Within the space of only a few days, Scheer moved from concept to production, making that leap from her niche producing documentaries for other filmmakers to directing one of her own. "I found complete synchronicity between this topic, my own personal drive and my previous filmmaking experience," she explains. "Even after shooting and logging most of the footage myself – plus watching it ad nauseam during the edit – I never grew tired of “my characters” nor what they were doing. I drank the kool-aid quickly and begged for more; I became as obsessed about competitive jump rope as the kids I follow in my film."

Among the group of jumpers followed in the doc are: Tori, a fierce-and fiercely organized-twelve-year-old speed jumper who suffers asthma; Marcus, the demanding and energetic world's top male individual competitor; jump partners Nick and Jeff, whose ambitious routines always land them on the far side of safety; and Lee, a sport icon and historian of all known jump rope moves, currently being catalogued in work in progress book The Jumphabet. With their conspicuous PMAs, the jumpers continually grow and share with each other in sport, and as the different teams commune, there's such good energy that resonates from their interactions that it's impossible to leave a theater without a little bit of happiness in tow.

"I wanted to focus on people who I thought were charismatic and compelling, people that were either utterly fixated on the sport or were using it as an escape from some other special circumstance in their life," Scheer says. "I wanted to follow people who were willing to explore what they felt and what it meant; I did not want it to sound like they were regurgitating something that someone else had said. And, I wanted diversity––geographic, ethnic, economic, gender––to show that people all over the country are taking this sport seriously.

"I felt, and continue to feel, completely inspired by the jumpers’ personalities, values and actions. Competitive jump rope is characterized by a tremendous sense of camaraderie, collaboration and innovation, all traits we learn as kids and sometimes struggle to maintain as adults. For me, watching people define their own successes by these traits is both curious and extremely motivating."

As for Scheer's work on the documentary itself, she, much like the athletes whose stories she chronicled, was living on endurance and determination. She wrote out story arcs for each jumper, logged copious amounts of footage and outlined scenes she thought were key to the narrative, at which point, she turned to editor Scott B. Morgan for input. "During our first few days of working together, I asked him to write me a paragraph about each character based on his understanding of what I had already written and also on what he saw in the footage himself," Scheer says. "Scott did a great job at this; his descriptions and analogies perfectly captured the story and mood that I wanted to present. For me, this was a key step in developing trust and making sure that we were on the same page.

"We both wanted the style of the documentary to echo the jumpers' ingenuity and convey the essence of the sport. Several months into our edit, I proposed the split screen concept as a solution to some of the problems we were having, and Scott brought it to life with great artistry. We wrote very collaboratively--which is not to say that we always agreed. We had many arguments along the way, but we’re good writing partners; we both have a similar attention to flow and detail. I think just about every sentence has both of our hands on it."

By following the inherent logic of the competition hierarchy, Scheer and Morgan were able to make sense of their many hours of material. "Scott and I joked that we had a cast of thousands, plus (the jumpers) competed in approximately a dozen different events each and were not all in direct competition with one another.

"We struggled together-and independently--with several issues; such as, how much background info would the audience need about the sport’s rules in order to follow the story? How do we deal with the fact that there is not time to show many routines in their entirety? What is the single most important trait that defines and distinguishes each team from another?"

With painstaking attention to detail, the filmmaking pair distill all these issues into a very easy to follow and engaging documentary, neither too encumbered by fact or belabored backstory. An ingenious opening credit sequence follows the history of jump roping in both a fun and informative way, setting up the light-hearted and empowering tone that not only starts but also ends the film.

As competitive jumping roping gains traction in mainstream communities both nation and worldwide, its potential to earn standing as an Olympic event increases. Currently to qualify for standing, a sport needs a standardized rules outreach applicable to 75 countries spread across five continents. To date, 40 countries across six continents boast organized jump roping clubs, but, as Scheer explains, the lack of numbers little compares to the absence of uniformity."The Japanese are amazing jumpers who have fantastic new moves each year, but many of their tricks are performed outside of the ropes and their style does not emphasize creative or challenging use of the rope itself--both of which are important criteria for other countries."

Considering that active volunteer support primarily drives recognition for competitive jumping roping, nabbing an Olympic bid without either a standardized rule set or a significant budget plays a challenge for the community. "Currently, there are no sponsors, no scholarships, no pictures on the Wheaties box. Unfortunately, it might be twenty years before jump rope is truly recognized," Scheer laments. "Most likely, the world-class athletes in my film will be too old to compete, but many of them hope to be involved as coaches or judges."

Scheer forgets perhaps in this statement that, however modest this first step, JUMP!" helps to shine a light on a niche sport that's well deserving of attention. She's recognized the power of the sport and the graciousness of its competitors. As a stranger walks out of an Atlanta Film Festival screening saying, "I definitely think jump roping is a legitimate Olympic sport now," it seems with great force that although Scheer's works stands alone, it stands strong.

For more information on the film visit www.jumpmovie.com.