Innovative Newhouse Collaboration With Support from Canon USA, Leads to New Documentary
“A Tale of Two Cities: Reclaiming Niagara Falls and Salinas,” made by students at Newhouse and the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico, debuts Friday at the Newhouse School.
A documentary about communities in western New York and Puerto Rico united by struggles against environmental injustice debuts this week at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, the result of an innovative collaboration that includes the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico and limited financial and equipment support from Canon U.S.A.
“A Tale of Two Cities: Reclaiming Niagara Falls and Salinas” is the result of a yearlong project between students at Newhouse and Sagrado. Canon, a leader in digital imaging solutions, played an integral role in facilitating the long-distance collaboration through the company’s AMLOS (Activate My Line of Sight) solution.
Students used Canon’s EOS R5 C hybrid camera to shoot “A Tale of Two Cities.” They took advantage of Canon’s AMLOS solution, technology that facilitated real-time interaction and allowed students from each institution to work together so they could merge their perspectives and skills into a cohesive documentary project.
The film will debut Sept. 20 at the Newhouse School, followed by a question-and-answer session with the student filmmakers.
“Canon is proud to support this groundbreaking project,” Shinya Fukuda, senior vice president of corporate planning and communications at Canon U.S.A. “By providing our advanced AMLOS solution and EOS R5 C systems, we enabled students from Syracuse and Puerto Rico to collaborate seamlessly, empowering them to tell stories that can inspire change.”
Support for the project was also provided by The SOURCE, a Syracuse University initiative that supports undergraduates participating in faculty-guided research and creative activity.
The idea for a collaboration arose in 2022, when Gabriel Paizy Damiani ’90, former dean of the Ferré Rangel School of Communication at Sagrado, had a conversation with Newhouse Dean Mark J. Lodato during a visit to Syracuse University. Paizy Damiani graduated from Newhouse with a bachelor’s in advertising.
“‘A Tale of Two Cities’ is the outcome of the more than a year of hard work by talented students and dedicated faculty,” Lodato said. “It is a testament to the kind of impact that strong partnerships with industry and other universities can have on sharing compelling stories about local communities.”
The film was developed late last year by students at both institutions, with students at Syracuse focused on a community in Niagara Falls, its long struggle with environmental problems and the impact on the city’s economic woes. Students at Sagrado focused on a community in Salinas on the south side of Puerto Rico dealing with potential health risks from a nearby commercial sterilizer plant.
The film was produced between February and August this year.
“This project truly enabled our students to understand the power of collaboration,” said Milton Santiago, an assistant professor of visual communications at Newhouse, who guided the Newhouse contingent. RC Concepción, an assistant teaching professor of visual communications, helped students document the making of the project.
“Despite being geographically distant, the students at Syracuse and at Sagrado were able to rally around a common goal: telling an important story while raising awareness about a timely issue,” Santiago said. “In joining forces through storytelling, the work they have created will have impact beyond our academic walls.”
The project’s success demonstrated the power of technology to collaborate across academic disciplines, said Harold Leonard Navarro, assistant professor of audiovisual production at Sagrado. “This experience has opened the door for future projects, bringing together students and faculty from diverse backgrounds in innovative ways.”
Jennifer Wybieracki G’24, who worked on the documentary while earning her master’s degree in magazine, news and digital journalism, said the experience will leave a lasting impression on those who worked on the project.
“The collaboration between multidisciplinary fields is super important as we’re able to see how different industries operate and how we all contribute to the end product,” she said.
About Universidad del Sagrado Corazón
The Universidad del Sagrado Corazón is the oldest educational project in Puerto Rico, founded in 1880. It is located in the heart of Santurce, in the capital city of San Juan. The university offers academic programs that foster innovative thinking and creativity, helping students develop into leaders across various industries. The Ferré Rangel School of Communication is the premier institution for media and communication studies in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Its graduates hold leadership roles in media and communication organizations both domestically and internationally.
About Canon U.S.A. Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business and industrial digital imaging solutions to the United States and to Latin America and the Caribbean markets. With approximately $29.4 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. as of 2023 has ranked in the top-five overall in U.S. patents granted for 38 consecutive years. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. (CUSA) provided equipment and limited financial support to the project at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University and the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico to make it possible for the students to work together and film the documentary. The views and opinions expressed in the documentary are the views and opinions of the makers thereof and do not reflect the views and opinions of CUSA.