Doc diary-Last blog

Yesterday, 6 June 2013, was the last day of our documentary class. I was kind of sad. Before sleeping and after waking up, I kept thinking about my time at Medill and how time just flew by. Ten weeks seemed like a long time when the doc class started two months back but now it feels like it was just yesterday when we were shooting for the skill-test video.

Our finished piece will be showcased on 13 June 2013 at Harris Hall, Northwestern University. It makes me proud and nervous at the same time. My mom and my husband will be there and I hope they like our (my team) work. I could not have done it without my family’s unconditional love and support.

Making this doc has been a roller-coaster experience. When we started shooting almost six weeks back, we thought we would be making a movie on the men only hotel in Chicago (only two of a kind hotel left) with one of the hotels, Ewing Annex Men Only hotel as our main focus. We decided to break the stereotype that only drug addicts, homeless people live here, in our movie. And instead show that people like us; everyday people live here too by focusing on one character, a white young male student representing residents like him. Pretty straightforward, journalistic approach devoid of any hand holding of the audience was our way to go forward with this doc.

But no! That. Did. Not. Happen. What happened was just the opposite. Just a week to go before we showcase our doc to our super talented cohort in particular and Northwestern community as a whole (just the thought of it turns my stomach) our story has completely changed. Various factors led to this change. So for now and it better be, we are following a completely new genre, (at least for us) as none of us has ever done anything like this before. It is lyrical, essayist style doc that we are going for. I hate to acknowledge this but it is really making me nervous. Considering that it is our first documentary, we definitely have overestimated our potential as filmmakers. Lol.

I am nervous to the hilt. But, I know being nervous or frustrated will not help us at this point. So I have decided to see this change in our idea as an opportunity to learn and understand something new. I watched some lyrical movies in the class and not only did I hate them and found them boring, I never thought I would be making one. So here you go. Never hate anything because you never know how that would come back at you! Laughing again….

So, more on the lyrical style documentary and the thought process that goes into it. Well, to start with, the lyrical style is driving us crazy because as Brent, our professor said, with lyrical, we can take any direction. Any direction!! It’s a blessing and a curse at the same time. Blessing because it means freedom to portray things that we want to be seen and be opinionated too at the same time. Curse, because we don’t know how to do it. Since the time, we entered into this program, all we are told is to keep our opinions to ourselves, be unbiased and let people draw their own conclusions from our work. Not anymore! Welcome to the world of documentary making.

But I am happy that we are taking this risk and I hope we make something that we are proud of or at least something that makes some sense to us and to the audience. I also think that we have this kind of confidence in us because of the great stuff that we learned in our documentary class. It taught us to be risk takers, to be creative. Brent exposed us to the different styles in which documentaries around the world are made. I am fortunate to have been a part of this class.  On that note, editing…….here I come!!

Cheers,

Shruti

 

National Geographic: Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds

Movies about Africa continue to grab my attention. It intrigues me that how such a rich continent for most part has nothing but misery and victims. Someone has rightly said that no one cares about Africa and one could clearly see that in either movies or documentaries.

This national geographic documentary, Diamonds of War: Africa Blood Diamonds, by journalist Dominic Cunningham-Reid, takes us to the world where diamonds are not less than a curse. The movie, of course does nothing to break any kind of stereotype. It only reinforces the one that already exists about Africans as being exploited by the first world countries, that they are unruly and nothing can be done about some of the problems that exist there. And one of them being the illegal trading of the diamonds that continue to bring war, escalate poverty and tension in this region.

In the beginning I got a feeling as if this is going to be a predominantly blood and war doc with nothing substantial to offer. And I thought I would not learn anything new about what’s going on in Africa as far as the diamond business is concerned. But the journalist did a pretty good job at keeping the story simple and interesting.

The filmmaker surprised me with his to-the-point narration and also his physical presence throughout the movie. I am not sure if I would ever like to be THE face in my documentary but I kind of liked it in this one. It became my own journey to dig out the truth.  And the challenges of the filmmaker became my challenges. I felt as I am traveling with him to this uncharted territory as he travels to koidu, which lies in the east of Sierra Leone.

Looking at Africa, it is hard to comprehend that we are part of the same world. Growth and opportunities are such lost terms there. It’s would not have been easy to film on such a controversial topic in a place where guns do the talking.  

I laughed when I saw one of the doors of the journalist’s car missing. It symbolizes the limited resources that often times journalists have to work with.

I just wish that the music was not as lively. For me it took away from the seriousness of the situation.

I did feel that at times the filmmaker was kind of an advocate for the people of Africa.  

Last but not the least, for me numbers do put things into perspective. So my favorite line from the doc was, “I have heard that for every pound of diamonds, 18 million pounds of earth must be removed,” said Reid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Geographic: Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds

beawarebuilderscams

Movies about Africa continue to grab my attention. It intrigues me that how such a rich continent for most part has nothing but misery and victims. Someone has rightly said that no one cares about Africa and one could clearly see that in either movies or documentaries.

This national geographic documentary, Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds, by journalist Dominic Cunningham-Reid takes us to the world where diamonds are not less than a curse. The movie, of course does nothing to break any kind of stereotype. It only reinforces the one that already exists about Africans as being exploited by the first world, that they are unruly and nothing can be done about some of the problems that exist there. And one of them being the illegal trading of the diamonds that continue to bring war, escalate poverty and tension in this region.

In the beginning I got a feeling…

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National Geographic: Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds

Movies about Africa continue to grab my attention. It intrigues me that how such a rich continent for most part has nothing but misery and victims. Someone has rightly said that no one cares about Africa and one could clearly see that in either movies or documentaries.

This national geographic documentary, Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds, by journalist Dominic Cunningham-Reid takes us to the world where diamonds are not less than a curse. The movie, of course does nothing to break any kind of stereotype. It only reinforces the one that already exists about Africans as being exploited by the first world, that they are unruly and nothing can be done about some of the problems that exist there. And one of them being the illegal trading of the diamonds that continue to bring war, escalate poverty and tension in this region.

In the beginning I got a feeling as if this is going to be a predominantly blood and war doc with nothing substantial to offer. And I thought I would not learn anything new about what’s going on in Africa as far as the diamond business is concerned. But the journalist did a pretty good job at keeping the story simple and interesting.

The filmmaker surprised me with his to-the-point narration and also his physical presence throughout the movie. I am not sure if I would ever like to be THE face in my documentary but I kind of liked it in this one. It became my own journey to dig out the truth.  And the challenges of the filmmaker became my challenges. I felt as I am travelling with him to this uncharted territory as he travels to koidu, which lies in the east of Sierra Leone.

Looking at Africa, it is hard to comprehend that we are part of the same world. Growth and opportunities are such lost terms there. It’s would not have been easy to film on such a controversial topic in a place where guns do the talking. 

I laughed when I saw one of the doors of the journalist’s car missing. It symbolizes the limited resources that often-times journalists have to work with.

I just wish that the music was not as lively. For me it took away from the seriousness of the situation.

I did feel that at times the filmmaker was kind of an advocate for the people of Africa.  

Last but not the least, for me numbers do put things into perspective. So my favorite line from the doc was, “I have heard that for every pound of diamonds, 18 million pounds of earth must be removed,” said Reid.

Movies about Africa continue to grab my attention.

Movies about Africa continue to grab my attention. It intrigues me that how such a rich continent for most part has nothing but misery and victims. Someone has rightly said that no one cares about Africa and one could clearly see that in either movies or documentaries.

takes us to the world where diamonds are not less than a curse. The movie, of course does nothing to break any kind of stereotype. It only reinforces the one that already exists about Africans as being exploited by the first world, that they are unruly and nothing can be done about some of the problems that exist there. And one of them being the illegal trading of the diamonds that continue to bring war, escalate poverty and tension in this region.

In the beginning I got a feeling as if this is going to be a predominantly blood and war doc with nothing substantial to offer. And I thought I would not learn anything new about what’s going on in Africa as far as the diamond business is concerned. But the journalist did a pretty good job at keeping the story simple and interesting.

The filmmaker surprised me with his to-the-point narration and also his physical presence throughout the movie. I am not sure if I would ever like to be THE face in my documentary but I kind of liked it in this one. It became my own journey to dig out the truth.  And the challenges of the filmmaker became my challenges. I felt as I am traveling with him to this uncharted territory as he travels to koidu, which lies in the east of Sierra Leone.

Looking at Africa, it is hard to comprehend that we are part of the same world. Growth and opportunities are such lost terms there. It’s would not have been easy to film on such a controversial topic in a place where guns do the talking.  

I laughed when I saw one of the doors of the journalist’s car missing. It symbolizes the limited resources that often-times journalists have to work with.

I just wish that the music was not as lively. For me it took away from the seriousness of the situation.

I did feel that at times the filmmaker was kind of an advocate for the people of Africa.  

Last but not the least, for me numbers do put things into perspective. So my favorite line from the doc was, “I have heard that for every pound of diamonds, 18 million pounds of earth must be removed,” said Reid.

National Geographic: Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds

Movies about Africa continue to grab my attention. It intrigues me that how such a rich continent for most part has nothing but misery and victims. Someone has rightly said that no one cares about Africa and one could clearly see that in either movies or documentaries.

This national geographic documentary, Diamonds of War: Africa’s Blood Diamonds, by journalist Dominic Cunningham-Reid, takes us to the world where diamonds are not less than a curse. The movie, of course does nothing to break any kind of stereotype. It only reinforces the one that already exists about Africans as being exploited by the first world, that they are unruly and nothing can be done about some of the problems that exist there. And one of them being the illegal trading of the diamonds that continue to bring war, escalate poverty and tension in this region.

In the beginning I got a feeling as if this is going to be a predominantly blood and war doc with nothing substantial to offer. And I thought I would not learn anything new about what’s going on in Africa as far as the diamond business is concerned. But the journalist did a pretty good job at keeping the story simple and interesting.

 

The filmmaker surprised me with his to-the-point narration and also his physical presence throughout the movie. I am not sure if I would ever like to be THE face in my documentary but I kind of liked it in this one. It became my own journey to dig out the truth.  And the challenges of the filmmaker became my challenges. I felt as I am travelling with him to this unchartered territory as he travels to koidu, which lies in the east of Sierra Leone.

Looking at Africa, it is hard to comprehend that we are part of the same world. Growth and opportunities are such lost terms there. It’s would not have been easy to film on such a controversial topic in a place where guns do the talking.  

 

I laughed when I saw one of the doors of the journalist’s car missing. It symbolizes the limited resources that often-times journalists have to work with.

 

I just wish that the music was not as lively. For me it took away from the seriousness of the situation.

 

I did feel that at times the filmmaker was kind of an advocate for the people of Africa.  

 

Last but not the least, for me numbers do put things into perspective. So my favorite line from the doc was, “I have heard that for every pound of diamonds, 18 million pounds of earth must be removed,” said Reid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doc Diary-Part 3

I have more respect for filmmakers now than I ever had before. The glamor part of the profession is more of a perception than reality. Behind that glamorous facade, there is hard work, persistence and a passion to make something meaningful (I can say that at least for me and my team). Carrying those 30-plus pounds equipment is not fun at all. And light kit that light kit is a curse from god. Every time we check it out, I re-think about my decision to do documentary. So the moral of story is, if a light kit cannot make you leave your documentary class, then nothing else will. Also, later you might find out that setting up the lights is actually fun.

But the kit is just one of many hiccups in the process of making a documentary that you hope you will be proud of one day and of course that people will like it. There is no dearth of what can actually go wrong while the work is still in progress. Almost anything. Rain on the day of shooting, parts of shooting-equipment missing, source cancelling on the day of the shoot and so on and so forth.

Filming at and about the Ewing Men’s hotel in South Loop has brought in some ethical issues too, for us. Yesterday, we went with manager of the hotel Michael Bush to a homeless shelter where Bush distributed the flyers to spread awareness about the hotel. He said many don’t know that the men’s hotel even exists. As we started to film him outside the shelter, what I found most disconcerting was the vulnerability of the homeless people in front of the camera. Some raised objection to be filmed while some did not care. Some did not even look at us. They were too concerned about securing a place inside the shelter as not everyone gets to spend the night there. What made me uncomfortable filming was that we did not have the time to explain to them about what was going on. In order to capture the action, we had to start shooting right when we reached at the place because Michael had already told us that he will be done distributing the flyers in a matter of minutes. It felt odd to be encroaching someone’s privacy. Because of my past experience while I worked on the issues of homelessness in Chicago, I know that many people do not want to be recognized as homeless. Will talk more about this in class.

The film is also taking a toll on me personally. Meeting and talking to people with little or no resources, I sometimes become disillusioned with all the materialism around me. I recently went to a black tie event with my husband. As much as I thought I would enjoy at the event that did not happen for sure. I felt so out of place with people just talking about themselves, drinking expensive wines and wearing some of the best dress and suites I normally see in movies. These people have everything, I thought to myself. Family, money, kids, social life everything and still some of them it seemed wanted to be accepted, just blabbering words over loud music. Whereas people at the men’s only hotel seem so content with what they have in those chicken wire cubicles. They are frustrated and lonely but still most of them are like that at least they have a roof over their head and that they are independent.

 

 

How and where to get justice!!

I will always maintain that think and re-think before you invest. And if possible go for a house/apartment that is ready to move in. Nothing beats the satisfaction of owing a house when you have paid for it.

Now on to ways to get justice when invested in unscrupulous builders like Unitech and so many others like Unitech.

According to the website http://redevelopmentofhousingsocieties.com/, property buyers can present their own cases in consumer courts and do not need to engage a lawyer. The property buyer must file his complaint within two years of the dispute arising, after which it becomes outdated. A written complaint can be filed before the District Consumer Forum for property value of up to Rupees twenty lakh, State Commission for value up to Rupees one crore and the National Commission for value above Rupees one crore.

Following is the great example of how one can by rightfully fighting can get their money back or rather the value of investment back (courtsey: http://redevelopmentofhousingsocieties.com/)

Mrs Veena Khanna of New Delhi Vs M/s. Ansal Properties and Adharshila Towers, New Delhi: Before National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi: Order dated 9th July 2007
Due to abnormal delay in handing over the possession of flat, the Complainant had demanded refund of the deposited amount with interest @ 18% which the Opposite party refused to pay.
Complainant filed a petition before the State Commission, Delhi. By judgement and Order dt.06-12-2005, the State Commission directed the Opposite Party to refund the amount of Rs.15,00,000 with interest @ 13% p.a. from the date of deposit of the last instalment till the date of payment of refund. In the alternative it also directed that if the Opposite Parties choose to handover the possession of the flat, the order of refund with interest will not come into operation.
Against the above Order of State Commission, the Complainant Mrs. Veena Khanna filed an Appeal in the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission praying that the Opposite Parties be directed to deliver the possession of the flat and also compensation for delay in delivery or adequate compensation should be awarded so that she can purchase a flat of the size.
It was argued that as the afore-quoted order passed by the State Commission gave preferable alternative to the Opposite Parties, and the builder took undue advantage of it and refunded the amount deposited by the complainant with interest, as directed, because of the rise in the prices of the immovable properties.
Opposite Parties took advantage only because an option was given to either refund the amount or to hand-over possession of the flat and no adequate compensation was awarded.
The National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission commented that if such contentions of refunding of the money with payment of minimal interest is accepted, the builders would earn millions of rupees by delaying the delivery of the possession of the flat for months together for one reason or the other.
After considering the arguments of the counsels representing both the parties the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission decided that the Complainant is required to be compensated for delay in construction of the flat and for not allotting the same to her. Because of the delay in construction and delay in deciding the matter, it is practically impossible for a retired Govt. employee to purchase a flat at the present price.
The National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission further stated that therefore, there are two alternatives â (a) one is to give adequate compensation for delay and to direct the Opposite Parties to hand-over possession of an alternative flat in the vicinity of the area where the flat was allotted to the Complainant; (b) or secondly, to pay adequate compensation to enable the Complainant to purchase a new flat of the same area in the same or similar locality.
The Opposite Parties were directed to pay a sum of Rs.7,50,000/- as compensation to the Complainant for the period she suffered financially. This was on the presumption that the value of the flat has escalated. However, if the builder considers that compensation of Rs.7,50,000/- (Rupees seven lakhs and fifty thousand) is more or excessive, it would be open to the builder to provide an alternative flat of the size and price agreed, in the same locality or near about, to the complainant for which an appropriate allotment letter will be issued by them in favour of the Complainant within a period of eight weeks from the date of the order. If the same is not issued, it shall pay compensation of Rs.7,50,000/- to the complainant, as directed.
I repeat, the flat/premises buyers must insist to their builder for inclusion of penalty clause in their Agreement before execution of the same. The builder must deliver the project in time along with 100 per cent transparency in all the dealings. He must stick to the promised terms and conditions and pay penalty if the project delivery is late.

Unitech in trouble

Unitech is in trouble for starting the projects it could not finish on time. From Noida to Greater Noida to Mumbai and Gurgaon, the builder has unfinished projects waiting to see the light of the day. There are scores of ill-fated customers who have invested in these unfinished projects by Unitech and are suffering the loss financially and mentally. Unitech employees get abused day in day out by the frustrated customers but the point is people working for the builder are just his servants and it’s useless to talk to the servants. So please do DO NOT waste your energy and time in having a dialogue with the people working there. Rather, there is something else very important that the intelligent and more aware customers can do.

Unitech and other builders are white collar thugs and deserve to be fought against so that they stop the exploitation of the hard earned money of common man.  In my next blog we will find out whom can we go to lodge our complaints.

Think and research before you invest!!

Regards

Shruti

Unitech’s (builder) fraud continues

It did not require tonnes of research (online) on my part to find that there are lot of people who are victims of fraud at the hands of UNITECH. One website which has been a real eye opener is http://www.consumercomplaints.in/complaints/unitech-unihomes-noida-c223837.html

Here, one can find frauds ranging from selling of the apartments under UNITECH UNIHOME project, even when the project has not been approved by the Noida Authority to not giving the allotment letter to the buyers.

Looking back, I guess I am amazed at the in-your-face-lie of one of the customer relations employee of Unitech, I met with last year. I will soon put his name too. He told me that how I should go ahead and buy a home under Unitech Grande project, when the same project is no where under start, forget about completion.

Right now all I am wondering about is that who and whom can the customers turn to when such frauds occur????

in the next blog, maybe there will be more answers than questions….

Till then, please take time and research before you plan to buy that “Dream Home” of yours.

Regards,
Shruti