Ana's Miracle

Finding a tribe, why do you like our story?

Nelson de Witt — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:31:06 +0000

The state of marketing

Seth Godin is one of my favorite authors and marketers. He really understands the state of marketing in todays world. If you aren’t familiar with his work then I highly recommend you check out some of his books.

His basic theory is, marketing is about finding a group or tribe of people, that share the same world view, and doing stuff for them. This could be helping them connect or introducing them to something new to talk about.

Building a movement

I recently listened to a talk he gave about the new dynamics of publishing. It’s a great program and only 40 minutes long. I highly recommend you take a listen even if you are not in the publishing industry. I think these rules apply across industries.

In the speach he talks about finding a tribe and building a movement. This is so important because it’s not about you the author, film maker, company and all about the tribe.

I’ve been talking with john about this very idea. The one thing we still trying to figure out is who is the audience for our documentary and who’s in the tribe?

Who’s in the tribe?

I realize this story is about me and my family but it can be so much more than that. It touches on so many aspects of the human condition and is too important to be just about us. There is so much that people can learn about life and each other from what we have been through.

One could say that the tribe is adoptees or people who have been touched by adoption. It could also be people who care about human rights issues. It could people who are interested in history or family. It is really hard to narrow down but I know that I must narrow it down. A tribe has to have insiders and outsiders.

Why do you like our story?

As people who are part of the Fan page or reading this blog I’m wondering why do you like it? What do you get out of our story and how can we help you?

Philip Bloom(@philipbloom) workshop recap.

Nelson de Witt — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:01:43 +0000

This past weekend I attended a workshop taught by Philip Bloom. It was hosted by The Boston Final Cut User Group and Rule Boston. The workshop was, 7 hours packed full of information, about how to use digital SLRs for film making. Being new to shooting with DSLRs it was very helpful.

I want to share with you some of my take aways from the event. There was a lot of information covered so I’m only going to share what is relevant to a documentary film, like the one I am working on.

Cameras

The two camera we talked the most about where the Canon T2i, 7D and 5D Mark II. While there are a couple more cameras that are capable of doing full HD video, these three have the most options.

The main different between the camera is in image. This has to do with the size of the sensor used to record the images. The T2i and 7D use the same size sensor and produce a similar image. The 5D uses a full frame sensor that produce an athletic image like no other video camera. To see an example of this camera in action check out this years season finale of House.

The 7D does seam to have some more advantages over the 5D and that is probably the camera we will end up getting. Unless you love the look of the 5D then the 7D should work just fine. I asked him if one was better for interviews and he said either one worked great.

Lenses

Philip stressed that lenses are the biggest investment. Ideally you want a lens that will work on both the 7D and 5D. Since the sensors are different sizes, the optics change for each lens. I’m still trying to understand this myself but it’s something to research if you are going this route.

For interviewers he recommended the Canon EF 70-200mm because its light and works with both cameras. It’s very challenging to keep the camera still when shooting so image stabilization is a must.

Video

You will want to shoot in a very flat color. Turn the contrast and saturation all the way down. This will prevent loss of detail in the image and make it easier to color match the video in post production. A simple solution for color matching is Magic Bullet software. You can easily create a style for your film by draging and dropping effects onto your video.

If are going shoot with moving subjects you will need some extra equipment. It’s nearly impossible to get a stable image with out it. Zacuto has a number of products for DSLR cameras that will make it easier to keep the camera still. One piece of equipment that was recommended by someone other than Philip is the LCD ViewFinder. It’s nicer the Zacuto version because it attaches by a small magnet stuck to the camera.

Audio

The take way here is DO NOT use the camera as your main source of audio. You can use it for reference audio but the quality is not good and there is no way to monitor it. You want to use an external recorder to capture the sounds and then sync the audio is post production. You can use PluralEyes software to easily match up the audio and video. It is so easy Philip was even able to give us a live demo and it worked perfectly.

For a recorder he recommends the Tascam DR100 over the Zoom H series. The main reason being that the Zoom recorders have problems closing files. You could loose and entire interview if you run out of power. The Tascam uses a rechargeable battery and two AA for backup. It also does not have the file closing issue.

Big Take away

The biggest take way from the workshop was that Philip is basically a one man film crew. With these cameras he can create stunning imagery with out all the equipment you would traditionally need.

This is great news for John and I because this is exactly the situation we are in. We want to create something that looks great with out breaking the bank.

After this workshop I am excited about the possibilities and can’t wait to get started. I want to thank Philip and everyone else who made the event possible. It was just want I needed to put my project in perspective.

Becoming one family, an interview you don’t want to miss.

Nelson de Witt — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:45:43 +0000

I’m very excited to announce the first interview for, the yet to be titled, documentary I’m working on. The interview is going to be about becoming one family. It will take place Saturday July 31st and we will be broadcasting the interview live so you can be part of the filming.

One question I get a lot is: What was it like for your families when you were reunited? It’s difficult to say because it was an emotional time for everyone. We were people from two completely different backgrounds thrown together by chance. Our own real connection was through me and I was only 16.

While I never felt hostility between my two families it was obviously hard for all of us. My adoptive family now had to share me with a whole group of people. My birth family had just found a long lost relative and wanted to get to know me. Thanks to a lot of hard work and understanding by both families, we slowly became one family.

At the end of July my older sister Eva will be visiting us and I thought it would be a great time to address this subject. Eva, my mother Margaret, and I will be sitting down to share our thoughts and experiences about this interesting time.

We would love it if you would join us for this exciting discussion. Will will also be taking your questions. Since this is being film for the documentary there is a chance your question could make it into the film! You can RSVP for the event on Facebook or Eventbrite in case you’re not on Facebook.

On the cutting edge, digital still cameras for film. Part 4

Nelson de Witt — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:45:07 +0000

My new Canon T2i

In part 3 I talked about the drawbacks to using digit still cameras for film. In this part I’ll be talking about the equipment we are looking at.

Picking the right camera

We are looking at a number of the Canon’s high end still cameras, spesifically the Canon T2i, 7D and 5D. Each of these camera’s are capable of taking full 1080p HD video. Thats a technical way of saying they take video at the highest video quality commonly used. While there are other brands that are able to take high definition video Canon cameras are more widely used for film projects.

Earlier this week I bought the Canon T2i. We probably will not be using this as our primary camera. There are some issues with focusing when using external equipment that would make it hard to use during the interviews. We would not want to do an entire interview only to find out later the focus was off.

The body is smaller than other cameras. This means it’s not as durable and it may not work with bigger lenses. I am getting this for more of a personal camera. It may also be used to film some “B role” material for the doc.

For our main camera we are looking at the 7D or 5D. These are the camera’s most widely used for filming. They do not have the focusing issues of the T2i and have other additional features.

There are also rumours that Canon will be announcing a new camera geared more towards video in the coming weeks. It could have a rotating display among other advanced video features. Since we are not in a rush to make this movie there is a chance a newer camera will be exactly what we are looking for.

Learning the Equipment

In order to better understand how to use shoot with these Camera’s I am attending an all day work shop with Philip Booom taking place this Saturday. I meantioned Philp Bloom in part 2 when I posted a video he did using these Cameras. I’m very excited to be learning from the best. I think it will be a good experience and it will cover everything from what lenses to editing.

Why I want to speak at #140conf and how you can help.

Nelson de Witt — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:42:22 +0000

About #140conf

The other week I went out to the #140conf Boston TweetUp. For those of you not in the know, a TweetUp is a networking event for people on Twitter. This event was all about the #140 Character Conference taking place September, 14Th. in Boston. Begin a pretty heavy twitter user I had herd about #140conf before but I wasn’t excatly sure what it was about. Thankfully, the founder of #140conf Jeff Pulver was there to enlighten us.

He described it as a confrence about the real time web, but also a platform for people doing interesting things to shine. Jeff tires to get celebrities and other big names to speak at the conference to build an audience then opens it up to lessor known people to speak. There are individual talks wich last no more then 10 minets and group talks that are no more than 20 min. The idea is to have lots of different people present a wide range of ideas.

My Pitch

Of course this sounded like a great opportunity for me to talk about the documentary project I am working on. I promptly wrote up a proposal to speak. Below is the proposal I submitted. Let me know what you think.

I would like talk about my family’s incredible story and how the real time web is helping us share our story.

This past December I sat down with my family in Central America to interview them about the past 12 years since we were reunited. We used ustream to broadcast the event to our friends and family. It was an interesting experience for some family members who had never herd or seen my father speak about what happened during the war.

From that first interview I started doing more interviews with other family members about different aspects of the story. My goal is not only to share our story with the world but to make a documentary from it.

The internet has always played a big role in my life and in reconnecting with my birth family. In 1997 our home number was found by doing an internet search. Over the past 12 years we’ve used, AIM, Skype, Facebook and many other programs to keep in touch.

I’m fascinated with the power of the web to connect people and share information. The #140conf seams like it is a celebration of this idea. It would be an honor to be able to share our story with a group of like minded people.

How you can help

Jeff was big on saying he wants people to tell him who should be speaking at the confrence. If you think I would make a good speaker at #140conf and you are on Twitter you can drop Jeff(@jeffpulver) a line. Please don’t spam him but you could say something as simple as:

I would like to hear @dewittn speak about #anasmiracle at #140conf

Every little bit helps!

Nervously going back to El Salvador.

Nelson de Witt — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:45:00 +0000

I recently booked tickets to El Salvador for week in December. I’m going down for a cousin’s wedding. This will be my first time back since 1998 and I’m a little nervous.

Since the end of El Salvador’s civil war the situation in the country has steadily declined. The war was suppose to improve life for its people. Instead the country has become less economical stable and more violent. Now a country the size and population of massachuessts has an average murder rate of 16 people per week. Over 2,000 people have already keen killed this year alone.

My family is no stranger to this violence. A cousin of mine almost died when her husband went on a shooting spree, attacking her, killer their baby and himself. She recovered both mentally and physically but other family memeber were not so lucky. An uncle on the other side of the family witnessed his son’s murder when they were carjacked.

I hear a lot about how violent the country is. It always makes me ask if everything my parents did was in vain. They gave up so much to try and change things. Here we are 30 years later and it’s about the same if not worse. My family made it and are better off now but what about everyone else?

Maybe it’s the violence or the state of the country but the thought of going back “home” makes me uneasy. I don’t think anything bad is going to happen but I know this will not be like visiting Panama, which is much safer. My family has been asking to come back and I never go. I feel bad sometimes but its though when my immediate family is not living there anymore. Even though I’m nervous I think the trip will be good. It has been a long time coming and I can’t wait to see my family.

On the cutting edge, digital still cameras for film. Part 3

Nelson de Witt — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:45:00 +0000

Photo by v8media
In part 2 I talked about some of the advantages to using digital still camera for film. In this post I’ll be talking about the disadvantage to using this kind of camera.

Drawbacks

Since this technology is so new there are going to be a lot of challenges. Most of the challenges that come from using a digital still camera involve its very sensitive focus.

Focus

Most of the cameras we are looking at do not have an autofocus that is usable for filming. A still camera’s autofocus is very different from a camcorders auto focus. A still camera is made to focus on a specific point while a camcorder is made to focus on a specific subject.

Digital still cameras also have a very short focal length. This is the distance from lens in which the subject is in focus. If a person is in focus two feet away from the camera and they move a foot in either direction they will be blurry. A camera operator must be very good at adjusting the focus as the subject moves around.

Moving subjects

We have also heard that these camera have a hard time dealing with a lot of movement. Part of the problem is the focus issue I just mentioned. The other problem is image stabilization. Holding a camera steady is very hard. Many camcorders have software that makes this easier. Most digital still cameras do not.

Extra Equipment

Due to the problems mentioned here it is nearly impossible to create high quality video without extra equipment. This equipment is attached to the camera like the image above. It helps the operator maintain focus, improve audio and reduce movement. There is also a need to have a different lens. Main drawback here is that the extra equipment adds more to the price tag.

More to come

I just want to point out that these issues are based on research and not hand on experience. We do not know how big these problems will be for our project. When we get more time with the cameras we will have a better idea.

On the cutting edge, digital still cameras for film. Part 2

Nelson de Witt — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:14:11 +0000

In part 1 I talked about why we are looking at using digital still camera for this documentary. In this post I’ll be talking about the advantages of using these camera.

In order to make a proper assessment of this equipment we researched what the capabilities of these cameras were and why someone would want to use them.

Image Sensor

One of the big advantages of still camera is the image sensors. They are designed to mimic film and the imagery they produce is exceptional. They work very well in daylight and low light. There are some limitation in low lighting. If you need to film in very low light then you may loose some image quality. However for our project which consist of a lot of well lit interviews we felt this was not a problem.

Its a lot easier to show you what these cameras can do. Here are a couple of short videos that really highlight image quality of these digital still cameras.

This first video is from CrunchGear’s review of the T2i.

Canon T2i demo reel from CrunchGear on Vimeo.

The second video is by Philip Bloom who is a director of Photography and knows how to make these camera shine. Shot with a Canon 7D and Canon 5D.

Skywalker Ranch from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Price

Another big advantage to is there priced. For example, a Canon T2i is about $900. On the higher end, a Canon 5D is about $2,500. These prices are for the camera body and a basic lens. In order to film this project we will need to buy lenses and rigging that will help get the best shot. The extras will bring the cost of equipment up but these cameras are still a lot less expensive than high definition camcorders that can be as much as $30,000.

One of the goals of this project is to produce something that could be shown on TV. Part of the challenge of this goal making something of this quality is that it can coast hundreds of thousands of dollars. This can include equipment as well as salaries. So using this camera to do most of the filming in one strategy we are using to keep costs down.

Do they stack up?

It’s great that digital still camera have high quality sensors and are reasonably priced but how do they stack up against real film cameras? Well we are no experts in this field but we found some people who are.

If you are interested in a very geeky breakdown of how digital still camera stack up to film cameras I highly recommend Zacuto’s Great camera Showdown of 2010. It’s about an hour and half long and they put these cameras through a number of very scientific tests. Then they get feedback from various professional film makers. It’s interesting to see what these camera’s can do and the promise they hold.

Stay tuned for part 3 where I’ll talk about the disadvantages we found to using digital still cameras in a film.

A conversation about race and adoption with Kevin Hofmann

Nelson de Witt — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:49:40 +0000

Last night I had the pleasure of interviewing Kevin Hofmann about his experiences growing up in a multicultural household. We talked about race, identity, and cultural expectations. It was a great discussion and we really hope you enjoy it as well.

Don’t see the video?

I’m working hard to makes great interviews with interesting people invvolved with our story. Please let me know what you thought of the interview in the comments or by email dewittn@anasmiracle.com.

By the way this our 100th post! I don’t know how significant that is, if at all, but either way its a milestone.

Live tonight, race and adoption with Kevin Hofmann.

Nelson de Witt — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:55:15 +0000

I just wanted to remind everyone that tonight at 7pm EST I will be interviewing Kevin Hofmann about his book and experiences growing up in a mixed race household.

Kevin Hofmann, is the biracial son, of a white mother and black father. Kevin was immediately placed in a foster home and adopted by a white Lutheran minister, his white wife and their three white children. Rising from these struggles is an inspiring story of a transracial family who grew up in one of the most racially volatile cities in America and survived. Now married with two sons of his own, he hopes to help encourage transracial families by sharing his experiences through humor and naked honesty. You can read more from Kevin at My Mind on Paper, his blog.

We hope you can join us tonight on our Facebook Fan Page. http://bit.ly/AnasMiracleLive