River Roots Redevelopment: No, Don't Do That!

By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation

No, Don’t Do That!

(The Joys of DIY Videography)

“No, don’t do that. I don’t wanna do that. Stop that!”

—actual quote from Rachel this week as we tried to film a simple video.

Cut to: an accidental clip of the W 2nd St. house project slowly spinning from sideways to upside down while both of us tried not to scream . . . or snort-laugh.

Add about 30 more minutes of “Wait, why did it do that??” and “Nooo! Dangit!” and you’ve got a pretty accurate picture of our first Pellere DIY videography session. It was chaos, it was hilarious, it was us.

And honestly? It was kind of perfect.

We needed something quick and authentic for a grant application—something that felt more like a peek behind the scenes than a polished promo video. And what better way to do that than by rolling up our sleeves and giving it a go ourselves? We grabbed the new selfie stick tripod, took a deep breath, and hit record.

Was it a professional film shoot? No. But it was real, and joyful, and surprisingly fun. Plus, we got to laugh at ourselves a lot. (Which is an underrated project benefit, in our opinion.)

One of the things we love about our work is that it keeps us learning. Sometimes, when it makes sense, you pick up a new skill because it helps you do the job better. Or faster. Or funnier. And when it doesn’t make sense to DIY? You call in the pros. (Huge shout out to Matt and the whole crew at Jewell Electric for getting the power back on at W 2nd!)

We always say we want to share what’s real, not just what’s shiny. So, if our first short video makes it to pellere.org sometime this week—even if it’s a little sideways—we hope it makes you smile.

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Find the possibilities. And when the screen flips upside down? Just keep filming.

A right-side-up shot of one of the bathrooms

inside W 2nd St. Look at that adorable

little time capsule!!!)

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Rachel Brosnahan is the Community Engagement Coordinator for River Roots Redevelopment. She can be reached by email at rachel@riverrootsredevelopment.org