By Nicolina Karaolia
Somewhere in the middle of our week, after preparing for identifying fallacies in media and after getting our minority rights training through case studies, it was time for our small teams to get together and do some production. The whole group had been already split in three production teams, with three different facilitators who supervised and supported the process. Each of these three teams had its own working mode and produced different kinds of media, from videos to pretzi presentations, web articles and radio pieces, all focusing on minority issues.
The Orange Magazine Team First Editorial Meeting
We had two days to produce our media, and in all honesty, they were among the most challenging and at the same time interesting days of the week. Topics had already been decided and preparations and discussions had already begun during the week; we would have meetings with the editors whenever we could find time. Most of the teams devoted their research to the Roma and Jewish minorities, approaching them from different angles and through diverse types of media.
Each team worked independently and during the day there was no one around for lunch or coffee break. Everyone was getting a packed lunch and rushing to the city to do interviews, catch images and film the realities of the minorities involved. In small teams we were parading around Budapest to visit organizations and find individuals and record their voices.
In the evening we gathered back to the center. We quickly ate our supper before meeting with our teams to process the material and form our stories. The fourth floor of the EYCB was full with participants and their laptops until passed midnight. Not without cigarette breaks, joking around, some music to break the working routine and lots of laughter. We all wanted to do good work but we also wanted to get to know each other, learn from our teammates and have fun and enjoy the process. There are rumors that there was some jagermeister and redbull going around, just to boost the working spirit!
Second day of production was relatively more stressful. Participants were even more focused to meet the deadline and you could feel the collective concentration levels rising in the air. After another long (but mostly fun) night on the fourth floor all teams were done and ready for Saturday’s presentation, which went exceptionally well considering the little time we had for production.
At the end, goals were achieved, we managed to work well with our teams, learn from each other and produce decent media pieces which gave minority issues exposure. After the presentations, the feelings of relief and satisfaction were obvious and it was time for the peak of the week: the farewell party.
