University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses 8-7-2003 Asking to See the Soul: A Video Documentary Exploring the 'Coming Out' Experiences of Men Identifying with a Gay Subculture Barth Cox University of New Orleans Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Recommended Citation Cox, Barth, "Asking to See the Soul: A Video Documentary Exploring the 'Coming Out' Experiences of Men Identifying with a Gay Subculture" (2003). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 29. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/29 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights- holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ASKING TO SEE THE SOUL: A VIDEO DOCUMENTARY EXPLORING THE ‘COMING OUT’ EXPERIENCES OF MEN IDENTIFYING WITH A GAY SUBCULTURE A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in The Department of Drama and Communications by Barth Louis Cox B.S., Mansfield University, 1996 August 2003 © 2003, Barth Louis Cox ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to thanks his committee chair, Barbara B. Coleman for all the assistance she has given him over the past few years as his boss, mentor and friend. He would also like to thank his life partner, Bobby Dimm especially for his persistence in recruiting subjects to interview, and for believing in the author’s vision for this project. The author also appreciates the encouragement, support and cooperation he has received from committee members, Dr. Kevin L. Graves and J. Stephen Hanks. He would also like to thank Dr. Wendy Hajjar and Dr. H. Wayne Schuth for their assistance. Special thanks go out to the author’s fellow graduate assistants and friends, Renee Leblanc and Corrine Clements who didn’t hesitate to help out with the author’s teaching duties when this production took him out of town. Of course, without Michael Tomaszek, Bill Adams, Bill Hargreaves, Les Wright, and Bill Leinenger, there would not have been a production. There are countless other people who’s encouragement and well wishes have facilitated this project and helped the author to keep his vision alive. And most importantly, the author owes his greatest appreciation to his brothers and friends in the Bear Community. ASKING TO SEE THE SOUL is your story and the author hopes that it captures the spirit of the Bear movement. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 Overall Objective.........................................................................................1 Justification of Project ................................................................................5 Project Origination ......................................................................................6 CHAPTER ONE: PREPRODUCTION..............................................................................8 Documentary Structure ................................................................................8 Interviews.....................................................................................................9 “B” Roll.....................................................................................................13 Budget and Equipment Decisions..............................................................15 Equipment..................................................................................................16 Production Schedule..................................................................................19 Post Production..........................................................................................20 CHAPTER TWO: PRODUCTION ..................................................................................24 Southern Decadence, New Orleans, LA ....................................................24 New Orleans Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Trangender Pride Weekend ...34 Bear Bust, Orlando, FL..............................................................................35 Hibearnation, St. Louis, MO......................................................................42 Independent Shooting Date, New Orleans, LA ........................................43 International Bear Rendezvous, San Francisco, CA..................................44 Mardi Gras, New Orleans, LA ..................................................................51 Texas Bear Round-Up, Dallas TX ............................................................53 CHAPTER THREE: POSTPRODUCTION.....................................................................56 Music..........................................................................................................57 Editing........................................................................................................60 CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION.................................................................................69 BIBLIOGRAPHY..............................................................................................................72 iv APPENDIX A: BUDGET.................................................................................................94 APPENDIX B: SCRIPT ................................................................................................100 APPENDIX C: TRANSCRIPTS ....................................................................................153 APPENDIX D: SHOT LIST...........................................................................................248 APPENDIX E: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL...................................................................283 APPENDIX F: RELEASE FORMS ...............................................................................286 APPENDIX G: COPY OF CREDITS ............................................................................292 APPENDIX H: MPEG COPY OF FILM .......................................................................297 VITA................................................................................................................................298 v ABSTRACT This thesis details the production process of a video documentary that describes the coming out processes of gay men who identify with the Bear subculture of the gay community and some of the conflicts and consequences that they face due to this action. The aim of this production was to portray with dignity and compassion the recorded feelings and personal histories of the subjects interviewed. Chapters are devoted to the development, pre-production, production and post-production phased of this documentary. A detailed script, transcripts, shot list, and other examples and illustrations are included to give a better understanding of the entire production. This thesis also includes other necessary documentation such as a detailed budget and copies of performance releases. vi 1 Introduction This thesis concerns the production of a documentary entitled, ASKING TO SEE THE SOUL. The documentary focuses on the identity formation and experiences of men who identify with the “Bear” Community, a subculture of the gay community. It was shot entirely on digital video, and was produced by using Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, Sonic Foundry Sound Forge, Sonic Foundry ACID as well as other post-production programs and technology. Overall Objectives The primary objective of this thesis is to create a documentary that faithfully examines the bear subculture of the gay community. Using an ethnographical approach and the videotaped interview of five men who self-proclaim their involvement in the subculture, the author constructs a psycho-sociological examination into a variety of issue and insights pertinent to this community. Included among the relevant issues this project examines are the ways these men develop there personal and social identify as bears, those events that shaped and created this subculture from the personal perspective of the interviewees, and what challenges and triumphs faced by this community contribute to its continuous changes and evolution. The piece also examines how these men, by their association with the bear community have changed their lives both as men as well as gay men. From the emergence of the bear subculture in the mid-1980s to the present, there has been a struggle to clearly define what is a bear. Les Wright defined a bear in The Bear Book: Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture as a gay man who is “as comfortable being a man as he is being gay, and who has a good heart” (7). Though this definition appears simplistic and all encompassing, it’s vagueness fuels the community’s constant debate, sparked by the fact that both members and the scholars alike,