Tell me a story. That is how Don Hewitt, producer of 60 Minutes, described the charge to his troops while at the helm as Executive Producer of the venerable show for decades. They succeeded for a reason, they excelled at telling good stories.
Check this one out:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7361574n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox
Talk about all the stories. There are many quests here. Vy, the organizer. And each student too.
Talk about the resonant chords for you. What struck you? What made it happen? The story? The visuals? The audio? or all of the above?
Be specific. We can learn from the best.
This feature was very different than the others we have done in class so far this semester. Instead of starting with a larger problem, or issue and focusing on one specific example or story, this feature focuses on multiple stories.
ReplyDeleteThe main story is with the organizer Vy, and they do a great job of explaining her quest all throughout the piece. Constant references to her interview show she is the main focus. They do a great job working around Vy's story with narration that explains the details of the program and what it is about. That is great story telling, because instead of having Vy tell what the program is about, you get her first person account of the how she runs the program rather than the simple details.
All of the stories of the students are very well done. They all start at the same point with where the kids come from and how they auditioned to how they made the group. The one kid who's parents couldn't take him stuck a resonant chord of family and caring. Even though they could not make it they had someone let them listen on the phone, which showed how much they cared.
All the stories continued to work, because when one kids story hit a "flat-line" another's was right there to continue with a thicker plot. For example the two girls who were being raised by their great grandma and great aunt. Throughout the feature there was something about them that was different and 60 Minutes did a great job to keep you wanting to know more about what was going on in their lives. As they went into their neighborhoods it strikes a chord of poverty and loneliness, because you feel for them that they don't have their parents and a part of their lives is missing. The wow moment of this feature is when the girl sings the song about her dad and how she forgives him after all she has been through. Even the reporter has a hard time handling her emotions.
This was a great feature in the way they brought closure to all of the stories by showing how they won at the competition. It was happy for Vy and all her students and showed what their hard work throughout the feature did for them.
The storyline was great because it touched on a subject that you don't hear or see about often, a teen gospel group. The way it was shot with visuals of the teens singing and the teachers interacting with the teens made it very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI like how the voice overs of the lady talking while they showing the teens singing and her telling the story of the beginning. Also, when it showed the one girl getting emotional and you wondering why she was crying. Then it takes you into her life and her story so you can better understand her. Instead of just saying this is such and such and she cries sometimes.
I think it sparks a resonant chord because everyone goes through things and it's nice to see that there is someone out there that is willing to help teens in a positive way, before they go down the wrong path.
The visuals and audio were great. I like the fact that they captured the children singing and glimpses of their life at home. Also, their excitement when they won the gospel competition. The interviews were great in that they were up close and personal with each individual and you could almost feel what they were feeling whether it was sad or happy. This almost felt like a Christmas tree structure, because it went from one story to the next with each teen.
This was a well done piece. I do love the journey that they take you on with every story. The story of the organizer, Vy, seemed to hold the whole piece together. This worked, because she is the person holding this organization together, and her story was present throughout the entire piece. I loved her story of how she put the group together and how she works to keep the organization growing. Even though she mostly wanted to keep the music alive, the piece shows that she touched these teens lives also which was nice.
ReplyDeleteI loved the stories of some of the students also. Like the girl that thought she wasn’t going to make it because she was nervous. And the girl that didn’t have a father figure around but still forgave him. I felt that was really powerful when she sang her song about her dad, and the interviewer said, “How can you forgive him? I don’t forgive him. You’re just a child”. That was a great sound bite, and an excellent point. I also thought the girl that was being raised by her grandmother’s mother was powerful too. When she felt sad just stating her name, that was powerful to me. The fact that these were young children, and they found a way to express themselves was also powerful to me.
The music that they used was mostly the performances of the group which I thought was great. You could really feel the power behind their voices and the message they convey. The visuals of them really singing and feeling the music allowed the viewer to connect with them also. Overall, the stories are what connected me to the piece. They did a great job making us relate to them.
One thing I noticed was how several members evolved as individuals in the program. I also noticed how the program changed their approach in how they dealt with the kids. For example, the organizer Vy often told the students to leave their problems at the door. However, as time went on they started to discuss what was going on when it became obvious that these issues were not that easy to escape.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned earlier, I noticed how some of the member evolved as individuals. For example, it was shown in the story how Rhonda Rodriguez was not confident in stating her name. There was footage of her rolling her eyes and getting frustrated at something simple like saying her name. This baffled me because I wondered why on earth would she be ashamed of saying her name. It hit a resonant chord with me as I noticed the tears coming to her eyes when she was told to say her name louder and clearer. In the end, Rhonda had a change after being a part of the program and it was noticed with the footage of her saying her name loud and clear at the end of the year concert.
Overall, I think it was stories like the aforementioned and how the program brought about change is what struck a resonant chord with me.
This program of "Sixty Minutes" was quite compelling because it went so in depth not only into the program itself, but into the story of why Vy created Gospel Teens and also into the stories of those who makes up this group of special teens.
ReplyDeleteSo many of these teens were shown in this program as really growing into young adults. They were developing confidence within themselves as well as life lessons on acceptance, awareness, appreciation, and even forgiveness. This creates a strong emotional appeal to the audience which is created not only by the young adults' stories (like Rhonda's of acquiring self-confidence), but these stories are enhanced with compelling music and intense shots and footage of these strong teens.
Throughout this program, Vy is a central character since she created Gospel Teens, and I particularly loved the sound bites that were inserted throughout the teen's stories. These were always very insightful quotes, and she showed her wisdom to these young adults.
This episode was inspiring and it did a fantastic job of showing the world the difference that Vy has made in so many lives.
This piece was far from what one would think, as the narrator initially states. I thought it was about re-inventing gospel to reach more teens. I really like that it was actually about connecting teens with the gospel that was already around.
ReplyDeleteWhen the narrator said that the school brings gospel to teens who otherwise would have been raised on hip-hop it was great when there was a cut to the girl who forgot/didn't know the words to "Amazing Grace." Cuts, like this one, were constantly made to show what was being narrated or talking about in the interview.
Another cut like this was when Vy stated the kids didn't have to be great singers and they cut to another not so great singer singing "This Little Light of Mine."
The stories of Yolanda and Rhonda touched me a great deal. They both had many resonates chord in them. Rhonda's story struck resonate chords when the Great Grandmother revealed who she is. She looked like a young grandmother so that really got me. Then when Rhonda said she doesn't see her mother,but maybe 3 times a year I felt even worse for her. Another chord in that story is when they showed the building and said that it was designated for children being raised by the grandparents. It was big building and it made me wonder how many other children were going through Rhonda's situation in that building and how many other buildings like that are there?
Her friend Yolanda's story almost made me cry because I could relate to her situation with her dad a little. A MAJOR resonate chord for me was when she began singing the song she wrote for her dad and she just kept saying "daddy where are you now" over and over. I couldn't believe that she forgave him for what was likely a lie, that he didn't spend time with her over work. That struck a resonate chord of anger with me. I felt like the interviewer did.
The story telling was great in this piece. They did a good job of getting b-roll of the people they interviewed so that it could be matched with their statements. This really helped bring the stories to life.
The audio in Vy's interviews really helped tell her story along with the good visuals. I especially liked when they kept the audio of her telling the kids to shake off their baggage going under her softly as she spoke. For her interview they used a lot of sounds from her school and interaction with kids. I feel that this made it feel like she kept them going.
It was interesting that they didn't do any underlying audio for the girls' interviews though. I think this was part of the storytelling. Maybe they wanted a feeling of emptiness or loneliness to contrast with Vy's interviews. I could be over-thinking that detail though.
Overall it was a good story and I like her reasons for having the school. She is really doing something great for those kids' self-esteem.
-Carrie
The opening shot was taken from a low angle to the rhythm of the low notes of the gospel song. The next clip showing Vy has excellent depth to shadow. The close-ups caught the raw emotion the adolescent felt while singing as juxtaposed to the high shot when the music went into notes of joy and praise. The b-roll showing the marquee displaying the auditions, next the editor cut the frames as if it were American Idol. The shot of Yolanda Howard’s good first audition, the next close up shot showed the youthful girlish face of Yolanda as she smiled showing off her braces, the next frame added to the clip when it cut to Vy showing her approval of Yolanda by smiling and clapping. To add a dramatic affect to the story the next clip showed Rhonda Rodriguez whose audition was less than perfect.
ReplyDeleteThe clip that showed the young lady who for got the words to Amazing Grace—the next shot caught a young man in a baseball looking up as if he were looking into the heavens when she sang..this added to the storytelling.
The editor lured the viewer in by showing clips of Gabby Francois as being the antagonist of the story. It was also added the clip of what’s under the scarf? To make the viewer stay tuned…there is more to this. In addition there was the protagonist David Moses when they showed the his parents his father specifically and the enormous support he is surrounded by.
I’m not sure if this story started out broad and went in so much as more to finding a story within a story. The story started out as a piece on inner city kids singing gospel to. However there were several resonate chords that hit. The shots that showed fear, embarrassment, and pain on Rhonda Rogriquez because she couldn’t say her name. The shot that showed her nervousness as her eyes shifted from side to side. The clip where she was slightly hidden by another students arm. The long shot of her home and the home of the other children being raised by relatives other than their mother. Again Rhonda story was juxtaposed to Yolanda as she sang beautifully to her Father a song of forgiveness. The next shot shows the choir winning.
from Candice
ReplyDeleteI have nothing to say about the graphics or techniques used for this piece because it really was all about the story for me. The different stories within the one took me through different hi's and low's. Certain things that struck chords for me were the audition of the girl with the scarf on her head that stopped singing as if something was hindering her from wanting to be truly heard; David's parents made me mad when they forgot the audition but made sure to take him to class because they finally heard him sing as if only being interested now because of a potential payday. The girl that rolled her eyes repeatedly and started crying just because she didn't want to say her name or maybe even couldn't. This struck a big chord because I couldn't fathom feeling paralyzed to the point of not being able to say my name aloud and the fact that someone could hurt this child so badly and not notice this effect. Other chords were when the choir sang together after just 2 hours of practicing because I could see that it gave them such a feeling of accomplishment and connectedness as well as a voice and when the girl wrote a song about her dad not being there for her yet still forgave him.