Writing is regarded by many as a
tranquil activity, something that calm people do when they want to write poems,
books, or papers for their education. What many seems to forget is that writing
is the key element behind most of the major changes in modern society. Without
writing the world wouldn’t have had Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches, it
wouldn’t have had the Arab Spring, it wouldn’t have had the elected leaders
around the world. Writing is a powerful weapon many overlook in today’s
struggle for justice, even though it is right under their noses. Documentary
filmmaking is one of these forums where writing shows its true form as a
carving tool to shape the ideas that can bring changes in the world.
Thea Mercouffer was born and
raised in Romania but escaped to the United States with her family from the
communist dictatorship in 1987 (Thea). Mercouffer moved to Los Angeles and
there continued pursuing her great passion in life: Acting and Directing.
Meanwhile, she was on the board of a big organization and when they asked her
if she could write and direct a series of films about sexual assault she “fell
into” documentary filmmaking (Interview). Mercouffer took on the challenge to
direct the film, going straight from only having directed theater (Interview).
She then continued on making a film about human trafficking, and Mercouffer
found that she “really enjoyed making documentary films so [she] stuck with
it”. That was 13 years ago. Today, Thea Mercouffer is a renowned documentary filmmaker with a kind heart
and a warm spirit.
Mercouffer is one of those who
use writing to change the world she lives in, And she does so through her
documentary films. Her latest project clearly shows how using words to one’s
advantage truly can make a difference. It all started when she realized that
the Los Angeles River going through her home city was not deemed navigable, and
therefore not under the protection of the Clean Water Act. Mercouffer’s husband
George Wolfe decided to travel 51 miles and show the EPA that the river is,
truly, navigable (Press release). Mercouffer decided to document this act of
civil disobedience, and that created the foundation for her award-winning
documentary Rock the Boat. The issue
with documentaries however, is that in order to be able to create them one
needs money. This is where the building blocks of writing used to support
world-changing ideas come into play. Mercouffer had to convince sponsors that
her documentary was worth their time and effort through a documentary treatment,
which she found extremely challenging since a treatment sets the tone and style
for the whole film (interview). She had to be able to write in a way that would
make the reader understand the importance of the completion of her project, and
as written in So What? Who Cares? “…writers
who fail to show that others should care or already do care about their claims
will ultimately lose their audiences’ interest” (Graff, 2010), Mercouffers
whole film depended on her being able to write in the right way for her
audience.
Thea Mercouffer also had to
apply for sponsorships, and she tells the story of how one has to be endearing
when needed, as well as strict and formal in other settings (interview). In a
the opening sentence of a sponsorship letter sent by Mercouffer’s producer for Rock the Boat, one can understand the
fine line that needs to be balanced in order to successfully receive support.
“Dear Rob,
Our mutual friend, John
McLaughlin, suggested I write to you directly about Rock
the Boat – the documentary about the Los Angeles River, which I’m
producing. We’re raising the final finishing funds, a bit less than $30,000.
John and Susan have contributed and think that, given your interest in the
river and environmental activism, you might like to participate, too.” (Sponsorship)
What Randi
Johnson, producer of Rock the Boat, shows here is that an application for
funding does not need to be extremely formal, even though he does not know the
person he is asking for support. Mercouffer does explain, however, that it is
when one applies for grants it is extremely important to follow the guidelines
given, and that it can sometimes be an very tiring thing to write the
applications, since they are quite intricate and often fruitless attempts
(interview).
$$$$$$$ MORE
CONTENT HERE $$$$$$$$$$$$
Another
crucial part of making a documentary film is the legal documents that need to
be in order. When conducting an interview one needs their consent to use the
footage captured during the interview, and forgetting to get their signature on
those papers can make or break a documentary before it has even started to come
together. $$$$$$ GET EXAMPLE OF LEGAL
DOCUMENT WRITING HERE $$$$$$$$$$$. One also needs to get proper paper work
filled out in order to receive the permission to film in certain areas, and in
that can sometimes cause issues when they have not been meticulously filled out
in the correct way. An example of this kind of writing is a Crowd Release,
which is a legal disclaimer for a location where people may show up in the
frame
“By entering
and by your presence here, you consent to be photographed, filmed and/or
otherwise recorded. Your entry constitutes your consent to such photography,
filming and/or recording and to any use, in any and all media throughout the
universe in perpetuity, of your appearance, voice and name for any purpose
whatsoever in connection with the production presently entitled:
_______________________.
You
understand that all photography, filming and/or recording will be done in
reliance on this consent given by you by entering this area.
If you do not
agree to the foregoing, please do not enter this area.” (Crowd Release, 2009).
The same goes for the use of music and other copyrighted
material such as logos or brand names. When making a documentary film it is
crucial to be able to understand and write in legal terms in order to not get
confused in a world filled with jargon. $$$$$
INTRODUCE QUOTE $$$$$$$$$$$ “Jargon is the
terminology used by those in a particular profession or group to facilitate
clear and precise communication.” (Boyd, 2011).
Even though a massive part of the
creation of a documentary revolves around disclaimers and asking for money, the
creative process is also highly depending on writing. Documentaries may not
seem dramatic in the same way a play or a regular movie, but the creator still
has to make sure that the storytelling is unique, and that the film has an arch
that it follows. Mercouffer says that since she had written many scripts for
theater before she got involved in documentary filmmaking she knew what she was
doing, but that the factual foundation had to be more extensive. $$$$$$$$$ FIND GOOD MATERIAL IN INTERVIEW
$$$$$$$$$$. While writing a script a storyline is created and the film
begins to form a skeleton one could say. It is around this skeleton the rest of
the documentary will come together, even though the main storyline may change
during the creative process. When the base for the documentary has been filmed,
the skeleton will work so that one can easily see what pieces are missing for
it to become a whole body. ß DON’T LIKE THIS, REWORD REWORD REWORD
(OR DELETE)……
à WRITE ABOUT PRESS RELEASES
à PUBLICITY MATERIALS
NEED TO FORMAT SOURCES PROPERLY
http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/crowd-release-44788/
Interview with Thea Mercouffer
Sponsorship Proposal
Press Release
http://www.theamercouffer.com/
Graff, G., & Birkenstein, C.
(2010). "So What? Who Cares? In They say / I say: The moves that matter
in academic writing (2nd ed., p. 93). New York: W.W. Norton &.
Boyd, J. (2011). Murder! (Rhetorically
Speaking). In Writing spaces: Readings on writing. (Vol. 1, p. 89).
Anderson, South Carolina.: Parlor Press.
Looks like you have made it pretty far with your rough draft! We are somewhat on the same level thus far, and I have pushed myself just to reach those 4,5, and 6 pages as soon as possible. Just to start the process of revising, add, and polish our final draft! With other papers to write, I think its great that you have really given yourself time to write this rough draft! A tip, if you recorded the interview, like I did, I sat down and typed out all the suitable quotes my interviewee said, just to see if they would fit in a specific paragraph later on! Good luck bud!
ReplyDeleteI really like the way how your wrote your paper and I enjoyed more reading the paper I like how you used the information you got from your interview, artifact and how you fit all them in the right sentences. But I think you and I we have the same problem its we include to much information and look to me its we samurais our interview and artifact and I think we need to analyze more about what did we understand about what we wrote. Im not trying to say we have bad paper but im tying to make it better.
ReplyDeleteMarta, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I along with the rest of the class are have several difficulties, but we're all on the right track. From reading your rough draft, it seems like you know what you want out of this paper and how you're going to get there. I really liked how you introduced your paper with the things that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for writing. Another thing that I found very interesting was how Mercouffer escaped Romania and came to the United States. You incorporated the citations very neatly and organized, and you backed them up with great summarizations. I hope your final draft is coming along just great.
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