After seeing the Clef Hangers surprise perform at their president’s sister’s wedding, Story House Media was exposed to the group for the first time.
A year later, former Clef Hangers president Channing Mitzell asked the company to create a documentary, eventually called “The Pursuit of Harmony.”
And from there, director John Moon decided the story of the Clefs was something truly unique.
“We met last year when (Mitzell) was in town, and we hashed out his vision for what he wanted to do,” Moon said. “He didn’t want it to be a documentary that would only be attractive or interesting to just the Clef Hangers, so that was one of our main challenges was to make this somewhat interesting for people on the outside.”
Mitzell said the objectivity of the company would help bring in audiences who may not necessarily be connected to the Clefs.
“We put our trust in them to put together the story, knowing fully well that they had no previous knowledge and no UNC connection,” he said. “We thought that was actually going to be a benefit because we wanted it to be pulled from an outsider’s opinion. It can be easy to lose track of one’s objectiveness of a story you are so connected to.”
Moon said in the four days they filmed, they talked to Clef alumni, founders and current members to get the full story of the Clef Hangers’ history.
“We put together a schedule, and for a documentary, there are a lot of things that go on before you get there,” he said. “In essence, you research and figure out what are they about, how long they have been around, who are the main players? Then, we sketched out who are the people we thought could help drive the core of the story.”
