What Matters

The United Way Campaign Film Project for 2005

A Film by Gary Olsen of the
Dubuque Community Schools.
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his is the third movie in a series of campaign films that the Dubuque Community School District has produced for this United Way. Our commitment didn't start out with three films in mind, but when the first one premiered and received an enthusiastic response, I felt at the time that was reason enough to continue the project. Also, I felt there were more stories in our community yet to be told, and doing another United Way movieproject was the ideal means to pursue them.

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I sincerely love film making and projects like this that portray intimate profiles of people and events in our town. This movie is more about Dubuque than it is just about United Way.

It is my belief that a measure of a town's quality of life is revealed in the way that town treats its people with the most needs. I've traveled the country quite a bit, and every town or city I visit I ask the proverbial question, "Would I like to live here?" If I'm staying for a period of time, I read the daily paper, even the classifieds and the help-wanted pages, and I get a fairly accurate picture of what life is like in a particular area. I learn about the school system, area service agencies, the local Rotary Club. I have yet to find a place with the quality of life Dubuque has to offer. Of course one has to factor in friends and relationships which to me are critically important. I treasure my friends and acquaintances.

One thing I've learned in my travels is that the level of service provided by Dubuque United Way agencies is astounding. So many lives are touched in meaningful ways. I want the audience to appreciate these things that truly make Dubuque a wonderful place to live, raise a family, prosper, and grow old.

Every year I do this movie, I use the opportunity to experiment and break new ground either artistically or technically. This year, on the technology front, I used a new camera thanks to a McKesson Grant the School District received to purchase the JVC DR-DV5000. The camera not only records to tape but to an onboard hard drive.

First of all, the images are stunning. The resolution of the camera exceeds other cameras I have at my disposal. There is a slight drawback, however. The camera is larger and heavier. On the other hand, I don't have to join a gym to get exercise. Just lugging this camera should be enough.

This camera technology greatly speeds production time by eliminating the need to dub the tape to my editing computer's hard drive. I just transfer the files from the camera to my computer in seconds via a FireWire connection, and I'm ready to edit.

Last year's technical innovating was the Matrox RTX100 editing suite I employed to edit my movie, and that was an incredible experience in productivity as well. I produce nearly 100 video segments a year in my job with the school district. Productivity is important because I want to spend more creative time in the school buildings than in the editing studio.

From a productivity and production workflow point of view, I don't wait until the last minute to do the film. I work on capturing just the right material all year long. The Girl Scout segment was part of a shoot I did last summer. By looking at this as a year long project, there is significantly less deadline pressure.

Artistic freedom is the other incentive that brings me back to this project from year after year. When United Way campaign chairman, Rick Dickenson approached me on this three years ago, I said I would agree to do a United Way movie under one condition. I wanted complete artistic freedom to do the movie I wanted to do. I did not want to feature professional narration nor video of the campaign chairman telling me why I should give to United Way. It made no sense to me since the film was often accompanied by a live campaign chairman saying the same thing to the audience. Then we would see this message again on tape? It was a waste of time. Plus, in my capacity with the School District, I knew there were wonderful stories out there in the community about how United Way was impacting lives in meaningful ways. My approach was to let these real people tell their stories.

My strategy seemed to work. I'm proud of all three of these movies, but the first one was very special because it was the first. There was a lot of apprehension among United Way volunteers and staff concerning what I was going to come up with. They had never seen anything like it. There were a couple of segments that people admitted being uncomfortable with because they were too strong emotionally. I'm so glad we didn't change one second of that first film.

I've lived in Dubuque for 39 years, and I must say this town has been very good to me. The United Way Film Project is perhaps one way of returning the favor for the many kindnesses people have extended to me over the years. I'm so happy I can do something of value that I truly love to do. Film making is an extraordinary and compelling storytelling medium, and it serves United Way's mission in the community in a very meaningful way. It puts a face on something that otherwise can become rather abstract. The real story of United Way is best told in the face of a child.

Maria

See the picture of the girl above? Her name is Maria. She's the reason I make the movies I do and why I've returned for three opportunities to produce the United Way movie. Eight minutes into the film, close to the end, is an interview with Maria. My heart leaps every time I see her on the screen. She's smart, funny, and everything a girl should be at her age. She's a Girl Scout, and I chose Maria to talk about what it's like to be a Girl Scout. It is a life affirming segment of this film. You'll love Maria.

When I was filming activities with the Girl Scouts at Camp Little Cloud, I had never met Maria nor did I intend to feature her. I was with a Girl Scout administrator and I had just finished filming kids playing and hiking by the pond, and I heard this clear and wonderful voice of a girl talking to her friends. I approached her and asked if we could do a little interview. Her mom was nearby, and all of her friends huddled around us to observe. I enjoy interviewing young people (I do a lot of this in my job). The key to success is never ask a child a yes or no question otherwise that's all you may get.. yes or no. But Maria was an incredible interview subject.

I don't know if you can fully appreciate what it is like to be witnessing something through your camera's viewfinder that you realize is truly wonderful and may never be repeated. You quietly pray to yourself that your battery doesn't die or the tape break.

Maria gave me insightful answers to questions that were so heartfelt that is was almost impossible to describe my feelings. I just kept the camera on her as she spoke. Maria and her friends even performed a song and posed for a group shot that was utterly charming.

Almost a year later, while editing the segment, I vaguely remember that I kept the camera rolling as Maria and her friends were walking up the path at the conclusion of our interview. She was well up the path, and I zoomed the camera's lens to reframe the group as they continued to walk away. I didn't notice this at the time, but Maria turns for a second and waves to me. I didn't remember that wave, and I almost didn't see it when I was editing the segment. But that wave means everything to this video. You'll see what I mean when you watch the movie.

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