Final Cut

So, editing has been an interesting process for this project but has been overall successful. We have had a couple last minute interviews so it has been hard to edit with only one and not knowing exactly what the later interviews were going to say. I dedicated Easter Weekend solely to editing. I was happy with the rough cut I put together, but then again I only had one interview to work with. After getting the last two interviews, it was generally pretty easy to work them into the rough cut I made. I had the topics of discussion in the order I wanted and just put the two new interviews into the pre-made chapters already established with my first interview. It was quite difficult getting the interviews to flow together though. They each spoke so differently. I eventually got my chapters set and had the interview flowing but felt as if my film was purely 10 minutes of people talking with no breaks. After showing the image lock and getting feedback it was easy to see that I just needed to add some footage of the cats in between each chapter. After doing some small adjustments and adding in some breathing room, I can finally see my film getting close to being done. I loved putting the b-roll in as we have so many gorgeous shots of the cats that I was excited to share. Unfortunately we still need a few photos from the rescue, but I am hoping to get those next week before submitting to the end of the year screening.

Overall, it is a weird but good feeling being so close to the finish line with this project. I am very happy with our product and cannot believe it came to life. I cannot wait to start to submitting to festivals as I want to successfully raise awareness about the issues brought up Tameless. I was very hesitant to apply to direct a project for 495, but I am so thankful I did. I now have more experience in the field I want to go into and came out with a product that I am very proud of.

Week 9

We finally got our Nat Geo guy! I am thrilled with the interview we got for him, even though it was pretty short. He was very enthusiastic and was generous enough to allow us to interview him during his busy schedule. Apparently he is experienced with interviews because of his affliation with National Geographic. He articulated very well and paused in all the right places. He definitely knew what he was talking about. I think I did well with the questions. I am happy with the way I structured them as the questions seemed to flow as if we were having a conversation. It was much different than the Carolina Tiger Rescue interviews though. He wanted to rehearse the questions before, which I found a bit odd as I have never down that with an interviewee. I was scared that rehearsing the questions would take away from when we were actually filming, but fortunately it did not.


Visions Film Festival

I was able to attend Visions even though we had an interview in Durham that afternoon. I attended the first conference block, which I was very impressed with. I was impressed with how invested each student was and how passionate they were about the topics of their papers. You could easily tell that each student who presented knew so much about the subject they were talking about. None of them read a script word for word. You could tell a few were a litter nervous, but generally I was very impressed with their public speaking skills. I found the essay "The Act of Piracy: Accessing the act of Killing in Indonesia" extremely interesting as a paper topic. I would never think to write a paper on such a topic and admire the student for being able to research and find out so much information about a risqué topic.

After the interview in Durham, we quickly made it back for the second film block. The films were fantastic. I was so impressed and inspired after watching these films, especially a few of the animations. The quality and content of these films were superb. The animated short Villains has to be my favorite. The handwork and detail put into that film was easily recognizable and I highly admire that student filmmaker for such a high quality product. The film Fucking Be really grabbed my attention with its very unique beginning. The content of that film was very good and intriguing, I just wish the production value of it was a little better and more polished.

Overall, I was fascinated with Visions Film Festival. This was my first time attending and I was extremely impressed by how smoothly it ran and how organized and professional it was. I know many people in Visions and know how much hard work is put in and I can confidently say as an attender that the handwork and dedication clearly shows in the final product.

Week 8

WE HAVE AN INTERVIEW! We were finally able to go up and interview the head keeper, Lauren, at Carolina Tiger Rescue. We chose to film her interview outside because of what her job is and most of the other interviews we are planning to get will be inside, so I thought it would provide some variety. Lauren was great. She repeated each question in her answer, did no use "ums" or anything like that and she was very passionate about every answer she gave us. I could not ask for a better interview.
While at the rescue, we were also able to get some b-roll using the gimble (different from what we shot b-roll with last time). It gave a new perspective of the rescue because of the wider sense we used. It brings movement into the shots and we got a lot of shots following Maryssa, the volunteer coordinator, and looking back at this footage using the gimble, it really makes the audience feel as if they are at the rescue.

Some things we still need to shoot:
Duke Professors Interview
Kathryn (Curator) Interview
UNCW Professor Interview (as back up)
Find previous owner of big cat/hybrid/exotic cat
B-roll?

To Do:
Animation
Put social media findings together/figure out how to shoot it
Music?
Organize/plan marketing materials
EDITTTT!

Week 6 & Week 7

These have been a bit of a rough two weeks with filming. We have been cancelled on twice, two weekends in a row to go up to Carolina Tiger Rescue for interviews. Unfortunately it is our of hands as they have cancelled because of snow/ice and because of a recent death of a veteran tiger at the rescue. While in this weird limbo with Spring Break and getting cancelled on twice, I have been planning and working on what other b-roll I would like in the film. For instance, I am working on a animations that further clarifies where these animals are native to, where they end up and what states, like NC, do not have a ban on exotic animals as pets. I have also been keeping up with social media and am saving posts that have to do with people fantasizing about wanting a tiger cub or lion cub for a pet. Surprisingly, people post about this fantasy quite often. I also have recently stumbled upon a photo of a girl on spring break holding a lion cub in Mexico. Two of the lions at the rescue, were rescued from a place in Mexico just like this. These lions are used for photos as cubs, but of course they don't stay cubs forever.

It has been a frustrating two weeks with not being able to film, but I have found other aspects of the project to work on. Nick has been working on getting our marketing details together and found an awesome artist who painted a tiger for us to use as a poster/tshirt. Hopefully we will be able to go up to the rescue soon and finally get an interview!

Week 5

This weekend we were finally able to go up and shoot at Carolina Tiger Rescue. We were able to test out our equipment in the rural rescue. Kevin luckily enough brought a wagon that allowed us to efficiently transport all of our equipment through the compound to the different animals. It made it easier and quicker to move through the compound with all of our equipment and we could easily set up in front of the animals enclosures. Most of the animals were fascinated by our equipment (especially the boom and mic with the dead cat on it) so we easily had the animals attention which made it easier to film them. We got multiple shots with direct eye contact from the big cats that look fantastic. We are going to have to work on capturing sound outside at the compound because there is a lot of movement and sounds coming from other employees/volunteers and their radios. The big cats, especially the tigers, make a lot of noise that I'd like to capture. We will just have to re-work how we are going to capture a quality recording of the animals. Also, we are hoping to get an interview next weekend.

Week 4

This week we have been working on setting dates for some interviews with some Carolina Tiger Rescue employees. We were going to go up this weekend and shoot some b-roll and maybe an interview, but unfortunately the rescue had two tragedies this past week. They had two sudden deaths of a serval and a tiger. The curator said it was the most stressful week she has ever had working there is 15 years. Soooo our luck wasn’t too good last week, but we have this upcoming weekend as our back up. So, we are planning on filming an interview and b-roll this upcoming weekend at the rescue. We are still working hard on finding someone in legislation to interview and a former wild cat owner. We have our work cut out for us, but I believe we can get it done. I am also looking into T.I.G.E.R at Myrtle Beach that was mentioned last class for some addidional b-roll.

Week 3

This week Kevin and I went up to the rescue on Saturday. We met with the Maryssa Hill, the volunteer coordinator of Carolina Tiger Rescue. She was kind enough to give us a private tour of the compound and show us some of the cats with interesting survival stories. Kevin was able to see the rescue for himself and plan accordingly of what type of lenses we will need to use to shoot the animals through the fence. We shared the goals we have for the film and she helped guide us on who to interview and what animals to focus on. We learned of a few more animals, other than the big cats, that will make very interesting stories and bring a new perspective to the documentary. Also, we were told that Kathryn Bertok (Assistant Director and Curator of CTR) is working directly with someone from the Humane Society of the United States on the "Predators not Pets" pledge and she is willing to do an interview with us. This upcoming week we are scheduling interviews and locking down dates to go up and film at the rescue. Also, by tomorrow (February 2nd) Nick will have the Indiegogo launched and Facebook page to start promoting the film and raising a little money for gas expenses, equipment, etc.

Kathryn Bertok

Curator and Assistant Director of Carolina Tiger Rescue

Kathryn Bertok has been a member of the Carolina Tiger Rescue staff since August of  1999. Her love of animals brought her to Carolina Tiger as an animal care intern. After completing her internship, she was offered an animal keeper position. From there she has worked her way up to Curator of Animals. During her time here she has been a part of many changes as Carolina Tiger continues to grow. She is working with the Humane Society of the United States to start the “Predators Not Pets” pledge.

1. How did you first hear of Carolina Tiger Rescue back in 1999?
2. What has kept you working at Carolina Tiger Rescue for so long?
3. What are your responsibilities as the Curator of Animals?
4. What is one of the biggest changes you have seen at the rescue?
5. How did you get involved with the “Predators Not Pets” pledge?
6. Is the “Predators not Pets” pledge for just big cats?
7. What else needs to be done to get a bill to protect the big cats passed?
8. How long do you think it will take to get the bill passed?
9. Do you see Carolina Tiger Rescue continuing to grow in the near future?
10. Who is your favorite animal at the rescue and why?

Pam Fulk

Executive Director of Carolina Tiger Rescue

Pam has worked in the nonprofit field for over 30 years, and has spent much of that time in resource development, program planning and evaluation, policy, and management. Along the way she has helped start 10 nonprofits, served on local and national boards of nonprofits, and done private consulting as well. Pam began her nonprofit education by working for John Carver, the "father" of the Policy Governance Model, and is an alumna of trainings through the Foundation Center, Stephen Covey, and the Center for Creative Leadership. Pam brought her "nonprofit building" skills to Carolina Tiger Rescue in 2003 for a more "joyful" experience in the animal care world.

1. How did you first hear of Carolina Tiger Rescue in 2003?
2. What made you decide to leave your former nonprofit organization to join the rescue?
3. What are your responsibilities as Executive Director?
4. How has Carolina Tiger Rescue changed since you started as the Director?
5. How are you involved in the “Predators not Pets” pledge?
6. As seen in Carolina Tiger Rescue’s mission, how does Carolina Tiger Rescue protect wild cats in both captivity and the wild?
7. In what other ways can awareness be raised about the welfare of wild cats?
8. What animal’s success story stands out to you the most? and why?
9. What is in store for Carolina Tiger Rescue’s future?
10. Who is your favorite animal at the rescue and why?