Conference Project Inspiration (Found Footage)

Found footage, historical footage can be very useful. It can be incorporated into a documentary , it can be projected onto the wall and used to create mood and atmosphere, or it can simply inform and inspire your writings in new and exciting ways. The possibilities and usages for found footage are almost endless.

I came across these videos while looking for images of "the old country." I wanted to see Italy as my grandparents and mother might have seen it. I wanted to find workers like my grandfather, Biagio. I wanted to see Italian men toiling. Farming, working the land, building something, anything. What I found was war footage. Amazing scenes that had previously only existed as tails from my grandparents. Here these stories are now right in front of me and begging to be used in someway. How will I use these videos to tell my families story? I'm not sure how exactly I will use this footage, or if I'll use it but I now have the footage to draw upon for inspiration.

VIDEO ONE: "The Battles for Monte Cassino"

I cannot believe I found this video! This is where my family is from. I've been here. This land is where I am from, Cassino. When I was there the mountain provided shade from the sumer sun. It does much more in this video.  I've seen the mountain from the valley below. I've been to the historic Benedictine abbey of Monte Cassino. It was a holy place that the Nazis used as a defensive position. It was bombed out, destroyed by war. The abbey I saw was an abbey rebuilt by the Americans after the war. As my grandfather would say, "In war, nobody wins. Even if you win you don't win. People have to leave, start over. You have to rebuild everything, start over. War is no good Eddie, no good."

VIDEO TWO: "Italians Work for The Allies"

VIDEO THREE: Battle for Anzio