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Mark Freeman Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS-0113

Scope and Contents

The Freeman papers document the production of four documentary films produced, directed, written, filmed, and / or edited by Mark Freeman while he was on the faculty at San Diego State University. The papers date from 1997-2005, with the bulk of documents created in 2003 for Families and Flowers and 2005 for Talking Peace. The collection consists of production files, published materials, and film in varying formats. While the records in this collection were created during Freeman’s time at San Diego State, they do not include any information about other aspects of his professional or personal life, particularly his position as Associate Professor in the School of Theatre, Television and Film. Their contents are limited to those records generated during production of the four above-mentioned documentaries. The collection is divided into four series, one for each film, each documenting the creative and production processes behind the creation of the respective documentaries. The series are Edmund's Island, Families and Flowers, Lines in the Sand, and Talking Peace. The Edmund's Island series includes Production Files and miniDVs; the Families and Flowers series includes Production Files, Published Works, VHS, Beta SP, and miniDVs; the Lines in the Sand series includes Production Files, miniDVs, and one DVD; and the Talking Peace series includes Production Files, VHS, Beta SP, miniDVs, and CDs. The Talking Peace Production Files are further divided into Research and Subjects categories.

The Edmund’s Island series includes two different sets of records arranged according to media: Production Files and miniDVs. The Production Files contain e-mail correspondence, notes, photographs, and some published materials drawn upon during production, and are arranged alphabetically by file name. Also contained in this series is some documentation of a grassroots effort organized by Freeman to save the Union Tribune’s newspaper hawker program upon the paper’s decision to end it just after the film’s release.  Newspaper clippings are scattered throughout the series. The miniDVs contain the film’s original footage, and are in Freeman’s numerical order.

The Families and Flowers series includes five sub-series, arranged according to media: Production Files, 2002-2003; Published Works; VHS, 1999-2002; Beta SP, 2002; and miniDVs, 2000-2003.  The Production Files contain e-mail and traditional correspondence, notes, newspaper and magazine clippings, files drawn together in researching the film, and information about individuals featured in the film. They are filed in alphabetical order according to Freeman’s folder titles. The Published Works consist primarily of books and pamphlets about floriculture in southern California, and are arranged alphabetically by author. The VHS series directly corresponds to the miniDV series, and  includes tapes of raw footage, as well as some videos used for research purposes during the documentary’s production, and are arranged in Freeman’s numerical order. The Beta SP series also includes videos used for research purposes, and are arranged alpha-numerically. The final series, miniDVs, consists of master footage from the filming of the documentary, as well as some other videos used for research purposes, and are arranged according to number and title.

The Lines in the Sand series includes three subseries, arranged according to media: Production Files, 2004; miniDVs, 2003; and a DVD, 2003. The Production Files contain e-mail correspondence, notes, and photographs generated during production of the documentary, and are arranged alphabetically according to folder title. The miniDVs contain raw footage from the filming process, and are arranged numerically. The DVD contains the final, released version of the documentary.

The Talking Peace series includes six subseries, arranged according to media: Production Files, 2000-2005; VHS, 2003-2005; Beta SP, 2004; DVCam, 2003; CDs, 1997-2005, and miniDVs, 2002-2004. The Production Files contain two further subdivisions: Research and Subjects subseries. The Research subseries contains e-mail and traditional correspondence, publicity materials, newspaper and magazine clippings, and notes generated during production of the film. The Subjects subseries includes files for each subject appearing in the film, as well as some photographs, transcripts, and newspaper and magazine clippings, and are arranged alphabetically by Freeman’s folder titles. The VHS series is composed of raw footage, as well as videos used for research purposes throughout production of the film, and are arranged according to number and title. The Beta SP series consists of videos used for research purposes in production, and are arranged alphabetically by title. The CDs consist of recordings used in researching and creating the film, and are arranged alphabetically by title. The miniDVs consist of raw footage, as well as a few videos used for research purposes during production of the film. They are arranged alpha-numerically.

Several of Freeman's films have been digitized and are available here: https://digitalcollections.sdsu.edu/mark-freeman

Dates

  • Creation: 1997-2005
  • Creation: Majority of material found in 2003-2005

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research. See copyright restrictions for information about making reproductions.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright interests in some or all of these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creator(s) of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of archival collections is such that multiple creators are often applicable and copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. In any case, the user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, obtaining publication rights and copyright infringement. When requesting images from Special Collections & University Archives for publication, we require a signed agreement waiving San Diego State University of any liability in the event of a copyright violation.

Biographical Note

Mark Freeman, a documentary filmmaker and Associate Professor of Television, Film and New Media in the School of Theatre, Television and Film at San Diego State University, was born in 1949. He received both a Bachelor of Fine Arts (1975) and a Master of Fine Arts (1981) from the San Francisco Art Institute. He began making documentary films and other videos while studying at the San Francisco Art institute in 1973.

While he spent much of his career as an independent filmmaker, Freeman began teaching filmmaking workshops in 1991 at the University of New Mexico Training Institute. He subsequently taught at Pitzer College (1993-95), San Francisco State University (1996), Santa Rosa Junior College (1996-1997), the University of California-Berkeley Extension (1996-97), Diablo Valley College (1997), Rio Hondo Community College (1998), the University of California-San Diego (1998-99), and the University of California-Irvine (1998-2000). In 2000 he became Assistant Professor in the School of Communication, and he is now Associate Professor in the School of Theatre, Television and Film at San Diego State University (SDSU).

While a faculty member at SDSU, Freeman focused his energies on creating documentaries about the inhabitants of San Diego County. This effort includes an “Encinitas Trilogy” – three documentary films focusing on Encinitas, California. The first, Edmund’s Island, released in 2002, is a twelve minute portrait of a homeless veteran who works as a news hawker in Encinitas. The second, Families and Flowers, released in 2003, is a twenty-seven minute documentary examining three families that have lived and worked in Encinitas’s flower industry for many generations. The final film, Lines in the Sand, released in 2004, is a seven minute documentary capturing the creative process of Encinitas environmental artist Kirk Van Allyn. In 2005 Freeman released a film titled Talking Peace, a 27-minute film based on interviews with Palestinians and Jews who participated in the monthly meetings of a Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue group in San Diego.

Freeman’s documentaries have won numerous awards, including a Gold Apple at the National Educational Film and Video Festival, a Certificate of Merit at the Chicago International Film Festival, and a Red Ribbon at the American Film and Video Festival. They have screened at museums including the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of Natural History, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Modern Art (NY). Additionally, Freeman has won numerous awards as a teacher, including the pICT Summer Fellowship Program in 2005, the Top 25 SDSU list for 2003, and an Aztec Award Nomination for “Faculty Outstanding Community Service” in 2001.

He has participated in numerous university-, college-, school-, and community-level groups as a committee member, faculty presenter, panelist, director, consultant, judge, and discussant, including the International Security & Conflict Resolution program (Member, Curriculum Steering Committee), the California State University Media Arts Festival Advisory Council (Campus Representative), the SDSU Center for Qualitative Research (Founding Member), Future Aztecs Day (Faculty Presenter), Museum of Photographic Arts-San Diego (Member, Education Advisory Committee), the Encinitas Commission for the Arts (Advisory Panelist), the International Documentary Congress, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and theIndependent Documentary Association (Member, Planning Committee), and the Orange County Jewish Film Festival (Discussant).

Mark Freeman is currently Associate Professor of Television, Film and New Media in the School of Theatre, Television and Film at SDSU, and continues to produce, direct, write, film, and edit documentary films in the greater San Diego area.

Extent

9.00 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement Note

I. Edmund’s Island, 2002

       1.) Production Files, 2002

       2.) MiniDVs, 2002

II. Families and Flowers, 1999-2003

       1.) Production Files, 2002-2003

       2.) Published Works

       3.) VHS, 1999-2002

       4.) Beta SP, 2002

       5.) MiniDVs, 2000-2003

III. Lines in the Sand, 2003-2004

       1.) Production Files, 2004

       2.) MiniDVs, 2003

       3.) DVD, 2003

IV. Talking Peace, 1997-2005

       1.) Production Files, 2000-2005

              a.) Research

              b.) Subjects

       2.) VHS, 2003-2005

       3.) Beta SP, 2004

       4.) DVCam, 2003

       5.) CDs, 1997-2005

       6.) MiniDVs, 2002-2004

Source of Acquisition

Mark Freeman

Accruals

2003-029, 2005-054

Related Materials

Several of Freeman's films have been digitized and are available here: https://digitalcollections.sdsu.edu/mark-freeman

Title
Mark Freeman Papers
Status
Completed
Author
Ellen Jarosz
Date
11/10/2005
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections & University Archives Repository

Contact:
5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050
San Diego CA 92182-8050 US
619-594-6791