Mike Shum's Documentary Journal

So where's part 3 of episode 2?

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 08:31:58 -0600

I have excuses but no good reason for why my vlog DocJournal took a holiday So I just wanted to throw it out there and say, I am resuming production here very soon/the coming weeks. So stay tuned for more updates on this vide blog project I call Documentary Journal.

Now posting the most recent episode of my Documentary Journal:...

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 03:36:08 -0700

Now posting the most recent episode of my Documentary Journal: “That photo…Isn’t that bad.”

After the 2008 DNC, Jackson and I decided to drive about 1,000 miles from Denver, CO to Shreveport, LA. We stopped there to find southern Louisianans in Red Cross shelters waiting for Hurricane Gustav to destroy their homes.

Photography by Jackson Solway

Music by Devin James Fry’s band Salesman (salesmanmusic.com)

In light of the 2012 election, I thought it best to resurrect...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:44:22 -0700

In light of the 2012 election, I thought it best to resurrect some footage I collected while I was volunteering as a radio editor for the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. What started out as a small volunteer job turned out to be a journalistic adventure shared by Jackson Solway, then freelance photographer and now founder of Once Magazine (oncemagazine.com), an interactive IPad app found at the Apple App Store.

Photography by Jackson Solway
Music by Devin James Fry and the band Salesman (salesmanmusic.com)

Ok so I have some explaining to do:1. I am posting the last...

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 10:38:00 -0700

Ok so I have some explaining to do:

1. I am posting the last video of “It Takes a Real Women to Fix a Country”, which I was planning on posting a week & 1/2 ago but didn’t….my bad.

2. Part of the reason I’ve been busy is, of course, the holidays and I’ve been preparing for a trip/job that came out of the blue. A week from today (Jan. 7th) I’ll be flying to Chad to film and document issues regarding the Darfuri refugee camps.

3. and Happy New Year as this series is a great start to 2012. I’m glad to have such good friends and a growing audience!!

This is the last episode of the 3 journal entries titled “It Takes Real Women to Fix a Country”. It concludes my experiences on working with the upcoming women’s health education organization Healthy Women Healthy Liberia headed by Dr. Chris Hena and Marcella Ruch.

Film by Mike Shum
Music by Devin James Fry and the band Salesman (SalesmanMusic.com)

This is part 2 of episode 1, It Takes Real Women to Fix a...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:30:19 -0700

This is part 2 of episode 1, It Takes Real Women to Fix a Country. Enjoy my Documentary Journal Series!

This is the first episode of my web series Mike Shum’s...

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:18:59 -0700

This is the first episode of my web series Mike Shum’s Documentary Journal. Let me know what you think. The next part will be released tomorrow at 12 pm MTN USA 12/16/11. Thanks for watching.

I am introducing the introductory episode film of my web...

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:12:00 -0700

I am introducing the introductory episode film of my web documentary series, Mike Shum’s Documentary Journal. It’s a series that recounts 5 years of an array of stories across the globe. It’s a way for me to reflect on these experiences and what I’ve learned. Episode 1 Part 1 features tomorrow, Dec. 15th at 12 pm MTN.

Michael Meyer and Sebastian Junger on Tim Hetherington

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 17:16:23 -0600

Michael Meyer and Sebastian Junger on Tim Hetherington:

One of my friends from college interviewed one of the two directors of the Academy Award nominated film Restrepo, Sebastian Junger. The interview focused on the recent death of world-renowned war photographer/filmmaker Tim Hetherington. I am incredibly proud of my friend for this piece as it had great impact on my perspective in my pursuits in more video/photojournalism.

IPhone Photo Post 1 When my camera runs out of battery or the...

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:48:00 -0600

at the gas station

on the road to Cote D'Ivoire

refilling gas tank

gas tank

IPhone Photo Post 1

When my camera runs out of battery or the off chance I don’t have it on me, I pull out my IPhone. Sometimes I get some interesting things, like how Liberians fill and refill gas.

These are the first four photos of the IPhone Collection.

"I don’t think journalism should be objective, I think it should be subjective, as long as..."

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:09:00 -0600

““I don’t think journalism should be objective, I think it should be subjective, as long as you’re honest about subjectivities. I think that’s much more honest than people trying to pretend to be truly objective.””

- Greg Marinovich, co-author of The Bang Bang Club, said this as he was talking with Terry Gross on NPR about his time as a war photographer. She didn’t really address the quote but I remember listening to this and feeling compelled to reflect on how I see journalism.

I look at the way I take a photo or produce a video and frankly so much of my subjectivity goes into the way I tell a story. I do my best to not be political or opinionated but I admit in every frame and pixel of my pieces I like to think there is a bit of honest subjectivity, a bit of me essentially.