DebDocs

I shot, edited, and produced this video all on my own for my Visual Storytelling class. Our professor, Rich Beckman, instructed us to create a video about a Special Olympics athlete based in Miami, and gave us the contact information for the head of Special Olympics in South Florida. I showed up at one of their events at Bird Bowl, where many high school students from the area were competing, and I made some contacts there that eventually led me to Ramon.

Ramon introduced himself to me on a day I was visiting his school.  I was originally going to do the story on another student, but when I met Ramon, I knew I had to reconsider.

Click on “Read More” to watch my video and meet Ramon for yourself.

Special Olympics – Ramon from Deborah Acosta on Vimeo.

I loved this assignment. I felt like I was helping Ramon tell his own story. I framed it according to what he loved to talk about and what he loved to do. Apart from that, my aim was to show the complexity of his character. I hope I did him due justice. I also hope I changed a few people’s impressions of what someone with an intellectual disability is like. Sometimes they lead more fulfilling lives than many people without such limitations.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Special Olympics – Ramon from Deborah Acosta on Vimeo.

Popularity: 13% [?]

On election day I led a team of two people and produced this video in one day.  We went to West Grove, a historically black community in Miami, and found this story.  We filmed and edited it in one day.  In it, members of the community reflect on the historical significance of a black man being elected president of the United States.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Six hours in, and I’ve finally made it inside the polling place. However, there was a surprise once we got inside.

A huge waiting area appeared out of nowhere, but at least we can sit now. When we sat down, the group of people who’d been waiting before us yelled: “finally,” when they were called up to vote.

A child sitting behind me was nagging his mother, “Let’s go already! If you know McCain is gonna lose, then why are we still here?”

I finally voted and made it out the door by 10:30, 7 hours later.

Popularity: 11% [?]

I’m still waiting in line on the last day of early voting, and it’s past the 5 hour mark. We’ve just had a second round of pizza and water. According to a worker at the precinct, the pizza was bought by a fellow voter. The food was followed by Joe Garcia, who shook everyone’s hand. He’s running for congress, and attempting to take on one of the Diaz-Balart brothers. On the way to the restroom I overheard a woman toward the front of the line say she’d been waiting almost 8 hours. She still hadn’t gone in to vote.

Popularity: 15% [?]

In the Coral Reef Public Library Early voting site, citizens are lined up around the building in order to cast their last-minute early votes. A group standing 100 feet from the entrance say they’ve been waiting for 4 hours, and anticipate waiting another hour before they finally get inside to vote. “We got here at 12:15 before the polls even opened,” one man said.

 

 

 

I’ve been in the line for 30 minutes so far, and I’ve moved up about 30 feet, a foot per minute. There’s a lady shouting incoherent political babble, while another is trecking around carrying cold water bottles, “This ain’t McCain water, this ain’t Obama water, it’s Zephyrhills,” she said.

 

An 8 year old child is campaigning for his grandfather, Pedro J. Garcia, for property appraiser. “He’s the only candidate with over thirty years experience,” he said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                            Others are fitting in some homework on the downtime.

 

 

At 4:53 pm people were still getting in line to vote. Congress candidate Taddeo showed up around that time to shake every person’s hand. I am now snaking back in the direction I came from in line.

 

I’m still in line 4 hours later, and the entrance of the building is nowhere in sight. Why did they make Sunday, the day people are most likely to vote, the shortest day to vote? The polls were only open from 1 to 5 today. However, i’ve yet to see even one person give up and leave the line.  I’m now toward the back of the building, and I can see inside through the back window:

Pizza and water have been handed out, and I’m still in line hours later…

Popularity: 11% [?]