Let me start from the beginning, 8 years ago. I had recently started freelancing as a camera operator and had bought my first camera, the Panasonic DVX100B using a credit card.

I had my first big client that wanted to create a marketing video about the cochlear implant which I learned was a little device that could allow deaf people to hear sound (it’s a lot more complicated than it sounds!).

During the production of that video, I interviewed a deaf family that had a deaf child. A friend of mine had also just bought the same camera, so we did a two-camera shoot for the interview. The interview was in ASL (American Sign Language), so I didn’t pick up much of it while shooting.

Later that week, I got the transcript of the interview and started my edit. I was immediately blown away by the interview. It was simply powerful. It was a story of parents that did everything in their power to give their child the best possible future, even though it came with a lot of criticism from the Deaf Community that they were a part of their entire lives. I remember having to hold back tears during much of the edit.

The same day, I called my client and told her I would love to do a more in-depth story on that family. I had interviewed almost a dozen families for the marketing video, but their story in particular really inspired me. My client thought it was a great idea.

We set up a meeting with the family and pitched them the idea. “We want to do a feature length documentary on your story”. To my surprise, they agreed to be involved. That was summer of 2008.

At this point, HD was taking over and my SD camera seemed out of date already. So I made another purchase and got a Panasonic HVX200. It was basically the HD (720P 24P) version of what I was used to. Looking back, I’m so glad I did that. The film would have looked so outdated if it were in SD.