Steadi Elvis High

This past weekend the last ever Live Elvis show took place in Memphis, TN at the FedEx Forum on the 30th anniversary of his death. The show consisted of an 8pm act I & II set as well as a midnight set. Both shows sold out. This was my first gig experience where I wasn't approached as one of Bill's students. Although I was there to refine my steadicam skills as a learning opportunity, I was brought onto the gig under the guise of a professional steadicam (we used a glidecam product) operator. This meaning that there was even more pressure than normal for me to conduct myself in the most professional of manner and execute my job with extreme precision and quality to ensure that the client was satisfied.
My main performance piece was to follow Prescilla Presley down the aisles of the main floor arena as she stopped to talk to people and spoke about Elvis and his family. It was a real trial by fire to be able to maintain my shot with people bumping and tripping me the entire way from front of house to the stage. I literally had only inches to correct my footing and find my way (while walking backwards) to the stage. The rest of my job description included getting reaction shots from the crowd during the concert and prior to the concert gathering material that captured the "Buzz" of the event. This event allowed me to be both apart of history and allow me to continue to practice my craft of operating a steadicam.

-Zack Clevenger

Awesome summer

I know this is kind of late, but I just wanted to say the experience I had this summer was just amazing. I was only able to go on the CMA fest gig but I learned so much in just one week and I met so many cool people. I watched the CMA fest when it was on TV and it looked so cool to see our work on national television. During this gig I became much more comfortable running the camera and learned a lot about the engineering part in the control truck. Thanks to Bill and Katie for letting me run the camera at the LP field, it was definitely the biggest stage Ive ever ran camera for and it was amazing, especially seeing some of my shots for Martina on ABC. I am really grateful for the opportunity I had to go on something like this. I had an awesome time this summer and am looking forward to working with all of you guys during the school year.

Val Arias
Purdue Intern

Buster Keaton The General at Long Center, Friday, August 31

FYI, from Professor Felluga

BL

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Hello all,

I write to let you know of a Purdue Liberal Arts Community Engagement event at the Long Center on Friday, August 31st, 2007. At 8pm on that night, Lance Duerfahrd and I will be screening Buster Keaton's _The General_. Ken Double will be accompanying the film on the Long Center's Mighty Wurlitzer organ--the same format in which the 1927 film was originally presented. As Lance states in a recent news release about the film, "_The General_ is considered the greatest silent film of all time. Most of it is filmed aboard moving trains and Keaton's humor comes from the incredible physical eloquence with which he negotiates gravity, momentum and velocity. He's a clown, stuntman, missile, engineer and tragic hero all at once. Keaton's face and its many deadpan expressions on the big screen at the Long Center will be monumental." This Civil War film is about a rejected Confederate solider who is kept from the fighting to serve as a train engineer. He plays the hero when his train and the girl of his dreams are stolen by Union spies.

Advance tickets for "The General" are $12 for the general public and $7 for students with a Purdue ID. Tickets are available from 12-5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Long Center box office, 111 N. Sixth St., or by calling (765) 742-5664 during those hours. Tickets purchased at the event are $15 for the general public and $8.50 for students with a Purdue ID.

It's also possible to bring an entire class to the film for a reduced price.
One must purchase a block of tickets (more than 10) and identify the group as part of a class. One can then purchase that block at $5/ticket.

The event is presented by the Long Center Theatre Organ Society and the Purdue Liberal Arts Community Engagement Program.

Note that, when Lance and I screened _Nosferatu_ and _Frankenstein_ last Labor Day weekend, we came very close to selling out the Long Center, so I encourage you to purchase your tickets early.

Enjoy!
Dino

--
Dino Franco Felluga
Director of Literature
Department of English

Want $$$ To Make a Film and Do Some Good Too?

Student Grant Program for Community
Service/Service Learning Projects

Funds are available to provide grants to students or student organizations for work on community service learning projects. For more information please direct questions to Cheryl Butz at 49095 and/or cab@purdue.edu.

The PDF document may be found here:
http://www.purdue.edu/elist39/docs/StudentGrantProgram.pdf

BL

This summer has been both awesome and the most educational summer I've had in a long while. I had a great time on both of the Gigs. Mountain Rockfest was a huge learning opportunity. I also met some great people there. Since Mountain Rockfest taught me a lot, I felt a little more prepared for Blues by the Bay. Blues by the Bay was the first time i had been to the east coast, so that was exciting enough by its self. While at the Blues by the Bay Gig, I continued to learn more about being part of a video production crew. I got closer to the other people around me and formed friendships. When you are working together with a bunch of people who share your same interest, it is almost as if you are part of a family. Blues by the bay definately put more emphasis on teamwork; especially when your frantically trying to load out during a downpour. All in all this summer has been something to remember. It gave me a taste of what it would be like in the real world, and left me hungry for more...

Russ Hochstedler

One Summer Down

I just finished my first summer of being an intern and I feel great. This summer I've had the chance to gain an incredible amount of experience with running cameras, directing, and of course coiling cables. I've met a lot of great people that I won't soon forget, and I've also had the pleasure of being part of a crew that I hope I can remain a part of for a long time. Throughout these shows I've been able to learn something different at each one through different problems or special occasions that arise. Some examples of this could be as simple as working around a band or manager's demands, or sharpening my skills by running camera for an entire night without a viewfinder. Our crew has also went through some trials, such as the heat and little problems that arose at Blues by the Bay. With the help of a little pep talk from Bill we all pulled through to show just how good of a crew we were and produced arguably our best show yet. I've been extremely lucky to get involved with Bill and this program this early, being that I am just about to start my sophomore year, and I really hope that I will be able to stay with this program for the rest of my time here at Purdue.

Aaron Hebda
Intern

What a summer it has been! I have learned more in three gigs than I could have ever imagined. The learning how to swim by not drowning technique has seemed to work. I still have plenty to improve on, but I now have a good base to work from. I would like to thank the crew for working so hard, and being so awesome to work with. I would also like Bill for giving me the chance to be an engineer at these gigs. I had a lot of fun , and I am looking forward to working with everyone during the semester.

~Ryan Weaver
Intern

The culminating events leading the finest hour of the summer

Our fifth and final gig has just ended and what better way to end it than a load out in the rain. During Buddy Guy’s headlining performance the wrath of Mother Nature poured down upon us and we were forced to dismantle cameras, pull feeder, and coil cables in the most torrential downpour of the season. I could not have asked for a better ending to this gig and for the entire summer. With what started in Philly and ended in Annapolis our crew has grown closer and learned so much that we connect on a level most crews can only dream to connect on. We have reached the point where we can predict each other’s movements and sync our ever expanding talents to produce the best show anyone can ask for. This has been one of the most fruitful and productive summers I have ever had and I’m already looking forward to our next gig together.

-Zack Clevenger
Intern

The End of a Great Summer...

We are back from our final gig of the summer, and what an amazing summer it has been. I would like to start out by thanking everyone that was involved in the productions we worked on this summer! From start to finish it was so amazing to work with everyone. I would not change any part of it. The hard work and dedication that we all put into every aspect of the show was truly seen during Blues by the Bay. Everything that we learned before the summer and what we learned as the summer progressed was all put into action during those four days in Sandy Point State Park, in Annapolis, MD.
The biggest thank you I have to give is to our wonderful crew. It changed a bit from CMA Music fest to Blues By the Bay, but the core stayed with us throughout, and the people I had the pleasure of working with were amazing, and I cannot wait to start all of this again next year. I am also looking forward to working with them during the school year as well. They are all individually so talented and work so well as a group. We really clicked and were able to produce our best performance of the summer season for non other than the Great Aretha Franklin…the Queen of Soul.

Thanks for a great summer!!

Katie Worden
Intern

Ps. I want to give a shout out to my A-Team!!! I love all of you!!

End of the Summer

It is the end of the summer and I have had an amazing time. I am not a big writer so I have been neglecting to blog and when I do It is usually pretty short. Anyways, we just got back from Blues by the Bay, a Blues festival in Annapolis, MD. It was the perfect ending to a great summer. It was the most talented artists, the least stressful load in, and a nice time to look back at the summer. It would have been hard if we had done BBTB at the beginning of the summer, but we were so deep in gig mode that it was like nothing. I can not be more thankful than to have had this experience and it shows that every single person that gigged with us this summer learned a lot. Now its back to school and the summer gigs have come to a close... time to wait for it to all start again.

-Cory Mascari
Intern

More Kudos re Tecumseh Shoot from Steeplechase Films

People,
What can I say? You are great! Thanks.
BL
OS: But who is this "Chad"guy???? :)

*********************************************************************

Dear Mr. Lawton,

Kristen Vaurio gave me your email address when I told her I would like to thank you for sending us your excellent students to help us with the Tecumseh shoot this July. I had the pleasure of working with Sarah Brubaker, Doug Dickey, Brad Oman, Dani Reindl, Alex Lukens, Ryan Pavey, Stephen Ruminski and a nice guy named Chad who showed up on set and made the day easier for all of us.

With your students, I was highly impressed by the combination of enthusiasm and willingness to learn and pitch in throughout the shoot. I doubt we could have accomplished all that we set out to do in Indiana without their help. They helped out on set, at base camp, at all hours with transporting the production staff and talent, and never did I hear a word of complaint from these capable and generous volunteers. Thank you for connecting us with them. I hope I will have an opportunity to work with them again in Indiana or New York or anywhere.

Gratefully,

Catherine Bloch

Second Assistant Director

Tecumseh, July shoot

Kudos to FVS Students from Steeplechase Films

People,

I just got this. Congratulations. You make us all proud.
Cordially,
BL

I just wanted to drop a note to extend our gratitude for the muscle you sent our way.

The entire crew was so impressed with their dedication and professionalism.

We really put them through a lot and they all stepped up and went above and beyond.

It speaks highly of you all and your program.

We look forward to having them all back as well as your other students.

Thank you again

Best

Kristen

________________________________________

Kristen Vaurio

Associate Producer, Steeplechase Films

2095 Broadway, Suite 503

New York, NY 10023

P 212.724.8350

F 212.724.8365