Silver

Man of God - The Godfrey Collins Story

Neuqua Valley

Documentary

Entry Description

This documentary is about a friend of mine, Godfrey Collins. Today, he is one of the nicest and greatest guys you can ever meet. However, he wasn't always like that. In fact, he used to be one of the worst guys in Neuqua. In this documentary, we go through Godfrey's journey, and how he was able to find peace with himself, and God. For the full version, just click on this link --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNLV71Z5Lt8 .

Judge 1

Positives: Awesome story idea. I think one of the coolest things to see is someone who is troubled or offensive or mean, come to a realization and acknowledge that they have issues they need to fix. Then actually fixing them. Very inspiring. Good variety of interview. We got to hear from his mother, sister and teammate, all of which have a completely different perspective of Godfrey, yet all are singing his praises.

Improvements: Two story notes: 1) I didnt sense the "redemption quality." This could have been because I only saw a 5 minute clip, but I didnt get the feeling like he was a bad kid. It would have been cool to stage some scenes like his old self. 2)You never interviewed Godfrey!!!! The whole film is about him but we NEVER hear from him. I want to know how he changed FROM him, not other people. Two tech notes: 1) Should have shown pictures of him in middle school during that part instead of football. The B-roll doesnt support what the interviewer is saying. 2) I would have loved to hear sound from the football footage. I want to hear the crowd!!! Maybe hear announcers getting emotional about the play. Even if the audio is from a different part of the game.

Judge 2

Positives: I thought this was a very sweet and heart-warming documentary. Godrey has made grown up to be an inspirational young man, so much so that a friend of his felt like he needed to make this documentary to highlight him. It had a powerful message. The audio sounded great and the music complimented the story. The b-roll footage was used strategically over the interviews. I liked that some of the raw, emotional moments like his mom laughing were kept in this documentary. That was extra special.

Improvements: The nameplate text over the interviews were hard to read for the mom and the sister. It would have been nice to know what he is going on to do next after high school and what his goals are. It's great to hear how wonderful he is but that would have been a nice addition at the end so we know he's going on to hopefully achieve even more greatness.

Judge 3

Positives: I like how you opened and closed the video with the same scene finishing. Worked well to tie the video together.

Improvements: Would have liked more broll/footage of Godfrey to get a better sense of how he has grown and who he is. Only saw him in the opening scene. More story of how bad he was, just heard his mom say he got in a fight as a kid and was saved by god but the video lacked details to show how bad he was and what his transformation really means for him. Could have focused on his changing leading to college football or college in general when he use to be on a bad track. Needed a plot.