Time was limited; two and a half weeks, which very short given the subject matter and goals. Thankfully, I had a small, wonderful team through the museum to help divide up the monumental task of cutting hours of interview footage and creating a compelling narrative that did justice to the men present that day.
The documentary’s introduction alone was a monumental task; I needed to properly orient viewers and set up events leading to the night prior the battle, and do so clearly and concisely.
I’ve found the challenge in documentary directing is finding the proper balance between context and brevity. The Battle off Samar is a little-known (though fascinating and very pivotal) naval engagement 80+ years ago, involving a myriad of moving parts and actors. So like many documentaries, we’d lean on a time-honored tradition of effective historiography; by utilizing detailed animated battle maps.
I built these maps out, and annotated in conjunction with historian-provided voiceover all meticulously cut down from 20 minutes to a very tidy three and and a half. This alone was a labor of love and required deep familiarity of the subject matter.
There’s multiple documentaries present detailing the Battle off Samar; where the participating warships were, when they were hit, when they sank, etc. No new ground needed to be broken here; our goal was to use this documentary to thoroughly illustrate of what the experience was like for thoJohnston, and all who participated in the battle. This all would be followed by new and untold information on the search and discovery of the USS Johnston and Samuel B. Roberts, at the bottom of the Philippine trench in 2019-2021, from the people directly involved.
One of the key media sources utilized was over five hours of interview audio with the USS Johnston’s senior surviving officer, Robert Hagen. He provided some truly incredible first hand accounts of the battle, and really gave the whole documentary the ‘heart’ it needed.
Hagen’s Navy ID, 1941
We accomplished this though contributions and interviews provided by acclaimed historiographer Drachinifel, the Director of Naval History and Heritage Command, R.Adm. Samuel Cox, oceanic explorers Victor Vescovo and Parks Stephenson, hours of recorded survivor’s accounts and interviews with next of kin.
The final narrative wove between past and present to help effectively paint a picture of the experience itself for those present on that day, October 25th, 1944.
Full credits:
Parks Stephenson — Executive Producer
Aaron Gaponoff — Director/Producer, Motion Design
Molly Bahlinger — Videographer & Editor
Alcides A. Ortiz-Ferrari III — Editor
Tim NesSmith — Videographer