A small team of Film students from Ringling College of Art and Design has been working this summer to direct, film, and produce three documentary shorts highlighting local ecological heroes. The project is part of a six-week paid internship from Ringling INDEX and Alexander Film Agency. Participants will also earn three credit hours toward their degrees.
Filmed in June and July, the documentaries highlight Damon Moore from Oyster River Ecology (ORE), Dr. Jake Lasala from Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Conservation team, and Dr. Charles Reith from Suncoast Urban Reforesters.
Students and faculty were inspired to create this summer program after the success of a similar INDEX project in Spring 2024. In April and May, students initially made three films in partnership with the Longboat Key Rotary Club featuring Save Our Seabirds, the Longboat Key Turtle Watch, and the Sister Keys conservation project. The filmmakers’ work generated buzz in the community.
“All these other organizations saw what we were doing and wanted to work with the students, too,” said Patrick Alexander, Interim Department Head for the Film program at Ringling College. Alexander pitched the summer internship to his wife, Alison, who runs Alexander Film Agency.
“We’re trying to change with the times,” said Alexander. “I want to start doing more documentary work. It’s a high time to be a documentary filmmaker. There’s a market for your films. I look on the landing pages for Netflix and I just scroll down—there’s all these documentaries.”
Unlike narrative filmmaking shoots, which often rely on teams of 20 or 30 people and loads of heavy equipment, these documentary projects are smaller and more agile, while tackling challenging locations.
“We had to do tech scout on boats,” said Alexander, describing the ORE filming. “We had to figure out how to film on the water, and under the water, and we were trying to figure out how to keep our equipment dry. Our students have been learning how to snorkel and film at the same time.”
Together the Alexanders have been overseeing the projects and consulting with both the filmmakers and the organizations being featured, but the work is being done entirely by the students.
“We are not directing these,” said Patrick. “The students are directing them. They’re the creative forces behind them. They lean on us when they need us, but it really is their game. And they’re doing a fantastic job.”
Marketing, promotion, and exhibition for all six eco-hero documentaries will be a class project during the upcoming semester for students in the Branded Entertainment tract. An on-campus screening is also being planned for November.
