This Sunday on WNIT, Goshen gets its close-up

Posted: 12/01/2010 at 12:32 pm

By: Marlys Weaver

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GOSHEN -- Several Goshen residents want to tell you about their city. With camcorders and a passion for Goshen, they set out to film their city's diversity, bicycle-friendliness, landmarks and more.

Their efforts air as WNIT-TV's "Our Town: Goshen" documentary Sunday at 6 and 7:30 p.m. on WNIT, channel 34. Some of the videographers, along with Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman, will be live in WNIT's studio for a pledge drive during the premiere.

Twenty-four local videographers, including Goshen High School and Goshen College students, collaborated on the film, choosing what they wanted to highlight, capturing the footage and talking with WNIT about its significance.

Tali Navarro, a junior at Goshen High School, had taken several videography classes and been involved with her school's TV news program, but was still anxious when she volunteered to help with the documentary.

"It was a bit nerve-wracking because we wanted to do a good job and get what they were asking for," she said. "At the same time, we were really excited knowing a lot of people would watch."

Videographers did most of their work in October before WNIT editors worked in November to unify the footage into the film premiering this weekend.

WNIT held training sessions to equip the local volunteers before they went out on their own. Editors then interviewed them about their collected footage. Those interviews form the documentary's narrative.

Through the interviews and footage, WNIT producer and director Kelsy Zumbrun said that one thing was evident: People are passionate about Goshen.

"One thing we talked to people about in their interviews was just not their segments, but what they think about Goshen," he said. Several people answered with stories about how much they love the community or how grateful they are to raise their kids in Goshen.

"It was very impressive to see how devoted they all are to their community," Zumbrun said.

Anyone with access to a camcorder was welcome to participate, with WNIT's training sessions teaching the needed videography skills.

City forester Aaron Sawatsky-Kingsley didn't have much experience in film but wanted to be sure an important part of the city was in the documentary.

"Sort of the narrative I had in mind," he said, "was to think about Goshen's ecological history, to place Goshen in the context of a larger forest system that this part of the world has been. So, maybe I wanted to show what this city was like 2,000 years ago and why Goshen is the Maple City."

Sawatsky-Kingsley shot footage of the trees that line many of Goshen's residential streets, the tree nursery on the east side of the city, some of the Trail of Hope trees planted along bikepaths and other public areas by the Goshen Center for Cancer Care, and of Goshen's classified forest, where development is not allowed.

"That was just as fall color was getting under way," he said.

Though he knew an audience would see his work, Sawatsky-Kingsley said he didn't focus on that, but did get caught up thinking about how to make a shot look.

"I found myself just really intrigued by the work of capturing this stuff on film," he said.

Other themes of the film were less straightforward to capture.

David Martinez, an English learner collaborator at Goshen High School, wanted to capture the diversity of Goshen High School and in the city.

He filmed several Latino businesses in downtown Goshen, comparing the differences between those and big box stores.

"It's a lot more colorful and, you know, we have the pinatas hanging from the ceiling and different kinds of food that we can't get anywhere else. So I tried to capture that," he said. "I kind of painted a pretty picture of diversity on Main Street, all the restaurants and stores."

Like the other videographers, Martinez said he won't see the final product until a private volunteer viewing Thursday.

"I wanted to put a little bit of my story into it," he said. "I'm excited to see if that's accomplished."

WNIT has done other "Our Town" documentaries, but Goshen's documentary was the first in several years and a test to see if it should make more. Zumbrun said Sunday night's premiere and pledge drive will largely determine that decision.

"We're committed to telling the stories of our area regardless. That's just who WNIT is anyway," Zumbrun said. "We look forward to it, but we can't guarantee it."

For more information visit http://www.wnit.org/ourtowngoshen.

THE DETAILS

What: Premiere of "Our Town: Goshen"

When: Sunday at 6 and 7:30 p.m.

Where: WNIT-TV, channel 34

Cost: Free on local television, but local volunteers, including Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman, will help a pledge drive during the premiere