This I Believe Preproduction

In trying to find what I am most passionate about, I always come back to movies. I don't think a lot of people understand why I like movies the way I do. Most see them as escapism or ways to spend time. I think there is something much deeper and the path one takes to discovering this is of great interest to me.

I want to do my project on what spiritual insights people take from movies. This is a pretty amorphous subject and I am trying to find some way to make this more physical. One thing I need to find is a spine to drive the story. I think I will focus on many different people's individual paths to finding meaningful moments in movies. If I talk about their path to understanding, there will be a much more apparent arc than just interviewing individuals.

Most of the people I want to talk to are other students who I know share a similar passion. The focus of the story is on student perspectives, so the best way to gain a deeper understanding is to interview many different students. There are certain people who I talk to a lot on this subject and they are people I will be sure to interview. Or at least to start with when diving into this subject.

A big challenge I will face in making this documentary will be finding visual elements. A lot of the discussion will be more ethereally based on abstract concepts. I plan on working in segments of films that relate to the discussion that takes place in the interview. Because this project is educationally based and I will not be selling it or using it for revenue I should be fine to do this.

I want this video to motivate audiences to see more films and look at them in a different way. I want them to feel very connected and empathetic towards all the interviewees. I want them to think that the interviewees have been very earnest and raw and I want them to start looking at films in a similar way.

I do not want this project to be focused on what movies are popular or what happens in the movies. I want the focus to be placed upon the impact that the movies have on people. I don't want people to just list off what scenes they thought were cool or good. I want interviewees to reflect on why they think pieces of films impacted them in the way that they did.

This project could go very wrong if I don't get my interviewees to talk on the deeper level that I want them to. I will have to be very clear that I am interested on how they feel about movies as a person. How they affect their world view. If they do at all.