A couple of years ago, I stood on a hill in Cincinnati, Ohio looking over the Ohio River and I realized that I could tell an interesting story about the the Ohio.
After that day I began my Quixotic mission to tell that story as a documentary film. That film, as I write this post, is still a long way away from beginning production. However, I have tried to devote all the time and energy I could to crafting the foundation of the documentary. I began researching the history of the Ohio. I studied the river's geography. I began scratching out potential storylines and points of interest. Most importantly I began thinking about my vision for the movie's form and content.
I realized that my vision for a documentary film would incorporate aspects of the new information technology available to filmmakers and audiences alike. While a documentary film should still exist as a stand-alone artifact that presents a complete and coherent argument, there is no reason a non-fiction film must exist in a vacuum. The audience should have the ability to interact with the movie in a number of ways. They should have the chance to inspect and assess the film's sources of evidence. If the audience wants to know more about the production behind a given scene, they should have access to records about the filmmaking process. In an era where "transparency is the new objectivity", the best argument a documentarian can make for their film's credibility would be to share as much as they can about how they conceived, researched and created the movie. In short I believe the term "documentary" should include a collection of evidence beyond the film itself.
To serve that mission, I have launched this blog. It will serve as a venue for my thoughts and feelings as I attempt to turn my dream of a documentary into an actual movie. I may use this space to detail my research efforts. You may see posts where I elaborate my thought process as I try to build a pile of facts into a compelling narrative. When I actually start shooting, I will likely relate stories about the practical issues involved in film production. This blog will be a lasting resource for those interested in both content about the Ohio River, and the medium of movies.
That is the mission of this blog. We'll see if I can live up to it.
