Behind the scenes for The DJ is here: For the entire year of 2019, I was searching for a subject for a mini documentary. First thing I did was create a paper advertisement that read, “Looking for interesting subjects / stories for a mini documentary.” I taped the paper advertisements all over my neighborhood in NYC. Then, I anxiously waited for all the amazing stories to come flooding in. A few days went by, then a few weeks and eventually nothing interesting ever came.
Out of the blue, my Dutch filmmaker friend Constant Van Hoeven sent me a text message about a great subject where he lived in upstate New York. Rene Sanchez, a local man who played ‘70s & ‘80s roller disco music for everyone at a local park for free almost daily. In his youth, he enjoyed roller skating and became quite good. Unfortunately, after an injury he was never able to roller skate again. You should really watch the film before I give away the entire storyline!
The project was shot on my Sony FS7 camera and Sigma Art series lenses. Additionally, I rented a Dana Dolly from Du-All Camera in Manhattan. The whole documentary was shot in a span of two days:
The first day, I conducted the interview and asked Rene about his roller-skating life and what led him to come to the park and play music for everybody.
The second day was shot about three weeks later. At that point, I knew what kind of shots I wanted to capture based on the interview. I filmed B-Roll of Rene at his home reminiscing over his roller-skating youth, talking about the accident that forced him to stop skating, and ultimately finding a new passion in life.
Often, I find myself wondering why I was so lucky to find such a great honest story. I must have a lucky camera!
