CREW REVIEWS

This eye-opening program allows you to do good in a foreign country of which you may have no prior knowledge, but leave having made an impact on a local organization, with great memories and connections.

Doing Actuality’s outreach course in Guatemala is an experience I will never forget. We came out the program with a film we are all so very proud of, yet the journey in creating it was not an easy one! The trip was filled with many highs, and many lows, although the highs most definitely prevailed!

An amazing life changing experience! Whilst learning great filmmaking skills, I made great international lifelong friendships and created a documentary that will change the landscape of water of in Guatemala.

Even though I had read countless reviews on this program, I could never have expected the impact it would have on me until I partook in it. Just days in, I had felt like I belonged. Everyone was coming from different places in search of a great experience- and that was what we got. Even if you have never travelled alone before, this is an opportunity you shouldn’t miss. Actuality Media arranged a great hostel for us to stay at, and food was provided there during lunch. The production supervisors are always there to help, even in non-film problems! The process of making the documentary was incredible: seeing the change that an organization is doing in people’s lives and being able to document it is the most fulfilling part about this trip. On a technical note, we were provided with the basic equipment tools, but did end up using our own dslr. Another thing that should be stressed is that each group should bring external hard drives, as that became an issue when wanting to bring the film home to edit (because one week is not enough!). Overall, this month-long program is one that will stay with me for life.

My experience with actuality media was overall rewarding. I gained a lot from my living experience in Kuala Lumpur and meeting local Malaysians in the organizations and elsewhere. I also really enjoyed all of my peers. We were all from different backgrounds, but the entire group got along really well. I feel like a program like this can be really up to luck of the draw; the experience is shaped by who you end up with in your group and which organization you choose. All 3 groups had very different experiences and each seemed to have their pros and cons. I learned a lot from working with my group, but there were times we did not seem to have the same vision. Also because of the rushed nature of the program there are things I would have liked to do differently story-wise, but I also understand the benefit of keeping it down to 1 month. We probably worked a lot more efficiently knowing we had all of those deadlines. I do think it was also rewarding in retrospect that everyone in my group was coming from different levels of experience, but I did have a member of my group who seemed to feel more advanced than the rest of us and was feeling like the program was a waste of his time, which did affect my experience. I think I also was pretty unsure myself coming into the program whether or not everyone would have the same level of experience as me (I guess I would call myself beginner/intermediate). I don’t know if it would ever work to have different trips for different levels…or somehow to make it more clear that everyone is at a different level coming into this. The classes sometimes felt a little tedious. I think it had a bit to do with the teaching style. But it felt like the topics could be covered in shorter amounts of time or more thought provoking ways. I took out of this that I would like to continue traveling and working on documentary film in the future.

Overall I would rate my experience extremely high. I feel like there were times where tensions got high with crew members but that comes with the territory of being thrown into a work situation with people you don’t know. However, I think these tensions were quite character building and taught me a lot about myself. Additionally, at times I felt like I was being given information, technically (mostly in terms of camera), that was ill-informed. I am a cinematography student at UNCSA and some of the advice my crew and I received on camera operation was completely false. I feel very rewarded to have walked away from my time as an Actuality Media crew member with a documentary I am proud of and a myriad of experiences that have changed me as a human being. Additionally, I feel rewarded to have helped a group of people who deserve all the success in the world and are making a genuinely positive impact in their country. The bonds I have made with them will last a lifetime. In summary, my time with Actuality Media was a very fulfilling experience that I highly recommend to anyone with a sense of adventure and a love for filmmaking.

The program was fantastic and I learnt a lot of valuable things about making a documentary. It also made me realise how easy it is to do and gave me the confidence of doing something similar for myself in the future. The people I met and the connections I made was by far the best part of the outreach. The real opportunity to be a part of the lives of our change makers was also incredible. The outreach, however, was very expensive for what it was and I don’t think I’d pay money like that again for something like this because I’m not really sure if it was worth it. We also got to filming week and one of our mics was broken, our headphones barely worked and our computer had a few problems with it too. I understand that this stuff happens and it’s good experience to learn how to work on a budget, but considering how much each of us put into the program, we certainly shouldn’t have been on a tight budget. I also saw the program as a way of connecting you with a good topic to do the documentary on and when we got their our organisation had nothing going on. And considering Actuality Media had already signed a contract with them we were constantly struggling to integrate this organisation into our documentary when it wasn’t really necessary. It just would have been nice to have walked into an organisation as planned and find a story within it. However, in the end I was really happy with the story we found and the topic we had. And it was a good experience overall.

The program is good for a beginner. It is not a good program for the experienced filmmaker looking for an internship. However, it is a unique experience filming in another country and helping communities.

I enjoyed my experience with Actuality Media overall. It provided a great opportunity to gain film experience while traveling a foreign country. However I expected to learn more from the workshops, and also more flexibility in the production process. Instead we were given a formula that our film had to adhere to and our film ended up looking like a commercial in the end.

Quito, Ecuador is an extraordinary country. It is surrounded with picturesque scenery and some of the most humble people you will ever meet. The culture is unlike any other. It is a place where you can travel short distances for a paradise mini-vacation, eat more food for far less money than you would in the U.S., and where you can get to interact with the natives. The people of Quito show so much pride in their country. You can tell by the way they talk about it to you. Although Quito is a beautiful country, some parts are quite dangerous, and if not careful, you can find yourself with empty pockets. The instructors made it clear in the beginning that we, as foreigners, would have to be extremely careful when using public transportation, and also when walking through rough towns. This was an unfortunate lesson that some of my crew learned the hard way. Overall, though, my experience was mind-blowing. You come to appreciate all that you have in comparison to the people living in poverty. You find yourself wanting to learn a person’s story, even if you don’t get to film it. You find yourself going back home and sharing your experience with someone who hasn’t had the opportunity to travel abroad. It’s definitely not a perfect place, but there is no such place. Every country has beauty and ugly. Internship Placement: The academic portion was great. Every session at base camp was a brand new experience. My crew especially liked the documentary screenings. They helped illustrate what the instructors were explaining to us. Sometimes, though, it was too late to watch documentaries. Cultural Immersion: The culture of Quito is definitely different from my hometown in the U.S. Most of the time my crew and I were on our own to find our way around, which wasn’t really a bad thing. It forces us to interact with the natives and see what it was like being in a different country. The only negative thing about this was that the crime and dangers that lurk around in Quito. Since we were foreigners, we were at high risk for theft and gang violence. Therefore, we always had to be extremely aware of our surroundings. Program Administration: For CENIT, we had multiple problems finding a story. The organization was very hesitant in letting us film and for a while we thought we were going to leave Quito empty-handed. Apparently, the official form allowing us to film the organization was never signed. We had so many obstacles to overcome with the organization’s manager and his associates. Therefore, we spent most of our pre-production week trying to negotiate instead of finding a story to film. The instructors did their best to try and reach a compromise with the organization. Health and Safety: If you are extremely aware of your surroundings you will have nothing to worry about, but we heard stories from volunteers that they have had knives pulled on them before. Also, my roommate got pick-pocketed on the bus and my friend got her phone stolen in town. It’s frustrating at times because you’re afraid to have any money on you at all. I kept my most important possessions in my shoes. Social Life: The people in Quito are very kind and friendly; however, I get the feeling they try to take advantage of you if they catch on that you don’t know their language well. Other than that, social life was good