Now that we’ve had a couple weeks’ distance from no one’s favorite year, we’ve been re-framing and refocusing.
One exercise that really helped was to make a list of pros and cons from over the year. While it’s hard to weigh heavy things like “complete shutdown of in-person events” with fun ones like “got a new drone” it was revealing to discover that our list of pros far exceeded the cons. After a confusing spring (and 6 months of no childcare), we actually had a very busy final quarter. Producers from BBC and PBS called on us to produce local segments for upcoming programs. Daniel also started working closely with Scott Motion Films as DP on remote productions, where the client or ad agency can watch all the action on a video monitor from the comfort of their couch. (Daniel counts working with the Arri Alexa as one of his top achievements of 2020!) We were glad to resume our relationship with WBNERR and the Marine Biological Laboratory on videos for virtual conferences, which probably would not have happened without a global pandemic.
We also expanded our portfolio by working independently: Daniel as a one-man band DP for producers such as Principle Pictures and Elise as a writer/editor for WHOI Communications, where four of her stories made WHOI’s Best of 2020 list! Collaborating with other producers and editors has made us more versatile yet also appreciative of one another— something of a feat for a husband-wife team! It gives us hope for making progress on our independent documentary, The Weir. Now three years in the making, that project reached an important milestone with an award from Salem Film Festival’s Doc-a-chusetts program this summer.
While other projects were put on indefinite hold, we were glad to complete a video for NOAA Fisheries about one of the few fisheries surveys that happened in the Northeast region this year. We’re looking forward to telling the world about more of these vital surveys as research operations resume in 2021.
Video with a purpose
While we are amazed and grateful to have come out on the other side of 2020 on a positive note, we realize that we’re in an extremely fortunate position. Some of this is because video content is in ever-greater demand; some of it is the result of years of relationship-building. But we can’t ignore our privilege as white professionals in an affluent community. We’ve been inspired by the Brown Girls Doc Mafia, which compiled a very useful list of BIPOC women/trans crew around the US, and pledge to call on them whenever we have the opportunity to do shoots in other cities again. And while we strive to include diverse voices in the videos we produce, we feel strongly that filmmakers should tell their own community’s stories. In solidarity with BIPOC producers, we proudly contribute to indigenously-produced film projects and independent distributors like Cinema Politica.
As conspiracy theories and misinformation reach greater absurdities, we feel renewed purpose in communicating science through video. From climate change to the political climate, we say: let there be light!
