Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

Located in Portland, Maine, the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies offers a 15-week immersion program for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in documentary writing, photography, or radio.
This blog is an update of current Salt students insights and musings.

5/15/2008

last day - ish

i guess technically i'm speechless. i keep wanted to blurt out how fucking great this semester has been. but that's not really it. not really how i'm feeling. i just keep looking around at the photo walls empty, our desks blank. my minidiscs counted and filed. and hope i have the guts to start again from scratch on a whole new project without the immediate support of my salties. what a pleasure it's been. booya.

5/09/2008

COPS

did you ever notice that COPS tells non-narrated stories?..

or that Oprah commercial is looping the cheers and whoops in the background of the announcer...

and that news clip cuts away from the Man On the Street when the producers need to edit his comments...

I hadn't.
It's all becoming so clear as I work on my story. I'm scrutinizing every bit of media that I come across...

5/08/2008


You want me to edit what?

5/05/2008

is this joy or pain?

I'm importing tape from my fabulous and wonderful subjects. They were going to be my first story but became my second so we've been working together on and off for months. And they've been absolutely fabulous, candid, inviting funny. And now I'm cursing myself, and them in a fit of pro tools madness. UGH! Why did he cough in the background! I'm screwed! Why was I too shy to fiddle with my levels during the most golden interview ever? She's so QUIET! That room.. that BUZZZZ.

Putting tape into pro tools, it's so exciting, but it kills me. It's like, everything comes together and falls apart at the same time: listen to the story unfold!! but my golden quote is muffled, or tape recorded on different days just sounds funny together.. Do audiences even notice this stuff?

And what will I do when it's over?

So to procrastinate I'm listening to the fun tape, the tape that wont make it in. Of Andrew at the autism walk, jokingly running into street signs and pretending to hit his head (twice) "nevah gets old" he said. Or of the kids on the trampoline "Marissa's gonna give me the wedgie!! ah!"

The normal stuff. I'm gonna miss those kids.