A long time comin'

So, there's this documentary that I've been working on with my dear friend Kim...
and it's ALMOST DONE!!!

(Remember that time I went to Ghana? Well, this is what we went there for.)

The film is about a project to bring light to children who don't have electricity by installing electricity-generating merry-go-rounds at their schools. The electricity from the merry-go-round charges LED lanterns that the children can take home and use for nighttime studying.

It's titled "A Turn for Ghana: Bringing Light to the Children of Africa." We're premiering it on the 25th at BYU. The invites have been sent out. The final touch-ups are being made to the film before we burn it to a DVD. I've got my outfit all picked out and ready to go. And I have to say this is by far the most challenging/rewarding project I have ever worked on.

Kim and I have put in well over 300 hours in planning, writing, interviewing, traveling, and editing. I've laughed, I've cried, and sometimes I've just gotten downright frustrated with it all. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've learned how to use a new type of editing software (mostly through trial and error), I've become a much better scriptwriter, I've become a better interviewer, I've learned new editing techniques to make the story flow, I've learned how to edit and use music to add emotion to a story, I've become better organized while keeping track of production tasks...I could go on.

This has been my full-time job for the past three months, and I'm not getting paid to do it. I've hardly noticed, though, because it's been so much fun. It's been a long time coming, but I've loved the experience.

I think I might cry when it's finished...