It Only Takes One Person to Make a Difference!

This is one of the hardest entries that I have had to respond to in awhile. I am supposed to deconstruct one of the presentations that I have seen thus far. The truth is besides mine, I have only seen three others and they were ALL fantastic! If I had to chose one though I would like to deconstruct Shayna Marti’s Documentary just because it was so different. Shayna did a documentary on a faith based community volunteer project called “His Hands Ministry.” Members of area churches get together and volunteer in the summer to help people up-date and maintain their homes because they are just not able to do it themselves.
Shayna worked hard all summer to shoot this project while it was going on and her work paid off. She had fantastic footage and even took pictures to put in her documentary that really helped add that special component to her documentary. She told the story of what happened everyday from beginning to end days 1 thru 5. Her story was so compelling that it made me want to be active in the community and get out in volunteer. I come from a town and family where we are used to having everything done for us…I don’t have to worry about yard work, or painting the house. We have people that do that for us…but we pay them and this is volunteer. After watching this documentary I felt like a spoiled brat and I felt like I just wanted to get out and make a difference in the world.
If I could think of one thing that needed work it may be the story telling. It was written really well, but the way Shayna talked over the shots it just seemed like she was in a hurry. This isn’t her fault but rather a habit. We are all used to reading our newscasts for the radio and we only get two minutes to tell the story. For this though should could have as much time as she needed to tell the story…so it might have been a little more effective if should we have just slowed down and read more like she was telling a story not reporting.
Shayna did a fantastic job! It seemed like this was a project that she was really passionate about and it showed. Everytime I watch one of her documentaries it just makes me feel like I am superwomen and can accomplish anything! Great Job!