"If you don't build your dreams someone else will hire you to build theirs"
-Tony Gaskin
We've always heard that succesful individuals in society are the ones who are ambitious and visualize situations as opportunities-- the same is ture for journalism.
A journalist is not a paparatzi, they don't stalk people, but they do have to aspire for chances, inventing them even if they don't have them to get the "exclusive" content that will make their material valuable for their audience. In the break for instance, I feel It's one thing to sit and wait for stories to pop up in order to have a subject to write about and another is searching for them yourself. Once you dig a topic of your interest and have direct exposure to it, wheather it's by going, tasting, interviewing or plainly observing; it comes out in your writing.
Documentary film making is also an AMBITIOUS task where journalism plays a huge role. This week has been all about networking, creating contacts and talking to people. Interviews aren't going to coordinate themselves, you have to be assertive, call once, maybe twice.
Journalists don't give up on the first call, or on the first e-mail and because it's such a fast-turning world and e-mails aren often ignored, you have to use all the resources available. An ambicious mindset is not about being greedy but for me it has been about being flexible with how I wan't to acomplish my vision, plotting solutions to the interviewees every time they gave me a "but" to the request and making it an exciting proposition to both parties. Because this project is not for simply for my personal bennefit but for a wider social picture it's easyer to sell my idea.
Why? Because I trully believe in it.
A journalist is not a paparatzi, they don't stalk people, but they do have to aspire for chances, inventing them even if they don't have them to get the "exclusive" content that will make their material valuable for their audience. In the break for instance, I feel It's one thing to sit and wait for stories to pop up in order to have a subject to write about and another is searching for them yourself. Once you dig a topic of your interest and have direct exposure to it, wheather it's by going, tasting, interviewing or plainly observing; it comes out in your writing.
Documentary film making is also an AMBITIOUS task where journalism plays a huge role. This week has been all about networking, creating contacts and talking to people. Interviews aren't going to coordinate themselves, you have to be assertive, call once, maybe twice.
Journalists don't give up on the first call, or on the first e-mail and because it's such a fast-turning world and e-mails aren often ignored, you have to use all the resources available. An ambicious mindset is not about being greedy but for me it has been about being flexible with how I wan't to acomplish my vision, plotting solutions to the interviewees every time they gave me a "but" to the request and making it an exciting proposition to both parties. Because this project is not for simply for my personal bennefit but for a wider social picture it's easyer to sell my idea.
Why? Because I trully believe in it.
contacts I've made so far:
Though the process of scheduling an interview with each is slow and complicated given their tight calendars, little by little these pieces of reliability will bring value to my documentary if I am able to pull it together.
COINCIDENCES do not exist. Ambition makes you be attentive to chances which is simply incredible. Why do I say this? Because journalism is about fetching these opportunities and making fast desition on going for it or not: going for that question, for that edgy comment that may make your interviewee a little hesitant, confused or uncomfortable but that will give you the vital info. that you are looking for. A simple COINCIDENCE can turn into a worthy interview if you see it under that lens, if you are thinking like a journalist "on a mission".
As I was leaving school the other day I ran into a woman who looked extremelly up tight. My mother instantly yanked my arm and told me that that woman was the ex "ministra de la mujer", currently had an important charge in congress and had an amusing story of how she formed part of the goverment by starting in a beauty competition.
"SO... ask her for the interview!" she told me. I had aproximately 1.5 seconds before she closed the door to her car and once I told her my project she was as excited as I was. She told her assitant to give me her card and we scheduled an interview at congress this monday. Simple. As. That.
COINCIDENCES do not exist. Ambition makes you be attentive to chances which is simply incredible. Why do I say this? Because journalism is about fetching these opportunities and making fast desition on going for it or not: going for that question, for that edgy comment that may make your interviewee a little hesitant, confused or uncomfortable but that will give you the vital info. that you are looking for. A simple COINCIDENCE can turn into a worthy interview if you see it under that lens, if you are thinking like a journalist "on a mission".
As I was leaving school the other day I ran into a woman who looked extremelly up tight. My mother instantly yanked my arm and told me that that woman was the ex "ministra de la mujer", currently had an important charge in congress and had an amusing story of how she formed part of the goverment by starting in a beauty competition.
"SO... ask her for the interview!" she told me. I had aproximately 1.5 seconds before she closed the door to her car and once I told her my project she was as excited as I was. She told her assitant to give me her card and we scheduled an interview at congress this monday. Simple. As. That.
I annalysed the situation for a second. How had the 1 minute chat or "pitch" of my idea convinsed her, a n important women in the government to give me an hour of her time a buissy monday morning. I started with my purpose for interviewing her, giving her a valuable reason why she should invest her time on this. I've figured that in this cases, you have to make them know why having them appear in your film is impacting for your goal. Given that I'm passionate about my cause (empowering women in Lima) I was able to express it with convisning energy. |
When forming an interview there is one primary MUST: A necessary investment spending some of your time to investigate the interviewee in order to maximize your time with them in the interview. Some of their history, key facts to their story and a general background of what they do in order to ask relevant questions and generate a conversation. | When NETWORKING be aggressive: AMBITION a word that might have a neggative connotation but in this case it can makes this process more productive. Through this week I've seen how CLARITY in communication is vital: being clear with what you want to get out of the interview prior to the date. CLARIFYING the trade-off directly. If you wan't aditional facts: tell them. If they can't share these with you they won't, but it's better to try that to remain with a hanging "what if". |