Seeing Spring in the Snow

This week marks the beginning of Spring for me. It may not be true calendar-wise. It certainly doesn't look true when the flakes are piling up into larger and larger snowbanks every other day. But I am lucky enough to have a yearly reminder that Spring is near. My reminder takes the form a meeting with a new group of students at Colby College who have gathered for a Spring semester class on documentary film making. I have the distinct pleasure of giving them a crash course on production techniques and editing with Final Cut Pro.

Tight Spaces

Recently we filmed with our friends at Woods End Laboratory in Mount Vernon, Maine. It's always interesting to set up all our gear in tight spaces. The soil lab is a great place to work though, because they keep us on our toes. Once we set up the camera and lighting there are plenty of soil test steps to get through.

In fact, every location shoot provides its own unique challenges and problems to solve, which is why I love what I do. It is never ever boring and I am always learning something new. This time I learned about CO2 respiration in soil and compost. Here are some stills from the day..and then the end result. Enjoy!

The Art of Listening

It's all about communication, video, that is. Our clients hire us to communicate for them in a strong visual way, to tell their story for them. What I love about the work I do is telling that story, weaving it from start to finish, it is extremely satisfying.

However, what I am most proud of throughout the whole process of making a video, is when I master the lost art of listening. If I didn't pay close attention to listening to my clients and listening to the people I interview, I mean really listening, I could never effectively tell their stories. In video and in life, it is an art worth striving to master.

The effects of not listening can be disastrous. Businesses do it all the time. Just try NOT listening to a customer's concern and see what great things that does for your business. I have spent hours on the phone to customer service of one place or another, simply trying to get someone to really hear what I am saying. I can guarantee that anyone reading this has had that experience...why?

The Art of Listening can so easily become a lost art. It isn't always easy to stop our internal noise long enough to hear the world around us. Listening; it requires paying close attention in the moment and being conscious of stepping out of yourself long enough to hear someone else's point of view. We can't really ever experience life in another person's shoes, but we can stop long enough to listen and really hear that person's story. In life as in video, it can lead to great things.

Comments

These are the kind of comments we love to get about our work. The following was said of a recent campaign video we produced:

"We just showed the video to our Foundation Board and their jaws dropped!"

"They were starstruck"

The only thing better than producing something you can be proud of, is having the praise of the client it was produced for. As soon as the campaign video is finalized, I'll post it here...

Constant Interest

True that the Academy Awards are right around the corner, and us video folks are nowhere in the vicinity, but the work we do is of constant interest. Last week, I videotaped readings from Toni Morrison's writings; the DVD I created from that was sent to Ms. Morrison as part of a celebration of her birthday. This week, Frank will be covering an event featuring author and civil rights activist Angela Davis. We aren't making any blockbusters yet, but our video work presents new and quite interesting opportunities at every turn.

Cabin Fever? Nah...

Here in Maine, it is the height of cabin fever season. However, in the world of video, one gets to go out and about, thus staving off the claustrophobia of Winter. Here are some of the interesting outings taking place at videops.com. Frank is hard at work with MPBN, covering camera for high school basketball. Tonight, I'm headed up to Colby college to film a celebration of author Toni Morrison's birthday through readings from her works. Other recent projects: a safety training video and a project with Maine General Health. Soon to be at work for the Maine State museum on an editing project. Cabin fever? Not as long as there are videos to be made.

Going Viral

Here is the video we made recently for Woods End Laboratory's YouTube page. The topic is Biochar, a hot topic right now for anyone interested in environmental issues. As predicted by soil scientist Will Brinton, the video is getting plenty of hits since it went live. Take a look!

Too busy to blog?

I must ask for forgiveness, as I have committed the ultimate sin of blogging: being to busy to post. The economy as it is though,  I'm not complaining about being busy. Nope.  Right now we're doing some exciting work with Woods End Laboratories. You can check out some of our work on their YouTube page. Currently, we're working on another web video with soil scientist Will Brinton; the topic is Biochar, a form of carbon capture and storage. This is a hot topic in certain circles, so Will is expecting our video will get lots of hits. I'll post it as soon as it's done! In the meantime, here's another piece we made for Woods End Laboratory.

New TV Spots

As promised in my previous post, here are a couple of the TV spots we produced recently for the law firm of Jabar, Batten & Ringer, our new client in Waterville, Maine. Mission accomplished! Now on to an editing project for the Maine State Museum, and a producing a training and orientation tape.

Dog Days

We're only getting a few dog days of Summer here in Maine, so I aim to enjoy them completely. According to the weatherman, we had only nine days without rain in July. August has been much more summer-like, phew. Rain or shine though, I love my work! In between dips in the lake and ocean, I am editing some TV ads we shot recently for a law firm in Waterville, Maine. Life is good.  So far the client and I are both happy with how they're looking.  Once these dog days pass, which, alas, they soon will, I'll claim my bragging rights and take a moment to post the final cuts of those ads for your consideration. In the meantime, here is a look back at some of the interviews we've shot over the years.

New clients and other thoughts...

We are happy to welcome a new client into the fold. We just completed a short piece for a mental health services company in Augusta, Maine.  The video was a joy to create and we got two thumbs up for the end product. We've done a great deal of work in the field of mental health. As a matter of fact, the Telly Award we just garnered was for just such a project. Here's a short clip from that video; about people living with a dual-diagnosis (substance abuse and mental health.)

Icing on the Cake

I am proud to announce that Video Production Services has just been awarded a Silver Telly (the top honor,) and our third Telly Award to date. This one is for our production a few years back of  a program called Recovery Stories, which followed the struggles of five Maine people living with a dual diagnosis (mental illness and substance abuse.)

The Telly Awards is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV programs, and the finest video and film productions. Our entry was one of approximately 13,000, of which only 7-10% are awarded a Silver Award. It's nice to be recognized for doing something you love, hence the title of this post.

Goodbye American Dreams

This may be my last chance to share my involvement in a wonderful course at Colby College. For the past four years I have had the absolute pleasure of assisting Professor Phyllis Mannocchi with a course called American Dreams. It is the only course of it's kind on the Colby campus; the students study documentary films throughout the semester and then, after a crash course in production and Final Cut Pro editing from me, they embark on creation of their own short documentaries. 

Since I am their tech guru and troubleshooter, especially during the eighty-plus hour editing sessions, I get the joy of watching the creative process from the outside for a change and it is a blast! What these young people create, with just the bare essentials, is for me a source of joy and amazement. Sadly, this will be the last year Professor Mannocchi teaches the American Dreams class, which means that it is my last year too...(sigh) Every time she reminds me that this is our "swan song" I feel a serious pang of loss.

In a few weeks from now, this year's  five films will premiere for the last time on Colby's campus. I wanted to take a moment to celebrate some of the student films that have come out of this process and to thank Professor Mannocchi and all the students past and present that have helped rekindle the creative spark year after year. Thank you!

From last year's class came the following; Part I of a film about a working bluegrass band here in Maine (Part II can be found here) ...just one of many wonderful short films that have come out of the American Dreams class.  This film was created by Kristen Barnico, Paige Clunie, Kara Dalton, Jess Egan, and Brett Wagenheim:

Video Springs Eternal

Well, I can stop holding my breath. Spring is officially here. What's cooking lately?  Recently we got a call from a freelance producer in Germany who needed to hire a cameraman for a shoot right nearby us, in Waterville, Maine.  Surprise, surprise, they got a camera woman, namely, me. The shoot went great.  I didn't understand a word, but I know it looked good!  The footage will appear on the show Aspekte...German TV, channel ZDF.  Next we were hired to cover a local live music performance, which is always a pleasure since I love music. Take music, add camera and I am in seventh heaven.  Next up on the agenda is editing some local TV spots. This work never gets boring, hence the title of this post. 

Time Marches on

It's March already! February flew by. Apart from breathlessly awaiting Spring, which is what we do here in Maine,  I will be working on a set of TV spots for our new client, a local law firm. The challenge? Create something that breaks the boring lawyer ad mold. This should be fun!

Six Degrees...

What do I have in common with Martin Scorsese? Not that much, except this: I created a video featuring someone who worked with Mr. Scorsese on the film Kundun which I saw recently. So, is that one or two degrees of separation?...anyway, that person is Tibetan Scholar and former Buddhist Monk, the Venerable Losang Samten. He creates incredible sand mandalas, such as the one featured in this short meditative piece I made awhile ago for Colby College. The soundtrack on this is the peaceful chanting of Losang Samten himself. So, Mr. Scorsese, if you are reading this, please check out my short film. After all, I have watched many of yours, and they were much longer! Yours truly, Carol.

Getting the word out

Some projects are just plain fun. This video we produced for Colby College highlights their efforts to go green, re-use and recycle. The object was to keep it upbeat while getting the message out about this great event. It's called RESCUE...

Giving Thanks

It is the time of year to pause for a moment to give thanks. We would like to thank our clients for their kindness and loyalty; here is what some have said about working with Video Production Services. This kind of feedback really makes all the hard work worth while.

Carol Lane was a pleasure to work with on all aspects of the project she undertook for us. She quickly grasped what we were trying to achieve, developed a concise and equitable contract, and worked through the planning, filming and editing processes promptly and responsively. She obtained the timely support and cooperation of some very busy people not directly involved with the production of the video. We were very pleased with the end product and how painless it had proved to produce. Thanks to Carol's enthusiasm, commitment and competence, the video was produced on schedule and on budget.

Michael Hamer
Friends of The Maine State Museum


"I couldn't be happier with the job Carol Lane and Video Production Services completed recently. A group of citizens here in Augusta retained them to do a video outlining the charitable contributions of a local philanthropist. They were extremely professional and timely in their performance and the video is a wonderful tribute to a wonderful person. I would without hesitation highly recommend them for any similar job, large or small."

Warren Winslow
Pierce Atwood

Current Events

Event coverage can be enlightening. Video Production Services recently produced this web video for Colby College; a discussion around the current financial crisis. Carol Lane running camera...

Yes, we do event coverage...

Video Production Services offers event videography services, as well as work on more highly pre-produced projects. This month, cameraman Frank Kaluzynski headed to Augusta, Maine to cover the Governor's Conference on Youth and the Natural World. Frank is also keeping busy over at MPBN, shooting for Maine Watch and a slew of upcoming political debates.