My name is Meagan Arnold and I am a
double major in Film and Video Studies and History at Mason. Since August I
have worked with Helen Frederick and Nikki Brugnoli-Whipkey, within the School
of Art, on the Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here (AMSSH) project. AMSSH is a book
arts and cultural festival taking place throughout the DC area that
commemorates the 2007 bombing of the historic bookselling street in Baghdad.
Exhibits and events held through January to March shed light on the effects of
the bombing.
My primary job is to record the events
and edit them into videos for the web, though the team of interns and I are
encouraged to actively participate in the project as well. Since being on this
project, I have done everything from being a docent for an exhibition to studio
print-making. These were all new experiences for me! Most times when I do event
videography I am not emotionally invested; I film, edit, export, then I’m done.
With AMSSH, I am asked to bring my own energy into the project beyond what my
camera can record. This learning curve has helped me develop in my
professionalism immensely. Aside from film, last month I wrote and helped edit
a magazine that will be published mid-March about the project. Design and film
are closely correlated, so I feel the experience expanded my understanding of
both digital and print publishing.
I aspire to be a documentary filmmaker so
this project has directly correlated with my career goals. It has helped me
find a balance between filming and being actively engaged at an event, which is
important in the field I want to go into. In the future I would love to be on
another project like AMSSH.
You can view some of the artists’ books
on campus! For more information on the project, visit: www.amsshdc2016.org.
