This Past Fall, TMA Student Makenna Buhler Was Nominated for an American Society of Cinematographers Award for Her Work in Documentary Film “Life After”
In middle school, Makenna Buhler would spend her study hall writing film scripts and then recruited friends, siblings and cousins to act while she directed Harry Potter–Star Wars mashups films. “The first one was around twelve minutes long. There was a chase scene and a lightsaber battle. By the end of middle school, I had made an hour-long ‘fan film,’” Buhler said.
In high school, Buhler applied and was accepted to a technical school and took the film class there during her junior year. “I would go to all my core classes junior year on one day, and then take the bus and do film class at the other school for the other day,” Buhler said. “That experience cemented my need to study film in college.”
Though she has always loved fiction, Buhler decided to expand her skills in the film major by following the documentary track at BYU. “I always wanted to do the fiction side of the program, but I realized it would be more competition for me among my cohorts to be on one of the film crews for the fiction side of things,” Buhler said. “That's why I did the documentary track, because I knew I was going to have more opportunities.”
“There’s a realism and a sincerity about documentary that’s different from fiction and that’s definitely changed me as a filmmaker,” Buhler said. “There is power in showing these real people with real challenges and being able to tell their stories and inspire others.”
Buhler explored several different roles in filmmaking before finding her niche in cinematography, components of which include lighting, composition, and camera movement. During her first semester, Buhler was part of the grip and electric team for an Advanced Film Production, and later worked as a DIT (digital imaging technician) and then a script supervisor. By the end of her sophomore year, she had discovered a passion for cinematography. “I don’t want to be managing and organizing files all the time — I want to do the creative side,” Buhler said.
This past October, Buhler was recently honored with a nomination for an American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Student Heritage Award in the Haskell Wexler documentary category — one of only four nominations in the country. This is BYU’s second overall nomination and the first in the documentary category.
The Media Arts Advanced Film Production (AFP) which earned Buhler her ASC nomination is entitled “Life After” and follows three amputees and the trajectory of their lives post amputation. The idea for the film came from Buhler's friend Jana Clark Ludlow, a fellow film student (now graduated) who directed the documentary and wanted to increase positive media representation for amputees. “We see so many people with amputations that are veterans, and that's great, but what about the ‘average Joe?’ What about the people that have cancer, have diabetes, get in an accident? How do they deal with that?” Buhler said. “Jana wanted to do a holistic approach and showcase that there can be a fulfilling life after amputation.”
The “Life After” crew explored the life of Janet, an older woman who has had her fair share of grief — after her husband died six years ago, she found out that she had sarcoma cancer and would have to get her left leg amputated below the knee. The relationship between the film crew and Janet was deeper than simply a typical filmmaker–subject relationship. “She totally adopted us into her family when we were there filming,” Buhler said.
Another amputee, John, lost his left leg below the knee because of complications with diabetes and shows the physical side of overcoming the challenges of amputation through his skiing at the disability center at Sundance.
“There’s a shot in the film of gingerbread cookies that people brought and some of them don’t have left legs — it’s just so sweet and always gets a good laugh in the film viewing,” Buhler said.
College student Sarah, another amputee featured in the documentary, had both legs amputated above the knee after miraculously surviving a car crash and is now studying in Logan, Utah. In an interview, Sarah said that her experience hit her a lot harder when the anniversary came up and that she has relied on the support of her family, including her nieces and nephews, who are part of the film. “They are all heroes to me,” Buhler said.
After taking an analog film class in its inaugural semester, Buhler, Clark Ludlow and Claire Timothy (who produced the film) decided that they wanted to incorporate the medium into their documentary. “It’s a tactile medium and just feels different than digital videography and we wanted to include it somehow in the project,” Buhler said.
While fiction AFP’s typically have six days of shooting, the “Life After” documentary had over eight and filmed from mid-October until the end of the semester in December. “We got to know each other really well on set because we were a small team, which was really nice,” Buhler said.
Having experienced the rigor of a film set on both fiction and nonfiction films, Buhler said that to her, the latter can be more rigorous. “You plan as much as you can, and then you give it to the editor and director, and there you have to rework things, because you don't have a set script,” Buhler said. “It's definitely a more intensive labor process than fiction films and it's a labor of love when you're in an art of any kind, especially when it's collaborative. We're blessed to have a great crew, great mentors and subjects that were willing to open themselves up to us.”
Buhler deems her recent ASC nomination as the biggest honor of her film career thus far. “I’m honored to represent BYU with this nomination and be able to be a vessel for others and show their work. It’s not just about me but about everyone who worked on the project,” Buhler said. “There were definitely miracles on set that helped us make this film.”
A year later, after filming and with post production complete, Buhler was able to share “Life After” at the Final Cut Film Showcase. “Hearing that people were touched by and connected with the film and were able to experience Janet, Sarah and John’s story and maybe change their perspective on amputees — that’s worth it.”