The best part of the job is either doing something different every day, or the opportunity to meet interesting people and see unusual things. I can't decide. Regardless, documentary work is usually quite rewarding.

In this list of documentaries, I have included links to websites containing information about some of the subjects. Many of the links will take you to pages about the documentaries themselves.

Combat Diary: The Marines of Lima Company - Emmy nominated for Exceptional Merit In Nonfiction Filmmaking. I don't know how I could ever be more proud of anything on which I've had the privilege to work. Producer/Director, Michael Epstein had to admit to a great deal of luck when he found himself among a company of Marines with, not only, a story to tell and a desire to tell it, but also hours and hours of unbelievable footage the Marines, themselves, shot during their tour in Iraq. I could ramble on and on about this documentary, or you can look it up, yourself. The last time I checked, the title turned up 800 Google results.

Keeli and Ivy: Chimps Like Us - Before Combat Diary, this used to be the show more people recognized than any other specific show on which I had worked. If you haven't seen it, yet, it will probably air again on Discovery some time soon. Excellently produced by Andy Liebman, Keeli and Ivy: Chimps Like Us spans four years as Dr. Sally Boysen and her crew work to teach Keeli, Ivy and a host of other Chimps, to read and count at the Ohio State University Chimp Center. Look for more Chimp footage from Andy, as he has continued to come back to Columbus, since the completion of the first show, to document more work with the original bunch of Chimps, and with Harper and Emma, the newest youngsters at the OSU Chimp Center.

Jonathan Winters, Without a Net (A&E Biography) - (Ohio Unit) Jonathan Winters is one of my big heroes. I snapped at the chance to do this show. I did sound on the Ohio portion. An old friend of mine, Joe Ekins, transplanted from Columbus to LA several years ago, listened over things in California.

Bobby McFerrin Residency at Dennison University - (Look carefully to find me in a picture when you go to this page. Hint: I'm the guy with a boom pole.) Bobby McFerrin's visit to Dennison in 2003 was documented for university use. Guess who got to be on the crew.

A Survivor's Journey - In my thirty-some short years, nothing has compared with the experience of this production. Murray Ebner, Holocaust survivor and Columbus businessman, took his family on a trip to Poland to visit his homeland. Ebner retraced his steps, from his childhood home, to the Jewish ghetto where he and his family were forced to live. He showed us the location of his abduction by the Nazi's, and walked us through the concentration camps where he was held prisoner for two years. Ebner told of his bold escape, as the war was coming to an end, during a "death march" from Auschwitz. This piece was contracted by Mr. Ebner for use nationwide as an educational tool for High School students. It has been broadcast, and is an Emmy and an Orion award winner (Sam Nahem, Director).

FLW's Westcott House - Over the years, The Westcott House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, had really been neglected. Now the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation has put it back together. Click the link to go to Director, Kerry Rasikas' web-site, and check out a small preview of the documentary.

Boggy Creek Gang Camp - More people should know about this place. I had never heard of it until I was asked to record sound on a short documentary for the camp's promotional use. The Boggy Creek Gang Camp is a summer camp for children with terminal illnesses. There, the children can be treated just like "regular kids" for a week. This link will take you to the Boggy Creek web-site, (nothing about the documentary). I will tell you it was a life changing experience.

Intimate Portrait: Carley Simon (Lifetime) - In 1995, after taking a break for a number of years, Carley Simon decided to begin touring again. The first stop was Columbus, Ohio. That put me in the proverbially right place at the right time. It was just a one nighter.

A Bowl Full of Dreams - The advertising and marketing theater experience narrated by former Kellogg spokesman Bob "Captain Kangaroo" Keeshan, showing in the Kellogg's Advertising Theater at Kellogg's Cerial City USA in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Intel's, The History of Computers - This was another short museum piece. The funny thing is, it was so long ago, I don't remember most of the details. I do remember plenty of fun, (a good crew always helps) and surely it was quite educational.

Photo by: Jon Griffith