Documentary Proposal

PORTRAIT OF A SINGLE MOM

By: LaKendria Kenner

A five-minute documentary about the misconceptions of impoverished women.

Synopsis

I will document the struggle of a single mom; and show you that a person in poverty can have goals and dreams, but reaching those needs can be difficult when you are born into poverty.

I want to humanize the individuals that society sees as “ lazy and in need of a job”.

The main character is Lakendra Sanders, a student living in poverty and a mother of two young children.  She faces the struggle of Passing difficult courses, and balancing family life at the same time. We will follow how she fell into a state of poverty, and when we discover that she was born into it we will take a closer look at why it’s taking so long to get out of poverty, and why some people don’t ever get out. She also has to make it out of poverty one day. Which she hopes to do by attending school.

Premise

The emotional impact is how far this woman has come, and how close she is to getting out of poverty just because she has the help that some say we don't need.

Women in poverty aren't lazy, or stupid and some of us will always be in poverty despite that, due to living wage and circumstance. It takes a special kind of person and true determination to overcome these circumstances; not to mention TIME that frankly some don't have so they are trapped in dead end jobs, food stamps, low income housing, and a label that is haunting FOREVER in some cases. Its more societies fault than that individual in poverty. That's the premise.

In life I believe that advantages are more given than earned. Since minorities came here there has been an unequal distribution of wealth that we can never recover from. Some do some are strong enough, but all aren’t.

Story

My film will show this in action by illustrating how a young woman in poverty remained in poverty and why she has had difficulty getting out; and is still struggling to work her way out. 

My Central character is a female, mother, and an undergrad student here at SIU.

My character wants to get her third degree and begin a career and move her family out of subsidized housing.

The conflict in my film is the struggle with choosing between better in the future for the long term by making sacrifices NOW. Or better for the moment with a future that may not be clear.

I want my films structure to be determined by the progression in my character’s life, and the nonstop obstacles and sacrifices she has made; As Seen through her eyes.

Structure of the film is going to be using b-roll as well as Voice Over from the interview. I will also be using photo’s to illustrate the past tense for the viewer. The b-roll combined with the voice-overs will also include The subjects daily life and school. There is also an interview using natural sound.

Conclusion

I want my audience to have more insight into a way of life they may have a false perception of, or just don't understand.

And to realize that getting out of poverty is not as simple as getting a job or going to school or not having kids you can't afford. It will take more than the impoverished people and scraps from the table of the government to end poverty.

The director I have chosen is Jean Claude La Marre, he grew up in Haiti but is also a Brooklyn native. La Marre is making a name for himself as one of the best black filmakers in the industry. La Marre is a writer, director , and actor. He has 39 producer credits, 21 director credits, and 17 writer credits. He also composed music for his 2006 film Color of the cross.  What I like about La Marre's films, is that they have africian americans in roles one may not think they would ever play. One of my favorite films by La Marre is a hip-hop western , taking an all star cast with the likes of Monica Calhoun, Lisa Raye, LiL Kim, and bobby brown, and making a western about a Gang of female bank robbers known as the rose gang. His 2006 film Color of the cross   sparked controversy, as he characterized Jesus and his followers as black men, and made the story of his death a hate crime. La Marre attributes such creative to the fact that he likes a movie that thinks outside the box. His goal is to make urban films that attract audiences world-wide. More films by La Marre most of which he wrote directed and acted in include: Noras Hair Salon 1&2 , Brothers in Arms, and Sugar Valentine 2.  As a Tv and film actor La Marre has been in the legendary work of Spike lee as well, appearing in such films as  Malcom X, & Dead Presidents .

Color of the CrosPresentation

Gang of Roses (1/10) Movie CLIP - Shot Dead in the Street (2003) HD

Lighting Assignment , lakendria

 Clip one: This clip is from the Jamie Foxx show, The room doesn't appear to have had much base light. There doesn't appear to be any light direction;unless there are lamps already on the set.There is not alot of shadows, so this means that high key or fill light is used.  The fact that there is no shadows may indicate diffused light as well. The contrast is the same throughout the shot, there is no contrast between light and dark in this scene. The Tone is bright and saturated, not dull and washed out I don't see any grey in the color. The Desk area appears to be most lit, maybe because it is the brightest thing in the scene. The lighting does add some depth to the scene you can clearly notice the objects in the background. The color temperature is incandescent because it is inside. The over all mood captured here is a calm work environment, the lighting accomplishes that, because it is dimmer. I believe if this was an office with alot of workers it may have been brighter.

Clip two:  This clip is from desperate housewives, the mood of this scene is meant to convey a girls day out; which i think is accomplished with the use of base light. It looks as if alot of the light coming from this scene is coming from outside; so this shot does have light direction because you can see where the light is coming from. There is high key light, no shadows I don't believe alot of fill light was needed due to the base light. and there isn't any real contrast. There is no shadows here and that is an indication of diffused light. If this shot has fall off it would be the dark hair and the area beyond the open space where the light comes in. There appears to be hard light , there isn't much depth to this shot. The background is not clear. There is also soft light used .

 I enjoy all types of film comedy and drama are among my favorites ; I can get into horror films if they aren't cheesy or low budget. some of my favorite movies of all time are the five heartbeats, bravehart , School Days , queen , and some of my favorite comedy movies include the Friday movies I really love the wayans brothers spoof films as well. I love to read books that have things about black history such as slavery. I also love to read books that have become films, I have read Forest Gump , The Green Mile , Where the Heart is , Waiting to Exhale , And beloved to name a few. I am also fans of all of these films. In Recent years I have become a fan of urban novels as well. Some of my favorite upban novels are written by Eric Jerome Dicky, Omar Tyree and Zane. I have also as I mentioned in class set out to write an urban novel of my own. A real life account of a black  womans sruggles in the dating scene. in addition to all od this I am a mother to a 7 year old daughter as well as a full time student and enjoy time with her and my dog named lu lu . my daughters named lakendia. I just found out im going to interview for the daily egyptian, hopfully this will be the beginning og my career.

Introduction (old)

Im a senior from Carbondale . I hope to get my masters after I graduate , I then hope to pursue a career in radio or television . im a single mom of one, I love spending time with my daughter and my dog lu lu . I also enjoy cooking and writing songs poetry and stories.