New Boston Creative

I have been meeting with a graphic design studio in Manhattan called New Boston Creative. This morning I viewed several samples of a possible "brand" for the documentary and will choose two to show colleagues. They are now working on several adjustments to the two best that I selected. As soon as a decision is made, I'll insert it here on our blog.

We are continuing to interview and I have been going through video we have taken to select excerpts for possible use in the program. I lost an entire morning of work yesterday due to (I think) a file naming duplication in Final Cut Express Pro. Very strange.

Breakthrough in music

Last week I contacted Yoav Goren, Manager at Immediate Music LLC, an Emmy Award winning studio that is a major producer of cinematic music in Los Angeles, to let him know about On Our Behalf. I just heard back from him early this morning.

They are willing to provide music for our five minute promo for potential underwriters at no cost to us!

In his reply to me, the manager of the company writes, "We wish you all the best with this project, and hope that it helps raise the support level for the families of the deployed."

This is a significant step, the first sign of support from an external "champion." I am looking forward to find more who will step up as underwriters so we can reach a national audience next year.

(edited to include name of organization with their permission)

Another interview

Interviewed another family two evenings ago. Mom, two daughters, and her young son. Wonderful video of a family who has had to deal with three tours of their father, a medivac helicopter pilot. More great footage for us to integrate into the program.

Initial viewings and progress

Last night (Sunday) we interviewed a family of a Guard soldier who is getting ready to deploy a second time. I am very happy with the video we obtained of the soldier, his wife, his thirteen-year-old son, and his wife's best friend. I also interviewed (actually stood back and let them talk) the husband and wife together. I am very appreciative of the family's hospitality and openness.

Got back into Manhattan about 12:40 am.

The seven-minute segment that I showed a week ago for Bowling Green State University students and faculty after I presented a keynote address at their early childhood conference was very well received. Many great comments and encouragement. This preliminary video focuses on the attachment and love children have for their Guard or Reserve parents. We have great video of youth describing their struggle to cope with the parent's deployment. The strength of this bond is then revealed even more powerfully in the homecoming we captured.

This part of our documentary really captured my heart and in some ways even blinded me to one of our critical goals: the need for community support. Plus, this first attempt is too long. Faculty and students didn't complain, but shorter can be better. So we have decided not to focus on a brief preview at the moment. Instead, as we continue to tape we will be assembling a five-minute appeal to potential funders.

In addition to the video, I want to develop a packet of brief descriptions of the documentary and it's purpose in a larger call to action for increasing the amount and effectiveness of informal community support.

As you can imagine, our ambition to reach a national audience is challenging. We have to find underwriters to support the broadcast, to help us obtain the services of a respected national figure (James Earl Jones would be great as would Tom Hanks or Denzel Washington), and to support the website.

Listening to these great families share their lives makes every moment working on this documentary worth the investment.

Preview nearly ready

Our 7-8 minute preview is almost done. We will have DVDs we can share with anyone who wants to see them. We might have the video available for viewing on the blog, though this would require putting it up on UTube. I have mixed feelings about that.

I think the preview is great. It captures the essence of what we are doing. If you want the preview, let me know and I will get one to you. Just send a message to me at casmith@ksu.edu. Tell me a little about yourself and make sure I get your mailing address.

I will post a message on our blog when the DVD is ready for the public. We should have that ready by October 1.

I examined the video we now have and captured about 85 still shots for use in the preview. I might also upload some of those photos here. I need to check and make sure I can do that.

Another homecoming and great video

We had the honor of videotaping another homecoming. I interviewed about six or seven families before the soldiers arrived and than after they were reunited. One family/friends group all had the same t-shirts on with their soldier's name on them. He was significantly touched by their display of support.

In this case we had several politicians present from both parties. The soldiers arrived about 45 minutes earlier than planned and had to wait for speakers to arrive before being dismissed.

But what a celebration when they were dismissed!

Going to Iraq?

There is a possibility that I will go to Iraq to talk with soldiers about their families. There are many hurdles to jump to get to that point (one of them being funding the trip). I care so much about what we are doing and the families that I am meeting now that I am willing to go the distance to make the documentary better than great if being there serves the story we are telling. Ron has decided that he has to remain behind to videotape the families' reactions during conversations with their deployed soldiers. He would much rather go to Iraq too, but he believes what is necessary for our documentary takes precedence.

Of course I have some apprehension about doing this (my family certainly does). But this story we are telling is so important that have to do all that I can to ensure that it is the best we can do. We can certainly adjust to not having this opportunity, though, if going there is not possible. Time will tell.

Preview progress

Work is progressing on our On Our Behalf Preview video (about 5 minutes long). We will use the preview to show potential supporters and underwriters what we are doing and hope to achieve. We have enough video now to put a preview together. Sure is challenging to decide what to include because we have so much great stuff. I think we might have it ready to go in a couple of weeks. I will post in our blog how to get the DVD.

We will not be putting it online for anyone to get. The video is uplifting and celebratory. I feel so honored to be given this opportunity to listen and to young people express what is in their hearts and be present at a powerful homecoming moment. I also feel the heavy responsibility of being careful with what we create. At some point we let it go of course. But now is not that time.

Even so, we do want the preview to be shown and seen. We are just going to be careful of who we send it to. More on this later.

The arrival

As I write this, I still have tears in my eyes. I have been watching some of the videos we took last weekend of children and their families greeting their soldier parents and sons who have returned from Iraq. There was one greeting, one spontaneous moment of homecoming between a father and his daughter that made me suddenly burst out crying. The sheer joy and display of love we saw was and still is breathtaking.

I am not ashamed of my tears. I actually surprised myself with the suddenness of the experience. I felt poised during the event. But it was the moment that Ron captured that did it to me. I feel honored to have the opportunity to bring this story of love, sacrifice, survival, commitment, and devotion to you. Ron and Deb did a great job of capturing the range of reactions in these families. This documentary is going to be powerful.

Believe me, this documentary will move you deeply and hopefully inspire you to provide support for these children, their parents, and grandparents. Such support is needed before, during, and after deployment. Returning home does not mean that a community’s job is done. There is more that we need to do to support these soldiers and their families.

I knew that taking this on was going to be a challenge emotionally. Now what I knew between my ears has come home to my heart.

Travel to interview

I was recently contacted by an Extension specialist in another state who told me that he might be able to provide video of interviews with National Guard families in his state. Ron can establish the procedure another Extension office would have to follow to make the interviews suitable. Under the right conditions, I would be willing to travel to another state to conduct the interviews. If you think this would be possible in your state, let me know.

Our goal is to have all the interviews done by Christmas. Viewing videos repeatedly to find the potential segments for the final program is very time consuming. Even so, the more interviews we conduct the better the final program.

We are also very interested in finding the special story of one family. If you know of a family that could serve as a primary "face" of the program, let me know.

What a challenge we have!!

Budget and funds

Ron and I are creating the documentary without any outside funding. Kansas State University pays our salaries, and we both have small operating funds as part of our Extension positions. The School of Family Studies and Human Services is also providing us with a graduate research assistant. I will introduce that person in a later entry.

Obtaining a nationally prominent host/narrator and gaining access to public or commercial stations will require us to find financial support. We will also need someone to underwrite the creation of the set we will need for our host. The set alone could amount to a considerable cost.

Not having funding outside of the university for the creation of the program allows us to remain completely independent of any outside influence. If anyone has any suggestions for the funding we will need later in the program cycle, let me know or, better yet, post a comment here if you wish.

Kansas or national?

Although we are interviewing Kansas and Nebraska families (and might be able to expand to other adjacent states) for budget reasons, we hope our interviews will represent the experiences of all National Guard families across the nation. So we want to have the documentary broadcast nationally. Initially though, we might have to focus on a Kansas broadcast and then move to a national platform later. We will need to recruit a host/narrator with national visibility, someone like Tom Hanks or Tom Selleck. As you can imagine, recruiting someone with this national stature will be costly. We have about a year to obtain the services of this person and will obviously need help. In our search for a host, we might begin with Governor Sebelius, a person who is articulate and enjoys widespread support across Kansas.

Initial interviews of youth

I was very tired on returning to Manhattan last Friday. Our Delta flight had to be canceled after the brakes failed on the tarmac and we had to stay an extra night to catch an early flight on Friday. I had an email from Ron who had been at a camp for National Guard kids at Rock Springs Ranch (about 45 minutes away). He encouraged me to get to the camp as fast as possible and to consider interviewing some of the youth. I found some clean clothes (no fun not having luggage when having to stay overnight) and went back to the university to get a state car.

I had a fantastic experience. I told stories around a campfire that night in a small amphitheater sunk into the ground in the middle of forested area. I interviewed many of the kids that day, on Saturday, and on Sunday morning. I can't wait to bring their thoughts and feelings to you. I want the public to hear what these young people are saying.

We have interviewed others before this, but this was the first time I had contact with National Guard youth. I felt so honored by their trust and openness.

I also had the opportunity to visit with several parents when they arrived at lunchtime to pick up their children. When they heard about the documentary, they were enthusiastic for what we are hoping to achieve. We need their support because we will need to interview many parents as well.

We are at the "discovery" phase of creating a documentary. I have open-ended questions that reveal their experiences without leading them. We don't know what the final documentary will look like because their stories create the tone, ideas, and feelings. I do not have an established point-of-view. As I visit with them, I am not leading or shoehorning them into a preconceived formula. This process of discovery is an exciting part of creating a documentary. The REALLY hard work will follow involving hundreds of hours of pouring over all the comments to allow the final story to reveal itself.

Spontaneous support

I have been traveling extensively over the last two weeks. While in the Atlanta airport, a colleague and I were having breakfast in the food court. I heard some clapping and a few cheers. Must be someone's birthday, I thought. Then the sound of clapping and cheering increased. I could see people standing. I stood up and saw a long column of soldiers weaving their way through the airport corridor. I rushed to join them but managed only a several claps and cheers before the line passed by.

Not everyone had stood up to clap. I wish my cameraman was there because I would have liked to interview those who remain seated. Would recognizing these young men and women who were either returning or departing imply support for the war? Regardless of how we feel, can we all stand together to care about these soldiers and their families?

If you feel passionately against being in the Middle East, I hope you can rethink what support for National Guard soldiers and their families. All of our soldiers need to feel our support, but National Guard families may be particularly vulnerable to social isolation.

Attitudes and support

The documentary has two purposes: first, to bring the stories of National Guard families to the public. Second, to serve as a catalyst for increasing informal, natural support in communities. This includes friends, neighbors, classmates, and even strangers.

The documentary is not a political statement. Although we have the support of General Bunting of the Kansas National Guard, we have received no funding from any outside source other than our normal budget from Kansas State University. At some point, we will need financial support from funders like Hallmark or Walmart to underwrite the broadcasts over public television or a commercial network. Kansas State University retains all editorial control over the final product.

There will be some people who will say, "They are there not on MY behalf!" Feelings about the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan are intense no matter what you think about our being there. Ron and I ask you to set aside any political bitterness and anger you might have to simply consider the hearts of both the soldiers and their families. You can reach out and support them regardless of your opinions about the war. You can oppose the war and support these soldiers and their families. They deserve to be honored for their sacrifices.

Feel free to respond to this (or any other post on the blog) with your thoughts.

Greetings to our Blog

Ron Frank and I are in the early stages of creating a documentary that tells the story of National Guard Families who have a mother or father deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq. These families may be our neighbors, our doctor, one of our child's teachers, or our local supermarket manager. We will identify community strategies to support these families. This blog will allow us to talk about our progress and engage supporters in a discussion of the challenges we face in creating the program.