Students in Ballard’s Digital
Filmmaking Program are fortunate to live in a film-loving city with an active
filmmaking community. Any list of
distinguished filmmakers in the area is bound to include Ward Serrill. Serrill made a big splash in 2005 with his
Oscar-caliber documentary The Heart of the Game. Following the premiere at the prestigious
Toronto Film Festival, it was given international distribution by Marimax,
picking up various nominations for Best Documentary. Serrill himself was nominated for Best
Documentary Screenplay by the Writers Guild of America.
Serrill’s most recent work is a big
contrast from the crowded gymnasiums of raucous fans in The Heart of the
Game. TreeStory
(www.treestoryfilm.com), a web-series, encourages viewers to hear the voices of
our silent neighbors. Explains Serrill:
“Everywhere I have ever lived: Alabama, Seattle, Alaska, Port Townsend, I have
always gravitated towards one particular tree in the area and start what feels
like a friendship with it. When I mentioned this to people, I was surprised to
hear that many people have relationships with special trees in their lives. So
I thought, perhaps I can make a film series that tells some of these stories,
that shows people's devotion to trees. In the deeper sense I hope to inspire a
movement of TreeStories that will grow into a deeper stewardship with trees on
the planet.” Serrill hopes that audience donations will make it possible to release a new episode of TreeStory every month.
Serrill serves on the Professional
Advisory Committee for Ballard’s Digital Filmmaking Program. He shares his wisdom with classes in
excellent guest lectures. On TreeStory,
he provided an internship for senior Leo Pfeifer. Although Pfeifer has won awards for various types of productions, documentary is his special interest. “When I found out I would have the chance to
work with Ward through this internship, I was very excited. I’d seen some of
his work, which I was a huge fan of, and heard him talk about documentary
filmmaking, so I knew that this internship would be a tremendous learning
experience for me.” The DFP routinely
arranges internships for students, giving them an opportunity to earn school
credit as they learn from professionals.
“My main duty was logging footage and transcribing interviews. I was able to see Ward’s interview technique, the ways that the footage
was shot, how the audio was recorded, and countless other small things that
gave me a stronger understanding of documentary production. Ward and I
also discussed the structure and story of the piece. He asked for my input, and
explained his thoughts and approach to structuring it. Right away, I could
really tell that Ward was invested in making this a learning experience for me,
and not just giving me some tasks to do. He was always interested in
hearing my thoughts on the project, and he took the time to look at a couple
documentaries I had made to give me feedback.”
Leo wasn’t the only one who felt he
came out ahead. “Working with Leo was revelatory”
says Serrill. “He served as an assistant editor and as a production assistant.
He is so talented and works with such a great attitude that I would bring him
on to any program I was working on. I couldn't have done this series without
him.” Since completing the internship,
Serrill has hired Leo to work on future episodes. “I am a great fan of the Ballard film program. And working
around young people who have a passion to learn is very inspiring to my
process.”
