Logging Footage
BY ALEC HART, NEW YORK CITY, USA - Everyone is getting anxious to go to Zambia. They are eager to get the film BAD T!MING started. The documentary, VOICE OF AN AFRICAN NATION, started filming in January so I already have a ton of work to do. I've started logging the 47 hours of footage that we have SO FAR. I'm sure they'll get a lot more exciting and dramatic footage in the next month. I think some of the most beautiful footage will be shot in August. I am expecting that we will have well over 200 hours of footage by the time this is done. I hope to get an early start so we can get the story shaped as quickly as possible.
This photograph was taken in Arizona last month. We were out to dinner with The Bowes: Sandy, Jeff, Chris & girlfriend Sara. It's not too often now that we're all in the same city at the same time. In the U.S., as we get older, we tend to move some distance away from our famiilies. Our life is not as communal as the Zambian life. Our families are much smaller, too.
Cyndi says that it is because we live in a much more industrialized and modern country. We do not have the same need to stay close to our family because our survival doesn't depend on staying connected to our family tribe. We can do things like move all the way across the country and live in NYC on our own. Through an accident of birth, we were born into a wonderful life. Through intention, we can help those born in a very different world to share what their life is like. As the editor, I like being able to see ALL of the detail behind what the audience sees.