Timothy R. Hall: Hill District

What Green Could Be

Editor’s Note: As Pittsburgh celebrates its big 250, Andrew Halasz and Kristen Lauth Shaeffer have found their own way to commemorate the city – through a series of short films collectively titled Pittsburgh Neighborhood Narratives. To make their project even more interesting, Halasz and Shaeffer invited local filmmakers to submit story treatments highlighting one of the many diverse neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. This article is the ninth in a series profiling each of the filmmakers selected for participation.

Throughout the years, artists and historians alike have been drawn to the story behind Pittsburgh’s Hill District – and for good reason, as the area has seen a lot of change since its heyday in the 1930s and ‘40s, carrying with it a rich cultural history. In fact, the Hill, as it is fondly known in the ‘burgh, was once considered to be the center of African-American culture, steeped in art, literature and music. A decline in the steel industry, however, and the construction of the Civic Arena forced many residents to leave the neighborhood beginning in the ‘60s. Today, the area is slowly being revamped.

While numerous works of art chronicle the Hill’s history, local filmmaker Timothy R. Hall, 58, has opted to capture the spirit of the neighborhood in a unique and unconventional way – through a style of filmmaking known as “photo roman.” Tim’s film, part of the Pittsburgh Neighborhood Narratives project, portrays a very human element of the Hill using only still photos and sound to tell his story.

“It’s really a pseudo-biographical kind of thing,” said Tim about his narrative, What Green Could Be.

Like his creator, the main character grew up in the Hill District at a time when many people were leaving. Eventually, the pursuit of an education and later, a career, prompted him to relocate as well.

But if there’s anything we learned from the Wizard of Oz, other than the fact that it eerily syncs up to Dark Side of the Moon, it’s that sometimes you really do have to step away from the comfort zone to appreciate what’s in your backyard.

When circumstances bring the main character back to his birthplace, he is shocked to discover how much he missed it.

“It’s a growing process,” explained Tim. “As he slowly eases back into the neighborhood, he realizes that he has a different kind of appreciation for the Hill.”

The same is true for Tim, who also returned to the neighborhood he grew up in. While he appreciates today’s version of the Hill, he also confesses that it’s a “shell of what it used to be.” That contrast between the old and the new, and the emotional journey of the residents who lived the transition, is conveyed through his main character’s experiences.

“This takes all of that and nails it down to one person with experiences,” he said.

Tim is a passionate photographer, so using photo roman to tell his story was an obvious choice. He was very meticulous about how and when his photos were caught, and didn’t limit himself to one style either.

“It’s about images being caught the right way with the camera,” he said.

To do that, he would drive down Centre Avenue and make a note of the way things looked in certain light. Later, he would return to get his shot, using only the natural light provided.

Of course, What Green Could Be wasn’t his first photo roman. Tim also produced one about the intimidations of going back to school as an adult – a theme he can relate to, having recently graduated from Chatham University with a master of fine art’s degree in digital and film photography.

What Tim hopes to achieve with this photo roman, however, is to give another perspective on life in the Hill – through the ever-watchful eye of the camera.

“I want people to leave there [after seeing his film] thinking, ‘Hmmm … that’s an interesting variation on the theme,’” he said.