How We Made Our First Short Documentary Film – To Comfort and Serve – Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD
You never know where a good deed will lead! Back in March of 2024, Ron and I attended the NY Dog Film Festival, a film festival screened across America that celebrates all things dog. I wanted some additional details about the films we would be seeing, so I went to the festival’s website and clicked on a link, but it didn’t work. Being inquisitive, I checked out the URL and saw there was a typo, so I reached out to the page administrator to let them know. Little did I know that the administrator was the festival's founder, Tracie Hotchner. Tracie founded the NY Dog and Cat Film Festivals nine years ago and has been helping filmmakers and local rescues through her nationwide festivals. After attending the NY Dog Film Festival in our town of Newburyport, I reached out to Tracie to tell her how much we loved the films, and the rest snowballed from there.
I shared what Ron and I do for work, our love of dogs, and the content we make. Tracie mentioned that there was a special sponsored category for the 2024 festival – Salute to Service Dogs – and asked if we would consider making a film. Had we ever made a film before? No – but we’ve made hundreds of high-quality videos and were up for the challenge of a foray into documentary filmmaking.
Was it hard? Yes. The learning curve was steep because making a film is VERY different from making a video. Ron had to purchase and teach himself to use a bunch of new equipment in a short time frame, and we both studied short documentary films to see how they were put together. We needed to learn how to tell a compelling story in a short period of time while also considering camera angles, lighting, audio, cuts, b-roll, and background music. And, we only had three months to pull the film together for the submission deadline.
We were fortunate to be paired with Michelle LeBlanc, Founder of Vermont Paws and Boots, a Veteran and retired State Policeman who runs a training center for service dogs that help Veterans and First Responders dealing with PTSD from their time in service. She founded the organization in 2014 when it was reported that over 20 veterans a day in the US were committing suicide, and she knew she had to help.
Our film shares the stories of Michelle and two of Vermont Paws and Boots graduates, Veterans whose lives have literally been saved by their service dogs. It was an honor to meet all of them and a reminder that many of those who served our country valiantly, especially those in combat areas, need support and understanding long after they return.
We have submitted our film to the NY Dog Festival and will learn soon if we earned a place in the festival. Regardless, we learned so much not only about making a short documentary film but also about the plight of Veterans living with PTSD and how service dogs can make positive changes in their daily lives.
We invite you to view the film here:
To learn more about Vermont Paws & Boots visit: https://www.vermontpawsandboots.org