Editing and Planning

Over the past few days I have been working to edit the surplus of footage (over 6 hours already) that I have taken thus far. I know six hours does not sound like that much, but when you sit down to go through each shot to see exactly what you want to use or toss, it becomes an incredibly lengthy undertaking. Along with that, transferring the raw footage to the computer and then saving it to a backup hard drive as well takes even more time. But, despite the time it takes, it is a fun process, and really allows me to glean insight into what direction the film is heading in advance. I still have some big projects to shoot and people to interview. I will be heading to Kenya this next week to focus on health care and AIDS, then back to Kampala to film the agricultural developments of William Kwezi, then to walk the slums to see the drastic side of poverty, then to Gulu (the same city that the Invisible Children project is based in) to focus on education with Fr. Tony Wach, and even to Murchison Falls National Park to include the popular tourist side of Africa. Of course, I will be tagging along with any project that catches my eye or ear in the meantime in order to make this a diverse view of East Africa. Many times people tend to show only the drastic, devastating side to the outside public because that is the most shocking and can gain funds. Others only show the beautiful side in order to gain tourist attraction. So, the hope is to show both extremes and everything in between to give (more or less) a "true" glimpse into East Africa. 

Granted, a true version of African life is nearly impossible here, as each 40 kilometers travelled reveals an entirely different tribe or clan, speaking yet another unique language (I can't count the number of languages that I've stumbled across, luckily, many people also speak a bit of English). The country is extremely diverse, with an overwhelming number of traditions and customs and people. It would be difficult enough to convey the beauty and tragedy of life in just one city. However, that is all a part of the story.