Opening the Creative Floodgates

Last week I had a creative breakthrough on my motherhood documentary.

I was flipping through some old photos in my phone when I stumbled across a pic of Ginny Rose from four months ago. Her face was round and she was totally bald. It was a screenshot from when I filmed with Mary Perrino a couple of months back and I barely even recognized my little porkadino. I thought to myself “I better get Perrino back over here to film Ginny again.” 

Then a light bulb went off. 

Maybe Mary should be filming Ginny and I every couple of months to capture those changes on camera? In fact, why not show the arch of her first year to see how much Ginny changes, and to see how I grow as a mother?

The more I thought about this idea the more I liked it. Besides, the footage I shot when Ginny was 4 months old was just starting to feel safe enough to edit. I was a little too “in it” at that time to dive in and have any kind of perspective. I needed some time to understand what that last few months of my motherhood journey had meant.

So a few weeks ago, Mary came over and filmed the whole day with Ginny, Sal and I, alongside another very personal interview. A couple of days passed and I sat down to see if what we filmed had any common threads with the footage we shot earlier in the Spring.

At first I felt unsure of how everything would work together. I felt overwhelmed by the content- mostly because my interview sessions are more like therapy sessions and I felt really vulnerable on camera.

But after talking it through with Sal I had an idea about the format that I’ve never done before. What if I removed the visual aspect of the interview altogether and we just hear my voice over the clips of the day, weaving in and out of everyday parenting moments? I wasn’t sure if it would work, or how it would feel so I sat down to edit.

That night, the creative floodgates opened. 

The interview audio paired with the intimate footage of the day had a diary-like quality to it. It felt emotional, personal, candid, and warm. I kept editing. I started writing new ideas. A dream board of post-its emerged. 

I felt the electricity and energy of something great, something totally unknown, and something I haven't felt since working on Dream, Girl. I can’t wait to keep editing, keep working, and keep dreaming about this new project.

I’m down the rabbit hole now- and this is just the beginning. 

Want a sneak peak of what I’m working on? Click here to check out my IG highlight to see some behind the scenes photos and a one minute clip of the film.

Xx,

Written by Erin Bagwell
Copy edited by Diana Matthews