Looking for some answers

     I never thought I could spend all my time from sunrise to sunset, editing my life away. Well actually I did know that… just didn’t think it would happen so soon. I really wanted to give my doc to my professor before the actual due date. I wanted any opportunity to improve my grade if possible.

     Luckily I had already completed bits and pieces of things that I was certain would be in the documentary. The whole process of getting everything together was what annoyed the most… but as far as putting everything together, that part was more doable. I found myself kind of surrounded by B-roll, too much for the doc. I guess since I was left to work with Troy alone I had to be sure that I had enough footage to work with… mission accomplished. The more I continued to edit the doc, the more I liked what I saw… but then again I might be a little biased. I built the story of Troy around the history of hip-hop, more so the evolution of the rapper’s image. I only gave a rough cut so I know there things that still need tweaking, this is only so I can get a good handle on where I stand with the doc.

Voiceover and over again

     Thanksgiving back in Miami was exactly the kind of recharge I needed to myself back focused on the documentary. After building my portfolio for capstone, playing producer for News20, working crazy hours and more school… I was about to completely lose my mind. While I was home I was able to get a lot of the busy work done like logging my footage from the night before and building a script. Before I left, I asked one of the journalism students to do the voiceovers. I chose my friend Sasha because I felt she had great clarity, a nice tone, and great pacing with her words.

     When I finally made it back to Tallahassee, we met up and laid down the voiceovers. I was really excited to have completed all the elements needed… or so I thought. Later that night when I was capturing the audio, I discovered this static sound all over the voiceovers… my heart sunk. I sat looking at the screen for 10 minutes… frustrated, angry, a little hurt, but mostly confused. I had to reschedule and redo the voiceovers only one problem I have turn my camera in to the professor. Luckily, Sasha had received her camera so we were able to relay the voiceovers down, and ease my mind.

The Review

     The reviews are in… I need more. Here I thought I shot enough footage but the professor said I needed more. Well… more of Troy rapping at least. He noted that the only B-roll I have of Troy rapping is during the Classic Pep Rally. The only he said that threw was that I needed more effects. I personally don't want a lot crazy effects on the doc, taking people out of the tone I’m trying to set. I quickly made an effort to contact Troy and meet with him later after classes to get some more footage. Since we were both leaving town tomorrow for Thanksgiving it had to be tonight. Especially since the cameras are due Monday. Fortunately, everybody that the introduction was cool, and liked the tone I was trying to set. Everyone else pretty much seconded the professor, saying I needed more of the musical aspect and I agreed. Not that I look back there isn’t much footage of Troy rapping.

     If I can say anything about this experience, I really appreciated Troy’s openness to doing the documentary. He was happy to have me over and get more footage of him relaxing at home with his friends. He was even able to rap a couple of verses of things he had written. 

Picking up the pieces

     I’m still not completely over last week’s smack down but I’m trying my best to continue on like it’s all okay. This weekend is the Classic so Tallahassee is pretty barren. I don’t see the big deal with going to Orlando every year, but apparently people really look forward to it. I took the time to edit whatever footage I have. The class will be reviewing the footage so give each other some advice and criticism. I want to be able to at least have the introduction completely done. So far I’ve just been working in pieces… working on different parts of the doc that came to mind.

     This past Wednesday at the Classis Pep Rally really helped in giving me some great footage of Troy in action at work. He and his friends even started up a rap session. It was really fun seeing Troy rap for the first time. I was able to get his session on tape. Since some of his friends were also rapping, some of the things that rapped about greatly differed what Troy was rapping about. I was a little weird filming them as the talked about the negative things that is portrayed in rap today. 

Everything that could go wrong... is.

     Today’s 11/11/11… I figured there would be fireworks and celebrations for the weird looking date but I got was a healthy spoonful of Murphy’s Law. This has to be the all-time worst moment in making my documentary. I come to find out that my appointment with Christopher Martin was cancelled due to the death of his friend and rapper, Heavy D. My other subject, Ted has been too busy to do anything. During the week isn’t good enough for him. This weekend he’s leaving town to go to a funeral, next weekend is the Classic, and the weekend after that is Thanksgiving.

     The only person who’s been able to keep consistent is Troy. We’ll meet up to shoot some footage at home or school which is good but that’s it…. Ladies and Gentleman welcome to the Troy Harris Show. I’m trying to think of what I can do to make this documentary work. I know I am going to talk hip-hop but with the sole person being Troy, I’m afraid the documentary will stall and become boring.  Then again maybe the doc being short will help the doc from seeming dull. I feel like I’m back to square one… someone help.

Everything's Good

     This week everything just fine, I’ve been getting footage of Troy at home and even conducted one of his interviews. When we were shooting he was saying some really great things, opinionated and strong this that I could use. I did notice that he had a habit of moving a whole lot during the interview so I made a shot a little bigger the expected in case he move out of frame. Another thing I noticed with him is that I tended to state a lot of facts, things that I wasn’t certain were factual or not. So I made a mental note to watch for his random acts of information when I’m editing. I don’t want to use things that might not be all the way true, outdated, or false.

     Before I started filming I decided that I was going to shoot the subjects at work and home to try and give them more dimension. I’m really happy to finally start seeing some concrete evidence of a documentary being made. I’ve already made an appointment to interview to Christopher Martin and I’m looking forward to it. Like I said, everything is pretty steady here. I’m not as confused as I was before but I’m still a little iffy about some things. 

It's time to get serious

     It’s time… it’s been long awaited but now we finally have our cameras to start filming our documentary. Between last and now I’ve somehow lost my confidence in my quality of work that will go into the documentary. This will be the biggest and longest project I have ever partaken in during my college career, and I guess the scale of it all is finally starting to hit me.

     I don’t know why I feel this way; I guess it’s just really bad nerves. I tend to think negatively when I go into a new project and even though I know it’s a terrible practice it’s something that I can’t seem to shake. I’m reminded of the fact that I am by myself in this project. I want to be able to do a great job so I can look back on my days in J-School and say I have no regrets. I know I’ve done the best I can to prepare for my production so I shouldn't be too worried.

     I have contacted my sources and will begin shooting later this week. Hopefully once I start shooting I will start to see my story arc come together. Maybe then I won’t feel as lost as I do now.

I'm going old school

I’ve managed to pull myself away for a few seconds to write my blog… I made this huge list of possible songs that I would like to use for my documentary. It’s safe to say that this was the more enjoyable side to preparing the doc. I found myself absorbed in the music, remembering the lyrics, rediscovering old favorites, and realizing why I don’t listen to hip-hop like I use to.

     I finally decided on the tone of the doc. Just like old school hip-hop, I wanted to have a laid-back atmosphere. I wanted something that was lyrical but also allowed the audience to nod their heads. Artists like KRS-One, Nas, Mos Def, Common, and Talib Kweli are all expressing the tone that I would like to portray. The only thing left is to decide which songs to choose. Aside from my music selections, I’ve also decided on the GX that will be used. Since I want to maintain a laid-back tone to the doc, I don’t want to add busy or ostentatious GX that will take the audience out of what they are feeling.

     It’s getting close to the production days and as of right now I feel okay about everything. 

No time to "Play" around

     I feel like my doc is missing something. Okay, I have my main characters and although my professor said I don't necessarily need an official, I kind of want one to strengthen the story… it’s a great thing I go to Florida A&M.

     Today I ran into Christopher Martin. He was the “Play” of “Kid and Play”, so I was really curious to see if he would mind being in my documentary. I think he would be the best person I could get in contact with to have a professional view on the evolution of stereotypes that haunt rappers today. Also, I figured he would a good plus since he actually spent time the entertainment industry. He agreed to be one of my interviewees and I was thrilled to have his input in the doc. For the time being, I have finalized where I would like to shoot for the documentary. Some places in mind are the rappers’ home, the music studio in J-School, the SGA office, and the architecture building (to see the rappers’ at work or in their element).

     It feels kind relaxed right now, there’s still a bit more preparation to do but as right now, everything is looking up. But I can't settle just yet, this is my grade I'm talking about.

I now have purpose

     Today I had an epiphany, the story arc that I will base my documentary on. Do you want to hear it… of course you do.

     The opening is still changing, considering what kind of tone I want to set I keep jumping from one idea to the next. After the introduction, the rappers will discuss how the got into rap and what motivated them become the change they want to see in the world of hip-hop. I’ve decided to talk about the development of hip-hop from the Sugarhill Gang to the N.W.A to Waka Flocka Flame and how images of what a rapper truly is have become clouded by stereotypical images portrayed in the media. All of this will eventually lead to the discussion of sensational rap vs. lyrical rap. At that time, both rappers will give their opinion on the “death” of hip-hop. From there the rappers will talk about defying the idea of the stereotypical rapper, their role models, and the power of rap.

     I know research for this documentary will go back and forth the rappers’ personal experience with hip-hop and the actual history of rap. I ran over it with my professor and it seemed all right by him. I think I’ve got the ball rolling, now all I’ve got to do is not drop it.

We've made contact!!!

     I am very excited to announce that I officially have main characters for my documentary. It was all complete happenstance that I found them but I happy nonetheless.

     I was talking to my friends about my documentary being about rappers who are more than just rappers. That’s when my said to me ”You know the SGA vice president raps right,” to which I reply, “Really, do you have his number!” I almost fell out of my seat when she told me it all seemed too perfect. He’s involved in SGA, he participates in community service, and has a serious love for hip-hop.  When I talked to him over the next couple of days he agreed to do it. I was able to talk to him more and found that he consider rap a passion of his, which was music to my ears. The other character was someone I knew ahead of time when I saw on Twitter that he produces, raps, and has a music production company. I never thought I would thankful to Twitter but there you have it. There’s also a third person who I’ve managed to contact but I’m on the fence about whether to include him or not. Mostly due to the fact that I’ll probably do an 8-10 minute documentary and I don’t want to load it with SOT’s to the point that there’s no story being told.

     On the other hand, I’m just happy to have people signed on to the idea of being in the documentary. Everything’s looking a little hopeful for me.

Confusion... Thy name is VeAngela

     It's official… I have no idea where to start. Whenever I'm sitting in class I feel like everyone else has a better handle on their story and how they want to portray it. However, I'm still sitting at the starting line, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the gun to sound off. 

     This past Tuesday I sent an "outline" of how my documentary could possible go. It seemed that everyone knew about this assignment but me. So you could imagine my confusion when people were handing sheets of paper labeled outline. So I then started pounding my brain about what the heck I was going to focus on in my documentary. My main worry was finding the right people for the doc. I managed to find a couple but it feels like one guy my bail on me, so I’m keeping my eyes and ears open to possible main characters. In the haze of worries and confusion I was able to develop a sort of outline for my professor.

     I decided that the doc focus the rappers, kind of like “A day in the life of…” feel but also talking about the history of hip-hop and the development of what has become known as the common rapper. I feel like I’m on to something here...

It's all on me

     I don't know how it happened... somehow, someway, I was the odd man out. I guess I can chalk it up to a miscalculation but it doesn't matter anymore... here I am, flying solo in the production of my documentary.  

     I have to admit, I felt a little sad about being by myself. It seems like so much work for one person but my professor assured me that I could do it. There's only one problem: I need a new topic. Apparently, my idea of iPod isolation didn't give the impression to have compelling b-roll and my other idea, scarification, would have been great but it proved impossible since no one did it in nor around Tallahassee. So my professor and I decided on a doc idea about rappers who do more than just rap. My first impression of the topic wasn't ecstatic. Considering the fact that I hardly listen to hip-hop myself, I found it hard to get enthused about the topic. Then again, all the topics I was coming up with weren't good enough or wouldn't deliver on quality b-roll.

     Now here I am staring at my notebook trying to think of where I can possible find people to participate in the documentary. This doc is definitely putting out of my comfort zone, I guess we’ll see how this turns out.