SIVACRACY.NET

On the morning of September 11th, I was preparing to start shooting a television series in NY. My office was 30 blocks north of the World Trade Center, and looking down 5th avenue, you could see the smoke rising.

My team of six videographers ended up deciding to cover the attacks, and so by the middle of the night, both of the buildings had collapsed and I was sitting with reels and reels of videotape of the attack and the aftermath.

Two days later -- exhausted from lack of sleep -- I went home to take a shower and return to work. In the car, I heard on the radio a song that had been released that day by Ed Kowalczyk and the band Live. It was called "Overcome". And listening to the song, exhausted, I was overcome. It was all too much. The song was posted on the Internet so that anyone could download it.

I downloaded it, and working with my partner and wife Pam Yoder -- we began to cut images to the worlds and music.

Music is a magical thing. It sometimes is the only language that makes sense.

By the end of the day the images had connected with the music in a way that is easier to show than to explain.

And almost as an afterthought, I called an executive that I barely knew at VH1 and said, hey, we've got a tribute video we'd like to send you. An hour later -- this video was on VH1. Our images and Ed's song, playing over and over again.

We didn't ask permission. We didn't try. We just heard the music, were moved by it, and made our piece of work. It was a collaboration. The band, in California, reached out. And sitting at 28th street and 5th avenue, we connected with their music. But it didn't end there.

One day later, the phone rang, it was the manager of the band Live -- and he'd seen our music video.