Behind the Scenes: Producing Pirates

When it came to my project of creating informative, historical videos on an archaeological topic in Florida, I was up for the challenge. I scoured the internet for hours, searching for a subject that might catch my eye or a time period which would draw interest and could provide information in an exciting way. My mind kept returning to one topic over all others - pirates.

I knew that I wanted to cover this subject, and my mentor, Emily Jane, was just as excited about it as I was. She was kind enough to send me a copy of X Marks the Spot: The Archaeology of Piracy to help me with my research, as well as to provide constant support and feedback as I wrote and defined my scripts.

I found myself particularly fascinated with Anne Bonny. I had never before known that such a prominent and infamous female pirate ever existed. The daring adventures she and Mary Read embarked on, as well as the respect she earned from her crew mates despite her gender, created a powerful story that I was thrilled to share through FPAN. Even after I finished writing my script, I continued to research and learn more about her and her escapades in the eighteenth century.

St. Augustine was the perfect location to film, as it is filled with the history and legacy of Floridian pirates. Although the wind was strong, especially close to the water, I found myself proud of how the clips turned out. However, I felt as though they were missing something, and so I added small animations of myself to go along with my voice overs.

This entire experience has taught me so much - not only learning the actual history of the pirates, but about editing the videos, creating the artwork, and mixing the audio. I feel proud to have contributed to Florida's awareness about pirates, and I hope that those who watched the videos found the topic as fascinating as I did.

Text and images by Ashley Theilacker, FPAN Intern.