Joe White, executive producer of our Emmy-nominated documentary "Beyond Kitty Hawk," was just recently honored with the coveted President's Medal by the Aero Club of New England (ACONE).
ACONE is the oldest aero club in the Americas, predating the first Wright Brothers flight, and is globally renowned for its efforts to promote aviation history and educate the public about the value of general aviation.
White, a recreational pilot, oversaw production of our "Kitty Hawk" film and dedicated it to the unsung heroes who helped advance flight technology from the invention of the airplane to the Space Age.
Besides appreciating this well-deserved recognition by his professional peers, we candidly think this medal is one of the coolest-looking awards we've ever seen. Medals have an Olympian aura, far more than a traditional plaque or trophy.
Congratulations, Joe!
The price of HD camera equipment has dramatically dropped over the past few years as the quality has significantly risen. Consequently, there are hardly any barriers anymore to making a documentary film -- except, of course, the all-encompassing time and money.
Student filmmakers are blessed with unlimited time, but naturally lack experience. Here are a few tips for those of you about to take the plunge into your first documentary film:
1. Get out of Talking Head Land as soon as possible. Sit-down interviews are fine for background and to string together missing pieces of your narrative. BUT, if you happen to be following your subject for an extended period of time, try to get a series of shorter interviews with them commenting on events IN THE MOMENT.
2. Creatively Frame Your Interviews. Getting people sitting in a chair with a lamp or books in the background provides boring visuals, regardless of how fascinating the material is. If you have a scientist, interview him in a lab and frame the shot with beakers. If you are with a yoga instructor, have her sit on a giant rubber ball. Be creative but not goofy.
3. Start living with your subjects. There are two schools of thought on this, and some filmmakers warn about the dangers of becoming "friends" with your film's characters. We say that you can always be "friendly" without ever dropping your role as an outsider, as an observer.
If you are documenting the lives of a construction worker, a politician, a daredevil or a paramedic, what do they do when they are not on the job? Just shooting some token b-roll of them having breakfast with their family doesn't do it for us. Put an HD flip camera in your pocket and go socialize with your subjects. Soon, they'll lose the distinction from when the camera is turned on or not. And you'll capture the most precious stuff of all.
Good luck! Documentary filmmaking is all about spending countless hours waiting for stuff to happen, with the hopes of getting a few minutes of footage that viewers will never forget. Your patience will pay off in dividends.
(At Award Productions, we've made six documentaries -- one which was nominated for an Emmy, four which premiered on PBS, and one that was optioned as a reality TV pilot for Country Music Television. Check out a few of our select documentary clips.)
Oh, yes! What you see above are authentic stress-free clients in the midst of a live studio shoot in our new production facility.
They are relaxed because they now have more work space, more leg room and large, easy-to-read monitors. Ultimately, we seek to be the JetBlue of Video Production.
The roomy environs can accomodate multiple members of your creative team to brainstorm, offering a far more comfortable place to collaborate than our previous digs.
The glass-enclosed control room also gives boy and girl scout groups something to stare at if we ever decide to open up Award Productions for educational tours. Seriously, though, it will make you feel like you are not in a cave -- the traditionally favored work environment of editors worldwide.
Our main edit suite can also be converted to an intimate screening room for reviewing project rough cuts and hosting focus groups.
We look forward to collaborating with you here soon!
If you have ever wondered what it takes to become a cheerleading champion, but don't wanna put on the skirt, then you are in luck!
Thanks to the new cheerleading documentary, "Blood, Sweat & Cheers," it is now possible to experience the grueling practices and heartbreaking competitions from the comfort of your living room couch. With bonus DVD commentaries from some of America's top Pop Warner cheerleading judges.
But don't take our biased word for it (we made the film). Here's what Boston Parents Paper, New England's premier parenting magazine, has to say about the film:
"The movie takes you inside youth cheerleading competitions, offering evidence that cheering is indeed a 'real sport.' And the storyline gives youth cheerleaders and coaches inspiration to strive for the best while enjoying the journey along the way."
And that, in a nutshell, is really why "Blood, Sweat and Cheers" belongs on the Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Pick-Your-Holiday list for the cheerleader or coach in your life.
Inspiration. These girls working toward their dream of competing in the national Pop Warner championships are your sister, your daughter, your cousin or niece. These girls are you.
And as luck would have it, "Blood, Sweat and Cheers" is now available at Amazon.com. For an appetizer, watch the BSC movie trailer here.
For those of you outside of the Greater Boston area, let's get you up to speed. The gentleman on the left, 48-year-old Michael Chapman, just spent $12,000 building an elaborate four-story treehouse in his suburban backyard.
Citing code violations, the city of Worcester has demanded that the leafy McMansion be torn down -- under the threat of a $300 per day fine.
Chapman was widely mocked in the print media and talk radio for allegations that his nefarious clubhouse was meant to spy on his neighbors. We have no reason to doubt his claim that he is a nature lover.
However, we're most intrigued by this analogy he shared with The Boston Globe:
Yesterday, Chapman took reporters on
a tour of his creation, which is sturdy enough to support several
adults at one time. As acorns rained down from the higher branches,
Chapman said he will not appeal (the city's demolition) order.
He
compared the time that he has left with his treehouse - he did this for
himself (he has no children) - to a story by the Argentine writer Jorge
Luis Borges, in which time suddenly slows as the protagonist faces a
firing squad. Like the character in the story, he gets to complete his
work of art.
“It’s the act of creation, not the ownership that matters,’’ he said. “I’m never truly happy unless I’m making something.’’
Chapman's philosophy raises the eternal question: If an elaborate four-story treehouse falls in the woods and no one gets to use it, was it ever really a treehouse?
No offense to the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, but we starkly disagree with this approach.
In the world of video production and filmmaking, results and outcomes obviously matter. We certainly enjoy the artistic process. But creativity is useless if it is not applied with a project's final goals in mind.
A treehouse without occupants is meaningless. So is a promotional video or viral video without an audience.
Over the years, we've had the rare misfortune of working with a photographer, graphic designer or other creative type who puts their artistic vision ahead of the project. These working relationships inevitably do not last very long.
If we are editing a promotional video for your business or gathering a critical element for your news program or documentary, we are delighted to share our creative vision. But ultimately, when there is a conflict between our art and your message, there is no doubt about the final outcome.
Simply put, we don't like building treehouses that will have be torn down.
You know that feeling when you find a $20 bill inside your sportscoat?
That's how we feel about eight months after our movie "Hell Drivers: America's Original Crash Test Dummies" screened at Michigan's Hell's Half Mile Film & Music Festival -- in the gritty heartland of traditional county fair daredevil shows.
Almost as cool as getting our doorbell rung by Publisher's Clearinghouse, we got this trophy declaring we won the Hell's Half Mile audience award for best documentary.
Maybe "Hell Drivers" simply fits their Hellish brand, but we doubt the voting was fixed. Daredevil Rocky "Hardcore" Hauri parked the Rockymobile in front of the theater and spent a few days charming the crowds.
The HHM trophy came with a note apologizing for the late notification, but being late only enhanced the surprise.
Now, we're headed to the closet to check the pockets of our sportjackets.
While Honest Abe is now cooler than ever - propelled into the stratosphere by Barack Obama's use of Lincoln's Bible at the Inauguration - we'd like the record to show that our company president was a fan long before it was popular.
A dramatic photograph of the Lincoln Memorial decorates Al Ward's office, along with a scene of the Wright Brothers' first flight - a memento from our Emmy-nominated documentary, "Beyond Kitty Hawk."
But enough about office decor. This is clearly the Year of Lincoln, with a slew of new books and films about the 16th president. According to Temple University history professor David Waldstreicher, Lincoln has "likely inspired more books than anybody except Jesus Christ."
A full bibliography and filmography is included at the end of this post, including a risque action-horror-comedy about an evil Lincoln vampire.
We won't even try to compete with that. But here's our offbeat contribution to Lincolniana - an exclusive interview with Lincoln admirer and fringe presidential candidate Carmen Chimento, who boasted about his unusual Lincolnesque qualities during the New Hampshire Primary.
We won't ruin any of the punchlines.
This timeless political profile was part of our 1996 documentary for PBS stations, “Why Can’t I Be President?” Recognize the narrator? It’s CNN political anchor, Wolf Blitzer.
What will be the historical significance of the Chimento-Lincoln campaign? Do you think that people in 2209 will be obsessing over Barack Obama in a similar manner?
LINCOLN BIRTHDAY BOOKS & FILMS:
“A. Lincoln,” by Ronald C. White, Jr. , the Main Selection of the History Book Club for January 2009.
“Abraham Lincoln,” by George McGovern, the famous Democrat that got his butt kicked by Nixon in 1972 (except in our home state of Massachusetts). McGovern believes that Barack Obama is a “Second Lincoln.”
“Abraham Lincoln: A Life,” a 2,000-pager by Michael Burlingame that other Lincoln historians have “waited anxiously for decades,” according to Doris Kearns Goodwin.
“Being Lincoln — Men With Hats,” a quirky documentary about Lincoln impersonators by Elvis Wilson.
“Did Lincoln Own Slaves?“ a provocative rhetorical question answered by historian Gerald Prokopowicz, along with other FAQs.
“Lincoln Anthology: Great Writers on His Life and Legacy from 1860 to Now,” the best of pro-Lincoln essays and biography excerpts, edited by Harold Holzer, co-chair of the U.S. Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
“Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer,” by Fred Kaplan, who tackles Lincoln’s mastery of the English language. A ravenous reader of Shakespeare and the Old Testament, Lincoln was the most literary president, Kaplan says.
“Lincoln on Race and Slavery,” by Harvard University’s Henry Louis Gates Jr.
“Looking for Lincoln,” a PBS special based on Gates’ book above.
“Our Lincoln: New Perspectives on Lincoln and His World,” a new look at how Lincoln viewed race, religion and civil liberties, edited by Eric Foner.
“The Physical Lincoln,” a medical analysis by physician John G. Sotos makes the case that the president had a rare genetic syndrome that gave him “long limbs, large feet, a high voice, odd lips, sluggish bowels, and astonishing joint flexibility.”
“The Transient,” an action-horror-comedy movie about a Lincoln vampire that terrorizes a community. Recently won the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Award at the Route 66 Film Festival in Springfield, Illinois.
Abraham Lincoln at Antietam battlefield
ABE LINCOLN MANIA POSTSCRIPT
Check out blogger Geoff Elliott’s fantasy photo illustration of Abe Lincoln wearing Aretha Franklin’s fashionable Inauguration hat:
Image courtesy of The Abraham Lincoln Blog
Reminds us of Saturday Night Live comedian Mike Myers’ “Wayne’s World” bit about Baberaham Lincoln!