A crusader dedicates his or her life to a cause. They can be heroes to some, zealots to others, and often appear on opposite sides of the same issue. Yet despite their different perspectives, crusaders share a single-mindedness, a strength and dedication to overcome obstacles, and a willingness to sacrifice. 

CRUSADER is a documentary mini-series (web or broadcast) that profiles contemporary crusaders. Examining their childhoods, families, issues, and life decisions, CRUSADER strives to understand what compels advocates to give their lives over to an issue and what qualities unite them.

Each season will profile three crusaders on different sides of similar issues over a five, half-hour episode arc. 

  • Episode 1: The Issue: What's the issue and what are the crusaders' perspectives?
  • Episode 2: Their History: What was their childhood like? What was the moment they decided to become a crusader? 
  • Episode 3: Battle Stories: What are their successes and failures on their crusade? How has their experiences since the start of their crusade affected their perspectives?
  • Episode 4: Friends/Family: What effect has their crusade had on their friends and family? Have they gotten support from their personal networks?
  • Episode 5: The Future: What is the next step of their crusade?

Visual Style:

Crusaders are driven by a vision of the world they want to make a reality. They are leaders and motivators. We will photograph them as such: looking forward, proud, full of conviction, like a political poster. 

One of the central goals of CRUSADER is to paint a compelling, human picture of a true believer. To connect most effectively with the subject, we will photograph them looking directly at the camera. Additionally, since our subjects are advocates, looking directly into the camera gives them the opportunity to advocate directly to the audience and communicate the qualities that makes them such effective crusaders. I've included examples of this kind of cinematography above.

The intended flip side of this type of full on cinematography is that it forces the audience to engage with the subject, many of whom most of the audience will vehemently disagree with. 

Possible Seasons:

Season 1: