Seeing light at the end of the tunnel
As you can tell by looking at the dates of these posts, I've been limited in working on this project to the summer and Christmastime. That's because I teach communication at Anderson University. It's a job I love but one that is extremely time-consuming which has put a definite crimp in my ability to move this project along nearly as quickly as I had hoped.
I'm happy to say that while you haven't heard from me in a while, a lot has actually been accomplished. During this past summer, I was able to begin inserting soundbites from some of the numerous individuals I've interviewed for this project into the earlier segments. I'm extremely grateful to everyone who has sat down for an interview with me. To keep the final video from becoming too long, I won't be able to include everyone in the final product and will have to limit the length of the bites that I do include.
I anticipate including much of the interview material in this blog as follow-up pieces. That way the length of the documentary can be kept manageable (I'm shooting for under and hour) but those of you who are really interested in Connie Maxwell history will be able to do a deep dive into the longer interviews.
I've also been able to put together additional rough cuts of the narrated segments, one of which is included at the top of this post. This segment covers what Dr. Alan Keith-Lucas calls in his book "Hope and Healing: The First Hundred Yeas of Connie Maxwell History," the "troubled sixties and seventies."
These decades marked a definite turning point in the history of Connie Maxwell. The years of growing populations of children living on the main campus were coming to a close as more emphasis was placed on helping children live in more traditional family units rather than on a large campus. Funding streams for the ministry were also beginning to shift from churches to individuals. Dr. Sam Smith also led the children's home through the process of racial integration during this time period. And, if you know anything about this time period generally, you know that it was also a great time of change in America.
I encourage you to check out the rough cut and to reach out to me with your thoughts. If you are one of the many Connie Maxwell alum or former staff members, this segment may be talking about parts of the children's home history you lived so any insights you have are certainly appreciated. If you've not done so already, please set up a login for this blog. That way you'll be notified whenever there's a new post.
There's definitely a bright light now showing at the end of the tunnel for "The Connie Maxwell Story" documentary project.
