The Road to HomeDadCon – A Documentary

In the beginning…

Last year, when my daughter was about 9-months old, I began my search for online at-home dad resources.  Up to that point, I was in denial of my at-home dad status.  The first thing to really pique my interest was HomeDadCon.  My gears started turning.  Step to step to step, I ended up with the idea of a documentary.  It was June, 2015.  I put that idea into the wild.  It died.

To the present…

Now is a new year.   And unlike the 20th Annual At-Home Dad Convention, I am registered to attend number 21.  My goal is to film that journey.  From Palm Coast to Raleigh, I want to use GoPro , iPhone and the film of others to tell a sometimes funny tale of getting to, and participating in, Home DadCon.

Style

You’ve heard of Gonzo Journalism? Well, I am thinking elements of that style. This is going to be first person perspective for the most part.  I want to make it humorous as well as human.  I want to make the big, small, and the small, big.  See later for details.  It is all still in development.  I will, however, not belittle Dads or DadCon.  That’s not the sort of humour I’m looking for.

Story Outline

Here is what I know about the story so far:

I plan to fly to either London, Ontario or Detroit, Michigan and meet with a fellow SAHD to road-trip it the 13hrs to Raleigh, North Carolina.  My mate and I plan to see the sights, so I expect an irreverent look at the American road trip.

I want to film enough of the location – hotel & Raleigh – and events, as to capture the feel of the town and the convention.

I want to interview enough people, maybe even have people submit their film – as to capture the mood and enthusiasm for convention and their roles as at-home-dads.

I want to interview behind the scenes, to look at how much effort goes into a production like this.

I will trace all of those things, particularly the human aspect, over the event, from my own perspective and the perspective of a few individuals.

I anticipate sadness and a deflation when it is over.  I expect to get that on film; everything from the tear down to the drive home, ending with my front door.

The Process and Funding

I am in the development stage right now.  What I can tell you is that I have no money,  and it will have no real budget all.  This will be bare bones.  The film will all be from iPhones and the like. The music for the soundtrack will all be free to use or as close to free to use as possible.  There will be no fancy lighting, no reality TV script, and no set shots.  This will be as close to real as real can be, with only an outline to drive it. And when it’s done, it most likely will go on Vimeo. Maybe. Who knows? There is a long way between there and now.

Do you want to help?

Are you going? Have you been before? Are you willing to take film of yourself – diary entry style – of the buildup to HomeDad Con, perhaps also during the event, and submit it to me? Maybe even film a little 3rd person footage from the convention itself? If so, contact me and we will get a plan together. I am looking for your personal thoughts and feelings, presented in a way that gets at the heart of the why the convention is important and what it means.  I intend to use these as vignettes throughout the larger film.

Thanks in advance!