WOOO!!

I have just learned that 'The Scarf' has been accepted into the Chicago International Children's Film Festival !! This is my first acceptance, and I am very excited! The festival takes place October 22nd-31st; I shall pass along further details when I know more.

Good News!

I'm truly pleased to announce that 'The Scarf' will be an addition to Shalom Manor & Gardens' resources, including uses in staff training. I'm particularly indebted to the help of Sherri Davis, manager of Recreation & Volunteer Services, for taking the time early last September to discuss and share her perspective on Alzheimer's with me, something I believe I've meshed with by concluding that people are defined by more than their current state of being.

ba-dUm-ba-dUm-ba-dUm-badUm..

(In advance, I'd like to apologize for the awkward cutting and insidious frame-blending found here). That said, these were a couple shots/experiments Kaj and I did wherein we had the camera track the oncoming trains: Kaj put together a little make-shift train car that the camera could sit on as it rolled along the track pieces, which created some pretty wild wobbling. I've been curious for some time as to how stop-motion with a 'hand-held cam-corder/home video' approach might look, so this was a neat chance to test this out, albeit with trains as a subject. In the end these didn't make the final cut, partially because the shaky look didn't fit as well with the surrounding shots, and also due to Kaj's objection that they made the trains appear a bit skittishly toy-like again, something that we tried to avoid in selling the weight and movement of the trains throughout the film.

We wrapped up shooting and the bulk of editing by the end of July; 'The Railway Steam Gallop' is now in its sound and music phase, and anticipated to be completed sometime in the fall. I'll keep ya posted!

vanTuyl's house at night, lotsa light.

the only thing missing was his snoring