Check out Karen Song's work in progress and read about her experience as a first-time filmmaker:

Hi, my name is Karen Song and I am an aspiring documentary filmmaker just beginning to learn the ropes after graduating from Stanford with a B.A. in Human Biology. Stanford film lab has been generous in helping me pursue my ambitions, as well as members of Stanford Alumni in Entertainment who have connected me and given me beginner’s advice for breaking into the industry. I am currently living in Los Angeles, simultaneously working for a research lab in UCLA and interning in post-production with a media company.

Feeling a bit like a fish out of water after graduation, I stayed in the Bay area over the summer in order to remain close to friends and Stanford resources. I spent three months working in a psychology lab and learning more about film and the entertainment industry. At the suggestion of a professor with whom I had taken a documentary film class earlier in the year, I began shooting footage for a documentary investigating spirituality and science on campus during the first two weeks of August. For the remainder of that month, I took a road trip to the Grand Canyon, where I examined international attitudes towards the U.S. and the role of parks in shaping our national identity. Both projects have been incredible, life-changing, and exciting experiences—an invaluable finale to my Stanford career for which I owe much to the Stanford film lab for making possible.

The clips posted on this blog are from my roadtrip to the Grand Canyon. Please feel free to leave any comments and e-mail me any questions you may have about my experience or what you see here!


"Homeland Security" (karen song's clip #1)

This clip was taken while I was being given a tour of the premises. We had just passed some sacred burial sites, a sweating enclave, and some brush, all the way up to the site of the well where they got their water. It was during this hike that we touched upon some issues that Native Americans struggle with in our country—such as coming to grips with our national identity, ownership of land and property, and exploitation of resources.




"Recycle Road" (karen song's clip #2)

This clip is taken from my visit to a Navajo reservation. Chris, the young man you see helping the woman place rocks onto the road, lived with the Navajo family over the weekends in a Hogan. I met him in a youth hostel where he worked and stayed during the weeknights while he pursued his studies in Flagstaff. He had published several papers investigating the mystical “flying serpent”—a sort of Navajo equivalent of Big Foot that most westerners dismiss as myth despite multiple sightings. He was generous enough to invite me to the reservation one weekend, where I was immediately awestruck by their methods of sustainable living. The family lives with no electricity or running water. Instead, they have solar panels installed on the roof of their house, and a lengthy hose running water from a well near the top of an adjacent hill down to their place at the base. I was surprised by how cool their Hogan was, considering it was located in the middle of the desert and there was no fan or air-conditioning in the house. I soon learned that they had modeled their house after ant holes they had seen with white pebbles placed over the raised hills, minimizing the surface area of the roof and painting it white in order to reflect sunlight. They raise their own livestock, building pens near cliff overhangs that similarly deflect the hot sun. In this sequence here, we examine how the Navajo minimize erosion and maintain their roads. Chris and I are helping the Navajo woman place rocks and other debris from the pen in the roads to absorb the rain. The Navajo place high value upon respecting and conserving natural resources—taking every opportunity to reuse, recycle, and minimize waste and energy use.



"Karen in traditional dress" (karen song's clip #3)

This clip was taken from a Navajo establishment located near the Cameron trading post. I spent two nights interviewing a man who was highly active and well-known in his community in terms of raising cultural awareness and establishing mentoring programs specifically directed towards transitioning Native American youth into universities in the area. Prior to the establishment of these programs, Native Americans were more likely to drop out of college due to difficulties assimilating into our evaluation and grading systems. Apparently the communal nature of their culture, which places more emphasis upon establishing harmony and cooperation than individual performance, puts them at a disadvantage in many university settings. During one of these nights, we discussed the ceremonial dances and rituals. It was during this discourse that he kindly brought out his daughter’s buckskin dress and jewelry for me to wear and taught me a little about their dance. What you see here is an explanation of the various things I’m wearing.