BlogThree23

A great pleasure to capture three WWII era airplanes live and in flight for a documentary I am producing & directing on the WWII service of legendary ace, Robert L. Scott.  Thanks to the Commemorative Airforce Dixie Wing and The Liberty Foundation for their work and help with the project.  Wrangling planes, copters, cameras and crew for aerial and ground work is indeed a challenge, but ahhh … the imagery.  More to come soon. Enjoy a few pictures from the shoot and screen grabs below.  Also, hats off to Cameracopters.com, Kossover & Company, Abiyoyo Productions, and my ground film crew for their hard work.

Dear family, friends and associates:  It is with heavy heart I write this post after what was (for me) an incredible family fun filled July 4th weekend .. celebrating the freedoms we all hold so dear and holding loved ones tight. I thought about writing this message earlier, but couldn’t find the words. The blog seemed the best place to put it, sort of impersonal I know, but in some ways not.

On Friday morning, I found out that our friend and associate Daniel DiNardo took his own life probably mid-week … man .. that seems surreal to even write, unbelievable in so many ways. Daniel was not one you would have ever thought would have done this.  I don’t know the full circumstances as to why, I am still wondering myself … but I do know that many like me in Atlanta are stunned. He was a creative talent like none other and in so many ways, I owe a debt of gratitude for the success I’ve had over the years with projects he was involved.

Daniel was my goto freelance motion graphics artist.  I can’t even remember how we met, that is how long I have been working with him.  I first started working with him when I was employed at Georgia Tech and knew then this guy was absolutely amazing at what he did. He could artistically create a composite or build in a couple hours that would take me a week.

When Daniel was involved, you knew your project would be good …  I hope people think that of me when I’m called in on a job. He had a tendency like many others in production to squeeze ever last drop of time right up the the deadline (sometimes to a producer’s chagrin!) in order to maximize quality. But for Daniel, his bar of quality was so much higher .. and in the end, our work was all the better.

Production in so many ways is about relationships .. who are you going to choose to get in to the creative trenches with? … to put your reputation and craft on the line and go to battle.  OK, I know, I know .. production is not war, but Daniel was one I would have chosen to go with every single time.

Hope you don’t mind a bit of “religion” creeping through.  Faith is the only thing I’ve found this weekend to give me peace in thinking about this situation. On an errand to the store, one of my daughters heard me talking on the cell to another associate about this. I thought about stepping out of the car, but I decided not to. I hope that is not bad parenting … shouldn’t we teach our kids how to deal with life’s major pitfalls .. how do I deal?  We had a good life talk.  It was a chance to share the one thing that I believe I can hold on to when everything else seems like complete waste and ruin … that Christ loves me no matter what …  I can find hope in that and reboot from there … something I should speak of more.

Below is just a very small sampling of the artistic talent of D.A.D. Studios. You made us shine my friend, thank you. We will miss your creative talent, your infectious smile, your friendship.

A wise man once told me, when something you are involved in begins to take on a life of its own, just GET OUT OF THE WAY!  My involvement with the film “Papa said, “We should never forget” has been just such a project. Below is a report from France 3 Basse-Normandie that covered a very special ceremony in Graignes, France.

This past fall, I had the great priviledge to officially present the Museum of Aviation their Southeast Regional Emmy statuette for their part in the film’s win in the “cinematography” category.  It was a great thrill to see the museum and its staff get some well deserved recognition.

The film team decided to use this event to also give one of our Emmy statuette copies to the village of Graignes, the small town in France whose people the film’s narrative features.  What better way to honor our French friends than to give something we valued back to them .. a small expression of appreciation for letting us tell their story to inspire young and old here in the states.  The news report above is the culmination of that effort in which our good friend Dominique Francois, accepted the award and carried it back to Normandy and presented it to the village of Graignes.

Last week, I traveled with director Herb Kossover and producer Stephen Ostrander to Angola Prison, Louisiana to screen the documentary film, “A New Hope.” What a great privilege to be there and to see this project come full circle, displayed in front of the men who have graduated and are currently enrolled in this very unusual bible college. Thanks to our Panasonic friends at The WH Platts Company in Atlanta for use of a PT-DW6300US projector and to the films Executive Producer, the North American Mission Board, for use of their Panasonic AJ-HD1400 deck. (Here is an article about the event by Panasonic, thanks to CreativeCow.net)

After we preset the equipment, there was a brief dinner & reception with the warden, president of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and other V.I.P’s.  We then rode back to the main cell block, passed through the security gates and walked into the church now packed with 750 prisoners. The prisoner who was helping us whispered to give a “thumbs up” when we were ready to turn out the lights.  After some brief comments were made, we gave him the signal and pressed play. It was great to see the piece big, in full 720p HD, and interesting to experience the reaction from the men.

I didn’t think of it at the time .. there sitting in the dark behind us were 750 pretty rough guys … each with a story that in many cases is hard to believe. Only because of the transformation caused by the bible college & ultimately by God (so we were told) is this kind of gathering possible.  Couldn’t help but wonder if my own personal faith has transformed my world? God bless those guys, the prison & staff, college & professors … and this effort … hoping it it will spread.