1st Place :: Division A

Two Ships Passing in the Night: The Deaf Culture Experience

Glenbrook South

Documentary

Entry Description

Growing up around deafness has been a fascinating journey for me. Some of my closest friends, which are featured in this documentary, have been deaf since a young age. I am a loud person in a silent world. This documentary is very personal to me, and will open your eyes to the deaf experience. Thank you!

Judge 1

Positives: The black and white in the beginning is awesome. It makes me feel like I am missing something, much like they are missing something. Awesome interview set ups and subjects. What a diverse group of people and they are all composed beautifully. What a facinating story. I was so engaged.

Improvements: I would have liked to hear more from the pastor. I feel like he has a more "intellectual approach" in describing the barriers between a deaf person and a sound person. The other subjects give me their personal emotional approach, but I would have like to hear more about how to overcome that barrier from someone who does it everyday, if that makes sense. I think you could have shot some footage of people talking, or just walking down the street with zero, or some very, very muffled audio. That would have been cool to see things how they see things. Maybe when people start signing in the silent video, you could add text effects to what they are signing so the viewer can see the signer, and understand what she is saying without hearing anything. That would be amazing.

Judge 2

Positives: This documentary was beautifully shot. The story was personal which was a great way to shed light on the deaf culture. I wanted to spend more time with Lauren & Madeline. They were warm and friendly which made them enjoyable to watch and listen to. The scenery chosen for the interview backgrounds was stunning and really kept your eyes pierced to the screen. The lighting highlighted the interviewees and backdrops in all the right ways. The B-roll footage over the interviews was fun and kept the story flowing. Not to mention the opening black and white sequence was the perfect way to set up this documentary and grabs your attention instantly.

Improvements: I would have added subtitles under all of Lauren's interview because in the beginning there were some words I didn't catch. She was subtitled on and off throughout the documentary and I think it would be best to keep it consistent. I don't think the documentary ended as strong as it opened. Father's idiom reference is a little hard to understand and wasn't what the last moment of this strong doc should be. I think it would be beneficial to end in a similar way to how it opened. Or maybe not have any audio but only sign something in the end with subtitles. End it with something meaningful and impactful to keep the viewer thinking.

Judge 3

Positives: Great doc! Good camera movement and pacing / flow in the editing. Great interviews and broll to propel the story in the scenes and connect the audience. Well made doc with a well told story.

Improvements: I would have liked to see the sign language of the people being interviewed. The framing cut off their hands especially in the pastor's interview. It isn't necessary, just think it could have added to the "deaf culture experience."