Behind the scenes at the drive-in!

The marquee of the Sundance Kid Drive-In in Oregon, Ohio. Photos by Paul Murray/PHO245.

The Three Stooges plays on the big screen.

An analog film machine. It will become obsolete as theaters make the transition to digital.

Administrative assistant Scott Bee Displays a 35mm film reel.

    For my final project, I was assigned to shoot a documentary all by myself. I did my documentary on the Sundance Kid Drive-In in Oregon, Ohio. This was one of the greatest challenges I have faced as a photographer. This assignment put me in a situation that I had never been in before. I was to go into an unknown environment, talk to people that I had never met, interview them, and take pictures of them.
   The most important thing to remember when attempting something like this is that you have to just relax. You can’t psych yourself out, or you will go into panic mode. I chose to not even think about my social anxiety. I just relaxed and did what I had to do. When you forget about your fears, your job becomes much simpler.
   Even though I successfully completed this assignment, I still did not step completely out of my comfort zone. I interviewed the management and took pictures of the staff and the structures of the drive-in itself.  However, I did not get many pictures with customers. That is one of my regrets about this assignment. My other regret is that I did not bring a tripod. It got really dark outside, and there was not as much lighting as I thought there would be. Some of my pictures came out really blurry because of this. This was my first time shooting at night, so lesson learned!
   Overall, this was a good experience. I got good pictures and a good interview. The vice president and his assistant were more than happy to help me out and show me around. They gave me some useful information in my interview about how many drive-ins throughout the country have had to close. However, they also shared some humorous stories about people sneaking in their friends in the trunks of their cars!
   I am satisfied with this project. I learned a lot from it, and it was one of my best experiences yet. To be honest though, I am glad that I am done with people photography, at least for now.