andiamoproduction.com blog

Working in high definition has its advantages and disadvantages. The richness of the video is attractive and the detail in a great shot is satisfying. That’s the good part of high definition. If you have video that’s unattractive and the detail is a little too much, then your video stinks. And working with high definition takes up a lot of hard drive space. Three terabytes have been added to the machine I’m working on recently. And just to put things in perspective, I offer you the following.

What’s next? The petabyte. And I don’t want to go there because backing up that much data would be a nightmare and searching for data would be even worse. But it’s coming. I know it’s coming. In the meantime, organizing the triabetes documentary and creating files, sequences, subsequences, subfiles, and subclips has been a REAL challenge.

Camera people with a lot of years and like many people in the media business, especially the ones who have been around the world , are fairly cynical. They’ve seen a lot and they’ve heard a lot. It’s the “been there, done that” mentality. However, I was surprised at how quickly the camera people and their assistants became involved with the triabetes athletes the day of the race. While reviewing the footage before editing, I could hear one cameraman as he looked through the viewfinder of his camera say as he composed a wide shot of the beginning of the swim, “This is so f***** cool!” In all honesty, that never happens.

Another camera person who had done some marathons would give encouragement as the athletes passed. “You look good.” Or if they were struggling, he’d say, “Stay strong.” Cameramen usually don’t get too involved with the action, and I don’t know if it really made a difference to the athletes, but it seemed to make a difference for the camera man. He contacted me a couple days after the race to see if all the athletes were doing okay. Again, in all honesty, that never happens.

Thankfully, the conditions were perfect: no rain, mid-70s, nice day. Nonetheless, it was grueling, demanding, and exhausting day for the crew. From start to finish, it was 19 hours with a camera running and gunning. As I watched the race finishes with the athletes and the camera crews, the announcer blared over the loudspeaker the name of the athlete and where they are from ending with the phrase “You ARE an Ironman.” For example “Anne Findlay, from San Francisco, you ARE an Ironman.” (Ironman is not gender specific.) It was an incredible moment for anyone standing near the finish line. The camera crews captured every moment until the last athlete crosses the finish line.

For that day, there is virtually no difference between the camera people and the athletes. The emotion and concentration take the same path. The camera crews had to remain focused while running with the athletes, carrying a camera and keeping it in focus, with a correct iris, and maintaining good composition. If you shoot any kind of sports, you know what it’s like. This is tough stuff.
So to Ray, Carl, Dave, Tim, Shawn, Josh, Aaron, I say, “You ARE an Ironman.” Thanks for the great footage and understanding the story.

I want to personally thank LifeScan, makers of OneTouch, for giving to a very worthy cause. Finding funding to produce a well-intentioned documentary is almost impossible these days. When I first heard of this project as Michelle Alswager was pulling together resources, I knew my husband and I were meant to do this. However, after working in public television for many years, and watching wonderful programs abandoned due to lack of funding, I was afraid that would happen with Triabetes. I was committed to this subject, no matter what, but there was always a question (for me) whether it would happen.

I have attended many conferences where documentary producers talk about the process of trying to find funding. Some ideas are silly like creating a salsa dress line for department stores for a salsa documentary. Some are smart like conducting an online contest with an entry fee to name a documentary. Some were interesting like pre-selling the documentary program and giving credit to the buyers as contributors. It’s always an ongoing process.

Most documentary producers have a love of the subject with very little interest in how the money is raised. Many work without funding because finding funds is competitive, and grants have virtually disappeared. In contrast, support for marketing a documentary online has exceeded expectations. There are so many avenues to explore. It’s interesting that it has become so diversified. But I digress.

Thank you, Charles Renfro from LifeScan. Thank you for giving this project a chance to tell some wonderful stories. We’re happy you came along for the ride so lives will change (and many have) and give people with Type 1 diabetes a chance at a decent life. I am doing this for my daughter who was diagnosed four years ago when she was five years old. She is a natural athlete and I want her to grow up with no boundaries. So thank you for showing her and the hundreds of children what this idea can do. There is still great power in an idea. Again, thanks. We wouldn’t be anywhere without you.

Moments. That’s what I look for as the first roll of video runs past my eyes. It’s the realities of life caught .. . in a moment. Perhaps it’s a wink at the camera, or an off-hand remark, or a tearful hug and smile captured in time. And I know it when I see it.

It must reflect life
It must feel universal
It must have emotion

There are hours of footage to review from the Triabetes athletes who participated in the Ironman Wisconsin race and I comb through footage twice. These moments may become part of a montage or sprinkled throughout the program for a visual release, or slowed down for maximum impact. And I am anticipating many moments.

They will portray the essence of the story and the anchor of the theme. Cynicism aside, I want moments.

And it’s because that’s what life boils down to when you reflect and remember .. . it’s always the moments.

There is a long journey ahead as I pull this program together. It will define me and it will shape me in ways that I cannot explain because everything is defined in . . .. moments.
Stay with me as I find the moments that define this experience.