Today, as I was editing the scene of Stu talking to the Winter Spring high school students, I couldn’t find a particular quote I remember Stu saying about how he never underestimates the intelligence of young people. I wanted to use the quote as a VO at the top of the scene.
I know he made this statement during an interview we did several months ago, but for some reason I didn’t ingest the footage.
After searching (for about twenty minutes) through various (unlabeled) tapes, I gave up looking for the clip, and it forced me to edit the scene without it. In the long run, the scene benefits from not having the quote because it obeys my golden rule of showing and not telling.
However, I did come across a piece of video of Stu, in an unguarded moment, talking on his cell phone to Sarah Jane and giving her directions to his house. This was the day Sarah Jane and Stu rehearsed their scenes while sitting at Stu’s kitchen table.
Now what is interesting is that in my edited footage, of their rehearsal, I begin the scene with a slightly flustered Sarah Jane entering Stu’s house saying that she is late because she got lost on the way over. Stu inquires if it is his directions that caused the problem and Sarah is quick to put the blame on herself
Now, I have the scene of him giving those directions. It might not seem like much, but just adding this little extra piece gives the entire scene more flavor, more texture, and more information.
Getting Lear: How To Show And Not Tell
"All documentaries must invoke, as best they can, the spirit rather than the letter of the truth - and they are exciting because of this. A documentary's authenticity ultimately lies in its organizing vision rather than any mechanical fidelity to life." - Michael Rabiger
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