This week, things really started kicking off as our project began to materialize. On Sunday, the U of T students gathered to write a first draft of our script (meanwhile, Sumeya successfully earned her bronze medallion for lifeguard training!). After much procrastination, we produced a script that unfolds like an infomercial. In our video, a developer is trying to promote all the amazing things about the revitalized Regent Park, but a resident interrupts and challenges the developer, in turn providing her own account of what the revitalized Regent Park really is. We modified our idea slightly from the original “honest commercial” to the current “fake infomercial” partly because we needed a way to incorporate heavier research. The developer was a great way of doing so since he could serve as a mouthpiece for the government/developer/those in power. Through his character, we could cite, for example, government reports and news events to inform the audience and concurrently make fun of these things.
July 1969 protests for a wading pool in Regent Park. After discovering this incident in our research, we were able to reference it via the “developer” character in our script. (Photo: Bob Olsen for the Toronto Star)
As we wrote the script, one thing that we kept reminding ourselves was not to impose our ideas onto Sumeya and Aziza’s voices. Although our group has had several conversations and we feel like we get the gist of what Sumeya and Aziza feel, empathy and lived experiences simply are not the same. For example, we wanted to end the script by offering a definition of public space from the residents’ vantage point. We tried to think of one, but our ideas were either imprecise or jargon-heavy. Today, when we asked Sumeya to give us her definition of public space, she responded instantly, “Public space should be shared by the community that the space is in, where residents are able to access it without any difficulties.” Precise, jargon-free, and authentic. We had exactly what we needed.
After drafting the script on Sunday, our entire group met today and Sumeya edited the script. As Sumeya changed some words and added some snarky comments, Professor Mehta offered some helpful suggestions on what to clarify or research further. All of this feedback helped us produce a more nuanced script, one that felt true to someone from Regent Park and simultaneously spoke clearly to other audiences. After all, since our main goal is to raise awareness about the flaws with the revitalization, our final product needs to communicate effectively with those who live outside of Regent Park. Now with our script ready to go, it was time to film.
At least, that’s what we thought. Time was running tight and we unfortunately didn’t manage to shoot anything decent today. However, the thirty minutes or so we spent in the green screen room was very helpful insofar as it gave us the chance to rehearse. Prashansa and Nikki worked diligently as the camerapeople, setting up the right angles and testing the audio. Ron and Sumeya gave Oscar-worthy performances as Mr. Developer and Regent Park Resident respectively. Hopefully, Aziza can join us next week to play another resident. Nevertheless, we were able to go through the script and rehearse our actions. The rehearsal also emphasized the importance of somewhat memorizing our lines, so that we can have a smooth-flowing conversation on camera. We wrapped up with a good sense of how to film our infomercial. As long as we practice the script a few times throughout the week (and as long as Ron brings a snazzy suit), then we should be able to film quite quickly next week and proceed to editing the footage.
Screenshot of our rehearsal footage. We would put up the whole video, but it’s quite embarrassing.
Finally, a note on the materials that we need for our final showcase:
Projector
White sheet/screen. We might not need this depending on what the wall looks like in the Aquatic Centre party room and how many other groups will be projecting their final products.
Laptop and headphones (we will use our own). This brings up the possible issue that we can only have one person listening each time, so we will put subtitles in the video and be prepared to talk to guests during the showcase as they wait to use the headphones.
That’s it from us. Until next time, please remember, “Not everyone has Bell Wi-fi fam!” (If you want to know what that means, come to our final showcase on April 8!)
Aziza, Sumeya, Nikki, Ron, and Prashansa are the Space Jammers.