It’s the beginning of November, 2014 and I seem to be completed with the filmed interview portion of the documentary. That was the easy part. (a lot of fun too!) The hard part is re-listening to all of them and capture nuggets or in some cases, several minutes of information that will fit into a stream of thoughts.

Brian Golden, Director of Photography and Editor for my documentary

Brian Golden, my Director of Photography on this project suggested I take index cards for each interview conducted and jot done those favorite nuggets (or great quotes) with the time they appear on screen. Tedious…yes, but very helpful. It allows me to put some different thought patterns in my mind on how the documentary should flow. It also was enjoyable to listen to all of the people I interviewed to really focus on their facial expressions and interest level in certain questions. Great suggestion Brian!

I used to think that filming documentaries were fairly easy projects and I have a renewed respect for those that can produce films of this nature. Not easy – that’s for sure.

Whereas I am still struggling with different aspects on the films flow, I have a clear picture of the finished film and that’s the most important part of this project.

The rare film footage, never before heard recordings of some of the earlier musicians and old photographs are really going to stand out in this film and I am excited to be able to unveil this next year. Its difficult for me because I want to share these photos now..but restraint is a good thing and I am saving these for the film!

Kelly Kuchukian was one of my first interviews and he is seen here holding his oud.

Speaking of photos…I still need help. Still looking for photographs of musicians and dances in Detroit that pre-date 1965. Ideally I would like to get photos from 1955-1965 as this appears to be a period of time where music was free flowing and plentiful in Detroit. If you have any leads or you have photos, please email me directly.

Finally..don’t let the title of this blog entry fool you, I still need a good name for this film. The trouble with using ‘hye’ in the title will be the misconception of the word to the non-Armenian audiences that will see this film. I tested it out with some folks and they think of marijuana! HA….well, I guess that word wont fit.

More later!