I'll admit it. My video work is done more for passion than profit sometimes. But even then, the sense of accomplishment I get from helping people and charities is all the enrichment I need.
For the last few months I've have been helping the Friends of Tryon Creek with assembling a series of videos to help promote the work they do and the great park which they help preserve.
While I'll further admit this project has had its challenges: arranging interviews, minor techincal problems, occasional weather hazards (that's Portland), overall, this is the kind of video work I really enjoy. It allows me to fully use my documentary film-making and creative editing skills to tell captivativing concise stories.
The video listed above is a promotion for the upcoming Trillium Gala.
It is a benefit for the Friends of Tryon Creek on Saturday, March 14th, 2015 from 5:30PM to 9:00PM. The events takes place at Lewis& Clark College/Templeton Campus Center, Stamm Dining Hall. Complete info at: tryonfriends.org/join-in-the-fun-to-support-the-legacy-of-the-friends-of-tryon-creek/
I expect to see you there, Portland.
Background and Research
This project required that I do a considerable amount of historical research.
This project required that I do a considerable amount of historical research.
The Friends of Tryon Creek provided me with some materials, but it wasn't the complete picture of the history that I needed to understand in order to construct a proper short film.
Thankfully, the executive director of The Friends was kind enough to get the remaining founders of the park together at a meeting, where I could then record their oral histories.
Of course, any proper documentarian will tell you that oral histories always need to be fact checked. This led me to search amongst the Multnomah County Library and Oregon Historical Society archives. It was there I had to track down newspaper accounts, as well as photos, dating back to the years 1969 and 1970 when the park was being planned and arranged.
(Although I discovered that the initial moves for making a park actually date back to 1963. But it's local discussion dates as far back as the 1930s.)
Were some of these images unsuitable for video? Definitely. Ever try to make microfilm photos into something other than black smudges at 300X their size? that's where creative film making comes into play.
Why am I telling you all this?
Simply to make you understand that when I work on a historical video project, I don't believe in the conventional easy approach, the beautiful but empty strategy, or the, as one of my pals calls it, "happy clap" video.
Regarding This Video
Narration by Lucile S. Beck, one of the founders of Tryon Creek Park.
Photos sourced from stock, the Oregonian archives at the Multnomah Library archives and The Oregon Historical Society Archives.
Photos sourced from stock, the Oregonian archives at the Multnomah Library archives and The Oregon Historical Society Archives.
