Well, Who Knew indeed… that this was going to be an exciting, scary, revealing ride into the world of documentary (hitherto referred to as the ‘doc’) film making?! There needs to be a documentary about how to make a documentary!

Locations … not always as easy as it sounds… however, thanks to Julie Brewer we were able to film at her Langford Montessori Preschool, Danny Bryne allowed us to film B Roll at Towner Crest, the most amazing garden full of gorgeous rhododendrons and Joan Kyle Jones allowed us to film in her basement studio, as her son, Davey and granddaughter, Wynne were in the film! 

Characters… also not as easy as it sounds, sadly Emily Tucker (who was in the Bonus Edition) was unable to join us and thankfully Manda Aufochs Gillespie was able to join us at very short notice. We were grateful to have parental permission to film our very young stars!

The first day of filming started at Kelly’s home, which will be posing as my home, I was all set with my ‘script’ only to discover I wasn’t to say anything. She wanted film of me flipping through my book, looking pensive, and she would be adding voice over for the doc.  This was hilarious.. I hadn’t practiced my pensive look.. I tried very hard to channel my inner Olivia Coleman…but I’m pretty sure it was awful. This was the first sighting of Kelly’s patience in full flow. In the photo you may just make out a camera on a sort of railway line… silly me, I thought the lens would zoom in... no…the whole camera comes towards you… not at all scary… hahaha!  This was my first sighting of Kelly’s patience, she was very reassuring… so that done…

We picked up some NoodleBoxes and headed over to Julie. At the appointed time three adorable little children arrived, two 4 year-olds and one 5 year old. They looked SO smart in their approved pastel shade clothes… no logos, no black, no white. They were a little shy as we met them outside, but as soon as they came in and Julie adopted the usual preschool pose… they were so confident and settled it was incredible. They did Release, and Julie threw a Koosh ball to each one. She played a game based on the energy dial… “if your dial is at 1 what are you doing?”  They all hit the floor in sleeping pose… “if your dial is at 7 what are you doing?” They all started dancing around. 

I spoiled the silence on the set.. I can’t chuckle quietly, but you will see that Kelly may be filming but she is grinning from ear to ear… they were SO cute. After that they made letters with the clay ropes...  

Then it was time for Julie to be interviewed…  and a team photo… day one completed!     

Day Two was filmed at Joan’s home. She graciously allowed a considerable disruption as I had worked with her son, Davey, when he was 21 and just this year I worked there with his daughter, Wynne.  The full crew was there, 2 camera, 1 sound crew, 1 stills and Kelly. I really wanted the film to convey that it is our Mind’s Eye that travels around a 3D object. Some of the animations I have seen give the impression that the object is moving. Kelly had a plan… and I loved how it evolved.

I went through the motions of a perceptual ability assessment... to see if Abraham could see a 3D object and if he could move his Mind’s Eye around it. He was prompted to imagine a piece of cheesecake on a green plate. We placed a real piece of cheesecake on a green plate on his hand and Kelly filmed it from 360degrees. Abraham is 8. He sat with that plate for a long time, while the lighting and the sound and the filming went on…and then several ‘takes’  he was so still and so patient. We filmed him starting to master this Upper Case alphabet and then it was time for him to get back to school!

In the afternoon, we filmed Wynne with the reading exercise and mastering a word. Day Two was complete.

On Day Three I was excited to have Summerland in the documentary as he has been an integral part of my programs for those who love dogs. He knows when the children need a cuddle and always obliges. We walked through Towner Crest which is a wonderful garden open to the public and full of rhododendrons.  Kelly liked the slight drizzle.. I had my Jamie Oliver (very famous dyslexic) umbrella!

The Fox and Monocle is a lovely bakery by day and restaurant by night right by the ferry terminal at Swartz Bay. They close on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Tracie (one of the owners) very kindly allowed us to film our interviews there. Manda came from the mainland, Maureen Levitt our Mentor collected her so she could share her experience as the mother of a dyslexic, an author, broadcaster and educator. Her home is on Cortes Island and I had worked there with her daughter. When High School loomed and the idea of leaving the island wasn’t going well, Manda created (via the Power River School District) the Cortes Island Academy. She had a good understanding of how dyslexics think and students come from far and wide to complete a semester which includes kayaking, learning about the forest and creating podcasts. The website is well worth a visit.. www.cortesislandacademy.ca.   

Davey recounted his experience of finding out, as a young adult, that he had dyslexia. He took a Davis program, and then followed a successful career as a facilities and construction manager for Island Health. When he noticed that Wynne was working so hard at school, but not getting the results she deserved he arranged for her to take a program early this year. Since then they have been bonding as they complete the trigger word mastery together.

By this time Julie had arrived with Abraham and her son Koen. His program success brought her into the Davis world. Koen is a brilliant creator.. and is currently becoming a Rubiks Cube expert. It was my turn to be interviewed, and I was tired, it was teatime by now.. and there was no tea! Every time I took a deep breath and re-recorded my segment I saw him giving me two thumbs up and a huge grin.. so there was no choice… we had to film him doing the Rubiks Cube and we timed him… 15 seconds !!!  

So we were done… out came the Prosecco and we toasted .. “It’s a wrap”… what an experience! I have a whole new admiration for the documentary filming process… the unpacking of equipment and the setting up and the attention to detail for the set, the lighting, the sound… coping with batteries running out and sudden noises…not to mention keeping the projected vision and asking the questions that brought forth the required answers.. it was exhausting just watching. 

The StoryHive budget was nowhere near what Kelly and her crew would normally expect, which made me every more grateful to Kelly, Ben, Dave, Adam and Lillie… for being so easy to work with, going with the flow with grace and humour and giving us an introduction to filming we will never forget.