If you attended the Emergency Services Volunteer Appreciation Night back in May, you may have noticed yourself tearing up because of a certain video. And if you didn’t attend the event, you may have watched the video on YouTube (over 1,000 people have) or seen it shared on Facebook.
The video is entitled “The Brave Ones.” It was created by a local ministry called Sea of Glass after they were commissioned by a Niverville church to make a short video honouring local emergency services volunteers. Sea of Glass is run by the team of Josiah Speers, Rory Hiebert, and Kaeleb Visram.
“We decided amongst ourselves that if we were going to do a video like this, we needed to do it right,” says Josiah Speers. “So we went all out.”
If you haven’t seen the video, you might want to grab a box of tissues before you do. The 8- minute documentary-style piece showcases and honours the brave men and women who serve our community and the countless sacrifices they make.
“The biggest challenge with this project was taking all these conversations and stories, hours of footage, and making it into a complete piece,” says Speers.
At the heart of every great film is a story, and that story needs an appropriate arc leading to a natural conclusion. In order to make this work, the team often needed to cut wonderful content that didn’t fit into the finished piece. This can be tough. “There were some regrettably great stories and emotional moments on the cutting room floor,” says Speers.
While making the project, several moments took the team’s breath away, some of which you can see in the final cut. “I think the experience that sent shivers down my spine as a filmmaker was getting the privilege of experiencing something with somebody for the first time,” says Speers. “Walking alongside an individual as they find a piece
of themselves they had never noticed before, and feel an emotion they didn’t know was there.” He notes it was exciting from a personal and artistic standpoint.
This film was one of the first major projects taken on by the team, which also operates the production company Glass Floor Media. Through the process they learned a plethora of important lessons, well beyond movie-making technique. One of the biggest? “Learning to rely on each other and trusting the vision others on the team have,” says Speers.
“You got me all sappy now!” he jokes. “It was a good experience.”
The short film can be found on YouTube or on the Sea of Glass website.
