Doug Daulton

Storyteller (Words & Images)

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Projects

As a freelance storyteller, I work in several mediums. Follow my past and current projects here.

DOCUMENTARY: Black Rock

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Capturing footage at NARA

Back in 2010, Neil Henderson, friend and frequent collaborator, approached me with an idea for a documentary. The story focuses on a formerly top secret military program. The program was declassified in the late 1990s and is now a matter of public record, mostly.

The subject matter is really compelling. Sorry conspiracy theorists, nothing to see here. No men in black are going to knock on our door. The core story really focuses on the men and women who made the program work and the considerable sacrifices they made on behalf of the program and the nation.

Still, I need to be careful about what I say about the project publicly as it is still in active development. Here is what I can safely share.

  • In the fall of 2010, Neil and I filmed over thirty interviews with most of the living participants in the program.
  • This winter, I visited the National Archives in Maryland to digitize footage for the project.
  • We have some great mentors helping shepherd us through the project’s development.
  • We have had early talks with a great crew to help us build the final film.
  • We have a plan to fund further development of the film via Kickstarter.

Neil and I are excited about the project. As I can, I’ll share updates here and, eventually, on website dedicated to the film.

SHORT FILM: Sarah Jane

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Working on second draft of a short I plan to shoot soon.

Recently, I’ve been knocking around ideas for shooting a short film. As I ticked through the list, I referred to Dov Simens’ lessons to help me narrow the field. Here are the criteria I used.

  1. All one camera setups.
  2. Uses sets/settings which are readily available.
  3. No effects, special or practical.
  4. No more than three actors.
  5. No more than three shooting days.

Walking to my terminal at JFK, the pieces started coming together. An idea I had earlier rejected as somewhat trite took on new life as, using Simens’ rules, the story was stripped down to its essence. As soon as I hit my seat on the plane, I pulled out my laptop. Four hours later, as I landed in Vegas, I had a pretty solid first draft.

“Sarah Jane” is the working title. It is a genre piece, mostly survival horror with what I hope is a novel twist. I am pretty happy with the first draft and have it out to some friend for an initial review. Not sure when I’ll get to shoot it, but I am looking forward to it.

And, we are back …

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The epic run is done and it was quite the adventure.

Paris was a big success. The new gear really exceeded expectations. Nine streams and a 720p H264 record … at the same time … and the Elemental Live barely broke a sweat. Of course, great food and drink were enjoyed, but I had no time to pick up the best macaroons in the world.

The journey home was interesting. On the tarmac at CDG, the pilot told us we did not have enough fuel to make it all the way to IAD. No worries. We made a fuel stop at Goose Bay AFB, a Canadian Air Base in Labrador. With nothing more than a quonset hut, fuel tanker and lots of snow in sight, it looked like the set of “The Thing. Aside from the delays, the rest of the trip was uneventful.

Tokyo was, as always, a treat. The shoot there went well. I got to shoot with Joe Lindsay, which is always an education. Post had some hiccups as I put a new Compressor setting through it’s paces and had a late night as a result. We delivered on time and the client was happy, which is all that matters. Unfortunately, the late night made a trip to the Tsukiji fish market a non-starter. Akihabara also had to wait. Oh well, next time Tokyo.

Coming home was a the best. Hugs from Kelly, Finn and Cole always make the long haul worth it.

Pixel Corps: MacBreak Studio

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While based in San Francisco, I produced and directed a season of MacBreak Studio, the long-running production podcast featuring hosts Mark Spencer, Steve Martin and Brian Gary. All totaled, I think we put about thirty-five episodes in the can during that run including Episode 100, a major milestone at the time.

Mark, Steve and Gary were great to work with over a couple of very long shooting days. Well-prepared and well-rehearsed, they were always ready to roll.

And, they are off …

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Today marks the start of an epic run of production work. In a few hours, I head off to San Francisco for three days of prep for shoot in Paris, France next week. We are in Paris for four days of setup, testing and then the shoot. From there, we head back to San Francisco. Within 48 hours of landing, we prep shoot in Santa Clara, prep, pack and hop a plane to Tokyo, Japan for a week.

I am excited about every stop on the trip, especially Tokyo, which never disappoints. Sadly, I won’t have much free time to visit friends. If I am lucky, I’ll get to grab the 5DMKII and head to the Tsukiji fish market for a sashimi breakfast and some colorful photography subjects.

The work is great — exciting and challenging. I really enjoy the team. The travel, while exciting, is taxing on my family. I miss them. They miss me. You get the picture. But, Kelly is a real trooper and I am a lucky man.