Hanna's Story

I'm really excited to get started on filming this.
I spoke with a member of CrossFit Dixie last week, Jana, one of the people recommended to me to do a profile video on. She talked to me about her daughter, Hanna, and how Hanna has downs syndrome, and how it's affected their family, but mostly how CrossFit has had huge effect on Hanna and her life.
Hanna goes to the teen CrossFit classes several times a week and loves it. I want to tell her and her family's story about how anyone can be a CrossFitter, no matter their physical disabilities, and how activity like this can be potentially strengthening in more ways than one.

I'm sorting out my schedule now to decide on shooting dates for interviews with the family, Hanna, and the different coaches who have had the pleasure of working with her in classes at the gym. I think I'll start out easy, by just going to her classes and shooting candid footage of her at class, and also go hang out with her family to see how they all interact together. Both Jana and her husband have been avid CrossFitters for about 4 years now, so I'd also like to get a few simple shots of them working out. Depending on when I can get cameras for that, I can probably start with those less scripted shots next week.

Planning - First 3 profile videos

I've been in contact with Brock, who runs most of the online and social media content for CrossFit Dixie. We've put together a list of three people so far to do these videos on.
A fifth grade teacher and mom of three kids, the owner of Rigatti's pizza, and an interior designer.
I say the first three because I may or may not carry these over after I graduate and continue with a bigger series, but these three are going to be my series for capstone.

"Potential" - new CrossFit video for my look book

This is a great example of why I'm a fan of the videos CrossFit can potentially make. I'll link a couple of others at the end of this from several years ago that initially sparked my interest in these little productions. The hope here is that people see it as empowering and inspirational, as it was to me when I first watched all of these. 

These next ones are also very much focused on gender and how women can (and need to) empower each other and see beauty in our strengths, no matter what they are. My original idea for a capstone was based off of these videos when I first watched them about two years ago. I wanted to make a short documentary on the women of CrossFit, and even though that's been done to some extent in these shorter videos that CrossFit has made, I think there is still plenty to be explored considering the subject of any gender issues in fitness, in general, as well as a lot of individual stories that are super interesting to me.

Official Capstone Project - Finally.

Literally years ago when I found out I had to do a capstone for my senior project I had visions of doing this great sports documentary on CrossFit women. I was going to travel from box to box down the west coast and interview and film incredible women who have built both physical and mental strength due to this innovative sport and and ideology, and it was going to be awesome.

What I didn't envision was the 16 other credits I would be taking, or the time I would have to dedicate myself to the National Guard and ROTC, or the fact that I didn't even have the equipment available to me to travel the west coast with. So I didn't do it. I forgot, to be honest. Other ideas crept into my mind - write a short film and produce it, get rid of the first short film and write another, make a music video. All great ideas, ideally, but I'm stuck in the unfortunate situation of having to graduate this semester and not having the time or other means to accomplish any of those things.

So I'm compromising. I've retracted back to a CrossFit idea; I've talked with the owner of CrossFit Dixie and his media business partner and I'm going to make several small profile documentary style videos on members of our gym. These people will be stand outs - not necessarily of the elite of our gym, but the regular, everyday people who do CrossFit. The real, normal CrossFitters who nobody really sees behind the glamour of the sport. A mom who's been going to the gym since 2009; a businessman who works out everyday after work; the newlywed who never worked out a day in his life until he decided to make a change and began CrossFitting only months ago. These are the CrossFitters of today and always, and I plan on helping to tell their stories.

I'd like to focus on how the stories are told and make sure it's done effectively, but my main goal here is to get really nice shots and edit these appropriately, not exactly mimicking the style of how CrossFit media does their videos, but still kind of have a feel from that. Since I watched my first video about CrossFit back in early 2013 I've wanted to make those videos for myself, and I'm not really sure why I lost sight of that.


As far as look books go, I've been watching the editing style of Gordon Ramsay's "The F Word," and like the quick cuts while still keeping the visual overall intact. I was told to watch "Top Gear" as well, so I imagine that will give me some more editing and shot ideas. I've watched more CrossFit videos than you could imagine over the last few years, but I'll be watching their newest documentary, "Fittest on Earth," this week as well. I've heard good things about it but I'd like to also try and watch it with a non-CrossFit biased eye.

My next steps are building a list of people to do these profile videos on, contacting and setting up times with them to shoot some footage, whether it be an interview or them working out at the gym, someone else going input about them and their progress, whatever. I'd like to have at least three of them completely shot by April 1, giving me time to do the proper post-production. I'd like to have at least one of them done completely by that date as well. I could see this carrying on past the three videos and making several of these for the gym, mostly just to build up my portfolio.