The Full Interview: Matt Porwoll on Documentary Filmmaking (Uncut)

Overview

This interview focuses on how the documentary What Our Children Remember was made—particularly its careful, intimate approach to filming school shooting victims’ bedrooms, an Oscar-winning subject. The discussion centers on trust, restraint, and how to depict something unbearably painful without exploiting it.

Main Plot / Thrust

• The cinematographer initially hesitated to join the project because school shootings are often covered in ways that center the perpetrator and reduce victims to “numbers,” creating numbness rather than understanding.
• The film’s premise is the opposite: keep the focus on the children—their stories and the spaces where they lived—so the audience can feel again.
• The production is described as intentionally built around a “small footprint,” minimal disruption, and emotional sensitivity.

Key Highlights & Standout Reactions

Steve Hartman’s presence, even when he tries to step back

• Steve is portrayed as wanting to avoid the main spotlight.
• The filmmaker says Steve can’t help but tell stories—he chats with crew, asks questions, and remains deeply present.
• Steve is also making a separate CBS piece, so the team had to keep projects parallel but distinct.

A quiet hero’s-journey structure

• The interview frames Steve’s journey as moving “house to house,” then returning with “the elixir”—the accumulated stories.
• The emotional arc is connected to a classical narrative structure, but kept subtle and restrained.

“Low footprint” technical philosophy

• They choose handheld filming over gimbals/tripods to keep motion alive while contrasting with the stillness of photographs.
• Heavy gear is avoided because it can fail at the wrong moment and because it creates more equipment to manage.

Entering homes and shooting conversations

• The team pre-wires families: mics are handled privately before Steve arrives.
• Schedules are kept flexible.
• Greetings matter because the families and Steve had communicated before, but had never met face-to-face.

Single-camera vérité immersion + two-cam interviews

• One camera is often used for vérité immersion during room visits.
• Two cameras are used for interviews, though the edit largely favors the B-cam.
• The only remaining direct-to-camera A-cam moment is an emotional beat involving a couple reading photos—framed as a framing/edit preference rather than a planned approach.

Jokes / Lighter Moments

A few playful lines break tension:

• The filmmaker emphasizes “never cut” immediately after a director says “cut,” because that’s when profound honesty stops.
• He jokes that the audio team doesn’t love the frequent need to drop an audio “bag,” and says he’s skilled enough at sound to handle issues in the moment.
• The interviewer’s comment that Steve didn’t “want to be the main character,” followed by the hero’s-journey comparison, adds a narrative-geek tone to the serious discussion.

Emotional + Ethical Approach (“Tightrope Walk”)

• Editing had to walk a tightrope: create emotional impact without heavy-handed manipulation or telling viewers how to feel.
• The team relied on breathing space—pauses between sound bites—so weight lands naturally rather than through constant music cues.
• Crew support was built into the process, giving people permission to step out when conversations became intense.

Process and Logistics (How the Filmmaking Happened)

Timeline

• Field filming is described as about three days per family/location.
• The overall project took nearly two years, largely due to securing family participation.

Crew and minimal intrusion

• The typical crew includes Josh Septel, two producers, the cinematographer, local sound hires, and a minimal-interruption approach—especially once filming begins in the “sacred” bedroom spaces.

Room etiquette

• Lou (the photographer) consistently removes his shoes and treats the space reverently.
• The cinematographer follows this ritual and treats the bedroom like something sacred, not like a set.

A Notable Filmmaking Detail: “Rolling” vs. Orchestrating

• The conversation touches on how editing creates meaning—such as an instance where Steve receives a phone call from his daughter, visually connected to driving through murals.
• The interview clarifies the phone call didn’t actually happen in the car; the connection was driven by edit structure.
• Overall theme: some powerful moments may be spontaneous, but the film’s impact also comes from careful cut timing and subtle juxtaposition.

Closing Themes

• The cinematographer emphasizes compartmentalization as a survival skill—while stressing the opposite of numbness: the goal is for the audience to cry and feel.
• A career thread is highlighted: staying in lower positions longer (e.g., being a camera assistant for a decade) because it teaches instincts—when to roll/cut and how to capture reactions—by watching experienced professionals.
• On winning an Oscar: he describes it as cathartic and meaningful, especially because the families were present at the ceremony, bringing the project “full circle.”

Personalities Mentioned (Appearing in the Video)

• Steve Hartman
• Josh Septel (director)
• Matt Porwoll (interviewee; cinematographer)
• Lou (photographer / creative partner)
• Connell Jones (producer)
• Avi Bond (co-producer)
• The interviewer / host (Matt’s interviewer; unnamed in subtitles)