Another day at the office

Shooting during a forty minute flight on a B 25 bomber was no shabby job. It was especially meaningful to me because my aunt Eleanor (Mary Martin) flew these planes in WWII.


I was priveleged last night to shoot an interview with a Doolittle Raider, who was captured by the Japanese following the raid. I'll post the interview soon, or you can view it at The State newspaper's site.

Wade's New Film

So, Wade has been hard at work constructing a rooftop in the studio at George Fulton's place, where he has his new office.

My lighting class lit it and then Wade wanted to try it out, so he made this short, which is worth watching, especially if you like Mr. Softie.

If you think it's funny, hit the funny meter!

Thanks to Van Kornegay from USC for this photo.

Scary Computer Stuff

Now that I've changed over to high definition video, my external drives are no longer fast enough to edit properly. So, my friend Wedge at Wegener Media turned me on to this little device that hooks up to my computer via an eSATA cable. Nifty, but you need an expensive card to get it going. Leave it to computer guru Robert to find a cheap work around. Well, I bought this thing, and opened my computer to install it.

It's a good thing I didn't read the directions first, because I would have completely chickened out. I had to take my computer apart - all sorts of screws in a bowl next to me, and some left over when I was done . . . but, I am now up and running, and it is SCREAMING fast.

Very cool.


In other news, one of Alden's friends from China found us, and Alden has been on the phone with this friend for an hour. I can hear them talking from my desk. Alden is explaining to him how to do something on the computer and it sounds exactly like Wedge or Robert trying to walk me though something.

"No, hit the P key!" "Now hit ENTER." The thing is, he is outside, pacing in the yard while he's giving these instructions. I'm telling you, these kids are born double clicking!

He then came in and asked to get on my edit computer. Our laptop is out with David doing taxes. Well, supposedly he's doing taxes, though I just got an email from him asking if "pleather" is a real word (it is slang, according to Wikipedia, though there are several types of pleather, you have to be specific). Anyway, Alden was on line, playing a video game with a boy he went to school with in China, who stayed at his orphanage and foster home. Two years ago, neither of them spoke a word of English, and now they are yelling to each other while they are on line playing a game together, two states apart, in the USA, in totally new lives.

Nice.

Bahamas Training

David and I spent last week in the Bahamas, doing some training in audio, camera operation and editing. We really enjoyed our time, and our hosts educated us about Bahamian history and religion, economics and the recent devestaging effects of hurricanes. They also took us to this wonderful state park, where we saw some tiny birds that looked like humming birds. I thought humming birds didn't relax long enough to get a photo, so maybe they are something else. Anyone know?




Here's some of the editing class. Most of them are pretty young, which means they are born knowing more about computers than I'll ever hope to glean. Their enthusiasm for all things "techie" was energizing.

I get such cool jobs!

Oh, and here is our fun and colorful hotel by the inlet - live music at night from the porch and a nice local coffee shop a short walk from the lobby. Even when the power was turned off in fear of bad hurricane weather, it was still great.

Royalty free music

So, my friend Aaron gave me this 4 dvd set of royalty free music. And, as my job today was to find music for our Children's Hospital video, I thought I should give it a listen before dropping real money on some songs on line.

I had my normal array of computer issues downloading each DVD (4 hours total) and now I'm listening to the various tracks.

The first one, titled Producers Pack 1, started out with a harsh record scratch and the words "I wanna get FREAKY tonight!"

Hmm, not exactly what you want to hear while watching surgeons talk about the latest in children's medical technology, though it might jive with the shot I got in surgery the other day. My friend Wade calls it the "alien belly shot" because it shows a child's belly, extended and lit from inside while a 4 armed robot operates inside him via remote control. Wade wouldn't let me include that shot in the final video, calling it, "great material for our future movie."

Apparently, there is either another computer issue, or someone is playing a trick on me, because now every third selection I open starts with the same music and graphic announcement. I'm hoping my daughter is sound asleep in her loft overlooking my office.

Not to fear. There is plenty of other good stuff on the dvds. In fact, the freaky Producers Pack 1 PALES in comparison to the incredible jingles on these cds. Jingles complete with generic LYRICS (and tubas).

I called Aaron and started singing one to him and he FINISHED THE SONG, so, obviously, they are effective jingles.

Blog Talk Radio

So, my friend Michelle, who works with my dad, is going to be on blog talk radio this Friday at 12:30. You can call in with questions on this number: 347.945.5139

Here is Michelle's blog. I recently shot one of her talks, hope to get a bit of that up soon.

Understanding human capability, the way they define it based on work done by Elliot Jacques, literally changed my view of business, and the world, and showed me how to work, utilizing my full potential. Sounds cheesy, but it's true.

If you like Michelle's posts, check out Peoplefit, my dad's site.

Airline Luggage and Sony Camcorders

Can I just say that this airline luggage mystery fee for the second bag thing is annoying? I say mystery because the airline employees seem mystified by the new proceedures. Are the fees per bag per leg or per direction or per total trip? Apparently, the true answer is a tightly held secret that will probably be revealed when the carriers realize how much they can get away with before mutiny occurs.

According to my friend Allison B, the airlines are punishing women who exercise and must carry multiple bags so they have enough clothes and shoes to dress for business and exercise.

My take is that they are punishing the people who take donations to poor countries and the tourists who come here to shop.

In other travel related news, I'm annoyed that Sony's new EX HD camera has this monster battery charger with it. It is the biggest honking battery charger and power supply I've ever seen on a small camera. What on earth were they thinking? Not only that, it has an attached cord on it, which makes it yet harder to pack. Small is beautiful, guys! Check it out in this photo next to the what-I-used-to-think was oversized Panasonic charger. Those nifty "lights" telling you how much charge? It's a sticker. Just like Lighting McQueen's headlights, folks.

And why is the back of this camera so much bigger than the Sony PD150 - the most ergonomically perfect prosumer camera made - when it doesn't even use a tape? So much for those tiny memory cards that had my heart pounding in anticipation of a small, yet stunning, camera.

My perfect camera does not exist as long as I have to depend on an airline to deliver my luggage. And now, even if I did ship gear, I'd need to pay some astronomical fee to do it. I wonder if you get reimbursed the extra bag fee if your checked gear doesn't show up in time for your shoot? To be safe, it all has to fit in the backpack, which means SMALL IS BETTER.

Isn't the point of having a small, high quality camera so you can TRAVEL WITH IT?

My guess is that Sony engineers and airline fund-raising geniuses are men.

It is a nice camera, though. Adjustable iris rings rock.

Working, working, and playing, too

The pace has not slowed much. Saturday, Lee Ann hired me to help her shoot a living history project in Little Mountain. Projects like that are the best, listening to people tell stories of working farms and what they did for fun and what they ate (and how they made make molasses). People talked about segregation and how things have changed since those times. It was good to record people's memories.

Yesterday I worked some on photos for the Connections Magazine article, and today I again work with Lee Ann on the Heathwood School video. I can't tell you how much I want my kids to go to High School there. It is just an amazing school. I told David we should plan to work there so we can get a tuition break. But, it is still the price of college. Here, Alden and Zion practice their computer skills (in preparation for college, of course).


Sunday we celebrated Alden's Forever Day. Each of our kids has a Forever Day. It is the anniversary of the day we met for the first time as a family. This was Alden's first, and we had a blast playing games and riding water shooting boats at Frankie's Fun Park. Lydia joined us, and we went out for Rush's fast food afterwards. I took this shot off David's phone to post.

All Done

The last two days of class were tougher, as we were all fairly drained. But, they handed in nice looking resumes, lit and shot a scene on the set they built and gave presentations using cardboard mock ups/animated drawings and sketches to our client. The presention experience was slightly more "real world" than I had anticpated, but I think that was good.

We also had a rather competitive final exam in the form of a game show, where I was accused of treating Team One like the press allegedly treats Hillary, and Team Two like the press allegedly treats Obama. Team Two had both the girls in the class, but I'm positive I didn't play favorites.

GO GIRLS!!!!

I'm going to miss these students. They are all incredibly talented, so I'm sure I'll see them again - probably while I'm watching the Oscars.

Teaching again

At first I was pretty freaked out at the thought of teaching 8 hours a day for two weeks with virtually no prep time. But, this past week has been a lot of fun. The class, at Trident Technical College's film department, focuses on jobs in the art and construction department on feature films and commercials. The students are terrific - creative, energetic, funny and smart - people that I can see working with in the future (if they can learn to be on time!).

We're working today on scenic painting and aging a wood table they built earlier this week out of old pallets.



Yesterday, we met some people at the Army Wives set. Army Wives is a show for Lifetime that shoots here in Charleston. Roger, the person in charge of construction, took a lot of his time to give us a GREAT tour of the sets, and explained to the students how to get a job in set construction. Here they are on a set that is close to completion.

Love this House!

Two projects this week have kept me busy from 7:30 am, when I drop the kids at school, until well after midnight each day. I just finished the photos for the Kenya project and am uploading them. Whew. We have to build nine 4x8 foot panels and get them set up in the church foyer for Sunday. The giant photos remind everyone to help support the dorm we are building outside a Nairobi slum, for street kids.

In contrast this week, I’ve been editing at Marvin Chernoff’s fabulous house. Here are some shots of Lydia and Sarah enjoying Marvin’s space.

Politics and Gold Plated Steel

Tuesday I worked with Marvin Chernoff on a political spot in Charleston. Linda Ketner For Congress. He told us the amazing story of meeting Martin Luther King Jr, but I have to get permission from him to tell you the details. I will say I had chills.


I dragged David along to do sound, as all my sound buddies were booked. His three Wednesday shows in North Carolina for Clinton had canceled, so Troy (David's business partner) opted not to kill me for taking David away. That is, until the election results from Pennsylvania began coming in and four new shows for Hillary suddenly appeared. But, by then we were driving back to Columbia.

We both really liked Linda. She is a genuine humanitarian, and has good ideas of how to integrate business principals into government. Our favorite was her discussion of the need for outcome based measurements, particularly in education.

I have a feeling Linda would agree---meetings don't equal work!

As the political race here heats up, I've been thinking a lot about Zimbabwe. My theory is that Mugabe is waiting to release the election results, not because he lost (I think everyone knows that), but because he is doing the same thing some mystery people did in Ethiopia. He is secretly switching out all the country's gold for gold plated steel bars and plans to make a get-a-way as soon as he's stolen everything, or anything, valuable left in the country. My theory sputters a bit on the where-will-he-go part. Maybe he will broker a power sharing deal that will allow him to live out his days in his Harare mansion with plenty of . . . everything.

Including "his" gold, perhaps.

Oh, wait, I just read something, guess the Ethiopian gold scammers are no longer a mystery. This scam could be made into a movie. But, I still stand near my Mugabe theory.

And here's a petition to sign, supporting what was begun by the South African dock workers who refused to unload the arms shipment from China to Zimbabwe.

Cover ideas?

Michelle Carter, author of my favorite biz blog, left a comment on yesterday's post asking for more.

Info, that is, relating to cover ideas for the new faculty insert of a medical magazine. Since I am sincerely looking for brainstorming here, I hope this helps generate some thoughts.

The magazine is an in-house publication for a large hospital system associated with a medical university. The goal of the bi-annual piece is to let doctors know what their colleagues are doing, in order to foster relationships among specialties and also generate more referrals "in house."

My favorite section is the new doctor insert. Instead of seeing these docs pose in white coats next to an x-ray light boxes, I photograph them doing a hobby or activity that they love. Might be working with bonsai trees, ballroom dancing, painting, cooking, gardening, opera singing, kayaking - you name it and some doctor loves doing it, and it is ten times more fun for me to shoot.

The only negative has been the cover of this section. The client did not want to feature a doctor on the cover. I can make some doctor ego jokes here, but I will refrain. Anyway, for some reason we ended up using this one (booring) shot of a part of a building. For years!

Now, we have a chance to change the cover. Still, no featured doctors. So, we are trying to figure out something that is more symbolic. Something interesting, but not too busy that we can't put titles and other info around it. And, it can't be too surgical, or too anything that is too much one specialty. Our doctors' expertise range from mental health to pediatrics, emergency surgery to opthamology.

And, even if I really like an idea simply because it looks cool, I have to create a full blown argument of why it works. I'm good at this reasoning, though, so let's just focus on raw visuals here, and I'll take care of the deeply rooted reasoning behind how we came up with them.

"The budding leaves on the tree symbolize new life brought by these new doctors. Vibrancy birthed from the existing strength of the hospital, enabling it to reach further into our community with the newest developments in medical expertise . . . . "

However, in defending a photo like this one, I might choose not to mention the fig leaf/cover up association.

Blueberry update

One week in, and the blueberries are still alive. In fact, they've been joined by three more blueberry bushes and a veggie garden!

My dad told my mom that I might be biting off more than I can chew. Hey, what's new?? But, the kids LOVE it.

Work is picking up. Shoot tomorrow, a festival, outside all day. Then Tuesday in Charleston for a political spot and Wednesday here in town for a school. All compliments of my friend Lee Ann Kornegay. Thanks Lee Ann!

Also doing some photography for Wegener Media. They invented a power plug for the new Mac laptops that is sturdy. Here is a shot of the prototype, and, the new one they liked best from what I shot this morning. I think I should have curved the cord some.

Also did some shooting today for my medical magazine client. We are trying to come up with a symbolic image for the cover of a segment featuring new doctors. Any ideas?? I'd love your thoughts on this, it is hard to come up with something that fits.

Tonight I went to an auction for the older kids' school. I didn't win much, but I bid on a lot of things, the neatest one being a weekend camping trip for the kids with one of the teachers - too bad we didn't get it. We donated some Ethiopian scarves to the auction, and I put some 8x10 prints of the people making the scarves with them. Here is one that people seemed to like. There is no debating that Ethiopian women are stunningly beautiful.

Las Vegas - NAB

I just got home from Las Vegas. For years I've wanted to go to NAB. Now, since high def video is a must have, and since my camera is dying, I wanted to touch the options to help decide if I will stay with Panasonic, or move back to Sony or Canon. I tried the new JVC HD and three of my fingers went numb for two weeks after shooting it for just three days, so, I'd already crossed that one off my list. The decision is not going to be easy. But, I'm honestly leaning towards the Sony at this point. Now, I just have to find a lucrative project, or something I can sell to pay for it. Maybe the kids should have a bake sale?

The show is one of Vegas's top three, usually drawing 125,000 people. This year, attendance was down to 100,000 - which may have been why I was able to find a round trip ticket and hotel for two nights for $264. I was worried that we would not make it, but we didn't have one problem on our American Airlines flights. I can't imagine what it would have been like if it had been last week, during that ridiculous flight canceling frenzy.

Highlights of the flights were flying over the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.

I've been to the Lighting Dimensions show (LDI) a few times, and up until the past one, would say it was incredibly impressive. But, this was AMAZING. My experience at LDI made me think I could get most of it in during the full day I had on the floor.

Not.

I was completely overwhelmed. I never even made it to an entire BUILDING full of stuff.


But, overall it was a great time. The first night my friends Scott and Wade and I went to a party on the roof of the Rio, hosted by Barbizon (thanks Sloan!). I took this picture of us sitting together, just before we ate some fantastic food and were joined by our friends from Trident Technical college, Russ and Rebecca (and Glenn, on camera).


The second day at the show, Wade and I stood in line to see the new RED camera. It is bigger than I expected, but seems amazing. They are coming out with a small version, more in line with my price range, in a year or so. Can't wait to see how it fares overall in the market. It appears to be what we've all said we wanted. Basically, a digital movie camera that shoots each frame in camera RAW format on a true 35mm sensor. I talked to a guy who has one. He runs a digital forum on line (and lives in Wilmington where I used to work). He said the camera still has work flow issues, which I would expect when dealing with this size files. It is fascinating, though, and I think it just might be the next big shift in the video/film industry. The guy who started RED evidently owned Oakley sunglasses.



Scott attacked the show like a methodical bloodhound, and I am sure he got the most information out of it. Wade made it through maybe three hours before he took off to play poker (and won $400). I made it through the day, but by the time Scott and I left, I felt like I'd run a marathon after weeks of doing nothing but watching TV. We finished off the night with Indian food and a walk around the strip. Scott won a $100 token from Zoltar at some casino, and Wade won $50, so Scott gave me $50 and we played slots until we lost it all.

Oh, and I won $10 in slots using the quarter David said I could spend. It was $10.25 exactly, and I traded it in for a silver coin from the casino where I stayed, and brought it back for David. The older kids got lots of good swag - pens and tshirts etc. So, all in all it was a great trip. Scott wanted to ride the insane ride at the top of our hotel, the Stratosphere, but we were too tired the first night, and the second night they shut it down because of wind. I did ride one last time I was in Vegas and it was the scariest ride I've EVER ridden.

I hope Wade makes it home. Even after staying up all night, he wasn't finished playing when our flight left . . . .

How do orphans happen?

Here is a piece of another video I'm working on about orphans. It is the story of a boy in Southern Ethiopia.

SC Film Incentives, part 2

Please see part 1 below.
This is sound guy and good friend, Tony. Love his shirt picturing the big fish made up of small fishes about to devour the fish who thinks he's big.


My final weeks at Commerce, when not on the phone tying to explain what was going on in SC to producers (previously) interested in shooting here, were spent analyzing details of money spent by films in SC. At the same time, Joe Taylor refused to approve an outside study analyzing the same numbers, saying he wanted to keep the analysis in house rather than at the University of South Carolina.

The research office was one floor up from my office. I went upstairs and asked the person working on the data if I could help decipher what it meant, as film can be a bit challenging to understand (i.e., what does a best boy electric do? why do you need C-47's in lots of 1000, do we have film makeup trailers in SC? etc). The researcher said my help wouldn’t matter, that Joe Taylor didn't allow him to do "real" research. If the numbers were not what he wanted to see, he said Joe Taylor would revise his question until the numbers were what he wanted. This researcher was burning up his vacation time looking for another, what he called "more ethical" job.

One of my favorite "results" from the Joe Taylor approved research was his claim to Governor Sanford that film professionals wages average $8-$10 an hour. This was far different than what I saw on the same spreadsheets his research department used, so I tried my hand at Taylor math.

Some film techs and production personnel work both pre and post production, some work only production proper, some day play. If you take all the film technicians, and all the extras (background talent) and the police officers that come in for the one day big scene and so forth, and assume they ALL work every day of the entire show, and then divide all those salaries by the number of days on the show, you may come close to that per hour salary.

Or, you might just sit back and say, hmmmmm.

When I told a fellow film technician about Taylor's average film wages, he responded, "I'm sure Sanford didn't believe that line, I charged him WAY more than that on his last political campaign ad."

I think rock bottom of the union scale for a film tech is around $22.50 an hour. There are at least 2 hours a day at time and a half as well. Double time after 10 hours, which is a normal shoot day, but many film projects go over. That doesn't even take into account retirement benefits, workman's comp, social security, golden pay on the sixth day and meal penalties.

In other words, our film industry is not in danger of being overrun by desperate, non-documented workers, unless it is SC film techs sneaking into Canada so we can find work.

Another Joe Taylor saying was, “I can fly over Columbia dropping money out of a helicopter and have more impact than these film incentives.”

Well, after weeks of refusals, Joe Taylor decided he better hand over the raw data we had been analyzing to the legislators requesting it. The data was analyzed by a group at the University of South Carolina. Their findings were announced at a press conference I attended last week. Here is a quote from The State newspaper. The photo shows Army Wives producer Barbara Del-I-can't-spell-asandro attending the press conference. Army Wives was allowed to maintain the intended incentive package. They shoot in Charleston.

At the height of South Carolina’s film incentive program in 2006-2007, seven movies created about $25 million in total economic impact for the state, according to a USC study released Tuesday.
South Carolina’s benefits from the financial incentives given to film production companies outweighed the costs to the state, the study concluded.

I want to be under that helicopter. With Joe Taylor in charge or our state’s commerce development, who needs the lottery?

To support the Film Incentive Bill H 4815, currently in the SC House, please contact your representative.

SC Film Incentives, part 1

More on Joe Taylor pushing SC's film industry off the roof.

Here is an excerpt from an article written by SC Speaker of the House, Bobby Harrell and printed in The State newspaper this past weekend.

In June, by using a loophole in the law, Commerce changed and reduced the incentives we offer film productions. The resulting negative impact on the film industry in our state was immediate. We have seen projects that were attracted to South Carolina forced to go to other states at the last minute because incentives originally advertised to them had been suddenly changed.

As a result of the changes that were made, we have seen a mass exodus of the film industry from our state. We have lost our competitive edge in an industry where tax incentives make or break deals.

I worked for Commerce last year, and left the film office as soon as it became apparent that Joe Taylor, secretary of Commerce, was manipulating the film incentive legislation in a manner directly opposed to legislator's intent. The incentive proviso with the unfortunate wording "up to" in front of the intended incentive amounts was the loophole he used.

Let me insert here that I lean far more toward Libertarianism than many in my field. However, though I generally oppose corporate welfare, I think it is unethical to try and thwart elected officials' promises to their constituents. SC legislators intended that the incentives listed in the film proviso be used. Those elected officials promised us they would try to lure film, at first with incentives, and later, when we establish a base of talented, well trained technicians, by other means. It was a five year plan that involved priming the pump with incentives. The booming Canadian film industry gave us a fantastic example of how successfully such a plan works.

Joe Taylor's arrogant decision not to honor this contract with the people of SC appalls me.

I drafted a letter to Governor Sanford, and had it hand delived to his office. The letter my concern over not only the bait and switch done to incoming films at the time, but also what I see as a brain drain at the department of Commerce under Secretary Joe Taylor.

Sanford never sent me a response.

My first view of Joe Taylor's bait and switch came to light the day we at the film office got a call from a livid film producer who had set up shop in SC. It was a low-to-medium budget production, primarily black cast. They came to SC because of the incentives we told them they would receive, set up an office, and began to hire crew. Bang! The incentives on their paperwork drastically changed from what was promised AFTER they got here - after they started spending money - and, as a result, their main financer pulled about 1/4 of the film's money, basically shutting them down.

Just what SC needed, to bring in a black film and then say, "HA, SUCKERS, we tricked you!!!" Some serious political string pulling got it pretty much back on track with the promised incentives. I almost wish it had gone public - just picture what the NAACP would do with that news. But, though the community at large may not have heard about it, you can bet Hollywood did. I was inundated with calls from producers wanting to know what was going on.

That is when I knew I had to leave. My reputation in my industry, whatever it's worth, was at stake.
Here is part two, if you want to keep reading.

A film I made

I found this on You Tube.

It is a short film I made a long time ago.

Whew, it's over

David's company, ACS, is pulling out the last of the Obama and Edwards gear and my kids can't wait to see their daddy at home.

I just took Alden by the Obama victory party to see the uplink trucks. There were 40 or so in the parking lot. I get a rush walking by trucks, mostly feature movie trucks, but uplink trucks spark me a bit, too. Alden must not have felt it. He told me he was feeling a "little tired." I'm sad he didn't get the "truck rush" but, it is still good that he was there, because tonight South Carolina wrote a new chapter in her history.

Inside, the show was coming down. One of the union guys saluted my camera, and I laughed, so it is blurry - probably for the best.

Harry Palmer is the tallest person I know. I've heard his wife is exactly 1/2 his height. She volunteers as a lawyer for the ACLU and I've wanted to meet her for years but never have had the pleasure. I just want to see a woman that can put up with Harry. The first time I met him, he bellowed - Harry's voice is always at least 6 decibels above any other sound - something about ACS, referring to it as Anti-Christ Sound. I'm sure just to get under David's skin. Didn't work. David is not easily ruffled, and he likes Harry. I do to. I've always held a sneaking suspicion he's got a heart of gold.

When David read this blog entry, he got to the part about Harry's voice and commented, "Yeah, 6 db above ANY sound -- jet engines, for example." Tomorrow, I hope David sleeps half the day before starting the craziness of putting things away and dividing/returning all the rental gear.