“There is a film here.”
That’s what I told my client, Renewable Water Resources (ReWa), after a quick shoot in November 2023. We were filming a delivery of oyster shells collected from a local festival that were being deposited into a collections bin on the side of the road. These shells were eventually added to a larger collection that builds up over the course of a year, at which point ReWa moves them down to the coast. Through a partnership with South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the shells are placed along the coastline on reefs, providing long-lasting environmental and ecological benefits.
The science of it all is fascinating, but that’s not what hooked me. As I heard the experts talk more about this process, I couldn’t help but daydream about the story of it all. I pictured the shells being shoveled into bags and the loaded trucks moving the haul. What I was most giddy about, though, was the image of the teams of people on the shoreline distributing and planting these shells. I was six months out from filming anything but already editing the video in my head.
Several additional discussions eventually led to the plan of creating a short film to document the trip, happening in May of 2024. The logistics of it all necessitated a minimal video production footprint…so, just me. But that made it even more exciting. Spending hours with multiple people setting up big lights and tripods is fun, but being a one-man band on a mini adventure is a whole other type of fun. Everything is on you. The project lives or dies solely on your choices and decisions. It’s gratifying and terrifying all at once.
It was a quick, one-day shoot. I met up with the ReWa team that morning at the SCDNR guest house on Mosquito Creek near Green Pond, SC, filmed a few interviews, and captured footage of all the activity. One of my favorite shots in the final film is a super tight shot of the shells on the truck bed. I once had a colleague tell me that, when it comes to eliciting emotion, it’s all about the tight shots. Get right in on someone’s face. I guess it can work for shells too!
The rest of the day was spent on two different shorelines. The team had to first arrive at one shore with a boat dock in order to remove the bags of shells from the truck bed to the boat. Then they traveled by boat to Edisto Island, where they moved the bags from the boat to the shore. Can I tell you something? It was dusty. So much shell dust. And sand. I hate sand. But as that same colleague from before also told me, “everything in service of the story.”
Look, I’m no expert in documentaries, and I’m certain the final film doesn’t meet textbook documentary criteria, but I loved it. I’m proud of the story I helped tell and the attention that this will hopefully bring to conservation and environmental growth. Give me the opportunity even just once or twice a year to film something like this, and I’m a happy guy.
Check out the final film below.