Antarctica 2021

GROUNDS DOC TEAM

Ateamofboots-on-the-grounddocumentariansona misiontoprovidea‘first-hand’,people’sperspective andin-depthlookatmajoreventsastheyunfold

IntheageoftheInternetandcorporatenewsmedia, thegroundruleshavechangeddramaticaly.Ournews feeds(forthemostpart)comewithanagendaand don’tnecesarilyreflectthevoiceofthepeopleinthe mistofthesituationortheonesmostaƅectedbythe eventsbeingreportedon.Asperspectivescansoeasily bedistortedintranslation,thereismuchtobesaid byletingthosevoicesbeheardwithoutthefilterof majornewsoutletsandindividualopinions,however reputablethesource. InspiredbyhisexperiencecoveringtheBLMprotests aswelastheUS2020electionsinWashingtonDC, Devonandtwoofhisfelowstudentsandaspiringfilm makers,combinedforcestoform theGroundsDoc Team,witheachmemberspecializinginadiƅerent aspect.Summerlee Schmit has a background in television and news production,while Zack KeltnerisaphotojournalistbackedbytheNational Pres PhotographyAsociation,andDevonisthe ‘on-the-ground’reporter. Withavisiontocreatedocumentariesshowingthe worldasis,theysetoutonamisiontoprovidea first-handperspectiveandin-depthlookatmajor eventsastheyunfold.Notasnewsmedia‘perse’but ratheras‘on-the-ground’reporters,listeningtothe voiceofthepeopleintheirpurestandunfilteredform.

Propeled bytheegregiouspoliticaldivideand misinformationcampaignresultingfrom the2020 elections,aswelasthesubsequentatackonthe Capitolbuilding,theTeamfocusedtheircoverageon theaftermathandfaloutofthoseevents,folowing thestorywhereverittookthem. 2020wasabusyyearfortheGroundsDocTeam. Theycoverednumerousprotestsinterviewingboth ‘stopthestealprotesters’aswelasthe‘anti-trump protesters along the way.They also covered thePresidentialinaugurationinDC aswelas investigatingastoryofalocalcommunitygroupand theirongoingbatlewithcoruptionamongstlocal communityleadersandpoliticians.Continuingwith theirdocumentaryaspirations,theTeam planon filmingaborderpatroldocumentaryinJuneof2021. Through theirunique style ofreporting,the GroundsDocTeam arecommitedtobringing enlighteningand in-depth contentdirectlyto thepublic,seen through theeyesofpeople. Theirmisionistokeepviewerswelinformed ofthe world around uswhileleaving them withatruesenseofwhatitisrealyliketobe ‘boots-on-the-ground’.

TIPPINGPOINTMEDIA

GROUNDSDOCTEAM

PAGE09