Screenings

So tonight, I decided to go with a few of my friends to see some of the thesis screenings at 7:00. I have to say, overall, I was pretty impressed. I know people take a lot of time on these projects, but in some of them, I really saw that hard work and energy shine through. They were pretty creative and different from each project, and I like the way they formatted the screening. It wasn't documentary after documentary or short film after short film; there was a mix.

One of my favorite films of the night was the documentary City Under Siege, the documentary that highlighted the destruction of Hurricane Sandy. This was a documentary that the producers began the semester before taking senior media thesis. They began the project during their doc studies class where they accumulated footage and interviews from the aftermath of the hurricane from people living on Staten Island.

The film opened with interviews from President Obama and other notable politicians as well as footage of the storm itself. They then moved onto the following days, using voice overs and b-roll of the neighborhoods closest to the water. After that, they did interviews with families about the hard times they went through. It first harped in on the lack of attention the government, FEMA, and the Red Cross was giving the population. From there, they highlighted the help of the volunteers and how much they contributed to the clean up of the areas. One of the saddest portions of the film was the interview they did with the family whose house burnt down. They evacuated their home and travelled to Pennsylvania, and as they watched the news, they watched their own house burn down. The producers stuck with the family as they searched through the rubble and found items that survived the flames such as a box of old pictures. They then finished the film with the extreme weather that has occurred over the years and how global warming is a problem they are dealing with.

The documentary, I think, was one of the best shot projects of the evening. It made the audience feel like they knew the people in the story and helped the audience relate to them in a struggling time. I also really enjoyed how they included their own footage as well as footage from other new sources, which added a great effect to the film.