“This is a wonderful film and one of the most engaging documentaries I have seen. The narration was superb, the graphics outstanding and the switching back and forth from reenactment to historical pictures was very well done. Great project.” – Stan Huie, Mid-Atlantic State Director for Walk Thru the Bible Ministries

“I loved the movie. …such a powerful film. Congratulations.” – Maggie Forbes, Executive Director/Campaign Manager at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall 

“This is exceptional--well written, well photographed, with a powerful story. The animation is great as well, and the live actors nail it (sometimes, in these kinds of movies, period actors can be distracting because they don't look like they fit--but not so here)---there are so many strong elements that it becomes a compelling watch throughout, with the perfect ending (his giving meaning to an otherwise meaningless battle). Well done!” – Gary Thomas, best-selling author of multiple Christian books including Pure Pleasure and Sacred Marriage 

More to come

Part 1: Michael 

I recently watched an episode of "Conversations" on Penn State Television in which the award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns was interviewed. As one of the co-founders of Florentine Films, Burns had been invited to Happy Valley to give the commencement speech to PSU’s Communications graduates. His appearance on the show struck a cord and inspired this duet-post. Burns of course is the genius behind such award-winning movies as The Brooklyn Bridge, The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, The War, and more recently, The National Parks, America’s Best Idea. I am a huge fan of his body of work and his insights are always thought-provoking. 

In one segment Burns talked about how he has evolved from a filmmaker to a historian. As a Hampshire College graduate with a degree in Fine Arts, he had zero experience in historical analysis. In fact, Burns confessed that his initial goal was to be “the next Alfred Hitchcock” and the last time he had formally studied American history was in the 8th grade. Today he is the king of PBS documentaries and is considered by many to be one of the most successful public historians of all-time. As a testament to how far he had come, Stephen Ambrose once said that, “More Americans get their history from Ken Burns than any other source.” 

The essence of everything that Burns does is great stories. These stories resonate with the writers, directors, producers and actors who come together to tell them. Great filmmakers absorb their subject matter like a sponge and eventually become experts themselves. Case in point, my friend and partner Clint Ross knew very little about the Battle of Fredericksburg when he first envisioned The Angel of Marye’s Heights. Today, he can give a tour of the Fredericksburg Battlefield as well as anyone who has been doing it for years (me included). Want proof? Check out this 25-min audio interview over at Barry Cauchon’s “An Awesome Talk With.”  

Throughout the research and writing stage for TAMH Clint and I taught each other how to ‘see’ things from each other’s perspective. Eventually the Richard Kirkland story became a part of us from both a filmmaker’s and historian’s point of view. As a result Clint, like Burns, is now a historian, applying his newfound knowledge of historical analysis to our new projects. Likewise I, as a historian, am working hard towards understanding things better as a filmmaker.  

My degree is in Visual Communications and I have always been a visual-thinker. Now as a producer and partner in a production company, I am applying my studies towards learning the art of capturing history on film. Clint is an excellent teacher and he is showing me how to formulate things specifically as they would be applied to moving pictures. Although the preparation process is the same, writing books and writing scripts are very different. Now when I begin to outline ideas on paper, I am thinking about potential locations, shot framing, dramatic pauses and how the words can be translated into a living-breathing reality. I no longer look at the printed page as how it will be read, but how it will be seen.

It’s an exciting transition and I find myself with a renewed vigor for my work. I have found after several screenings that filmmaking is much more satisfying in regards to feedback. With a book you never quite know what the reader will like or dislike. An audience however, will instantly let you know what they feel. 

When asked why he chose the documentary genre Burns said, “I began to feel that the drama of the truth that is in the moment and in the past is richer and more interesting than the drama of Hollywood movies. So I began looking at documentary films.”  I could not agree more and look at this discipline as a tremendous responsibility and honor.

The more closely one is able to bridge their thoughts as a filmmaker and historian, the better job they can do with their true vocation which is storyteller. 

Part 2: Clint 

In my endeavors as a filmmaker I have found something interesting, people can relate to your film - when they can relate to your characters. What I love about film making, particularly documenting history, is the opportunity to have an open dialogue with your audience by telling someone else's true story, or highlighting a significant moment in history that revolves around a people and their interactions with one another.

I believe that we learn best from listening to the lives of others. When I'm faced with a personal problem, people around me will often share their own stories and struggles. That is when I find strength and encouragement to persevere, or let go, or whatever. The key is understanding. History gives us an opportunity to understand things in a more in depth manner, such as a decision that changed the course of history. It also helps us to further realize why people did what they did - not simply that a person is a murderer - but how they became that way. These are the grey areas in someone’s life and it’s not always so simple to label them outside of understanding the process it took to get them there.

History gives us a chance to explore and reveal the hidden struggles behind some of the most well known cultural icons and pivotal moments in our collective pasts. We learn that they're human and just like us. We learn a that a bridge had a beginning and the people involved in its foundation struggled and triumphed in the pursuit of a common goal. What comes next is an appreciation. We appreciate our history because slowly it begins to give a context to our own lives. It shows us that our lives matter and we have a significant part to play in this ticking clock called Life. We are slowly becoming a part of our own history.

My goal as a filmmaker has not been the pursuit of a financial utopia, but to share with as many people as I can a captivating story that causes them to reflect on their own lives and thus make a change... a change that only they can make. We need to be challenged to grow, to seek, to persevere. History gives us proof that daily decisions matter in the scope of our societies, personal lives, and the lives of our families.  

We need history... we need to wrestle with its ambiguity... it helps preserve our identities as a struggling and enduring people.

When examining our film at face-value one might assume that we focused entirely on the Confederate perspective. This is understandable as the story revolves around a member of the 2nd South Carolina Volunteer Infantry. However, that would be an incorrect assumption as there is a distinct balance in our script. At a personal level, as I re-examine this story through the eyes of our audiences, I am beginning to see an entirely new perception emerge. To be frank, it is one that I have never really spent that much time focusing on, the point of view of the fallen Federals or the ‘victims’ so to speak.

What brought about this realization? One of our 2011 bookings will be at the Carnegie Library Music Hall in Pittsburgh, PA. In addition to having an outstanding theater and Civil War museum on site, the Carnegie is also based in my hometown. On April 30th, they are hosting a Civil War program featuring exhibits, speakers, a re-enactment and The Angel of Marye’s Heights. In preparation for the talk that I intend to give following the film, I went looking for a local tie-in with our story. This brought me to the 123rd PA Regiment Volunteers who were mustered out of Allegheny County. Below is an excerpt from an account of their experience at the Battle of Fredericksburg: 

“On the following day the battle opened, and at three P. M., after the corps of Hancock and French had been checked and terribly slaughtered, Humphreys' Division was ordered in. It was a forlorn hope, but gallantly it went forward, and charged again and again those impregnable heights. What brave men dare do, they did; but it was all in vain. No human power could stand against the storm that swept that fatal ground. The One Hundred and Twenty-third occupied a position in the line, with its right reaching nearly to the pike, and bore manfully its part in the battle, suffering grievously. Lieutenant James R. Coulter was among the killed, and Captain Daniel Boisol and Lieutenant George Dilworth among the mortally wounded. The entire loss was twenty-one killed, and one hundred and thirty-one wounded. All night long it lay in position and through the weary hours of the following day, exposed to a constant fire of the enemy's pickets, and until nine at night, when it was ordered to retire”. 

Source: Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion Compiled and Arranged from Official Records of the Federal and Confederate Armies, Reports of he Adjutant Generals of the Several States, the Army Registers, and Other Reliable Documents and Sources. Des Moines, Iowa: The Dyer Publishing Company, 1908 (via pa-roots.com).

So instead of giving my normal talk focusing specifically on Kirkland’s “side,” I intend to speak more to the courage and tenacity of the 123rd PA Vols. and the high-command’s ignorance that doomed them. By paying homage to Kirkland’s act of compassion with this film, we are also recognizing the sacrifice of the men that he tended to. Remember that there are two soldiers on the Felix DeWeldon monument. One is in blue.