pre-production on doc

A

aaron_wade

Well-known member
any advice where i can go and get responses to, "why people leave the elderly in nursing homes, and do not visit them"? i already thought of going to the mall, local college, nursing home obviously, and maybe asking some professors at school?

synopsis: tyring to get the point across how we as people leave the elderly in nursing homes "lonely". we live our life's in the fast lane, and don't take time out to listen to what some elders have to say. approx. 20-25min long doc. i would like to target a younger audience for interviews or what not.

im going to use a sony pd-150 (i know i should use a dvx) but hey it's free! light kits for a controlled environment interviews, sticks, and free editing in fcpxpress.

any comments that you might have on the topic?

thanks.
 
Ask first before going into the mall. Malls are public places, and i know at least in my town they do not allow a video camera anywhere in the building or outside it.
 
I'd try local colleges. There's never a shortage of people with opinions and a willingness to share them.

It's an intriguing and often overlooked subject. I know as I get older I appreciate those that have gone before me more. But so many of the people I would now go to are gone...
 
About a month ago, I interviewed my 85-year-old uncle and 83-year-old aunt. We sat on their back porch and talked about their lives--all with the camera rolling. Got about three hours of footage, including some time in and around their house. Eventually I'll edit the video and it will be a sort of family heirloom.

I'd recommend a "family history" project to anyone wanting to get more familiar with their equipment, not to mention their own family. A lot of history gets lost when elderly relatives pass away. They know things that aren't written or recorded. You'll be glad you took the time to do it.
 
Sean,

This is something I've wanted to do for a long time, and will bring my DVX to my grandmother's 90th birthday in May! Maybe we could all of us shoot one such family interview this year and edit them down to a couple minutes for a December documentary contest?

Totally off-topic, and I'm sorry for that!

I would think that during the summer, you would likely have plenty of people in your town's parks and perhaps at a city / county senior center. Nursing homes might be a little reluctant to open their doors for reasons of expose / exposure.

Thank you for starting a great thread, and good luck with your documentary!

e
 
About 3 or 4 years ago, I sat my in-laws down seperately and interviewed them about their lives. Neither of them were the type of people to talk much about their childhood, and my wife and her siblings knew virtually nothing about their parents early years. I got tons of stuff that none of the kids knew about. My father in law (a very stoic, decorated Vietnam Veteran) broke into tears a couple of times talking about his children and grandchildren. They both expressed regrets about some of the choices they had made, and obviously wanted to be closer to their children. And I got it all on tape.

One of the keys (given how they didn't like talking about their emotions) was that I was close enough to them that they felt comfortable with me, but not as close as the kids. So there wasn't any emotional baggage to keep them from second guessing what they were saying.

They have both since passed away, and I can't express how fulfilling it is to know that I didn't wait too long to capture that stuff.

My Folks and their siblings are next.
 
You may also want to try the local senior centers, the VFW, the American Legion, Elks Clubs, Rotary Clubs, NAACP, and both political offices.
 
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