As we were looking to trace the human aspect of laser eye surgery our search for contributors was incredibly important. We did not want to just settle for someone who had the procedure and was simply satisfied as this would not allow us to explore the idea that it is a life changing procedure (whether for good or bad).
After contacting several clinics all around the southwest and south Wales we started to realise that due to the nature of the procedure and our lack of status in the broadcasting world the chance to swindle and interview directly from a client of a clinic was remarkably small.
We therefore turned our attention to the Internet to find a contributor. We found a this site a forum run by Ultralase who are one of the worlds leading private Laser eye clinics. The forum allows people to air their worries, document their progress, tell their horror stories or even just discuss last night’s episode of Eastenders. This online community was something that we simply couldn’t pass by.
We asked for contributors in various different sections of the site. I also directly contacted over 50 members who had been vocal about their experience on the site. This unfortunately yielded no replies. Each of the posts received over 100 views but yet again these were not replied to. I felt this was very surprising as people were so keen to talk about their experiences, how they felt, what it was like but clearly not to capture this emotion on camera.
I then directly contacted a member who had been posting daily updates in the “diary” section of the forum. I received a reply but it in short it revealed that she was not really that keen and was incredibly camera shy. I proceeded to calm her nerves and use my charm and for days there was no reply.
In the meantime we felt it was important to get this vital issue sorted so we started to ask about in desperation. A relation of mine had received the treatment a few years ago and so I emailed him to try and secure an interview. He was more than happy to help out and it was great to be off the ground. Yet, as much as we were grateful we were still keen to find someone who had received the treatment recently. We felt that this would allow them to speak with a little more passion and excitement about it.
After several emails I managed to persuade the only respondent we had found off the forum. She seemed bright and cheerful and when I spoke to her later that week I couldn’t have been happier with our find!
What a mission!
Since the filming we have also managed to prove the existence of “sod’s law”
1) I have had 3 replies off the forum all with fascinating stories and one with a bad story that he would be willing to talk about on camera
2) Ultralase have actually been in touch with me offering to provide contributors
3) It turned out in conversation two days ago that a close friend of mine’s uncle is the top Laser Eye Surgeon in the country
4) I have another tenuous link to another top surgeon that could have been tapped!
So good things come to those who wait, unfortunately waiting was not an option. Fortunately though our found contributor could not have been better! I shall explain why in a later blog.
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