Editing on Cambodia stories almost complete

Posted by Scot, March 22nd, 2010

Well, once again, our blogging efforts slipped through the cracks of a busy production schedule – most of it in far off places with no internet access. Uploading off a roaming iPhone is not a good idea – as I found out when I received a recent wireless bill!

Our Cambodia stories came together really well. Our host, Rick Campanelli (ET Canada) did a great job – really jumped in and related what he was learning to the viewer.

Rick Campanelli in Cambodia

Rick shows the dirty river water that Seyha has to drink

Post-production is nearly complete – music scoring and final audio mixing are under way. It’s always a challenge to tell these incredible stories in 5 minutes or less – so much powerful stuff ends up on the proverbial cutting room floor. You fight for your favorite scenes or moments and do the best you can. There’s always something you’re sad to see cut. But, that’s TV for ya!

Cambodia

Posted by Scot, November 25th, 2009

After Tanzania it was back home for a few weeks and then back out again to Cambodia with World Vision. We shot in and around the capital city of Phnom Penh. Doing urban stories is such a different experience than shooting in the small rural villages of Africa. We were in one of the poorest areas of the city – a crowded, cramped and noisy shanty-town along the river. The conditions were some of the worst I’ve ever seen. Basically, we were up to our knees in mud, garbage and sewage.

Seyha

One of our stories featured a little 9-year old boy named Seyha. He helps support his family by collecting old bottles and plastic bags to sell for recycling. Wherever he went, we had to follow. He works all day to fill a huge bag and makes about 15 cents.

We’ve just returned home now and it’s time to start editing. We’ve got so much great material from Cambodia. Each story in the new World Vision show is only about 4 minutes long – it’s going to be tough to cut it all down!

Well, enough blogging for now. Time to get back to work. Hopefully our next posting will be sooner than three months from now!

Seyha collecting plastic to sell

Catching up. We’re bad bloggers!

Posted by Scot, November 25th, 2009

In Tanzania getting a high-angle shot of a school from our truck

Well, we had such good intentions of really getting into this blogging thing. It’s been nearly three months since our last post – so much for being significant social media contributors. We’ve just been so darn busy and traveling to remote villages around the world with no internet access doesn’t help. Yes, I know, I know…excuses, excuses.

The Tanzania shoot in August & September was a bit of a challenge. We ran right into the tail end of their rainy season and three of our seven shooting days were a total loss. This wasn’t just a little rain – we’re talking torrential downpours that would turn the roads into rivers within a few minutes. But, we managed to work around it as best we could and came away with a couple of good stories for World Vision Canada’s new show for 2010.

And then it rained.

And then it rained some more!

Off to Africa

Posted by Scot, August 28th, 2009

Well, it’s off to Africa again. Tanzania this time. We’re shooting a new show for World Vision Canada. One of the biggest challenges is just getting there with all our gear. If we want to hit the ground running and start shooting, we have to take pretty much everything with us as carry-on luggage. We’ve been in the lost luggage movie a few too many times over the years to even risk it.

Trying to pack as light and small as possible but still have the tools we need to shoot is becoming a bit of a science. Thankfully there are some amazing small cameras on the market now. This is my first trip with the new JVC HM100U as our B-Camera. It’s an amazing little thing. Full 1920×1080 HD but only 3.2 lbs. Wow. Compared the Sony EX1 it feels like an empty plastic shell. If the pictures hold up, I may be tempted to grab it more and more often.

Apparently we’ll have some level of internet access in Tanzania so I’ll be blogging a bit while we’re there. If I manage to stay awake long enough. Time to eat a little dinner and get some sleep before our early flight tomorrow. I’ll need all my energy to argue about the size of our carry-on bags with the airlines!

More later. Scot.

A great shoot. Now the hard part.

Posted by Scot, July 21st, 2009

Making some new friends.

We spent our last day in Uganda shooting some street scenes and landscapes around Kampala. Along the way we gathered the usual small army of curious kids who would break into gigantic smiles and laughter every time we pointed the camera at them. Some of the best moments on these trips are the times we get to just hang out and spend time with these kids. Watching their faces light up when they see themselves on the camera’s monitor never gets old!

We left Uganda tired and sporting significant farmer tans but we were all feeling good about what we accomplished. Now we’re back home and starting the process of narrowing down 40-hours of footage into a one-hour show. Plus recovering from jet lag!

Back from Kumi and Shooting in Kampala

Posted by Scot, May 30th, 2009

We made the long 6-hour drive back from Kumi and arrived in Kampala safe and sound. We’re all exhausted, dirty and could use about three days sleep. But, the shooting went amazingly well. We spent a full day with each of the families that are going to be featured in the show. It really is a privilege to be accepted and trusted by these vulnerable children and their parents.

People often ask me how I feel seeing so much poverty and suffering. They wonder if it’s depressing or if I take away an overwhelming sense of helplessness. The truth is, I always come home feeling inspired and hopeful. The human spirit is an amazing thing. To see people live their lives with strength and courage in the face of such oppressive obstacles is truly life changing. Just normal people trying to make a living, raise a family, laugh a little and love each other. I think they give me more than I give them.

So far we’ve shot several stories about children with disabilities living in extreme poverty:

A young boy named Vincent with Bilateral Cataracts who can barely see more than rough shapes and shadows. He’ll be permanently blind in six months unless he gets surgery.

A 12-year old girl named Janet with Osteomyelitis in her right leg. If she doesn’t get treatment the bone will rot and eventually she won’t be able to walk. As the infection spreads she’ll lose her leg. If it manages to travel further up her body it will kill her.

 A 12-year old boy named Vigilio had his leg amputated two years ago after improper surgery to fix a broken ankle. His mother can’t afford a prosthesis or properly fitted crutches. It’s hard to watch him struggle to keep with the other kids. Because he’s young, the bone inside his leg is still growing and pushing it’s way out. When it does, infection will likely set in.

Janet

That’s just three of the kids we’ve met. The good new is that we’re making sure they all get the medical care they need. Their lives will be dramatically changed.

Back to work now. Five more days to go before we head home! It’ll be great to get back but we’ll all remember these kids for the rest of our lives.

Scot McDonald

Hello from Uganda

Posted by Scot, May 17th, 2009

Our first post!

Hello there. Scot McDonald here. I’m writing this first post in our shiny new Full Frame blog while overlooking the city of Kampala in Uganda. It’s about 7AM and the sun is just rising over Lake Victoria. It’s very beautiful. High up on this hill it’s hard to imagine there’s so much suffering here.

We’re here with CBM to shoot a new television show that documents their work with children with disabilities living in extreme poverty. It’s hard enough existing in this unforgiving environment when you’re able bodied and can provide for yourself. Many of these kids are hidden away in the shadows, shunned by society and forgotten by the outside world.

We’ve only been here a few days and have just started visiting children and families to select the stories we’ll shoot for the show. It’s always a difficult process. We see so many kids, so many tragic situations. But, that’s why we’re here – to hopefully make a difference. That’s the cool part.

Well, it’s about time to get into the truck and head off for our five-hour drive up to a town called Kumi. We’ll be shooting our first four stories there. Hopefully the heavy rains we’ve been having lately will cooperate and not wash us out.

More later!