Ben Week 6

A good week of production for my film. Unfortunately, most of the work I put in has not been directly linked to editing. I am considering a major stylistic choice. The audio is working ok, but it might be too much work to try and implement. I am very much considering using an actor to recite some of Anthony's interviews. I've already pulled great content from an essay he wrote (2 slaves for the price of one) that will work as the narrative thread to the film to tie everything together. I'm considering shooting an actor in an open field, dressed in a prison uniform (which, at CCA, are nothing more than scrubs), with a bed and small bookshelf. A little more experimental than I was planning, but the idea is that Anthony will be reciting his written work from his jail cell, only visually he will be free. This method might help connect the prison, Anthony, and the town. These scenes will be very short monologues. I'm going to try and shoot this week to see how it works.

That said, I'm still doing some shooting. I shot a friend of Anthony's over the weekend, she is the editor of a newspaper that publishes his creative work. It was a great interview and she got emotional. I'm also going to interview his mother this weekend and get some old photos of him. The photos and his old home show provide some good cut away shots. I'm also interviewing a private prison expert next weekend. He is very charismatic and has great statistics that will work in my favor.

This is all comes after a sit down with Jennifer where she reminded me of all the research I did to put forth a powerful argument, to end California's use of private prisons and get Anthony out of prison. The new shoots won't disrupt my work flow, but will add the needed content to help connect everything. Still very much working through my summer footage.

I'm cutting scenes of my Mississippi footage, but only focusing on the footage I know I am going to use for the long rough cut. I'm still getting my selects together, but I'm almost finished.

I wrote out a potential scene structure, including footage that I don't have yet. I also reworked my treatment, so that I have a more precise and up-to-date idea of what I plan to have finished in a few weeks.