Work Stories: A Proposal

A project that I’ve had in mind for quite some time may find an outlet within the confines of this project. Ever since my introduction into the workforce I have come across interesting anecdotes which I have either listened to or retold. These stories usually range from humorous to bizarre. Sometimes there may be just simple gossip, but digging through the many tales people have told me, I have found more than a handful that have been repeated time and again. However, I cannot always do justice to the way the story was originally told to me. Thus my idea began to form a long time ago, and only recently have I given some sort of name to to help describe it: Work Stories.

The title, though seemingly too simple, is the most accurate description I can come up with. My proposal is to interview a hand selected story tellers, those whose story is above and beyond the average daily work experience. I want to record these stories for all to enjoy, and let the people who experienced the tale first hand to describe it to the audience.

I think that the internet is a great place to distribute this kind of video. The stories I have so far found are mainly humorous; although some are just odd, they overall lean toward the comedic. I hope if this is successful to continue to record the work stories, as I ultimately have an endless supply of stories to choose from. Essentially, everyone has a story, and more often than not, they have more than one.

Being that my time is limited and my resources low, I would at first keep things simple. Choose a few friends with the best stories and interview them. With any luck I can get the shooting done in one or two days. I had another idea of creating a Twilight Zone/Unsolved Mysteries type webisode to dissect one of the more unusual of the stories, however, that would require more people and more time. Time is a resource I am in need of in great quantities these days, so I should not waste it. Maybe I’ll try that idea at a later time.

I think the style of the video should be that of a documentary, however, it doesn’t have to be very dry in style. One idea I have is to weave a few stories together, so that they unfold simultaneously and the conclusions given out at the end together. That may just get confusing, so I’m not sure exactly how to piece it together quite yet. The quality doesn’t have to be high, but not very low either. The tiny screen a computer allows for videos isn’t the greatest, so I will just try to make it acceptable. Overall, if this catches on, I’d like to create a series. A series would allow for expansion. For now starting small with a focused idea could draw people in by not being overly complicated.

Person: On The Mark

My person video focuses on my sister’s boyfriend Mark Hubing. I really enjoy talking to Mark and learning about his many complexities. He’s always been an intruiging character, mainly because of his wit and sense of humor, but I also have learned as he became a part of our family about the other layers of his personality. This video examinies a little of these depths.

Noun: Place – Cedarburg Coffee Roastery

**UPDATE**

YouTube’s version of my video was rather poor on the image/sound sync, so to help correct that a bit I uploaded my video to Revver. Follow this link to my videos, and click on the one entitled “The Roastery”. For now it’s the only video I have on that site, but I’m sure I’ll upload my other videos there too!

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So yes my second video is up (sadly still delayed for the last one– don’t worry, it’s on the way!). My place of choice was the Cedarburg Coffee Roastery. I think I captured the essence of the place quite well. I hope the people who’ve actually been there agree with me.

My Idea Noun: Home

This video is about people’s idea of home and what it means to them. I tried to find a range of ages that would cover the spectrum of life. I appreciate the fact that I found people I know who actually agreed to be interviewed on camera. Without them this video would not exist. So many thanks once again! I wanted to get honest answers from the people, and I think I succeeded. I tried not to have a long “pre-interview” so that for this video felt natural.