Documentary Survival Starter Gift Set

My boyfriend, John Spotswood Moore, has probably seen more documentaries than anyone else I know. Since I told him about my project, he has been grilling me on my story, structure, game plan. "Is it going to be retrospective or lead towards an event?" he asks me. "is it going to be Cinéma vérité or more direct cinema?" I have been playfully calling him my Documentary Drill Sergent. Lately, I've been more under this mindset of, I'll let it figure its self out--I don't want to make it be anything, I just want it to be. This apparently is the flaky way of thought.

Because we just moved into a new apartment and because we both don't make a lot of money, we put a price limit on our Christmas gifts, nothing more than $50. I got him The Mighty Ducks and Fantastic Mr. Fox on DVD, which are two of his favorite movies, plus a nice coffee grinder. John got me what he calls the Documentary Survival Starter Gift Set which includes 4 documentaries on DVD and a book plus he has offered to be my producer. The DVDs are Trouble the Water, Babies, Young at Heart, and Barak and the book is Making Documentary Films and Videos: A Practical Guide to Planning, Filming, and Editing Documentaries by Barry Hampe. It was a really great gift. He even wrote in the cover of the book "To Sarah, my love, producer, and best friend, always remember that my time with you has been more entertaining and exciting than any movie ever made." I got a little gushy when I read that.

I'm feeling pretty good about this and my new diet of documentary watching. I can do this and it's going to be awesome.