4 minute read
Collection Media
Telling a Greater Story
LCS alumni, Connor O’Brien and Campbell Rice of The Collection Media, produce their first feature-length documentary.
Photos by “The Collection Media”
he story of Lakeland dates back to 1885. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have called it home and walked its streets. Now, over a hundred years later, with “The People Who Live There,” Connor O’Brien and Campbell Rice of The Collection Media, alongside Paige and Chase Wagner, have told the stories of the historic homes that hold the history of Lakeland within.
“The People Who Live There” was born out of a necessity for innovation and creation in the confines of a pandemic. The filmmakers, both Connor O’Brien (‘15) and Campbell Rice (‘17), are alumni of LCS. And O’ Brien credits his time at the school with setting him on the path that would lead him to where he is today.
“That young man didn’t know the scale of which LCS was about to change his life,” says O’Brien. “Not only did I meet my future wife, Jenna, at LCS, but I met my future work partner and co-owner of The Collection Media, Campbell Rice. When we were still students, we were given the opportunity at LCS to make the highlight videos for the football team. This “kicked off” the video-making journey for us, and nearly ten years later, we still work with LCS on special
projects here and there.”
There is a deep understanding of the energy that runs through the city of Lakeland that can be found in both O’ Brien and Rice’s work with The Collection Media. They are always searching for the quiet voice, the more intimate angle, instead of the flash and flare one might expect young filmmakers to go for. They are always looking for the heart of it all, the big “why?”, and it’s this type of thinking that sets their work apart from others.
When speaking about The Collection’s approach and the making of “The People Who Live There”, O’ Brien explained his thoughts on the redemptive nature of the film’s narrative. “When making the film, we knew we wanted to tell a story that encompassed many diverse experiences within Lakeland. We understood that endeavor would require patience and empathy because we have not all gone through the same hardships in life. But we found that there was an overall story to this city. Just as it’s reflected in taking care of Lakeland’s homes, we also understand the human experience within Lakeland. A creation, a fall, a redemption.”
“The People Who Live There” speaks to the intimacy that can exist between a community and its homes. And after two years of
Campbell Rice (‘17) and Connor O’Brien (‘15) started producing videos together during their years at LCS.
“The People Who Live There” documentary premiered at thePolk Theatre this past fall.
mostly staying indoors, a story like this feels even more relevant and important today. “This story being told at a time like this speaks to something bigger than our individual experiences within a home, within a city,” says O’Brien. “It connects all humans under one empathetic lens. It’s the story of redemption. Of something that was once looked at as not valuable, becoming valuable again, and finding new breath within that others can now see and admire… There is
something really universal there, and I think this is the time for a story like this to be shared.”
And underneath all of that redemptive, empathetic nature, there is love. Love for a city and the people who live there. In the creative film-making hands of Connor O’Brien and Campbell Rice, the documentary serves as a total love letter to the city that made them, Lakeland. “No matter where Campbell and I’s projects took us, we always wanted to be able to continue to create interesting projects for Lakeland,” says O’ Brien. “Both of us were pretty much born and raised here, and I grew up thinking that I wanted to leave Lakeland because it was a small town, and I wanted to see what else was out there, you know? But once I got out of that experience and came back here, it was kind of like, wow, this place is actually really cool. And it now continues to grow and offer all of the things that I wished it had when I was younger.”
Connor and Campbell continue to live and work in Lakeland.
