Documentary Insight & Advice

Dr.D-Sag

Dr.D-Sag

Member
Hey Newschoolers,

I would love to get some of your insight and advice on a short-form documentary that I am directing for my senior project.

The Art of the Heart

The project is a short-form documentary following the life of Matthew, a seven-year-old boy who was born with half a heart. Matthew suffers from a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) and has already undergone four open-heart surgeries and countless other procedures. Down the road he will eventually need a heart transplant. Every 15 minutes a baby is born with a congenital heart defect.

It is the number one birth defect in the world, yet research on it only dates back 30 years or so. A simple test used for early detection of CHD isn't administered in all US hospitals, but Matthew's family is working to change that. Their advocacy has lead legislation in Connecticut and New York to mandate the test. It has also influenced other states to do the same. In effect they have saved thousands of lives, but more still needs to be done.

Through this documentary I hope to continue their mission of saving lives. My senior project will reflect Matthew's ongoing battle, the family's accomplishments and above all else raise awareness around CHD. I would love to hear all your thoughts on the project!
 
^Awesome, I'll definitely check it out and would dig talking to him about his experience working with documentaries
 
I like documentaries.

The biggest thing in my opinion is setting it up in away that even if the person watching doesn't care about the topic, or doesn't know anything about the topic, they can still enjoy it.

Also would watch. Like I said I'm always down to watch a doc.
 
I feel the best way is get your audience hooked early so even if they aren't interested in the topic they will be interested in hearing the rest of the story.
 
Have the story follow a charismatic toddler dealing with this. America loves that shit.

Btw, what is the purpose of the test? If doctors find the condition in the womb can they treat it? What's the point?
 
13556932:californiagrown said:
Have the story follow a charismatic toddler dealing with this. America loves that shit.

Btw, what is the purpose of the test? If doctors find the condition in the womb can they treat it? What's the point?
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There could be ways of this leading to trements in the future if we catch it while still in development. But it also helps with family or parents who wouldnt be ready to take on the medical bills and defects with having the baby.
 
13557002:nocturnal said:
There could be ways of this leading to trements in the future if we catch it while still in development. But it also helps with family or parents who wouldnt be ready to take on the medical bills and defects with having the baby.
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so they can abort?

Should we screen for down syndrome and abort those babies too? what about autism? should it be up to the parents? in what cases should the practice be encouraged, discouraged?

There are some very interesting ethical questions that go along with screening fetuses for "birth defects". AKA Eugenics.
 
13557087:californiagrown said:
so they can abort?

Should we screen for down syndrome and abort those babies too? what about autism? should it be up to the parents? in what cases should the practice be encouraged, discouraged?

There are some very interesting ethical questions that go along with screening fetuses for "birth defects". AKA Eugenics.
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Yeah man it's totally up to the parents do you have any idea how much effort money and time is going to go into taking care of a mentally handicapped kid. If the family can't financially support it or properly take care of it.
 
13557131:nocturnal said:
Yeah man it's totally up to the parents do you have any idea how much effort money and time is going to go into taking care of a mentally handicapped kid. If the family can't financially support it or properly take care of it.
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I do. But lots of folks would get very angry at the idea of basically breeding out autism and down syndrome and other conditions most folks would call birth defects. People get scared at the prospect of eugenics.
 
13557143:californiagrown said:
I do. But lots of folks would get very angry at the idea of basically breeding out autism and down syndrome and other conditions most folks would call birth defects. People get scared at the prospect of eugenics.
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You realize the tests you're talking about exist right? If it angers you so much you can take care of the kid.
 
13557231:nocturnal said:
You realize the tests you're talking about exist right? If it angers you so much you can take care of the kid.
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I do. I just think the issue of whether to terminate vs go through with the pregnancy is a helluva lot more interesting than the premise OP has in mind.
 
13557246:californiagrown said:
I do. I just think the issue of whether to terminate vs go through with the pregnancy is a helluva lot more interesting than the premise OP has in mind.
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This took a much different turn than I was expecting... But, I'll answer you original question about the purpose of the test.

There are over 40 types of Congenital Heart Defects (CHD's) and each one is different. Only some can be detected while the baby is still a fetus. Most CHD's are discovered after a baby is born by testing their blood oxygen levels using a Pulse Oximetry Screening. Defects range from minor to severe.

Minor defects will heal themselves, while severe defects require immediate treatment, open heart surgeries and in most cases a heart transplant. The major issue which will be discussed in the doc is that not every US hospital is required to administer Pulse Ox Screenings. Hospitals that don't administer the test will send babies home not knowing they have a CHD. Then a day, week or month later the baby will die unexpectedly and the parents won't know why. If the test was administered then they could have been immediately treated and saved.

It's confusing and there is a lot of science behind it, but I'm trying to avoid as much as the science as possible so that it doesn't put people to sleep.
 
13557231:nocturnal said:
You realize the tests you're talking about exist right? If it angers you so much you can take care of the kid.
Click to expand...

the test is amniocentesis. It's done at 14-16 weeks, which leaves very little time to decide to abort (done usually at 12-14 weeks, late goes around 18 or so). That being said, doing an amnio puts the fetus at risk for another whole slew of issues, albeit in a small percentage. So there's the "lets get the test to see, maybe abortion?" vs "it'll be too late to abort anyways, I wanna give my fetus the best possible chance at being healthy."

At the same time, getting an amniocentesis should also depend on whether or not there are genetic and other risk factors
 
13550189:nocturnal said:
My friend and newschoolers member made this documentary. (Suport an nser and watch it.)https://vimeo.com/ondemand/farfromhome

Ill send him this thread so he can pop in.
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Dear OP - You have a great subject and congrats on making your kickstarter goal!

The thread took an interesting turn when the idea of eugenics was brought in. What you've done well so far is address a much larger issue through the story of a seven year old and his family's struggle. Stay true to that and it's worth asking what this means for parents who now have access to the test but not necessarily the treatments...know what I mean?

This thread could be a great tool for you depending on three things:

1. What are your short term goals for this project?

2. What are your long term goals?

3. How much will it cost?

I pull from experience, Robbie sent me this thread since I'm the director of the Far From Home project and have been the recipient of A LOT of great advice and not so great advice.

From a technical side, you guys look good (are you using presets or do you have a really good grasp of after effects?) That's awesome but make sure the graphics don't stand out as the most impressive thing. They should back up everything that's important to your subject. He may not be the most articulate so make sure you get good bites from his parents, siblings, teachers, whoever...and shoot from down low like in your last shot to give us the story from his point of view (literally).

Happy to share more wisdom as others have shared with me. Good luck!
 
You've got a great subject and congrats on making your kickstarter goal!

The thread took an interesting turn when the idea of eugenics was brought in. What you've done well so far is address a much larger issue through the story of a seven year old and his family's struggle. Stay true to that and it's worth asking what this means for parents who now have access to the test but not necessarily the treatments...know what I mean?

This thread could be a great tool for you depending on three things:

1. What are your short term goals for this project?

2. What are your long term goals?

3. How much will it cost?

I pull from experience, Robbie sent me this thread since I'm the director of the Far From Home project and have been the recipient of A LOT of great advice and not so great advice.

From a technical side, you guys look good (are you using presets or do you have a really good grasp of after effects?) That's awesome but make sure the graphics don't stand out as the most impressive thing. They should back up everything that's important to your subject. He may not be the most articulate so make sure you get good bites from his parents, siblings, teachers, whoever...and shoot from down low like in your last shot to give us the story from his point of view (literally).

Happy to share more wisdom as others have shared with me. Good luck!
 
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