A professional camera in hand, the aspiring filmmaker crouches beside a sheet of endless concrete. Through the lens, she captures orderly lines of people, moving in coordinated patterns and hitting the audience with vast waves of sound. It’s the beginning of a documentary, covering the Vandegrift marching band from May to November 2023.

“It was my sophomore year, and I tried to get into filmmaking more,” senior Ava Vanna said. “So I had the idea of making a documentary, a feature length documentary.”

The production process of the documentary was thorough and exhaustive, covering everything from summer rehearsals to the fall competition season. 

“When their competitions rolled around, I actually traveled with them,” Vanna said. “I would go on the bus. I would be with them from dawn to dusk during their competitions, I would go on the field as close as I could and just capture every moment.”

Every aspect of production was covered by Vanna herself, from the filming and interviews to the editing. 

“This was really my first time ever handling a camera while moving around at the same time,” Vanna said. “I used to make short films on my phone, but this was my first time with a professional camera setup.”

The filming conditions weren’t always ideal either, including extreme weather.

“The greatest challenge was the heat,” Vanna said. “I started to feel like I was a band kid myself, because I was running around so much, and it was 105 degrees on some days. I was chugging my water, and I was sweating, and there was one day I almost passed out.”

The final product pulls from over 1000 video clips, and about 20 interviews, and runs about 56 minutes. The editing process after the season took upwards of five months.

“I’m really proud of the finished result,” Vanna said. “I was actually called to a few graduation parties last year to screen it before it officially came out. But the most exciting screening I did was when Ms. Vandoren, the band director last year, called the entire band into the theater. That really made me feel a sense of achievement, because I got to give a speech, and made me feel like film is really what I want to do in the future.”

This week, the documentary is being released to the public for all to view. 

“Thank you to everyone who supported me,” Vanna said. “I’m really grateful for everyone who watched it. Over 1000 people have seen it, and I hope more people watch it once it officially comes out this week.”