Birth Video
It’s been a while since I’ve done any personal work, too long actually! But I’m really excited to share this film with you all.
I feel so fortunate to be alive. Being a human being on this earth is the most beautiful, sacred and wonderful thing I could ever wish for. We are so privileged that we get the opportunity to experience the wonder that this world has to offer us as humans every day.
As a filmmaker, this beauty of being human is what drives me to capture the stories that I do. This is where the inspiration for wanting to film a birth came from! I shared my thoughts with a few close friends … some were like “ewww no!!”
Then late last year I got an excited call from a good photographer friend Ruth who was like “I’M PREGNANT, CAN YOU FILM OUR STORY?!” So with that phone call, my project started!
So for the next 6 or so months I kept in touch with them and filmed little stages of their journey. Then, come 38 weeks and with Ruth and Dave living two hours away from me, I decided it would be best to move in with them until Ruth gave birth! There’s nothing worse than 6 or so months of filming to miss the big moment because I was stuck in Auckland traffic trying to get down to Hamilton!
I’ve never witnessed a birth before, and Ruth and Dave were about to be first-time parents too. So it was new territory for all of us and not knowing what to expect! There were obviously a whole bunch of things we had to talk about before committing to the project but looking back at it all, things couldn’t have gone better!!
It was an amazing experience to be a part of and I knew if done right could make for a really powerful film. So I’m stoked with how it all turned out and a project I can now tick off as done!
So here’s the film I made. If you can, find a quiet place to watch it in. With headphones on if you’ve got them, it’s a much better experience!!
RATING: Suitable for public viewing with no explicit material. Contains “Adult Themes” showing the labour process.
BIRTH VIDEO – THE THREE OF US
For those that were a little confused as to who that other guy was in the science lab, that was me!! Because the sex of the baby needed to be a surprise to both Dave and Ruth, the Sonographer secretly told me the sex of the baby after I filmed the 20-week scan. That meant I knew which colour fireworks to put into the tube!
So there’s obviously a bunch of people to thank!!
Ruth and Dave (epic photographers btw) for being so awesome in sharing my vision of how cool a film like this could be. And Ruth for being so brave and vulnerable in front of the camera. 🙂
The Midwife Heather Sears, River Radiology and Waterford Birth Centre for being totally comfortable with me filming the whole process.
Raewyn Brandon for the thumbnail design to the film. It’s nice to have a graphic designer in the family!
And both Marmoset Music and The Music Bed for the epic soundtracks to accompany the film!
Ruby Marie Gilmour was named after Marie Curie, the first women to win a Nobel prize! She was born at 4:45am on the 5th of May 2015 after about 5 hours of active labour. She weighed 7.2 pounds and both Ruby and Mum are totally healthy! Hopefully, you enjoy watching this film too one day Ruby!!
Filmed and Edited by Jared Brandon.
