Cassie Forsyth | Arts & Life Co-Editor
Grace Bodey, a graphic design and digital media double major, presented her senior exhibition on Sunday, April 6. The show was entitled “Keep Your Eye on the Doughnut,” and it included a 22-minute documentary film that was shot, edited, produced, and narrated by Bodey accompanied by a poster and DVD case designed by her.
Bodey loves food and the idea that people gather around it, which is why she chose her project. Originally, she planned to focus on three different food preparation people but decided to focus on one in order to tell a better story. She then chose to tell the story of Carroll’s Bakery in Spencer, Iowa.
To put together her show, she visited Spencer multiple times to film. Several times, her trips began at three in the morning in order to catch the bakers prepping the treats. Once she got the footage, she watched the clips, wrote down what was in each clip, and then began to watch it all come together. Bodey says she didn’t have a solid direction for her story from the beginning.
“For me, I don’t go into a situation saying ‘I’m going to tell this story.’ I’m very flexible, and I let the story reveal itself to me,” Bodey said. “It just kind of comes together.”
Bodey struggled with her project because she doesn’t have a large background in film and had to accept that her video wouldn’t be crisp and clear. The video also includes still photos and audio. She believes accepting that it won’t be perfect means she has learned something through the process.
The film follows two Midwestern bakers and tells the story of who they are, how they got there, and what they do.
“You learn to appreciate what they have and maybe in turn you look inward and appreciate what you yourself have in the end,” Bodey said. “I think the theme was being thankful for what you have and just taking a second to look back and just really see your surroundings and appreciate where you’ve been and where you’re going.”
Bodey’s plan through the film was to portray the characters well enough for her audience to get to know them and relate to them, even if they haven’t met them before.
“The best quote I got all day was, ‘I didn’t think I would be crying at a film about donuts,’ and that means a lot to me,” Bodey said, “because if it moves someone enough to show that much emotion, I know that I’ve done my job and that I’ve conveyed the human subject that I introduced.”
The video reflects what Bodey wants to do in the future because she loves to tell stories. She believes graphic design fits in with digital media because of that.
“I like to get to know someone or something, if it’s an event, and capture its essence and then reinterpret it for other people,” Bodey said. “Whatever I create, I’m telling a story, and that’s what I love to do. Whatever I end up doing, whether it’s being a designer or a radio DJ or a cinematographer, I’ll be telling stories. I know that for sure.”
Photo by Grace Bodey
