Foster Care Story | Shooting Verité Style Mini-Doc
I had the joy of filming this story of a family who has taken up the call to obey Jesus's command to take care of orphans and vulnerable children. Again, this was a learning experience for me to be aware of the foster system in the US and the different ways people can be involved in this important task.
Watch Issy’s story below:
The Process
Pre-Production
Because I had limited time to film this story, I wanted to find out the main message from them: why are they doing what they are doing? I learned that when filming people’s stories, it is important to incorporate them as if they are co-directors of the film. This releases pressure from me to come up with a story and allows the story to be a more transparent and honest representation of their lives.
I only had one day to film this story and thankfully, the foster child had his first birthday coming up. I really felt this was God-given moment. Filming on his birthday allowed the film to have more interesting visuals and story arc.
Production
I made the choice early on to film this story that had more verité scenes and fewer talking heads with B-rolls. Verité scenes allow everything to unfold in front of the camera. It captures what’s happening raw in front of you as opposed to interview-based scenes with lots of B-rolls. For the whole day of the shoot, after building rapport with the kids, I followed the family around and filmed like a fly on the wall. I didn’t direct them to say or do anything. It allowed for genuine moments like when the mother was working in the bedroom and talking about the challenges of balancing work and fostering. This was my favorite scene in the video.
Verité moment of the mother describing the challenges of balancing her work and fostering.
Post Production
After forming the narrative, the bulk of the story involved finding the right background tracks. I found three that fit the mood for different scenes. The editing process came smoother than I expected. I really like those verité moments even though the shots were shaky at times, they allowed me to transport myself into their space.
Final Remarks
This foster care story was told from the perspective of a Christian family who took seriously the call of Jesus to take care of orphans. It was challenging and inspiring. One thing I was reminded was how important foster care was. There are lots of cry against abortion among Christians but not so much a call to take care of foster children. This project has definitely increased the desire in me to be an advocate for orphans and foster children.