Little Red Dots
I have these stickers, they’re little red dots. They look like this: When I capture a tape (that is, put the miniDV tape in a deck and transfer that digital information to one of my external hard drives so that … Continued
To Friend or Not to Friend: A New Documentary Dilemma – Resolved
I originally posted this on Extra Criticum, a blog about the performing arts written by performing artists. I write about film mostly. This post is dated April 1, 2009. Two things you may not know about me. One, I’m making … Continued
How Do You Find These People? Robert Darden
I’m not shy about telling people about the film and sometimes they will suggest a subject. (I love it when their first response is a laugh followed by, “That sounds like me and my garage.” Really, I do, because that’s … Continued
Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground
I probably should have inserted this in the last post. On second thought, no. This deserves its own post. If you are unmoved by Blind Willie Johnson’s vocals and guitar playing, listen to it again. And again. And again. Eventually … Continued
The Shot That Got Away
In the last post, I revealed two of my favorite shots. I wish there was a third clip there. When we were filming Jill Tarter at the SETI Institute’s offices in Mountain View, CA, we also had the opportunity to … Continued
Why Do I Love These Shots?
[cross-posted at extracriticum.com] I was looking through the Extra Criticum archive and being a person who would rather look at images than read, I clicked on Rolando Teco’s “Why Do I Like This Shot?” It made me think of a … Continued
Four Minutes of A Life's Work: A Clip
In the spring I worked with editor Cabot Philbrick and constructed a 27-minute work-in-progress sample of A Life’s Work. I’m delighted that Cabot is including a portion of that work on his editor’s reel and you can view it online. … Continued
"What the Hey Were You Doing in Chicago?" Part 3
At Hyde Park Records I picked up some Solomon Burke and Joe Tex, very happy with those, but the big score came in Lincoln Park on North Clark Street, hours before the flight back to New York. A store front … Continued
"What the Hey Were You Doing in Chicago?" Part 2
I went to meet and interview Robert Darden, founder of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project. Though I had read about him, read his books and articles, heard him on NPR, exchanged e-mails with him, and spoke with him on … Continued
"What the Hey Were You Doing in Chicago?" Part 1
I went to interview the next subject of the documentary, Robert Darden, founder of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project. Robert is a writer and professor of journalism at Baylor University, a deacon at his church, and a passionate gospel … Continued