Hello from Haiti.

MattinSTL

MattinSTL

Sound Modulator
Hey gang... I'm missing you guys, but believe it or not this post is coming from the Mont Jolie in Cap Haitien, Haiti... we've been shooting a doc for a week now and I never considered that I could actually visit the forum from down here. It's a rainy night tonight and I'm sitting in a corner sweating my ass off looking out over the city. I have limited use of a laptop from another patron and naturally, being so addicted to DVXuser, had to visit the forum.

Since I don't have time to tell you all about it right now I'll have to give details this saturday or sunday... but I have learned a thing or two about "extreme run 'n gun" down here... it's been nuts.

I'm shooting for an organization called "Meds and Food for Kids" for Doctor Patricia Wolff... today we shot in Tovar, which is a clinic where people flood to when they hear that the doctors are coming to town... but we've been shooting all over the Cap H area. To put it simply I have seen some sh*t. This morning some kid was born with 6 fingers on each hand and the parents had tied off the extra fingers... amazingly enough on one hand it worked and the extra finger eventually got "worked off"... but today we cut off the one that was simply getting infected. Cool stuff huh?

Technical? Flexfill... G2.... on-cam shotgun or hyper... furry on shotgun or hyper... PhotoFlex FILL is the KEY... no on-cam lighting... hey you guy! yes YOU... the one coming to Haiti... get a 42" Photoflex ASAFP! It's the only way to balance the dark skin tones and to get light in a dirt hut.

Also hand sanitizer! Don't skimp... get a big bottle. Also Nalgene water bottles and the MSR sanitation kit... and don't start giving things out to any GROUPS of kids... you'll just get the smallest kids beaten up. Man this post can go on for MILES... nuts... just nuts.

I've been using the oktava ORTF down here too... some great recordings, pics, vid by this weekend... I mean GREAT stuff. Thanks for being there guys... this really felt great tonight.... I wish you could see through my eyes for just one day... you just wouldn't believe it.

Best... Matt.
 
Sounds like quite an adventure, hope you have a great trip. :beer:

MattinSTL said:
It's a rainy night tonight and I'm sitting in a corner sweating my ass off looking out over the city.
Click to expand...
I get some very cool imagery from that description.
 
Be careful, man. Sounds like a great project. Looking forward to more details and some footage.
 
Thanks guys... I'm touched... no really... you'll have to forgive me for being an emotional wreck for a week or two as I adjust to "re-entry"... I fly out of Cap tomorrow morning... this is my last sweaty, mosquito filled night (that reminds me I need to take my Malarone... malaria pills)... all I hear is french/kreyole with the occasional "blanc" which makes me look up and smile because I know they are talking about ME everytime I hear "blanc"... "blanc sheesh" (spelling wrong) means "cheap white"... I gave away all my money early on... the other thing I've heard non-stop is "oon dollar"... even in the jungle when I can't see any thing through the foliage I can hear children saying "oon dollar" or calling out, "BLANC"... it's been nuts for sure.

Today I shot some video inside a stick house that measures about 7 x 7 x 5.5 tall... 4 people living in it... wow... everybody should take this trip... it's a real eye opener about what a REAL problem is... I don't know how I'm going to readjust when I get back... one of my friends will ***** about the car wash they got and I'll have to beat the snot out of them... it may take me a few weeks to get back to normal... by the way the car wash here is a guy carrying a 2 gallon bucket from a well a quarter mile away and he just washes the truck... takes about 5 trips and 40 minutes... and when he's done he wants $3... sure the truck isn't that clean because there isn't clean water... but the point is people here WANT to work... there's just no jobs to be had. It is f*cked up. I'm gonna' be f 'ed up for a couple weeks for sure... after you give out all your granola bars and spend several days being followed around by SUPER-POLITE children... all so happy to see something, anything that MIGHT be hope... they're always happy in almost all the pictures you will see from me... and they have NOTHING... no you don't understand... N O T H I N G... There was a little mute boy that really hooked onto me... like 7 years old... and you could tell he was super intelligent, but couldn't speak... I'll show pics in a couple days (fly out in the morning)...

The citadel is called the 8th wonder of the world by people down here... and man I don't doubt it... no pics or video can sum that up... there is no safety of any kind... you can just walk off a 300' castle wall to your death if you are so inclined... or careless. This 'aint the USA... that's for sure...

so much to tell... so much to show... all mind blowing... I could really write a book... it looks like we shot about 65 tapes. I don't even know where to start... but it's been a freak-assed adventure the likes of which you wouldn't believe. At several times in this trip I've been as scared as I've ever been in my life... and add all the other emotions of life... all at the extremes... the emotional rollercoaster has been so exhausting that I'll be glad to be back in the USA and embrace the things I used to call problems.

Everyone says it will be about 2 weeks and I'll be trying to figure out how to come back... for as bad as I'm ready to go home I already get that.

Imagine some of the most beautiful women you have ever seen walking in french fashions home to their dirt floored home which is the size of your kitchen... all clothes are always clean and fresh even though it's a total dust bowl... personal appearance is a thing of dignity even amoung the hungry... Cap is a port city and they get clothes castoffs from around the world... so it's a bizarro-world of beautiful people who have nothing but the few articles of clothes that they maticulously take care of because it's ALL they have...

Really you just can't even wrap your mind around it... really you can't. Oh yeah and they all speak a combination of frech and kreyole which basically just sounds like french... man, I don't even know how to tell you guys about all this... sorry for the disjointed story... I have to hand this laptop back over so I'll hopefully figure out how to sort everything in my mind by my next post on Saturday or Sunday. That and the mosquitos are having a buffet of me as I sit here typing...
 
Matt-

Great to hear from you buddy. I can't wait to hear more of this story and see some of your pics. By the sounds of it, EVERYONE should take a job like this...

Rick
 
Everyone who has an iota of sense and a video camera should go on a trip like this out of the country and our comfort zone. My father in law goes on trips like this all the time. The last one being Cambodia. I want to go with him on one of his journeys with my gear so I can make a Doc. on what's going on.

He has opened my eyes to the plight of people outside our borders.
Cambodia
South Korea
Russia
Mexico
Brazil
Latvia
To name a few countries he has been too
JD

(Im going as soon as possible.)
 
I wish every American could visit a 3rd world country. This country would be a lot different. And a lot better off, too.
 
Sumfun said:
I wish every American could visit a 3rd world country. This country would be a lot different. And a lot better off, too.
Click to expand...

You just said a mouthful my friend...

I'm back... here's some pics.

bluehills3.jpg


Just ready to leave the Blue Hills community... the kids loved the gear... they liked to see themselves in the pics and video LCD... like most of the pics which include me, I held the cam out with one arm and tried to judge the frame... for the most part I did pretty damn good. Everyone was too busy to think about personal photos, so I took it into my own hands so I could remember all this. The little boy closest to me smiled into the camera and then moved his head around like he was analyzing his teeth... then he wouldn't smile again, but he (and another boy) followed me much of this day... he liked to see the images of himself, but he was very conscious to present a "collected" face after he analyzed his own appearance.

chassi1.jpg


Even though there is trash and waste in Cap Haitien (as there is almost everywhere)... nothing is truly wasted. The metal body of this car will be stripped away and the sheet metal will be used to make art. There are vehicles everywhere... finally broken by the insane roads, then abandoned by their owners, then stipped of sheet metal by craftsmen. Some of the art is incredible... knowing that this is where it came from makes it even more so. I couldn't get you a voodoo flag Jeremy (or me either) so you get a piece of a car turned into art.

chassi2.jpg
 
The thing which is really crazy about the situation in Haiti is the mix of devastating poverty combined with incredible beauty. The countryside is breathtaking... I took about 290 pics, so it's hard to decide what to post...

The Citadel is said to be the 8th wonder of the world... and I believe it... we tried our best to see some of Haiti's beauty or history anytime it was close to a shoot location... I was very thankful that the producers of this project were aware of this.

citadel2.jpg


This is me near the top of the Citadel... with one of my "woody" stabilizers... this type of stabilizer was crucial in getting a smooth look to the footage. I'm sure a FigRig would work just as well, but I will stress that a high-tech appearance to gear is a good way to get hurt in some areas... I used black gaffer tape all over my gear to make it look like trash and to conceal shiny name badges, etc.

citadel1.jpg


Safety railing? This 'aint the USA... feel free to step right off a 200' high wall and down a 3000' high mountain if that's your thing. I was fighting vertigo the entire time up here.

citadel3.jpg
 
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