Approaching the end...

I feel pretty good about where I am with my project at this point. I don't think I'll have any problem finishing it by tomorrow night, and then I'm hoping to burn it to DVD on Friday. I'm happy with the way my interviews are all fitting together; not being able to interview Jeni actually forced me to focus on customers' responses more, which I think has been really interesting. My footage is not, obviously, all perfect - there are definitely some things I would have done differently or wish were a little better, which I will explain more in my final response. But overall, considering the level of experience I had when beginning this class, I'm very happy with the work I've done so far.

Postives

My interviews at Jeni's in the Short North last night were, I think, very successful. I happened to find some really knowledgeable and insightful customers that gave some really good responses. It was also pretty crowded, so I got some good shots that convey the "community hangout" sense that Jeni's seems to provide. I am still kind of disappointed that I never heard back from Jeni, but at this point I think my "research" is done and I'm ready to write the paper.

Successes and Obstacles

This weekend I have gotten some more good footage and customer interviews. I think my interview with Hannah, one of the shop managers, was really good too in addressing some of my key interests in this project. I have hit a major obstacle, however, in my interview with Jeni. We were supposed to set up a time this week to do the interview, and my correspondence with her had been very promising - she said she would be happy to do the interview and she had plenty of time. Then, for some reason, I have not been able to get in contact with her since. I called her multiple times this week, left her a voicemail, and sent her another message online. I just called Hannah today to see if she has heard anything from Jeni, because it's getting to be crunch time. For now, I'm starting to think about what I need to do for this project if I do not get to interview Jeni. Again, I think my interview with Hannah is itself pretty good, and I'm going to get more responses from customers today. It would obviously be great to have input from Jeni herself, but I'm not sure what else I can do at this point. I'm no longer banking on that interview as a sure thing, though, so I'm just planning on making my film as great as it can be without it.

In the field

I am setting up an interview with Jeni for some time this week, and I plan on finishing all other interviews and shooting by the end of the week. I'm thinking about just taking an audio recorder and asking some patrons to answer questions on that, because I'm finding that some of them are hesitant to be taped on camera. After that my plan is just to work hardcore on editing.

Interviews

I spoke to some customers in Grandview yesterday and it went pretty well. I also got some good footage of the shop there and the surrounding area. Today I am interviewing the Dublin manager, and I just heard back from Jeni and she said she would be happy to do an interview. Beyond that, I'm planning on getting a few more interviews with customers and a lot more footage to use.

Score

I have finally set up an official interview, which I am very excited about. I'm meeting with one of the store managers of Jeni's in Dublin tomorrow morning. She also offered to get in touch with Jeni for me, who I have not heard back from yet, so that is also exciting. I'm planning on going to the Grandview location this afternoon to talk to some local patrons there.

More Q's

Here are some questions I've come up with for patrons of Jeni's:

- How long have you lived in Columbus?

- How often do you come to Jeni's?/How long have you been coming to Jeni's?

- What makes you keep coming back?

- What makes Jeni's different from other places?/What does Jeni's have to offer that other places do not?

- What do you like most about Jeni's/the atmosphere here?

- What role would you say a place like Jeni's plays in the local community?

- Do you prefer locally-owned places over others?

- Do you think Jeni's offers a sense of community to its customers?

- Have you noticed any changes in Jeni's since you started coming?

- Do you usually come to one Jeni's location or multiple ones?