Documentary Topics

For our film class we have a new documentary topic. The documentary process is a long one, and it contains many steps. The first step, which is also the most important one, is choosing a topic. I don't know what my topic is going to be yet, but I have narrowed it down to two choices.
The first chose is a documentary about a band called The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. I have listened to the band for the last couple years and seen them play twice. They are an incredible band that probably has some interesting stories to tell. I am actually friends with most of the band members on facebook, so I could use that connection to try and establish an interview with the band. The band resides in New York City, so the interview might possibly have to be conducted on Skype. If everything worked out with this topic, then I think it would be an enjoyable experience. Here's my favorite song of the bands.

My other topic is also somewhat complicated, but could be awesome if everything worked out. I want to do a profile about Emanuel Charles, the JV basketball coach at Blair. Coach Charles attended Blair in the early 90s, and played for the basketball team. The team at that time was a lot different then the one now. The players were all huge, in fact Charles has told me that he was one of the smallest kids on the team, and he is 6 foot 2. The team nowadays is a lot smaller and for the past couple years hasn't been successful. In the 90s the team was very successful and former NBA star Steve Francis even played for the team for a year. I think that I could create a documentary from Charles's perspective on how Blair basketball and public high school in the county has changed. Also I would want to take his input on how and if future teams could achieve more success, like the teams of the early 90s did. To create this documentary I would have to find videos of the Blair basketball team from the 90s. It could be a challenge, but it's one that I am ready to accept. Here are some Steve Francis highlights, a former Blair student.

Both of these ideas are interesting to me, both pose their own set of problems, but it will be fun to do one of these two topics.