We’ve all seen tons of documentaries packed with old photographs, talking heads and monotonous background music and while there are certainly a number that are successful, not many manage to create the sensation that you’re actually immersed in the specific event. However, nowadays, when just about anyone can pick up a camera, hit record and capture history, firsthand accounts of just about any event are easy to come by. Then again, there’s just so far a YouTube clip can take you. Someone needs to compile and assemble a significant amount of footage to really bring a particular occurrence back to life and that’s exactly what Jeff Deutchman did with the film 11/4/08.
Just before the presidential election in 2008, Deutchman called out to 50 people asking them to document their experience on that destined-to-be historic day. Soon after, footage poured in and he got to work piecing their experiences together. The end result is 11/4/08, a documentary that takes us from the early morning of November 4th, 2008 to the early morning of the following day in a number of locations including New York, Alaska and abroad as well. Then again, “end result” is the wrong term to use. 11/4/08 may be making its debut On Demand today, but it continues to grow through the website www.11-4-08.com where Deutchman is still actively posting more Election Day video.
This type of filmmaking is certainly a unique process and Deutchman was more than happy to elaborate on the experience. He told us about everything from reaching out to potential collaborators all the way up to the ever-growing website he manages today. Check out all the details in the video interview below.
