"Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself and you shall have the suffrage of the world."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
When I left on the journey that would become Take It with You, I had many mixed feelings towards the project. The largest obstacle was having no idea the kind of situations we would find ourselves in, or what subject matter we might encounter. We bought an open ended one way ticket taking us to the other side of the world. We had no idea how long it would take, no plans on where we would stay, and we weren’t even sure if we would have enough money to get back home.
I’d also never shot a documentary before. I’d done some work in documentary development and worked as a camera operator on a documentary, but in all honesty, I was treading on new territory. Taking everything into consideration, I decided to shoot the film free form. I would film the events of our daily life on the road, and hopefully, be able to piece everything together when we got back.
This film turned out to be the most frustrating challenge of my career to date. Early on, I realized the lack of a backbone holding the story together. I was very idealistic when we set out. I was sure we would find some esoteric or spiritual connection that would speak through the images, inspiring the audience. Six months and 20 countries in, I still hadn’t seen anything of the sort.
I gave up on the project. I felt I should continue to film, but considered the footage a candidate for stock footage at best. I thought I had failed completely in my goal. I doubted my abilities as an artist and was embarrassed anytime the project was brought up. When I arrived back in the United States, I didn’t even look at the footage for four months. I didn’t want to come to terms with my defeat.
One afternoon, I decided that it was time. I pulled out my camera and popped in the tape from Greece. The first image shocked me. I’d almost forgotten how visceral and personal these experiences were to me. Immediately I was taken back to the smell of moisture in the air, the feeling of the ruins under my hand, the awestruck feeling I felt walking in a place with so much history, culture and philosophic relevance to our modern world.
For the next several days, I poured over the 20+ hours of footage I’d amassed. Finally, I knew exactly the film that I wanted to make. I realized that it wasn’t a bold philosophical statement or controversial material that would bring this film to life, but the personal elements. This was my experience seen through my eyes. Through another's it would be quite different. I gained a lot of confidence that day. I realized that amidst the fog of critics and cynics, there’s always a light splitting through the confusion: a trust in the actualization of your own potential.
Take It with You is about as personal of a film as it gets. It is my life and my story. It marks some of my highest and lowest points. There is vulnerability in the film that I find to be beautiful. In these final days of polishing and reworking the film, we’re aiming to creating something that not only shows my experience, but in essence inspires you to take the risks you’ve always wanted to take, and create your own personal journey into your dreams.
"Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
-Bryce J. Lemon
CEO & President of Creative Development
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