Cool tripod trick

Last night my van broke down on the way back from Mims. I had it towed to the Firestone place in Sanford, but in all the darkness and confusion of shifting gear from one car to another, lost track of my camera tripod plate.

I discovered this as I set up for an important interview today, but luckily, my friend Aaron Hose was there (he's documenting the Honors student project for his TV program, "Gallery.") Aaron took his own tripod and lined it up with mine. We balanced the front of the camera on one tripod and the back end of the camera on the other tripod. It worked beautifully. Of course we were limited in the framing of the interview, but once we got it all set up, balanced, etc. the shot looked great.

THANK YOU AARON, for teaching me something new and being just damned determined to find a way to get something done with what we had. That... to me... is what film making is really all about.

New film I'm working on

Dr. Robert Cassanello (history) and I are teaching a pilot honors class this spring in which we make an historical documentary as a service learning project. We chose the Harry T. and Harriett V. Cultural Complex in Mims because we believe this special place has great potential... and the folks leading it are so nice. We've been out shooting with the students on Saturdays since early January and we've amassed about 25 tapes of interviews. We still need to shoot more b-roll, but I think we can start putting this together now. We have a shoot today in Sanford with an elderly man who was a boy when Harry and Harriett were rushed to the Colored Hospital there. He taught literature at Bethune Cookman College until retiring. We'll have him read the Langston Hughes poem "The Ballad of Harry T. Moore" and talk about what he remembers about hearing the Moores had been murdered.

Audio by Keith Lay

One of the judges for the Young Composers Challenge, Keith Lay, is doing the final audio post work right now on the documentary. I'm very excited about this because Keith is both an audio technician and a composer. I want to make sure the musical sequences are mixed well. I know that Keith is "centering" the audio as well. I think this means that instead of the sound coming out of the left or right speaker it will be balanced between the two.

It has taken a few years to meet all of the people that can help me do this film thing. I am very fortunate to be friends with people that have special skills to help me. I'm realizing that no good film is made on an island. It's a truly collaborative art.

Is this guerrilla marketing?

This week I've launched my new Web site lisamillsfilms.com It is not entirely complete but I'll have to just keep working on it little by little. I need to find a way to stash my film EPKs on the site so festival programmers can download stills, trailers, etc. If anybody has any ideas on how to do this, please let me know.

Also, there is a Facebook page for the Young Composers Challenge (you can become a fan) and we have five new clips and a trailer posted there. If you want to access them through YouTube, go to the search box and type "ucfmills."

We welcome all feedback.

My composer friends

I guess my favorite thing about making documentaries is the new friends I make. Last night I had the privilege of talking to three of the composers I met while shooting The Young Composers Challenge. I went to the "String Romance" Focus Series concert by the OPO Chamber Orchestra to shoot Keith Lay's piece "On the Playground, Concerto for Violin and Strings." I just wanted to shoot an archival video for him to have. He's been so warm and supportive of my work, and right now he's perfecting the audio for the film. I could tell it was a special night for Keith and for his wife, Joy. They were the superstars of the event. The piece was beautiful. I especially liked the second movement.

On the way in to set up I ran into Catie Weddle and Sue Bigsby, who were likely there because Catie's harp teacher Rosalind Beck was performing a solo piece. That was gorgeous, too. It was great to see those two lovely ladies... mother and daughter out for a night of music. I gave them the "secret" information about the documentary and they seemed very enthusiastic about it.

After I finished shooting Keith's piece, Dr. Stella Sung invited me to sit with her for the remainder of the concert. Stella is a very warm person and I love to watch her work the crowd at these OPO events. She gives everyone who speaks to her warm wishes and takes the time to pay attention to her "fans." They really appreciate that.

I would have to say that these people... Keith Lay, Stella Sung, Catie Weddle... and of course Chris Wilkins and David Schillhammer with the OPO... and Carl Rendek, the orchestra manager... deserve a lot of credit. They are passionate about what they do and that shows in the quality of their work. They are also very friendly and warm, making everyone feel welcome. It is always uplifting to spend time with them.