Capturing Footage

Despite the fact that one of the lessons I learned from the first video was to look at "dailies," today is the first time I'm seeing the footage I shot last week and last summer. Luckily, the footage looks great; it looks like we have enough takes of everyone that we'll find something workable. I wish I could post some outtakes right now, but they'll be coming soon.

Now, time to edit! I'll be using Sony Vegas Movie Studio on an HP Compaq laptop. Looking forward to seeing the project take shape.

Filming, Part 2, Day 1

First day of filming (not counting some footage from last year) went smoothly. A special thank you to our fearless actor Jo Ann Holonbek, associate professor in the St. Kate's theater department, for her outstanding work. Thanks also to Jenny Peters, cinematographer extraordinaire. We got about 9 minutes of footage and it only took a little over two hours. One more day of shooting left if all goes well.

Count down...

The BIG day is coming! Next week we'll be filming most of the footage for "Everything You Ever..." A St. Kate's prof is going to be heavily featured as well as a well-known librarian (not me). I'm collecting equipment, volunteers, and sending out scripts. Looking forward to getting it down...

Believe it or not...

Filming is scheduled to begin in June! After a struggle I've finally coerced enough people to "volunteer" to be actors in this new film. I don't know if everyone got scared away by the overwhelming stardom that "The Library: Uncatalogued" brought the previous actors, but it's been very difficult getting volunteers this time around. Is it fear of YouTube? I don't know.

In any case, I've got some victims--err, actors lined up. Most of them will have very small parts. I've done away with much dialogue because of the problems we've had with audio. It's easier to have action and voiceover, so I've gone with that for much of the film.

Can't wait to post photos of the action! Stay tuned...

You heard it here first...

Remember that new video project? It's really going to happen. Several minutes were filmed last August and filming (and casting) will resume this summer. Know anyone who wants to be a library film star? Contact: alfajardo@stkate.edu

We still need a professor, groups of students, and extras. This could be YOUR line:
Professor: I heard that St. Kate's has a really great library that everyone can use -- even adjunct faculty like me!

The Never Ending Instruction Film

Work never ends for The Library: Uncatalogued. Although the original film was made in Apple's FinalCut Express, we are now doing post-edits in the PC-friendly Vegas Movie Studio from Sony. Since the video was created with short chapters that focus on one concept, they are easily pulled out for use elsewhere. The latest "chunks" that were pulled are:

• The Real (Library) World : Avoiding Plagiarism
• Tour of the St. Kate's St. Paul Library

They are featured on the Library's website and hosted on YouTube.

Preparation for the March ACRL Conference is under way. Presenting a Poster Session on the original film didn't sound like something that would be that much work. But in a poster session, you must grab your audience's attention without words or actions; your images and text alone must entice visitors.

Check out the ACRL blurb on the session.

Poster Session

Going to Seattle in March! ACRL is having its National Conference in March and The Library: Uncatalogued will be presented in a poster session.

This is truly the video that will never die! Now, if only the next one could get going...Filming should resume in June.

Audio

For the amateur film maker, audio is one of the more difficult hurdles to overcome. In our last project, all the audio had to be "sweetened" by some gearheads and their fancy software. We'd like to avoid that need this time, but the wireless mics are a constant source of frustration. They pick up noise, they have interference....John thinks he may have solved the problem by using mics from different brands. We'll see....

Filming stalled (temporarily)

The start of the school year has slowed the process. We'll let everyone get into the groove of classes and schedules before we pick it up again.

The good news: the main part has now been cast and the "actor" tells me she has the perfect outfit, too. We may also be experimenting with cameras and lighting next. Oh, and fixing mic problems.

Filming has begun!

Yesterday and today were the first two days of filming. Thought we'd never get here.

We had a volunteer actor yesterday who turned out to be quite a professional (thanks, Valerie!). Today we had less experienced volunteers who were great sports as we figured out audio and lighting. Kudos to the whole crew!

Whew!

Finally getting that script done. Now we just need to cast and organize. Figuring out how to schedule everyone and negotiate all the logistics becomes the difficult part. There is a maze of organizing that needs to get done.

Bloopers online

The Blooper Reel from the first video is now posted online on YouTube. Check it out and pay special attention to the great soundtrack. Makes me think of Ferris Bueller.

YouTube - Blooper Reel

Slowly, slowly. Currently working on a draft of the script. It looks like filming will be in August, depending on actors' schedules. We have a lead actor lined up and several library staff are being coerced into participating. It's a slow process, but it'll happen.