I finally got around to looking at K. and M.'s wedding footage today. I have been through the ceremony footage off cameras A, B, and C and logged it. Not perfectly, I don't think, but it's good enough for now. I know for sure that I have to use the audio off Camera B for the vows because it was the only one that you can actually hear K. on. He is sooo soft spoken anyway and under normal circumstances it is hard to hear him, let alone picking up on a mic! I had thought that I forgot to switch from external to internal mic on Camera B when I took it off the tri-pod and started wandering around with it, but I guess I didn't. I'm glad because I didn't miss the audio that came with the cake, the gifts, and the 'Toast'. (Even then, you can't hear what K. said to M. during the cake episode [not that most of us could at the time anyway; I knew he was talking but I couldn't really hear him]...and I'll probably have to boost the audio on the 'Toast'...)
I also started reading Without a Prayer by John Robbins this morning. It's a critique of Ayn Rand's philosophy "Objectivism". So far what I have gathered is that to her, autonomous 'reason' is the basis of all thought. Mr. Robbins also pointed out that most humanisic philosophers base their systems on 'reason', but they have that many different views of what 'reason' is. I imagine that you'll be hearing more about this at some point as I intend to write another essay for the Trinity Foundation Essay Contest this year... Racheal
Immediately after worship, the girls and I started getting the camera's set up while some of the men adjusted the pulpit and the lecturns. Savannah and I set the white balance on all three cameras. From the back of the room, I hollered up at Pastor to please stand where he was going to during the service so I could get him framed right. He was most happy to oblige. (He was almost giddy all day--I think he enjoys weddings ;] )
The groom, K. was grinning from ear to ear during the entire service. M. the bride was a tad tearful a time or two, but she made it :) Everything was going fine until the cake. M. decided on the spur of the moment to shove the cake in K.'s face. As soon as she had done so, she turned and fled from the room, she felt that bad about it. At first, I thought K. was not going to return in kind...he moved the cake slowly toward her, then stopped. When he started again, he'd made up his mind and very deliberately smeared it all over her nose. Personally, I think cake smashing is disrespectful and I will not engage in such shennigans at my wedding. Daddy has always told us girls that if the groom does it to us, to punch him in the gut as hard as we can. I will. (Of course, as he also has said, this subject will be discussed before hand and forbidden.)
With that said however, K.'s deliberate movement and M.'s hesitant look of 'OH NO! I've got it coming!" was one of those moments of perverse humor. I was willing him not to do it (because that would have been the right thing to do), but at the same time it was funny because of how he did it. Forgive me...
Shooting the wedding ceremony went fine. Afterwards I took off with a camera and shot people eating, talking, laughing...the cake being cut, the above reported shennigans...K. and M. opening a gift and K.'s 'toast'.
I have to get to work now... Racheal
On Monday, I will have a tale to tell--how videoing (sounds wrong, but 'filmming' isn't really accurate) a wedding went. A couple in our church is getting married tomorrow and I volunteered to shoot it. Savannah will be on Camera A, I'll be on Camera B, and Katherine will be on Camera C. (By the way, we are using the church's cameras. I only have one...which for this purpose we'll call, Camera D--as it might also be used tomorrow.)
I do not understand why our dear Doctor marries people on Sunday. To me, it's the Lord's Day. Your wedding day is kind of 'your day', if you know what I mean, so combining the two is strange to me. I will not get married on a Sunday as I don't see it as quite appropriate, but anyway...
I fairly well have the shots I want mapped out (with Savannah's help). I'm going to take my gear with me (camera, Zoom, AC adapter, flash drive [for bringing home the footage--I hope it will all fit--if not I'll have Mr. Bill burn me a disk or something...], external mic for my camera etc.), so I have to make sure all that is staged and ready to load (along with the food for tomorrow).
I look forward to editing the footage more than I do the actual shooting of it. I also have another small project in the quay...I took a few videos on Katherine's Birthday which I want to put together.
In addition to planning out this stuff and talking to Mr. Bill on the phone, I have spent some time poking around for free music scores. I have a couple of songs picked out that I think would be good for my documentary. Really just old folk songs, particularly those of Irish and Scottish orgin are good. Particularly for this part of the country, because a lot of the settlers down here were from North and South Carolina originally--and those are a bunch of Scotch-Irish (ever wonder why the South Carolinians were firebrands during the War of N. Agression?) See, the hot-headedness is in my blood! Racheal
It rained today and it rained yesterday!!! Hooray! We reall, really, really needed it. Hopefully, we will get some more :)
No, I don't keep a diary...this here blog is the closest you're going to get out of me! I've tried, you know, but it never seemed to be interesting. Probably because I didn't have an audience...(I should blush here or something, but I won't.) Don't worry, I won't spill my innermost heart onto these pages...that's reserved for only certain people (only one of whom gets it on paper.)
However, I do want to talk about a diary. A young fella's diary. No, I don't know him. I can't, you see. Thomas Ellis lived over a 100 years ago, being a young man about my own age during the War Between the States. Anyway, I have read quotes out of his diary throughout my Cow Cav research and when I found out where the diary was...well, that's the really exciting part.
Yesterday, I contacted the curator of the University of Florida library (that being where the diary is kept). In a very short amount of time (much shorter than I expected!), he sent me an e-mail requesting my mailing address. Happily, I obliged with his request and was further thrilled by the information that a typescript copy would be mailed this morning! I hope to get it tomorrow. (UF is only in Gainsville...)
I forgot to mention (although you have probably already guessed) that T.B. Ellis was a member of the Cow Cavalry. He was one of the pickets during the Brooksville Raid and it is mainly for that that I wanted to read his diary-- for the eye-witness account of the incident. Quotes are likely to be forth coming and end up in the documentary.
Thrills! Research is fun! (Until you get overloaded.) It is also addictive. I probably will continue to file stuff away in my mental "Cow Cavalry" folder even after the documentary is completed! I'm like that. Racheal
I'm using the same title as I did over on my Director's Blog here...it works. Basically, I have been sittin with my nose to my laptop, reading my narration (draft 3 still) and adding above each paragraph visual cues. Such as: { image of Capt. Hendry on horse--don't leave it static}. This captions the paragraph where you first are introduced to Hendry and the esteem that Col. Munnerlyn held him in. I can use that one picture for the entire paragraph so long as I don't leave it static! Beside that, the director has also been making a list of b-roll shot's she would like to get (some of them a little less important than others--of course) and she has been compiling a list of possible foley effects. (I think I'm going to have fun with that one!) Along side all this, she (hmm, sounds like I've been reading Capt. Boggess' autobiography. He seldom refers to himself as 'I'; it's generally 'Capt.Boggess' or 'he/him' :) ) has been scribling down stuff like "15 or 50 thousand head?" and "Where was said Navy Officer from?" Now, those cryptic remarks may not mean much to you, but to me they speak volumes! (Well, not really volumes, but I know to what I refer :) ) I have now learned how to hold a urinal properly. Never thought it would come to this, but hey, when dealing with old men, you just have to get over it. No squeemishness allowed! As long as it don't bother him, it don't bother me.
Grandpa has been really sleepy. He has also been eating alright. Not extravegantly, but eating sufficently. I don't think he's had a bowel movement (at least, not a real one) since he's been home, but then again, he hasn't eaten that much. The worst thing is that he lost a great deal of his eyesight in the hosptial--not enough nutrients.
Of course, Grandma has been in the house and the two of them go at it like usual. Blah, it can get bothersome. I still quite don't understand why, when they have been married for 68 years, that she hasn't figured out that when he's sleepy don't argue with him because he gets nasty (so do I for that matter) and says hurtful things he (most of the time) doesn't really mean.
There ought to be a new book review real soon... Racheal
Sooo, the meeting with Mr. Hendry was pretty successful, even though we didn't set a date for the actual interview. Instead, he sent me home with another stack of stuff to read (about 1/2 inch thick!), a few pictures, and an impression that this man is excited! Good. My 'job' this week is going to have to be: 1) reading the stack of stuff (some of it is on Hendry, some on the Battle of Fort Myers--Mr. H's specialty, some of it on blockade running, some of it on miscellaneous related stuff); and 2) transcribing the audio I recorded. (It's easier than writing it all down on the fly. I can't write that fast and listen at the same time.) While Mr. Hendry was xeroxing copies of stuff for me, I had Daddy sit in as a proxy and got two short room shots.
My impression of Mr. Hendry: other than the fact that he is fairly tall (I'd guess around 6 feet), and obviously has a job where he sits a lot--he is nice, is excited about history (at least this part of it), he has a sense of humor (probably some of which I missed--I'm a bit dull sometimes), and that he was enjoying himself. He helped me out on a few things--like how to spell Captain Hendry's wife's first name, and how to pronounce her maiden name :) Oh, and another thing, he enjoys telling stories...and he is very expressive with his hands. He waves them about as he talks, or drums on the table. He had a couple of rubber bands that he kept twisting around too. (I found that amusing for some reason.)
One of the pictures he gave for me was my favorite picture of Captain Hendry that I've seen. It is clearer than this copy.
Captain Hendry
In addition, I got a name or two and a recommendation to track down this book or that. I also got regaled with mosquito horror stories from both gentlemen present. (Makes me itch just thinking about it!) And then when Mr. Hendry remarked that the Cow Cavalry probably ate grits and salt pork, I got a hankering for a big ol' plate of buttery grits. (Which I can't have on the GAPS diet.)
Hmmm, that reminds me of a story about a legendary local cowhunter. Following, I quote from a book about him (however, I will leave out the name of both town and county--simply for security reasons):
'Bone was a frequent boarder at the [Town] House, a popular meetin place for [the]County cattlemen. One morning, having finished off a plate of grits topped with a quarter-pound of homemade butter, he ordered another helping of the same. His waitress became concerned about his eating so much high-priced butter. "Mr. Mizell, did you know that butter costs sixty-five cents a pound?" she asked. "Yes ma'am," replied Bone, "and wuff ever cent of it." '
Anyway, to get back on track, Mr. Hendry was quite helpful and I have work to do! See you later! Racheal
What!? Sorry...I'm both excited and nervous, thus the outbreak of strange noises :) Tomorrow I'm headed down for a pre-interview session with Mr. Hendry. He has kindly said that he will submit to being interviewed by me (I wonder if he's guessed how green I am yet? If he's been to Sparks of Reformation Prodcutions and looked at my Director's Blog, it's possible.) With that in mind, I have spent the afternoon screwing my head around until I have on paper what I want to communicate to our good Mr. Hendry. (Do I need to mention that he *happens* to be Captain Hendry's decendent?) I have 7 points on an outline--the worse sounding one is 'Pick his Brain'. Under this disgusting headline I have placed certain things partaining to the narration. Anyway, hopefully by the end of the day tomorrow, Mr. Hendry will have a somewhat better idea as to what exactly this crazy young woman wants. Such things like--I'm by no means to be on camera (I did a quick shot of myself the other day--I do not look good on camera--but that isn't why I'm not going to be on camera--I don't want that kind of interview.) If possible I want personal stories about Captain Hendry--drawn from the question topics of course. (That way we don't get way afield ;) ) I plan on taking my camera (and probably the still camera too) and the Zoom with me, not to mention my clipboard with paper and pencil! I printed off the release forms that I will need...if he has pictures that I can use, I'll have to print off another one called a 'Material Release' to add to the 'Appearance' and 'Location' releases. (By the by, the reports on my progress on this blog are much more fun to read than over on my Director's Blog. I don't have to sound as professional over here!)
Racheal
That's the way I like to stay--especially if I'm getting something done. Sometimes I'm busy doing nothing while walking around in circles trying to figure out what to do. (When that happens, maybe I ought to just sit down and read and forget about someone thinking I'm lazy.)
The day started with laundry and an ironing pile. As ya'll who have know me for a while, I don't like to iron very well. Mom thought it was funny when I told the ironing board, "You and me are going to have to work on getting along better." It's true though, I love my cotton clothes--that wrinkle :)
Around 11:30, Mom asked who was going to take Granddaddy his lunch. It was me. I swept the kitchen floor over there while he ate (after I'd had a few peanuts and sprinkled extra peanut dust on the floor.) Then I buzzed through the dishes--I didn't break any glasses today.
After lunch I did the dishes at our house, more laundry (somehow I never managed to return to the ironing pile), and some computer work. By that I mean making sure the video I shot yesterday was alright. It looked kind of pixelated. However, once rendered and burned to a disk, it looked fine--other than poor lighting and cameraman (woman) work. What ticked me off worse was the fact that it had a time stamp on it! So even if it was decent I can't use it. Believe me, I turned that feature off as fast as I could.
I then grabbed my tripod and camera (and hot-shot) and returned to the pasture to shoot some more video. Today I think my biggest problem was that the tilting joints on my tripod stuck. Once I was done Daddy lubed them for me. It helped. I got some nice shots of palmettos :) (How boring, right?) I also thought Socks was going to try to stick her nose in the lens (she has no qualms about poking her big nose into your face), but she didn't. She understands the meaning of the ol' hot-shot. Obviously, so does Snowflake, because she shied away when she saw me pick it up.
I came in and put the video on the computer and looked at it. About the time I was done, Savannah asked me to run Granddaddy's supper over to him. I watched the last half of the "Rockford Files" episode he was watching with him. I really would have liked to see "The Rifleman" but I left before it came on because I had to go feed Snip. (That and I just now would be getting home...) I drove the pick-up this evening since Mom had the car. I like driving the truck :)
That's the extent of todays rambles...and now I'm ready for my own supper. Hmm, I wonder what it'll be? Racheal
On what? Oh, on the opening for "The Florida Cow Cavalry" of course. Yes, you heard that right, I've spent two days (not entire days, by the way) attempting to build and building the opening--for the second time. For a grand total of 2 minutes and 5o frames (approx. 50 seconds, in this case.)
I got rather frustrated yesterday "because the animation preset isn't working the way it's supposed to!" Alright, so it probably was working extactly how it was supposed to (I still don't see how only 58 frames is that useful...) After ranting to both Savannah and Mom, I firmly decided to make my own. That is what I did today. I went with a totally different look than the first time I attempted this and I like it better. I did have to change the font style, color, and size, but I still like it. Here's a 'screenshot' to prove that I'm actually doing something and not goofing off. This stuff is fun, but also very time consuming. What makes it worse is that I get the munchies and I really don't need to be eating the whole time I'm building these compositions!
I've also washed a couple of piles of dishes over the last two days, cooked a lunch :), scrubbed a bathroom, took a walk, fed a horse, ran Granddaddy's lunch over to him, did therapy with Grandpa, talked to cows, and practiced my guitar and organ. And now I'm about ready to get off the computer for the day! Racheal Added later...
I went out and shot some video and pictures. Some of the pictures are of palmettos and such stuff, but I took a few of myself (something I am extremely bad at :) ) These are my favorites.  Got the idea for this one while taking clothes off the line...  White hat on a blue sky. Funny how the composition on this one is nice, isn't it?  Shooting myself shooting :) :) Now I'm going to take the video off my camera :) I hope it some of it is good. I'm not the greatest at this stuff. Hopefully I didn't pan too fast...or too slow. R
I found out this morning that those pictures I picked up off the internet (they were royalty-free!) won't work in my documentary, because the quality is too poor! *Pout* Not really, but it almost made me cry. Anyway, I know that there are a few of the pictures in books that we actually own...like this one of Uncle Streaty: I can scan these in and use them. (By the way, that is an extremely grainy picture of my great-great-great uncle to begin with.) Others I will have to purchase a copy of them (particularly the maps--you have to have maps for historical documentaries, don't you!?) Mom also suggested going to the local library and see what they have. Good idea.
I got the opening quotation and title finished today. There is of course the possibilty that it will have to be changed :) Anyway, I had to re-do part of it again. Something wasn't working right. I also created an Premeire Pro project--where all the After Effects compositions (like slides in Powerpoint--only way more fancy) will go, along with the footage. I need to get my camera back out and shoot some cow footage. I also thought I might take the Zoom and record the squeak of the saddle. (Even if I don't use it in the end.) Racheal
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