getting to interview my grandparents and learn about their immigration story has left a large impact on me and it was such a meaningful experience getting to share that with my community. From completing this project, I’ve learned that if you put in lots of hard work into a large project, you’ll come away with so much more than just a finished product. Personally, I came away with new knowledge and a new appreciation for my grandparents. Most importantly, I’ve learned how storytelling can connect people- not just within families, but also communities.