In past meetings we have explored the idea of telling narrative stories as filmmakers, but without using film or video footage. Today I ran across just such a story, its title posted above as the title of this blog entry. This short film is an excellent example of compelling storytelling, yet it was created using only stills and audio. Running just under six minutes, I daresay it is a few minutes that can leave you, perhaps ever so slightly, a changed person.
To view "Free and Uneasy: The First Year Out", click the link below:
Free and Uneasy: The First Year Out
Or copy/paste the following text into your browser:
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/20071125_DNA_FEATURE/index.html
As always, feel free to add your comments as desired.
--Kevin
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Planning meeting set for Wed., Dec. 5th
OK, here's the (revised) scoop. The next meeting of MacFilmmakers WILL be a planning and organizational meeting, but NOT tonight as previously announced. This planning meeting is now scheduled for one week from today, the evening of Wednesday, December 5th. This new date has been chosen to allow several people who voiced a desire to attend, but could not make a Nov. 28 gathering, the chance to plan accordingly. The agenda is simple: dinner and discussion. No guest speakers, no presentations, just planning for future meetings.
We will be gathering in Palo Alto at the Cheesecake Factory, 375 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, 94301, (650) 473-9622. We expect to be seated for dinner between 6:15 and 6:30; those who arrive earlier may wish to gather informally in the bar/lounge area. For this dinner-oriented gathering, your food and drink purchases are "dutch treat". To help you budget accordingly, the Cheesecake Factory features an extensive and varied menu with dinner entree prices ranging from $8 to $29, soft drinks at $3 and fancier drinks starting at $6 and up.
While all are welcome to attend, this will be a business-oriented meeting. If you do plan to join us, an RSVP in the affirmative is helpful (by simply leaving a comment attached to this entry or by communicating directly with me) but not required. I look forward to seeing you next week!
--Kevin
We will be gathering in Palo Alto at the Cheesecake Factory, 375 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, 94301, (650) 473-9622. We expect to be seated for dinner between 6:15 and 6:30; those who arrive earlier may wish to gather informally in the bar/lounge area. For this dinner-oriented gathering, your food and drink purchases are "dutch treat". To help you budget accordingly, the Cheesecake Factory features an extensive and varied menu with dinner entree prices ranging from $8 to $29, soft drinks at $3 and fancier drinks starting at $6 and up.
While all are welcome to attend, this will be a business-oriented meeting. If you do plan to join us, an RSVP in the affirmative is helpful (by simply leaving a comment attached to this entry or by communicating directly with me) but not required. I look forward to seeing you next week!
--Kevin
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
November meeting will be 11/28
Hi. Our November meeting will be on Wednesday, 11/28. No details at this time. It may (is likely to) turn out to be a planning/organizing meeting (I can hear the collective "yays" reverberating through the ether) at a local restaurant, TBA.
Note that the Apple campus is/has been closed this entire week, so no "third Wednesday" meeting was possible in our usual auditoriums.
Note that the Apple campus is/has been closed this entire week, so no "third Wednesday" meeting was possible in our usual auditoriums.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
October meeting CANCELLED
Summary:
The MacFilmmakers meeting for October 24th has been cancelled. 8^(
The Whole Story:
Many, many ideas were put forth for possible speakers/topics for tomorrow night. Thank you to Mary F., Warren H. and Walt G. for those ideas (and my apologies if I've missed anyone). Indeed, all of these suggestions will be incorporated into future meetings. Unfortunately, we just didn't have enough "stuff" confirmed for tomorrow night to justify calling it a meeting. I did try, though, I really did.
For example, I liked the suggestion for a Logic Studio preso--thanks, Walt, for the idea--and tried to line up a capable presenter, looking both within Apple and externally. Unfortunately, no one I contacted was available for this particular Wednesday. A future meeting? Yes, just not this month.
Mary, you obviously put a LOT of effort into the several suggestions you posted a few days ago--thank you!--but there just wasn't enough time to implement them for this month. Still, you have provided a very tasty and complete assortment of ideas for upcoming meetings and, yes, we will eventually do them all! Let's talk very soon about lining up some of your presentation ideas/speakers.
Warren, I really do want to have you introduce us to the Omni-Tracker camera dolly system, and I know you would have been available for this month, but, as it has been turning out, you would have been the sole presenter. Now, even though I personally find the Omni-Tracker to be fascinating, I don't think on its own, without any other topics/presenters, it would bring in a satisfactory audience. However, held for presentation another month with support from a full agenda, many more people will see it. Can we bring you in another month?
So, gentle people, with personal regret, I have to say there just wasn't enough content to have an official meeting tomorrow night. Now, should anyone want to unofficially gather anyway just as a social event, perhaps at a Cupertino-area restaurant for dinner kind of thing, please, please do feel free to do that. Indeed, we have over the years occasionally done exactly that and the impromptu gatherings, while typically small in numbers, have been fun and relaxing. If someone wants to coordinate such an effort, post your intentions here and/or on the ListServ.
--Kevin
The MacFilmmakers meeting for October 24th has been cancelled. 8^(
The Whole Story:
Many, many ideas were put forth for possible speakers/topics for tomorrow night. Thank you to Mary F., Warren H. and Walt G. for those ideas (and my apologies if I've missed anyone). Indeed, all of these suggestions will be incorporated into future meetings. Unfortunately, we just didn't have enough "stuff" confirmed for tomorrow night to justify calling it a meeting. I did try, though, I really did.
For example, I liked the suggestion for a Logic Studio preso--thanks, Walt, for the idea--and tried to line up a capable presenter, looking both within Apple and externally. Unfortunately, no one I contacted was available for this particular Wednesday. A future meeting? Yes, just not this month.
Mary, you obviously put a LOT of effort into the several suggestions you posted a few days ago--thank you!--but there just wasn't enough time to implement them for this month. Still, you have provided a very tasty and complete assortment of ideas for upcoming meetings and, yes, we will eventually do them all! Let's talk very soon about lining up some of your presentation ideas/speakers.
Warren, I really do want to have you introduce us to the Omni-Tracker camera dolly system, and I know you would have been available for this month, but, as it has been turning out, you would have been the sole presenter. Now, even though I personally find the Omni-Tracker to be fascinating, I don't think on its own, without any other topics/presenters, it would bring in a satisfactory audience. However, held for presentation another month with support from a full agenda, many more people will see it. Can we bring you in another month?
So, gentle people, with personal regret, I have to say there just wasn't enough content to have an official meeting tomorrow night. Now, should anyone want to unofficially gather anyway just as a social event, perhaps at a Cupertino-area restaurant for dinner kind of thing, please, please do feel free to do that. Indeed, we have over the years occasionally done exactly that and the impromptu gatherings, while typically small in numbers, have been fun and relaxing. If someone wants to coordinate such an effort, post your intentions here and/or on the ListServ.
--Kevin
Monday, October 15, 2007
October meeting
The October meeting will not be on the (supposedly) third Wednesday this month but instead will be the fourth Wednesday. As such, our meeting is scheduled for:
Wednesday, October 24
7:00 pm
Town Hall
So, we've got a date, a time and a room all confirmed--what we don't have yet is a speaker or a topic(!). Suggestions, anyone? Please add your thoughts either here as a comment and/or post to the listserv as desired.
Wednesday, October 24
7:00 pm
Town Hall
So, we've got a date, a time and a room all confirmed--what we don't have yet is a speaker or a topic(!). Suggestions, anyone? Please add your thoughts either here as a comment and/or post to the listserv as desired.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
TONIGHT'S MEETING, 9/26, 7pm, Town Hall
A reminder, tonight's meeting is in TOWN HALL at 7:00 pm. For those unfamiliar with Town Hall's location on the Apple Campus, here is a link to a map:
http://www.macfilmmakers.com/nearmap.html
On the map, pay attention to the red "Town Hall" designation (and ignore the funky "October 23rd Meeting" thing). Parking is plentiful and free as is the meeting, and all are welcome to attend. Doors open at 6:30 pm.
The agenda overview looks like this:
(1) RED ONE
(2) Pizza Break
(3) Demo Reels
The agenda details are below.
(1) RED ONE:
Torrey Loomis of Silverado Systems will have, live on our Town Hall stage, a complete RED ONE system! This is an actual production model, one of the very first released. Not only will he talk about its features, our audience members will have an opportunity to get a bit of hands-on time with the camera (not a lot of time, of course, given how many people will likely want to line up to try it, but definitely a bit). Torrey will also show some original footage captured by this camera from a recent shoot at Lake Tahoe.
(2) Pizza Break:
The fabulous Pizza Break is back, now in its 273rd magnificent year! Once again MacFilmmakers continues to fill the tummies and expand the waistlines of filmmakers everywhere. Pizza, munchies/candy and soft drinks, all at the low, low cost of...umm...nothing at all. Yup, it's all free. And, tonight, dinner is served in the classy Piano Lounge adjacent to Town Hall.
(3) Demo Reels:
Given that it has been a couple of months since we've had a regular meeting, I'm going to guess there might be a bit of a backlog on demo reels to show. Tonight we have plenty of time for reels. Do feel free to share your recent work of up to 8 minutes. (Normally we cap demo reels at 5 minutes, but the extra time in tonight's schedule allows us a bit more breathing room.) Note: if anyone does have a longer reel/sample/short they would like to show sometime, contact me in advance and we will see what can be arranged.
http://www.macfilmmakers.com/nearmap.html
On the map, pay attention to the red "Town Hall" designation (and ignore the funky "October 23rd Meeting" thing). Parking is plentiful and free as is the meeting, and all are welcome to attend. Doors open at 6:30 pm.
The agenda overview looks like this:
(1) RED ONE
(2) Pizza Break
(3) Demo Reels
The agenda details are below.
(1) RED ONE:
Torrey Loomis of Silverado Systems will have, live on our Town Hall stage, a complete RED ONE system! This is an actual production model, one of the very first released. Not only will he talk about its features, our audience members will have an opportunity to get a bit of hands-on time with the camera (not a lot of time, of course, given how many people will likely want to line up to try it, but definitely a bit). Torrey will also show some original footage captured by this camera from a recent shoot at Lake Tahoe.
(2) Pizza Break:
The fabulous Pizza Break is back, now in its 273rd magnificent year! Once again MacFilmmakers continues to fill the tummies and expand the waistlines of filmmakers everywhere. Pizza, munchies/candy and soft drinks, all at the low, low cost of...umm...nothing at all. Yup, it's all free. And, tonight, dinner is served in the classy Piano Lounge adjacent to Town Hall.
(3) Demo Reels:
Given that it has been a couple of months since we've had a regular meeting, I'm going to guess there might be a bit of a backlog on demo reels to show. Tonight we have plenty of time for reels. Do feel free to share your recent work of up to 8 minutes. (Normally we cap demo reels at 5 minutes, but the extra time in tonight's schedule allows us a bit more breathing room.) Note: if anyone does have a longer reel/sample/short they would like to show sometime, contact me in advance and we will see what can be arranged.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Next Meeting: Wed., Sept. 26, 7pm, Apple's Town Hall
The next meeting of MacFilmmakers is in one week, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 7:00 pm in Apple's Town Hall. The main event for the evening is (drum roll, please):
The RED ONE CAMERA!
Live and in person we will have an actual RED ONE on our stage, courtesy of Torrey Loomis of Silverado Systems. Details will be posted later, but I wanted to get this much info out right away.
The RED ONE CAMERA!
Live and in person we will have an actual RED ONE on our stage, courtesy of Torrey Loomis of Silverado Systems. Details will be posted later, but I wanted to get this much info out right away.
As easy as falling off a (b)log
Greetings, earthlings. This spiffy new MacFilmmakers blog is courtesy of the fabulous efforts of Andrew Tokuda. Many, many thanks and kudos go out to you, sir, for getting this up and running and for making it so easy for a non-blogger like myself to warm up to it! And many thanks go out as well to the many members who previously offered their input into as to how we might take MacFilmmakers' internal communications forward. This blog is a direct result of that earlier Listserv conversation.
Speaking of the Listserv, it will, of course, remain active, along with this new blog. The Website, however, is going to go dormant for now—or, I guess I should more accurately say, REMAIN dormant for now. When I get a chance, I'll update the home page with some kind of generic welcome message, but the Website will no longer be used for meeting announcements—at least for the foreseeable future.
Speaking of the Listserv, it will, of course, remain active, along with this new blog. The Website, however, is going to go dormant for now—or, I guess I should more accurately say, REMAIN dormant for now. When I get a chance, I'll update the home page with some kind of generic welcome message, but the Website will no longer be used for meeting announcements—at least for the foreseeable future.
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