8:46 AM
A short documentary about the morning of September 11, 2001 — researched, filmed, edited, and color-graded as a personal exploration of memory, archive footage, and quiet reflection.
- Year
- 2026
- Role
- Director · Editor
- Tools
- Premiere Pro, After Effects
- Runtime
- Short · 7 min
An attempt to tell a familiar story in an unfamiliar register — quiet, slow, and observational. The piece weaves archive material with newly shot footage to create a meditative timeline of a single morning.
Research
I started with raw archive — news broadcasts, oral histories, and photographs — looking for the specific small details that don't usually make the news montages: a half-finished coffee cup, the weather report from earlier that morning, a child's drawing. The thesis was that the texture of an ordinary day is what makes the story land.
Edit & pacing
The cut moves at the pace of a slow walk. Long holds on still frames, ambient room tone, and a single recurring motif — a wall clock — that ties the timeline together. I deliberately avoided dramatic music until the final 30 seconds, where it enters and immediately resolves.
Interviews
With the help of my team, I managed to interview Carol Lin and Jordan Swonger. Carol Lin is a retired CNN anchor, being the first person to ever cover the 9/11 attacks. Jordan Swonger was a local student called in to be a First Responder at the Pentagon. Both of them cover an amazing story, and capture both sides of the aisle.
