By the People - The Election of Barack Obama
HBO’s Documentary about the Making of the President
Oct 18, 2009
Sheila Nevins, President of Documentary and Family-Programming for HBO, told the Television Critics Association, about the genesis of By the People - The Election of Barack Obama. “After 9/11 when her brother was killed, Amy (Rice, Director and Producer), who was an extraordinary cinematographer and documentary filmmaker, became somewhat politicized and searched around for a film that would, as she puts it so very well, make a difference. And she found a candidate that she chose to follow and kept her camera [focused on him and his staff].”
Amy Rice explained, “I'll just start by saying it's a process. We really didn't have a firm idea of what this movie was going to be or that he was going to run for President. We just thought he had an interesting story and the agreement was that we would just start shooting and see how everybody felt. Then we kind of figured it out as we went along. And the access would get harder as new people came on board that we didn't know that we needed to build relationships with. And that's kind of how it [went].”
Documenting US History on Film
Rice was fortunate to have chosen a candidate that went all the way. Her fortuitous decision is now an historical document about the making of the 44th President of the United States. Not only is it a piece of history about the president, but it is also an in-depth look at the political campaign process.
The filmmakers had to carefully choose what to record, as their budget was not big enough to afford them the opportunity to cover everything.
The Staff of Barack Obama’s Campaign is Part of the Documentary
“And also the campaign grew,” stated Rice, “it was so large and we were following so many different characters. And it is true, we didn't have [a] huge, huge budget. We had to be really practical and pick and choose our moments scheduling-wise.”
The film follows several staffers as the campaign progressed from Iowa to Election Day. Ronnie Cho is one of those staffers whose story is shown in the documentary.
“Initially we didn't know where we were going to go,” explained Cho about the Obama campaigners, “but as soon as that night [in Iowa when] we had won we knew that there was work to be done, and we got ready for February 5th [and the] New Hampshire [Primary, which was] a week away. So we sort of dispersed all over the country.”
As anyone who has worked on a political campaign can attest to, once the momentum builds, the demands on the staff goes into full gear. Cho’s responsibilities increased as the campaign progressed.
“The campaign really put an emphasis on promoting from within and rewarding good work. I was fortunate to be in some really great situations and working with great folks. And most everyone who started as an organizer doing the grunt work we were doing, ended up in managerial positions in the general election. So we got to see from soup to nuts, how to run the campaign. And ultimately we were all rewarded with work at the end.”
Presidential Campaigns are Demanding on Everyone Involved
Cho echoed the feelings of all campaign workers when he stated, “In Iowa and every contest after that, you couldn't really rest, you had to just get ready for the next state, pack up your car and you are getting shipped out. No relishing in victory or wallowing in defeat, you had work to do. So it was an emotional ride for 21 months being on this campaign and you finally felt like you kind of could rest and be proud of what we've accomplished. So that was real emotions and exhaustion, to be honest. I hadn't slept for weeks leading up to that day.” That pretty well sums up the life of a campaign worker.
“My story is very, very, very modest beginnings. My parents both emigrated from South Korea,” he said. It is a big accomplishment for his family. His parents were immigrants and he is now working for the President of the United States.
“I'm the assistant director of legislative affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. You know, it was personally meaningful for me to join the administration. From the very beginning in Iowa, we wanted to see this thing through, whether that was a two-month campaign or a two-year campaign and beyond.”
The title, By the People, was chosen because the film is as much a narrative about the people who worked on the campaign as it is about the election of Barack Obama.
Amy Rice sums up the personality of the candidate during her exposure to him over the course of the long months this way, “Whenever we were backstage with Barack on big nights before he'd give a speech or on a primary night when he'd lose by huge margins or win by huge margins, he was always so calm. He was always like this (moving her hand horizontally), even calmer than I think we see him on TV. And that's actually great for a president, but it's really hard when you're making a documentary. You want a little bit of drama.”
Whether she realizes it or not, any presidential election is drama in itself.
By the People – The Election of Barack Obama premiers Tuesday, November 3 at 9-11 PM ET/PT on HBO. It will continue to air throughout the month.
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