Crafting portraits of Muncie through the lens of his video camera, Albert Rettew's love for documentaries has taken him beyond classroom walls and into the lives of local artists.
Rettew, a past student in Ball State's telecommunications program, has a rare hobby: making documentaries. Constantly keeping his eye out for shimmers of passion that might catch his eye in the local Muncie community, Rettew began making artist bios on local figures. He has featured artists from barber Algier Williamson to local musician Tiara Thomas.
Prior to discovering his love for documentary making, Rettew worked for Indiana's News Center in Fort Wayne, among other news organizations. After his experiences with news, Rettew said he realized media coverage just didn't get him close enough to the stories he wanted to cover. The newsroom lifestyle was just not for him.
"My expectation coming to Ball State was to be in news," Rettew said. "But me, in the newsroom, I'm not going to jockey for position. I'm not going to climb over anyone to do a story or to be the first person there. I want to be behind the scenes, and I take the more modest route to what I do."
Rettew said he quickly realized how essential it would be for him to own his own video recording equipment. Upon becoming a student at Ball State and experiencing the camera rental processes, he wanted freedom. He wanted to be able to shoot what he wanted and where he wanted without his C-student stature coming into play and serving as a hindrance.
"Once you own your own equipment, you have all the power and nobody can stop you," he said. "Just to juxtapose, if you want to borrow an HD camera from Ball State, you're going to have to get all these types of approval.
"Now, I can use an HD camera to shoot someone's butt, and nobody can tell me no," he said. "I can post it up on Vimeo. I can have it the best quality. I can put it in after effects. All of somebody's butt. But the only reason I can do that is because I have my own equipment."
Rettew plans on releasing a new bio on local musician Dan Schepper (Cowboy Angels, Everything Now!, Support the Troopz) on Wednesday. The documentary will serve as yet another installment in Rettew's Artist Bio series, looking into the lives of local artists.
Travis Harvey, owner of Village Green Records, was featured in one of Rettew's Artist Bio documentaries. Harvey, who is also working alongside Rettew to create a documentary for the Ball State Dance Department, has been on both sides of Rettew's lens.
"He's not afraid to attempt something different," Harvey said. "He's not afraid to maybe use music in a different way or use the camera in a different way. He likes to use the [video] camera almost as if it's a ‘camera' in which it's shooting these well-thought-out arrangements on screen. So that creates a nice aesthetic of his work. He doesn't rely on typical flashy elements."
Harvey said he is particularly impressed with Rettew's initiative.
"I feel like it's not so much what it is that he's making, it's more of his desire to just be doing something," Harvey said. "Nobody ever gave him an assignment to do these artist bios. That was just something that he had his eyes open to what were his surroundings and he was open to being inspired by that to do something."
Rettew admits that being behind the camera and filming all of these passionate artists has in turn inspired him. He references Algier Williamson and his elaborately decorated truck as an example.
Associate professor of telecommunications Nancy Carlson had Rettew as a student and has seen what makes his work special.
"Albert has a good eye for visually compelling shots and a good ear to celebrate the natural sound of the story," she said.
Harvey described Rettew's work as "tasteful," adding that Rettew's sponge-like mentality when it comes to watching documentaries and absorbing what makes them notable will work to his advantage in the long run.
As for the future, Rettew plans on moving to Chicago, where he will continue to embed himself in his surroundings and share his organically enriched findings through documentary films.
"I've pushed people to get off and do some of their own stuff so they can grow within themselves and not leave it up to just a grade to define how good you are," he said, "because when you get there, everyone is going to have an A. So what is your A going to look like? It's about your own character and personality."
Check out Rettew's documentaries at http://phatalbertpro.com.
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