Lights, Camera, Action... The Fun Begins

We all knew that this day would arrive, but certainly didn''''t think it would arrive so soon. Our Pre-Festival activities started today with the beginning of the Documentary Filmmaking Workshop, being taught by Mel Halbach and Clayton Farr. The Workshop is an educational program hosted by the SouthSide Film Institute, in an effort to educate, inform, and nurture the Independent Filmmaker.

Much to the surprise of all involved, we have enrolled an all-woman class of seven. Each arrived nervous, but enthusiastic and eager to learn. The students were immediately put in front of and behind the camera, as the process began. The class started with on-camera interviews condiucted by their fellow students, and slowly progressed into classroom instruction regarding the art of the interview and "Camera 101".

Soon the students were offered a shopping list of Documentary subjects, and each chose their "favorite". The subjects range from an exploration of candy making at Tallarico''s Chocolates to what makes our community radio station, WDIY 88.1 FM a success, and also included opportunities to learn more about beer making at Bethlehem BrewWorks and a study of Cleo''s, a local family-owned Silversmith/Gift Shop with a deep Lehigh Valley history.

Subjects were chosen and the students, teamed in twos, were set loose on their subjects with their newly learned miniDV cameras. Mel, Clayton, and I then followed the teams to the various Bethlehem locations to assist, but we remained at a distance to allow the students to learn as they tried their newly gained techniques, alittle "trial by fire". All the teams performed beyond our expectations, especially as some had little previous experience with a film camera, interviewing, or the art of the Documentary.

After sometime all students were to return to our wonderful "home" for the workshop at Lehigh University''s Wilbur Lab, where they will be using speedy Mac computers, while editing in Final Cut Express, giving them a basic knowledge of filmmaking, interviewing, and editing. The day''s interviews were reviewed and discussed in a classroom environment, with Mel and Clayton offering advise and suggestions for honing the students'' camera skills and interview processes.

After dinner the class continued by studying Mr Halbach''s previous works, offering examples to help guide the students in their craft. It was a long first day for these new documentarians, but a VERY productive one, filled with excitement, discovery, and surely a good amount of gained knowledge and ability.

I look forward to the remainder of this week, and of course am excited that in 3 days our SouthSide Film Festival will begin its'' screenings and other activities. These students truly showed their wonderful potential in only one day, and I can only imagine how spectacular these final projects will be. Mel and Clayton proved their worth today with excellent input, caring instruction, and a true love for the "Art of Documentary Filmmaking".

Please check in daily as I report on the latest from the workshop, and also from the Festival itself, running June 16-19 here in SouthSide Bethlehem, PA.