Lights, Camera…Activism!

April 24, 2008(Written by Sheehey) We began the day with a working meeting over our continental breakfast at the hotel, then all vans headed to the French Quarter.   Students had the opportunity to shop, eat (again, Café du Monde with its beignets was a popular choice) and tour on their own.  From there one group took off for its second day at the New Orleans Science Math Charter School, where they got some tremendous interviews; others headed back to NOCCA for an afternoon of various activities.   NOCCA’s media arts teacher gave a small group some film editing expertise, and two groups interviewed (for their films) the outgoing as well as the incoming superintendent of the NOCCA school.  A highlight for a group of about six students occurred when they participated in Lara Naughton’s creative writing class.  We did an exercise using 3 writing prompts, culminating in the back-and-forth readings of several groups of one SB student and one NOCCA student using the phrases, “I want to know…” and “I want you to know…” (respectively).   It was poetry.   Then Lara’s students gathered in the center of the room and—reading only their lines and ad libbing some—presented their “I want you to know” pleas as a performance piece, which we filmed.   They included such lines as, “I want you to know that I haven’t been the same since the hurricane;”  “I want you to know that all my friends have dropped out of high school;”  “I want you to know that we are not dead.”  The students spoke in this fashion, one after another, for more than 45 minutes, and their performance affected everyone in the room – their teacher, the SB students, and they themselves.   We sat in awe of their honesty and their willingness to open up to us, their newfound friends.   One of NOCCA’s creative writing students (Lauren) volunteered to take some of us on a personal tour through the French Quarter, so while some continued at NOCCA with their interviews and classes, we walked through the area with her as our guide.  We returned to the school to join the other SB students there and to return downtown, boarding the Canal Street Ferry to Algiers.  Lauren’s mother works at a little restaurant (Dry Dock) in Algiers, so we went to her place for dinner.   It was great food—again with many of us  ordering Louisianan classic dinner fare—and it was nice to have the personal connection.  Many of us had wanted to see the city lit up at night from the river ferry, so our return was another hightlight.   We didn’t get back to the hotel until 10:00, when we had our final meeting of the day.   The students aren’t kidding when they report that it’s a draining and often intense schedule.   But, especially after today, the four groups can better envision their final products, their films.  

(Written by Sheehey)  Wednesday was the first day where our student filmmaking groups had different experiences–at least in the morning.  One group got off to an early start at Holy Cross School for an interview session there; the rest headed into New Orleans proper to film “B-roll” for their movies (that is, background of the city).  The folks I was with took the Canal Street ferry to Algiers, and for most of us it was our first time on the Mississippi River (though only a brief ride).  Some had the chance to walk around there,  while another filmmaking group stayed on board the ferry in order to go to their pre-filmming meeting at the New Orleans Science Math Charter school.   Most of us had lunch in the French Quarter, famous for Jackson Square, historic houses, creole restaurants, and the beignets and chickory coffee of Cafe du Monde. By 1:00 we were due back at NOCCA, and for our afternoon “class” we joined the NOCCA writing students to hear a reading of the experiences of two death row exonerees.   Gregory Bright and John Thompson stood trial for crimes they did not commit and spent 27 1/2 years and 18 years (respectively) in prison … Angola/Louisiana State Pen.       The men had written of their experiences with our host teacher, Lara Naughton.  After their reading, there was a Q & A  session where questions ranged from the writing process to the  corrupt justice system that incriminated them to the pointlessness of revenge.   I can’t imagine anyone leaving the room unchanged.  When we drove away, it was the first time the students in my van turned off the tunes and tried to get to the bottom of the problems of the world. Then dinner.   We split up, giving the students some choices of restaurants along Washington Park, and by 9:00 we were back at the Ramada for the pool, t.v., rest.  Striking to me is how genuinely flexible and wonderful the students are being, despite the driving (occasional lost drivers, the traffic of the President’s being in town), the food (always good but sometimes not in time) and the schedule (filled).  The four filming groups will have different experiences again tomorrow afternoon.  If it helps our readers, those groups are referred to as NOCCA (a film on the school itself), the Schools, Exiles,  and Behind the Scenes.   

Working

What a great day.  After starting out with a Q&A session with writer/director Vince Morelli, an unbelievably gracious and open man who spoke to us at length and put up with our equipment shenanigans, and a student who starred in the documentary, Josh Shaw, who was equally generous with his time and shared the harrowing story of his challenges in New Orleans schools. We rushed off for a quick lunch (no lingering over meals down here; they are living the filmmaker’s life!) and then back to NOCCA for a very informative class with Tim Watson, a professional film editor, who talked about the ins-and-outs of his business but took a very specific interest in our project and asked lots of questions about how we are approaching it. 

After class, the students interviewed four NOCCA students about their arts interests and about their time in “exile” after the hurricane.

Vince Morelli and Josh then returned at 6pm to show us the rough cut of their film (still with a watermark on the screen since it is not an officially released version), so the LCA students got to actually see the movie.  The only down side was that the DVD had a scratch, so we cut it short and will view the rest tomorrow.  But everyone was exhausted so that worked out alright, now that I think about it, and we can finish it fresh tomorrow.

 So I want the students to post some blog entries, but there is only one computer among them.  And they have all the pictures, too!  And they have no time, which doesn’t help.

 I’ll be out bright and early with a group tomorrow morning to Holy Cross High School, where they are still in trailers until their new building is finished.  The rest of the group will be “shooting b-roll” (aka touring New Orleans) in the morning (ferry from Canal Street across the Mississippi to Algiers Point, and perhaps a streetcar ride thru the Garden District to follow).   My gang will catch up with them downtown by noon for lunch, then back to NOCCA to hear from the exonorees, which should be a facinating discussion.  More tomorrow!