The Southern Documentary Project
TEACHING THE NEXT GENERATION OF STORYTELLERS
Here are some pics from our recent shoot at the Thad Cochran Research Center for the upcoming “Are You Ready?” Research Center spot we’re producing. On the left, Producers Micah Ginn and Matthew Graves set up for a dolly shot in one of the labs. In the shot on the right, Graves sets up for a trick shot we’re hoping to use where the scientist pours liquid into a beaker right on top of the camera. Stay tuned for the final spot and look for the finished beaker shot.
Andy Harper and Joe York are working with David Wharton’s Documentary Fieldwork class this semester. This Southern Studies class gives undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to learn oral history techniques and the basics of documentary film making. Each of the five groups of three students will produce a short film and we will post all of them here later in the semester.
Dr. Adam Gussow was in the studio today for an interview with the BBC. Adam, an Associate Professor of English and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi, was discussing Mamie Smith and her signature hit “Crazy Blues.”
Click here to listen to Dr. Gussow describe the significance of “Crazy Blues.”
Adam Gussow makes a point to the BBC!
Here’s a short video we helped produced with the Office of Media and Public Relations. Last week, they went around campus shooting interviews of students asking them what the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is. We took the interviews and edited them down into the final video.
Over the past two months producer/director Joe York has worked with Jerry Ainsworth and Drake Terry from Madison Middle School on their short documentary “All Eyes on Meredith.” Jerry and Drake produced and shot the footage for the film and the Center for Documentary projects provided them with the facilities and personnel to help them edit and finish the documentary. Drake and Jerry plan to enter the film in the Nation History Day competition with the ultimate goal of advancing to Washington, D.C., where they hope to represent the state of Mississippi.
The Media and Documentary Projects Center wishes them the best of luck!
Here’s the final version of the promotional video we made for the School of Business Administration. Their video along with the promo we made for the Graduate School will be played this weekend at the Ole Miss Women’s Basketball game.
Scott Barretta and Eric Feldman are in the studio this week producing a Highway 61 featuring folklorist George Mitchell and music from the Blues Today Conference. Highway 61 is produced here at the Media and Documentary Projects Center and airs each Saturday night at 10pm on Mississippi Public Broadcasting.
We had a great meeting today with Ole Miss Volleyball coaches Joe Getzin and Molly Alvey about helping them with some promotional material. Look for an “Are You Ready?” spot later this spring!
Today we streamed and recorded the IHL Listening Sessions held on campus at the Inn at Ole Miss. Go to the Listening Session Archives page to see all of the sessions.
Dr. Douglas Sullivan-Gonzalez addresses the IHL Board.
Utility Player Karen Tuttle Finds her Focus.
Today I met with several of the organizing members of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award banquet. The event, April the 16th, will be the 20th such banquet, a number that just doesn’t seem possible. Was it really two decades ago when we were all brought to awareness of this fantastic human being? Was it really two decades ago that we learned the definition of bravery, of determination, of the unbreakable human spirit? Indeed, it has been twenty years ago this fall when the number 38 became a legend and touched not only this University, but the nation. It is an extreme honor for me to work on this banquet and plan for the 20th year of the Courage Award. There is no greater honor for an Ole Miss football player than to earn the number 38. We will be collecting memories of Chucky for the banquet to be played on the big screen throughout the evening. If you are a former teammate, coach, friend or fan that was touched by Chucky, give us a call or email us. We’d love to hear from you.
Micah Ginn
915-3475
email: micah@olemiss.edu
Just a quick update on the Kinard Studio renovation. We installed pipes today for our lighting grid. This will keep the limited space clear of light stands. Fortunately, we were able to chain onto the existing metal girders in the ceiling. Originally, the idea was floating around (mainly by me) that we rip out the ceiling entirely to give a few more feet of head room but ultimately we decided on the grid system. The next step is to seal the edges of the green wall more evenly with putty, add a fresh coat of paint and wrap this project up. Stay tuned for more pics.
– Matthew
Here is the final version of the University of Mississippi’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) spot we produced. Directed, shot, edited, and scored by Matthew Graves. Produced by Andy Harper and Matthew Graves. Check out the QEP website here.
This ad is comprised of two very different elements. I took our camera out back during August practices and captured some sights and sounds of season preparation, then a month later I was in the tunnel under Vaught Hemingway Stadium as the team made their way onto the field amidst the screams and cheers of loyal fans. The reality that championships are won during the off-season was the inspiration for this ad. We generally never get to glimpse the hard work and sacrifice that goes into top-level performance on game day, but you can’t have the moment in the winner’s circle without spending the grueling hours earning it. The 2008 Rebel football squad earned it.
Produced by Micah Ginn
This short film takes a look back at the weeks leading up to the historic presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain at the University of Mississippi in September of 2008. Produced by Media and Documentary Project Center graduate production assistant Rebecca Batey and Joe York
Recently Matthew Graves and I spent some time in the Tad Smith Coliseum,working with Robbie Coker of the basketball coaching staff and players David Huertas and Terrico White, to produce a couple of spots in the “Are You Ready?” campaign. Check back in a few days for the high-flying Terrico White spot. We had a lot of fun working with these talented student-athletes, and we thank them and Robbie Coker for helping us keep the “Are You Ready?” campaign going.
-Micah Ginn
Producers: Matthew Graves, Micah Ginn, and Dr. Andy Harper.
The University of Mississippi Study Abroad program offers Ole Miss students an incredible educational opportunity to earn credit while exploring the world. To learn more, visit: http://www.outreach.olemiss.edu/study_abroad/
Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell, answers questions from the press prior to a speaking engagement at the University of Mississippi’s Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College Spring Convocation. Produced by Joe York
Producer Joe York films General Powell.
Prom Night Director Paul Saltzman speaks to the overflow crowd at the Overby Center.
Filmmaker Micki Dickoff and members of the Neshoba Coalition take questions from the audience about her film, Neshoba.
Produced by the Department of History and the Media and Documentary Projects Center at the University of Mississippi. This Oral History based film was produced by history graduate students and documents the experiences of women in Northeast Mississippi who “Made Do” over the course of the 20th Century.
The latest “Are You Ready?” promotional spot produced for the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies at the University of Mississippi.
This weekend we shot scenes for a gag nomination for the 2008 Oxford Film Festival. The category is “Best Reproduction of a Diner Scene from a Motion Picture by Oxford Residents”. The segments were diner scenes from films like “When Harry Met Sally” and “Back to the Future”. Be sure to come out to the Lyric Theatre on the Square for the Awards Ceremony and to see which scene takes home the prize.
As posted earlier, we recorded the audio for a conference on campus and today we mastered out the CD’s. Here’s a look at the software we used to clean up the audio. We primarily use Apple’s Soundtrack Pro to do the basic audio sweetening for our video production work and this pic shows the basic layout of the program. It’s a pretty powerful software allowing us to normalize and compress the audio as well as take out ambient noise and equalize the audio. For more samples of our audio work check out Highway 61’s website.
Entering it’s 10th year, the Filmmaking Workshop at the University of Mississippi will be featured in this year’s Oxford Film Festival. The four-day workshop, hosted by the Division of Outreach & Continuing Education, is a hands-on opportunity for filmmakers to be introduced to the process. From writing, to lighting, to calling “cut”, the workshop puts the class through every phase of production. The end result of this year’s workshop will be premiering at the Oxford Film Festival at 10:00 AM on Saturday the 7th of February. Matthew Graves and I directed the workshop, and we couldn’t be more proud of the hard work and creative energy that the filmmakers put into their project. Come take a look at their work on Saturday the 7th at the Malco Theatre, and if you’re interested, contact the workshop to reserve your chance to be in this summer’s class.
We’d like to thank Robert Fox for organizing an excellent event, and we look forward to this summer!
-Micah Ginn
Here are some stills from the upcoming QEP Writing Center spot we’re producing. It will feature students writing in the library, student center, and a dorm room. I’ve included a few frames of the storyboard of the dorm room scene that’s left to be shot. We have an actress lined up but if there’s anyone with a line down their face like the one in the drawing that’s interested please let us know.
We reworked our promo for the 2009 Oxford Film Fest so as to feature a few more clips from the 95 films that will be playing during the 4 day event. We’re still only able to give you a brief glimpse in the :30 spot, so you’ll have to come to the festival and see for yourself. It is a great line up of films.
UMedia is a proud sponsor/supporter of the festival, using it as an opportunity to bring University students into the mix. This year, we’ll be using students to produce on-screen materials for the festival, as well as “imbedding” some of our documentary-minded students with cameras to capture the sights, sounds, and celebrities on video. It’s a great opportunity for our students as it exposes them to an exciting industry and some incredibly talented filmmakers.
Here’s the final version of the Graduate School Promotional video. Look for it February 22 at the Ole Miss Women’s Basketball game against Vanderbilt.
Here’s a look at the first use of our new green screen. We’re interviewing Business students for a promotional video for the School of Business. We had hoped to have the lights installed into the ceiling before today but this set up worked great. So far, the best way to evenly light the green wall is to bounce the light off the white ceiling. The black boards you see behind the chair serve as flags to block the light spill on the shoulders and head of the interviewers. You’ll also notice our new portable TelePrompTer that we’ve begun putting into play. Stay tuned for more updates on the studio and final versions of the School of Business Promo.
Here’s a new pic of the green cyc wall that we’ve constructed in our Kinard Studio. The curved angles will help us to create a full artificial environment. In the coming days we hope to complete the renovations of our studio space by installing our lights into the ceiling to utilize the space. Check back for more updates and photos.