Sophomores produce powerful documentaries in 18 days
Students in the Second-Year Seminar (SYS) Documentary Filmmaking created 10-minute documentaries about the community in just 18 days.
“Each week we had something new due,” said sophomore Aidan Butler from Louisville, Kentucky. “We had a rough cut due, we had a cast list due, we had sources due. We had to be on top of it all the time.”
So how did they create a documentary in 18 days?
Week 1: Research
Week 2: Capturing video
Week 3: Editing & capturing additional video
Week 4: Participate in the SYS showcase & hold documentary viewings
Students divided into teams and primarily used their cell phones for video and a field recorder for better-quality audio. Professor of Theatre Scott Olinger also created a multi-camera, temporary studio for documentary teams to practice multi-camera editing.
“It’s easy to go out there with your phone and take a pano or video, but when you learn about what it takes to make a good documentary, you understand that each shot matters,” said Butler. “You also learn how to be professional on another level during interviews–like we interviewed President Brand.”
But the class isn’t just about learning video skills.
SYS was created as part of Cornell’s Ingenuity Curriculum and is all about citizenship in practice. All sophomores take an SYS at the beginning of their second year on campus. Professors are finding unique ways, such as documentary filmmaking, for students to get involved in the local community and make a difference during their SYS block. Olinger, who served on the faculty committee to help create the SYS, says SYS courses get students invested in the larger world around them and affect change.
“I always want students to understand the power that art and images have to convey information and emotion in a way that pure data often can’t, to make us feel the human side of a story,” Olinger said. “I also want them to know that with a little research, and some basic equipment, they can tell a story that can change minds–which is being an informed participant in our democracy.”
Olinger encouraged students to think of topics they could research or explore nearby in the local community or on campus. Groups selected issues like accessibility on campus, the effects of campus housing on student performance, the interaction between campus and Mount Vernon, the impacts of athletics, and whether or not course evaluations should impact tenure decisions.
“I push them to choose an issue that affects people rather than just a historical overview or profile–something they can suggest positive action,” Olinger said.
Sophomore Ella Brannaman from Belle Plaine, Iowa, was part of the group that created a documentary on accessibility on campus. Their team interviewed the parent of a student and a student who use wheelchairs. They also discussed issues with the campus disability coordinator.
Brannaman says she looks at things differently now that she has been a part of the interview process and created their documentary. She hopes her project helps others to think about accessibility on campus more often too.
“I’m learning all the technical stuff of making the film, but I think my biggest takeaways from this project are empathy and understanding the people around me and my connections on campus as part of a wider community.”
Butler’s team focused on the relationships between the college and Mount Vernon community in their documentary. He says he stepped outside of his comfort zone to sign up for this class, and he’s glad he did it.
“It taught me how to be professional and talk to people who aren’t friends and family,” Butler said. “I really think we have gotten to experience what it’s like to be a resident of Mount Vernon and mix that in with our experience as Cornell students. We learned what community means for each individual we’ve interviewed.”
And they did it all in 18 days, focusing on just this one project until it was completed.
