A DOC'S JOURNAL by Scott Solary

Got a call around 11 from Shawn. It’s a perfect day for flying! I met him down at Boeing field and he introduced me to the Sesna. Kind of like an old Volkswagen with wings. We flew to San Juan island 45 minutes (as the “crow” flies) North of Seattle. Absolutely gorgeous and exciting! Not sure how the footage will turn out, but I recorded over an hour, so something’s gotta turn out cool. I made sure I taped every take-off and landing. Landing is “fun” part. We also did stalls at around 3,000 feet. Kind of like the crux of a roller coaster’s hill and heading straight down for a couple of seconds. That feeling of stomach coming up into your throat thing.

We found Salmon Clam Chowder at our last stop at Friday Harbor. We called it the $100 dollar chowder. There’s a book called the Hundred Dollar Hamburger. Now that you have your pilot’s license, what are you going to do? Fly to lunch. The burger may be $5, but the plane rental is much more. I might try and cut something together as a little short doc titled “Hundred Dollar Chowder”.

After flying around, Shawn and I met with Marilyn, Luci and Sarah for dinner. We went back to their house and watched the ½ hour work in progress. They were very impressed and paid us many compliments. It feels good to be trusted by everyone so much.

Tomorrow’s our last full day in Seattle. We’ll return the equipment and take a ferry ride on Puget Sound. The weather seems to be holding up well. It’s sunny and cool. I’ve been told not to spread the rumor of beautiful weather in Seattle for fears of everyone moving here! So really the weather is awful. It rains all the time and it’s so cold. ;-)

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Luci and I picked up Marilyn and went for brunch at the Dish. Great food. Marilyn took us to the neighborhood of Fremont where they have this huge cement sculpture of a troll under an overpass. We drove around a little, stopped at a coffeehouse and returned their house.

We picked up some B-roll of Marilyn in the garden and interviewed for about another hour. This ended Marilyn’s interview. Again, another amazing story and heavily emotional.

Luci and I returned the hotel and walked around downtown looking for dinner. Found an Irish pub open in Pioneer Square.

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Luci and I arrive at Marilyn’s early to set up for Ralph’s interview. We were having great weather outside and again decided to use the natural light coming through the windows. Ralph came with a list of topics he wanted to speak on and they matched well with our list of questions so we were all on the same page.

He provides a very interesting insight to the story because he stayed within the C&MA and worked from within to make policy changes and work toward accountability on the church’s part. He made a great difference. He provided such a different perspective than that of Ann & Howard (our other parents being interviewed). We taped for an hour and broke for lunch. After lunch, we taped for another hour and wrapped it up. We all got along well and feel the session went great.

Luci and I went to the infamous Pike Street Market near downtown. Luci bought me a leather wristband and we ate Peroshkies. A delicious Russian doughy treat. We met up with Shawn at Iver’s Salmon House on Lake Union for dinner. I had no idea there were so many varieties of Salmon. They cook it on planks of Alder wood for a unique smoky flavor. All delicious. We had a good visit with Shawn and went back to the hotel and called it a night.

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The hotel we’re staying at offers free airport cards and wireless internet service. Sounded good, so I installed the software, logged on and nothing happened. Uninstalled it and went back with dial-up Earthlink. Could connect, but couldn’t get pages to load. Big problem for communicating and blogging. Without going into all the graphic details, I sat on the phone with tech support for about 2 hours only for them to tell me to call Microsoft, or better yet, the manufacturer of our computer. Something is corrupt. Knowing better, I thanked them for nothing and we restored the computer to 2 days ago. About the only truly good thing XP offers.

Obviously, we’re back on line, but at 10:00 found ourselves canceling breakfast plans and an hour behind schedule. We decided to go with a boom mic as opposed to the lav to give Marilyn some freedom of movement. We swung by Victory and true to fashion, they accommodated us and let us return the lav later. The boom worked out great and I think we may go this route for the remaining interviews providing we have space for the c-stand.

About half way through the day, the sun came out in full force. Never wanted it to go away more. We blacked out the window, made a few adjustments and continued.

Today, Marilyn talked more in depth about her experiences and the repercussions of her abuse at the boarding school.

After all I’ve read and after so many interviews we’ve done, I am still in awe and amazement to the extensive and wide spread damages the abuse has caused. A very emotional day. We talked for about 4 hours and wrapped for the day. We have about 6 hours of tape of Marilyn.

Shawn got home and we all started discussing plans for our remaining time. Shawn is a licensed pilot and is excited that I’m excited to go up in a plane with him. There are some islands nearby that we can fly to for lunch and fly back in the same day. Planning on getting some cool aerial footage! I never expected this chance. Luci and I came back to the hotel and relaxed and grabbed a bite for dinner.

We interview Ralph Shellrude tomorrow, Marilyn’s father. Very much looking forward to it.

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Seattle by day is very cool. Everyone seems very laid back. They drive rather slow as if in no hurry. We picked up the equipment on the way to Marilyn’s house. The people at Victory Studios are awesome. They’re friendly, unpretentious and helpful. After a quick and painless check out, we drive to Marilyn’s.

We sat around for a while and got to know each other. She had made a wonderful potato leek soup for lunch. After lunch, we began to set up the equipment. Her house is very spacious and has 2 large picture windows. We decide to rely on Seattle’s overcast for consistent natural light. We rented a Lowell Omni Tota light kit, but had never used one so we planned some extra prep time, but with the windows, we only needed one key light with a homemade snoot. It looked great and Marilyn seemed to relax about the interview very quickly. We decided to talk in more of an overview today without getting into many of the details of her story. We all quickly became comfortable with each other and around 5:00, we wrapped for the day.

We met her daughter, Sarah and her husband, Shawn. Both are great. Sarah helped with make-up earlier on her way out to work. Later Marilyn prepared salmon for dinner. This was no ordinary east coast salmon. This was fresh and perfectly cooked. Some of the best fish I’ve ever had. After having homemade toffee squares for dessert, we said good night. Went back to the hotel and watched the footage. It looks and sounds great.

A wonderful first day.

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Travel day. With laundry done, snacks bought and suitcases packed, Luci and I drive to LaGuardia to fly to Seattle. Mailed the required 2 tapes and application to the IFP Market just in time for Friday’s deadline. Figured long term parking would be cheaper than a car back and forth and a $45 parking ticket for alternate side parking mishap. Of course, the lot was closed and went searching for “off airport parking”. Not quite as cheap, but seem to be trustworthy folks. We leave Buster in their hands and make our way into the airport.

Our first leg takes us to Cincinnati. We were delayed and sat on the runway in an airplane traffic jam which felt like 45 minutes. It was actually 43 minutes. Finally in the air, it was welcome to Delta’s newest roller coaster attraction, “Scream for Your Life, This is Serious Turbulence” complete with screaming baby 2 seats in front of us. We were finally offered water after about 2 hours into the flight or so. I asked for an extra and was told, “No”.

Apparently, all airports have a contract with Coca-Cola’s version of water called “Dishonest” er.. Disani. Apparently, it’s the only water you can drink while flying. Coca-Cola tap water. “fortified with minerals for flavor” Yumm. So not only are we dehydrated, but aren’t offered a “snack” (bag of pretzels) at all. Luci and I are prepared and have brought all kinds of munchies with us as well as water (drank it on the runway). I’m going to stop the rant on airlines now, because it only got worse from there. Last trip with Delta, I swear. Luci told me her flight with American was worse than this one! Our plane didn't have a gap in the floor! Where to turn? British Airways and Air France don’t fly domestic.

Oh, one more thing: you have to “buy” headphones now and can “purchase” items off their illustrious in-flight menu of microwaveable gourmet delicacies. I think they should offer “optional flight attendant” flights for a discount, because I really don’t see a reason for them to be there anymore.

Eight hours later, we’re in Seattle and driving down I-5 in our brand spanking new Chevrolet something or other. We get to the hotel and it's posh. There's a grocery opened until 2 and we are able to buy coffee filters and food for the room. We have a fridge!

We got to bed around 2 and because of the jet lag, woke up at 8. We’re picking up the equipment on the way to Marilyn’s house. Should leave here around 10. Looking forward to meeting her and the family.

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Prep, prep, prep. Got direction to the hotel from the airport, from the hotel to the rental house and from the rental house to Marilyn’s house. I filled out the online application for IFP. Luci will finish the color timing and we’ll lay it off the computer and send it off tomorrow.

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Worked on sound design today. A very frustrating step for me. For 2 reasons: 1- I’m not a sound designer and 2- Avid’s limited capability to sound design. It sounds fine and will serve its purpose, but can’t wait to finally have someone on board doing all the sound work for us. Luci’ll color time tomorrow and we’ll begin getting ready for our trip to Seattle on Wednesday.

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Full day of editing #2

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A full day of editing. Got it at exactly 30 minutes. Feels weird to not be obsessed with emails, phone calls and grant writing. Sound design and color timing is left. Then it’s off the IFP for judgement.

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Put in a nearly a full day of editing. Combining the 10 minute, fundraising short with a 40 minute cut from a while ago, so it’s mostly tweaking. Took off early today to see a friend off.

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We slept late due to the construction keeping us up until 6am. Luci and I went to the library to comb through the foundation books looking for grants. Found quite a few that look promising. Let the letter and proposal writing begin. Put about 2 hours into editing the opening of the w.i.p. It’s looking good. Found out the street is being “milled”. They tear up a couple of inches, recycle it and lay it back down. So, no digging, only the smell of tar in the near future. It could be worse.

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Watched “The Farm – Angola, USA” Really great doc looking at the maximum security prison in Louisiana. Thought it’s narrative was really strong as well was the production values. Like a soft glove scared straight. Reserved equipment in Seattle. A place called Victory Studios. Very nice and very reasonable rates (cheaper than New York). Was referred by a fellow D-Worder (www.d-word.com). This website is an absolute necessity for anyone in the doc world. It rocks. Major construction has begun outside my office and bedroom window. They decided to start tearing up the street at 2am. Went well into the morning. Used the time to start cutting together the w.i.p. for the IFP Market submission. I taped a “nice” sign on my window for all the workers to see. It reflects my deep “love” for construction sound and noise and dust. Working at home might become very difficult. Hoping they’re just repaving, but usually if a street is stripped down in New York, the digging comes next.

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At lunch, we watched “Sex in a Cold Climate”, the doc the Sisters Magdalene was based on. This is the closest film we’ve seen that relates to All God’s Children. Its inventive use of footage is inspiring. It’s hard to tell if they had actual footage of the convent or if it was from a feature film or if they staged it and made it to look old. I think they did a little of all three. The interviews all had a very different look to them. We’ve been trying to keep ours consistently lit, but this shows that it’s not only okay, but perhaps preferred. I highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t seen this film, to get it. Rent the DVD so you can see the doc.

Posted by Scott Solary at 09:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Luci is wrapping up transcribing Bev’s interview and we’ve decided to submit as a work-in-progess (w.i.p.) to the IFP Market. Late deadline is May 28th. The actual market isn’t until September and we think that by then, we’ll have most of the interviews done and will have a decent rough cut. In the past, they screen 20 minutes of a w.i.p. and allow you to have a longer, more complete w.i.p. in the video library. So we’ve given ourselves another deadline to hit, but this shouldn’t be that difficult. We’ll submit a longer version of the Beardslee family interviews and later re-submit a cut with all the interviews we have gathered up to August.

Watched the infamous doc, “Cane Toads” on Sundance this morning. So so funny! This film was highly recommended to me and I’ve been trying to find it as a rental. Apparently, it’s not out on DVD. Thanks Sundance Channel!

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Watched “The Sisters Magdalene”. Really powerful film. Lack of music and slower pace really works well. Quite insightful to us about religion sanctioned care and the abuse that can happen. Look forward to watching the doc it was based on tomorrow. Makes me want to write a feature on MKs.

Posted by Scott Solary at 09:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Get to the P.O. and send the package. Won’t find out until October, but asking for 20k. We’re confident, but that can quickly be squashed. Hope springs eternal.

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We waited around the house for the letter of distribution support from Bev til about 3. In the meantime, I dubbed our work In progress tape as well as our production reel. Worried the letter got lost or dropped off somewhere else. We have an archaic mail delivery system amongst my landlord’s buildings. One drop off point etc.. Too much to go into right now. I eventually get the tracking number and make the necessary phone calls. Airborne Express has the letter at their conveniently located office in B.F.E. Brooklyn. By the time I drive out there and get to the copy shop, the post office has closed. Have to mail it out tomorrow. Hoping “post-mark deadline” is just that.

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Luci and I conform the budget to one page as per the Robeson requirements. Sounds easier than it is. We do a final polish on the proposal and are awaiting a letter from MK Safety Net about their commitment to help in distribution of the DVD when finished as well as regional screenings we will plan. The letter should arrive tomorrow.

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Wrote the narrative section for the Robeson grant. An all day task. Came up with a self-distribution plan that not only seems realistic, but encouraging. Talked with Macky Alston from the Hartley Foundation. He had many encouraging words and recommendations for funding. Although the film isn’t a right match with the Foundation’s agenda, he’s agreed to write a letter of support for us. This is a great tool for fundraising and we really appreciate his willingness to help.

Posted by Scott Solary at 09:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Watched footage from Bev’s interview and took some notes. Started preparing to write the Robeson proposal. Luci and I drew up a newer, more accurate budget. It’s now 318k. It’s hard to look at a budget that size and believe it’s attainable. Chip away boy!

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Luci began transcribing Bev’s interview. I feel back in swing and am able to catch up with some correspondences I had let go for a little while. Industry folks are all going to Cannes, so the few meeting I want to have will have to wait until everyone returns from France. Luci set up a whole slew of spreadsheets for us to keep track of grants and correspondences. Getting organazized. The Paul Robeson grant deadline is approaching and I’ll spend the week tweaking our proposal to suit it. Continuing to watch footage and taking notes. I’m going to try and cut together a few scenes of Bev’s interviews to show to prospective collaborators. Watched “The Target Shoots First” and “Whole” on the Sundance channel. Target was surprisingly enjoyable. The handheld camera is sloppy at best, but serves the film well. The audio is pretty bad most of the time and is a little distracting, but I find it right on the nose in expressing how corporate jobs suck you in even if you feel outside of that world. Whole was disturbing. These men are called wannabees and they feel as they should be amputees even though they have all their limbs. The shocking subject matter is really all it has going for it, because the camera work, lighting, editing and sound recording all leave something to be desired. This film was funded by the Jerome Foundation as well. Kind of cool to see another doc that got the grant.

Posted by Scott Solary at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A rather uneventful day filled with email communications and the like. Finished up dubbing audiotapes. FSU is having a special screening of some of their films at 2 Boots and being Alumni, Luci and I are invited to go. We met up with about 10 others for a pre-screening dinner at St. Dymphnas and ended up running late. The films were okay, but the reception of free beer and pizza was great.

Posted by Scott Solary at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finished dubbing videotapes and begin dubbing audio tapes for transcription. Went to the AIVF for a meet and greet of PBS. It proves to be insightful. A good representation of the full spectrum of PBS. Jody Sheff, Exec. Producer, Thirteen/WNET, Gustavo Sagastume, VP, Programming, PBS and Cara Mertes, Exec. Director, POV. My second time seeing Cara on a panel. She seems to be a great person. Super smart and unpretentious. Can’t wait to get something together and attempt to approach POV with our project. After the panel, Luci and I book the Seattle trip to interview Marilyn Shellrude and Ralph Shellrude, the father of Bev and Marilyn. After our time with Bev, Luci and I know how important hotel amenities are. We decide to splurge a little and get a hotel just above economy. This trip will probably be the most expensive. We’ll be there for a week and hope to see a little of that part of the country while we’re there. Neither of us have been to Seattle before, so we’re excited on many different levels.

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The following is a day to day recounting of our trip to interview Beverly.

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I return the equipment to John in Manhattan. Parking ticket free this time. My head is still not right. Can’t seem to get back in gear. I begin to dub the master tapes and get about halfway through. I touch base with Innes. Luci and I comb through the receipts for the trip. We were right on budget. A little under actually. We’ll use this trip as a model for budgeting for the remainder of the interviews.

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Today served as a day of getting everything back in order. We open a business account with Washington Mutual in All God’s Children’s name. This proves to take up most of the day. We’re still wiped out from the trip and need rest and our own bed.

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We’re packing up and Luci is hit with an extremely bad migraine. We make the room dark and let her rest until check out time. The headache subsides enough to get in the car and start our drive home. It rains most of the way, but eight hours later, we’re in the Holland Tunnel, Luci’s headache is gone and we’ve made it home safe.

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Looks like we’re going to finish today. Two days ahead of schedule. We get to Bev’s and discuss the release forms. Legal jargon has never been my strong suit and I have to get out of the discussion and let Luci and Bev figure out acceptable language. Bev brings out a box of letters and reads a couple on camera. It proves to be very powerful and a great note to end on.

They ask if they could see the work in progress we’ve done. We sit around the living room and watch. I’m biting my nails in anticipation of their response. They were impressed and Bev says, “We’re in good hands.” The best compliment we could receive. We all give our hugs and say good-byes. Wow! What a great family.

Luci and I have decided to stop for the night in Niagara Falls. It’s rainy, so walking around Toronto wouldn’t be much fun. We get the Marriot at a special Sunday rate and our room overlooks the falls through a huge picture window with piped in sound of falling water. At night, they shine colored lights on the falls between 9 and 12. We watch the 3rd Matrix and watch the running water while drinking the Canadian wine Bev and Ernie gave us as a thank you gift. The evening served perfectly as an “unplugging”.

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We get to Bev’s around 10am and decide we should all go to a park the family frequents to get some B-roll. It’s a beautifully tranquil spot complete with mountain vistas and a running stream. We return to the house and do some more interviewing.

Although everything Bev tells us has a tremendous emotional weight, today is easier than yesterday. We invite the family out to dinner and they pick a very nice restaurant they go to for special occasions.

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