Here's what's been done thus far....in the final week of preparation for my defense...
I've built up the website I'll be using as a visual representation of my project for my defense.
The video is in its final stages, just final tweaking remains.
I have attempted several times to get in touch with Garrett, but he's been on vacation for over 2 weeks, and when he got back he had a lot on his plate to catch up with. I will continue pressing him for a meeting this week before my defense to go over with him how the project went, etc.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
This Week....
This week I've been focusing on creating a tri-fold display for the Capstone fair on Saturday, and have spent several hours editing. My hope is that by the fair I will have a "rough cut" of the complete piece so that I can fine tune, and add additional needed footage over the next 2 weeks.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Work Done Today....
I spent about 4 hours working on stuff today...
2 hours of it was spent capturing video from the GNAT machine - I have been having problems with Final Cut Express delivering error messages nearly every time I try and lay a track. SO...because of that, I have a copy of Final Cut Pro 5.0 on my personal machine and will attempt to edit it from there. I had to gather the 2+ hours of video off the GNAT machine this morning and then spent 2 hours re-creating the first 3 "subjects" of work in my timeline.
Tomorrow's game plan - to get at least one more page of the website created, and spend a little more time editing...
2 hours of it was spent capturing video from the GNAT machine - I have been having problems with Final Cut Express delivering error messages nearly every time I try and lay a track. SO...because of that, I have a copy of Final Cut Pro 5.0 on my personal machine and will attempt to edit it from there. I had to gather the 2+ hours of video off the GNAT machine this morning and then spent 2 hours re-creating the first 3 "subjects" of work in my timeline.
Tomorrow's game plan - to get at least one more page of the website created, and spend a little more time editing...
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Done up to Today....
Here are the things I've done to this point as of today to follow up the 2 week summer session....
1. I sent thank you cards to all community organizations involved....
2. I have sent the students a survey via surveymonkey.com to get some feedback on how they think the session went. The survey also highlighted some of the different aspects of the session (i.e. how much they think they gained from the lessons in operating the gear, etc).
3. I have started to work on the draft of my Change Plan keeping in mind the commentary/suggestions from Frederic's conversation with me yesterday.
4. I have 3 pages partially, if not totally complete on the website.
STILL TO DO:
1. EDIT - I need to get in to GNAT-TV during any free time and on the weekends to get rolling on editing. I had a weird error message pop up the other day while I was working, so I intend on calling Garrett tomorrow to see if he knows exactly what's going on. If worse comes to worse, I will transfer all of my work from Final Cut Express to Final Cut Pro, which wasn't giving me any weird error messages last time I used it.
2. Website work - I need to keep plugging away on that....
3. Display Board for Capstone Fair - I need to print photographs and write up the summary of the project for the Display Board...
4. Get next draft of Change Plan to Frederic by Friday for perusal.
1. I sent thank you cards to all community organizations involved....
2. I have sent the students a survey via surveymonkey.com to get some feedback on how they think the session went. The survey also highlighted some of the different aspects of the session (i.e. how much they think they gained from the lessons in operating the gear, etc).
3. I have started to work on the draft of my Change Plan keeping in mind the commentary/suggestions from Frederic's conversation with me yesterday.
4. I have 3 pages partially, if not totally complete on the website.
STILL TO DO:
1. EDIT - I need to get in to GNAT-TV during any free time and on the weekends to get rolling on editing. I had a weird error message pop up the other day while I was working, so I intend on calling Garrett tomorrow to see if he knows exactly what's going on. If worse comes to worse, I will transfer all of my work from Final Cut Express to Final Cut Pro, which wasn't giving me any weird error messages last time I used it.
2. Website work - I need to keep plugging away on that....
3. Display Board for Capstone Fair - I need to print photographs and write up the summary of the project for the Display Board...
4. Get next draft of Change Plan to Frederic by Friday for perusal.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Plans from here...
Now that the summer session has been implemented...here is my "plan of attack" for the next few weeks....
1. Build the website where all of my Capstone pieces and parts will be.... I've already started working on this...and you can see a sample of the page itself by going here. None of the buttons work yet...but I hope that I have some of that stuff up and running by the end of the week.
2. Put together my Capstone Fair board - I have a tri-fold board that will be on my table at the capstone fair... My thought is to map out what the 2 weeks were all about, and include photos and descriptions along the way.
3. Send out a survey to the students to find out what they liked...and what they didn't. I plan on completing that by the end of this week (so by July 8th).
4. Sit down with Garrett when he returns from his vacation to go over the pros and cons of the past 2 weeks. Get a sense from him if this is a better route to be taking when it comes to strengthening the connection that GNAT-TV has with BBA.
5. Edit the entire piece together - have at least half of it done by Capstone Fair...if not more...as I would like to have that running while people are cruising the fair.
1. Build the website where all of my Capstone pieces and parts will be.... I've already started working on this...and you can see a sample of the page itself by going here. None of the buttons work yet...but I hope that I have some of that stuff up and running by the end of the week.
2. Put together my Capstone Fair board - I have a tri-fold board that will be on my table at the capstone fair... My thought is to map out what the 2 weeks were all about, and include photos and descriptions along the way.
3. Send out a survey to the students to find out what they liked...and what they didn't. I plan on completing that by the end of this week (so by July 8th).
4. Sit down with Garrett when he returns from his vacation to go over the pros and cons of the past 2 weeks. Get a sense from him if this is a better route to be taking when it comes to strengthening the connection that GNAT-TV has with BBA.
5. Edit the entire piece together - have at least half of it done by Capstone Fair...if not more...as I would like to have that running while people are cruising the fair.
DAY 10 - June 29, 2007
The last day of the Summer Session with these students was a real treat. Early on in me firming up community participants, Bill Bullock of the American Museum of Fly Fishing invited myself and the students to come to a filming of the Museum by a production team that was shooting in HD. Today was the day the students got to observe that film crew. It was a neat experience for them...and they were all shocked at how large the cameras were in comparison to what they were using the past few weeks. 2 of them even got to be extras in the film as visitors walking through the museum. They all had a great time, and I think they learned how long some things take to set up and how professional people can be in this field. Here are a few shots of one of the photographers of the film crew doing his thing...
All in all this was a great and unexpected way to finish off the 2 weeks with the students.
All in all this was a great and unexpected way to finish off the 2 weeks with the students.
Friday, June 29, 2007
DAY 9 - June 28, 2007
A rather low-key day for the students as compared to the past week. Today we had a complete Final Cut Express overview...and then the students assisted in picking sound bites from the interviews we have done over the past week. They all took turns manipulating the video in Final Cut, and took time to fool around with the basic controls of how to edit in this program.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
DAY 8 - June 27, 2007
Today was an interesting day...and it had some educational points for the students.
We went to shoot the Northshire Performing arts interview and b-roll in Dorset today. Both of the women we met had a great interview, but when it came time to shoot b-roll they were very controlling over what we could and couldn't shoot. I had asked them if there was any possibility of attending their upcoming concert on July 17th for the first 5 minutes of the performance to tape and got a very quick and stern NO. I am a little concerned that the video we have for b-roll (office shots, posters) isn't a good representation of who they are and what they offer to the community. I had previously asked if I could use some of the video featured on their website and was told NO for that as well. It's my hope to email Jane Gilbert, the head of that organization and see if she would be willing to either let me shoot 5 minutes of the concert or use the video on the website so that they can match the type of energy put forth by the other participants of this project. The resistance and attitude given to myself and the students today wasn't what I was expecting nor was it really what I was hoping for from an organization that brings such high quality artists to this community. If I don't get anywhere with Jane I will cut things as they are...but there is a chance that they will have a weaker representation in the video. If what I have really doesn't mesh well with what the other organizations have put forth and they continue to give me a NO to everything I ask, I may have to eliminate them entirely from the project.
We went to shoot the Northshire Performing arts interview and b-roll in Dorset today. Both of the women we met had a great interview, but when it came time to shoot b-roll they were very controlling over what we could and couldn't shoot. I had asked them if there was any possibility of attending their upcoming concert on July 17th for the first 5 minutes of the performance to tape and got a very quick and stern NO. I am a little concerned that the video we have for b-roll (office shots, posters) isn't a good representation of who they are and what they offer to the community. I had previously asked if I could use some of the video featured on their website and was told NO for that as well. It's my hope to email Jane Gilbert, the head of that organization and see if she would be willing to either let me shoot 5 minutes of the concert or use the video on the website so that they can match the type of energy put forth by the other participants of this project. The resistance and attitude given to myself and the students today wasn't what I was expecting nor was it really what I was hoping for from an organization that brings such high quality artists to this community. If I don't get anywhere with Jane I will cut things as they are...but there is a chance that they will have a weaker representation in the video. If what I have really doesn't mesh well with what the other organizations have put forth and they continue to give me a NO to everything I ask, I may have to eliminate them entirely from the project.
DAY 7 - June 26, 2007
Today was a relatively easy day shooting wise. We first went to Janno Gay (the potter) in Dorset and completed an interview with her. We then went to Manchester to shoot an interview and shoot some b-roll of the Manchester Music Festival. I have footage provided by GNAT-TV of a concert they put on over the winter, but have been invited to attend a rehearsal next week which I hope to make so that I can get more current footage. Each of the students was also given a free ticket to one of their concerts which was an incredibly nice gesture. We then went back to Hildene to grab a little b-roll on the construction going on there for b-roll purposes. We then went back to the station and critiqued the work of the day.
Monday, June 25, 2007
DAY 6 - June 25, 2007
Today we had a pretty broken up day. I started off by giving a brief editing overview (i.e. the different parts of the tape, why sync is important, etc)...and then showed the students how to ingest their footage into Final Cut Express HD. We got about an hours worth of footage onto the machine and then went to do our two interviews of the day. We first met with Chris Morrow of the Northshire Bookstore and did an interview with him. We also shot some extra footage of the outside of the bookstore, so that we have enough to go around in the piece. And then we went to talk to Jay Hathaway, head of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. We did an interview with Jay and then went back to the station to critique the work shot for the day.
DAY 5 - June 22, 2007
We spent the bulk of the day at Hildene, the Lincoln family home on a shoot and interview. This organization wasn't very organized, so it was a good thing that this was the only shoot of the day being that it took nearly 2 hours to get everything completed. Here are a few shots of the kids working on the project:
Sydney:
Daniel:
Gina:
Sydney:
Daniel:
Gina:
Thursday, June 21, 2007
DAY 4 - June 21, 2007
Today we had 2 shoots, and one of Garrett's younger film makers came with us to show the students some tricks to shooting objects.
We shot at the American Museum of Fly Fishing from 9:30-10:30 and then headed off to the Southern Vermont Arts Center where we shot from 10:45-11:45. We had interviews in both spots and the students shot all of the footage to accompany them. This evening we have a shoot at the Northshire Bookstore which will last about 45 minutes. We are shooting b-roll of the author event going on there this evening that we will use to cover the interview with Christopher Morrow that we will be shooting on Monday.
We shot at the American Museum of Fly Fishing from 9:30-10:30 and then headed off to the Southern Vermont Arts Center where we shot from 10:45-11:45. We had interviews in both spots and the students shot all of the footage to accompany them. This evening we have a shoot at the Northshire Bookstore which will last about 45 minutes. We are shooting b-roll of the author event going on there this evening that we will use to cover the interview with Christopher Morrow that we will be shooting on Monday.
DAY 3 - June 20, 2007
Tonight I gathered the students for an evening shoot of the "Life After Dark" event being held in downtown Manchester. We also went up to Dorset to shoot b-roll of Janno Grey, the potter. She has an interview with us next week, but because of the short turn around between her interview (10am on Tuesday of next week) and the shoot following it, we decided to shoot footage of her prior to the interview. So we shot about 15 minutes of footage there with some GREAT sequences of her throwing pots, etc, and then we headed back into Manchester for the Life After Dark event. There we shot a sculpture, and a comedy/music event and spoke to the head of the Greater Manchester Arts Council, who was the organizer of the Life After Dark event.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Follow Up...
I am meeting the students this evening for the Life After Dark event...but here are the things I've accomplished today...
I've made follow up calls to confirm times with: American Museum of Fly Fishing, Southern Vermont Arts Center, Hildene, The Northshire Bookstore, and Jay Hathaway.
I also spent an hour today with Elliot, one of the GNAT-TV employees going over Final Cut so that I could get "unrusty"...and all seems good in that department.
I have also started to work on the website that I'm putting together on the project, and am on the final stages of my Change Plan.
I've made follow up calls to confirm times with: American Museum of Fly Fishing, Southern Vermont Arts Center, Hildene, The Northshire Bookstore, and Jay Hathaway.
I also spent an hour today with Elliot, one of the GNAT-TV employees going over Final Cut so that I could get "unrusty"...and all seems good in that department.
I have also started to work on the website that I'm putting together on the project, and am on the final stages of my Change Plan.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
DAY 2 - June 19, 2007
Because we covered so much yesterday I changed my plans a bit for today...
First we went over the "7 Deadly Camera Sins" (can be found at this site)
The we went up to Historic Main Street, and each student had to shoot 10 shots of the street, keeping in mind all of the things that they were going to work on for the day (based on the conversation we had Monday). We alternated photographer (5 shots each, then switch) and covered buildings, signs, and the road itself.
We then went back to the station and I showed them how to use the in-house camera gear because they then became the camera operators for the "live to tape" Kitchen show with a live chef for a segment that GNAT-TV does called Kaleidoscope. They got to experience what it's like to be doing a live show with a director (Garrett) calling shots from the production room. They were the operators for 2 shows - and they did a great job. Here are a few pictures of the action. :o)
Daniel running Camera 2:
Sydney running Camera 3:
Gina running Camera 1:
First we went over the "7 Deadly Camera Sins" (can be found at this site)
The we went up to Historic Main Street, and each student had to shoot 10 shots of the street, keeping in mind all of the things that they were going to work on for the day (based on the conversation we had Monday). We alternated photographer (5 shots each, then switch) and covered buildings, signs, and the road itself.
We then went back to the station and I showed them how to use the in-house camera gear because they then became the camera operators for the "live to tape" Kitchen show with a live chef for a segment that GNAT-TV does called Kaleidoscope. They got to experience what it's like to be doing a live show with a director (Garrett) calling shots from the production room. They were the operators for 2 shows - and they did a great job. Here are a few pictures of the action. :o)
Daniel running Camera 2:
Sydney running Camera 3:
Gina running Camera 1:
DAY 1 - June 18, 2007
So we have 3 wonderful students participating in the BBA Summer Service Learning project...and what's wonderful about them is that they are all going to be freshmen this coming year, and they are all coming from different schools...so they are getting to know each other AND getting a head start on their service requirements for Burr and Burton.
Here are the things we covered today...(which was actually a lot more than I expected to cover, but it worked out well)
1. Tour of the GNAT-TV Studio
2. Overview of the project (who's taking part, what types of things we're looking for, etc)
3. Composition (Rule of Thirds, Angles, Perspective, etc - used Izzy Video and some of my previous work)
4. After the composition piece I had each student choose a prop from the kitchen set and draw out a 3 shot sequence, that showed the object in 3 different views.
4. Camera Overview
5. I divided up the list of "subjects" and gave each student 3 to come up with interview questions for.
6. After the camera overview and composition segments we went outside and I had each student shoot a subject (ie. a flower, a house, a car) in 5 shots. I wanted them to use different angles, variety of perspectives, etc...and encouraged them to not be afraid of moving around and changing the tripod height, etc. I also had all three of them set up an interview shot with one of their peers so that they could get a feel for how to frame an interview.
7. Once they had all shot some video we brought it back to the studio and we all critiqued the work as a team...talking about what worked in the shots and what would have made the shot stronger.
8. We then talked about what things we were going to work on for the following day, and decided that we would work on improving their focusing, making sure they move around more, work on the different angles of shots, and try and change the perspective of things.
Here are the things we covered today...(which was actually a lot more than I expected to cover, but it worked out well)
1. Tour of the GNAT-TV Studio
2. Overview of the project (who's taking part, what types of things we're looking for, etc)
3. Composition (Rule of Thirds, Angles, Perspective, etc - used Izzy Video and some of my previous work)
4. After the composition piece I had each student choose a prop from the kitchen set and draw out a 3 shot sequence, that showed the object in 3 different views.
4. Camera Overview
5. I divided up the list of "subjects" and gave each student 3 to come up with interview questions for.
6. After the camera overview and composition segments we went outside and I had each student shoot a subject (ie. a flower, a house, a car) in 5 shots. I wanted them to use different angles, variety of perspectives, etc...and encouraged them to not be afraid of moving around and changing the tripod height, etc. I also had all three of them set up an interview shot with one of their peers so that they could get a feel for how to frame an interview.
7. Once they had all shot some video we brought it back to the studio and we all critiqued the work as a team...talking about what worked in the shots and what would have made the shot stronger.
8. We then talked about what things we were going to work on for the following day, and decided that we would work on improving their focusing, making sure they move around more, work on the different angles of shots, and try and change the perspective of things.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Appointments Scheduled:
WEDNESDAY JUNE 20th:
5pm: Life After Dark - Contact: Beth Meachem
THURSDAY JUNE 21st:
9:30am: American Museum of Fly Fishing - Contact: Bill Bullock
10:45am: Southern Vermont Arts Center - Contact: Chris Madkour
6:30pm: Northshire Bookstore; Author Event (B-Roll) - Contact: Marie Lahey
FRIDAY JUNE 22nd:
9:30am: Hildene - Contact: Laine Akiyama
10:45am: OPEN
MONDAY JUNE 25th:
9:30am: OPEN
10:45am: Northshire Bookstore; Interview with Chris Morrow - Contact Marie Lahey
11:15am: Chamber of Commerce; Interview with Jay Hathaway - Contact Jay Hathaway
TUESDAY JUNE 26th:
10am: Flower Brook Pottery - Contact: Janno Grey (Possible Interview only if we can shoot b-roll Wed. 20th)
10:45am: Manchester Music Festival - Contact: Arial Rudiakov
WEDNESDAY JUNE 27th:
9:30am: Northshire Performing Arts - Contact: Sheila Weiss (NOTE: I'm going to call Jane Gilbert, President on Monday morning to see if I can get her to do an interview with me on Monday morning at 9:30am so that we don't bleed this far into the week)
5pm: Life After Dark - Contact: Beth Meachem
THURSDAY JUNE 21st:
9:30am: American Museum of Fly Fishing - Contact: Bill Bullock
10:45am: Southern Vermont Arts Center - Contact: Chris Madkour
6:30pm: Northshire Bookstore; Author Event (B-Roll) - Contact: Marie Lahey
FRIDAY JUNE 22nd:
9:30am: Hildene - Contact: Laine Akiyama
10:45am: OPEN
MONDAY JUNE 25th:
9:30am: OPEN
10:45am: Northshire Bookstore; Interview with Chris Morrow - Contact Marie Lahey
11:15am: Chamber of Commerce; Interview with Jay Hathaway - Contact Jay Hathaway
TUESDAY JUNE 26th:
10am: Flower Brook Pottery - Contact: Janno Grey (Possible Interview only if we can shoot b-roll Wed. 20th)
10:45am: Manchester Music Festival - Contact: Arial Rudiakov
WEDNESDAY JUNE 27th:
9:30am: Northshire Performing Arts - Contact: Sheila Weiss (NOTE: I'm going to call Jane Gilbert, President on Monday morning to see if I can get her to do an interview with me on Monday morning at 9:30am so that we don't bleed this far into the week)
Meeting with Garrett 6/13/07
Had a meeting with Garrett today to make sure we were both on the same page for session kickoff on June 18th... Here were the topics covered...
1. Tuesday the 19th Garrett is having a Final Cut Express workshop with one of the folks that works for him from 6:30pm-8:30pm. He invited me to come so that I can brush up on what I know...I am taking him up on that offer.
2. Lighting Kit: There is a lighting kit available through GNAT-TV...Garrett will disassemble it so that it's available for use starting Wednesday the 2oth.
3. Garrett Suggestion: Give the kids some assignments based on topics talked about in seminar for the day... Example: After talking about composition and the 7 deadly camera sins, have the kids write up a 3 shot sequence on one object that would describe the object completely.
4. On the 19th there is a live shoot at GNAT-TV in the studio, so I will need to move all lesson stuff to a different room in the building (ie editing room, maybe even outside if the weather is nice).
5. Call Kevin O'Toole of the Dorset Players (he gave me number), and see if he wants to take part. Being that I haven't heard back from anyone from that group I will give him a call. If he's able to take part call Mary Murphy and get some footage of the Dorset Players plays that have occurred recently.
Garrett gave me some write ups that he had on the cameras that we are going to be using. I modified his text and fit the up with photographs that I had taken so that the kids have a camera handout.
1. Tuesday the 19th Garrett is having a Final Cut Express workshop with one of the folks that works for him from 6:30pm-8:30pm. He invited me to come so that I can brush up on what I know...I am taking him up on that offer.
2. Lighting Kit: There is a lighting kit available through GNAT-TV...Garrett will disassemble it so that it's available for use starting Wednesday the 2oth.
3. Garrett Suggestion: Give the kids some assignments based on topics talked about in seminar for the day... Example: After talking about composition and the 7 deadly camera sins, have the kids write up a 3 shot sequence on one object that would describe the object completely.
4. On the 19th there is a live shoot at GNAT-TV in the studio, so I will need to move all lesson stuff to a different room in the building (ie editing room, maybe even outside if the weather is nice).
5. Call Kevin O'Toole of the Dorset Players (he gave me number), and see if he wants to take part. Being that I haven't heard back from anyone from that group I will give him a call. If he's able to take part call Mary Murphy and get some footage of the Dorset Players plays that have occurred recently.
Garrett gave me some write ups that he had on the cameras that we are going to be using. I modified his text and fit the up with photographs that I had taken so that the kids have a camera handout.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Update 6/7/07
Update on the project and its participants to this point...
YES's:
- Janno Grey - Potter
- Hildene - Lincoln Family Home
- Southern Vermont Arts Center
- American Museum of Fly Fishing
- Northshire Bookstore
- Greater Manchester Arts Council
- Jay Hathaway - Chamber of Commerce
- Northshire Performing Arts
NO's:
- Ballet Manchester - Their season doesn't start until mid-July and they just don't feel as though they have anything to show for themselves at this point. I offered up just doing an interview and possibly highlighting photographs taken in past years but was told that there was a lot of hoop jumping to be done to use photographs in the manner in which we would be using them (getting permission from the artists, etc).
HAVEN'T HEARD: (And will be making phone calls Monday if this is still the case)
- Manchester Music Festival
- Dorset Theatre Festival
Some other news... My contact at the American Museum of Fly Fishing has offered for the the students to come and view an HD Film crew that will be taping at their facility on the 27th and 28th...I think it would be great for the students to see this kind of thing in action...and have asked him when it would be best to come over for no more than 45 minutes to watch.
YES's:
- Janno Grey - Potter
- Hildene - Lincoln Family Home
- Southern Vermont Arts Center
- American Museum of Fly Fishing
- Northshire Bookstore
- Greater Manchester Arts Council
- Jay Hathaway - Chamber of Commerce
- Northshire Performing Arts
NO's:
- Ballet Manchester - Their season doesn't start until mid-July and they just don't feel as though they have anything to show for themselves at this point. I offered up just doing an interview and possibly highlighting photographs taken in past years but was told that there was a lot of hoop jumping to be done to use photographs in the manner in which we would be using them (getting permission from the artists, etc).
HAVEN'T HEARD: (And will be making phone calls Monday if this is still the case)
- Manchester Music Festival
- Dorset Theatre Festival
Some other news... My contact at the American Museum of Fly Fishing has offered for the the students to come and view an HD Film crew that will be taping at their facility on the 27th and 28th...I think it would be great for the students to see this kind of thing in action...and have asked him when it would be best to come over for no more than 45 minutes to watch.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
"Yes's"
So far this morning (June 5th) I have received a "YES" for participation from the following:
-Hildene
-Southern Vermont Arts Center
-Janno - Flower Brook Pottery
-Northshire Bookstore
-American Museum of Fly Fishing
A good start!!
-Hildene
-Southern Vermont Arts Center
-Janno - Flower Brook Pottery
-Northshire Bookstore
-American Museum of Fly Fishing
A good start!!
Monday, June 4, 2007
Where I'm at...
OK...so emails have been sent to the following individuals...and they will be followed up by postal letters.
1. Laine Akyama - Hildene
2. Marie Lahey - Northshire Bookstore
3. Chris Madkour - Southern Vermont Arts Center
4. Bill Bullock - American Museum of Fly Fishing
5. Ariel Rudakov - Manchester Music Festival
6. Linda Lacroix - Ballet Manchester
7. Jane Gilbert - Northshire Performing Arts
8. Jay Hathaway - Manchester Chamber
9. Jano Grey - Flowerbrook Pottery - Potter
I verbally have spoken to my mom, Beth Meachem, about the "Life After Dark" component. She will be available Wednesday June 20th for an interview as that initiative kicks off.
Also, I am holding off on sending anything to Manchester Glass until I hear back from the above groupings of people as I don't want to have too many subjects to shoot and not enough time. I've also heard from several sources that that particular group can be tough to get in contact with and they are very poor at following through.
1. Laine Akyama - Hildene
2. Marie Lahey - Northshire Bookstore
3. Chris Madkour - Southern Vermont Arts Center
4. Bill Bullock - American Museum of Fly Fishing
5. Ariel Rudakov - Manchester Music Festival
6. Linda Lacroix - Ballet Manchester
7. Jane Gilbert - Northshire Performing Arts
8. Jay Hathaway - Manchester Chamber
9. Jano Grey - Flowerbrook Pottery - Potter
I verbally have spoken to my mom, Beth Meachem, about the "Life After Dark" component. She will be available Wednesday June 20th for an interview as that initiative kicks off.
Also, I am holding off on sending anything to Manchester Glass until I hear back from the above groupings of people as I don't want to have too many subjects to shoot and not enough time. I've also heard from several sources that that particular group can be tough to get in contact with and they are very poor at following through.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Finalized list of "Subjects"
I've added one more "subject" to the list...here's the the final list:
1. Hildene (Robert Todd Lincoln home)
2. Northshire Bookstore
3. Southern Vermont Art Center
4. Dorset Playhouse
5. "Life After Dark" - Arts in the Businesses initiative.
6. Jano Grey - Potter
7. Alison Kibbe - Artist
8. Manchester Glass - Glass blowing
9. Chamber of Commerce - need sound on importance of the arts and creative economy initiative. These bites will be used as a segway between different subjects as well as start and finish of piece.
10. American Museum of Fly Fishing
1. Hildene (Robert Todd Lincoln home)
2. Northshire Bookstore
3. Southern Vermont Art Center
4. Dorset Playhouse
5. "Life After Dark" - Arts in the Businesses initiative.
6. Jano Grey - Potter
7. Alison Kibbe - Artist
8. Manchester Glass - Glass blowing
9. Chamber of Commerce - need sound on importance of the arts and creative economy initiative. These bites will be used as a segway between different subjects as well as start and finish of piece.
10. American Museum of Fly Fishing
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Update on Project
Some Notes:
1. I noticed on 5/19/07 that the Summer Service Project with GNAT-TV is posted on BBA's website under service learning w/ description of session and dates/time. A good step in the right direction!!
2. I emailed Jen Hyatt today (5/24/07) to check in and see how the sign-ups were going...expressing that because this project is part of my thesis project for Grad School that I needed to have an idea whether there was any interest. The response was that students have until June 11 to officially sign up, but there were already 2 students signed up and ready to go. Another good sign.
1. I noticed on 5/19/07 that the Summer Service Project with GNAT-TV is posted on BBA's website under service learning w/ description of session and dates/time. A good step in the right direction!!
2. I emailed Jen Hyatt today (5/24/07) to check in and see how the sign-ups were going...expressing that because this project is part of my thesis project for Grad School that I needed to have an idea whether there was any interest. The response was that students have until June 11 to officially sign up, but there were already 2 students signed up and ready to go. Another good sign.
Updated List of "Subjects"
Due to a snag in my work schedule, I won't be able to shoot the memorial day "Open Studio" - but that doesn't hurt the project, as a lot of these artists are always working in their studios. Also, after some thought, I don't think including the car show would be a good move. The intent of this piece is to focus on arts and culture that are going on all the time in the area, and the car show is just one of several events held every year...it isn't something that people would see if they were to come in the fall. Here's a list of the people/businesses that I intend to send letters to regarding this summer initiative:
1. Hildene (Robert Todd Lincoln home)
2. Northshire Bookstore
3. Southern Vermont Art Center
4. Dorset Playhouse
5. "Life After Dark" - Arts in the Businesses initiative.
6. Jano Grey - Potter
7. Alison Kibbe - Artist
8. Manchester Glass - Glass blowing
9. Chamber of Commerce - need sound on importance of the arts and creative economy initiative. These bites will be used as a segway between different subjects as well as start and finish of piece.
1. Hildene (Robert Todd Lincoln home)
2. Northshire Bookstore
3. Southern Vermont Art Center
4. Dorset Playhouse
5. "Life After Dark" - Arts in the Businesses initiative.
6. Jano Grey - Potter
7. Alison Kibbe - Artist
8. Manchester Glass - Glass blowing
9. Chamber of Commerce - need sound on importance of the arts and creative economy initiative. These bites will be used as a segway between different subjects as well as start and finish of piece.
Idea as to Day-to-Day Breakdown
Here's a breakdown of what I foresee the day-to-day breakdown being for this two week session:
Day 1 (Monday)
To Do:
1. Tour of GNAT - discuss "behind the scenes" roles of productions.
2. Get everyone acquainted.
3. Explain end goal of project - talk about parties already involved in the project. Find out if any students have particular wants as to the "subject" they focus on.
4. Show the group some of my work, talk about the way the story is told, talk about composition.
5. Shot composition - b-roll and interview. Do's and Don'ts. Follow this up by activity on composition (done in pairs, come back together and end to discuss).
Day 2 (Tuesday)
To Do:
1. "7 Deadly Camera Sins" - hand out from Garrett.
2. Review of composition from the day before.
3. Camera overview (Tripod as well). Prior to this lesson, I need to get a camera and take stills of it for a handout for students.
4. White balance - Why it's important (Activity)
5. Activity - Get kids into groups and have them shoot stuff around the student to get comfortable with gear, and to troubleshoot potential problems.
Day 3 (Wednesday)
To Do: Gather group for evening shoot of "Life After Dark" running 6pm-8pm (kickoff prior). Group should be assembled Monday as to prepare. Doesn't need to be everyone. Anyone not able to participate in evening event has the day off - evening shoot is activity of the day. It's possible shoot will start earlier than 6pm as there will be a kick-off to this new arts initiative.
Day 4 (Thursday)
To Do:
1. Review previous night w/ group - what worked, what didn't.
2. 2 Shoots to accomplish (1 hour each)
Day 5 (Friday)
To Do:
1. Morning shoot.
2. Morning - Touch base, see how every one's doing, talk about the week ahead. See if there are any problems, etc.
3. Evening shoot - Northshire Bookstore (possibility). Crew for this should be selected Wednesday or Thursday.
Day 6 (Monday)
To Do:
1. 2 Shoots to accomplish (1 hour each)
Day 7 (Tuesday)
To Do:
1. 1 shoot to accomplish
2. Shoot b-roll of downtown Manchester and Dorset area. (Dorset may be able to be done when we are in town shooting potential subjects earlier in project)
Day 8 (Wednesday)
To Do:
1. Final Cut Overview
2. Activity - have students begin to ingest and edit footage.
Day 9 and 10 are dedicated to editing things together and troubleshooting problems. Whatever doesn't get finished by the students I will finish on my own time. What's important is that the kids get a sense of the whole project.
Day 1 (Monday)
To Do:
1. Tour of GNAT - discuss "behind the scenes" roles of productions.
2. Get everyone acquainted.
3. Explain end goal of project - talk about parties already involved in the project. Find out if any students have particular wants as to the "subject" they focus on.
4. Show the group some of my work, talk about the way the story is told, talk about composition.
5. Shot composition - b-roll and interview. Do's and Don'ts. Follow this up by activity on composition (done in pairs, come back together and end to discuss).
Day 2 (Tuesday)
To Do:
1. "7 Deadly Camera Sins" - hand out from Garrett.
2. Review of composition from the day before.
3. Camera overview (Tripod as well). Prior to this lesson, I need to get a camera and take stills of it for a handout for students.
4. White balance - Why it's important (Activity)
5. Activity - Get kids into groups and have them shoot stuff around the student to get comfortable with gear, and to troubleshoot potential problems.
Day 3 (Wednesday)
To Do: Gather group for evening shoot of "Life After Dark" running 6pm-8pm (kickoff prior). Group should be assembled Monday as to prepare. Doesn't need to be everyone. Anyone not able to participate in evening event has the day off - evening shoot is activity of the day. It's possible shoot will start earlier than 6pm as there will be a kick-off to this new arts initiative.
Day 4 (Thursday)
To Do:
1. Review previous night w/ group - what worked, what didn't.
2. 2 Shoots to accomplish (1 hour each)
Day 5 (Friday)
To Do:
1. Morning shoot.
2. Morning - Touch base, see how every one's doing, talk about the week ahead. See if there are any problems, etc.
3. Evening shoot - Northshire Bookstore (possibility). Crew for this should be selected Wednesday or Thursday.
Day 6 (Monday)
To Do:
1. 2 Shoots to accomplish (1 hour each)
Day 7 (Tuesday)
To Do:
1. 1 shoot to accomplish
2. Shoot b-roll of downtown Manchester and Dorset area. (Dorset may be able to be done when we are in town shooting potential subjects earlier in project)
Day 8 (Wednesday)
To Do:
1. Final Cut Overview
2. Activity - have students begin to ingest and edit footage.
Day 9 and 10 are dedicated to editing things together and troubleshooting problems. Whatever doesn't get finished by the students I will finish on my own time. What's important is that the kids get a sense of the whole project.
Meeting with Frederick 5/18/07
Meeting time: 2pm at BCAT
Discussed:
1. Deliverables: All seem to be okay to this point. Frederic to let me know if something looks out of place.
2. I am to make a formal list of what will be handed to MCGC and advisor (i.e. what are the deliverables leading up to).
3. Talked to Frederic about the types of methods that he uses to keep the attention of students/adults that attend workshops at he has worked on before. Suggested that I mix up the "mediums" of delivery so that attentions can be kept.
Discussed:
1. Deliverables: All seem to be okay to this point. Frederic to let me know if something looks out of place.
2. I am to make a formal list of what will be handed to MCGC and advisor (i.e. what are the deliverables leading up to).
3. Talked to Frederic about the types of methods that he uses to keep the attention of students/adults that attend workshops at he has worked on before. Suggested that I mix up the "mediums" of delivery so that attentions can be kept.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Arts & Culture events interested in...
Here's a list of the Arts & Culture events that I currently would like to see featured in this piece that we will be compiling:
1. The Antique Car Show (Meaghan to shoot B-Roll, Students to shoot Interview, as event occurs before summer session)
2. Open Studio - 2 artists/artisans - Bill LaBerge, Furniture maker would be a great choice, and another local artist. (Meaghan to shoot B-Roll Memorial Day Weekend, Students to shoot Interview, as event occurs before summer session)
3. Dorset Playhouse
4. Life After Dark
5. Hildene
6. Southern Vermont Arts Center
7. Northshire Bookstore
I would like to find at least another 1-2 things to focus on that may have a bit more of the culture piece...but I think these are a good start.
1. The Antique Car Show (Meaghan to shoot B-Roll, Students to shoot Interview, as event occurs before summer session)
2. Open Studio - 2 artists/artisans - Bill LaBerge, Furniture maker would be a great choice, and another local artist. (Meaghan to shoot B-Roll Memorial Day Weekend, Students to shoot Interview, as event occurs before summer session)
3. Dorset Playhouse
4. Life After Dark
5. Hildene
6. Southern Vermont Arts Center
7. Northshire Bookstore
I would like to find at least another 1-2 things to focus on that may have a bit more of the culture piece...but I think these are a good start.
Meeting with Garrett 4/26/07
I met with Garrett on April 26th at 10am to discuss a few parts and pieces of the Summer Session. Here's what was discussed and what was accomplished:
1. Firmed up the dates for the session. We opted for a Monday-Friday from 9am-Noon, June 18-22 and 25-29. There is an understanding that a few of these days we will probably meet in the evening due to the timing of some of the arts and culture events that are going on in the community. For instance, Life After Dark, a new arts initiative starts at 6pm on June 20th...so I will probably ask a few students if they could join me that evening instead of during the day so that we could shoot the event.
2. Called and spoke with Jen Hyatt at Burr and Burton Academy. Jen Hyatt is in charge of all the Service Learning projects at the school...and we called to make sure that we made it clear we were definitely interested in taking part in the summer session. We also wanted to make sure that the dates that we were thinking of weren't conflicting with graduation, etc...or if she thought we should push things off to a later date. She confirmed that the dates seemed fine and that she would add us to the list that students will have access to to choose their summer service project.
3. Discussed a possible name for the Initiative. Garrett seemed to like "Arts Alive"...I will have to check with Beth Meachem, head of the Greater Manchester Arts Council to see if that will be a problem being that Burlington uses that name for there arts initiative in town that is similar to that of the "Life After Dark" campaign in our region.
4. I talked to Garrett about the editing portion of our Summer Initiative. GNAT-TV uses Final Cut Pro, which is a program that I am not familiar with. He is going to try and find time for one of his workers to give me the overview on the program (most important commands, etc). That way I will be prepared to teach the kids how to use the program which will be important for week 2 of the summer initiative.
1. Firmed up the dates for the session. We opted for a Monday-Friday from 9am-Noon, June 18-22 and 25-29. There is an understanding that a few of these days we will probably meet in the evening due to the timing of some of the arts and culture events that are going on in the community. For instance, Life After Dark, a new arts initiative starts at 6pm on June 20th...so I will probably ask a few students if they could join me that evening instead of during the day so that we could shoot the event.
2. Called and spoke with Jen Hyatt at Burr and Burton Academy. Jen Hyatt is in charge of all the Service Learning projects at the school...and we called to make sure that we made it clear we were definitely interested in taking part in the summer session. We also wanted to make sure that the dates that we were thinking of weren't conflicting with graduation, etc...or if she thought we should push things off to a later date. She confirmed that the dates seemed fine and that she would add us to the list that students will have access to to choose their summer service project.
3. Discussed a possible name for the Initiative. Garrett seemed to like "Arts Alive"...I will have to check with Beth Meachem, head of the Greater Manchester Arts Council to see if that will be a problem being that Burlington uses that name for there arts initiative in town that is similar to that of the "Life After Dark" campaign in our region.
4. I talked to Garrett about the editing portion of our Summer Initiative. GNAT-TV uses Final Cut Pro, which is a program that I am not familiar with. He is going to try and find time for one of his workers to give me the overview on the program (most important commands, etc). That way I will be prepared to teach the kids how to use the program which will be important for week 2 of the summer initiative.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Capstone Work to Date
Here's a list of my activities with the Burr and Burton students I have been working with with Garrett McCarey for his current Service Learning project. I have been attending and helping out with these sessions as to gauge the types of things that could be improved upon for my summer intensive.
MARCH
6th:
Activities - Went over camera in a simplistic way to make sure that they knew the important buttons, things to check, etc. We also covered a handout entitled "7 Deadly Camera Sins". Students were then asked to explain why each item listed on the handout wouldn't be a good thing to do as a photographer/journalist. We also covered the basics of the tripod that GNAT-TV uses. This was a pretty straight forward workshop on the "how to's"...and the students were encouraged to try out the camera and play with the buttons.
Thoughts - I would have liked to have seen framing and composition covered a little more in this session. Instead of handing the kids the camera and saying "go for it...try it out"...I would have liked to see a more structured approach. I think having fun and playing around is ok...but felt as though there were a few points that were missing a little depth (ie. rule of thirds, etc).
13th:
Activities - Students in this Service Program were to choose another service activity (ie. brothers and sisters, painting the local library, habitat for humanity) that their peers were working on and document the groups doing their service activity. The end product was to be a compilation of the service activities with commentary, etc. The meeting on this day was to touch base with the students involved in our service project and make sure that they had contacted the person in charge of their particular service program. We planned a few interviews as a result of the check-in.
Thoughts - While I liked the idea of making the students responsible for finding the contacts for these projects...I felt like you were setting the project for bumps in the road and failure. The students had so much on their plates that making contact with teachers they don't see at all in their day was asking a bit much. At the college level I could see students being in charge of their contacts...but in this setting students didn't follow through and it put the project on hold until they finished their end of the communication. I think dealing with kids at this age, setting things up for them is the smoothest plan.
20th:
Activities - Interview with Jen Hyatt, director of service learning. One student interviewed, one student was the photographer for the interview, and the other 3 took turns shooting the interviewer and the photographer (as to document their service learning project) for B-roll. Students learned the concepts of moving around to capture action and made sure that the interviewee felt comfortable. Students were asked to draft 10 interview questions for Ms. Hyatt and she was able to look at them prior to the taped interview.
Thoughts - While it was a good idea to have students come prepared with questions, some questions were missed along the way, so Garrett and I asked questions of Jen that would fill the gaps that the students didn't get to. Looking over the interview questions prior to actually going to the interview would have been a better approach to refine the questions that the students were looking to ask. It would have also given the students a chance to understand that their questions needed a little more depth.
APRIL
3rd:
Activities - Because the students weren't able to set up any interviews for their projects at this point, students interviewed themselves regarding their service learning project. We did 6 interviews...covering various learning projects that the students took part in last term and talked about their experience in the current term with GNAT-TV.
Thoughts - This was a frustrating activity. The students were making fun of each other while each other was being interviewed...and the interviewee couldn't focus. They weren't prepared with questions that wouldn't bring forth a yes, no, or short answer so there wasn't a lot of usable material that came out of this. I ended up asking questions of the students to ensure that there would be some material to use in the editing process. In the future, if you're going to do something like this, I think there is a need for separation of the students...and better preparation. I felt like the decision for the activity on this day wasn't thought out very well...and we were just trying to fulfill hour commitments to the program.
MARCH
6th:
Activities - Went over camera in a simplistic way to make sure that they knew the important buttons, things to check, etc. We also covered a handout entitled "7 Deadly Camera Sins". Students were then asked to explain why each item listed on the handout wouldn't be a good thing to do as a photographer/journalist. We also covered the basics of the tripod that GNAT-TV uses. This was a pretty straight forward workshop on the "how to's"...and the students were encouraged to try out the camera and play with the buttons.
Thoughts - I would have liked to have seen framing and composition covered a little more in this session. Instead of handing the kids the camera and saying "go for it...try it out"...I would have liked to see a more structured approach. I think having fun and playing around is ok...but felt as though there were a few points that were missing a little depth (ie. rule of thirds, etc).
13th:
Activities - Students in this Service Program were to choose another service activity (ie. brothers and sisters, painting the local library, habitat for humanity) that their peers were working on and document the groups doing their service activity. The end product was to be a compilation of the service activities with commentary, etc. The meeting on this day was to touch base with the students involved in our service project and make sure that they had contacted the person in charge of their particular service program. We planned a few interviews as a result of the check-in.
Thoughts - While I liked the idea of making the students responsible for finding the contacts for these projects...I felt like you were setting the project for bumps in the road and failure. The students had so much on their plates that making contact with teachers they don't see at all in their day was asking a bit much. At the college level I could see students being in charge of their contacts...but in this setting students didn't follow through and it put the project on hold until they finished their end of the communication. I think dealing with kids at this age, setting things up for them is the smoothest plan.
20th:
Activities - Interview with Jen Hyatt, director of service learning. One student interviewed, one student was the photographer for the interview, and the other 3 took turns shooting the interviewer and the photographer (as to document their service learning project) for B-roll. Students learned the concepts of moving around to capture action and made sure that the interviewee felt comfortable. Students were asked to draft 10 interview questions for Ms. Hyatt and she was able to look at them prior to the taped interview.
Thoughts - While it was a good idea to have students come prepared with questions, some questions were missed along the way, so Garrett and I asked questions of Jen that would fill the gaps that the students didn't get to. Looking over the interview questions prior to actually going to the interview would have been a better approach to refine the questions that the students were looking to ask. It would have also given the students a chance to understand that their questions needed a little more depth.
APRIL
3rd:
Activities - Because the students weren't able to set up any interviews for their projects at this point, students interviewed themselves regarding their service learning project. We did 6 interviews...covering various learning projects that the students took part in last term and talked about their experience in the current term with GNAT-TV.
Thoughts - This was a frustrating activity. The students were making fun of each other while each other was being interviewed...and the interviewee couldn't focus. They weren't prepared with questions that wouldn't bring forth a yes, no, or short answer so there wasn't a lot of usable material that came out of this. I ended up asking questions of the students to ensure that there would be some material to use in the editing process. In the future, if you're going to do something like this, I think there is a need for separation of the students...and better preparation. I felt like the decision for the activity on this day wasn't thought out very well...and we were just trying to fulfill hour commitments to the program.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)