A Sneak Peek

I still have a ways to go on the film, but in the meantime I've created a short version for a study abroad film contest BYU is holding.
Here it is:

This is extremely condensed, and only includes Jamyang's side of the story, but hopefully it will give you a good idea of what the finished film will be like.

Finished Shooting

We have left Dharamsala and therefore shooting is completed. There are definitely other things I wish I could have filmed, mostly B-roll type footage and a few more interviews with people other than my central characters. However, given infinite time I would probably never feel finished or completely satisfied with my footage. Such is the case with documentary filmmaking; there’s always something more you wish you had.

On the other hand, if there’s no schedule and no limit, you’ll never finish your film. And in reality, I have been very fortunate, even very blessed for what I have been able to get. When I first started this project I thought three months time should be plenty to get a story with a beginning middle and end. But pretty soon I realized that real-life stories can take a long time to play out. As the end of our stay got closer and closer I was really starting to worry whether I’d have any type of ending to my story, or at least some kind of accomplishment or something that would work as and ending.

Leaving So Soon

It's raining and the appointment I had canceled, otherwise I probably wouldn't be writing this right now. We only have three days left in Dharamsala, and therefore I am cramming to wrap up my filming.

Don't worry. I am glad to report that I am very close to having everything I need, and that I should be able to reasonably get all that I need over these next couple days. Maybe not everything I wanted to get... but I think that's a fairly impossible expectation when it comes to documentary film.

Lately however, things have been turning out surprisingly in the favor of my film. Just this week Tong Len's kids moved into their new hostel and I got to be there to film it. Also, the day before we are leaving, a couple I filmed when we first got here will be receiving their marriage certificate with help from my lawyer friend, and they have invited me to come along. And in addition to these things, I have been getting some really great answers in the interviews I've been conducting lately.

I go through weird cycles of being really excited for this film, then suddenly wanting to give up and then getting really excited again. Right now I am excited. I'm sure in editing I will get discouraged a few more times, but I promise I won't give up. I myself can't wait to see the finished film.

Thoughts

Over the last week I’ve edited and re-edited the script to my film trying to get it to the right place. But I’m having a hard time looking past the basic events and interviews and really seeing the story and the theme. So I decided to back things up, ask myself some questions and see if that could guide my thoughts any better. This blog post is not eloquently written or originally meant for an audience. It’s just me trying to get my thoughts out. But it’s all part of the filmmaking process, and so I figured, why not share it? I actually recommend it to anyone who is having trouble organizing their thoughts. Just sit down and write it out. It really helps.

Here are the questions I asked myself:

What first drew my attention to the idea of my film?

What is the theme of this film?

What do I hope to accomplish with this film?

What is the story?

Here are my answers:

Script = Direction

I have heard plenty of times that scripting a documentary film is one of the best things you can do if you want to produce a good story. With this project however, I kept putting it off, saying that I didn’t know enough about my characters or my subject to write out a whole script. So instead I settled for brief, basic outlines for the film. These outlines however did not seem to be getting me very far or giving me much direction with the film.

So this week I finally sat down and scripted out the film in as much detail as I could.  There are still a few parts left fairly open, and I am also open to any unforeseen events that may arise, but I now have something concrete, a direction I can follow that is reasonable and accomplishable in the following month that I will be here. I no longer feel like I am wondering about, hoping for a story to happen. I have my story, and now all I have to do is collect the different parts and then put them all together.

I am the kind of person who works much better if I have a checklist; something that shows me everything I need to do, and then I can systematically go through, do each item and check it off. That’s exactly what this script is for me: a big checklist. Now all I have to do is follow it, get each of the scenes, and then put it together. And if, along the way, anything else interesting pops up, I am more than willing to be flexible with the script.

I am also very lucky to have a wife, a field study coordinator, and two film professors who are able to read the script and give me feedback on it. With their help the film will be much better than I could have ever hoped to make it on my own. 

The Hostels

Disclaimer: If you read this blog somewhat regularly you may or may not notice my recent attempts to add some style to my writing. This is not an attempt to be a writing snob, but an attempt to keep things interesting for you readers. Today’s attempt is to keep things short and simple, since most of my posts are so long. If it works, awesome. If it’s just obnoxious, let me know and I will stop.

Sunday, amazing. Julia and I saw Tong-Len’s hostels: homes for children while going to school.  Again, unsure of what to expect, thought Jamyang would show us around a bit. Maybe I would film him.

Not so.

Girls’ hostel was first. We were immediately surrounded. 20 girls, ages 7 – 17. We sat on a couch. They sat on the floor around us.

“Uhh, hi. Nice to meet you all.”

They responded one by one, standing for their turn, “my name is _______. I read in __ grade. I am ___ years old.” We followed their example and introduced ourselves.

Then all stood, “Sir. Madam. Come. Please.” They took our hands to show us around. Their dining room, a big table. Their bedroom, a room full of bunk beds. Their bags, their Russian polar bear dog. Their computer/dancing room. Here we stayed a while. The girls danced… Then we danced.  Tees Mar Khan and Barbie Girl. The girls danced great, including Julia. I moved around and bumped into things.

Boys’ hostel next. We received the same welcoming. But the boys didn’t dance. They did tricks. Hand tricks, sounds with mouths and armpits, and acrobatics. I can’t say we didn’t encourage it. In many cases we started it. “Sir. Madam. Show. Try. Again.”

Incredibly fun. exceptionally inspiring. These kids, the kindest, smartest, most polite, loving, and fun children I’ve met in my life, and coming from the lowest, poorest, slum communities. Futures for 40 children and counting. Just one of Jamyang’s accomplishments. 

Real life is much more plain.

When I went to the big court case,

the envisioned climax of a story,

I had everything played out in my head:

the drama, the tension, the excitement,

but real life was much more plain.

I waited in that plastic chair

my camera zipped tight inside its bag,

longing for a shot, just one, two or three,

but warned to keep it out of sight,

the morning passed on and my story stood still.

All the same, it didn’t matter

because my imagination was far from reality;

real life was much more plain.

I waited. Everyone waited.

A few people went into a room and came out.

And then it was over.

I asked for the verdict, there was none.

The case was suspended ‘til after I leave

“It’s a slow process,” said the lawyer

as much of life is.

I took the bus home.

I gave up for the day,

ate a handful of spicy Indian trail-mix.

How could I expect to tell an exciting story

When real life is so much more plain?

But that was yesterday.

Now it’s today.

I sat down and thought things over.

What have I learned from the people I’ve met,

and how could I teach that to others?

I’ve seen kindness, sacrifice, charity, love.

That when you serve from your heart

it melts the borders of the mind;

so that when you serve another

it’s not a black or white or brown,

it’s a person in need. That’s all.

Someone you can help.

Real life may be plain, in day to day events

but there’s so much it can teach you.

You just have to look through the right lens.

And as I see it, as I feel it,

that’s what a good story should do:

Teach, inspire, uplift.

Though I don’t know the way I’ll get there yet

that’s what I must create.

A Sound Triumph

When buying sound equipment to take to the field, I bought a digital sound recorder and a lav mic. The idea was to use the lav mic for interviews, plugging it into the recorder and clipping it to the interviewee. However, when I got the equipment and tested the lav mic with the recorder, it wouldn’t work. I went to the trusty internet in search of answers and read in a few different places that if I wanted to use an external mic, it had to have its own power source.

So, on the verge of leaving for India, I sent the lav mic back with the guarantee of at least getting my $20 back. I justified that the recorder itself would be enough by recording an interview with my nephew Connor (which is actually quite cute) and deciding that the quality was good enough.

However, once I got to India and started recording interviews and other events with the sound recorder, I realized how noisy India is! Everything is so close together, that from almost any room of any building you can hear people talking, dogs barking, or the always present cars honking. In addition to this, the concrete walls can make recording indoors very echoey at times. I don’t say any of this to put down India. Noise can actually be a beautiful thing at times; for instance, I love lying in bed in the mornings and listening to our next-door neighbor practice his Tibetan guitar. All I’m trying to say is that these noises can make it difficult when trying to record just one person talking.

We did it!

I know my last post was a big thank you, but here's an even bigger one: THANK YOU!
We had so many people contribute to the fundraiser and we reached our goal! So thank you all so much, to those who gave and also to those who spread the word. We wouldn't have made it without your combined efforts.

I'm very excited for this film and things have being going great. In half an hour I'm off to do an interview with Vinayak, my Indian lawyer friend, and then tomorrow I will be hanging around a courthouse to get the before and afters of a court hearing he will be serving in.

Later this week I will be going with Jamyang from Tong-Len to go see the hostel his organization has built to provide housing for less-fortunate children while they get an education. This I am also excited for.

So again, thank you to everyone for your help. The money raising part is over, but you can still support the film by following the blog and giving comments, questions, or feedback wherever you'd like. And when the film is finished I'll be looking for lots of people to help raise awareness of it and get it seen by as many people as possible, so stay in tune for that.

Thank you all. Thank you thank you thank you!

An Activist, a Lawyer, a Minister of Parliament, and two NGO Directors

What do all these people have in common? They’re all willing to help me with my film!

Things have really taken off since my meeting with Tenzin Tsundue last week. Right away I started looking up the references he gave me, and so far everyone I have talked to has been very kind and willing to help me with the film. Tenzin is “the activist” I refer to in the title. Here are the other people I have talked to so far:

Vinayak, the lawyer

An Indian lawyer who takes 99% Tibetan cases. He’s learned the Tibetan language and dedicated himself to helping these people. He explained to me that because of Tibetans’ exiled state, they often believe they do not have the same rights as Indians, but they do, and this is most of his work, just helping the Tibetans to understand their rights and privileges in India. He shows true compassion in his dedication through his time and effort to the Tibetan people, and often charges little or nothing at all, based on the person’s ability to pay.

I Am Excited

- Tenzin Tsundue

It’s intimidating being in a new place, not knowing many people or much of their language. But what’s more intimidating is knowing that while you’re in this new place, you have to complete this huge project which requires the help of the people you don’t know and can’t easily communicate with.
I believe this intimidation may be one of the main reasons that my film has not taken off quite as quickly as I had imagined. However, in the last couple days, a combination of things has gotten me excited about the project and given me the energy and determination to get things rolling. One of these things was realizing that we’ve already been gone for a month and only have two months left. Another was writing about the project to my mentors, friends and family and remembering that this film is not something I have been assigned to do; this is a film I truly want to make. Another was the simple act of meeting and talking to nice people. Being shy by nature, it’s not always easy for me to strike up a conversation with a stranger. But practically every time I have done so I have made a new friend, thus making it that much easier to say something to the next stranger. (For most people here, just knowing a phrase in their language is a great way to strike up a conversation).
The fear of time running out, remembering my passion for the film, and meeting these nice people was enough motivation to make me do something drastic: buy a cell phone.