A Heavenly Perspective: The filming of ‘Walking with Jesus’
August 6, 2024 at 9:20 a.m.
Recently, more than 6,000 viewers witnessed the Diocese of Trenton’s participation in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, May 28-30, when Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was carried by diocesan representatives and perpetual pilgrims across the Delaware River over the Lower Trenton Bridge. There, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., would hand off the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament to Auxiliary Bishop John McIntyre from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Through the efforts of the diocesan Department of Multimedia Production, led by director Marianne Hartman and supported by producers and editors Ryan Larason and Frank Lettieri, this historical moment was experienced not only by those present, but also by those unable to attend the pilgrimage, through a uniquely filmed video entitled “Walking with Jesus.”
Hartman explained that during the three-day pilgrimage in the Diocese of Trenton, where pilgrims along the Seton Route visited St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Trenton, St. Mary of the Pines Church in Manahawkin, and St. Mary Church in Bordentown, “Our main priority was to deliver the livestreams of the Masses and processions to those people who could not attend. In the filming of the livestreams, we captured 20 hours of video footage that would help us tell the story of the historic visit in a mini-documentary.”
How do you condense 20 hours of footage into a nine-minute video?
“Excerpts from Bishop O’Connell’s homilies provided a great outline for the documentary. A good explanation would be I give it the bones and Frank and Ryan give it flesh,” Hartman said.
Frank Lettieri is seen filming the Eucharistic Procession May 30 over the Lower Trenton Bridge using the Steadicam in this drone footage.“The editing was the easiest part because it all fit together linearly. We had fantastic footage, so it was as simple as ‘that shot is perfect for this section!’” Lettieri shared.
While filming and livestreaming Masses has become common practice for the trio, filming some parts of the Eucharistic procession were more challenging than others and required using additional resources not typically employed, Larason offered.
“Crossing the bridge was one of our more challenging pieces – the bridge was narrow, and we only had one shot at getting the footage we needed. We chose to cover the crossing with a drone, two camera people in Pa., and Frank, our Steadicam operator, moving with the procession. Having all these moving pieces come together to capture incredible footage of the unique event was a great triumph.”
While wearing a Steadicam allows for smooth shots that are isolated from the camera operator’s movements, Lettieri agreed that filming on the bridge, in spite of the challenges, was worth it in the end.
“The distance covered while walking backward was definitely difficult at the pace they were moving. The most difficult part, however, was the wind on top of the bridge, which was gusting and trying to skew the angle of the shot. However, with the combination of the Steadicam and drone footage, it turned out wonderfully.”
Hartman agreed that using different equipment, the team was able to produce a unique and moving encapsulation of the three-day event.
“I was especially pleased with the drone footage during the pilgrimage in Trenton and crossing the bridge. It was like seeing it from God’s view from above, looking down upon us. Hopefully, God was pleased,” she said.
View Walking with Jesus:
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Recently, more than 6,000 viewers witnessed the Diocese of Trenton’s participation in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, May 28-30, when Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was carried by diocesan representatives and perpetual pilgrims across the Delaware River over the Lower Trenton Bridge. There, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., would hand off the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament to Auxiliary Bishop John McIntyre from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Through the efforts of the diocesan Department of Multimedia Production, led by director Marianne Hartman and supported by producers and editors Ryan Larason and Frank Lettieri, this historical moment was experienced not only by those present, but also by those unable to attend the pilgrimage, through a uniquely filmed video entitled “Walking with Jesus.”
Hartman explained that during the three-day pilgrimage in the Diocese of Trenton, where pilgrims along the Seton Route visited St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Trenton, St. Mary of the Pines Church in Manahawkin, and St. Mary Church in Bordentown, “Our main priority was to deliver the livestreams of the Masses and processions to those people who could not attend. In the filming of the livestreams, we captured 20 hours of video footage that would help us tell the story of the historic visit in a mini-documentary.”
How do you condense 20 hours of footage into a nine-minute video?
“Excerpts from Bishop O’Connell’s homilies provided a great outline for the documentary. A good explanation would be I give it the bones and Frank and Ryan give it flesh,” Hartman said.
Frank Lettieri is seen filming the Eucharistic Procession May 30 over the Lower Trenton Bridge using the Steadicam in this drone footage.“The editing was the easiest part because it all fit together linearly. We had fantastic footage, so it was as simple as ‘that shot is perfect for this section!’” Lettieri shared.
While filming and livestreaming Masses has become common practice for the trio, filming some parts of the Eucharistic procession were more challenging than others and required using additional resources not typically employed, Larason offered.
“Crossing the bridge was one of our more challenging pieces – the bridge was narrow, and we only had one shot at getting the footage we needed. We chose to cover the crossing with a drone, two camera people in Pa., and Frank, our Steadicam operator, moving with the procession. Having all these moving pieces come together to capture incredible footage of the unique event was a great triumph.”
While wearing a Steadicam allows for smooth shots that are isolated from the camera operator’s movements, Lettieri agreed that filming on the bridge, in spite of the challenges, was worth it in the end.
“The distance covered while walking backward was definitely difficult at the pace they were moving. The most difficult part, however, was the wind on top of the bridge, which was gusting and trying to skew the angle of the shot. However, with the combination of the Steadicam and drone footage, it turned out wonderfully.”
Hartman agreed that using different equipment, the team was able to produce a unique and moving encapsulation of the three-day event.
“I was especially pleased with the drone footage during the pilgrimage in Trenton and crossing the bridge. It was like seeing it from God’s view from above, looking down upon us. Hopefully, God was pleased,” she said.
View Walking with Jesus: