Conversations....

Well, that's the working title anywhoo, it's actually supposed to be the subtitle.  Here's a 22 minute video I've been working on for quite a while.  We're hoping, and there's certainly interest in making it into a full length feature film.  We certainly have the footage and while this type of storytelling works for a short, we'll need a much larger and stronger storyline for the feature.



One of the most interesting parts about this whole process is the decision on whether or not to use b-roll.  We were trying to capture footage along the way of these docs in action, but we kept being hamstrung by HIPAA rules and the possibility that we might shoot something we wouldn't use.  One of the comments was "well, I can get you in there, but I'm going to have to call in favors you might need to get you in somewhere else"  Most of the docs were great at what they did and very passionate, but, this being the midwest, pretty modest and not wanting to be on camera.   I decided to shoot the interviews and get the storyline I wanted and then go back and shoot footage of the doctors that would fit that.  I had some issues with this method, but the footage we were getting just wasn't enough.  And then an interesting thing happened. Sue suggested that the footage was strong enough to stand on it's own. Just have the interviews and that's it.  I was shocked  she suggested it because that's not the way we generally do things, but she was absolutely correct.

This was also the best working relationship I've had with our editor, Jeanne.  Ben and I shot most of the footage, Claudia shot a bit, I came up with the storyline in tried and true notecard fashion:

and then Jeanne put it all together with Katrina's help on graphics.  We worked together in terms of pulling out the footage the fit a particular segment (death and dying for example) but then she took it and wrapped it around and cut it up and made it flow.  It's really how I feel working with an editor should be.  I've always thought our workflow here could be improved and now I know that's the case.

It's also possible that this was a specific case due to a specific show because this isn't really like the regular videos we produce. I don't know, but I think one of the reasons this process worked better than some of the other shows I've produced is because each of us were allowed to bring our strengths to the table.

So overall, a good experience and I'm happy with this  22 minute product. I'm also really hoping that we're able to do the feature. First I need to come up with the greater storyline.....

thinking.....thinking.....