What are we doing?
OUR QUESTIONS
What is the work they actually do?
Why do they do it?
What keeps them coming back?
Before, during and after a rodeo performance, women are working to make it happen. The movie and book that we are creating is our attempt to answer the questions: Who are these women? What are they actually doing? Why do they do it? And what keeps them coming back? We are making a documentary movie and creating a multiformat book that will exist on-line and in print – all about the women in rodeo production.
Who are we?
It takes a cast of many to make a movie. Perhaps the most important players are the people who agree to come into the camera view, be seen, and speak about their lives. In this case, they are women who have dedicated their lives – young and older – to rodeo. They are women who work in many jobs to support, promote and produce the rodeo performances that the fans come to see and the competitors come to ride in.
And then without the film crew, there would be no film at all. The Director of Photography, the Lighting and Second Camera, the Sound Engineer and, in this new world, the Digital Imaging Technician. And always a Production Assistant to keep the crew’s activities moving along and keep everyone involved fed and watered.
But, of course, the idea to make this movie comes from somewhere. Believe it or not, some professors at the university think about rodeo and ask questions about rodeo and want to know more about how it all works. For this work, one professor is taking the lead on the film and is directing it and interviewing the women. Another professor is digging deep into archives – some public, some personal treasures – to help us all understand that women have always been involved with rodeo. Along with professors, there is the research administrator and research assistants. The admin person ensures that all the pieces are in place: that the cameras are rented, the insurance purchased, the flights, vehicles and hotels are booked and, perhaps most demanding, navigates the vagaries of the university’s financial maze to make sure people are paid.
And that is only the beginning. Next comes the post-production team, the editor and the digital wizard. A year of filming, a year of editing and then we hope there will be a movie. Simultaneously, the professors will also be creating a book – with photographs, historical documents, and text that adds significantly to what the film can do.
In a nutshell, that’s who we are.