Adventures in filming

Kecia and I braved the halls of Burris on Friday when we filmed the photo shoot for fall sports teams. Before that began, we actually wandered the halls for a little while with the camera. That was an interesting experience. Put a camera on a bunch of 10-14 yr. olds, and they will have one of two reactions: Frantically wave their arms and stick their faces in front of the camera, or cower in a corner, hoping the camera won't catch them. And theorize this - it was mostly boys who hammed it up, and girls who hid. Whoever is logging this footage should be alternately entertained and annoyed as shots are spoiled. Or, we might find that people's behavior in front of the camera tells a story worth pursing in itself. This is, after all, why we filmed the photo shoot.

It's hard to say how much of the footage we'll actually use for our documentary, but we captured the team lining up and looking serious for the team photo, then figuring out how best to pose for individual shots. It's fascinating to film people being filmed - you notice all of the things that people do to make themselves look their best (or however they want to come across). We're dealing with that same issue in our documentary - trying for authenticity, when the very act of filming can change people. But at the same time, the story about how people want to be perceived says something interesting about them as well. I imagine much of filming and editing will be about trying to capture, well, "the true meaning of pictures." And much of the struggle will be to figure out what that is.