Northwest Institute for Social Change: The Blog

Portland: feel like a million bucks

As Rachel mentioned in her last blog post, we all just finished the radio documentary portion of the NWISC summer documentary program. My post here is a “making of”, behind the scenes, of an audio piece made by Madeline and me.

My project partner Madeline and I joked around saying that last week was one long Monday. The days blended into each other, and the week flew by. Monday we began making our radio documentary.

We journeyed to a remote part of Portland, Oregon for an immersive journalism experience at a summer camp. Not just any camp, but a Rock ‘N’ Roll for Girls camp where young girls form bands, write songs, and perform for an audience—all in 1 week. With audio recorders in hand listening through white ear-bud headphones, we meandered through narrow hallways and squeezed into rooms crammed with drum sets and electric guitars, recording every twist and turn of girls rock camp. Off-key guitar strumming, cowbells, girls chatter, and interviews with people at camp, we recorded it all. Posters of Joan Jett and murals of female singers covered the walls. And every feeling of the camp filtered through us. Six hours later, we left with our own batteries drained, and those of our recording devices too.

Meticulous sound editing at 1:30am, holding a microphone up to Madeline’s face under a blanket in a hot dorm room to get the best quality sound, and listening to interview quotes again (and again) are snapshots of our post-production process. But even in the moments when we were tired, or when everything seemed so jumbled and far from being done, there was this deep underlying sense of- being happy. Each part of the audio documentary process was thrilling, and I learned an incredible amount from each parcel of the process, from scheduling interviews to mixing audio clips.

And by Friday, we had a final product that we were proud of. If I had to choose one word for the week, it would be fulfilling. Hard work, teamwork, setting a goal, and reaching it made me feel like a million bucks.

-Amy

Brisk Beginnings: ZigZag to Portland

As I sat down to blog, I realized that I had not reflected yet on my escapades so far as a member of the summer documentary program at the Northwest Institute for Social Change. Each moment has been satisfying and stimulating, so much so that I barely have time to pause and remove myself from the hungry pace of pursuing passions to journal about them. My name is Amy, I’m 21 and from Boston Massachusetts. I go to Tufts University, where I study International Relations. I’m spending the summer on the west coast (first time here!) in Portland, Oregon, with nine peers my age who share a curious desire to understand and create media for social change.

Exactly one week ago, before the sun had risen, I was lifting my heavy suitcases into my dad’s car for a sleepy drive to Logan Airport. Upon arriving in Portland, Oregon hours later, I met my group members and hit the ground running.

I’ll give you a quick overview of the past week to show you what we’ve dipped our toes into in only our first week together.

Tues. (1 week ago)- arrive in Portland. drive to ZigZag, Oregon

Wed. – settle in at ZigZag camp

Thurs. – write “profile” about a stranger

Fri. – work, fun, play

Sat. – make an “audio postcard”

Sun. – drive along Columbia River Gorge back to Portland

The Columbia River Gorge, picture from Destination360.com

Mon. – Portland scavenger hunt

Today – first class on documentary making

At a fruit stand along the hiway, on route from Zigzag to Portland, OR. Photo by Amy Ouellette

Looking back, I realize how far I’ve come in 7 days. First, I have been inspired by my peers. Going through the group members in my head, each has in some way already impacted me- through kindness, openness, honesty, creativity, fun, ect,. In the past 7 days I have worked on three different media projects (completing two and starting the third), hiked trails at Mount Hood, and moved into a new city (Portland). Also I ate and slept once in a while too, with the close company of my group members.

I smile at the thought of how much I will grow, learn, and accomplish in the next five and a half weeks.

You know what they say (or, what Margaret Mead once said), “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

-Amy