About a month ago, I received a phone call from my good pal Brandon Thibodeaux, a regular contributing photographer for The Wall Street Journal. He wanted to know if I wanted to shoot the video segment for a Wall Street Journal feature story on Carol Paul and the Ron Paul Cookbook. Having a chance to produce a video for The Wall Street Journal sounded like a great opportunity, so I accepted the challenge. The shoot took most of the day, with WSJ reporter Elizabeth Williamson talking with and helping Carol Paul make a couple of recipes in Paul's new kitchen. Mrs. Paul was very gracious and a real character. She was a real pleasure to interact with and record. The editing took about a month, mostly due to being slammed with other work. The fine editors at the WSJ were okay with it, though. In fact, they were instrumental in providing feedback with my edit. It was almost like getting paid to learn.

I also made a lot of progress in finding my way around Final Cut Pro X, Apple's newest version of their non-linear video editing program. It's completely different from Final Cut Pro 7, sometimes in good ways. Other times, in not so good ways. So there was a learning curve there.

Bring your appetites and check out the video below.

I spent the last five days attending the 2011 Multimedia Immersion at Syracuse University. During the week-long program, we learned the basics of creating and producing a short video using Canon 5D Mark ii cameras and various microphones. The experience opened up a new world for me. Situations that traditionally might not make for a very good photo package of stills now have the potential to become rich narratives through the additional elements of sound and motion.

Our stories were chosen literally out of a box. I chose a character story about Ed Patterson. He owns and operates a custom golf store in Syracuse, New York. I thank him and all the great teachers and new friends I made at the workshop for making the experience so memorable.

http://vimeo.com/24430173