The past month has been a whirlwind. Nothing went to plan because nothing ever does, but I’m excited to be in the experiential learning portion of my research process as I am now in production for my film!
While it is early days of the actual filming, I’ve been lucky to coordinate with lots of different people in the Bay Area to set up interviews and film in their offices. I will be meeting with founders and employees at various start-ups to discuss their success and how Silicon Valley has evolved. I am also interviewing people who live in the area and do not work in the industry as I’m really interested in the Bay Area vs. Silicon Valley distinction. I’m specifically interested in how young people experience the Bay Area given the rise of Big Tech and increased gentrification over our lifetime.
A large part of my film is going to be exteriors and I have attached some stills from my first shoot into this post. Unfortunately, I have to keep it brief as I focus on traveling around the Bay Area to film and writing my research paper! I’m so glad to be in the making phase of my research and look forward to my independent study in the fall where I will edit all the footage I collect into a documentary short film. This will be the longest I have spent on a project, and while it has come with a lot of challenges (and shown me how much I don’t know), it has also been so exciting and I’m so grateful to have received the resources to make this project a reality.
Cover Image: “Phone Sync Room 1.” Image Courtesy of Author