February 14th update
Hey so it's been a minute but to be honest, I've been crazy busy with life recently. I feel like lots has been going on the last week though I need to update you about it.
Let's start with the interview...

So as I said I interviewed with Rylan Knox on the 12th. Within this interview, I really wanted to focus on the beginning parts of my structure in her experience that day and the feeling of loss. One of the main reasons I decided to focus on the beginning structure with her was because I really felt like she wanted to share her story. That's in contrast to one of my other interview subjects Mitch Dworet who I'll reference later. So back to Rylan, within this interview, she detailed her experience that day and how loss felt to her. She also went into a bit of grief and how she overcame these emotions through yoga. I was really upset because about 20 minutes through her interview we were interrupted as a class was about to take place in the room we conducted the interview in however so I didn't get to be as thorough as I would've loved to be with her. Nonetheless, I felt as though this was a really incredible interview and that overall Rylan is an incredible girl. It really honestly put life into perspective for me that just 7 years ago she was the same age as me, with the same personality and life, and in a click like that her life changed indefinitely. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel some pretty strong emotions during this interview but honestly I feel like that made the two of us connect on a deeper level.
Since I finished her interview now and still need to get at least two more I decided that in order to manage my time wisely I would start the process of structuring where I'd like to put certain things she said. Someone who is helping me in the documentary process Oriana Rangel gave me the idea to actually transcribe the interview and put it into a document to structure it rather than watch the video over and over again and honestly, it's working really well for me. The first step of that was to of course transcribe and read it and now I'm beginning the process of highlighting keywords and parts of her interview I think would be essential to the purpose I'm trying to get across.
So thats an update on the interview that was conducted now let's discuss all the work I did this weekend in context to filming Broll...

As I've established the MSD shooting happened on February 14th so every year Eagles Haven, a grief and recovery center I've been in close contact with, hosts a memorial service where family and friends can come to speak on behalf of the 17 lives lost and honor those individuals. This memorial showcased a dove flight which you can see to the left, speeches from each of the family members, a candle lighting ceremony, and activities that the lives lost loved. The main purpose of me going to this event was to learn more about this topic whilst filming footage that showcases both grief and perserverance. I was grateful to have the opportunity to go and film the event as well as speak with other individuals who may have a connection within this community. Within these conversations, I was able to talk to Mitch Dworet father of Alexander Dworet (freshman at the time) and Nicholas Dworet (senior at the time). Mitch and I had a long conversation about the concept of grief as both of his sons were affected by the MSD shooting. Unfortunately, Mitch's older son Nicholas was taken that day and Alex was injured so he has had a difficult time these last 7 years recovering from this tragedy. That being said, when I initially began discussing a documentary with him he was extremely reluctant. He had a conversation with me entirely summed to - he didn't want to talk about the day. However, through our conversation, we realized that we had a common mission to help others who suffer from grief find methods of perseverance. Because of this Mitch agreed to give me his number so we could schedule an interview at a later time.
I also connected with Eagles Haven to schedule an interview with Lindsay Carpenter who is the project coordinator in charge of all major events like the memorial and grief resources for those who have suffered from loss. I wanted to slow down with these other two interviews as I want to take my time with this project so I gave both of these individuals my schedule so we can find a comfortable time for all parties. Now a documentary is a lot of work to do on your own so I would love to give credit to my wonderful boyfriend Lucas who helped me at the memorial as well as my friend Oriana who plans on helping with the interviews, structure, and editing process. Honestly as cheesy as this may sound I really feel like this was my fate to share this story so I'm very happy that I have been given the opportunity to do so.
Last thing I want to update you on is the amount of research this documentary is taking. Tomorrow I'm going to write a blog more about that but just for some context... I currently have 32 different news articles open on my computer to read more about literally everything in relation to grief specifically the grief of those who lost a life to gun violence. But yeah this topic is definitely very heavy. I really hope this becomes a resource for individuals who suffer from this sitution and I'm glad I can share this.
But well,
Until next time
- Emma <3