! TEXAS PARANORMALISTS David!Goodman,!B.F.A,!M.A.! ! ! Thesis!Prepared!for!the!Degree!of! MASTER!OF!FINE!ARTS! ! ! UNIVERSITY!OF!NORTH!TEXAS! December!2015! ! APPROVED:!! Tania!Khalaf,!Major!Professor!!!!! ! Eugene!Martin,!Committee!Member!&!!!! ! Chair!for!the!Department!of!Media!Arts ! Marina!Levina,!Committee!Member!!!! ! Goodman, David. “Texas Paranormalists.” Master of Fine Arts (Documentary Production and Studies), December 2015, 52 pp., references, 12 titles. Texas Pararnormalists mixes participatory and observational styles in an effort to portray a small community of paranormal practitioners who live and work in and around North Texas. These practitioners include psychics, ghost investigators, and other enthusiasts and seekers of the spirit world. Through the documentation of their combined perspectives, Texas Paranormalists renders a portrait of a community of outsiders with a shared belief system and an unshakeable passion for reaching out into the unknown. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Copyright!2015! By! David!Goodman! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ii! ! Table!of!Contents! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Page! PROSPECTUS………………………………………………………………………………………………………!1! Introduction!and!Description……………………………………………………………………..1! ! Purpose…………………………………………………………………………………………….………3! ! Intended!Audience…………………………………………………………………………………….4! ! Preproduction!Research…….....................…………………………………………...…………..6! ! ! Feasibility……...……………...…………….………………………………………………6! ! ! Research!Summary…….…...…..……….………………………………………………7! Books………...………………………………………………………………………………..8! Visual!Media……………………….……………………………………………………….9! Podcasts……………………………………………………………………………………10! Interviewees……………………………………………………………………………..11! !Conferences!and!Festivals…….……………………………………………………12! ! ! Characters………..……………….…………….…………………………….…………..12! ! ! Style!and!Approach…..…………………….………………..….…………………….13! ! ! Treatment…………………………………………….…………………….……....…….14! ! ! Financing………………………………………………………………………………….18! ! ! Distribution!Possibilities…………………………………………………..……….18! ! ! Social!Media!Timeline………………..………………………………………………20! ! ! Schedule!for!Pre^Production,!Production,!Post^Production….………20! RE^CONCEPTUALIZATION!BEFORE!PRODUCTION……………………………………………....22! INTEGRATION!OF!THEORY!AND!PRACTICE…….…………………………………………………..24! ! ! Ethnographic!Cinema..…………………………………………………………….…24! ! ! Cinema^vérité!and!Direct!Cinema………………………………….……………26! ! ! Editorial!Connectivity!and!Structure………………………………..…………28! ! iii! ! ! Ethics………………………………………………………………………………..………31! ! ! Subject^Filmmaker!Relationship……………………………………..………….33! PRODUCTION……………….……………………………………………………………………………………35! ! ! Overview………….…………………………………………………….………………….35! ! ! Shooting!Schedule………….…………………………………………………..………35! ! ! Crew…………………….……………………………………………………………………38! ! ! Equipment…………………………………………………………………………………38! ! ! Experience..………………………………………………………………………………..39! ! ! Budget……………………………………………………………………………………….40! POST^PRODUCTION…………...………………………………………………………………………………41! ! ! Equipment……………………………………...…………………………………….….…41! ! ! Schedule………………………………………………………….……………………….…41! RECONCEPTUALIZATION!DURING!POST^PRODUCTION………………………...……….……43! EVALUATION!OF!COMPLETED!WORK…………………………………..…………………………….45! ! ! Pre^Production…….………………………………………………………………………45! ! ! Production…………………………………………………………………………………..45! ! ! Post^Production……...…………………………………………………………………...46! APPENDIX……………….…………………………………………………………………………………………47! ! ! Budget……….…………………….………..………………………………………………....48! ! ! Interview!Questions…………………………………………………………………..….49! ! ! Appearance!Release……………………………………………………………………...51! ! ! References…………….…………………………………………..………………………….52! ! ! iv! ! PROSPECTUS! This%is%the%proposal%submitted%and%approved%by%the%thesis%committee%in%April%2015.% TITLE:!Medium,!Texas! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!! LENGTH:!20!minutes! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! MEDIUM:!HD!Video! Introduction!and!Description! The! wideGspanning! field! of! paranormal! enthusiasm,! researCh,! and! praCtiCe! enCompasses! ghosts,! psyChiCs,! extraterrestrials,! and! Cryptids,! to! name! just! a! few! broad!foCal!points!of!interest.!Each!of!these!ClassifiCations!then!expands!further!into! a! dizzying! list! of! specialized! research! and! experience.! Whether! this! farGreaching! belief! system! inspires! exCitement! or! skeptiCism,! an! intense! fasCination! with! paranormal! work! has! remained! present! and! Continues! to! grow! within! modern! Culture.!While!paranormal!devotees!Can!be!found!all!over!the!world,!the!region!of! North! Texas! has! a! Community! of! paranormal! enthusiasts! and! praCtitioners! who! warrant! a! thorough! investigation.! Among! the! many! paranormallyGinclined! individuals!loCated!in!the!area!of!North!Texas!are!a!tranCe!medium!named!Dwanna! Paul,!a!ghostGhunting!equipment!manufaCturer!named!Jeromy!Jones,!and!a!married! Couple! named! Linda! and! Del! Hill,! who! rent! out! a! haunted! house! for! ghost! investigations.!! Dwanna! Paul! has! been! praCtiCing! tranCe! mediumship! for! over! thirtyGfive! years.!Mediums!have!the!ability!to!CommuniCate!with!the!dead.!This!is!done!when! the!medium!“Channels”!interaCtions!direCtly!from!the!deCeased!and!Conveys!them!to! a! living! individual! referred! to! as! a! “sitter.”! Dwanna’s! private! sessions! result! in! CommuniCations!with!lost!loved!ones,!spiritual!guidanCe,!and!emotional!healing.!In! ! 1!! ! addition!to!lectures,!Dwanna!also!conducts!“circles!of!light,”!séance!style!gatherings! that! take! place! in! total! darkness.! The! resulting! energy! field! from! these! circles! creates!an!experience!that!can!be!aural,!tactile,!aromatic,!and!even!involve!floating! visions!of!light.!By!way!of!this!circle,!participants!experience!a!meditative!state!akin! to!prayer!and!can!enter!into!a!communication!with!the!spirit!world.! Jeromy!Jones,!a!father!of!five,!is!an!electrical!engineer!based!in!Denton,!Texas.! After!working!in!the!corporate!world,!Jeromy!took!it!upon!himself!to!forge!a!path! into! his! true! field! of! interest,! the! paranormal.! ! He! now! fabricates! specialized,! paranormal! detection! equipment! fullGtime! for! his! company,! Paranologies.! He! also! works!twice!a!month!as!an!investigator!with!the!Texas!Ghost!Hunters.!During!his! investigations,! Jeromy! has! recorded! many! strange! and! unexplainable! phenomena.! Two!of!Jeromy’s!children!share!an!interest!in!ghosts!and!are!already!learning!their! father’s!craft.!! Linda! and! Del! Hill! married! five! years! ago! and! promptly! began! a! business! together!in!Gainesville,!Texas.!They!purchased!a!house!and!called!it!the!Hill!House! Manor.!Their!plan!was!to!renovate!it!and!rent!it!out!to!visitors.!However,!when!they! found!out!the!house!seemed!to!be!haunted!by!ghostly!presences,!their!plan!changed.! Now,!Linda!and!Del!rent!out!the!tumble!down!house!for!visitors!interested!in!the! paranormal,! who! spend! the! night! in! a! no! frills! environment! in! an! effort! to! experience! something! unusual.! Teams! of! paranormal! experts! and! weekend! thrillG seekers! keep! the! house! fully! booked! and! provide! a! valuable! source! of! income! for! ! 2!! ! Linda!and!Del.!In!addition!to!the!haunted!house,!Linda!gives!lectures!and!provides! healing!therapy!sessions!while!Del!plays!music!in!several!bands.!! The! documentary! Medium,% Texas!will!consider!the!practices!and!beliefs!of! Dwanna,!Jeromy,!Linda!and!Del!in!an!effort!to!shed!light!on!the!growing!fascination! with! the! paranormal,! while! also! seeking! to! understand! the! communities! and! individuals! who! function! within! this! subculture.! Dwanna! Paul! will! serve! as! the! central! character! who,! while! nearing! her! twilight! years,! continues! to! dedicate! herself!to!a!fully!active!trance!medium!practice.!Dwanna’s!history!and!mystical!roots! will!be!unearthed!while!her!style!and!approach!will!be!observed.!The!perspective!of! the!documentary!will!then!spread!outward!to!include!the!other!viewpoints!found!in! the!area!of!North!Texas!as!represented!by!Jeromy,!Linda,!and!Del,!all!of!whom!each! have!unique!viewpoints!on!the!experience!of!tapping!into!the!paranormal!realm.!! The!shared!fascination!with!ghosts!and!spirits!will!be!the!focus!of!Medium,% Texas.! The! communal! interest! in! the! paranormal! will! serve! to! unify! the! multiple! perspectives! that! will! arise! over! the! course! of! this! documentary! motion! picture.! With!these!various!perspectives!and!stories!taken!into!account,!Medium,%Texas!will! document!a!group!of!very!interesting!North!Texans!who!continually!reach!toward! the!borderlands!of!human!experience.!! Purpose! Medium,% Texas!will!depict!a!variety!of!North!Texas!perspectives!that! surround! the! mysteries! found! in! the! field! of! paranormal! practice! and! experience.! Within! the! broad! field! of! paranormal! topics,! the! specific! focus! will! be! on! ! 3!! ! practitioners!who!are!dedicated!to!relationships!with!the!spirit!world.!This!film!will! avoid! the! common! depiction! of! mediumship! and! spirit! phenomena! found! in! widespread! media! and! instead! focus! on! the! passionate! people! and! belief! systems! that!surround!and!support!this!subculture.!Grounding!the!paranormal!documentary! in! and! around! North! Texas! will! serve! to! focus! the! perspective! within! a! specific! region! of! the! United! States! in! an! effort! to! avoid! generalizations! that! might! arise! should!the!project!attempt!to!encompass!a!larger!area.!!! By! exploring! the! people! behind! this! mysterious! topic! in! a! respectful! and! ethically! considerate! way,! the! paranormal! experience! will! be! analyzed! not! as!