Summer

It's about time for a new post.

I recently accepted a summer position with the Breakthrough Manchester Program (who you may remember from the promo video I made a few posts back) which will take up the better part of eight weeks this summer. I am also in the final stretch for the first big milestone in filming. I've identified all of the pieces that I need to have, and am taking steps to get them all on video. I am sure that I could continue to build this piece for years and years, and I may, but I need to show something soon. So I need to put my nose to the grindstone and churn this thing out!

Ali Museum

You meet interesting characters through video work. I walked in to an automotive dealership today to get an interview for the Blarney Breakfast video (see previous post.) As I waited in the lobby, a stone Torah caught my eye. It bore a plaque commemorating the hard work of the man I was to interview. I noticed other awards hanging on the wall. I wondered why this guy was working at a car dealership. Then he came out.

He was dressed in a blue button-down, cowboy jeans, a studded belt and blue shoes bearing images of wolves. His curly salt-and-pepper hair was slicked back, but the lower ringlets bounced just above his shoulders. It was a striking image, and it gets better.

We went to the inner sanctum of the dealership, where I started to notice Mohammed Ali memorabilia. There were gloves, pictures, tickets, metal fists, all bearing signatures. The crown jewel was a life-sized Ali sculpture, standing in an 8'x8' ring surrounded by other sculptures which I was too overwhelmed to take note of. This was a full on museum. And that was just the hallway. His office, complete with a mini-chandelier, had more framed items, books, and a copy of that movie "Ali" on VHS. The entire office and surrounding area had been consumed by one man's obsession with Ali. He sat down, did the interview, and I left. What a morning.

Projects

Last week, New Hampshire was rocked by Mother Nature's winds, leaving us without internet until today.

I've picked up a few new side projects recently. One is a short video, using mostly pre-taped footage, for the Blarney Breakfast, an annual charity event. I'm fairly sure that the video will involve refugees in some way, but I have to see the footage.

I am also assisting the Somali Bantu Community Association of New Hampshire with a short video on their agricultural program. In addition to more experience, it was agreed that I could ask my own questions of the subjects. Refugees and interpreters can be hard to track down, so it is very fortunate that this project came along.

In other news, The Refugee Rap is almost done. This is a song about two kids' experiences as African Refugees in Manchester. It was a lot of fun to record, and now it's time to edit. I'm starting to wonder when this whole thing will be done. I hope to have something in the next month or two, but this could continue beyond that. I have to trust in the work.