*Work in Progress*

     Hello guys! I'm checking in from Tampa because I am currently at Florida's Thespian States. I will admit that this event has prevented me from working diligently on my project, but I have been making some progress on the website design. The home page is coming along well and I expect to start working on the invidual pages soon. Here is a look at how I have accomodated the template design to my creation. 

     I'll keep updating you guys as I continue working on the project. I will hopefully upload the profile requirements I need from the other subjects that will be utilized to create their biographies on the website. See you guys soon! 

1-800-Artist

     Hello folks! I'm back to upload my first (extremely) rough draft of the promotional poster for the docu-series. Simultaneously, I'll be revealing the title for the series via the picture of my draft. It's not digitized and it's more of a concept drawing, but it's my first draft. 

     It would be an open book with an outline of the United States drawn inside to symbolize the stories of the people in the US I'm documenting. My classmate and good friend Maddie helped me come up with the title, which is supposed to encompass the way immigrants come to this country to plant new seeds. The weird things around the main tree symbolize small trees that are in the process of growing and instead of leaves at the end, I visualize small flags from all over the world supplmenting them. The tagline under the drawing will probably change since I'm not very satisfied with it. However, the end of poster detailing where the series will be available to watch will stay. I chose to omit any people from the poster because as much as the docu-series focuses on people, it doesn't fit to have those individuals be a representation of the message their stories are communicating on a poster. I firmly believe that the message must be what is depicted on the poster. I will be working on finding an artist to bring this idea to life well in the next week. Before then, I'll be thinking about colors that should be on the poster that will contribute to the sense of branding I am supposed to be cultivating in this project. See you guys next time! 

About Last Night...

     Yesterday was dedicated to filming my mom in her "natural habitat" as much as I could. I have updated my chart with the footage I've taken as well as the footage that I have decided is either nonessential or cannot be collected. 

Location	Footage Collected
Mother’s Room	-Images from photo albums (B-Roll + accompanying past talk) -Mom getting ready for work (B-Roll + accompanying routine talk) -Mom relaxing with Candy (B-Roll) -Mom sleeping (B-Roll)
Outside Mother’s Home/Her Neighborhood	-Interview with mom on front porch -Time lapse of house as the sun is setting (transition between day and night) -Mom walking Candy (B-Roll)
Cypress Bay High School, Imagine Charter School	-Images of Cypress (B-Roll + accompanying sons’ education talk) -Images of Imagine (B-Roll + accompanying Lau’s primary education talk)
Walmart	-Mom working on shelves (B-Roll) -Images of the store, both inside and out (B-Roll)

Deleted Footage/Footage I Couldn’t Capture:

-Mom during her lunch break (B-Roll)

-Sped up POV tour of the store (B-Roll)

-Time lapse of store as the sun is rising (transition between night and morning)

-Images of old home (B-Roll + accompanying talk about old house)

     There were two conditions I was given by the manager at Walmart when I was filming last night and those are that 1) no one other than my mother or coworker that has expressed consent can be included in the footage and 2) private spaces like the store's storage facility and their lunch room would remain out of the film. This is why I avoided making a sped up POV tour of the store and filming my mom during her lunch break. I was also unable to capture the time lapse of the store as the sun was rising because I had to get to school at a certain time, which is when the sun was set to rise. Additionally, I'll refrain from going to my old house to take videos since that is, you know, no longer my property and I was able to get that footage from pictures in our photo albums. I'd also argue that this is a better option than footage of the house's current state since we will be speaking of that house in the past tense. Today I will be conducting the interview with my mom and capturing more B-Roll footage at my mom's house. Below is an updated version of my checklist. 

March 10th: Documentary Planning Due 

March 11th-14th: Gathering B-Roll footage, Start Poster Details 

March 14th: Shooting at Walmart 

March 15th: Interview with Martha 

March 17th: First Poster Draft Due  

March 19th: Reshooting (if needed: most likely not needed as of now)  

March 24th: First Draft of 5 Min Excerpt Due, Final Poster Due 

March 31st: Final Draft of Excerpt Due, Website Complete

April 7^th: Rough Draft of CCR

April 12^th: Final Draft CCR

April 14^th: Full Project Due 

Scene One: CUT!

     Today I finally began filming! I convinced my mom to climb into the attic to collect some of the more recent photo albums from when we came to the US and she complied!! I was able to capture the majority of the albums where I deemed appropriate and will finish the second half of the last album tomorrow. I tried to film at different angles to keep the B-Roll footage engaging, since visual diversity is something my previous documentary lacked. I also used a range of camera movements to film several photos in one shot. Please ignore the audio of these examples, as I will eventually be eliminating the background noise. Hopefully the quality comes out okay. 

     I also captured some footage of my mom during her daily routine. However, it was only two videos total and Im unsure if I will use them if my mom uses different clothing tomorrow and Friday when I film more of her routine. I think it could be distracting if these two shots seem out of place due to her clothing, but I would like to show them here before I make that decision regardless. 

     Enjoy this first look at my awesome mom! I'll see you guys soon with more updates, possibly involving the continuation of the website and the beginning of the poster as well. 

Location Checklist

     Hello everyone! I have compiled ANOTHER chart (don't ask me what's up with all the charts) with the list of locations  I will be filming at as well as the footage I aim to gather at each of those locations. I will be gathering the footage throughout the next 3 days, which is why I chose to omit specific dates I'll be traveling to those locations to shoot. Here is the chart: 

Location	Footage Collected
Mother’s Room	-Images from photo albums (B-Roll + accompanying past talk) -Mom getting ready for work (B-Roll + accompanying routine talk) -Mom relaxing with Candy (B-Roll) -Mom sleeping (B-Roll)
Outside Mother’s Home/Her Neighborhood	-Interview with mom on front porch -Time lapse of house as the sun is setting (transition between day and night) -Mom walking Candy (B-Roll)
Cypress Bay High School, Imagine Charter School	-Images of Cypress (B-Roll + accompanying sons’ education talk) -Images of Imagine (B-Roll + accompanying Lau’s primary education talk)
Outside Old House	-Images of old home (B-Roll + accompanying talk about old house)
Walmart	-Mom working on shelves (B-Roll) -Mom during her lunch break (B-Roll) -Images of the store, both inside and out (B-Roll) -Sped up POV tour of the store (B-Roll) -Time lapse of store as the sun is rising (transition between night and morning)

I am keeping this chart as well as the checklist I have with dates and goals I mentioned in an earlier post in documents on my computer where I will be highlighting items as I check off footage I've gathered and completed goals. By the end of the weekend I will make a post with updated versions of this chart and the checklist. Expect posts documenting the footage I take as well as any updates to the website I make in the next few days. See you guys next time!

My Life = Condensed

     It was very hard to try an condense my mom's last 18 years into a single chart. I managed though, separating important periods of her life based off of things such as my brother and I's education, changes in our living situation, significant events that changed her life like being approved as a citizen, etc. It's hard to not be involved in the documentary's content considering I'm her son, which is why I have to emphasize that she must not change her answers solely because I'm the one asking them. A lot of the questions do pertain to me, but a good portion of the questions ask my mom to reflect on experiences. These questions also aim to collect important information I will need when I develop a narration script that'll include specific details such as dates, times, and locations I am currently unaware of. Below is the chart that I created to organize the time periods accordingly. 

(2000) Final decision to move to the US	What prompted the final decision to move to the US? How did you feel moving from Colombia permanently? Who came with you? Did you have a plan upon arriving?
(2001-2002) Lau’s birth, going back to Colombia	Why did you go back to Colombia for that year? What were you able to establish in the US before leaving? How did you feel about giving birth to your second child?
(2002-2006) Lau enters primary school, separation with Pedro, Carlos graduates from high school	What was your financial situation during this time? Were you working? What were some of the things you did here to establish yourself as an American? When did you apply for citizenship? Did you take any English courses? Describe your separation with Pedro. What was the aftermath? How did you feel as an immigrant during this time? What role did you take in Carlos’ education?
(2006-2012) Lau’s elementary school years, Carlos attends NSU, Martha begins working at Walmart, problems with the house begin	Describe your first year working at Walmart. How was this an adjustment? Why Walmart? Living in Weston, how was it communicating with other adults, such as those you had to interact with because of Lau’s schooling? How did Carlos going to college affect you and your household? What financial struggles became more prominent during this time? How did your language barrier affect your job? Your life overall? What was happening with the house you once lived in? How did you feel about the divorce?
(2012-2015) Lau is in middle school, Carlos leaves to live in Colombia, Martha loses long battle with housing market, the family gets Candy	What happened after you lost the house?  How did you feel about losing the house? What emotional attachment did you have? How many years have you been smoking now? What does this do for you? What kind of treatment do you get at work? Is the language barrier a huge obstacle for you? What was it like not having Lau live at home permanently anymore? How does he serve as a help to you? Does he translate a lot? How was Candy a happy addition to the family? What prompted you to buy her? How did your living situation change? Do you feel comfortable? How is it different than living in your own house?
(2015-present) Lau is in high school and comes out in 2017, Martha votes for the first time and volunteers at polling stations, she receives her citizenship 2018 marks 10 years working at Walmart, Lau turns 18, Martha contemplates her life when Lau goes off to college	Has Pedro played a significant role other than financially in helping you raise Lau? Do you feel the burden of having to raise him on your own? What fears did you have as Lau came out? What did you feel as a parent during that transitioning period? Coming from Colombia, how did your views have to adapt? How did it feel to finally become a citizen? When did this happen? How did you feel the first time you voted? What about completing your first few civil services, such as helping at voting centers? What is your current daily routine like? Why do you buy lottery tickets so often? What would you do with the money? Tell us about your working situation and how working at a new Walmart has changed your life. What concerns you about your second child becoming an adult? What do you think your life will be like when Lau leaves? Will his help be missed? What do you think you’ll have to do to be more independent? What role does religion play in your life? What about your family in Colombia?

I predict that in asking all of these questions, I will be collecting more footage than needed. It will most definitely exceed 5 minutes, which is why the pre-production process of sifting through footage will be extensive and extremely important. This chart is condensed in itself, but the excerpt will be even more condensed. My next post will include the locations/footage I would like to collect this week that will most likely serve as b-roll footage. I will also try my best to specify the information/portion of the documentary the footage would accompany. 

A Matter of Subjects

     In a series of 4, I believe I have figured out 2 of the other 3 subjects I'd be basing the other episodes in the docu-series off. Diversity, being one of the main themes my docu-series is meant to embody, led me to look for people different than my mother. The differences were both general and specific. First and foremost, I searched for candidates who immigrated from somewhere other than South America. I aimed for a difference in age, gender, and current location as well. The more specific qualifications I wanted included whether a person was a citizen or not, level of education, current and past employment, and aspirations. The two people I have approached have both been different than my other in more than one of the characteristics I mentioned above. I also wanted to depict a different message with each episode under the greater message of humanizing immigrants. My mother is a single, working mom who's life consists of me and our dog. These individuals don't fit this profile even one bit. 
     The first person I will make a biography for is my girlfriend Sarah. I think it's important to establish her relationship with me to clarify that there will be no bias given to her whatsoever. I believe she is unique as an immigrant and brings perspective to the piece. Sarah Romestant is an 18 year-old college student at FSU who was born in Venezeula, studied in France for the majority of her primary schooling, moved to Colombia for what we in the US refer to as middle school, and finally moved to South Florida for the entirety of high school. She has experience being an immigrant not only in the US, but in two other countries as well. Sarah is currently studying civil engineering and waiting for her citizenship application to be approved. Although not fully undocumented, Sarah doesn't have the privilege of participating in things such as voting. This brief description is what I would base my official website biography off of. In comparison, my mother is much older, a mother of 2, has her citizenship, is employed, and has lived in Colombia for the majority of her life with the exception of the last 18 years and the year she lived in Houston to give birth to my brother Carlos in 1987. 
     The second person I will make a biography for is technically still undecided. I contacted my friend Anish in search for his help since I know his family is from India. I approached him not knowing if he himself was an immigrant and hoping he or someone close in his family was, only to find out that he was born here. However, he mentioned that both his parents immigrated here from India before he was born and he would be more than willing to talk about their journey as well as his own experience connecting with both American and Indian culture. The original plan would have been to focus on a single person, however, focusing on a couple who is still, to this day, together and both of immigrant status would bring even more diversity in demographic to the docu-series. I don't have enough information to create a mini biography for them yet. When Anish mentioned talking about his own experience, I got a brilliant idea too. I believe Anish's parents can both speak English well enough that they wouldn't require subtitles in their hypothetical episode. BUT..... it would be, to simply put it, REALLY cool to have Anish be the narrator for their episode in the same way I'm the narrator for my mom's episode. Narration is a primary characteristic of documentaries, so I think every single episode regardless of how articulate the subject may be in English should include a narrator. The idea Anish sparked went beyond just his narration. Ideally, the subjects' episodes would be narrated by a family member close to them. In Sarah's case, I would like either of her parents to narrate her episode since she is an only child and they are the two family members closest to her. 
     In conclusion, I have found who I would like 2 other hypothetical subjects for the docu-series! Finding these subjects will make the website making process much easier the sooner I can finalize my choices. I am currently writing up my "pitch" to one of my debate camp instructors who has worked with me since the beginning of my sophomore year. His name is Yaw and he is a college professor/debate sponsor in California who moved here from Nigeria when he was younger. He is also an awesome poet and an even cooler individual, so I look forward to speaking to him in the coming week to see if he's willing to collaborate with me on this project. On another note, expect a post tomorrow with the questions I'll be asking my mom, a hopeful projection of how the excerpt will be organized, and the information I need from my subjects.