Holy Crap!
Production Log
October 19, 2010
Day 6: Today we followed the "poop mobile" again but this time to the dumping site, which SOIL had only recently purchased. This is where they were beginning to develop the compost bins to store the developing fertilizer while it heats up and all the pathogens die off so that the compost can be used safely. The staff is so dedicated to this rather unlikely job, as they fully understand the beauty and simplicity of it and to the power of reclaiming Haiti's future by developing soil for agriculture. It was a fun day and on the way home we stopped to get a cold beer. Prestige!!! (Haiti's award-winning beer is hard to beat, especially after a long hard day in the hot sun.....)
October 18, 2010
Day 5: We spent the day following the drum collectors, getting more footage of their hard work and of the SOIL "poop mobile" lumbering through town with its cargo......
October 17, 2010
Day 4: We spent some time looking for opportunities to hear people singing in the churches. When you are in Haiti, you are hearing music pretty much 24/7, and it is not quiet. People are singing in chorus in some church nearby almost all the time!!! So we went looking to get some of the audio from one of these churches but somehow failed to get there in time, as it was a Sunday and we got a late start and by the time we arrived where we were going, all the folks were leaving the church! So we instead headed up the Petionville to get some wide-shots of Port au Prince and see some of the artwork and crafts by local artisans. Afterwards we drove across town to a beautiful piece of land that Daniel's organization had purchased, where we filmed Daniel talking about how they were planning to use the soil from SOIL's toilets to develop gardens. It was a long but fun day......
October 16, 2010
Day 3: Cite Soleil. We arrive at the Pax Christie headquarters of Cite Soleil ready for our third day of shooting. Our objective is to go into a kitchen and film some women making food! We want to demonstrate how people cook and make meals and what type of foods people are making when the country's agriculture is in such a weakened position. The women are so gracious and we have a great time, and get all the shots we are looking for. Next we head over to one of the IDP camps (Internally Displaced People) to film Anthony before the sun sets. Anthony was at that time a new member to the SOIL staff and had developed a water catchement system to accompany the toilets. It's a brilliant addition and we have a great time filming him, as he is a natural on-camera and has a lot of good ideas for how to present the material.....
October 15, 2010
Second Day of Shooting and the toughest shoot of the entire trip: Trutiye, the Port au Prince city dump. Driving through the gates of the dump it seems familiar - like any dump run I've done in my life to discard items that don't fit in a dumpster - except the number of people rummaging through the dump is astounding. So many people looking for anything that could have value. But then, when the truck stops and we get out right next to the sewage dump, that moment is hard to convey with words, as the smell is other-worldly. Sasha Kramer (Executive Director of SOIL) seems not even to notice the smell which is over-whelming myself and my crew. It's a bit challenging to breathe at first but we do acclimate and get our interviews done with good sound in spite of the wind...........
October 14, 2010
First day of Shooting! We are excited but want to ease into it. Daniel picks myself, Tamara, and Ute up after breakfast and we go over to the SOIL office to film the drum-collectors preparing to leave for the day. It is fun to get started and we are all thrilled to be here.....