John Chester: Guerilla Philanthropy
Routes to Sanity
One of the most daunting aspects of the “Random 1” editing job is the sheer quantity of material. “When you’re talking about thousands of hours of footage, project and media management can be a nightmare,” says DeVito. “Our show has a documentary-style production paradigm, but we also have multiple stories happening at all times. So our editors, assistants and loggers have to be in a constant state of pass-off.”
He says the Final Cut Pro Media Manager is “incredibly efficient when you’re searching for clips offline. When we label clips, our names match the QuickTime names on the main drives. So even if you’re doing it manually, searching for offline material is a breeze.”
“When people ask for help, there’s this judgment we all make — even if it’s silent — about their life story and the worthiness of helping them. But when I learn the truth, I often see how wrong I am.”
Assistant editor Amy Wilson works at her edit station.
He’s particularly proud of the route system he and his crew customized. “Since Xsan doesn’t offer its own project management structure, we designated the Xserve backup resource as a universal shared library,” explains DeVito. “Our editors check projects in and out according to four routes: tapes, daily shoots, story lines and shows. The system not only makes it easy to find a specific shot on a specific day, but also to map where the media is being used in reference to a given story. It’s what keeps us sane.”
A Student of All Faiths
Ultimately, this sophisticated post-production workflow allows Chester and his colleagues to share with wider audiences the intense human drama of their interactions with random people in the street. To Chester, the “Random 1” project is a natural extension of his lifelong interest in the ways people find meaning. “Everything I’ve done has been related to this quest for connections,” he says.
As part of that quest, he takes a long look at what’s in his own heart. He notes, “When people ask for help, there’s this judgment we all make — even if it’s silent — about their life story and the worthiness of helping them. But when I learn the truth, I often see how wrong I am. That’s why this is such a fascinating experience. And in this entire project, what we haven’t met are people who are not deserving of our belief in them.”
Chester prefers not to imagine where his idea may ultimately lead. He refuses, for example, to entertain the cheery notion that his show may spawn a tidal wave of good deeds. “If I start to think about what could happen as a result of the show, it makes me kind of crazy,” he says. “But what I’ve gathered in the eight years that I’ve been talking about this idea and doing it and building the team is how quickly people buy into what we do.”
Piercing the Wall
“One day,” he continues, “there will be a culture that agrees with us. And there will also be people who say, ‘Ooh, you better not start something like that — it’s dangerous!’ Well of course it is. And I have been in danger. Some people misinterpret what we’re trying to do and they get scared and react in a dangerous way, so we have to get out. You connect with people at your own risk.
“You can’t be passive if you want to pierce the meanness in our world,” he concludes. “My ideal viewer for this show will understand the meaning of aggressive humility. We’re all conditioned to be fearful of strangers. But if we continue that way, what’s the point of being here? I want to know, can we pierce that wall of the scary unknown? And I believe that with time, and love, we can.”
