Role// Video Editor Year// 2018 Medium// Documentary
Home Sweet Home is a documentary that exposes the issues of student housing conditions in the city of Waterloo, Ontario. The film features three students and their apartments, each who have their share of problems and terrifying stories to tell while living in student housing.
Team
Sunny Zhang
Nicole Choi
Nancy Choi
Evon Choi
Anikka Bechler
Process
Before shooting the film, we created a detailed production plan that included our locations, interviewee contact information, interview questions, etc. At the time we didn't know what to expect or how the overall story would develop. Our main goals were to film three students, asking them similar questions and having them give a tour of their apartment.
Interview Questions
How much are you paying a month?
What do you look for when you decide where to live?
Describe your process of finding a place?
What is your experience with your landlord/leasing company?
Do you like living here? Why or why not?
How long have you lived off campus?
How many roommates do you have?
Finished Product
The flow of the documentary was intentionally edited so that the audience is able to view each apartment separately before the students are interviewed. During the interviews I made sure to cut in between interviewees in a clear and concise fashion so that viewers are able to understand each individual story, yet remain engaged throughout.
Learning Outcomes
Overall, I learned so much while editing this film. Cutting the clips concisely into a story that made sense yet was compelling, was such a challenge, but it was a problem I really enjoyed solving. In the future, when working on documentaries, I will storyboard the footage after filming so that I have an idea of how I will organize the clips. This will hopefully fast track the editing process and ultimately save me more time. I will be able to allocate this time saved towards fine tuning the audio and colouring of the film, so that it is consistent throughout.