Went on hiatus. Back in the saddle!

EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRAS The long Hot Summer: Connections #73

     My dear New York friend, Composer Bob Christianson and his talented lyricist/book writer Alisa Hauser have received  a national Emmy nomination for outstanding Music and Lyrics for “No Trouble,” beautifully performed by Scott Coulter, in the HMS production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE CONCERT that aired on Public Television last December and will repeat again this December.

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     For my birthday on July 18th my wife Marcia arranged for me to ride along with a Police Officer in a Ford sedan on the midnight watch with the Santa Barbara Police Department.  I will say that you can’t get more upfront and personal than this.  I was told it was a slow night.  A traffic accident with injuries;  possible use of narcotics;  a parole violation that ended up with us transporting the young man to Santa Barbara County Jail, which is run by the sheriff’s’ Department; public drunkenness: the hispanic male had been released from jail only two days before, so we took him to dry out at a detox center.  Sadly, they were going to put him back on the streets at 5:30AM.

     The officer who I spent the 10-hour shift with I got to know really well, and he’s a good man, a gentle soul, and an asset to the SBPD.

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     I am now on the Board of Directors and the Treasurer of the Community Film Studio of Santa Barbara.  We are a 501 (c)3 non-profit.  I am currently overseeing the deliverables of The Bet, our first feature film, to Origin Releasing.

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EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRAS The Good and The Bad: Connections # 72

     First,  The Good.  May was a very busy month.  I have been put under contract to produce two feature films.  Ironically both stories are set in Florida, one in 1874, the other in the decade of 1950s.  The aggregate budgets for the two films will be around  $40m-$50m.  But that’s a guess.  Right now I’m creating a detailed budget for each project.  It’s a lengthy process that  involves gathering lots of information and making thousands of decisions  based on what I’ve learned.  Each of these budgets will be about 100 pages in length.  So stay tuned.

     Now The Bad. Sadly two dear friends passed away.  Both men were screenwriters and i had the great privilege of collaborating with both.

     I  knew Stanford Whitmore the longest, having met him when we were under contract to Universal Studios.  He wrote the pilot episode of the TV Series “The Fugitive,” starring David Jansen.    Stanford has many credits in TV and Film, and I will put a link to his credits on IMDB.

     My other dear friend was Ralph Gaby Wilson.  I met Gaby through our mutual literary agent who gave me one of his screenplays.  I read the screenplay and told the agent “I have to meet this guy!”   Thus began a long and enduring friendship.

     I truly miss both of them.

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EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRAS NAB 2014: Connections #71

     In April, I attended NAB again at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  I flew from LAX (Los Angeles) to Las Vegas on Virgin America, and the round trip ticket cost less than $100 plus tax.  I arrived at the Convention Center around 1PM and walked the various halls until closing time.  I was invited to an NAB-affiliated party, but I was too tired to attend.  So I had a lovely sea food dinner and called it a night.

     The next morning I got up bright and early, ate breakfast and headed back over to the L.V. Convention Center. All in all, I figure that while I was there I probably walked about 5 miles.  At least my body felt that way. A reminder of when I played football back in the day.

     I left the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel at 3:30 for the 5:30 return flight to Los Angeles.  I then took the Santa Barbara Airbus back to can you guess? Santa Barbara, and arrived home around 10PM.

     It seems as though everyone at NAB was talking about 4K and beyond, and there were Drones everywhere.  Mount a GoPro Hero 3  onto a drone and you can make aerial shots that you never dreamed were possible.

     Black Magic was again a popular destination.  It is now official that Black Magic has reduced the 4K camera from $4,000 to $3,000.  So the old advertisement that said “4K for $4,000” has new been changed to “4K for $3,000”  And this price includes a full copy of their exceptional color timing product called Resolve.

Cannon Cinema Lens

     Of course, the quality of digital cinema acquisition depends on many, many  factors.  Among them is the camera platform manufacturer, chip size, the ability to record RAW, uncompressed 444 or ProRes 422, etc.

      I personally believe the quality of the glass (lens) should also rank very high on this list.

     If anyone has any questions about NAB 2014, please contact me and I will try to answer them.

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EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRAS CATCHING UP: Connections #70

     NAB is coming up again, starting this weekend and I am going to travel to Las Vegas on Tuesday, April 8th.  The major attraction at the Las Vegas Convention Center will be 4K camera acquisition with Black Magic, Sony, Canon and Panasonic leading the way.  Of course, other companies will be making surprise announcements that are always very exciting for me and everyone else.

     I plan to take pictures next Tuesday and Wednesday at NAB and will post them when I return home.

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