Sick Cells Production Journal: Trying Not To Poke Any Eyes Out Down in Champaign, IL
I’m taping down at the U of I in Champaign-Urbana, IL this weekend for our next doc, SICK CELLS where Marqus’ sister graduated this weekend. (more info on Sick Cells here)
This is the first time I’ve gotten the chance to tape Marqus’ family all together in one place at one time which helps a lot in showing how their family interacts. Also, Fran and Angelo, Marqus’ folks, are great cooks, so this has been a great weekend. I’ve also never actually seen Fran and Angelo relax in any capacity in the year and a half that I have been following their family and the progress of Marqus’ Sickle Cell Disease, but this weekend, I saw them collapsed and relaxed on their daughter’s sofa after attending her graduation and cooking all day. Even in their state of exhaustion, they were grinning and undeniably happy.
I’m operating the production this weekend as a one-woman show (Funds are low or rather non-existent, so I can’t afford my normal crew, Camera Man, Kirk, and Sound Operator, Jim) and I’ve managed to knock about 5 different people in the eye with the shotgun mic attached to the top of my Panasonic DVX. Yes, we’re taping the entire doc on this camera in SD. We started before I was able to afford an HD camera. An amazing and wonderful Canon 7D HDSLR camera I might add. Which I am personally in love with. But I still think that the Panasonic DVX 100b we’re shooting the doc on is an amazing camera and am only sorry that I don’t own the Panasonic HVX. Maybe someday. Really, a great camera.
Note to others who are thinking of shooting docs really low-budget and as a one-person show, the shotgun mic attached the camera functions pretty well (I will really find out once I review the footage when I get home.) and it’s actually doable to shoot your cinema verite footage as a one person crew and still function enough as a director and producer to get the footage you need and your questions answers in terms of story development. In fact, after this weekend, I think that every doc director/producer should do some one-person shoots because you get an entirely different perspective of what is actually getting recorded in the camera and you can have more choice about what you want to focus on when shooting. I personally know in my mind what kinds of footage I need for the story and if I’m doing camera, it’s much easier to get that then try to convey the what, why, and where to a camera person. So after this weekend, I think I’ll take over the cinema verite taped segments myself and just hire my crew when I do sit down interviews for the doc. There’s a lot more producer/director responsibilities, I feel on sit-down shoots with the scheduling, talent release forms, questions, and then the sit down interview. It’s too much to do all of that AND camera.
One more thing I noticed in doing this as a one-person show this weekend is that when I don’t make it seem like a production with a sound guy and camera guy, the Valentine’s seem more comfortable and seem to open up more. And I think having a crew would have really interfered with Marqus’ sister’s graduation and party afterwards. It was definitely the best way to tape this weekend and it was kind of forced on me due to lack of funding.
One last thing I wanted to comment on was how much the U of I campus town has changed since I graduated from here 9 years ago. They have a Starbucks now! On Green Street! And an Urban Outfitters! Not that I was schlepping it when I was in college, but these chain stores definitely were not part of the campus landscape when I was attending. I find it disheartening, because Champaign-Urbana has so much character and a different identity than you find in the Chicagoland suburbs, that led to new and intriguing experiences, but now, if the College continues to bring in those kinds of stores and corporations, then how much of a unique experience will college still be? I mean I like Starbucks and Urban Outfitters as much as the next person, but there are fantastic independent and local coffeeshops and clothing stores, thrift stores, and food co-ops in town that provide the same things that the chain stores do, but offer a more sustainable and interesting experience. I really don’t even want to know how Starbucks is affecting Espresso Royale’s (the fantastic European style coffeeshop in town that I actually worked at while attending college) business, especially since I drove by the Green St. Starbucks overflowing with students and parents there for this year’s graduation. Heartbreaking.
If you are in Champaign-Urbana at all in the future for school, to visit your kids attending school there or for your friends or just for a visit, please consider visiting these local stores and shops in town:
- Common Grounds Food Co-op (awesome grocery foods and fresh food daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner)
- Strawberry Fields (Local grocery store that sells organic and freshly made items)
- Cafe Paradiso (awesome local indie coffeeshop with free wi-fi–I’m sitting in it right now while typing this up)
- Espresso Royale (Great European style coffeeshop where I worked while in college)
- Dandelion (really neat 2nd hand thrift store)
Many thanks to the Valentine’s for letting me tape their daughter’s graduation, as well as Ashley for letting me be present and tape her graduation, and to my cousin, Amanda, for putting me up for the night.
