DOCUMENTARY Rising Above - Dakota Burton
A character-driven documentary exploring resilience, identity, and personal growth through the story of a collegiate athlete.
Context
This documentary follows Dakota Burton, a collegiate volleyball player navigating sport, academics, and young adulthood while processing significant personal loss.
The film is centered on resilience — showing how discipline and athletics became part of rebuilding confidence, direction, and identity.
Approach
Developed as a human resilience film, the story blends structured interviews with observational footage, game coverage, and quieter reflective moments.
Dakota’s voice leads the narrative, with visuals designed to support both her strength and vulnerability in an honest, grounded way.
Process
I worked as the sole creator across all stages of production, including pre-interviews, story development, interview direction, cinematography, and editing.
The pre-interview process was used to shape narrative direction and emotional focus, followed by an in-depth on-camera interview where Dakota connected deeply with the questions, resulting in authentic and emotional responses.
Filming included interview setup, volleyball coverage, and cinematic b-roll captured across multiple environments, with the edit structured around emotional pacing and narrative flow.
Outcome
The final film delivers an intimate and honest portrait of resilience and personal growth.
This project stands as a foundational example of long-form documentary storytelling within Studio Nicole, reflecting a strong focus on human-centered narrative and emotionally driven film work.
Project Inclusions
Documentary Film Production
Creative Direction
Interview Direction
Cinematic Production
Story Editing
Post-Production & Delivery
Documentary
“When you reached out initially about doing a mini doc I was nervous […] my nerves quickly disappeared when we had our first meeting, it was hard to feel anything but comfortable when you’re so bubbly and kind. The process was so smooth, you did everything that you could to work with my schedule. The topics that we discussed in the mini doc came naturally and it felt like I was telling you my story vs just responding to “interview” questions which I found very relieving. I loved the way you portrayed me in the video as well, I appreciated that I was able to explain my hurdles in life, but that without them I wouldn’t be where I am today. I appreciated that it wasn’t just all the bad going on, that you also focused on the good, and what has helped me. I genuinely think that you have such a career in media ahead of you.”
- Dakota Burton
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