How do we know what we know about Benjamin Franklin? We know historians, museum curators, and archivists rely on historical documents and objects to find and learn information about the past. But how does a documentary filmmaker present what they know about history through video?

David Schmidt works as a senior producer at Florentine Films where he worked alongside Ken Burns to produce a 2-episode documentary about the life of Benjamin Franklin. The documentary is called Benjamin Franklin and Schmidt joins us for a behind-the-scenes tour of documentary filmmaking and to investigate some of the lesser-known details of Ben Franklin’s life.

Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/327

Complementary Episodes

🎧 Episode 022: Vivian Bruce Conger, Deborah Read Franklin & Sally Franklin Bache

🎧 Episode 149: George Goodwin, Benjamin Franklin in London

🎧 Episode 169: Thomas Kid, The Religious Life of Benjamin Franklin

🎧 Episode 175: Daniel Epstein, The Revolution in Ben Franklin’s House

🎧 Episode 207: Nick Bunker, Young Benjamin Franklin

🎧 Episode 320: Ben Franklin’s London House

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