Manor Update

Day 8 - 2.24.07

The whole day was split up for editing and we were able to let everyone go home a little early that night.

Everyone was busy putting the last minute touches on their segments with guidance from all of us and planning the evening’s premiere screening. Jessica and Kayla gave all the staff some t-shirts that they made for us, they were fabulous and we were all very touched. We were all in and out with various chores. The kids were officially booted out of the classroom so that the staff could plan the evening’s events and smooth out a few of the transitions for our screening that night.

Day 7 - 2.23.07

I got up early to take Dominique for a sunrise shot on the farm. The rest of the day, the student’s schedule was scattered to have time for each of them to get on the computers for editing. Claire was there early and we were up and running in no time. Later in the day Jim Swift from KXAN came by with his camera man and shot us working. He had a very different style then the News8Austin crew, which was good for the kids to see. The day was spread out with various editing tasks. Our angel April, who has been volunteering for us, was with us for most of the day with her indefatigable energy, which we all love. Patrick and Ron came by in the afternoon. They were pretty tired from their long shoot, but were right back in the swing with the students.

Day 6 - 2.22.07

We ran into some technical difficulties with our editing set ups that caused us to loose a little time. Leah Malino and Claire Huie came in to work with the students. Unfortunately Leah got stuck babysitting a hard drive transfer, so the students didn’t get to work with her. But we were grateful to have her there to help us with the technology. We scrambling a little to be sure to have enough editing set ups working for the kids to have plenty of time on them. By the end of the day we had it pretty much figured out and the kids had time to develop their story lines for their segment of the documentary. This was a good night to let them all go home a little early.

Day 5 - 2.21.07

Our hero/tech guru (among other things) Patrick, went off with Ron to shoot their own documentary, whose story was at a pinnacle moment. Laura led the students in defining how we would develop the story. We outlined the story and decided that we would divide the story up in 8 or 9 scenes. The opening they would work on together, then everyone would get a one-minute scene to work on and we would collaborate on the finish. It was clear that we had to watch most of the footage together since not everyone was there for all the shooting and our technology didn’t quite work the way we needed it to at that moment. At the end of the day we decided to work on the opening. That was harder then they thought it would be. Everyone was tired and they had a hard time agreeing on how to start the story and whose ideas to use. It was not our favorite time of this week, but it was over quickly with good results and I bet everyone would enter that exercise differently next time. Since we had a late night the night before and such an early morning, we let everyone go home early.

Day 4 - 2.20.07

This day started early with the News8Austin crew meeting showing up at 5:30am. They did a live feed from here every half hour. I was worried that I would be the only one here, but Kayle showed us at 5:45 and the others trickled in until everyone was here by 6:30, giving the crew plenty to shoot. It was fun for the kids to see how they do their job. Check it out.

In the afternoon, Manfred worked with the students to teach them about editing with final cut. He flew back to NYC that afternoon. We watched some of the footage together and started to think about the story.

Day 3 - 2.19.07

We started our day with a look at the previous day’s footage. We realized that some of the great shots we got were not quite as great as we thought they were. And that is how we are teaching. We are letting the students try things out and make mistakes. Then we go back and help them to figure out how to improve. Fortunately the Lutz-Carrillo’s are patient and generous and didn’t mind us coming back to get more interviews and shots. As a matter of fact they have been super. I personally have really enjoyed getting to know them. A News8Austin crew came out to shoot B-roll of us working. By the end of the day it was clear we had lots of material, but no real story. So everyone decided to stay until they hashed out a story line. After some chaotic conversation, Ron took hold of the situation and focused the group to an invigorating story outline. And at 9pm, we called it a night.

Day 2 - 2.18.07

Manfred Reiff came in from NYC last night and started the morning out with some more detailed camera information. We then prepped for our shoot out at the house. We got out to the farm before all the guests arrived and spit up in two groups, one for interior interviews and the other for exterior B-roll. They had to learn about being flexible and adjusting to situations as they came up. For instance, in the middle of our shoot, one of the sheep gave birth to twin lambs. By that time the lambs were born, many more people arrived for the festivities. Everyone went home feeling great about all the footage we got.

Day 1 - 2.17.07

During our first day we were committed to deciding what story we will tell in our short documentary by the end of the day. We spent the morning having animated story development conversations. In the afternoon, we were blessed with a visit from Nancy Schiesari (a UT professor of cinematography) who worked with us on the basics of camera operation, lighting, shooting interviews and camera moves. She was fabulous and the students gained a new found confidence when she was done. Because of the generosity of so many rental houses and individuals, we had enough equipment for three teams of students to get some serious practice.

The story everyone agreed on was about a house in Manor with a lot of history, not the least of which was that it is where “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” was filmed. “Roadie,” “Tornado” and an episode of “The Simple Life” were filmed there as well. But more importantly, we’ve discovered that there is the story about the family who has lived there for 30 years and their love of the house and their extended family. It is now a wildlife preserve, and for the last nearly 30 years, they have a huge annual square dance that people come to from near and far. And, it is the wife’s birthday on Sunday and we know that there will be a houseful of friends and family there. With all that information we don’t know what the story is, but we know that there is one and we better take advantage of the shooting opportunity on Sunday. Janie, one of the students and I went out to meet with Jim and Alex, the owners of the farm, who agreed to let us invade their lives this week, so it’s a go.

My team including Laura, Patrick and Ron are building a wonderful rapport with the students. Everyone brings a little something different to the table which makes if fun for everyone.

2.10.07

After years of imagining and working hard towards our goal, we had our first day of the MFS. We started our pilot off as a small version of the eventual program and while we don’t have our big buses yet, the style of teaching and the spirit of what we have been talking about was ever present in the library at Manor High School last Friday. Laura Sobel and Patrick Phillips lead the students into a world that they had not imagined for themselves. Ron Deutsch, a board member, brought his unique style and energy that rounded out a perfect day for the student’s experience. The comments at the end of just our first day were comments that I hoped for at the end of a whole session. We have a fantastic group of students. My team rocks and I hope we roll together til the wheels fall off.