The Palette Project

The Palette Project Trailer

This post on The Palette Project Trailer was updated on February 9, 2016
The Palette Project
One of the many stunning landscapes. this one in the Australian outback, we saw while shooting The Palette Project

I am so glad that only scant portions of the original Palette Project trailer have survived to version 2.0 as this video posts. When the Kickstarter campaign for this documentary began last October, I was so very uncomfortable with the idea this project was going to look like it was all about me. that this was going to appear to be a documentary about Michael’s vacation around the world.
I went to great lengths to explain at every opportunity that my twenty-five year long refrain… be the storyteller, not the story… was still intact. However, that trailer sure was pretty me-centric. The problem, as I saw it then, and see it now, is the editor’s curse. You cut the story with the video you have, not the video you wish you had. It’s pretty difficult to cut a promotional trailer about traveling the world in pursuit of good stories and good causes when you haven’t left the United States yet.
I’m happy to report I’m getting closer to my goal of taking a back seat in this story. It’s because the story,of course, is not about me. Oh, there’s still a little to much Michael in this trailer for my tastes, but I am so moved by the generosity and spirit of the people we’ve are meeting along the way – their willingness to share their time and their stories with me.
You’ll get this first chance to meet a few of them in this trailer, and you can rest assured that as the balance shifts away from the storyteller and to the stories themselves, there are more interesting people to meet along the way.


I’m also so in love with the idea that, for the most part, I would actually have to tell you that any of these people are handicapped in any way. That truth allows me to fall back on my preferred use of the word “handicap,” the way it’s used in golf, as an extension that levels a playing field so that everyone can compete on equal footing. These fine men and women are not handicapped. They are living with handicaps… they are employing tools, skills and abilities that allow them to declare that they are not impaired.
Thank you for allowingme me to introduce you to some of my favorite people around the world.
Onwards!

Some notes on the shooting:

Te header image for this post was shot with a Canon EOS 44i, an excellent camera for landscape videography. There are newer generations, bis camera has really held up, especially with the Canon 18-135mm lens.

One of the many reasons I found myself here, on the route to Uluru, was the description of the Australian outback by Bill Bryson. His book, In A sunburned Country, about traveling in Australia, is a great read

The Tascam DR-60D

Good Audio for Great Video: Turning to Tascam

One of the most important… and useful… sayings I’ve ever heard, and which I’ve incorporated into my workflow as a filmmaker is this: ninety percent of good video is good audio. From my earliest days in television news and all the way through to my current documentary, this is valuable advice that I keep in mind every day during production and editing. It makes a lot of sense when you consider the effect of your shooting and editing on the people who will ultimately be taking in your work.

Most of us multitask, not so much as a matter of Continue reading “Good Audio for Great Video: Turning to Tascam”

The Panasonic GH4

Mulling Over a New Camera for Documentary Shooting

Can the Panasonic GH4 be a camera for documentary shooting
I’m considering whether the video features of the camera override some of its reported flaws.

I’m pleasantly surprised by how much of my filmmaking can be accomplished by using a DSLR camera for documentary shooting. It’s one of the most crucial tools in my current documentary, The Palette Project. While even our primary camera, a Panasonic HPX250 is a smaller camera than I ever thought I would use, the DSLR is becoming quite a workhorse.

Right now, we’re shooting with Continue reading “Mulling Over a New Camera for Documentary Shooting”

GoPro Filmmaking
GoPro on the Deck

GoPro Filmmaking: How To Make It Work For Your Film

GoPro Filmmaking: How To Make It Work For Your Film

This post on GoPro filmmaking was updated on February 6, 2016

GoPro filmmaking
GoPro filmmaking can be a key ingredient in your film production.

GoPro filmmaking is no longer confined to action video shoots. It can and should be a part of your camera arsenal. I refer again to what I call "The Crayon Box Principle."

I often refer to the this idea, and the metaphor of the crayon box when it comes to my craft as a visual storyteller. The backstory can be found here, but the general idea is that the tools you use rank a distant second compared to your passion for telling a story with the tools you

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Blue New Zealand
Auckland Harbour

Entering New Zealand, One Cup of Coffee at a Time

Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland, New Zealand in the moments just before sunrise.

With the Red portion of The Palette Project safely in the can, the production is moving on to Blue (and I’d love it if you checked out the film’s homepage, by the way, or even, dare I suggest, the tax deductible contribution page). While I do want to tackle the underlying reasons for heading to New Zealand as our location of choice for Blue on the color palette. I think some lighter fare is in order to get us settled in. So with that in mind, let’s delve into lighter fare… by talking about lighter fare – our food related travails on our travels.

I’ve come to realize that many of my observations along the road to producing The Palette Project have much less to do with Continue reading “Entering New Zealand, One Cup of Coffee at a Time”