"The Village on the Prairie: 50 Years of Prairietown" Documentary
In 2024, myself, and Director Ryan Shank of Conner Prairie, created an hour long documentary about 50 years of Prairietown.
Founded in 1974 by Indianapolis industrialist Eli Lilly, Prairietown at Conner Prairie brings 19th-century Indiana to life. Lilly’s dedication to history and preservation inspired this immersive experience, showcasing trades, foodways, music, and daily life of the era. Prairietown has become a central feature of Conner Prairie, celebrated for its engaging portrayal of the past through talented interpreters, and its ongoing impact on the community. In 2024, Conner Prairie celebrates 50 years of Prairietown’s history and legacy, honoring the vision that started it all through the documentary, “The Village on the Prairie: 50 Years of Prairietown”.
Beginning in 2022, Ryan and I had the idea, perhaps simultaneously, to do a documentary on Prairietown. The village of Prairietown is full of rich and creative history, and being about to dig into that history to build a fairly complete timeline of events not only for Prairietown, but for Conner Prairie itself was an honor.
Some of the highlights from production included wrangling all the interviews (over 50) - hearing from Conner Prairie staff and connections, past and present. Which includes board members, CEO’s, and dozens of talented interpreters with skills beyond my comprehension.
I also enjoyed working with our collections department to select and scan hundred of old slides, VHS tapes and more for the documentary, something that has spurred them to push forward with digitizing that entire collection for use in countless future projects.
The promotional poster I designed for ”The Village on the Prairie: 50 Years of Prairietown”.
Another highlight was creating the poster for the documentary. Through researching other documentaries and how they visualized their content in a creative way, I came up with this poster. It focused on the core of the documentary, the people (through the sillouette of the woman in the bonnet), then incorporated images from Prairietown and Conner Prairie from throughout the years. The color scheme was based on Conner Prairie’s current brand.
Additional hightlights including my idea for visuals throughout the documentary highlighting elements of Prairietown, with a focus on swivel lighting and moving cameras. The elements can be seen very well in the closing credits.
Working with Ryan on the project was also a big highlight. Ryan is from Indiana, but for several years worked at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. in a similar capacity as he serves at Conner Prairie. Creating online educational content for the organization. Our talents together make this project complete.
Below you can find a teaser for the documentary, with additional viewings planned for 2025.
- The Media Buff