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Documenting the Human Spirit
Producer, director, cinematographer and editor,
Bill Whiteford, interdisciplinary studies '80,
knows that his camera is "an outsider." But for the
last 17 years he and his business partner, writer and producer, Susan Hadary,
have been making films that enter the lives of ordinary people otherwise
ignored by the mass media.Video Press, founded by Whiteford and Hadary, located at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, is dedicated to the production of stories that bring the viewer inside extraordinary lives. Films such as Bong and Donnel, Grace, and Marge and Walter chronicle the experiences of people who carry on with the ordinary task of living in the face of hardships such as cerebral palsy, Alzheimer's disease and old age. As the viewer witnesses people's lives over months and years, an appreciation of universal human emotions is developed. While a student at UMBC, taking classes with former UMBC professor Leroy Morais, Whiteford worked on a film about the lives of Eastern Shore watermen, often shooting for days at a time. "It's a fascinating career to be involved in someone else's life," he says. "You get to live through the process, develop a relationship and a bond with the subjects." While learning basic techniques and developing his love for storytelling at UMBC, Whiteford remembers speculating on "who would pay me to do this kind of work." In an industry that seems cold to many independent documentary producers, Video Press sustains itself through revenue generated from tape sales, contractual work for businesses and national and international distribution for broadcast through Tapestry International, Ltd. With several Emmys, Cable Ace and countless other awards to their credit, Whiteford and Hadary have developed a niche for themselves by unflaggingly chronicling the power of the human spirit. They are currently working on a three-part series for the Learning Channel, investigating the pressures of how an emergency situation taxes healthcare professionals. The series puts Whiteford side by side with doctors, nurses and patients. "I wasn't sure how I'd relate initially," he reveals, "but the camera is a buffer. You're not emotionally tied into the action." Part of Video Press' strength, and the power of any good documentary film, is the translation of such footage into emotionally charged stories that do great justice to their subjects. A photography coordinator for UMBC's Office of Institutional Advancement, Joanna Raczynska writes and produces documentary films independently.
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