Week 1

          This week I have fully developed the concept for my documentary. I decided to focus on freshwater and land birds that are common among most environments in order to broaden my target audience. Marine birds would have limited my audience to only those who live along the shore.

          My documentary film will address how common household habits, such as the disposal of waste and use of pesticides, within our communities harm local wildlife. While investigating current environmental issues within Wilmington, the film will follow the story of two birds undergoing recovery treatment with SkyWatch Bird Rescue. One bird will be from a freshwater habitat, such as a duck, and the other will be from a land habitat, such as a cardinal.

          The film will also take into account all of those who participate in the rehabilitation process the birds undergo while at SkyWatch. This includes animal control, veterinarians, environmental researchers, the staff of SkyWatch, the people who bring in injured birds, and volunteers. The goal of my documentary will be to inspire my audience to take part in simple changes in their daily routines in order to promote the health of local wildlife. I also hope it will act as "a call to action" piece that may bring more volunteers to the SkyWatch organization.

         In addition to the extensive research I completed this week, I also contacted Amelia Mason, the head of SkyWatch Bird Rescue, to schedule a meeting to discuss the more intimate details of my film project. Both Druscilla and I will meet her this Friday and we may also start shooting some broll of SkyWatch's facilities. We hope that our discussion with Amelia will lead to more expert contacts and possible interviews that will enhance our documentary.

Concept Research

Human Habits that Harm Wildlife

1. Discarding Glass Bottles and Jars
2. Throwing Away Six-Pack Rings
3. Feeding Birds Bread
4. Littering While Driving
5. Throwing Away Plastic Bags
6. Using Pesticides and Insect Sprays
7. Throwing Cigarette Butts on the Ground

What Households Can Do

1. Don’t dump paint or chemicals into the ground or gutter.
2. Let worms eat your food scraps and leftovers
3. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Buy things in less packaging. Try to reuse paper.
4. Properly dispose of inorganic garbage

What SkyWatch Bird Rescue Does

In its first year, SkyWatch Bird Rescue helped 350 birds and now the organization has taken in about 1,400 birds this year. Amelia Mason has reported, “Ninety-five percent of birds I see here are for man-made reason. Fish hooks in their beaks, dog and cat attacks, running into windows.” Her goal with SkyWatch Bird Rescue is to continue to help injured birds while also informing the public about their presence.

INTERVIEWEES or EXPERTS

Amelia Mason: Head of SkyWatch Bird Rescue

email: skywatchbirds@yahoo.com

Tom Hoban: Cape Fear River Assembly

email link: http://cfra-nc.org/contact-us/

Larry Cahoon: UNCW professor who researches water quality analysis and remediation

email: cahoon@uncw.edu

Mike Mallin: UNCW professor who researches the sources and impacts of urban population, land use, and how it affects water quality

email: mallinm@uncw.edu

Treatment (Pre-Production)

Clipped Wings is a 10-15 minute documentary film addressing how common household habits, such as the disposal of waste and use of pesticides, within our communities harm local wildlife. While investigating current environmental issues within Wilmington, North Carolina, the film follows the story of two birds (one that inhabits land and one that inhabits water) undergoing recovery treatment with SkyWatch Bird Rescue. This non-profit organization provides medical care, safety, food, and rehabilitation to injured birds until they can be placed in protected sanctuaries or returned back to the wild. Through the stories of the recovering wild birds, Clipped Wings questions the way modern society operates in regards to our environment and how it directly affects the wildlife in our backyards.

The majority of this short documentary film will be shot on a Canon 60D SLR camera with a cinematic style that is natural and homely. A GoPro Hero3+ Black Edition camera will also be used for b-roll including aerial or underwater footage of birds. The style of Clipped Wings’ cinematography will make the audience experience a sense of familiarity while watching the rehabilitation of the two injured birds. Most of the footage, including interviews, will be held in an outdoor environment accompanied by natural ambient audio.The film’s natural and homely style will create a sense of calmness to viewers in order to remind them of the serenity within local wildlife.  As the film progresses, the cinematic style along with the conflicting images of the victimized birds and beauty of local environment will impact the audience to think about the unsafe and unhealthy household habits harming local birds.

To educate the audience in ways to prevent damage to the local environment and wildlife, Clipped Wings will include interviews with Tom Hoban who is the Executive Director of the Cape Fear River Assembly, with Dr. Cahoon who researches water quality and freshwater ecosystems, with Dr. Mallin who researches the sources and impacts of urban pollution and environmental management issues, with Amelia Mason who is the head of SkyWatch Bird Rescue, and with people involved in the local animal control as well as veterinarians. The knowledge of these experts will provide the audience with methods to change the common household habits that lead to the injury of wildlife. Expert interviews will also educate viewers with how certain household habits affect the health of native birds. The ultimate goal of Clipped Wings is to raise awareness of what actions need to be taken in order to prevent the escalation of local wildlife suffering and inspire the audience to get involved with wildlife rehabilitation efforts, such as SkyWatch Bird Rescue.