Published on March 8, 2016 | by Samantha Lindgren Photography by Kevin Stanchfield
0Guelph-Humber Students are saying ‘Action!’
“It’s probably not what you’d expect,” said third-year digital communications student Katrina Gowan. This semester Gowan and fellow digital communication students are making documentaries.
Gowan is the editor for her documentary. The documentary “Dog Guides” is about guide dogs and different types of service dogs. Her team got the idea from one of their group members whose aunt fostered guide dogs.
She described the process as interesting, “because you’re getting what is real, cause you’re asking real questions and everything is genuine.”
“When you’re making documentaries and films you got to stay objective and you got to think outside the box for it to be interesting,” said Austin Ermes, third-year digital communications student.
Ermes along with his group members are making a documentary on electronic dance music or EDM, as a genre to give viewers an inside look.
Ermes is the editor however he also helps shoot and write for the documentary. Since Ermes was little he has always enjoyed making films with his siblings, like home videos. He said that he likes the making documentary style films.
“Rather than a normal film, documentaries will give you more information and give the viewer more information that they can kind of base their own opinion off of,” said Ermes.
The third-year student loved the medium so much he’s traveling with the Humber Hawks men’s basketball team to document their journey.
Max Lorenz is a third-year digital communications student. Lorenz is the producer for his documentary. The documentary is about crime in the Rexdale-area related to Humber College.
“It’s a little bit backwards,” said Lorenz as he described making a documentary as opposed to a film which can be planned out in advance. “We are so used to interpreting meaning in our daily lives that I think that creating it is a little bit more of a struggle,” he added.
Lorenz said that the subject matter for his documentary was not his first choice but he knew it was relatable and current to his audience.
“I think it’s a really good opportunity to really affect the situation around you, so I think that it’s a unique experience or opportunity that we’re not going to be able to necessarily come to all the time,” said Lorenz.
“Seeing a documentary come together is definitely a really awesome feeling,” said Jessica Napier, third-year digital communications student, whose project is about modern romance.
Napier is the editor for her documentary but she says all of the group members help each other out in all of their roles.
The film focused on how going online is a recently new way of dating but they want the documentary to show that love is love no matter where you met the person.
“It’s hard to have that vision,” said Napier as she described her documentary.
“Documentaries never go as you plan, you add things and you take away things, and it’s not really much of a story board. It’s very candid and it’s a very awkward experience,” Napier explained. She said her story boards are completely different now from when she started to film.
“You have to be very willing to change everything,” she added.
Image courtesy of Kevin Stanchfield according to licence.
About the Author
Samantha Lindgren Is a third year Journalism student at the University of Guelph-Humber, and she desires to be the next Jessi Cruickshank.
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