"Know Your Audience" - How Doug Blush's Documentary Film relates to PR
- Logan Booth
- Nov 3, 2019
- 3 min read
I saw an email last Tuesday about an upcoming film screening of the 2017 documentary Skid Row Marathon. As I've never been to a film where the producer is present to give their first-hand perspective on the evolution of an idea to the big screen, to say I was excited was an understatement. But what does filmmaking have to do with a PR major, anyway? How do the two fields relate?
Well, the documentary and discussion panel with Oscar-winning director, editor, and cinematographer Doug Blush gave insight into meaningful storytelling, work ethic, and audience importance. Creating an impactful story - like Blush shining a light on Craig Mitchell, a Supreme Court Judge in Los Angeles who began a running club in one of the most impoverished cities in America - helped me realize how other peoples' stories inspire us every day. Visual communications allow media curators to tell the most authentic stories of their subjects and bring awareness to real-world issues we often forget about in day-to-day life.
Blush began the screening with a short introduction about the film. He states: "It talks about humanity and the solutions that are possible with the incredibly overwhelming crisis of homelessness and addiction in the United States today." I think he intended to keep the pre-screening short and sweet - to give audience members like myself a chance to truly immerse themselves in the story.
During the next hour and a half, I found myself intently following four stories of recovering addicts who turned their lives around by joining Judge Mitchell's Midnight Mission running club. The range of emotions an audience member cycles through while watching Skid Row Marathon leaves him or her with a different perception about human connection. Subjects in the film achieve goals we were able to see throughout the journey, like acceptance into a prestigious music school or obtaining a medical job position. A person watching this film grows alongside the stories told by people one would be hesitant to understand - given the social and structural limitations of poverty. Documentaries like Skid Row Marathon show how stepping outside your own perception allows you to better resonate with people from all walks of life.
The post-documentary discussion panel connected the issues presented in the film to the real-world creative process of Skid Row Marathon filmmakers. When Blush began a conference call via Skype with Mark and Gabrielle Hayes - the director and editor of the film - I was astounded when they revealed the project took four years to complete. Out of 300 hours of film, audiences see merely an hour and a half. Talk about paying attention to detail!
We discussed the executive decisions filmmakers have to make when deciding who are the best storytellers for a film, as there is a limit of characters you want your audience to follow. It made me think back to the recent candy corn video assignment in 215, where we first had to determine our intended audience before we could begin filming. Blush and the Hayes couple also talked intently on the concept of trust. Since their film crew consisted of two to three people, subjects built an intimate relationship that allowed them to show their authentic selves through the screen.
Lastly, the message of the screening evoked a strong call-to-action motive that PR practitioners can use during the film's promotion. The film will be released on Apple TV and Amazon Prime on November 19. The website mentioned, skidrowmarathon.com , includes a brand message of hope and inspiration. It also shows how convergence through different media realms helps create more awareness. Blush revealed at the end of the discussion that the film did not get a national release, but notes it may be a blessing in disguise. He summed up the night perfectly when he smiled with confidence and said: "Sooner or later, the big stories get found out."
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