9.22.2004

Preserving History (and the start of a new Video Project)

I visited the overgrown remains of the Bracewell Observatory today. It is located in Stanford, and is a historic radio astronomy site. I was there to help my dad move out important documents from one of the dilapidated buildings slated for demolition. In the past month he has been spearheading a rescue effort to save the majority of the site from destruction (see more at his site, Friends of the Bracewell Observatory).

Heliopolis: City of The Sun

I also brought my video camera along to start taping for the documentary my dad has comissioned me to create. I am told that it will be a great aid to his fundraising efforts.

The name "Bracewell Observatory" is actually recent- when it was first built, it was referred to as "Site 515". The people who designed and operated the array (which was often used for solar observation) had a nickname for it: Heliopolis. I think that makes a fitting title for my documentary.

Heliopolis is going to be in the same vein as the Grenada Project. Though the subject matter will appeal to a more narrow audience, I will have the opportunity to visit the site and interview a wider range of people. Hopefully, this will result in a more media-rich presentation. I admit Grenada Project was sparse on the visuals at times, and of course we couldn't fly out to Grenada to shoot our own footage. That is an option for Heliopolis, as the observatory itself is less than half an hour away from my house.

I'm glad to be a part of the rescue effort. If we succeed, restoration of the site will begin and in a few years we may even have a small museum up and running. If we fail, not all is lost. We have already recovered log books, photographs, schematics, and shot video of the site that will aid in the historical preservation of the Bracewell Observatory, if not the physical. I'll keep you posted on any big developments.

9.19.2004

Avast ye! It be international talk like a pirate day.
Yarr!

9.12.2004

Loot!
Today my mom got back from her vacation in south america (with stops in Brazil, Peru, and the Amazon river). The stuff she brought back is amazing by itself. She got some masks and a hand-carved walking stick, beads, a drum, and so forth. My favorites are the ones she got with me in mind- a blowpipe for shooting darts, a hunting knife, and a leather painting of a world map from 1561.

Ye Olde Worlde Mappe

And the good news keeps on rolling in- the rough cut for Liquid Strike II: Brotherhood of Vengeance is complete! I'm nearing completion of the rough cut, and we're shooting for a Friday premiere to kick off Independent Film Club! We will meet the third friday of each month, in Mr. Craig's room at lunch (room B-7). Hope to see you there!

9.07.2004

Haha.

9.04.2004

Wow, have I been productive today. I digitized Liquid Strike II and threw together a rough cut. On top of that, Tomas and the gang came over to tape some stuff for his 'spades' movie.

I also captured the Expendable tech check footage (screen test for the air cannon). I believe that this means there are only two more things we need to grab for the DVD- the footage from the original water dog shoot and the commentary track. I'd like to say that we'll have the DVD out by mid-october, but it all depends on the availability of Alex Tramiel.

I'll try to post some stills from LS2 in the near future. It's going to be campy as usual, but it remains to be seen if we'll outdo the first.