Take Care

Virginia Gandee's brilliant red hair and dozen tattoos belie the reality of this 22-year-old's life. Inside her family's Staten Island trailer her caregiving goes far beyond the love she has for her daughter.

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Take Care offers a glimpse into the life of Virginia Gandee, a 22-year-old woman who lives in Staten Island, New York.

At first glance one is struck by Virginia's bold appearance; her bright red hair and the dozen tattoos that canvas her body. When she was 15, Gin left home to marry a 20-year-old she met online. Two years later, she was a teenage mother. Today, Gin is raising her daughter as a single mother and pursuing her dream to become a nurse.

Inside her family's trailer, her caregiving goes beyond the love she has for her daughter.

Take Care is a story about family, choices and reconciliation.

Take Care is a product of the MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop, where participants work alongside MediaStorm staff to create an intimate, character-driven documentary in just one week. Learn more about upcoming MediaStorm workshops and online training at mediastorm.com/train.

Published: March 22nd, 2010

Credits

MediaStorm

A film by

Gillian Laub

Photography & Video, Interviews

Elena Ghanotakis

Interviews , Additional Photography & Video

Henrik Björnsson | Göteborgs Posten

Additional Photography & Video

Laura Varma | Starbucks

Additional Reporting

Brad Horn | MediaStorm

Associate Producer, Additional Photography & Video

Eric Maierson | MediaStorm

Editor & Producer

Jacky Myint | MediaStorm

Graphics

Jessica Stuart | MediaStorm

Workshop Director

Brian Storm | MediaStorm

Director & Executive Producer

Special Thanks

Virginia Gandee and family

Dedicated to George Aswad

Testimonials

Gillian Laub, Photography, Video and Interviews

So, so glad I spent the week in this workshop! I think this was an incredible and invaluable experience. Intense in all the good ways. It forced me to flex new muscles and grow.

I am not satisfied with just the still photograph in many of the stories I do and have been longing to understand the other components to the story making process. It's beyond overwhelming, but I now see how it's doable and I actually feel comfortable (after this week) with video...which is huge for me.

Something just clicked over the week. Now all I am thinking about is multimedia and the possibilities of it in my work. I have so many ideas...so much in me. The week totally inspired this.

I also realized (like Brian said) that you CANNOT do this on your own. It was wonderful to see how you and Eric think and shape things. I loved seeing his passion and sensibility in the editing room.

The sense of community and camaraderie is wonderful.

I am really proud of the piece we all worked so hard on. But even more importantly, I think Ginny and her mother are going to love it and be moved, beyond. Just received the sweetest text from her. She wrote that she was so thankful that we thought she was worthy of doing a story on her. She said she and her mom actually missed us...what's nicer than that??!!

My favorite thing is entering into someone else's world and to experience life in their shoes...Ginny's is a complicated and complex one and glad we were able to do what we did in a very short amount of time. The images of her grandfather and that reality will haunt me for a while.

For so long I have been wanting to learn the tools and process behind the making of a multimedia piece. In one intensely packed week, with very little sleep, I truly believe I/we learned what it takes to bring storytelling to a new level. It was a wonderfully collaborative process that will forever inform my work. What an inspiring week that I urge others to experience.

Elena Ghanotakis, Additional Photography, Video and Interviews

The MediaStorm Multimedia Workshop was an amazing and unparalleled learning experience. Our producer navigated us through a challenging, hands-on process from identifying a story to finalizing a multimedia piece (and everything in between).

The staff at MediaStorm are committed and passionate about sharing their excellent knowledge and skills in multimedia storytelling to empower others to create stories that will have an impact. The workshop presented a great opportunity to collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team of professionals.

I came away from the workshop with a framework and process to approach storytelling that I will incorporate into my work going forward.

Henrik Björnsson, Additional Photography and Video

I have spent seven intense days at MediaStorm. Brian Storm and Eric Maierson have shared their unique knowledge of how to produce high level multimedia in an open and generous way. In my team talented people with different skills and experiences worked hard together. I have learned more than I ever could expected in a week. I have now an understanding how to produce high level multimedia. I have learned how to take the best from photography, video, music and audio to work together.

Online Training

This educational module invites you to learn about the decisions, both in the field, and within the editing suite, that went into the making of Take Care.

Take Care is a story about family, choices and reconciliation. It offers a glimpse into the life of Virginia Gandee, a 22-year-old woman who lives in Staten Island, New York.

Take Care is a product of the MediaStorm Storytelling Workshop, where participants work alongside MediaStorm staff to create an intimate, character-driven documentary in just one week.

This educational module invites you to learn about the decisions, both in the field, and within the editing suite, that went into the making of Take Care. Join a conversation between Producer Eric Maierson and MediaStorm Executive Producer Brian Storm as they discuss the development of this story through a scene-by-scene breakdown of the piece.

The Making Of provides more than an hour of discussion and exposition on the process and multitude of decisions that went into the editing and shooting of Take Care.

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