FYI
PA RT I :
WhoAr eTh eVa p er s ? :
A S hort Et hn og r a p h i c D o c ument ar y
P h o t o s & w o r d s b y To n y O t t o m a n e l l i I I
A
t this juncture in human history,
it is safe to say that Vaping has
created a shockwave slowly sending
vibrations throughout our social reality.
Quite simply, Vaping is stirring things up,
mixing around the pieces of ingredients
for our status quo recipe. As one Vaper
expressed to another, "we are swiftly
producing a fresh sensation sweeping
all over the nation. News flash, warn the
people!
Considering this, over the past several
years, a few decent short documentary
films specifically about the Vaping culture
have surfaced and gained very minimal
and perhaps meaningful exposure, but
I think it may be time for filmmaking to
play a more impactful role within the
Vaping culture, shining bright in a strong
everlasting positive light. For example,
the feature-length documentary, A Billion
Lives, is now finished and entering
into film festivals on a global level with
full support from countless vaping
organizations as well as thousands of
individual vapers excited for it’s release.
As a matter of fact, I am certainly hoping
to see this as soon as possible as it is
a great display of courage and honesty.
What’s more exciting than a feature
length vaping documentary? Great
question. The answer is, “a sociological
research project in the form of a short
ethnographic documentary film.”
Coincidentally, this is something I am
working on currently, with some help by
my side.
Filmmaking & Vaping go hand-in-hand.
Observing the Vaping Community,
then documenting them, and ultimately
presenting this educational data as
relatable material that is visually
stimulating in scope. This short film can
eventually serve as a tool for educating
academia. At the very least, it can serve
210 ISSUE 04 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE
“ T H I S F I L M W I L L B E AT T E M P T I N G T O A N S W E R
T H E Q U E S T I O N “ W H O A R E T H E VA P E R S ? ”
as a tool for influencing public opinion
on many of the aspects that makeup
the Vaping-process and the Vape
Community as a whole. This is exactly
what I intend to do. I am currently at the
very beginning of the pre-production
phase of shooting a short ethnographic
documentary film all about "The Vapers"
who populate the majority of our
contemporary and advanced community
of Vaping.
Before discussing what this film is about,
I believe it's much more advantageous
to first address what exactly the film is
not about. This is not going to be a film
that is a "DIY" walk through and it will
certainly not be a Vaping 101 tutorial,
nor is it an attempt at sensationalizing
political argumentative bullet points
pertaining to anti-vaping propaganda.
This film will be attempting to answer
the question "Who are the Vapers?" This
will be more of an homage to the Vapers
accompanied by an observational study
inside the vaping community, a well
represented portrayal of each vaper.
A collection of face-to-face in-depth
interviews will serve as the primary
research approach, ultimately producing
evidence for exploring the motivations
and overall desires which permeate
through the Vapers' psyche.
The interviews will consist of a series
of non-confrontational questions,
approximately 20-30 inquiries into
the Vaper's Vape-lifestyle. A pleasant
interactive exchange between myself
and all those progressive souls who
choose to travel another route, one that
is often less traveled, clearly those who