Author: SANTIELLA JEUNE DUMENY

https://santielladumeny.wordpress.com

link to final doc :

 

I want to cover my short doc on autistic kids and their education. I feel like after the pandemic the comeback has been a struggle since kids were so used to being in their houses doing their school work to now being in a classroom setting once again. The kids I wanted to cover are adolescents so between the ages of 6-and 11.

Some of these kids haven’t even seen a classroom setting before the pandemic and some have forgotten what it’s like to be in a classroom setting with that one-on-one learning, especially autistic kids. For those, that do remember I want to cover what it was like being taken out of the classroom setting and how it was adjusting for the child and especially the parent because some parents became that teacher and had to make sure their children were learning the material since the teachers were virtually teaching the hard class.

For the short doc, I want to focus on how the pandemic suspended essential services and learning for Austin children and how the child, teachers, and parents were affected. I also want to interview the teachers on the difficulties of bringing autistic kids back into the classroom setting and what challenges they faced since being back in the classroom and if it has any long-term effects on these kids. Especially with the constant changes in regulations with the mask being required, vaccines being required then both mask and vaccines being optional and has it affected the attendance, have they gained kids or lost kids, etc.

I believe that this could be interesting because I haven’t heard many things about autistic children learning being suspended. I know the news has focused on children in school as a whole but I want to know specifically the challenges for autistic kids since they require one on one learning, essential services, etc.

news peg: With the pandemic shutting down schools, especially schools that specialize in autistic kids it’s been a struggle for these kids to get their traditional learning. Several months later, being brought back to the classroom setting had many pros for them but being at home for so long, autistic kids still meet a few struggles and so do their teachers.

Pitch: I want to focus on the teachers teaching the autistic kids in this school right in my neighborhood around Staten Island. I want to focus on the main teacher and her struggles and I also want to focus on a teacher assistant that just started helping out this year and interview her to see if this is what she expected etc. i also want to get the kids opinion on being back in the classroom setting and if they’re any differences. I also want to know how they were able to adapt to regulations constantly changing etc.

In the documentary, Lambs over Lions, they discuss how a couple of men in Northern Kenya, solve their poverty issues. The documentary is centered around three men called x, asan, and Lukas. The documentary opens with a close-up of X with his eyes focused on an object and thinking about an idea in his mind and in the faint of the background you can hear the sound of the elephants. They then do an interview where he tells the cameraman that he kills elephants and grabs their tusks to sell to make money. He talks about how he poached and how it’s illegal and he can’t get caught. They start building the dramatic arc where you see what the documentary is going to be about. So there is this one scene where they are all shooting at a tree and the camera closes up on Asan and how he’s focused on the target by the way he’s holding his weapon and squinting his eyes to show his skills off. It then cuts to them showing the tree and everyone targets and everyone talks about how Asan gets the closest shot. The camera used a high angle on Asan and captures his smile showing his happiness. The arc is starting to form because you see how they get the elephant tusk. Next scene, people are poaching and the rangers run after them and round them up, you see Asan as one of the rangers yelling at the poachers. The story gets interesting because it shows how the law is exercised by the people who are broken by a ranger. After all, he struggles with poverty and how his job doesn’t pay him enough for his family. The poachers have an inside man and use him to secretly carry out their activities without alerting the rangers. Throughout the movie, they use the angle to build the dramatic arc from start to finish. In the end, the arc finishes with them using a wide-angle shot of an elephant tusk statue to show all the tusks they confiscated that were with millions. The movie then ends with a close-up of all of them and what happened to All of them. X becomes a ranger, Lukas dies and Asan quits a ranger and finds a job to benefit him and his family.

I don’t know what exactly I want to film for the visual poem yet but I have many ideas.

1) I can video tape the nightlife scene following bartenders, business owners, bouncers, security guards and waitresses to see how it’s like working in a industry that relies on communication and how much harder it is to follow guidelines while still having the time of your life.

2) I can do a visual poem on a day in a life as a teacher for autistic kids. I can follow one of the teachers and see how they deal with children while still keeping them safe in person.

3) I can pick an event to go to and just film people having a fun time and their responses etc.

Also, the link to my practice assignment.