Where Has All the (Our) Money Gone?

Refugee boy

KABUL, Afghanistan, 7 January 2014 — This is a brief clip I shot in a refugee camp in Kabul. According to a camp spokeswoman, the camp houses about 1,500 people from across Afghanistan who have fled the war. She said some of the refugees have been here for as long as 12 years. No running water. Open sewers. No electricity. Some of the kids don’t have shoes.

In a May 2012 report, the Washington, DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated that if government figures on Afghanistan “for FY2001-FY2013…are totaled for all direct spending on the war, they reach $641.7 billion.”

That’s right, $641.7 billion, with a “B.”

The CSIS report goes on: “This is an incredible amount of money to have spent with so few controls, so few plans, so little auditing, and almost no credible measures of effectiveness.”

Indeed, the spokeswoman at the refugee camp asked what happens to all the money donated by foreign countries, especially the United States. Why are thousands of people living in conditions like the ones in this video?

I didn’t have any answers. Click HERE to see the clip.

#documentaries


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Navigating Misery and Video Journalism

refugee lunch copy

KABUL, Afghanistan, 5 January 2014 — Two boys eat a lunch of leftover rice in a refugee camp on the edge of Kabul. About 1,500 people live in this squalid complex of tents and dirt homes. Especially in winter, as the temperature at night hovers below zero, life here is tenuous, particularly for children. The New York Times carried a front-page story recently about malnutrition running rampant among Afghan children — despite billions of dollars in aid during the last 10 years.

Working in these camps is a challenge. In addition to the grinding misery that is harder to accept each time you see it, navigating through masses of people in need becomes more difficult each time you do it. You do so by telling yourself that your work means something. You say that perhaps it will draw attention to their plight. And then you hope that it does.

 


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Using Character to Tell Video Journalism Stories

Returnees

WASHINGTON, DC, 28 December 2013 — This is another of the films produced during my recent Backpack Video Journalism Workshop in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Maria Garcia produced this story about Uruguayans who are returning to their home country after having spent years abroad, mostly Spain, looking for economic opportunity. It’s a microcosm, really, of the broader story of global migration in search of a better life. Following a tried and true storytelling technique, Maria uses the experiences of one or two persons to exemplify and to embody the broader stories of millions.

Click HERE to watch Maria’s story.

 


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“Footprints of Color” at Montevideo Workshop

Footprints

WASHINGTON, DC, 23 December 2013 — One of the most interesting films made during our recent Backpack Video Journalism Workshop in Montevideo, Uruguay, was done by Juan Marra about a young man who paints the sidewalks near his home in an effort to brighten up the neighborhood.

This is just another example of how stories present themselves to those of us who open our eyes, and perhaps our hearts, in order to see and to feel them. You don’t have to go to Syria to find a good story. There’s probably one, on your own block, waiting for you to tell it.

The five-day workshop was organized by Valentina Quagliotti, an exchange student at American University in 2010. Valentina is the founder of Ikusi, a non-profit dedicated to making positive social change with video. My trip to Uruguay was funded by the U.S. Embassy in Montevideo.


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“See, Tell, Change,” With Video Journalism and Ikusi

Ikusi

WASHINGTON, DC, 21 December 2013 — This is the essence, the very core, the embodiment of what can be achieved with visual communication. It is the confluence of passion and technology. It is everything that communication can be. It is what I teach my students and it is what I, myself, aspire to. It is called Ikusi.

Pictured above is Valentina Quagliotti, a Uruguayan exchange student at American University in 2010. On the right is Valentina’s younger sister, Agustina. When I met Valentina, her non-profit, Ikusi, still was only a dream, a dream about making positive social change with video. Today it is a reality, and I’m privileged to say that I’ve just returned from Uruguay where I conducted a Video Journalism Workshop and a number of presentations, on behalf of Valentina’s non-profit. The trip was organized by Valentina and funded by the U.S. Embassy in Montevideo.

Valentina just published her group’s video report for 2013. Click HERE to see it. At the end you’ll see the group’s logo and slogan: “See, Tell, Change.” And that’s exactly what she’s doing.

She inspires me.


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Here’s How It’s Done

Gulick

WASHINGTON, DC, 22 November 2013 — Good to hear from all of you who asked about the technique used in making some of the images in the National Park Service film that I posted yesterday.

Here’s the answer to how two former students of mine, Sarah Gulick and Erin Finicane, did it. To achieve the slow-motion shots of, for example, the young hiker, they used this Sony camera: http://tinyurl.com/n3majx3, with a shutter speed of 60 frames per second. And they exported that footage at 24 frames per second, giving the piece that dreamy look. Because of the camera’s internal, optical stabilizer, they were able to hand-hold the camera. Not all of the shots were made with the Sony. Some of the rock-solid atmospheric shots were made with an HDSLR, and sometimes with the camera mounted on a tripod.

And although that $600 Sony camera is good for this type of effect, Sarah Gulick warned me that it’s not too good for sound. So you have to really be selective about when you use it, and for what purpose.

I hope that helps.


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Latest Blog on Tbilisi Backpack Video Journalism Workshop

with camera

WASHINGTON, DC, 4 October 2013 — Check out my latest blog about the Backpack Video Journalism Workshop in Tbilisi, Georgia. During the five-day event, I taught professional journalists how to make character-driven documentary films with hand-held digital cameras. To see the post, click HERE.

 


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