Atlanta International School

Joonam, ​A Documentary

A Documentary of a religious and cultural journey showing the impact my grandmother

made on her family and community through her immigration from Iran.

Global Context: Identities and Relationships

Name: Mina Karin Loudermilk

Personal Project 2017-2018

Supervisor: Helen Marqués Shayne

Date Completed: March 13, 2018

 Table of Contents

Introduction​……………………………………………………………...………………….…….3

● Criterion A: Investigating……………………………………………………………………….3
1A) My Goal and Global Context​…………………………………………………………3
​ ……………………………………………………….3
2A) Prior Knowledge on Subject…
3A) Research Skills​………………………………………………………………………..4

● Criterion B: Planning…………………………………………………………………………....4
1B) My Success Criteria​…………………………………………………………………..4
2B) The Development Process of the Project​……………………………………………..5
3B) Self-Management Skills​…………………………………………………………….…5

● Criterion C: Taking Action……………………………………………………………….…......6

​ ………………………………………………………….…....6
1C) Creating the Product…
2C) Thinking Skills​……………………………………………………………….....……..7
3C) Communication and Social Skills​…………………………………………….………7

● Criterion D: Reflecting………………………………………………………………….……….7
​ …………………………………….……...7
1D) Evaluation of Product Against Criteria…
2D) Reflect on my Extension of Knowledge…​ …………………………………….………8
3D) Reflect on Development as an IB Learner​……………………………….…………...9

Bibliography (MLA8)​....................................................................................................................10
Appendices…​ .…………………….……………………………………………………………...11

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Introduction:

For my personal project, I created a documentary showing the impact that my grandmother had
on her family, as well as on the local Persian community, through religion and culture. The documentary
also focuses on obstacles she faced in the past when immigrating to America from Iran during the
Revolution in the 1970’s.

My grandmother, Nahid Kalantari Taslimi, passed away October 15, 2014. My family still has
not found closure, and therefore in an effort for us to heal, I felt the need to create this documentary.
Furthermore, I wanted to do a personal project that I was not only passionate about, but that I felt would
have an impact on my life, as well as on the lives of others and my loved ones.

Criterion A - Investigation:

1A) My Goal
My goal initially was to design and create a documentary that showed life in Iran through my
grandmother’s past. This documentary would highlight important aspects of her culture, religion, and
family/lifestyle.

In the beginning, my main focus was to give insight on the difficulties of living in Iran during the
time of the Revolution (1978-1979). However, as I started to brainstorm and develop this idea further, I
recognized the need for those viewing my documentary to be exposed to other concepts such as political
views, courage, hope, and faith. Therefore, my new goal was to create a documentary that inspires
people to have courage through my grandmother’s actions during our current political, racial, and
religious turmoil by providing deeper insight into her culture, religion, and family/lifestyle. This is a
highly challenging goal because it allows the people who read my topic sentence to have a specific
expectation of not only the format of my personal project, but what my personal project is about. This
topic I knew would also be challenging considering the language barrier and time constraint of trying to
keep the documentary under 45 minutes in length.

From the beginning of my project, I committed to the Global Context of Identities and
Relationships. I chose this Global Context because I knew how my grandmother impacted her
community and family spiritually with her beliefs, values, and unique culture (Appendix 20). I felt that
as long as I focused on my grandmother’s journey during the documentary, it would definitely challenge
and inspire those who watched it.

2A) Prior Knowledge

Most of my prior knowledge of family history came from past stories and conversations with my
family members. However, I always felt that most of the stories I had heard growing up had missing
parts, furthering my interest in creating this documentary. All I knew for certain, was that my
grandmother, helped relocate her family members from Iran to the United States during the Revolution.
I also knew that since she could read and write Arabic, and had spent years studying the Quran, she had
a different impression/translation of the book and wanted to share her knowledge with others so they

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would not be controlled by the religious men of the muslim world. I did not know at this point the
extreme intensity of the revolution and the feeling it left upon my grandmother and those who
experienced this with her.

Because of my passion for the topic, I spent time working on several school projects over the
years researching political, social, and economical issues relating to Iran (Appendix 1). However, I have
a satisfactory knowledge in documentary making. My experience before the project consisted of two
semesters in digital design creating two 5 minute PSA videos.

3A) Research Skills

Before I started creating the documentary, I created a research plan (Appendix 23). I also
searched the web for information on how to make documentaries. I found the most useful website to be
(“Making Documentaries”), from which I analyzed and annotated(Appendix 3). Once I had started the
planning process, I looked into finding a professional to help guide me through the process of making
documentaries. I found a local Documentarist, David Seeney, working with someone we knew whom
was running for a political office (Appendix 4).

David agreed to meet with me for a total of four 2 hour sessions at my house, and his expert
advice was incredibly helpful. David really coached me into understanding the technical aspect of
documentary making, and shared with me many options for cameras, lights and microphones. In
addition, he helped me prepare for the planning I would have to do when making video shot selections
from my film, a process I learned that is called Logging (Appendix 5). David also suggested I download
Adobe Premiere Pro, because of his professional experience and help that he could offer me with this
editing software. He showed me a tutorial video to help me get started with the program as well.
(Appendix 6) .

I would say David Seeney was my most useful source, mainly because he was available for open
discussions and meetings, as well as having an extensive background in the production of
documentaries. Without his help, I would have struggled trying to navigate my way through the
technical editing and filming aspects of my documentary and feel that it would have taken me much
longer to create the documentary. Not only did I gain a tremendous amount of knowledge by researching
documentaries and working with David Seeney, but I also gained a lot of knowledge from the interviews
which I filmed for my product with my family members (Appendix 24). In addition, I interviewed my 2
peers, Sophie Mannes and Kat Servi (Appendix 9), who had created documentaries for their personal
projects last school year. I am very grateful for the combination of all of these sources and the effect it
had on me and being able to create this documentary and formulate specific points in my success
criteria.

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Criterion B - Planning:

1B) My Criteria
My success criteria were attainable, and as I went through the process, I recognized that my
objectives were easier to reach than I had presumed. My success criteria further developed my goal
when I wrote about the functions and aesthetics of my documentary. (Appendix 21)

At the time, I thought that my product would be presented just as a file on youtube that I would
send to my family members. However, later into the project, I realized that it would be more meaningful
if I held a showing of my documentary to my family members on Persian New Year, March 20, 2018,
where I will be serving persian tea and pastries for those who attend.

Considering that my final report deadline is due before March 20th, I decided to hold a private
showing of my documentary, “Joonam”, to my immediate family members to get feedback and prepare
for the larger showing. With this plan in place, my Criterion D will be based on a casual private event
with my immediate family. (Appendix 8)

2B) The Development Process of the Project

The development process of the project was very important because I know this can sometimes
be a weakness for me, and having a tools in place to manage time is critical. Before I started filming, or
even generating interview questions, I created my GANTT chart, which was a calendar that kept me
organized in order to plan out specific dates for my documentary, as well as meet certain deadlines
throughout the project. (Appendix 10) I also kept up with a physical process journal to organize my
process. In addition, I set short term goals for myself to finish generating possible interview questions,
which then lead to the creation of my final interview questions (Appendix 12). I documented every
interview to learn from my mistakes (Appendix 13). After attaining these short term goals, I began
researching and planning for my project. I started my research in the summer, with an interview
conducted with my grandmother’s husband (Appendix 11) who also gave me her Quran (Appendix 22).

3B) Self-Management Skills

I knew that self-management would be challenging, with having taken on big personal project
product and continue to stay on top of my studies in school. Therefore, I used a GANTT chart to
organize myself and stay on track throughout the process. I implemented my GANTT chart into my
google calendar as well. However, I still missed an important draft deadline and missed out on getting
feedback on time. There were a few occasions where items in my GANTT chart had to be moved or
changed because of events which I did not take into account. I had some complications with planning,
due to the places of residence of my interviewees. I had to work around these obstacles to meet
deadlines. Despite these obstacles, I found the Personal Project as a whole a very enjoyable experience
that allowed me to grow and fulfill the IB learner profile. This is because I chose a topic I found
interesting which I was passionate about.

In the beginning of the year, there was a lot of miscommunication between my supervisor and I
because I was not use to such rigorous and time constricting projects and deadlines alongside my

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academics. However, as the year progressed, I slowly started to become accustomed to the work loads as
well as create a positive and healthy relationship with my supervisor. She gave me a lot of good
feedback earlier in the year, mainly related to self-management and keeping up with deadlines. This not
only benefited me with my personal project, but it helped me reach more deadlines with school work,
personal goals and managing athletics/outside commitments as well. I felt like I really improved my
project after receiving the feedback given to me by my supervisor, which is something that inspired and
encouraged me in the long run of my project. I documented all of my compliments and constructive
criticism remarks in my process journal, which became the most useful piece of information in my
journal because it allowed me to reflect and build from the feedback.

Criterion C - Taking Action:

1C) Creating the Product

The goal of my project was to create a documentary that inspires people to have courage through
my grandmother’s actions during our current political, racial, and religious turmoil by providing deeper
insight into her culture, religion, and family/lifestyle. My final product was a documentary including
interviews of my family members, as well as photos and images of my grandmother from the past.

Emotionally, the interviews were a struggle because of all of the sentimental memories my
family had of my grandmother, and the fact that her work lived on and kept on creating an impact in the
lives of those who knew her. Whether it was because she would show gratitude and sympathy, or
because she guided them into a religious path that was an awakening for most, all seemed to have the
same story to tell.

The main challenge I faced when creating this documentary was the fact that editing was
incredibly time consuming. It was something that I had not truly considered in my criteria during the
planning portion of my project. The most time consuming example would be when I had to re-watch all
of my film and categorize every shot into different labels (Appendix 16), producing approximately 10
hours of work. Another thing that I did not take into account was the fact that the software I
downloaded , Adobe Pro-Creative Cloud, had a storage size that was too big for my Macbook Air, and I
had to transfer all of my information from my Mac to my dad’s PC. And, not being as familiar with PC,
presented other unexpected factors that led to more difficulties. I had to learn and research a lot of
technical aspects of how to work on a PC., for example, how to screenshot, save, turn up the volume,
scan, and create and download information from my camera file to the folders on the desktop. However,
when it came to the software, David Seeney showed me a lot of keyboard functions which helped me
save time with shortcuts. (Appendix 17)

Another challenge while creating the documentary was trying to keep its length to a 30-45
minute video, especially since I had filmed nearly 9 hours of interviews. A subset challenge was trying
to decide what I should keep, and what I should toss for my documentary. This was very emotional for
me, because I had to try and determine what I should use to represent my grandmother’s image, and
continue her legacy, and at the same time understand that my family members that I interviewed may be
insulted if I did not use specific clips. I leaned on the advice of my parents in this section of the process,

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because I wanted to make sure that all my information was correct, and that they could confirm certain
events versus others.

2C) Thinking Skills

Through this process and creation of this product, I used many critical thinking skills. For
example, when I experienced audio problems (Appendix 13), I learned from David Seeney on how to
manually alter the volume and quality of the audio in my videos (Appendix 18). With David’s help I
learned how to troubleshoot systems and applications.

After critically thinking and brainstorming with David Seeney about how to format my
documentary, I decided to start with sectioning it into Acts. (Appendix 14). I then categorized all of my
shots from my logging and put them in a table (Appendix 19). Following this, I assigned certain tables
to certain Acts to organize my thought process.

There were also awkward silence moments during the interviews between my family members
and I, which I learned to develop into opportunities to ask questions that I had been thinking of while
being in the interview. This allowed me to develop a skill of thinking on the spot, and being more social
with my family members. I created very unique and special relationships with each of my family
members after having these interviews, an experience I will never forget.

3C) Communication and Social Skills

I gained a lot of respect with each of my family members not only because I decided to do this as
my topic for personal project, but because I had a very strong communication and leadership presence
during our interviews. I succeeded in using a variety of speaking techniques with different interviewees
in order to keep the conversation on track and guided my interviewees in the right direction when it
came to generating answers to my questions. I also improved my skills with using meaningful feedback
and constructive criticism to my advantage.This was already something that I was adequate at before
starting this project, however when I received feedback from my family members or my immediate
family members, it really taught me to take everything they have to say into account. I made better
decisions afterwards because I had listened and considered their advice on matters concerning video
footage which should have been kept or let go.

I also learned when to acknowledge that some information shared with me by my family
members was too sensitive. This was something that I had to monitor throughout my entire editing
experience. I always had to keep in mind that my friends and family members would be viewing this
footage together, and although I had the responsibility to listen actively to other perspectives and ideas, I
needed to practice empathy and determine what should be censored given our Iranian culture.

Criterion D - Reflecting:

1D) Evaluation of Product Against Criteria

After completing my product and reviewing my success criteria, I was relieved to find that my
final outcome met almost all of my requirements. The requirements that my product met included the

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Function, Size, Cost, Environmental Location, Durability, and Time (Appendix 21). My documentary
touched on the four main aspects of my grandmother’s life which included Religion, Faith, Life-style,
and Politics. Something I had not included in my success criteria, which I found evident in her life, was
her passion for family. The Size of the film was under 45 minutes, which met my goal. The Cost of the
production remained within my budget, and actually was much less than I anticipated (Appendix 7). The
most accessible place for almost all of my interviewers to be filmed was in their own homes, with the
exception of two family members who were filmed in my house. My documentary was also accessible
through youtube as a digital file for my family members who live out of state and were unable to attend
the viewing. The documentary was a long process, however, because I was intimate with the topic, the
creation of my film was a joy and the four months seemed to pass by so fast.

The requirements that I did not meet were my Aesthetic and Safety requirements. I originally
thought that it would appeal more to my younger audience (my peers) if I were to blend modern day
music with old traditional Persian music. However, after reviewing the footage it was in my best interest
to use my grandmother’s favorite songs, which were traditional Persian melodies. I also made the
decisions to not use provocative footage or information in my documentary, not specifically to allow a
younger audience to view it, but for reasons to respect my grandmother’s legacy and Persian culture.

2D) Reflect on my Extension of Knowledge

During the exploration of the Global Context of Identities and Relationships (Appendix 20), I
discovered many truths about my family. Because of these interviews, I feel like conversation comes
easier and naturally with them. During this process, I grew as a versatile communicator by learning how
to collaborate with each differently based on their style of communication. This is valuable because it
helps me in group projects, sports, and talking to friends. I learned how to communicate and present
dominance with family members, letting them know that I do have something important to say.

Through the impact of editing, I taught myself placement strategies which made certain scenes
more considerable than other sequences according to how I observed my family members during their
interviews. By adapting to my family member’s preferences, I received feedback from my mother and
father, saying my documentary was “ interesting how you (I) showed Nahid almost as if she was the
rope for the family, kind of like her favorite verse in the Quran” (Roane Loudermilk). Sherwin
Loudermilk also stated that “you (I) really took this to the next level, what you (I) did here is
impressive”.

I have discovered that I have a love and respect for the art of making documentaries. The editing
techniques required are advanced, however the outcome can be so elegant. Not only that, but the effort
and time you have to put into a documentary in order to make it how you envisioned it is overwhelming.
After making this documentary, I am seriously considering a path in film-making and journalism
because of the intense devotion I had towards this project. This project encouraged me to become a well
organized student, and to prepare and stay on-task for meetings and deadlines, something I have
struggled with and am continuing to work towards improving.

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 I am pleased to give the opportunity to educate my viewers on the cultural aspects of Iran and the
importance of immigrants in the United States. My grandmother would never have been able to
accomplish her dreams and take the risks she took once she arrived to the United States if America had
not welcomed her. I think the emotional aspect of my documentary brings realization to my viewers that
the labeled “immigrant” actually has a face, a family, and a life which creates better lives for everyone
around them. It shows that there are people like my grandmother who prove wrong the false accusations
about immigrants.

What I loved most about this project, was the knowledge I received of my culture and my history
which unified me with my heritage. I am certain that this project has made me more spiritual and
happier because I found myself through this project, and I have such a deeper and stronger connection to
my roots in Islam as well as Iran. The greatest knowledge in my opinion is the knowing of who you are.
What I discovered from my personal project, was that the Global Context of Identities and Relationships
can be extremely impactful on everyone.

3D) Reflect on Development as an IB Learner

As an IB learner, I have grown as a communicator, risk-taker, knowledgeable, and caring
individual. I have learned to adapt my communication style in the presence of others, in order to care for
their beliefs and their ways of interpretation. I have increased my knowledge on the religion of Islam,
the culture of Iran, and the differences between American and Iranian culture. I have grown as a
risk-taker in the face of my mentors and my family members, allowing me to become a leader in
conversations and topics.

Word Count: 3,500

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Bibliography:

● "13th." Rotten Tomatoes, edited by Fandango, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/13th/.

● "CNN's 'The Sixties' Is a Familiar Flashback." Los Angeles Times, Robert Lloyd,
www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-sixties-cnn-review-column.html.

● "Fresh Behavior Media." FBM, David Seeney, vimeo.com/fbm1.

● Kalantari, Hamid, and Janet Kalantari. Interview. 8 Jan. 2018.

● Kalantari, Mammal, and Rhonda Kalantari. Interview. 6 Jan. 2018.

● Kalantari, Saeed. Interview. 8 Jan. 2018.

● Loudermilk, Kelly Roane. Interview. 26 Feb. 2018.

● Loudermilk, Robert. Interview. 7 Jan. 2018.

● Loudermilk, Sherwin Shahriar. Interview. 3 Mar. 2018.

● "Making a Murderer: Season 1." Rotten Tomatoes, edited by Fandango,

www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/making_a_murderer/s01/.

● "Making Documentaries Step-by-Step: How to Make a Documentary." Desktop

Documentaries, Faith Fuller, www.desktop-documentaries.com/
making-documentaries.html.

● Nasserazad, Fareed, et al. Interview. 6 Jan. 2018.

● Nasserazad, Mojgan, and Akbar Nasserazad. Interview. 8 Jan. 2018.

● "9/11: Truth, Lies and Conspiracies Review ​ the Victims Deserve Better than
This." The Guardian, Lucy Mangan, ​www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/
14/911-truth-lies-and-conspiracies-review-the-victims-deserve-better-than-this.

● Premiere Pro Tutorial 2018 | for Beginners (in 4K). UnlockRiver.com, 2018.

● "Review: ‘13TH,’ the Journey from Shackles to Prison Bars." New York
Times, Manohla Dargis, www.nytimes.com/2016/09/30/movies/
13th-review-ava-duvernay.html?referrer=google_kp.

● Searcy, Sharzad, et al. Interview. 6 Jan. 2018.

● Taslimi, Fereydoun. Interview. By Mina Karin Loudermilk. 6 Jan. 2018.

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Appendices:

Appendix 1:
Video of PSA, personally made in 9th grade regarding the inequality of genders in countries of the
Middle East.

Appendix 2:
My analysis of the Netflix film, “The 13th”, A documentary which reveals the obstacles that African
American individuals in the United States face when dealing with law enforcement.

Appendix 3:
Personal annotated text of ("Making Documentaries"). Details about how to make a documentary, as
well as some of the key aspects and story board ideas I would need to create a consecutive documentary.

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Appendix 4:
On several occasions, I met with David Seeney{He runs a documentary organization, FBM ​ ("Fresh
Behavior")}. ​I documented and made notes after every meeting. We went into detail about what I really
want my audiences to see, as well as which Acts would have which films. David and I finalized the idea
and decided to make it a timeline of my grandmother, Nahid’s life, instead of different themes. David
and I elaborated on what it meant to be an immigrant, as well as outlined some of the struggles they
would endure.

Therefore, some of the answers that my family members gave showed the impact of political issues for
Iranians. For example, my cousin Moji and Ali talked about the current day political issues with the
travel ban, as well as their thoughts on Islam-o-phobia, and the personal tolls these issues have taken on
them​(Mojgan and Akbar). ​This allowed me a lead-in during the interview with questions about the
importance of immigrants in this country. Considering that Nahid, my grandmother, was an immigrant,
and has helped many other immigrants move and start a better life for themselves in the United States
was telling as to how much good can come from acceptance and helping others for freedom. Although
this was not the goal of the original product, it was compelling and I made sure that it tied in naturally
within the parameters of my initial goal.

Appendix 5:
Logging is a process that is taken in the first stages of editing. I looked and re-watched all of my film
and documented all of the clips from the original film that I thought would be a good fit for my
documentary. I did this by writing down the time-frame for the duration of the clips. In parentheses, I
then put a brief description of what was included in the clip. For example:
00.02.00 - 00.03.30 (Where Nahid was born).

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Appendix 6:
This tutorial video helped me understand how to get started with Adobe Premiere Pro without meeting
with David Seeney (“​Premiere Pro Tutorial​ [HH:MM:SS]”). It taught me a lot about the key functions
that can be used for shortcuts throughout the software. One of the most useful pieces of information that
I gathered from the video was how to cut, copy, and paste clips from my film onto my Master Timeline
{For more information on Master Timeline, visit (Appendix 16)}.

Appendix 7:
I was really concerned with some aspects of my success criteria, for example the fact that I did not
already have a professional microphone, nor the camera I thought I needed (Sony A6000 Mirrorless).
Not only that, but the cost for my product that was generated in my success criteria was very expensive.
However, my dad conveniently had a professional camera which he uses to take pictures of the homes
he builds at his job sites. He promptly offered to let me use his A Nikon DX SWM Aspherical. This cut
down the costs of the documentary tremendously by roughly $550. All I had to do was buy a new
memory card, and a microphone from Microsoft. However, the microphone had audio complications and
I ended up just using the microphone installed in the Nikon Camera.

Appendix 8:
Here is an image of my immediate family members watching my documentary in a private showing
which was held on March 6.

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Appendix 9:
At the beginning of the personal project, I had asked Sophie Mannes and Kat Servi some questions
based on what resources they needed/used to make their documentaries. They are both Junior level
students at my school and had participated in the Personal Project their Sophomore year and had both
presented documentary products. Both peers shared extensive information about the “how tos” and
“what nots”. They were both valuable sources for my project.

Appendix 10:
I had created a GANTT chart in my process journal which I looked back on regularly every 2 weeks.
However, some changes had to be made to the GANTT chart in relation to certain deadlines because I
realized that my family would be coming in town for the winter break, and that I would need to
accomplish most of my interviews over the holidays.

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Appendix 11:
I used these interview notes and questions with Nahid’s husband, Fereydoun Taslimi, as a template to
brainstorm topics and possible directions for my documentary. At that point, in the summer (July of
2017), I had an idea of what I wanted my project to be about, however I did not know the details nor the
type of questions I would be asking my interviewees. Once I heard what he had to say (some basic and
generic details about my grandmother), I decided to base the documentary on her courage through
difficult times in her life, in hopes of creating perseverance for those who watched the documentary.

Appendix 12:
I generated these questions after brainstorming previous interview questions for each individual. I sent
these questions through google forms, which said at the top, “First, I want to personally thank you all for
sharing your memories and experiences of my grandmother, Nahid with me. Please let me know if there
are any additional / specific aspects of Nahid's life that you think you could help me better understand in
the comments section at the bottom of the form. All of these "questions" are just points that I would like
for you to address when we have our interview. During the interview, I would like you to keep in mind
your feelings about, "Why are immigrants/foreigners so vital and necessary for this country" and how
this applies not only to Nahid, but also to you personally. If you think there is a point that should be cut
or modified, comment underneath the question with your opinion”.
The google form was sent before the interviews so that the interviewees could prepare for the questions
during the interview.

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Appendix 13:
The notes below contain reflections on the audio mishaps that I experienced. These notes were
wonderful for me to reflect on, especially since in my first interviews I realized that unfortunately, due
to the cost associated with purchasing the quality type of microphone and human errors when buying the
materials, I bought the wrong type of microphone, which fuzzed out all of the volume on my first 2
videos filmed. Time wise, this became an issue having to re-film these family members. An additional
problem occurred when having to use the microphone on the camera to record the voices of my
interviewees. Some of the interviews are inaudible, or have low quality audio. After learning from this
mistake and identifying these obstacles and challenges, I decided to start making voice recordings
during the interviews with my iphone 7. Thankfully, I did not need to use these recordings because the
film sounded a lot better while editing.

Appendix 14:
In a meeting with David Seeney, we discussed how my documentary would be formatted into Acts: Act
1, Act 2, and Act 3. Each Act would have their own purpose. So for Act 1, I chose to show interviews
relating to Nahid’s life in Iran. Act 2 shows her transition from Iran to America, and Act 3’s purpose is
to conclude her life and show her transition into religious beliefs. The goal then was for the plot of the
documentary to be a timeline of her life.

Appendix 15:
Excerpts from Interview with Nahid's Ex-Husband Robert Loudermilk, my biological grandfather (his
pre-written response):

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Appendix 16:
After watching all of the clips, I numbered every single clip, and then made a new google doc on my
computer. I titled it Logging Editing Table. In this document, I then made categories that the videos
could fall under. For example, Religion, Personal Introductions, and Political Views. Next, I typed in
every numbered clip into this document and put them all under a category. This helped me when it came
down to organizing and color coding the clips in my Master Timeline. My master timeline is where I
kept all of the potential documentary clips, color coded based on theme. For example, all of my film that
showed her religious lifestyle was color coded in Purple. Screenshot of table below:

Appendix 17:
Screenshot of the work that I have completed with the help of David Seeney. This is my Master Time
Line. This time with David Seeney was invaluable and taught me the fundamentals of making a
documentary.

Appendix 18:
There were moments in my documentary where my family members spoke too close to the microphone,
and I had to alter their volume on the software. These are the steps to fix this problem:
1. Open audio text at top of page.

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 2. Select the Denoiser tab
3. Drag Denoiser icon onto the clip you wish to alter.
4. Click on audio icon
5. Click on Effect Controls tab at top of source monitor to the left
6. Scroll down and select Denoiser icon and increase or decrease the volume to your preference
using the gage.

Appendix 19:
Each Act held its ground as an important key milestone in Nahid’s life. Act 1 was the
establishment scene. This is where I wanted to show people the change in Iran’s culture because of the
revolution. I would have interviews here of my older relatives: Her ex husband, her brothers, and her
cousins. I would also have the stories of my relatives leaving Iran, and how difficult it as for them to get
out. In Act 2, I wanted to have my family members describe the cultural differences they experienced
between Iran and the United States. This is also where I included information regarding the divorce of
my grandmother and my grandfather. I also introduced her children and current husband in Act 2, as
well as leaving a character (Ex-husband). In Act 3, I wanted to describe what religion meant to Nahid,
introduce the viewers to how she became incredibly interested in religion, and her passion for helping
others, and eventually what the end of her life was like as a giving and charitable human being.

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Appendix 20:
Highlighted in this definition of the Global Context Identities and Relationships are the key vocabulary
words that I used in ​1A) My Goal​ as well as in ​2D) Reflect on my Extension of Knowledge:​

Students will explore identity; ​beliefs​ and ​values​; physical, mental, ​social and spiritual health​; human
relationships including ​families, friends, communities and cultures​; what it means to be human.

Appendix 21:
My success criteria are as follows:
1. It must be about my grandmother’s life, and her views on religion, politics, faith, and lifestyles.
2. It should aesthetically use modern day and middle eastern themes to appeal to younger
audiences. Meaning modern day middle eastern music, certain stylized fonts, etc.
3. My film should not be watched by kids under 10 years old, I want to include some deep and
meaningful topics that I do not feel that kids under 10 would be able to comprehend, nor feel
comfortable learning.
4. The video will range between 20-30 minutes (as a challenge - adding time - : 30-45 mins)
5. I need a Sony A6000 mirrorless camera for interviewing, synthetic lighting, adobe premiere pro,
my family members to interview, interviewing locations, pictures of Nahid, the Quran, a
translator.
6. It should cost between $700 - $800 from my own savings.
7. It will be filmed in my family’s houses, and I will also get old film that she appears in.
8. It will be accessible through youtube as a digital file.
9. It should take approximately 4 months to complete this.

Appendix 22:
I had meetings with my family members to gather photos, and read phrases written by my
grandmother in Farsi throughout her Quran. Since I have never learned the Arabic language, it was
difficult to read the Quran by myself. I worked alongside my Persian grandfather to translate her Farsi
interpretations. These are my notes from the meetings.

Appendix 23:
This research plan organized my thoughts and allowed me to see what information I needed to create a

Loudermilk 19
well executed documentary. To dissect the structure of documentaries, I watched and analyzed a
documentary on Netflix called “The 13th” (Appendix 2), a successful documentary with 96% rotten
tomatoes {see (“13th”) and (​"Review: ‘13TH,&rsquo") ​for more critic reviews}. In addition, I changed
most of my free-time television selections to documentaries. I watched “The Sixties” ("CNN's 'The"),
“Truth Lies and Conspiracies” (​"9/11: Truth")​, as well as “Making a Murderer” (“Making a Murderer”).
I also generated research questions for David Seeney.

Appendix 24:
I interviewed almost all of Nahid’s immediate family members (those who are alive/able to be
interviewed). Here is the list of people whose videos were included in my documentary *Note that all
members are cited in Bibliography as well as listed here in alphabetical order:

● Video 1: Hamid Kalantari and Janet Kalantari

● Video 2: Mammal Kalantari and Rhonda Kalantari
● Video 3: Saeed Kalantari
● Video 4: Kelly Roane Loudermilk
● Video 5: Robert Loudermilk
● Video 6: Sherwin Shahriar Loudermilk
● Video 7: Fareed Nasserazad, Farsheed Nasserazad, and Pari Nasserazad
● Video 8: Mojgan Nasserazad and Akbar Nasserazad
● Video 9: Sharzad Searcy, Jason Searcy, Ashton Searcy, and Channing Searcy
● Video 10: Fereydoun Taslimi

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