Video Assignment #4: Sequence Identification Homework

New York Times' "A Year of Struggle at a Food Bank" is the sequence video that I picked for my assignment. Reporter Monica Almeida went to Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. and followed the workers at the GAP (God Always Provides) Food Bank and the people they served. This video highlights the trials and tribulations of both the workers and the recipients from April 2008 to May 2009 and the video was posted in July 2009.
This video was pretty good because it used a combination of wide, medium, and tight shots. In the opening sequence (:07 sec.) you see a wide shot of a group of people walking toward a line, followed by a VO of a woman talking about how bad she feels about standing outside in hopes of getting food, even if she doesn't have the recommended donation. At about :14 the camera shows her face. Another example was the extreme wide shot of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. at 1:15 as the reporter talked about the city in a voice over.
The reporter filmed her subjects from a variety of different angles and shots. For example, at 3:20 the camera interviews Linda Dieterich while she is sitting down, and the camera shows her from the knee up. Then at 4:45 you will see a head and shoulder shot of Dieterich talking about her experiences as a GAP employee, a medium shot of Dieterich praying outside with Tosha Boyd at 4:28, and and a close up of her holding hands with another GAP recipient at 4:52.
At 3:32, you will see a tight head and shoulder shot of Tosha's husband Anthony at home before seeing the couple from the chest up as they sit at their dining room table at 3:43. You see a close up of Tosha and Anthony's youngest son smiling in the stroller at 4:02.
The sequence video also used a few stills. When Almeida gave a voice over about the city's economic troubles, the camera zoomed in on a still showing high gas prices at 1:19 and zoomed out at a picture of dozens of cars on the highway at 1:20.
During one portion of the video, they shot footage of Robert and Kathy Watkins sitting on their couch at home and talking before freezing the film at 6:08 and zooming in on Kathy's face as Almeida gave an update on the couple via voice over.
One possible downside to the video is the use of background sound and noise. At :14, you see a woman in a light blue tanktop standing off to the side of the camera while there are people behind her in line and people are talking. At 6:29 you hear the sound of a moving car as Tosha drives while talking and at 6:47, you hear the sound of the wind and footsteps as Tosha walks to the line. However, the use of natural sound and background noise can also serve as realistic portrayal of the food bank.
Below is the link to the video:

http://video.nytimes.com/video/playlist/us/1194811622217/index.html