I made some good progress this week on my Race Across America documentary. It's really coming together, and know what? It's not half bad!
My breakthrough this week was realizing that I don't have to stick to the chronology so dogmatically. Near the end of the race, for example, there were a couple of days near during which the team was obsessed by the Brazilian team. In the middle of this competitive push, the our crew chief had to leave the race because he couldn't get the time off for the full race from his boss. I struggled with this in previous drafts - do I interrupt the whole Brazilian thing with Paul's exit, or do I pull that out, breaking the chronology but telling the story better? Seems like an easy choice when I put it that way, but it took me a little while to realize the obvious.
All of this is allowing me to keep the movie interesting while sticking to my The War Room inspired verite style I chose when I started this whole thing. There's not a single interview or talking head in the War Room. Being a documentary still photographer, I thought this would be a natural style for me to slide into. Having done it, I've got to say, "Damn, it's hard!" Watching War Room again, I see the subtlety of their work - it feels like you're a fly on the wall, watching events transpire in real time as Bill Clinton ran for office, but the filmmakers carefully rearranged events slightly. Events are grouped to follow storylines, so that those stories play out without much distraction.
So while I'm rearranging things, here's a little something to keep you busy. It's the first 15 minutes of the movie - pretty much everything leading up to the start of the race. I haven't shown this section in its entirety to anyone yet, so I'd love any feedback you have.
First off, is it interesting? If not, where do you tune out?
Second, is anything confusing or disorienting? Do you feel you know what's going on in this and what this movie is about?
Anything else stand out in your mind? (good or bad)
Don't worry about the sound editing or color balance & such. I'll do that once I've got the slicing & dicing done.
And for those, just joining us, here's the whole saga of me making this movie.
Related posts:
May 26th, 2008
by Jo Anne
Catching up – This 15 min segment was great. The only little lag I noted (after a great transition where Matt says “I love my mother-in-law”) and then a bit long lead in to Alice who looks a little lost before she speaks. I don’t think it is disconnected. There are some nice transitions (as above noted) and then the preparation meetings, addition of volunteers, etc. Of course I saw the whole thing later, but I liked this exerpt.
May 26th, 2008
by Rob McKaughan
Thanks! This clip is way old now. Since then, I’ve completed an entire rough cut, screened it with friends twice, and am plunging through a second re-edit. (Which will likely be the final as I want this project done).