Now that most of my editing is complete and I am continuously working on my social media page, I want to begin work on the print component of my project. As mentioned in previous blog posts, the print component for the documentary excerpt is a magazine spread. In my research about the magazine spread (linked here), I talked about what ideas I had for my own spread. In this blog posts, I am going to being to bring those ideas to life.
I started looking on a creation platform that I am very comfortable with and that was recommended for me to use by my advisor Mrs. Stoklosa. This platform is called Canva. With Canva, you can pretty much create anything from posters, instagram posts, flyers, and even magazine covers and spreads. Canva has templates for your various projects so, I began to look for magazine spread templates. I found two that I liked, both for fashion magazines. I liked the placement of photos and text for both so I combined each page to create my two page spread. I rearranged some of the text and photos for the second page to add a large quote and more photos which will make my spread more varied while still having conventions of a typical magazine spread.
This is the template I chose for the first page of the spread
This is the template I chose for the second page of the spread
My next step is to look for photos. Because I am choosing to do a topic-focused magazine spread, most of the pictures are going to be of the subjects in my documentary excerpt. I also want to include pictures of pride flags and people waving them around proudly. Because I have not written the story yet, this is subject to change as the pictures will reflect what is being told but this is the general idea I have. I would also like for the spread to include a lot of color because rainbows are a big symbol of the LGBTQIA+ community. Creating this spread will tie my entire project together and will enhance the message of my documentary which is telling queer stories and uplifting LGBTQIA+ voices.
“I believe all Americans who believe in freedom, tolerance, and human rights have a responsibility to oppose bigotry and prejudice based on sexual orientation.”
While I have been filming, editing, and planning, I have also been adding to the Instagram page I created to promote my documentary. In this blog post, I am going to explain what I have posted and what I plan to post in the future.
Like I detailed in my previous post about by Instagram account, I have been creating activism posts about raising awareness for LGBTQIA+ issues. I did a post about the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that was passed into law in Florida as well as resources for people to educate themselves on LGBTQIA+ topics or for LGBTQIA+ youth to have help or reach out for guidance. Since then, I have posted a quote by Marsha P. Johnson saying “No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us!” This is an iconic quote by a trailblazer in the LGBTQIA+ movement and I used it to explain a little bit about her and who she is. The following posts have all been about the documentary. I posted the logo and explained what my documentary series is all about: the topics it would cover, its length, and its purpose. I also posted some of the filming process. I posted the set up of my interview with Tasha as well as B-roll of Tasha and their friends playing at the park, highlighting the fun they are having being themselves with their friends. My most recent post showed my editing process and that production for the piece is underway. This post will get people excited that the final product is coming soon and that they will finally be able to watch it.
One of the Instagram posts I’ve made
My upcoming posts will be the other five subjects of my documentary. I plan to do a personalized post for each person who would be considered a subject for the documentary. I have been asking some of my friends in the LGBTQIA+ community and I have enough people who are willing and available to be apart of it. I will take pictures of them for the Instagram when school starts again next week. This is so I can ensure everyone will be here and available. For these posts, I plan for them to have a white background, a picture of the subject, their name, the title of the episode, and their pride flag on the side of the photo. This would make the topic of the episode clear and highlight the subject’s identity. I also plan to post these as an Instagram highlight so they are front and center on the page.
An example of the subject posts
After I post this, I plan to follow my social media schedule and create a poster for the project to post on the platform. I also plan to create a space for queer youth to share quotes and stories of their experience to uplift their voices and give them a platform to share and speak their minds. Incorporating interactive aspects on the platform like that, as well as pride flag phone lock screens and stickers can increase activity on my page and further promote my documentary.
I’m excited to continue work on my social media page and spread the word of my project to wider audiences!
“The reason the rainbow flag endures is because people own it. It means something to them.”
I’ve finished editing (mostly)! Let me explain. Because I am currently on spring break, I was going to use the time I had to edit my documentary, which is what I did. Once I finished, I was going to show my friends and peers to provide feedback and make the necessary changes that they suggest because I know it’s not perfect. So while my documentary is pretty much finished, there are still small edits to make that will make the excerpt better than what it is now.
While it’s established that I finished the main editing for my excerpt, let me detail what else I did to do so. I started from where I left off, adding the B-Roll. With my new technique of downloading the clips directly from my iCloud, I had no issues with the clips being discolored or taking too long to edit. I added a few more clips, and that part was done. However, because I had changed the sequence and render settings of the entire project, the color was a bit too bright for the other angle of Tasha’s interview but the fix was easy and didn’t cause me too many problems. I was able to adjust it to look seamless from the main angle of the interview.
After that, I added the title cards for each interviewee. I added their name, age, and pronouns and made sure all the information was correct. Once I confirmed it with all of the different subjects, I moved on to the music. I’m going to be honest, I didn’t like the way the documentary flowed with the music. Maybe it was the songs I picked out or the piece itself but I ended up not including it. I am however, going to ask my friends and peers that critique my piece if they feel it needs music. If they say it does, I will look for a different song that fits the piece and include it.
My entire editing timeline
That was all I had to do, so it’s pretty much done! While editing had its up and downs, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Although I don’t think it’s perfect and could be refined more, I think my excerpt is solid and portrays the necessary themes and messages that I set out to highlight in the documentary.
“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.”
As I am editing, I feel like something is missing throughout the documentary and that's music. Music adds depth and tone to media and I feel it will do the same to my piece. While I don't plan on utilizing it throughout the entire excerpt, I want to include it in some (especially pivotal or serious) moments in the documentary. This blog post will highlight my process for choosing the song I use in my production.
All of the music choices are copyright-free and in the public domain. Although using a popular song, especially one by a queer musician would be cool, I don't have enough time to await a response from them so I am going to use what I have at my disposal.
I started searching online, and the first place I checked was the same website where I found my track from my portfolio project last year, pixabay. Pixabay has a lot of great royalty-free, mostly instrumental, pieces to choose from. After searching for a bit, I found "Inspiring Cinematic Background Music For Videos" by Lesfm. Although it is generic, it is what I'm looking for. It's neutral yet uplifting and sets a good tone for my piece. As I said, I am likely not using it throughout my entire piece, just snippets and the song shows a good balance of highs and lows that could elevate my piece. It is linked here or here.
I also found a song called "Calm Documentary" by LexIn_Music" on the same website. This song also has a neutral tone but is more positive than most others I've listened to in the category. Like the other song I mentioned, it also has a good range of ups and downs to showcase the full emotions of the interview. It does have a different feel and vibe compared to the other song, which I'm not sure would be incorporated well, but I'll just have to test it to find out! I like this song and am curious to see how well it would accompany my piece. It is linked here or here.
Finding music for my documentary proved to be difficult as it was hard to find songs that I felt captured the mood and feeling of my piece. The music was either too sad or too happy with very little in between, except for the two songs linked here. Although I prefer the first song, I will test them both in my documentary and see which one works best. I am excited to see how music will elevate my documentary further.
"I think being gay is a blessing, and it's something I am thankful for every single day."
I’ve now moved my main focus of the project to editing! I have been editing for almost two days straight and while I am getting results, I am having a lot more technical issues than I originally anticipated. This post is going to detail my editing process thus far; what I have done and what’s left.
The editing process started off smoothly after a couple of snags in the road. My flash drive (which I have been using since seventh grade) finally gave out on me, so the progress I had made editing Tasha’s interview had to be scrapped because I was unable to add or save anything to it. It was also becoming harder to work with, so I started over. This wasn’t that much of a major setback so it was okay. I put the interview back together made the necessary cuts, which didn’t take that long, and began working on the other interviews. I uploaded them to the project, then got to work cutting them down and arranging them in a cohesive order. This took quite a bit of time as I had to keep rearranging them so the answers made sense and looked clear. Once I finished that, and the main part of editing was done, I felt good about how the project was turning out and confident that maybe I would finish editing quicker than I expected. Then the B-roll happened.
Importing the B-roll into my project has been a struggle. Almost all of my B-roll footage looked too bright. Obviously, I couldn’t reshoot most of it, but I did reshoot some of it. The shots that I got in the classroom at school were pretty much unusable. The lighting is horrible both on Premiere Pro and on my phone, so I went to Tasha’s to quickly reshoot the footage of them individually such as, them looking at middle school photos and researching asexuality. I am also going to reshoot the shot of their family photos because that too, is unusable. Because most of my B-roll came out too bright, I used the internet as a guide but it didn't do much. I’ve had issues with lighting in my footage like this before but never on this scale with so many clips. With help from the internet, I have adjusted some of the sequence and render settings which have helped somewhat but not a whole lot. I thought I had to adjust the settings on every single clip and with rendering each clip taking twenty minutes, I was really struggling and morale was not high. That was until I solved the problem.
I started thinking more about how I've had lighting issues for footage before but never with so many at once and how only certain footage looked bad. I then thought of how I downloaded them onto my computer. My iCloud storage was full so I sent them to myself on iMessage and then saved them to a Google Drive. Sending them through iMessage compressed them too much and made them look bad, so I bought more iCloud storage and downloaded them directly from there. This completely solved the issue. I wanted to jump for joy I was so happy. I could now edit efficiently and productively. I had to make up for lost time and am almost done (I mean it this time) adding all to B-roll the correct spaces and times. After that, I have to add text, and music, and create a title graphic. Hopefully, now that my main problems are resolved, I can continue to edit in a timely manner.
A photo of my project timeline so far
“The richness, beauty, and depths of love can only be fully experienced in a climate of complete openness, honesty, and vulnerability.”
Remember when I said that I was mostly done filming...that was an unintentional lie. In my previous post, I mentioned that I started editing and realized the main interview was only three minutes and forty seconds, which is too short for the documentary excerpt. Because of this, I needed to add and create more aspects of my documentary in a short amount of time. This blog post talks about my process of doing that.
Because the interview was shorter than expected, I obviously needed to make it longer so I asked Mrs. Stoklosa, our advisor, for advice. She said that I needed another interview so I decided to ask some of Tasha's friends their perspective of Tasha's identity. I created a separate set of interview questions, which proved to be harder than expected, but came up with three that highlighted the topic and the subject in a positive light. I also created a list with B-Roll but that also proved difficult because it depended on what they each said in the interview. However, I created a basis and went with it. I then began to contact some mutual friends of ours if they were able to be in the piece. I asked our good friend Natalia, who has been mentioned in my blog before and has helped me out on several projects including my last documentary Mic Check. She said she was able to do it which was exciting. I then asked our other friend Sunnie, but he said he was busy and couldn't. This was stressful as I had to figure all of this out in less than twenty-four hours because I had planned to film the next day. I quickly asked some other friends of Tasha's, Key and Cece if they were available and they were! This quickly solved my issue and I now had three interviewers instead of two which will give the piece more depth and insight while keeping it engaging. All there was left to do was film.
My new B-Roll and Interview Questions
Everyone met at my house to film at around one pm on Thursday (today). I did the interviews, starting with Natalia, then Key, and finally Cece. This went well, albeit with a few interruptions but nothing major, everyone just having fun. Once those were over, I filmed all of the B-roll at a local park. Everyone with Tasha, having fun and goofing around. Because the interviews mostly focused on supporting each other and spending time together, I thought this was the best idea. I also got shots of Tasha with their friends individually so that I could focus on their separate relationships in the documentary. We finished filming in about two and a half hours and everything went really well! We got everything done efficiently and managed to have a lot of fun in the process.
A clip of B-roll of everyone playing around and having fun
A photo of B-Roll of Tasha and Natalia
While figuring this plan out was very stressful, I'm glad it all went well. Now I can really focus on editing and putting together the entire project.
"Gender and sexuality are so fluid. It's OK to change your mind a million times and figure out what works for you. It's OK to take your time."
I'm done filming (mostly)! Earlier this week I was able to capture a lot of B-roll of my subject, Tasha, hanging out with their friends at school as well as footage of them scrolling through pictures and doing research. In this post, I am going to detail how that experience went and what is still to come.
As mentioned in my first filming update blog post, I decided I was going to film on Thursday which is exactly what I did. I went to the classroom during my break period and filmed whatever B-roll I needed. I got them looking at pictures of them with friends from middle school to show the old memories, and I got them looking at websites like The Trevor Project to show that they are educated about their identity (the article is linked here). I also got footage of them talking and laughing with friends, even some that are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community to show the bond they have with people in the community. After school, I also got footage of them walking the halls both with friends and by themselves. In their interview they talk a lot about being with their friends and how their relationship impacts their identity so a lot of footage with their friends is important. All of the B-roll I captured is important to elevate and provide depth to my documentary.
Stills from the B-roll footage
The reason I say I'm mostly done filming is because I feel like I need more rounded footage from different locations with different people so it stays engaging with its continued variety. I also want to show more of Tasha's day-to-day life to enhance the theme and message of the documentary. I have just started editing and putting the interview together. As I edit, I am going to put the B-roll together in the appropriate places and assess what else I need to make it more complete. I am going to talk about this in more detail in my next post detailing my editing process, but as I was putting the interview together and cutting what was unnecessary, the entire interview came out to three minutes and forty seconds which is a minute and twenty seconds too short. By filming more B-roll and showing more of Tasha's life, I can show more of what the documentary would become.
As mentioned, I began editing and may continue to film some footage periodically if necessary but for the most part, the filming is complete. Putting the project together is so exciting and I can't wait to update on what happens next!
“To be yourself is truly a revolutionary act, and I think more and more people should try it, because it’s gotten me a pretty cool life.”
The print component for the documentary project is a magazine article for a two-page spread. I am really excited to create this because I am a writer and I work to publish the literary magazine, Electric Ink, at my school. This is right up my alley! I plan to do a topic-centered piece about uplifting queer voices and how my piece emphasizes this theme. I plan to include images of my documentary, the subjects involved, and bright colors to convey the theme and make it engaging. In this post, I am going to conduct research about two different magazine articles, what they are about, the techniques they use, and how I can use the information in my magazine article spread.
The first article I am going to talk about was published by Smithsonian Magazine and is titled, “Inside Gateways, One of the World’s Longest-Surviving Lesbian Nightclubs.” It was written by Lucia Cheng and published on June 28th, 2022. This article is about a documentary titled, Gateways Grind directed by Jacquie Lawrence about the erasure of a famous lesbian nightclub in Chelsea, London from 1943 to 1985. The article talks about the nightclub and the effect it had on its patrons and even celebrities. It also talks about how common it is that lesbian stories and history are more commonly erased than most other LGBTQIA+ groups. The main goal of the documentary and the article is for the spot where Gateways once was to get a blue plaque to commemorate its existence after the door was painted white, making it almost invisible. I enjoyed this article and thought it was very educational. I thought it incorporated interviews very well to show the impact the club had on the people who went there and experienced "heaven" as most called it. I also liked the use of images from the documentary and of the club itself, showing how it truly was back in the day of the club's opening. The mention of celebrities and famous LGBTQIA+ people who went there highlighted Gateways's credibility and emphasized why it should get a blue plaque. The description of the club and its rules also gave a sense of what it was like being there and made the article more immersive and easy to picture. This article has inspired me to utilize most of these techniques. I plan to include pictures from my documentary as well as interviews to elevate the article. I also want to include elements that are going to enhance my theme and message, similar to this article, of not letting queer voices disappear into the background. This article was great and helped give me a good frame of reference for my magazine spread. The article is linked here.
The second article I am going to talk about was published by POV, a Canadian documentary magazine. The article is titled "Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero Is an Ode to Queer Joy," written by Pat Mullen and published on January 26, 2024. This article is about the music artist Lil Nas X's concert documentary titled, Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada and Zac Manuel. The documentary, while also having concert footage, talks a lot about Lil Nas X's experience with being queer, self-expression, and identity, as well as the effect they have on their fans, family, and haters. The main theme of the documentary is how Lil Nas X's music and freedom of expression emphasize queer joy. This is a similar theme to my documentary as well and something I want to emphasize in my article. This article includes images from the concert and the documentary as well as red carpet press but all show Lil Nas X expressing themselves in their own way. The article also utilizes quotes from the directors and Lil Nas X himself, which are both elements I want to utilize in my article. The article also uses tone shifts to emphasize the good and bad reactions to the "celebration of queerness" that is Lil Nas X and his documentary. Overall, this was a good article that gave me a lot of great ideas as to how I can write my own. The article is linked here.
I also viewed some film magazine spreads to inspire what I want my spread to look like. They are shown here.
I am really excited to get started on the print component of my project and write about something meaningful and impactful, not only for me but for a bigger audience.
"We are not what other people say we are. We are who we know ourselves to be, and we are what we love. That's okay.
I started filming my documentary! I’m really excited to start putting the pieces of my project together and create something meaningful. In this post, I am going to detail how my filming process went this weekend, what went well, what needs to be improved upon, and what’s next.
I went to Tasha’s house at around twelve-fifteen to begin the interview. I knew I had to be efficient with how I used my time because they had an appointment at two that they had to leave for. Setting up took a lot longer than anticipated. I had to get the shot well-lit, set up the multiple angles, hang the pride flag on the door, and set up the microphone. This doesn't sound like a lot but framing the shot to be angled correctly proved to be challenging, particularly with the second angle because I had to place the tripod on a book on their bed. I decided to film in their bedroom next to their wall of posters because I feel it depicts the best representation of them and their personality. Filming the interview itself took five minutes, it wasn't a very long process. Tasha gave in-depth and very personal answers that highlighted the topics I wanted the documentary to portray. Next came the B-roll, I didn't have as much time as I wanted at that point but I was able to film some of the B-roll I had planned such as, them scrolling on their phone and looking at their laptop. I also took videos of family photos that hung on the wall and Tasha reading their favorite book. This was all I had time to film but they agreed to be free on another day to get everything else done.
The filming set-up
A clip of the interview I conducted with my subject, Tasha
On Sunday, I went through all the footage and took notes as to what was good, and bad, and the B-roll that could be filmed for each question. I realized a lot of the B-roll would include them with friends so I made a plan to film some of that today after school, however, Tasha left early so I was unable to do so. They are available after school on Thursday so we are going to film then. I also have to film them looking at photos from middle school and "reminiscing" about those times as it pertain to one of the answers they gave. I am also going to use the B-Roll of the family pictures on the wall and them either on their computer or their phone, whichever one fits best. I am also going to capture them walking through the school halls either alone or reacting to the people around them. I don't want to overfill it with B-roll but I still want enough to keep it engaging.
My interview notes
When I film again in a couple of days, I am going to utilize my time better and try not to rush so I can get good results. I am also going to better plan and organize what exactly I am going to do and what I am going to film. Although I thought this was going to happen on Saturday, it didn't and I felt constricted and like most of the footage, aside from the interview, was unusable. This was also in part due to my delay in analyzing the interview which I also, should have done earlier. I am also going to review a recommended past project to get inspiration and guidance as to how my project should look and be coming along.
I am going to finish filming, hopefully by Thursday, and begin editing that same day. I want to begin editing as soon as possible so I can take as much time as I need to refine it, make it perfect, and not feel rushed. I am also going to begin research on the print component of my project which is a magazine spread, although I am not starting it until my documentary is complete. Although the schedule didn't go exactly as I planned, I am very optimistic about how the rest of the filming will go.
"You can live in this light of the truth. It’s totally liberating. You don’t have to live a lie."
After preparing all of the necessary components, it’s finally time to being filming my project! I’m really excited to move to the next step and create something I can be proud of.
As far as the schedule goes, I think I’ve got it all worked out.
Saturday: Film the interview and review to film all possible B-roll for the documentary
Sunday: Review the interview and find content that is good to use
Monday: Film B-roll of subject with friends
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Like all schedules I create, it is tentative and subject to change based on situations that may come up, but I am going to stick to this schedule as closely as possible to ensure the filming process runs smoothly and I can get all the necessary shots and footage for the piece.
I am also going to need some equipment to film the documentary. I plan on using two tripods and two phones to film the interviews. This is so I can get different angles and make the interview more engaging to make up for the minimal B-roll the piece would have. I am using one tripod I own and I am borrowing the other from my teacher Mrs. Stoklosa. I am also going to use a ring light to get the most control and best lighting for my documentary so the interview is clear and well-lit. I am using the same one I used for my AS level portfolio project so I am very comfortable with how it works. My last documentary utilized small clip-on microphones and I am going to be using them again this time. Using them helps pick up the audio for the interview really well and makes sure that everything the subject, Tasha, says is heard. I also purchased an asexual pride flag for Tasha to keep that is going to act as part of the background for the interview. It will set the tone and make the theme more clear.
A tripod
The microphones
I’m excited to start filming my documentary and I hope everything runs smoothly!
"We deserve to experience love fully, equally, without shame and without compromise."
After doing some research, it’s time to start posting on my social media account! As mentioned in a previous blog post, I am using Instagram as my desired platform to promote my piece. In my research, I found that most documentaries use Facebook or Instagram if they even use social media as a promotional tool at all. Instagram works best for We Are Young: Here & Queer, because it fits its target audience of kids, teens, and young adults.
To start, I created a posting schedule for my Instagram page with the types of posts I’m going to create and when they will be posted. This ensures I create an account that will market my piece effectively and have enough content that conveys my message and purpose.
As mentioned in my previous blog post, I am going to start with posts about LGBTQIA+ activism to set the tone for the page and make my message clear from the beginning. I am also going to create a resources story highlight which includes sources for LGBTQIA+ youth to get help if necessary, ways to educate yourself on LGBTQIA+ causes, and charities to raise awareness and help LGBTQIA+ people in need. After this, I am going to post about my filming and editing process to keep viewers engaged and in tune with the process of creating my documentary. Then, I am going to introduce all the people who would be subjects for each episode of the documentary. I believe this is one of the most crucial and important aspects of my social media account. By doing this, I am highlighting what the rest of the documentary will be about and how I can detail the entire documentary without creating it all. I am also going to create a poster to promote my documentary as well as create a space where young queer people are encouraged to share their stories or anecdotes about what it is like being young and queer. Some of their responses will be posted on the account. Finally, I am going to create distribution promotion posters and “host” a promo event to promote the account to create more excitement and engagement in my piece. I may also create an episodic trailer to promote my documentary if time permits. I am also going to create story highlights for the subjects as well as stickers and lock screens to increase audience engagement. Doing all of this will ensure my social media page is successful.
I also created a logo that will act as a profile picture for the account and will be the face of the documentary’s promotion. This logo is bright and emphasizes an iconic symbol for the LGBTQIA+ community, the rainbow. The fonts and boldness of the letters emphasize the title. This logo symbolizes my documentary completely.
My production logo
For the social media account itself, I am converting the page from my music video production project in the AS class to my documentary account. I created two blog posts about that project which are linked here and here. I started by renaming the handle to @hereandqueerdoc. Although it's not the full title of the documentary, shorting it down makes it easier to market and promote. I also added a bio that briefly summarizes the purpose and message of my documentary with a pride flag emoji. Finally, I added the logo as the profile picture and it was ready to go!
What the page looked like before
What the page looks like now
I did my first post which was a picture of teens protesting Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay,” bill that became a law in 2022. This law is affecting schools across the state and is restricting the way students, especially those in the LGBTQIA+ community, can express themselves. I captioned the post, “Teens using their voice and protesting anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation in Florida!” I added hashtags as well to improve the engagement of the post. The hashtags were, #wesaygay, #queeryouth, #weareyoung, #hereandqueerdoc, and #upliftvoices. I also created the resources stories and highlight with posts tagging different organizations that help queer youth, educate people on LGBTQIA+ topics, and places where people can donate to organizations that help queer people. These stories and the post highlight the message of my documentary perfectly.
My Instagram post and one of the stories I created
I can’t wait to continue posting to my social media and showing off what I am creating!
“We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers.”
We conducted group meetings in class today to help get feedback and suggestions for our portfolio project from our peers. We have done group meetings before for our AS-level projects and they have been documented in previous blog posts (linked here and here). They are always very helpful and insightful; this time was no exception.
My group and I! (Mya is holding the camera, Ace is on the left, then me, Samantha, Dana, Isabella, and Lauren)
We began one by one by explaining our plot, some issues we were facing, and some suggestions for ideas we had for our project. Mya went first. She’s doing a sports documentary and her excerpt depicts flag football. She was struggling to come up with a B-roll because we are unable to use archived footage and was wondering how they are going to depict the full game with the coaches and players. Lauren went next and her project was also a documentary about different types of media forms of creation. She was having a hard time with the social media component and trying to come up with a way to get their project done with the conflict in their groups. Isabella is doing a continuation of her first documentary which was about her father’s experience as a business owner and an immigrant. This documentary is going to be about that experience from her (a daughter’s) perspective. She was really struggling with how to use Facebook as her social media page. Not being active on the platform, she is unfamiliar with how it works and is learning how to use it. I went next but I’ll talk about everything in the next paragraph. Ace was after me and talked about his short film. His short film is about a guy who does nothing with his life except rot away in bed, wakes up one day with a timer in his chest, and is tasked with living the day in a short amount of time, otherwise, he dies. He wasn’t really struggling with anything but he wanted some feedback on his script, so I read it and gave my constructive criticism. Dana went last and she is doing a documentary about the impact of animals in our lives and is focusing on a K-9 police animal. She was struggling to come up with ideas for their B-roll and securing a K-9 police animal. We all talked about ideas we had and ways to help each other overcome any issues we had. We were very productive and helpful to each other in this meeting.
The music video for the song my title is inspired by
Because navigating our social media pages was also a frequent discussion topic, I got a lot of ideas as to how I could approach my social media pages through our conversations. I want to start my social media page by promoting activism for queer causes and uplifting young queer voices. This was a technique used in two of the platforms I researched and was suggested by my group. Doing this provides a solid base for the page, sets the tone, and makes the theme of the documentary clear. I would then create more specific posts about shooting and behind the scenes as well as introducing the different subjects of the documentary. I also want to create interactive marketing posts such as lock screens of pride flags and colors as well as stickers that can be used both virtually and physically. With these ideas, I have a better idea as to how I can better utilize my social media platform but it still needs more.
The first group meeting was a success and very useful for multiple aspects of my project. I loved hearing about the different projects my peers were creating and the different ideas they had. We all worked well together and helped each other out in different ways.
I realized I forgot to add a quote in a previous blog post, so here are two:
"We're here! We're queer! Get used to it!"
- Queer Nation
"Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it’s a good place to start."
The next step for my documentary is to create an outline. Creating an outline acts as a script; it plans out the content and structure of my documentary without solid dialogue. An outline is crucial for the organization and flow of a good documentary.
When creating my outline, I used my interview questions and the outline from my previous documentary, Mic Check, as a guide. Because the interview is the main focus of my documentary, each section is based on the topics of the questions and the types of responses they would elicit from the subject. It starts with the introduction of the subject and the topic, followed by how the subject comes to terms with their identity, how their identity is viewed by family and friends, how their identity is viewed by the world, and a conclusion. While I was coming up with this outline, I realized I never created a question that would give personal insight as to what it is like and how the subject feels about their identity, so I did. I also reorganized the questions based on the responses, both to make editing easier and to make creating the outline easier. I also had to solidify the main question and thesis that was going to make up my documentary. As mentioned in previous blog posts, my documentary is about how asexuality is depicted by society so, my main question is, "What are the effects of being a part of a community that is not seen as “valid” by many?" This question could apply to the queer community as a whole as well as asexuality. By creating an outline I can ensure my documentary will be paced correctly and highlight all of the necessary subject matters. My documentary outline is linked here.
The interview questions for my first documentary, Mic Check
"There’s nothing wrong with you. There’s a lot wrong with the world you live in."
I’ve finally started to work on the components for my documentary! I created a set of interview questions for my subject and b-roll shots I can get to create more depth in the documentary and keep it engaging. In this post, I am going to detail my process for coming up with the questions and b-roll as well as explain how I think they’ll work in my final project.
I’m first going to talk about the interview questions I created. I created these questions based on what topics I wanted to be covered in my piece. I thought about these topics and came up with eleven questions. They were fairly basic and surface-level, not very well-worded, and would probably elicit a weak response from my subject. I also made them very specific both as a note to myself as to what I wanted to talk about exactly and because of experiences in the past. In my last documentary, some of the subjects gave one-sentence answers and I feared this could happen again. I knew these questions were just a first draft and that they weren’t going to be my final questions, more so what I would base the questions on.
My initial questions
Once I had a base to work off of, I fixed them with the help of my advisor Mrs. Stoklosa. At first glance, she saw I had too many questions so we had to work on cutting them down. We grouped some of the questions together that would’ve elicited the same or a similar response and reworded them to be more concise. We also reworded some of the other questions to be more open and friendly, which would give a longer and more genuine response in the documentary. By the time that was done, I had six questions which is a perfect amount to tell my story with the topics I had in mind. I also knew they would generate great responses as they were clear and thorough. These interview questions are going to ensure all of my topics are covered precisely and correctly. The link to my interview questions is here.
Before I talk about the B-roll, I also want to talk about the subject of my documentary. The subject of my documentary is going to be my friend Tasha Meza. Tasha and I are very close and, both of us being queer, have bonded over different aspects and subjects in the LGBTQIA+ community. When I knew I wanted the topic of my documentary to be about asexuality, they were the first person I thought of. They are very passionate about LGBTQIA+ topics and active in the community so I know they would give good, well-constructed responses.
A picture of Tasha and I
When I was coming up with ideas for B-roll footage, I was really struggling. Most of the documentaries I watched were "event-focused" rather than "interview-focused" like mine is, which meant that most of the b-roll was about what was happening during the time whereas mine is about what happens in everyday life. I realized this was what my B-roll was going to be. It was going to focus on my subject, Tasha, doing everyday tasks. I also realized that doing that wasn't going to give me enough B-roll so I'd have to base a lot of my B-roll on the answers that they give. Mrs. Stoklosa also gave me the idea to use two cameras when filming the interviews to give more angles which would make the piece more engaging to make up for the lack of B-roll that could be included. I also think this is a great idea and am going to incorporate that when filming. The link to my B-roll sheet is included here.
The interview questions, subject, and B-roll are all crucial parts of my documentary, and having them prepared will allow my planning and filming to go smoothly and ensure I have a great final product.
As I am working on the production aspects of my project, I am also working on my social media account to promote and market my documentary. I am going to be using my social media platform to detail more information about my documentary, and what the other episodes are like and about. In this post, I am going to look at three social media accounts for three different documentaries and use them to determine how I should approach my social media account and the content that I should create.
The first social media page I'm going to look at is a Facebook page for a documentary I watched called Transhood. I talked about that documentary in a previous blog post, but to quickly summarize, it is about four transgender kids who live in Kansas City and their different transitions over five years. This documentary follows kids in the LGBTQIA+ community which is what my documentary is also about. The account has posted a poster for the film, promotion for several ticketed virtual events and film festivals (the film was released in 2020) to distribute the film before it reached Max, formerly HBO Max. There are also many news articles about the film from platforms like Variety and The New York Times, as well as interviews with some of its subjects, Jay who has appeared on The Ellen Show, and Avery who testified against anti-transgender legislation in their home state. The account also posts images and resources for activism and change in the LGBTQIA+ community, including encouraging the end of conversion therapy and updates about anti-transgender bills and laws that are being passed across the country. These posts developed the brand through activism and recognition. By promoting LGBTQIA+ rights through various outlets on their platform they are highlighting what their documentary is about. They are using their platform to encourage change and uplift stories that could have an impact on others. This is one of the ways I intend to develop my social media presence. I want to spark change and positivity throughout the LGBTQIA+ community by uplifting necessary voices and spreading important messages and updates on my social media platform, like how this Facebook page does. I also want to incorporate the accounts' use of audience interaction. The page has open messages where people can talk to the creators and share their opinions, some of which are posted on the account. Audience participation is especially important and encourages opinions to be shared, which is what I want to highlight. The page, however, heavily relies on news articles, which although I can advertise my magazine spread, is very difficult and almost impossible for me to do. I also do not believe Facebook is the right social media platform for this documentary as its target audience is mainly younger people, like myself and my documentary. Facebook reaches an older demographic that often has backlash to LGBTQIA+ issues which are also highlighted in the comments of some of the posts. Because of these reasons, although Facebook is a common platform for documentaries, I will not be using Facebook to promote my documentary. The Facebook page is linked here.
A video of a subject, Jay's interview on The Ellen Show
The second social media page I'm researching is an Instagram page for the documentary, Drag Kids. Drag Kids, directed by Megan Wennberg, is about the experience of four young drag queens from across the world all meeting to compete at Fierte Montreal, a drag competition in Canada. This is also a documentary about queer youth and utilizes my desired social media platform, Instagram. These are the two reasons I am choosing this piece to research. This Instagram page has a variety of posts showing behind-the-scenes footage, some of the editing process, the kids getting ready, pictures of the kids in drag, a trailer, clips of the documentary, and promotional posters for film festivals and streaming services. They also have a link to an interview conducted by The Boston Globe with director Megan Wennberg, one of the drag kids Jason Kerr or Suzan Bee Anthony, and their dad talking about the production of the documentary and what the experience was like. There are also posts about the different awards the film has won at various film festivals like the Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF) and the New York LGBTQ Film Festival, as well as events that are held around the US for people to see the documentary. These posts develop the brand of the documentary with its bright colors, especially pink, as well as pictures and videos of the kids performing and being in drag. This highlights the brand and the documentary's theme of letting kids express and be themselves through their art. The bright colors also signify youth and fun which is what it's about for the drag kids. I want to incorporate the page's use of behind-the-scenes footage and bright colors for my page. By showing behind-the-scenes footage on my social media page, I am giving the audience an "exclusive" look at the production process which gets them more excited but also shows the genuineness of the piece. I also want to incorporate bright colors because they are often associated with younger people, which are both the subjects and the target audience for my piece and would appeal to both. Bright colors are also engaging and encourage more people to be intrigued and watch the piece. This account gave me a good starting point for my social media page and gave me some good ideas as to how to approach it. The Instagram is linked here. The documentary also has an X (Twitter) and a Facebook page (both linked).
Examples of Instagram posts on the @dragkidsdoc Instagram
The next social media account I wanted to focus on is an episodic documentary because that is what I'm creating, however, it is very difficult to find one with a prominent social media presence that is about teens or identifying as queer. Because of this, I decided to research the social media page of a documentary I'm already familiar with, Netflix's Abstract: The Art of Design. Abstract: The Art of Design, created by Scott Dadich, highlights a different creator or designer in every episode. Some are about costume and stage design, while others are about font and shoe design. I like this series because it highlights and celebrates creativity while showing how you can make something you love a career. I will be observing the documentary's Instagram account. Because season two is their most recent season, that is what is depicted on their page. The Instagram account has a trailer and poster promoting season two, highlights the different creators on the show as well as the people who work on the show, details the planning process and what equipment is used when shooting, depicts the artists at work, interviews with producers and filmmakers, lessons about being creative, Q&As to promote audience engagement, and a platform to encourage people to share their art. These posts help develop branding with its bright color scheme, cinematic posts, and promotion of creativity. They use clips, images, and quotes from different subjects like Ruth E. Carter and Jonathan Hoeflor to inspire others and promote the documentary to its target audience. The cinematic and bright color images make the theme of the documentary clear and emphasize the importance of visual design that is prevalent in the piece. As mentioned in the other social media post, I want to utilize bright colors and more audience interaction on my social media page which are both present on this platform. I also want to integrate all of my subjects on the platform and tell their stories through individual posts, while depicting its aesthetic which is what this Instagram page does really well. This page really helped me discover how to approach episodic documentaries through social media. A link to the Instagram page is here.
Images of posts on the @abstractdesign Instagram page
This research has extremely benefitted me about how I can create my social media page and the types of posts that can best showcase my project. I’m excited to get started and put all of the parts of my project together!
“Queer art is as much about starting conversations as it is about making dramatic statements.”
