While I posted the photos I snapped while spending the day with Larissa earlier in 2014, I finally got a chance to put the long-feature video together at the beginning of 2015, and guys, I'm super proud of this one.
To bring this story to life, I basically spent the entire day with Larissa, carrying my 40lbs of gear around NYC on my back, documenting her day-to-day experience.
Layering all of the day-to-day footage I captured with the steller interview she gave me really helped formulate a very special, unique profile piece that the USO really hasn't produced much of in the past. I'm not going to tell you Larissa's story, because that would give the story away.
So really, you should just watch.
Side note, I didn't know Larissa well at all until I showed up on her doorstep at 6 a.m. Luckily, her and her husband were super kind and welcoming. What could have been an awkward day of stalker-ish shooting turned out to be a day full of fun.
Although a 14-hour shooting day sounds daunting, in reality, the biggest challenge in this project was the editing.
See, I'm a one-man-band.
In projects like this, its' only me doing all the work. Meaning only me is wafting through hours of footage trying to splice together a cohesive narrative that makes people feel. Don't get me wrong, I love doing it. It's my job. My passion. But man, the pile of footage I had to go through for this project was a little intimidating at first.
I think the only bigger volume of footage I've had to wade through was for the Romanian orphans peice I worked on with Brad Horn when I was producing at the Washington Post. That was a doozie.
Anyway. Take a look. Let me know in the comments what you think!
