Media Lab: Week 2

22 Jul 2011, 5:08 PM by frank

My name is Eduardo, I am a rising Junior at Gregorio Luperon High School in Washington Heights. I arrived from the Dominican Republic two years ago when I was 15-years-old. This is my second year in Media Lab – it has been a good experience for me because I am improving my skills in video production. I have taken on the roles of cinematographer (the camera operator) and editor. For Undocumented and Unafraid, I have been the main cinematographer for “Camera A”, which captures the principle photography and some B-roll. During the past week, we have been working hard on production for Undocumented and Unafraid.

In the beginning of the week, we visited Melissa at Lehman College, where she is a sophomore in Psychology and Sociology. Our interview focused on her experience as an undocumented student. She shared with us the importance of education (especially for undocumented youth) and the importance of the government passing the DREAM Act. Later in the week, we started capturing lyrical shots for the film – this is footage that very poetic and experimental and will be intercut with the more traditional footage of the interviews. 

On Wednesday, we wrote and recorded voiceover – this is audio recording of soundbytes that will be edited in the beginning of Undocumented and Unafraid. Each student from the class participated and read different statements about being undocumented. In addition, we went to Jackson Heights (in 100 degree weather!!) Here, we met Melissa in Little Columbia, where she took us to her favorite Columbian restaurant and ate arepas and yucas fritas. She spoke about the importance of food in Columbian culture and how the food and restaurants in her community take her back to her roots. We then shot b-roll of the neighborhood, capturing the diversity of people in the street and the diversity of the shops and restaurants along the sidewalks. 

We have one more week to finish the production for Undocumented and Unafraid and I am excited to continue to challenge myself and improve my skills as a cinematographer. 

First Week of Media Lab Summer 2011!

15 Jul 2011, 11:39 AM by frank

My name is Leneya and my first day of MediaLab was Monday, July 11. The first two days we learned the basics of documentary production and researched our documentary topic: Undocumented Youth. I learned the roles of script supervising and set design. My classmates learned how to operate the digital video cameras, the still camera, the lights, the sound equipment, how to set up a shoot and be directors and producers.

The third day, we went to The New York State Youth Leadership Council  which is the only undocumented youth led organization in NY that works on improving access to higher education and creating equal opportunity for immigrant youth and children of immigrants regardless of immigration status through leadership, development, organizing and advocacy. They are working on passing the NY Dream Act, a bill that if passed will allow immigrant youth who have grown up in the US to access to state funded financial aid programs, obtain financial support for their education, ability to enroll in health insurance programs, access to NY state drivers license and equal access to any and all internships. We went there to interview one of their youth leaders, who is a Columbian born undocumented college student at Lehman college, named Melissa. It took us 45 minutes to set up the shoot and make Melissa feel comfortable. As the set designer, I chose the sign that would fit perfectly with the tone of the interview. It read: Pass The Dream Act Now. I also arranged how and where she would sit and helped advise on where the lights and cameras would be placed. It took a few trials to get the set in order.

Through listening to her story, I was able to place myself in her shoes and understand how she feels and the struggles she goes through as an undocumented resident. I was inspired when she shared the quote that her mother and grandmother tell her “ People can steal anything from you, but they can’t steal your education.” This quote is relevant because your education is your key to success and we all need to work on passing The Dream Act so all people have the right to an education. We appreciate how the other members of The New York State Youth Leadership Council  were very open to sharing their space with us and allowing us to interview Melissa so she can make the documentary personal.

Blog Post by Leneya
Photography by Kendra
 

Type Cast Debuts at Tribeca! Thoughts and Reflections

07 May 2011, 9:38 AM by Elizabeth Rodd

Media Lab Goes to The Social Justice Exposition

04 May 2011, 12:02 PM by frank

The Social Justice Exposition invites a select group of New York City youth to exhibit their social justice projects one day a week in May at NYU.
Topics ranged from gentrification, food justice, restorative practices in schools, housing rights and bullying. It was great to see
how other young teenagers are bringing awareness to such important issues that not only impact them but the overall community.

The day started at 11:00AM. Many people came to our table and were very interested in our work, asking us what can they can do to access fresh fruits and vegetables. I responded that there are farmers markets in The Bronx where people are able to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables for a low cost, or they can purchase with their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card. I also said that in communities of color where our income limits us we are able to use these EBT cards and have access to healthier food options and not only the glazed donuts, and fried food. I had healthy snacks set out that people could sample, as well as a ball game to encourage people to exercise and be active.

After we screened the film, myself and Joshua Diaz talked about the film and how important it was for us to bring awareness to Diabetes and our community. I asked "How many of you know someone with diabetes?" by a show of hands almost everyone raised their hands. I was astonished and felt that they would understand my point of view. And they did, judges, educators, and activists and all were greatly impacted by our film. After the screening we had many people come up to us and share their experiences on diabetes. We got many people who pledged and decided to take action to prevent diabetes and raise awareness in their homes, communities, and schools.

These are a few pledges people made:

"Continue to educate others about the causes and effects of types 1 and 2 diabetes, and to continue to push for equal access to healthy food options in all neighborhoods"

"Research healthy supermarkets and the proximity of these to low-income neighborhoods and spread the word"

"Eat healthy, exercise daily, take the stairs and walk always"

"Ride my bike more often"

"Keep on doing active things throughout the week"

Media Lab Screens Typecast at the Third Annual Health Fair!

15 Apr 2011, 1:11 PM by frank

On March 17th, Media Lab Students Martin Collado and Joshua Diaz traveled to The Bushwick School for Social Justice to present "Typecast" during the Third Annual Health Fair 2011. The fair gathered health organizations from across the city to speak out on various medical issues from HIV prevention, (Make the Road NY) to asthma, obesity and teen development, (Wyckoff Hospital) to birth control and relationship counseling (NYC Department of Health). 

After presenting the documentary, Martin observed and took notes on Joshua's moving presentation, warning students about the health risks of eating the 'easy' foods and what they can do to prevent having health issues. Bushwick has the highest concentration of citizens with type 2 diabetes, the highest mortality rate of people with type 2 diabetes. Joshua opened up about the availability of healthy foods and gave students tips on how to stay active, even while living in a borough with the 2nd lowest amount of park space and as a result, one of the unhealthiest populations in the city. 

After the Q&A session with Joshua, the students were asked to come up with their own call to action and make health pledges to keep themselves and their families healthy and in shape, some of which included: 

My personal call to action is to eat healthy and run 3 times a day.

My personal call to action is to warn my family about the dangers of diabetes and what to do if they need help.

My personal call to action is to tell my dad to eat good food because he has diabetes and to tell people about it and work out.

Afterwards, Joshua received a certificate for participating in the health fair and getting the word out on the risks of diabetes.

Stay tuned for more news as "Typecast" continues to make waves in the health and documentary film worlds!