“Her Name Was”

Home , Beware the Slenderman, Errol Morris, Jennie Livingston, Laura Ricciardi

“HER NAME WAS”

Sergio Almendariz

Thesis Prepared for the Degree of

MASTER OF FINE ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

August 2018

APPROVED:

Tania Khalaf, Committee Chair Kathleen Hobson, Committee Member Eugene Martin, Committee Member and Chair of the Department of Media Arts David Holdeman, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School

Almendariz, Sergio. “Her Name Was.” Master of Fine Arts (Documentary Production and Studies), August 2018, 60 pp., references, 3 titles.

Her Name Was is an examination of the oppression of transgender people in a society that is built on the nominalization of cisgender people, those who gender matchers their sex assigned at birth, and how this oppression lends itself to violence. In the summer of 2015, the body of Shade Schuler, an African American transgender woman, was found in a field outside of

Dallas, Texas. Ms. Shade is part of an alarming epidemic of escalating levels of targeted violence against the transgender community. This documentary pulls back the curtain as it captures the feelings and struggles of the transgender community as they attempt to navigate and survive in a cis dominating society.

Sergio Almendariz

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

PROSPECTUS ...... 1 Introduction and Description ...... 1 Purpose ...... 4 Intended Audience ...... 4 Style and Approach ...... 5 Feasibility ...... 8 Ethical Concerns ...... 9 Characters ...... 9 Crew ...... 10 Sergio Almendariz – Producer, Director, Writer, Editor ...... 10 Barry Thornburg – Director of Photography ...... 10 Bokyung Choi – On Location Sound Mixer ...... 10 Funding ...... 11 Distribution ...... 12 Research Summary ...... 15 Interviews ...... 16 Visual Media ...... 16 Audio Media ...... 17 Treatment ...... 18 Opening Few Sequences Example ...... 18 Names of Murdered Transgender People ...... 19 Schedule ...... 21 Budget ...... 23

RE-CONCEPTUALIZATION BEFORE PRODUCTION ...... 24 Challenges Faced ...... 25 Characters Update ...... 29

PRODUCTION ...... 31 Schedule ...... 31 Crew Update ...... 32

iii

Equipment ...... 33 Budget ...... 34 Experience...... 35

POST PRODUCTION ...... 39 Structure ...... 39 Narration and Script ...... 42 Intro Sequence ...... 42 Terminology Sequence ...... 43 Cissexism Sequence ...... 44 Briggle Sequence ...... 44 Houston Sequence ...... 44 Concluding Sequence...... 45 Music...... 46 Experience...... 47

INTEGRATION OF THEORY AND PRACTICE ...... 48 Terminology and Queer Film Theory ...... 48 Production - Representation ...... 49 Post Production – Archival ...... 51

EVALUATION OF COMPLETED WORK ...... 53 Pre-Production ...... 53 Production ...... 53 Post Production ...... 54 Exhibition and Distribution...... 54 Summary of Experience ...... 55 Conclusion ...... 55

APPENDIX: SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS ...... 56

REFERENCES ...... 60

PROSPECTUS*

Title: Her Name Was Length: 30 Minutes Medium: Hd Video

Introduction and Description

In Dallas, Texas during the scorching summer heat of 2015, a body was dumped in a field. Three days later, on July 29, the Dallas Police discovered the body which had been so severely decomposed that no identification was possible. Her name was Shade Schuler, a 22- year-old transgender woman of color, or Ms. Shade, as she was commonly known as in the

LGBTQ community in Dallas, Texas. Despite being discovered in women’s clothing, a wig, and fingernail extensions with pink tips, she was identified by the police as male and was continuously misgendered throughout the initial investigation. It was through the investigative efforts of Nell Gaither, and several other members of the Trans Pride Initiative, that they were able to verify the gender identity of Shade Schuler and have local news outlets properly report it.

Nell Gaither also spoke out about her being the 13th transgender woman of color murdered in the

United States that year, already matching the total of 2014. Two years later, Ms. Shade’s case went cold and the number of transgender women of color being murdered has increased at a shockingly rapid rate.

A stage play inspired by the last days of Ms. Shade’s life is currently in production. In the

Tall Grass is written and directed by Paul Kalburgi, a playwright that moved to Dallas around the time Ms. Shade’s murder occurred. The play explores Shade Schuler’s final days through a series of monologues based on interviews from her friends and family. Paul Kalburgi was inspired by the community banding together in Shade Schuler’s honor and the nationwide vigils

* This is the proposal submitted for initial approval from the thesis committee. Approved May 2017. 1 being held in memory of transgender women taken by violence. It is through events like this that show the impact that the murder of Shade Schuler has on the transgender community and what one single life means to an entire population of people.

Shade Schuler’s life did not seem like an easy one. Her endeavors included having to find her place as an African American and finding her place in the LGBTQ community. She struggled with family over her gender, as her family still identifies her as man to this day. After being discovered in the field and despite being found in women’s clothing, she was identified as male.

Her final hours are unknown. Her case is now considered cold and is one of the top murder mysteries in Texas.

The documentary Her Name Was introduces the audience to this epidemic of violence facing the transgender community through Shade Schuler. Not much has been done to conclude the investigation, leaving no closure for friends, family, and those in the transgender community of Dallas. She was shot to death but no motive was concluded and no suspects were taken into custody. This documentary will ask a series of questions: was her case left unsolved due to her race, gender identity or both? What is the cause for the rise of transgender murders? What role does masculinity or race play in the violence? How is society responsible? And how do we grow together and end this violence?

Under the current administration and their rhetoric of hate against those that do not fit in a society that is built on the normalization of cisgender people, members of the transgender community fear for their lives. Laws and bills like the “Bathroom Bill” - the common name for legislation that requires a person to enter into the bathroom that matches their sex assigned on their birth certificate - has gained momentum in southern states, including Texas. These laws and bills perpetuate and amplify transphobic beliefs. Lawmakers and politicians are attempting to

oppress the transgender community through hateful rhetoric and ideology. Countless news

stories have sprung up reporting violent attacks against transgender people in restrooms, public

spaces, and even in their own homes. The dehumanization through the rhetoric and laws are one

of the reasons for the increasing rate of murders and crimes committed against members of the

transgender community. At the same time, efforts like those done by Nell Gaither have finally

pressured the police and news outlets to properly identify crimes against transgender people.

When at one point, transgender victims would have been misidentified as the incorrect gender, now efforts are made to properly identify them. These efforts to properly identify transgender people that have been murdered may also be one of the reasons for the increased rates. There is no clear answer to these rising rates of murders of transgender women of color therefore the documentary will investigate the mix of violence and the importance of properly identifying.

It is important to specify that this documentary will only explore the murders of transgender women of color. From 2014 to 2016 there was only one reported murder of a

Caucasian transgender woman. Transgender women of color face more adversity due to race, gender roles, and the role of masculinity in their cultures. Transgender women of color also face discrimination from within the transgender community. Whether it would be whitewashing transgender history – as is the case with Stonewall (2015), a whitewashed fictionalized retelling of the Stonewall riots – or facing racial discrimination from white transgender people. It seems that transgender women of color hit a specific demographic that is not quite welcomed from their

LGBTQ community and exiled from their racial community.

Purpose

The purpose of this film is to bring awareness of this epidemic of anti-transgender

violence and brutal murders that the transgender community is facing. Not many people –

especially those not familiar with the history and current challenges of the LGBTQ community,

and even some allies – know of the increasing murder rate of transgender women of color. In

2014, in the United States thirteen transgender people were murdered, a vast majority being

transgender women of color. 2015 more than doubled that amount, while 2016 saw a slight

increase, and as of 2017 eight transgender people have been murdered. This is an issue facing not

just the transgender community but all of society because violence against one demographic of

society is violence against all of it.

The film’s objective is to pose and reflect on two questions. Is the increase murder rate

due to an increase of violence? From that, the documentary will examine what is possibly behind

the violence – the administration, more social awareness, or gender roles and masculinity. The

second question being, is the increase murder rate due to properly identifying the victims as transgender? From this, the film will look at transgender rights, the positives of social awareness, and the side effect of this social awareness.

Intended Audience

The primary audience of the film are LGBTQ allies, between the ages of 18 and 45 years

of age. Though they are not LGBTQ, this audience is important to reach because more awareness

for this problem will eventually lead to more discussion and probably some forms of solutions or

remedies. More than likely the film will reach people that are unaware of how to be allies or

people that are looking to better understand societal oppressions of transgender people. With the

4 help of organizations like UNT’s Pride Alliance, the film can help bridge the gap between those outside the LGBTQ community and those within. These organizations are not restricted to college campuses allowing the film to reach its secondary audience.

The secondary audience of the film are people that identify as LGBTQ. Specifically, those in the younger range of community, between the ages of 18 and 25 years of age. This age range is more socially aware with social media presence and the highest presence in activist movements or gatherings, however, they’re possibly less aware of the history, struggles, and triumphs of transgender people. This film introduces them into struggles that members of their community are going through that they might not have been aware of and bring awareness to it.

Style and Approach

The works of Errol Morris are an influence on this film’s style. These works include Thin

Blue Line (1988), Standard Operating Procedure (2008) and Tabloid (2010). Other influences into the film include The Arbor (2010), Tangerine (2015), OJ: Made in America (2016), Dreams of a Life (2011), and The Imposter (2010).

The film uses a mixture of interviews, observational, archival, and metaphorical reenactments. Much like the films of Errol Morris, Dreams of a Life and The Imposter, this film intercuts between the interviews and the reenactments. All of these films use these dramatic reenactments to explore the thematic fabrics presented throughout the interviews. Likewise, The

Imposter and Dreams of Life represents the events discussed throughout the interviews, brings forth an atmosphere that is haunting, and allows the audience to easily empathize with the situations that the subjects were in.

The reenactments in my film will create a surreal dreamlike representation of Shade

Schuler. The shoots will take place around Dallas and attempt to be in similar areas that Shade

Schuler had been, shooting in the field where her body was found. Throughout the reenactments

her entire body will never be shown in focus, instead focusing on close ups of body parts and

blurred out wide shots to create a haunting atmosphere. These reenactments are not meant to be

an exact representation of Shade Schuler, but more of a memory of her from friends and family.

Memories are always more surreal and dreamlike than they really are. On a practical level, this

shooting style allows expression and portrayal of these particular events without relying on

acting abilities. It allows the imagination of the audience to fill in gaps at a much more powerful

level than filling in the gaps by shooting it more traditionally. The reenactments will be filmed

with the RED Scarlett camera to capture different texture style than the interviews, separating them from one another, and allows more flexibility in post production.

The observational and interview footage will be shot with a SONY FS-5. I have used the

FS5 in my other productions. It’s a camera I know well and it will provide the sharp look for the interviews and observational. I will use telephoto lens to provide a voyeuristic look for the interviews, as this lens provides some distance from the camera and the interviewee. The interviewees are not Shade Schuler but instead are looking at her life and the lives of the

transgender community, which some of the interviewees are not a part of. This lens choice will

best represent their voyeuristic look, as well as the audience’s. The interviews will be done in

similar style to the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary OJ: Made in America. This follows a more

traditional interview set up with lower a third graphic present, the interviewee set up to either the

right or left third of the frame looking toward the other side of the frame with their background

blown out. The interviews will be shot in 4K to allow flexibility to cut in closer throughout the

interviews.

Some of the observational footage will include the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Capturing this event will be closure for the documentary but not for Shade Schuler’s story as her

case shows no signs of being solved. This is a nationwide event that is held to honor those whose

lives were lost in violent anti-transgender acts. The events will be held on November 20th of

2017 and is presented in many cities across the country. Other observational footage will include some of the work the activists go through, such as rallies, protests, and gatherings. This will be captured to show the hard work being done by people to better bridge the gap between communities and bring awareness. Observational footage of Dallas, Texas will establish a real

world setting of the film versus the dreamlike atmosphere of the reenactments. Any archival

footage or photos found of Shade Schuler will also help to ground the film and present the

audience with the real Shade Schuler.

Music will play a major part of the film. For me, music is just as important as the visuals

on the screen. This will help the visuals establish the mood for the audience and guide them

through the different beats of the film. The music I imagine for the film will be done in similar

style to Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow’s work with Ex Machina (2014) and Trent Reznor’s

work with Gone Girl (2014), Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), and The Social Network

(2010). This style is heavily electronic, atmospheric, droning and industrial. In the case of Trent

Reznor’s score of Gone Girl, it’s dreamy and melodramatic and provides a sense of horror

hidden underneath the fairytale. This music tends to start off subtle in sequences and as the

tension in the sequence builds so does the music, becoming less and less subtle. This style of

music in my film will help establish the horrors of this epidemic the transgender community is facing underneath the dreamlike remembrance of Shade Schuler’s life.

Feasibility

The cooperation of the Dallas police department and Shade Schuler’s family will be the most challenging aspect of this film. Since the case has not been solved in the two years since she was discovered, it will be difficult to get the case file to finish any research on how Shade

Schuler was found and any investigational information the detectives gathered. Without this material the film may not be a hundred percent accurate, however, I do feel there is enough information out there to get a somewhat accurate representation of the investigation and Shade

Schuler’s final day. The police department may not want to be involved with the film due to the possible backlash of not having solved her case. Capturing interviews of her family and friends, allowing me to pick the perspective of Shade Schuler over the cops’ perspective. Without the help of her family, the film will seriously be lacking an important aspect of Shade Schuler’s life.

After reading over her online obituary, it is clear that the family still loved her despite not supporting her being transgender. This aspect of the film is very important because many members of the LGBTQ community go through similar experiences as Shade Schuler.

Production will be split up into two separate production cycles. The first involving the interviews around the Dallas/Fort Worth area. These interviews will include family, friends, playwright Paul Kalburgi, activist and members of the transgender community, and the officers involved in the investigation.

The second production cycle will consist of filming the cinematic representation of Shade

Schuler and different visual metaphors that will represent the epidemic facing the transgender

8 community. I will begin writing a script to cover this portion of production during the first production cycle. The script breakdown will provide me the information to begin looking for a cast. Finding transgender actors to play the roles of Shade Schuler and different members of the transgender community will be a somewhat difficult task. However, after discussing the possibility of this film with Kathleen Hobson, the director of UNT’s Pride Alliance, I feel reassured that with their help we can get casting calls, auditions, and the roles cast.

Ethical Concerns

My primary concern is the fact that I am not a member of the LGBTQ community. What can I, a straight cisgender male, bring to this important conversation? I do not go through the daily struggles of a transgender person and, even though I am a person of color, I have lived a very privileged life. This has been a personal dilemma for me throughout the preproduction process for the film. I have had several conversations with peers, friends, and staff to ultimately make me feel like it is okay for me to pursue this story. This is a serious issue facing a group of people that I sympathize with. I believe in this story and getting it out to the masses.

Characters

· Nell Gaither - Activist

· Paul Kalburgi – Playwright

· Detective Derik Chaney – Lead Investigator

· Betty Jones – Grandmother

· Priscilla Phillips – Aunt

· Quaila Owens – Friend

· Danielle Lee – Friend

· Taylor Albrittan – Friend

· Elizabeth Owens – Friend

· Marcus James – Friend

Crew

Sergio Almendariz – Producer, Director, Writer, Editor

Sergio Almendairz is a filmmaker pursuing his Master of Fine Arts degree in

Documentary Production and Studies at the University of North Texas. He has an interest in

social issues, investigative documentaries, and true crime. His influences include Errol Morris,

Darren Aronofsky, Michael Moore, and Steven Spielberg.

Barry Thornburg – Director of Photography

Barry Thornburg is a designer, photographer and cinematographer winning awards from

the American Advertising Federation, Graphic Design USA, TEECA International, and AVA

Digital Awards. Currently studying at UNT for an MFA in Documentary Production and Studies.

Bokyung Choi – On Location Sound Mixer

Bokyung Choi is a South Korean filmmaker, pursuing Master of Fine Arts in

Documentary Production and Studies at the University of North Texas. She is interested in

psychology and understanding human behavior. After her graduation, she plans on exploring human nature through her camera lens.

Funding

The interviewing portion will require a very minimal budget to cover transportation and pay for any crew brought for the interviews. The first production cycle will shape the second production cycle. The budget for this section will be much larger as I want to be able to pay the actors and crew, provide transportation for everyone, and feed everybody if it’s a long production day. To help resolve this I will need to apply for grants and crowd fund this film. A

portion of the production and postproduction budget, including a majority of the equipment,

crew, and editing suites, is luckily covered by the university and favors. This cuts a large portion

of the budget down to a more reasonable amount.

After having a successful crowd funding campaign for my second year film, I feel like I

will be able to raise a large amount this time around. The plan is to raise an amount to cover

transportation, food for crew, and to begin coverage of the reenactment production cycle. I

believe that $5000 should cover that amount I need. So in order to fund the film I will run a two

month long campaign through IndieGoGo to raise $7000, ($5000 budget cover, $2000 for tax

and fees). The campaign will start through social media during the summer to build anticipation

and awareness, through self-promotion and with the help of UNT Pride Alliance, and starting in

August the fundraising campaign will start. The crowd funding campaign will actually

accomplish two things; covering a portion of the budget and showing grants and donors that this

documentary has already raised money successfully.

To raise money for actors, post production, and distribution I will seek fiscal sponsorship

from the Austin Film Society. I have composed a list of grants that I believe will help cover the

rest of the budget.

· Horizons Foundation

· The Filmmaker Fund

· Frameline Completion Fund

· GLAAD Grants

· Southern Documentary Fund

· The Fledgling Fund

· Miller/Packan Documentary Film Fund

Distribution

The film will get sent out through educational distribution following the film’s festival

run. Through organization similar to UNT Pride Alliance and GLADD, I feel this film will be an

important discussion piece on the current anti-transgender climate around transgender people, their struggles, and the violence while also discussing the positives of activism and identifying the victims as transgender. Selling the film, either flat rate or leasing cycles, to these organizations and group will assure that the film’s message is seen and heard. Here is a list of

possible film festivals:

1. South by Southwest Conference and Festival

2. Dallas International Film Festival

3. Dallas Video Fest

4. Lone Star Film Festival

5. Thin Line Film Festival

6. Hill County Film Festival

7. WorldFest-Houston Film Festival

8. SAFILM – San Antonio Film Festival

9. Oak Cliff Film Fest

10. Austin Film Festival

11. aGLIFF – Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival

12. Austin Revolution Film Festival

13. Austin Short Film Festival

14. Tribeca Film Festival

15. True/False Film Festival

16. Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

17. Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival

18. Doc NYC

19. Camden International Film Festival

20. Seattle International Film Festival

21. Seattle Shorts Film Festival

22. Portland Film Festival

23. Doc Edge Festival (Australia)

24. Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival

25. NewFest: New York’s LGBT Film Festival

26. Frameline San Francisco LGBT Film Festival

27. Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival

28. Film Out Film Festival

29. Desperado LGBT Film Festival

30. GAZE International LGBT Film Festival

31. Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival

32. Reel Trans Film Festival

33. North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

34. SWGLFF: Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

35. Reeling: Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival

36. San Francisco Transgender Film Festival

37. Roze Filmdagen: Amsterdam LGBTQ Film Festival

38. Golden Tree International Documentary Festival

39. Sulmona International Film Festival

40. DOXA Documentary Film Festival

41. FIDE – International Festival of Student Documentaries

42. Nottingham International Film Festival

43. London International Cinema Festival

44. Wales International Documentary Film Festival

45. KASHISH Mumbai International Diverse and Queer Film Festival

46. GAZE International LGBT Film Festival

47. Queer Popcorn – LGBT Film Festival

48. TranScreen Transgender Amsterdam Film Festival

49. FM LGBT Film Festival

50. Thessaloniki International LGBT Film Festival

51. FIRE!! Barcelona LBGT Film Festival

52. Pride Pictures Queer Film Festival

53. Transition International Queer Minorities Film Festival

54. Queer North Film Festival

Research Summary

Cavallaro, Dani. French Feminist Theory: An Introduction. New York City: The Tower Building, 2003.

CBS DFW. "DPD Seeks Help on Two-Week Old Murder Case." DFW CBS Local. Dallas: CBS, 10 Aug 2015. Online News Report.

Crenshaw, Kimberle. Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and the Violence against Women of Color. Vol. 43. Stanford Law Review, 1991. 6 vols.

Dallas Morning News. "Shade Schuler Obituary." Legacy Obituaries. Dallas: Dallas Morning News, 16 Oct 2015.

Grant, Melissa Gira. "After the Transgender Tipping Point." 16 Feb 2016. Pacific Standard. 15 April 2017. .

Hood, Jeff. The Resurrection of Ms. Shade Schuler. 27 Mar 2016. 20 Mar 2017. .

Hooks, Bell. "Choosing the margin as a space of radical openness." Hooks, Bell. Yearning: Race, gender, and cultural politics. South End Press, 1999. 48-55.

Kurtz-Costes, Haley E. SolomonBeth. Media’s Influence on Perceptions of Trans Women. 22 March 2017. 19 April 2017.

McPhate, Christain. 10 Notorious Unsolved Texas Murders. 17 May 2016. 10 March 2017. .

Owen, Grace. "“I have a story that needs to be told": Tangerine, storytelling, and public space." The Queer Foundation Scholar. Ed. http://www.queerfoundation.org/docs/newsletterwinter17.pdf. Wellesley: The Queer Foundation, Winter 2016. Online Newsletter.

Pilkington, Ed. Texas trans woman's murder heightens alarm over frequency of killings in 2015. 13 Aug 2015. 20 Feb 2017. .

Ryan, Hugh. "'Happy Birthday Marsha' Shows What the Gay Rights Movement Owes Trans People." 19 Dec 2015. Broadly. 16 April 2017. .

Sherouse, Beth. Shade Schuler is the 13th Transgender Woman killed in 2015. 12 Aug 2015. 20 Feb 2017. .

Sue. 22 Year Old TWOC Shade Schuler Found Murdered in Dallas. 12 Aug 2015. 15 March 2017. .

Wortzel, Sasha. "Kickstarting Trans Visibility on Screen: Sasha Wortzel on Funding Happy Birthday, Marsha!" Filmmaker Magazine (2014).

Wright, John. Activists Slam Dallas Police For Misgendering Trans Murder Victim. 9 Sep 2015. 10 March 2017. .

Interviews

Baim, Tracy. “Windy City Times Youth Summit: Monica James Interview.” YouTube. YouTube, 13 June 2014. Web. 2 April 2017

Baim, Tracy. “Windy City Times: Interview with Laverne Cox at Trans 100, Part 1.” YouTube. YouTube, 31 March 2014. Web. 2 April 2017

Baim, Tracy. “Windy City Times: Interview with Laverne Cox at Trans 100, Part 2.” YouTube. YouTube, 31 March 2014. Web. 2 April 2017

The New School. “Bell Hooks and Laverne Cox in a Public Dialogue at The New School.” YouTube. YouTube, 13 October 2014. Web. 10 April 2017

Visual Media

The Imposter. Bart Layton. 24 Seven Productions. 2012. DVD

OJ: Made in America. Ezra Edelman. ESPN Films. 2016.

The Arbor. Clio Barnard. Artangel. 2010. DVD

Tangerine. Sean Baker. Duplass Brothers Productions. 2015. DVD

Thin Blue Line. Errol Morris. American Playhouse, Channel 4, Third Floor Productions. 1988. DVD

Fast, Cheap and Out of Control. Errol Morris. 1997. DVD

Amanda Knox. Rod blackhurst, Brian McGinn. Plus Pictures 2016

Beware the Slenderman. Irene Taylor Brodsky. HBO Documentary Films. 2016.

Tabloid. Errol Morris. Air Loom Enterprises LLC. 2010. DVD.

Making A Murderer. Laura Ricciardi, Moira Demos. Netflix. 2015

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son, About his Father. Kurt Kuenne. MSNBC Films. 2008. DVD.

The Jinx. Andrew Jarecki. HBO Documentary Films. 2015.

Audrie & Daisy. Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk. Actual Films. 2016.

Exit Through the Gift Shop. Banksy. Paranoid Pictures. 2010. DVD

Hot Girls Wanted. Jill Bauer, Ronna Gradus. Two to Tangle Productions. 2015

The Hunting Ground. Kirby Dick. Chain Camera Pictures. 2014. DVD

Who Took Johnny. David Beilinson, Michael Galinsky, Suki Hawley. RumuR Inc. 2014 DVD

Tickled. David Farrier, Dylan Reeve. A Ticklish Tale, Fumes Production, Horseshoe Films. 2016. DVD

Paris Is Burning. Jennie Livingston. Academy Entertainment, Off White Productions. 1990. DVD.

Trans. Chris Arnold. RoseWorks, Sex Smart Films. 2012. DVD

Boys Don’t Cry. Kimberly Peirce. IFC Films, Killer Films. 1999. DVD.

Stonewall. Roland Emmerich. Centropolis Entertainment. 2014. DVD.

Dreams of a life. Carol Morley. Cannon, Morley Production. 2011. DVD.

Spotlight. Tom McCarthy. Participant Media, First Look Media. 2015. DVD.

MTV. “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word.” YouTube. YouTube, 9 August 2016. Web.

Audio Media

Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow. Ex Machina (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Black lot music, 2015

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Soundtrack), The Null Corporation, 2011.

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The Social Network (Soundtrack), The Null Corporation, 2010.

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Gone Girl (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture), Columbia, 2014.

Treatment

Opening Few Sequences Example

Black Screen. “I was in the fields, in the middle of the scorching Texas summer heat.”

The sun begins to set on the city of Dallas. The streets begin to dance with the movement of the crowd filled with the nightlife party seekers. Everywhere is a party. Outside of the city, a field rests. “I was in the tall grass of the fields. Waiting.” The wind blows through the tall grass.

The sky’s lilac hue falls upon the ground, much like a painting of a dream the grass sways back and forth silhouetted in the sky’s purple glow. The last remaining light falls upon a cell phone and a purse. Slowly, the light keeps crawling back, revealing a limp hand. The shadow of night falls upon the deceased body of Shade Schuler. Her voice fills the soundscape, “They didn’t find me for three days.”

In rapid cuts, news reports fill the screen. “The body of an unidentified murder victim.”

Articles pile on top of each, “Dallas police department needs your help.” Online articles,

“Decomposed body makes it difficult for DPD to identify body.” Interviews from Dallas citizens intercut between the news reports and articles. They talk about the summer of 2015. The last interview is with Paul Kalburgi, sitting in front of a stage with actors rehearsing in the background. He talks about the crazy situation he found himself in with his move to Dallas during this summer.

Police officers and investigators stand over the body. They begin to bag evidence: flip flops, purse, etc. The lead investigator kneels down and examines the body. Voice over from interviews of the police. They discuss finding the body, the struggle of identifying, and the lack

of any real evidence or motive. One of the investigators says, “Our first mistake was gender

identification.” Shade’s body is revealed in the film’s only real wide shot. She’s a transgender

woman of color. She says, “They got me all wrong. I was a woman. The 13th transgender person

murdered this year, you know I was not the last. My case has not been solved. And my goddamn name was Ms. Shade.” Black screen.

After the film’s opening credits, slowly news articles fill the screen. They are all about the body being identified as male. Nell Gaither is on the streets of Dallas. A transgender woman herself, she knows the struggle of being properly identified. In her interview she talks about calling the Dallas police department and correcting their mistake. We see observational and archival footage of her activism.

“Let’s take it back. Before I was Ms. Shade, I was Shade Schuler. A little black boy.”

Several cuts between photos of Shade younger, growing up. Her family talks about Shade, clearly they still identify her as a man, even after death they’re not able to accept her change.

They reminiscence on Shade as a child, every family has hopes and dreams for their child growing up but sometimes these dreams end suddenly.

Names of Murdered Transgender People

It is important to not forget the victims that lives have been tragically taken due to violent anti-transgender acts. I believe the film will have a powerful ending with listing the names of those taken by violent acts, in a similar vein to the ending of Spotlight (2015) which listed the church locations where priests had been charged as sexual predators. This will leave the audience in a moment of reflection as they see each name.

2012 (13) Crain Cornaway (47 years old) Deoni Jones (23 years old) Coko Williams (35 years old) Tyrell Jackson (23 years old) Paige Clay (23 years old) Brandey Martell (37 years old) Lorena Extravaganza (Puerto Rican) Tracey Johnson (40 years old) Tiffany Gooden (19 years old) Deja Johnson (33 years old) Kendal Hampton (26 years old) Kyra Cordova (27 years old) Rene “Rosita” Hidalgo Hernandez 2013 (10) Evon Young Cernia “Ce Ce” Dove (20 years old) Kelly Young (19 years old) Eyricka Morgan Ashley Sinclair (30 years old) Melony Smith Islan Nettles (21 years old) Brittany-Nicole Kidd-Stergis Dominique Newburn (32 years old) Betty Skinner (52 years old) 2014 (13) (missing 2 people) Yaz’min Shancez (31 years old) Zoraida “Ale” Reyes (28 years old) Tiffany Edwards (28 years old) Alejandra Leos Aniya Parker Shelley Hilliard (19 years old) Ashley (Michelle) Sherman Deshawnda Sanchez (21 years old) Kany Hall Mia Henderon Breana “Gizzy” Fowler 2015 (22) Papi Edwards Ty Underwood Yazmin Vash Payne Penny Proud Bri Golec (22 years old) Kristina Gomez Reinwald Keyshia Blige (33 years old) Vanessa Santillan (33 years old) Amber Monroe (20 years old) London Chanel (21 years old) Tamara Dominguez (36 years old) Mercedes Williamson (17 years old) Zella Ziona (21 years old) India Clarke (25 years old) Jasmine Collin (32 years old) Kandis Capri (35 years old) Elisha Walker Kiesha Jenkins (22 years old) Taja DeJesus Shade Schuler (22 years old) Lamia Beard Ashton O’Hara (25 years old) 2016 (25) Monica Loeara (43 years old) Jasmine Sierra (52 years old) Kayden Clarke (24 years old) Maya Young Demarkis Stansberry (30 years old) Kandicee Johnson (16 years old) Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Ychum (32 years old) Shante Thompson (34 years old) Keyonna Balkeney (22 years old) Reecey Walker (32 years old) Mercedes Successful (32 years old) Amos Beede (38 years old) Goddess Diamond (20 years old) Deeniquia Dodds (22 years old) Dee Whigham (25 years old) Erika Tijerina (36 years old) Rae’Lynn Thomas (28 years old) T.T. Saffore Crystal Edmonds (32 years old) Jazz Alford (30 years old)

Brandi Bledsoe (32 years old) India Monroe (29 years old) Sierra Bush (18 years old) Veronica Banks Cano Noony Norwood (30 years old) 2017 (8, so far) Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow (28 years old) Mesha Caldwell (41 years old) JoJo Striker (23 years old) Jaquarrius Holland (18 years old) Tiara Lashaytheboss Richmond (24 years old) Chyna Doll Dupree Ciara McElveen (26 years old) Alphonza Watson (28 years old)

Schedule

October · Week 1

o Interview Friends o Log and capture footage · Week 2

o Interview Family o Log and capture footage · Week 3

o Interview Investigators/Dallas Based Activists o Detective Cheney – Lead Investigator of the Case o Paul Kalburgi – Dallas Playwright/Activist o Nell Gaither – Dallas Transgender Activist o Log and capture footage · Week 4

o Observational Footage – Dallas o Log and Capture Footage o Begin Script writing process · Week 5

o Pick Up Interviews o Pick Up Shots for Observational o Log and Capture Footage

November · Week 1 21

o Finalize Script o Open casting call period o Auditions o Call backs · Week 2

o Finalize character roles o Scout locations for filming in Denton, Dallas, and surrounding areas · Week 3

o Denton Location Shoots o Log and Capture Footage · Week 4

o Dallas Location Shoots o Log and Capture Footage th o Observational footage – Transgender Day of Remembrance November 20 · Week 5

o Begin Editing Process – String Out o Pick up shots

January · Finish string out · Insert pick up shots · Turn string out to rough cut by end of month

February · Finish Second Cut · Finish Third Cut · Send cut to composer

March · Picture Lock Cut · Mix Audio · Levels · Add score · Color film

· Finish Final Cut

Budget

Running Time: 30 minutes Preproduction: 25 weeks Production: 10 weeks Post production: 15 weeks

RE-CONCEPTUALIZATION BEFORE PRODUCTION

During my prospectus defense, my committee advised that I find a central focus for my

film. Originally I had too many differing themes that each individually could have been the focus of its own documentary. This stemmed from the film’s original two questions: Is the increase murder rate due to an increase of violence and is the increase murder rate due to properly identifying the victims as transgender? From these two questions the film could look at the current administration, gender roles, masculinity, transgender rights, social awareness, and the side effect of that social awareness. I met with Nell Gaither at the beginning of Summer 2017.

After many e-mail exchanges and in-person discussions, she gave guidance as an activist in the

transgender community. Her suggestions included not editing the film and instead releasing a

series of interviews unedited, or providing a platform for the transgender community to focus the

film on cissexism.

Cissexism is the normalization of cisgender identities in our society. Because of that

normalization, a system of beliefs and bias is formed that oppresses those that have other gender

identities. Nell Gaither’s suggestion was that because our society favors those that are cisgender

it leads to hateful rhetoric, and that hateful rhetoric leads to the mindset of what normal is. Then society has a definition of normal and those that do not fall in line with this definition are seen as less than human and that leads to targeted acts of violence. Cissexism can start at the micro levels like accidentally misgendering a person or still using their birth name, known as microaggressions. It can then lead to macroaggressions like purposely misgendering someone or trying to pass bills that prevent them from using a bathroom that is in line with their gender identity. This is where bills and laws like the Bathroom Bills or the transgender ban from the

Military proposal originate from.

By denying someone their birthright as American citizens to join the Military or police what bathroom they use, this tells transgender members of our society that they are not welcomed. From here, targeted acts of violence are seen as appropriate actions against someone in the “wrong” bathroom or someone just walking down the street. Nell Gaither’s suggestion came from me being a cisgender ally to the transgender community and that as an ally I should

not try to be a voice in the community but instead use my cisgender voice to expose cissexism in

our society. For these reasons I focused the theme of my film on cissexism and how it affects our

society and those that suffer from it.

Challenges Faced

During pre-production I had made contact with the family of Shade Schuler with the help

of Nell Gaither. I had talked with Shade’s brother and we discussed the different elements of the

film, how much of it will be Shade’s story, and the involvement of his family. After our

discussion, he came to the conclusion that he did not want the family to be involved out of

hesitation of being taken advantage of and he wished for them to remain private. To this day the

family struggles with Shade’s identity and he was aware of that. It was difficult to reassure him

that I was not going to take advantage of them because there was no trust between us, we had not

met in person and over the phone it is hard to decide if someone is trustworthy. Despite my

attempts, he still wished to remain private and not have the family involved in the film. I decided

to honor his decision and keep the family’s privacy intact. After this discussion, I contemplated

completely cutting Shade Schuler out of the film as a character. However, my committee chair,

Kathleen Hobson, suggested retaining her as a character but minimize her role in the film. It was

with this suggestion that I decided not to have Shade be the central character but instead just be

25 an introductory character that is symbolic of the problems that the transgender community is facing. I did not use the family in the film but instead decided to have them remain nameless but mention that they fall within the cissexism problem.

Another challenge I faced was getting the police to be involved. This was a task I figured would be difficult from the beginning. I reached out to the detective in charge of the case and never heard back from them. I then went to the police station and attempted to get any sort of access, however, with the case still being open they were not able to share much with me. With it being an open case and one with a lot of controversy, the feasibility of getting the police involvement was tougher than I originally anticipated. In my meeting with Nell Gaither, she shared information with me about the members of the police department refusing to properly identify the gender of Shade Schuler, declaring that “if the body has a penis we had to identify it as male.” Though there are elements of this exchange between Nell and the Dallas Police included in the film it is important to note that most law enforcement agencies operate within a gender and sex binary and are required to define victims by sex assigned at birth, not gender. For example, if a person has a male sexual reproductive system then they labeled as man. This is an issue facing most law enforcement and not just Dallas Police. It is an issue stemmed from an outdated reliance on sex and gender and can be fixed with better education and outreach. Law enforcement should begin to realize that sex and gender cannot be used interchangeably and work towards better identifying people. If they misgender a person it should not be an issue to fix the paperwork and properly identify them. The bigger issue with the Dallas Police Department, which caused Nell to end her relationship with them, was their refusal to change the paperwork to properly identify Shade after learning she was transgender.

When I first met with Nell Gaither it was to discuss her involvement in the film.

Originally she was going to be one of the characters in the film because she was in charge of

correcting the news stations to properly identify Shade and has been constantly fighting the

police department to correct their paperwork. In the early parts of our e-mail exchanges she did

not seem open to being included in the film, but as we discussed it she became more open to

working with me. It was during our meeting she relayed to me that she felt that she should not be

a character in the film because she could not speak to the struggles of transgender people of

color. I attempted to ensure her that she would not be speaking for people of color but instead

speaking about her role in Shade’s case. Her mind was not changed and so she denied to be

interviewed but did want to continue to provide guidance to me and the film. She provided

contacts with doctors that handled transgender specific health concerns in DFW and suggested

focusing my film on cissexism.

Originally I had planned on using aspects of the play In the Tall Grass. I had reached out

to the playwright, Paul Kalburgi, about using the play as inspiration for the dramatized

recreations of Shade’s life. While he did not want to share the script with me until after the play

had had its run, he was willing to be involved with the film and even discuss what inspired him

to do the play. Paul Kalbugi is originally from Britain and had just moved to Dallas when

Shade’s body was discovered. He used the moments that followed as the basis of his play.

In my meeting with Nell Gaither, she warned me about Paul Kalburgi. She stated that his

play was heavily flawed and lacked the support of the transgender community in Dallas. She

stated that she was against the play because Paul was a privileged, cisgender, white, rich man and was wrongly attempting to tell the story of Shade Schuler, a black, transgender woman. She informed me that he did not want to hire transgender actors for the part but ultimately was forced

27 to by her organization, Trans Pride Initiative. She argued that Paul was part of the same problem of cissexism in our society and he used Shade’s death to further his art and monetary gain. It seemed to me that Paul was not aware of the problematic nature of not using transgender performers and the space he was taking up in attempting to tell this story. In my e-mail exchanges with him, he presented himself as someone who felt that he was an ally to the transgender community but a lack of social awareness ended his relationship with Nell Gaither. I respect Nell because of her connections, activism, and place in the transgender community in

Dallas. I can see why she would be against Paul’s play despite Paul seeing it as being helpful. It became obvious that to stay focused on cissexism and not complicate the issue that it would be best to not include Paul Kalburgi or the play.

At the same time, the few contacts I had made with friends of Shade had stopped contacting me. I had messaged several of them and they seemed open to the idea but as we drew closer to the end of summer, regular contact with them became more and more scarce.

Eventually all contact had stopped. The decision to not make Shade the central focus of the film became easier due to the challenges I faced with access to the Dallas Police Department and her friends and family late in pre-production.

Near the end of the summer, the project had been taken back to the drawing board and I began to re-conceptualize the project: Shade’s role was cut down and I decided to take that personal element she would have provided and focus it on other individuals. I began to do more research in attempts to find more activists to be involved in the film and I decided to focus the film on cissexism. In July of 2017 there was a Transgender Pride March that was going to take place in Denton, Texas. I felt that this event had to be filmed and so production began while aspects of the film were still in pre-production.

While I was in this gray area between pre-production and production, I came across Lou

Weaver, an activist in Houston, Texas. I reached out to him and discussed the film and the focus

on cissexism. He was more than happy to help and planned for a weekend in November for me

and my crew to come down to interview him. It was through Lou that we gained access to the

Transgender Day of Resources and Healthy Living. This event is an annual event hosted by Dee

Dee Watters that provides a place for the transgender community of Houston to come together

and learn about health-related resources and partake in safety courses, such as self-defense.

Transgender people, especially trans women, should not have to take self-defense course, but as

a matter of safety, many still engage in training.

Once school had started I was still struggling to find people to be involved with my film

and did not want to wait until late November to film more. A faculty member suggested reaching

out to Adam Briggle, a professor at the University of North Texas, who had a transgender son

that had national attention due to their involvement with Ken Paxton and meeting President

Obama. I reached out to Adam Briggle and both him and his wife, Amber Briggle, wanted to be

involved in the film. They loved my approach to the film and were glad to help in any way they could. I set dates to interview them and spend time recording their interaction with their son,

Max.

I had found some characters to base my film around and decided to leave the pre-

production phase and enter fully into production. The production phase of my film would change

as more people became involved with the film.

Characters Update

· Lou Weaver, Houston Transgender Activist, Human Rights Campaign

· Daniel Adam Bryant-Gawne, Denton Transgender Activist, Trans-cendence

· Damien Graves

· Dee Dee Watters, Houston Activist, Transgender Woman of Color United for Change (Archival)

· Nicholas Johnson

· Amber Briggle, Mother of Max Briggle, Human Rights Campaign

· Max Briggle

· Marybeth D. Smith, Vocal Coach

· Alex Sylvester, Speaker at Transgender Day of Remembrance

· Shade Schuler (Archival)

· Adam Briggle, Father of Max Briggle (Interview not used)

PRODUCTION

Production was sporadic due to the loss of contacts and the retooling of the film. As I neared the end of pre-production, I had locked down several key events that I knew were vastly important to my film: the transgender pride march in the summer and the Transgender Day of

Remembrance. To me, these two events are the heart of the film as they represent two different emotions felt by the transgender community: pride and mourning. By this point, I was so far off my original schedule that I decided to disregard it. I planned for a majority of the shooting to take place during the month of November, since a majority of the events occurred in a close proximity to one another. At the Transgender Day of Remembrance, several members of the community approached me willing to be involved in the film. I attempted to schedule their interviews before Christmas but both ended up having to reschedule until after the holiday. As the film came to the end of production, I began to see the pieces that were missing in the edit so some additional elements were filmed during the post production phase.

Schedule

(Shooting Schedule, does not include events that were canceled or delayed)

June 25 – 1:30pm Filmed observational footage of the Transgender Pride March held in the Denton Square. Crew: Sergio, Barry.

November 4 – 3pm Filmed two interviews with Amber and Adam Briggle. Discussions included the challenges their son Max faces, cissexism in society, and being activist and a parent to a transgender son. Filmed observational footage of Max Briggle and observational footage of Max with his mother, Amber. Crew: Sergio, Miguel, Barry.

November 19 – 2pm Filmed observational footage at the Transgender Day of Resources and healthy living in Houston, Texas. Filmed the interview with Lou Weaver. Discussions included

terminology, Transgender Day of Remembrance, the bathroom bill, and cissexism in society. Crew: Sergio, Barry

November 20 – 6pm Filmed observational footage of the Transgender Day of Remembrance. This was an important shoot for the film as I felt it would be the emotional climax. Crew: Sergio, Barry.

January 27 – 5am Filmed observational footage around Dallas. Shot in the early morning to capture fog in the landscape to create a sense of dread. Filmed at the location where Shade’s body was discovered. Crew: Sergio, Barry.

December 27 – 12pm Filmed the interview with Damien Graves on the Denton Square. Discussions included issues Damien faces due to cissexism. Crew: Sergio

December 27 – 3pm Filmed the interview with Daniel Adam Bryant-Gawne. Discussions included the Transgender Pride March, issues Daniel faces due to cissexism, and being a transgender parent. Crew: Sergio

February 24 – 2pm Filmed observation footage in Houston, Texas. This was shot due to a canceled shoot. Footage would be used to help place the resource fair. Crew: Sergio, Barry.

February 25 – 1pm Filmed creative footage of fog in the garage. Crew: Sergio

March 30 – 7pm Film the interview with Nicholas Johnson. Discussions include cissexism in society, the struggles of transgender people of color, and gender nonconforming. Crew: Sergio

Crew Update

I had originally planned on working with Barry Thornburg and Bokyung Choi because they were my crew for my second year film, On Losing a Parent. We had worked incredibly well together on that project and I wanted to carry that over to this one. However, it became

32 apparent early on that Bokyung would not be as available as Barry to the always changing schedule so I became primary on-location audio recorder while Barry ran the camera.

I had grown to trust Barry as a cinematographer through our work together. He has an eye for capturing exactly what I want and this relationship was paramount because I wanted focus on directing him during live events. We had developed a quick interview set-up during the

Fall of 2017 so that the interviews can have a consistent look throughout. This was done that in case of situations where Barry could not make it to an interview we were still able to remain consistent.

I reached out to Miguel Guerra, an undergraduate student in the program and a former student of mine, to record sound in some instances. Miguel had showed me during his time as a student that he was more than capable of being the on-location sound recorder. He had the confidence in his abilities and the presence of how to talk to the subjects of the film and properly mic them. He had shared interest to help out graduate students with their projects shortly after completing the Audio Production course. I believed in his abilities and brought him on board to help out when he could.

A friend of mine had recently purchased a drone around the time production had begun.

He was capturing images and video around Denton, Dallas, and Houston for fun. I reached out to him to discuss acquiring his footage to use in my film, to which he agreed. This footage is used sparingly throughout the film but it does add a nice additional element to the film.

Equipment

The Sony FS5 was the primary camera of choice because it was a camera that both Barry and I were familiar with. I had shot Barry’s second year documentary, Life Project, on the FS5. I

wanted to film in 4K to provide myself with more option and I enjoyed the look of the FS5 and the capabilities it has with its image control when color correcting in post. Finally, the FS5 had very little accessories for the shoulder mounted rig we used during the Transgender Pride march.

The Varicam was used to capture a different look with richer textured and even more color capability in post for the landscape shots.

The film was shot dual system, meaning a separate recorder for sound. I chose the Sound

Device 633 as my recorder and mixer. The 633 provides a better mix and more inputs that the

Sound Devices 702. This provided Miguel and I the ability to record up to three channels and

have a better mix for post. We used the wireless lavalier microphones to capture cleaner audio on

the subjects and the shotgun microphone attached to a boom pole as a secondary source of audio

for the interviews, as well as the primary source of audio for the major events.

Budget

With the recreational element dropped from the film and the shoots becoming more

localized, I saw that the budget would not be as large as it originally seemed. A majority of the

shoots were done by myself and those that were not were with a small crew, Barry Thornburg

and Miguel Guerra. My crew had volunteered their time to work on this project, the equipment being made available through the university, and the drone footage was given to me for free by my friend. The only major cost was the gas for the two trips to Houston and the cost of the hotel.

However, I simply covered it due to the cost being cut in half thanks to my membership reward with Hotels.com. It became clear that all the funding would be required for post production and distribution of the film. Due to the taxing nature of crowd source funding and the late reconceptualization of the film I decided to wait until after the film was completed to begin

campaigning. This allowed me to put all my focus on the film and other obligations and not take

necessary time away from the campaign. Now that the film is near completion, I can begin to

design the crowd source funding campaign around the final post production elements, film

festivals, and other distribution avenues.

Experience

The production was as challenging as the pre-production process with all the cancellations and delays. This was without a doubt the most stressful production for any film I had been involved with. It led me to some very deep depression and left me with a sense of uncertainty about the film or my life decision to become a filmmaker. There were several times I filmed by myself and struggled to get everything together and hold face with my subjects due to the amount of stress I felt at the time. It was a tough experience but one that I am glad to have survived.

As for the cancellations, I had reached out to the doctors that Nell Gaither had provided

contact information. The three of them responded rather quickly during the summer but then did

not respond after I attempted to set up dates but instead attempted to suggest other doctors to

include in the film. By the time summer had ended none of them responded to setting up a date

to film an interview. They ended up reaching out to me again in early spring of 2018, apologized for the long delay, and agreed to do an interview. The timing was odd, especially all three replying back around the same time a few months after not hearing from any of them.

Nonetheless, I set up times for the three of them to have separate interviews for the Friday during my Spring Break. One of the doctors urged me to send the questions to her because she had to get the interviews approved by the hospital. She looked over the questions and felt they were

35 reasonable and did not foresee any problems moving forward. It was the day before the interview when I e-mailed them to make sure that we were still good to go the next day. It was then that they informed me that the hospital would not allow them to be interviewed for the film and did not provide them or me a reason as to why.

Before going into post I came to the realization that I wanted to include Dee Dee Watters as a more prominent character in the film. She is an activist for Transgender Women of Color and was the person who put together the resource fair. She was extremely friendly and very helpful with the project. I reached out to her two to three months after the event to see if she would be interested in being interviewed for the film to discuss her resource fair, her work, and how cissexism has affected the transgender women of color community. She had agreed and we set a date in February to go down to Houston to interview her. Barry and I departed from Denton to Houston early that morning. We arrived in Houston around noon and decided to grab lunch before meeting Dee Dee to interview two hours later. Unfortunately, it was during lunch that Dee

Dee got ahold of me and had to cancel her interview due to a family emergency. She wanted to know our availability for the next day but I could not afford to have us stay in Houston for the night nor did we want to drive the eight hours on back to back days. We decided to reschedule with Dee Dee for a later weekend, however, I have not heard back from her as she has been unavailable through either e-mail or phone. While it would have been beneficial to include her input, I was unable to keep her in the film.

Another cancellation that occurred was with Rae Inmon. They approached me after the

Transgender Day of Remembrance wanting to be involved with the film. We exchanged e-mails a few times attempting to set up a date to film the interview. However, they had to reschedule due to a work-related issue. This was not a problem so I suggested another date but I never heard

36 back from Rae. This interview loss was low stress because I did not know how much they could provide to the film.

As for the delays, there was the delay in scheduling with both Daniel and Damien as previously noted. Daniel had gotten sick and asked to record after Christmas. Damien got scheduled to work during our interview so I decided to push his back to the same day as Daniel’s interview to make it more convenient for me to make the drive to Denton from Fort Worth.

There was also a delay with Lou Weaver. We arrived in Houston the day before the resource fair in order to interview him before the event. Lou had recently had back surgery and was dealing with a great amount of pain and asked us to reschedule his interview for the next day after the event. Finally, Nicholas Johnson had to be rescheduled as our original interview date ended up interfering with his sister’s birthday party. We simply pushed his interview back one day.

The two major events were less stressful. The Transgender Pride march went nearly perfectly from getting approved to film to arriving on the day and capturing everyone’s energy.

They did not anticipate the size of the event and neither did we. I, as well as the organizers, felt that perhaps around 50 people would show up but in the end over 200 people attended the march.

It was an amazing event to capture. The Transgender Day of Remembrance also went rather smooth. The one hold up was some speakers did not want to be filmed during the event, which was okay because I did not intend to use every speaker throughout the event in the film.

However, the major event of the night, the reading of the names, was what I originally planned to be the emotional climax of the film and we were informed that due to the nature of the event and the emotional intensity that we would not be able to record that portion. Ultimately, it was the correct decision to not film this moment as it did leave a lot of people raw and emotionally drained and I could see the hesitation in pushing a camera in mourning people’s faces. I was able

37 to work around this without a problem. The only major issue throughout the night was at LSA

Burger, a local restaurant by the Denton courthouse, had a live band performing throughout a majority of the event. This led to some very awkward and sometimes uneasy feelings as moments of silence were blared over with live music, and speakers were drowned out by clapping from those cheering on the band. Barry was able to capture some of the band’s playing from the perspective of those at the Day of Remembrance and we used it to our advantage because it fit within our theme of the film.

Before my pre-production fell apart, I felt I had a stronger grasp on my film and I felt its production period was nearly locked down. It is the nature of documentary for the unexpected to happen and it is the job of the filmmakers to adapt as quickly as possible to the new situations and challenges as they present themselves. I felt that I was slower than usual in adapting to change. If I was to go back and do it again, I’m not sure how I would have better prepared to have had a less stressful production. The only way I could see making things easier would have been to attempt to meet some of the characters face to face earlier on to build a strong relationship so that they would not pull out or cut off contact as quickly as they did.

POST PRODUCTION

I considered early on bringing in another editor to edit my film. The positives of this

being relieving myself of some stress, bringing in a new set of eyes that might see something I

have not considered in the footage, and having another creative would make the process go

faster. I considered bringing in Austin Crum, an undergraduate in the department and another

former student of mine. I had worked with Austin on other projects and have seen his editing

style and how quick and efficient he works. As post production drew near I decided not to bring

someone else in and edit the project myself. I know my editing style and won’t have to put my

faith in another person like previous projects. Although it might seem to relieve stress, bringing

in another editor might have just stressed me out more due to constantly having to communicate

back and forth and explain my process.

I decided that I would edit the film on Adobe Premiere because I had my own personal subscription and I could use the school’s computers as well on the days that I would be on campus.

Structure

One of the earliest steps of post production for me was to write out all the footage I had

shot and collected. I broke down all the footage into categories: the intro footage, Houston,

footage that showcased what cissexism is, the Briggle family footage, the Pride march, footage

that showcased targeted acts of violence and the growing murder rate, and the Transgender Day

of Remembrance. The intro consisted of all the Shade Schuler-related footage, shots of Dallas, and the location Shade’s body was found. All the other footage is self-explanatory in how it was categorized.

When I was figuring out the structure for the film, I didn’t want to keep all the hopeful

things in one part and then the more depressing and challenging parts in another. I wanted to

keep a balance and have things go back and forth between the two emotional highs.

The opening of the film tells part of Shade’s story, like the opening of a paper I wanted to lay out the film’s themes and the thesis so the audience can follow it throughout the rest of the film. From this section, I want to then go into explaining what cissexism is. In this section, I have interviews with Lou Weaver as he discusses the bathroom bill, Daniel Bryant-Gawne comments on the ban and how it leads to less-than human treatment. From here I felt that the film needed to have some positivity and slowly build up hope for the future through individuals that are fighting for change and some of that change.

From here the film transitions into the story of the Briggles and explores their relationship with their son, Max. The reason why I brought it in this section is because I felt that a lot of what the Briggles are fighting for is the future generation of trans people, kids like Max, so that he can grow up in a better society than what we currently have and they prove that you can do it in a very peaceful way - like having dinner with Ken Paxton, showing him who his bathroom bill really effects. In this section, Amber talks about the journey with her son, she also talks about how he struggled with bathroom choices because he wasn’t sure which bathroom to go to, she talks about why they went public and began their activism work, and finally she discusses the hope that her and Max’s relationship bring to the world.

From here the film transitions into the Pride March. I felt that this section of the film should be an emotional high point, showing all the culmination of trans people and their alleys getting together and building off of the previous sections. I wanted to show this march because

originally they did not intend to have more than 40 to 50 people show up and over 200 people

participated in the march.

The following section goes more into the growing murder rate, focusing on the last like

four months of 2017 working backwards from a murder in December. This section talks about

how rhetoric leads to violence and there needs to be change. Organizations are working as hard

as they can but because of cissexism change has been slow. I wanted to have this follow up the

march because I felt that going from an emotional high point to an emotional low point would be

more jarring to the audience and force them to pay attention to these events. The juxtaposition of

having these back to back will leave the audience in a state of shock because they would feel like

things are getting better but when in reality there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

The last section of the film is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Since the original

inception of this project, I wanted to end on the important date. It is not a well-recognized date outside of the LGBTQ community even though it has been practiced on the same date for almost twenty years. I felt that having some of the last moments for the audience to reflect on being a day that the transgender community gathers to remember and mourn over those that were lost that year. For those outside of the community, they could see the pain that society had afflicted on the trans community through forcing heteronormative cisgender favored social constructs, policies, and ideology.

After completing several cuts, it was obvious that the flow of the film was not working. It

was suggested by my Thesis Committee Chair to look at the major sections and play with

rearranging or removing some of them. We discussed it over and both felt that moving Houston

into later into the film would be the most beneficial to the pacing. This would allow the film to

keep the momentum from the intro into the cissexism segment and allow Houston to better

connect to the themes of the film.

Narration and Script

During the early stages of editing, I began to feel that narration would have to be used.

There are many concepts in the film that would be hard to condense in interviews or be too abstract to show visually without context. I did not want to use text on screen too much because I felt that it would slow down and disrupt the pace of the film. With the structure of my film, I felt that having a guiding voice would help the audience follow the story I am trying to tell and help them understand the themes presented.

Originally the plan was to have a voice actor, preferably one in the transgender community, to be the narrator for the film. I did not want to have my voice be the voice for the transgender community and this is why I felt it was best to try to find a transgender voice actor.

However, as the film progressed throughout the editing process it became more of a personal film for myself. It became clear that narration for the film is not speaking for the transgender community but instead speaking about this issue of cissexism and my struggles as the filmmaker navigating through that. I am a cisgender person trying to pull back the curtain to show other cisgender people the oppression our society puts on transgender people. Ultimately it became clear that I should be the narrator of the film.

The following is the script for the narration:

Intro Sequence

2015. In the blistering summer heat, a body was found in the long grass. Been dead for

42 days and too decomposed to identify. This was the body of Ms. Shade Schuler, a black transgender woman. Tattoos are all they had to help identify the body. The investigation by the

Dallas Police and the news reports had misgendered Shade as a man, using pronouns such as

“him” and “he.” Saying that, “the body was a male in a dress.” It wasn’t until two weeks later that news outlets began correcting their reports on the murder of Ms. Shade but the police refused to correct their mistake. Now, a few years later, and the case has not been solved. Ms.

Shade is still misgendered on the police reports and society seems to be moving on.

Ms. Shade is part of the epidemic of growing rates of violence against the transgender community, especially trans people of color. Why has Ms. Shade’s case gone unsolved? Why has the police department not updated their reports? Why isn’t there more attention being paid to the escalating levels of violence against the transgender community?

We live in a society of Cissexism.

Originally, this film was going to solely focus on Ms. Shade and why her case hasn’t been solved but her family refused to participate and the police department refused to participate, previously stating, “if they could identify a penis on the decomposing body, they have to say it is a man.” I was unsure that the film would continue without these major players but then another person was found dead, then another, and then another. 2015 was a record high year for trans murders. 2016 beat that and 2017 beat that. Then everything became clear.

Terminology Sequence

Cissexism is the system of attitude, bias, and discrimination that upholds cisgender identities and systematically oppresses other gender identities.

Cissexism Sequence

Throughout 2015 and 2016, the battle for bathroom right began with conservative bills

introduced in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Texas and other southern states. November

2016, Donald Trump wins the presidency as the Republican nominee. His campaign was one of

hate, intolerance, and lies. Summer of 2017, Donald Trump tweets a ban of transgender people joining or remaining in the military. This is a conservative ideological push back from the progressive nature of previous administrations. A push back to try to reclaim power and dominance. Donald Trump is not the problem but a symptom of it.

However, in the midst of increasing violence, there are activists and advocates that are still fighting for change.

Briggle Sequence

These are the Briggles. This is them having dinner with the Texas Attorney General Ken

Paxton, a conservative fighting against transgender rights. This is their son, Max. He is your everyday kid. He loves climbing and swinging from high places. He loves karate. He loves Star

Wars. And he is transgender.

The Briggles have been fighting for their son’s rights and the rights of future generations of transgender children across the United States.

Houston Sequence

This is the Transgender Day of Resources and Healthy Living, an annual event providing trans-specific resources and information on housing, medical care, medical treatment, hormone

44 replacement therapy, vocal coaching, self-defense, and more. Events like these must be help because so many people do not know where to go to get the help or resources they need.

Concluding Sequence

December 2017, Brandi Seals was shot and killed on the street in Houston. Shot and killed for being a transgender woman. These targeted and violent acts are tragically common.

Brooklyn BreYanna Stevenson was killed in November. Candance Towns was found shot dead in October. The body of Stephanie Montez was found off the road near Corpus Christi. 17-year- old Ally Steinfield was set on fire after being stabbed by fellow students. Scout Schultz was shot by the police. Derricka Banner was found shot in her car. In August, TeeTee Dangerfield was shot outside her apartment in Atlanta. Chynna Doll Dupree was killed in New Orleans.

Gwynevere River Song was killed in Dallas county, only thirty minutes from where Ms. Shade’s body was found. All of these deaths and more since production of this film started.

In order to combat cissexism, education about trans identities must be introduced in law, medicine, and schools. Will any of this bring back Ms. Shade? Solve her case? Force those with conservative ideological beliefs to see transgender people as people?

These are real people being murdered at a horrifically growing rate. These are real people trying to navigate within a world that tries to dehumanize their existence at every opportunity.

By structuring our society and institutions to remain apathetic to violence against transgender people we are saying that being trans is worthy of the death penalty.

With change, one day there won’t be any transgender deaths due to targeted acts of violence.

For now, everybody gathers together to remember those that were lost.

Music

Originally, I wanted the music to be more synth heavy to give the film a more ambient

and cold feel. This original concept was re-conceptualized as I began editing. I used temporary music that was more organ heavy and based in classic film score. I drew a lot of inspiration from

Hans Zimmer’s score of the film Interstellar (2014) and Ben Salisbury’s score for the film Ex

Machina (2015). Both of the scores have a sense of dread while also maintaining some hopefulness. Hans Zimmer score is more traditional with its use of strings, piano, and pipe organs, while Ben Salisbury’s score is more synth artificial based.

Usually when working on projects, I will find original pieces of music on YouTube and I would reach out to the creator and would get the permission and rights to use it for the project.

With my last project, I decided to get a composer. An old high school friend, Andrew Goode, has been composing his own scores and mixing music for bands for the past several years. He has built his own system in his bedroom to fit his needs for composing and mixing. He delivered an amazing score for my previous film and we were both eager to work with one another once more. From our previous history working together he understands my taste in music and what I look for in a score. So I decided to give him free reign as I did not want to hamper his creativity with this score.

We discussed the score as I was editing the initial rough cut. After some technical issues,

I sent him a section that had temporary music and from there he began working on a score. He used the temporary music to help understand the mood I was going for in those sections as a starting off point. I sent him the entire rough cut as it was finished and we discussed further the tone of the film and what we wanted the audience to experience. He has gotten updated cuts on the regular and would adjust his scoring accordingly. All of his work is recorded on his own or

created digitally, so any changes that would have to be made were done quickly and without

much hassle.

Experience

Editing began shortly into the Spring semester of the school. It did not take me that long

to get a rough cut together. The biggest obstacle of post production came when the Premiere

project file was corrupted. Premiere does have a reputation of late where project files will fail or

lose connection to all media. Unfortunately for me this issue occurred. I updated my Adobe

Premiere from the 2017 version to the 2018 version and somehow in the transition from 2017 to

2018 my project file got corrupted. I had to quickly start over and completely re-edit the rough cut of the film. It was a quicker process because I already had the mental blueprints of all of my decisions. I feel that my greatest strength is my ability to edit quickly and efficiently. This was put to the test throughout this process because by the time I had finished my second rough cut I had very limited time before the end of the semester.

INTEGRATION OF THEORY AND PRACTICE

Terminology and Queer Film Theory

Originally, one of the most important aspects of my film was terminology. I wanted this film to be a good starting point to help educate those outside of the LGBTQ community. To be streamlined and focused, the film only focuses on explaining two important terms: cisgender and transgender. A cisgender person is a person whose gender identity aligns with the sex that they were assigned with at birth, based on what society says about those gender roles. A transgender

person is a person that does not identify their gender in connection to the sex that they were

assigned with at birth. It is important to understand the difference between sex and gender. Sex is

the reproductive system and characteristics one is born with while gender is a role decided by

society and social norms. Gender identity is when a person has internal awareness of their gender

and it could align or not align with their sex. However, it is important to understand that gender

is not binary, meaning that there is more than just cisgender and transgender. There is gender

fluid, intersex, non-binary, and the list goes on and on. This was not included in the film mainly

for pacing issues, placement, and to remain focused on the bigger issue. These two terms are

important because they help explain the state of our society and the oppression that the

transgender community faces. The most common term used to describe this is cissexism, the

central theme of the film. This is a concept in gender studies that argues that people in our

society unconsciously hold prejudices that include the idea that identifying as cisgender is

considered normal, this puts into place systems of bias and discrimination, both subtle and

forthright.

The film is heavily influenced by several other films, both fiction and documentary. One

of the film’s biggest influences is in the narrative film Spotlight (2015). The end of the film is a

48 series of graphics listing all the locations where the catholic church had covered sexual misconduct and pedophilia by the priests. The film ends with the names of transgender people that were murdered during the production period of the film. There are elements of Film Queer

Theory brought in through this. According to Nikki Sullivan, the author of A Critical

Introduction to Queer Theory, “transpeople, gays and lesbians, and in fact anyone who has been othered by dominant discourses and institutions, the importance of naming is abundantly clear, and in particular, the necessity to resist categories that are imposed by others and are detrimental to the self” (Sullivan pg. 114). Sullivan used the case of Brandon Teena, a trans man that was murdered in 1993 and the inspiration for the film Boys Don’t Cry, when discussing this issue. At the time, many were not sure how to identify Brandon, either Brandon Teena or Teena Brandon and using pronouns as ‘he’ and ‘she’. Sullivan argues rather than attempting to identify

Brandon, or any other trans people, for yourself one should instead consider the power of names and how they serve a person and why. For the end of Her Name Was, the film does not attempt to provide an identity or find the identity to those that were lost instead the film uses the names they chose and how they chose to present themselves. Using the names at the end of the film provides more than just a statistic for the audience, it adds a personal layer that audiences connect to. This decision also leaves the audience with a haunting feeling as they see those that were lost in silence.

Production - Representation

One of the main concerns when I took on this project was representation. In many ways, media has failed the transgender community through a lack of positive or truthful representation.

This has been done through the use of cisgender actors portraying transgender characters, a lack

49 of diversity in films, and portraying transgender characters as stereotypical. This all stems from the cissexism in our society. According to Jos Truitt, the executive director of Feminsting – an online network – when cisgender performers portray transgender roles it can have the effect of perpetuating the stereotype that transwomen are just men in drag. In my discussions with

Kathleen Hobson, we talked about how transgender women of color are the more marginalized group and proportionally have been the highest percentage of those murdered. I took this into consideration during pre-production when the plan was to have fictionalized recreations and was making plans to have transgender performers fill these roles. Unfortunately, this is did not come to pass as that element of the film was scrapped. I did keep this thought in the back of my head as I knew I did not want too many cisgender voices in the film and attempted to have more voices of transgender of color. However, this is an element of my film that is present throughout but is not spoken about due to the lack of voices from people of color. The film is a majority of white voices speaking on these issues.

I did try to fill this void early on in the pre-production by reaching out to several different organizations and individuals across Texas and across the nation. These organizations either did not reply back or I was told that they did not want to be involved. These organizations were run by transgender people of color and would have been able to better speak of these issues.

Unfortunately, none of them appear in the film and we are left with a film that lacks that important voice. I do not blame them for being hesitant or not wanting to appear in the film. I understand not wanting to have to sit in front of a camera and talk about these issues to a cisgender person. It is hard to trust someone from outside your community and even if their intentions are good the results could be tragic for the community.

I was able to get one interview with Nicholas Johnson, a gender non-conforming African

American late into post production. He was added into the film after the first rough cut was completed. However, I do not want him to be the sole representation of people of color but was unsuccessful in getting others to appear in the film.

Post Production – Archival

During the post production process a lot of archival footage was located to be used throughout the film. Archival can be a helpful tool in crafting a documentary and telling the story. In their book Archival Storytelling, Shelia Curran Bernard and Kenn Rabin define archival material as “motion picture, still, sounds and music that were created by someone other than the filmmaker” (Bernard & Rabin pg. 1). How archival was used in Her Name Was took inspiration from the 2016 film 13th. In Ava DuVernay’s documentary, there are several montages that use archival footage of police brutality, the recent murders of black men by police, and had it juxtaposed to clips of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign from early 2016. Her use of police brutality and the cellphone footage of recent murders is used effectively because by exposing the audience to these images it shows the real lives lost.

In Her Name Was, there is a moment in a montage where two short clips of violent acts against transgender people are shown. The moments presented are graphic and hard to watch but necessary for the film’s message. Using this footage does present an ethical issue in that while it is important it also could have the opposite effect and desensitize the audience. Bill Nicholas speaks on this in a roundtable discussion, “this question raises one of the boundaries between ethic and aesthetics… at what point do you revolt or repel or sicken your audience rather than engage them?” (Nichols pg. 153). This was an ethical question I faced when considering cutting

51 or keep these clips in the film. The clips presented show two different situations where trans people are attacked. Up to the point of the film when the clips are used, we never see any similar footage and any similar events are told verbally. Having the clips in the film show the audience that this is real with real world consequences. As a filmmaker, I had to be careful to not cross that threshold from showing something real to desensitizing my audience. Bill Nichols concludes that this threshold “changes with time; audiences have different thresholds, cultures have different thresholds” (Nichols pg. 153). The final version in the film, I believe, does not cross this threshold.

EVALUATION OF COMPLETED WORK

Pre-Production

When this film was first conceived, it was going to focus on the story of one person and have them be the doorway into this bigger issue facing the transgender community. This would have made the film more character-driven and based in emotion as it followed Shade Schuler’s story. Due to the pre-production issues faced, this idea was scrapped and instead the focus was shifted to the issue itself, having several different characters tell their story and then having it all

relate back to Shade Schuler. Even though the original plan for the film fell through, much of the

film’s emotional element was transferred to the new characters, partially filling the void left by

changing focus. I was able to build strong relationships with those that I interviewed by giving

them a platform to tell their stories. I think that the original idea would have made for a stronger

film but I feel that the current state of the film is more universal.

Production

When comparing production to pre-production, I would argue that although it was still an

incredibly challenging production it was a slightly better experience. Once I was able to lock

down dates to film everything went great. This is because my crew was able to adapt to the

changing conditions and knew what was important to capture. The days I filmed interviews by

myself were made easier due to Barry Thornburg and I pre-planning every little detail about the

camera set-up. I am extremely grateful that Barry, Miguel, and I spent a few days going over mock set-ups to find exactly what I was looking for during the actual shoots.

The main issues faced were those dealing with cancellations. These are issues that were

out of my hands and the only action I could take was to attempt to reschedule and try again.

Although the interview with Dee Dee Watters would have been tremendous to capture, I am

confident that the interviews that are in the film are still able to tell the whole story. I do wish I

was able to capture more observational footage of major events but this is an assumption that

what I had was not adequate enough. Any other footage of events might not have added anything

to the final film.

Post Production

The last half of the post production process was the most productive time period for the

film. During this time, several different cuts of the film were completed, a new interview was

recorded and it was incorporated into the film. The most time consuming aspect of the post

production was having to re-edit the rough cut of the film; this included reorganizing the project

file, ingesting the footage into Premiere, and editing. The files were massive due to them having

a 4K resolution, thus extra time was added to transcode to be able to edit at a lower resolution so

the computer could process faster. The structure of the film and even some placement of archival

footage and interviews was planned out before any actual editing was started, so this made the

re-editing a little easier although still time consuming.

Exhibition and Distribution

After finishing the film, it became clear my distribution plan for the film was not wide enough in its scope. I still intend on reaching out to organizations in universities across the nation but now I also believe the film can be used in course work. The film can be used as an educational tool for those unaware of the struggles facing the transgender community and also it can be used as a good discussion point on the issues of diversity, gender, and social awareness.

After the film festival run, I believe I can package the film to be incorporated into courses that discuss these issues.

Summary of Experience

The entire process of making this film was challenging. It made me question myself as a filmmaker, as a storyteller, and as a person. I struggled with the thought that maybe I was not good enough to make these types of films. Starting off, I intended to make a film about Shade

Schuler and the growing murder rates of transgender women of color. What ended up happening was the film was changed and molded throughout the entire process by challenges I faced with people not cooperating, from society, and from personal issues. The film ended up taking on a more personal element as I kept putting more of myself into it. Making this film showed me that

I am able to adapt and overcome the challenge presented.

Conclusion

Despite of all the difficulties faced in the process of completing the film, I am proud of the final results simply because I have a film. I feel that I have grown as a filmmaker because I was forced to constantly adapt and overcome the constant problems and issues I faced. These abilities are important skills that any documentary filmmaker should acquire due to the nature of the films we make. In the end, I am proud of the work I did and the film that was completed despite being challenged every step of the way. There was a baseball manager who was quoted as saying “that’s the way baseball go” whenever his team was faced with unforeseen adversity.

After completing this film and facing every obstacle I did, I want to say that’s the way documentary filmmaking go.

APPENDIX

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

Interview Questions

· How would you describe cisgender privilege?

· How would you describe cissexism?

· How would you describe the “bathroom bills”?

· How would you describe the transgender day of remembrance?

· Why the conservative push back in our society?

· Do you feel safe in today’s political climate?

· It is not an easy fix, however, what are some ways that society can better itself to be more trans inclusive?

For Adam and Amber Briggle:

· Describe the discovery and evolution of your child.

· How do you explain the potential struggles that your child could face?

· Can you describe your family’s activism?

For Lou Weaver:

· What does Equality Texas do?

· Being in the state of Texas, a commonly conservative state, what are some obstacles you have faced, both personally and as part of the organization?

· Part of your work includes pushing for transgender public awareness and education in Texas, what are some things that have been accomplished?

· What are some inclusive public policies that have been accomplished in your two years with EQTX?

For Daniel Adam Bryant-Gawne:

· What is Trans-Cendence and your work within it?

· How would you describe your journey being a parent of three children?

· Growing up in the south your whole life, how has the Southern lifestyle and conservative surroundings affected you?

Appearance Release

STANDARD PERSONAL RELEASE FORM

THE FILM : “______” .

In consideration of an end credit in the Film, I ______hereby irrevocably

authorise and grant to ______hereby known as the

“Producer” the right to:

1. record me (picture and/or voice) on photographs, film and /or video tape, for audio only,

audio and visual and/or visual only reproduction (“the recording”);

2. edit the recording into a film/television program (which may include other recordings and

material);

3. use my name and likeness, voice, biographic or other information concerning me;

4. screen and broadcast the Recording in the Film ; and

5. use and license others to use the recording in all media throughout the world for the full

period of copyright ; including for the purpose of publicity, advertising, sales and promotion of the

Film.

Other Material: I also grant the Producer a non-exclusive license to use the following material in the film; eg personal papers, manuscripts, photographs, memorabilia, footage, musical works)

______

I hereby release the Producer from any infringement or violation of personal and or property rights of any sort whatsoever based upon the use of the recording.

I acknowledge that the Producer owns and shall own all rights , title and interest (including copyright) in the Recording.

I further acknowledge that the producer is not obliged to use the recording .

I warrant that I have full power to enter into this Release and that the terms of this release do not in any way conflict with any existing commitment on my part.

Reference to the Recording in this release includes any and all edited versions made by the Producer and also includes any previously recorded material of me made by the Producer

Agreed and accepted by the Releasor

(sign above)

Print Name ______

Address: ______

______

Signature of the Producer DATE

______

REFERENCES

Bernard, Sheila Curran & Rabin, Kenn. Archival Storytelling. Focal Press, 2009.

Nichols, Bill. “Ethical Considerations: A Roundtable Discussion”, Archival Storytelling. Edited by Sheila Curran Bernard and Kenn Rabin. Focal Press, 2009.

Sullivan, Nikki. A Critical Introduction to Queer Theory. New York University Press, 2003.