The Starfish Story or Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley
This video is a modern adaptation of the “Starfish Story” originally written by Loren Eiseley in 1969. It’s a story about how important making a difference in people's lives, even if it is just one. It's a great video to encourage teachers, fostering families, and adoption parents. Below is the script for the video: "One day a man was walking along the beach, when he noticed a boy picking up starfish and throwing them into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “Excuse me, but what are you doing?" The boy replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The sun is rising and tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” The man laughed to himself and said, “But there's too many starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly make a difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean. Then, turning to the man, he said, " 'I made a difference to that one.' " ............................................................................................................... This was a project I was honored to partner with Corona Life Services, which is a non-profit that devotes their efforts to supporting and educating mothers who don’t know what to do after they found they’re pregnant. They told me about the “Starfish Story” and I loved it immediately. I looked it up online to see if there were any videos on YouTube or Vimeo already made, but surprisingly there weren’t any decent videos other than PowerPoint slides with text and cheesy music. The story needed to be portrayed properly, so I adapted the story to fit today’s audience and had a vision of how the video would turn out. After making a shot list, I coordinated with some dear friends to join me on a super early morning shoot at Laguna Beach at 6am. The reason is because I didn’t want to see any other people on the beach other than these two characters. Plus the lighting was soft and exactly what I wanted since the sun hadn’t risen yet. It was a really simple shoot. I didn’t want to be too artsy with my shots because it was a simple story with a powerful lesson at end. I didn’t want to take away from what Loren Eiseley intended for his story. I filmed on my Canon 6D with the Canon 24-105mm lens attached with the Tiffen ND variable filter. All natural lighting too. After filming, I ingested the media on my MacBook Pro 15” Retina and transcoded the video files to ProRes 422 because it’s simply easier to work with. My NLE of choice was Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 because I knew I would be sending certain clips to After Effects via dynamic link. After I locked down the first assembly, I recorded the voice overs using my wife’s voice in my closet. That’s right, my closet. I don’t have a professional recording studio, so I set up my Rode VideoMic Pro next to some thick clothing to help absorb any sound bouncing around. I also added a pop filter in front of the mic to reduce any pops or sibilance from her voice. After recording, I put some EQ and compression on the audio file using Adobe Audition CS6, then sent it straight to Premiere Pro for my second assembly. After some tweaking and color grading, I finished the project with 24 hours of work. I really loved working on this project because it’s a reminder that people matter. Even if you can’t make a difference to the masses, making a difference to one’s life is changing the world nonetheless. People Matter. I hope you enjoy! ............................................................................................................... ORIGINAL STORY BY: Loren Eiseley ADAPTED BY: Sidney Diongzon DIRECTOR/CINEMATOGRAPHER/EDITOR: Sidney Diongzon SECOND SHOOTER: Ernest Armendariz MUSIC: “Michelle’s Story” by Church On The Move https://seeds.churchonthemove.com/res... SPECIAL THANKS: Corona Life Services // http://www.clspregnancy.com Crossroads Christian Church // http://www.crossroadschurch.com Restoration Roasters // http://www.restorationroasters.com