Producers Alicia Sams and Amy Rice on filming their HBO documentary “By The People: The Election of Barack Obama”
Harvard Political Review: What was the most difficult part about following the campaign trail 24 hours a day, seven days a week?
Alicia Sams: The logistics — just trying to figure out, trying to stay one step ahead of [events] or less than one step behind it was probably the hardest thing. And also we had to choose. At a certain point you do have to focus, when you’re making a film, on who your characters are. We weren’t the press, so we weren’t there everyday, we couldn’t be financed to be there every single day of the campaign. What we did learn, which was kind of interesting, was that by the time you get to the general election it’s like [the movie] Groundhog Day. You land three times a day, he gives the same speech. So we learned to time it before important events or around debates.
Amy Rice: Our story was constantly changing everyday, so it was hard to keep up.
HPR: How do you believe media affected Barack Obama’s election as president?
AS: I think the media is now where elections play out. And what was smart about this campaign is that they didn’t rely completely on the media. They were able to use the Internet and use their organization and their grassroots effort so that what was happening in the media, in the daily news cycle, wasn’t going to be as important because they were reaching out on their own.
HPR: As two people who covered the campaign trail from start to finish, how do you believe this election served as a transformative moment for the country, if at all?
AS: I think there were a lot of things that were transformative. There was a generational change, and I also think (and I’m stealing [Amy Rice’s] line) that a lot of people didn’t give young people credit or they didn’t think they’d show up. They didn’t think they would vote, but they really pulled it off. I think they were the heart and soul of this campaign. It started with them.
HPR: Do you believe there would have been a film if Obama had not won the election?
AR: We always say that once Obama won Iowa we had a film, regardless of what happened. Ideally, it’s always better if your subject is victorious in the end.
HPR: Was anything left on the cutting room floor that you wish could have stayed in the film?
AS: The old saying when you make a documentary is that you have to “kill your babies.” We could have had this three-hour film with Amy and Alicia’s greatest hits, with Indiana and North Carolina. I loved primary night in North Carolina because that was an amazing night. … [The Obama campaign] lost a bunch of primaries in a row, (Ohio and Texas and Pennsylvania) and then finally they got a win in North Carolina so it was kind of nice. But the film from that night didn’t work because there was going to be a bigger win later.
AR: We had this great section on Africa, but it just didn’t make sense story-wise. But the only way we were okay with “killing the babies” was that we knew they would go onto the DVD extras.
HPR: How much did the film change your perception of the political process, if at all?
AS: For me, Iowa was kind of a revelation. I found it sort of disillusioning how much money we spend on campaigns in this country. I think there’s something wrong with that, but I don’t know how to change it. But, Iowa was where you really saw politics and you really saw people meeting the candidates and talking to them. We shot [film of] Hilary Clinton in a farm field and Barack Obama in a farm field and I wish the rest of the country had that opportunity because I think it is kind of an amazing way to chose a president. The good thing is that Iowa takes it very seriously.