Dreams To Remember

Who says they don't like Mondays? I'm certainly looking forward to tomorrow! 

First off, it's Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a time to honor the memory of the influential civil rights leader. This year marks the 50th anniversary of his historic "I have a dream" speech, and in a world torn by violence and strife, the words continue to find relevance:

"In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force."

A-ha performing at the Nobel Peace Concert, December 11, 1998,
Oslo, Norway. Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

Listening to the speech again, I'm struck by its power and poetry. How pleased would Dr. King be to know that this year, on the holiday celebrating his birth, we would also be ushering in the second term of President Barack Obama, the first African-American President of the United States? Progress may be painfully slow coming at times, but it's nice to have such moments to offer perspective.

Continuing on the theme of achievements, I will be returning to the radio airwaves tomorrow night starting at 6 p.m. ET to host a two-hour retrospective of the musical career of the band A-ha. Airing on Albany, New York radio station WEXT, Chrysalis Dreams: 30 Years of A-ha looks at three talented musicians from Norway, who grew up during a time when the small Scandinavian country basically discouraged its artists from thinking they could make it abroad. Moving to London in 1983, A-ha would go on to top the worldwide charts, sell over 35 million albums, and achieve numerous world records and awards, including a knighthood late last year in Norway! The band certainly was pivotal during my transition from childhood to adulthood... you could say I had a chrysalis dream! I truly look forward to catching listeners up on their fascinating musical career:



And yet for all the achievements, the struggle continues for us... whether it be for personal freedoms, artistic expression, or making your own way in life. Thank God we have no shortage of inspired leaders and artists to remind us of what is possible.

Related Links:

The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change 

"Inside Obama's Presidency," Frontline, PBS

Chrysalis Dreams: 30 Years of A-ha, Exit 97.7 WEXT

"Obama sworn in to second term, faces new challenges," CNN, January 20, 2013

Poetic License Festival, featuring "Obamatry"

Auld Lang Syne

Wow. It's hard to believe that I started this blog a year ago today, and still managed to meet my challenge of creating a post EVERY DAY to document this significant year! 

Looking back, moving forward! Photo by John Whipple. 
All rights reserved.

To be honest, this was also meant to be a way to get my name out there on the inter-webs (while I work on a professional website), and there were times when I literally groaned at the thought of having to come up with some creative, coherent post by the end of a long day... seriously, it's difficult to talk about yourself all the time! But I did manage to pull it off (often to the late-night chagrin of my patient wife), and must say that it's nice to have a real-time record to look back on the events from the past year. I think there is also something to the idea of putting myself out there to the "universe" because there were some truly great moments and opportunities that came my way. Without further ado, here is my personal Top 10 for 2012 (hey, I told you I liked creating these things!):

10. Connected (Writing's On The Wall)

NYC's Spoken Word Almanac Project (with visuals by yours truly).
Photo by Jonathan Weiskopf. All rights reserved.

As I mentioned, the goal of this blog (in addition to giving my Mom some daily morning reading material) was to get my name out there− seemed to work! A few professional contacts I made this year mentioned finding this site, or asked− out of the blue− about such endeavors as my improv group that they could have only read about here(!). I also continued my work with the Spoken Word Almanac Project earlier in the year, creating visuals for their "news in review" style format of performance poetry. 

"Troy Record," April 26, 2012

2012 also saw further work with Peace Action New York State, where Sarah and I helped out with a July peace march to commemorate the World War II era victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and I videotaped special lectures for the group on such topics as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. 

I continued to land other interesting, independent video projects, although I had to be conscious of biting off more than I could chew up to and around the time of my July wedding. I didn't come as far as I had hoped this year in terms of advancing my career, but it was a year that saw me making significant strides and remain in the game.

9. King of All Media

Well, it was certainly a year where I stepped it up in terms of my outreach towards the media. 2012 saw me interviewed by such outlets as The Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, The Springfield Republican, The Schenectady Gazette and New England Public Radio in regards to various exhibitions and programs at Norman Rockwell Museum. I took my Manager of Media Services title to new heights by leading the effort to launch our own page on the Google Art Project, and twice appeared as a guest on The Roundtable, produced by the Albany NPR station, WAMC. This past month I even went international with an interview for TV Tokyo's Bi no Kyojin Tachi, regarding the career of artist Norman Rockwell. It felt good to be able to use my experience and knowledge gained on the job in a creative way... after more than a decade of working at the Museum and in TV news, I certainly feel confident in my abilities.

8. We Are Family

  

Updating Norman Rockwell's "The Runaway" with
my nephew. ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

My family grew this year, and part of what made this year so memorable was being able to help celebrate their own milestones and achievements. First off, I became a uncle again... times three! Sarah's two nephews ushered in the new extended family by being the ring bearer and master of butterflies at our wedding. And although she was pregnant and couldn't attend our big day, my sister gave birth to another beautiful little girl weeks later... apparently she hasn't stopped smiling since she arrived! The smiles continued in October as my mother-in-law received a special honor for her ongoing efforts for peace.

Proving that weddings are contagious, my two twin cousins announced their own engagements this past fall, and my sister-in-law just got engaged... I was happy to lend a creative hand in the planning of the latter, where my future brother-in-law took me up on my idea of proposing to his girl during the previously mentioned Japanese TV shoot that my nephew took part in... now THAT was a Norman Rockwell moment.

7. The Art of Improvisation

Another RBIT-ing performance. ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

At the beginning of this year, my friend/groomsman Frank announced that my old improv group was going to start performing in South County of the Berkshires again, which is where I continue to work. "How can I get in on this?" I wondered aloud, and suddenly found myself "back on the boards," playing gigs with The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe at the beautiful new Spectrum Playhouse, located in my old hometown of Lee, Massachusetts. It has been a wonderful experience reconnecting with these old and new friends, and challenging myself with some performing again... the late night karaoke after-parties were pretty great too.

6. I Am The DJ, I Am What I Play

Broadcasting live from the WEXT studios!
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

I was fortunate to return to another favorite activity this year− during and after college, I had enjoyed being a music DJ (including a stint with independent rock station WBER in Rochester, New York).... well, thanks to Capital Region station WEXT, I found myself doing my best Casey Kasem on a couple of occasions this year: first during an hour playing some of my favorite songs on their MyExit program, and also earlier this month as I recorded a tribute show to the Norwegian band, A-ha. The latter program was in celebration of the band's 30th anniversary (and knighting in their home country!), and should be airing at the beginning of the new year. Hopefully there will be more on-air opportunities... did I mention that I'm a bit of a "ham" radio operator? 

home sweet home.
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

5. New Digs

After an extended "transition" period, which included apartments in the Berkshires, New York City, and the Hudson Valley, I finally settled into a lovely old, renovated home in downtown Schenectady with my wife Sarah. In addition to enjoying the resources of "The Electric City" and Capital Region, it is just nice to finally have some room to spread out, get organized and creative again (bonus points for this past week's clean up). Yes honey... "feels like home."

4. Mr. Ed

One of the most satisfying moments this past year was the opportunity to continue furthering my education. I FINALLY took another graphic design course, which is something I have been wanting to do for some time now and made possible by the excellent Arts Center of the Capital Region. The class helped me understand key design principals, come up with ideas for creating a logo and website for my business, and learn the ins and outs of Adobe Illustrator. I also utilized some of this newfound knowledge in the design of our wedding invitations and thank-you cards... turned out beautiful (thanks to instructor Taylor Gillis of Troy's Design It Together for sharing his own knowledge and insight).

Invitation only... by design!
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

The Arts Center also gave Sarah and I a chance to brush up on our swing dancing during a course timed perfectly ahead of our wedding, and offered me a chance to play around with a DSLR video camera during two weekends of their video art course. This was a great, creative exercise... the DSLR takes a little getting used to, but the picture quality is fantastic. 

Extra kudos to the Center for letting me take the camera out on yet another afternoon (outside of class) to further acquaint myself with one of the newest tool for filmmakers, and continued appreciation for my friends at CTSB-TV in the Berkshires for letting me try out a number of other new HD video camera models for various projects. As they say: learning is fundamental!

3. Four More Years

Promo for Darian Dauchan's Obamatry,
a spoken word remix, featuring multimedia
design by JC. Courtesy Darian Dauchan.

The fiscal cliff, Obamacare, gun control... it was a tense 12 months, made more so by the fact that this was an election year. Although I don't approve of everything that unfolded during his first term (read: drones), I still supported President Barack Obama, and felt that he held the conviction and intelligence necessary to lead this country back to greatness. I felt a little guilty that I could not actively help his campaign as I did four years ago, and for a while it got to be a nail-biter... Republican candidate Mitt Romney made some last-minute strides this past fall that had many of us wondering if the country would be heading in another direction. What a relief it was to wake up on November 6th to the news that Obama had won a second term, and that many of the initiatives that progressives had been working so hard to advance (health care, marriage equality, immigration, etc.) would be saved. It's hard to believe that the state of the union was swaying precariously in the balance just over a month ago. Of course we've still got a long way to go, and I wish President Obama the best of luck over the next four years... forward!

2. Hero Worship

Interviewing acclaimed comic book artist Alex Ross
in his Chicago studio. Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

2012 found me getting back in touch with my "inner comic geek," and thrilled at the arrival of our new exhibit, Heroes & Villains: The Comic Book Art of Alex Ross, at Norman Rockwell Museum. I have been a fan of Ross' work since 1994's Marvels, so it was a great thrill to meet the artist again and see his stunning, original art. The icing on the cake: the chance to travel to Chicago and interview Alex Ross for a new exhibition video. I had to push for this one, but it felt great to utilize not only my video production skills, but also knowledge of a medium that I, like Ross, grew up with. 




(Above is a movie trailer I also created for the exhibition− good fun!)

Yours truly... your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights resereved.

Another idea I had was for my colleagues and I to dress up like our favorite superheroes for the exhibition opening and related programming... my childhood dreams came full-circle as I walked around in my own Spider-Man costume, with several admiring youngsters following in my footsteps! Did I mention the billboard?

By the end of the year, I had reconnected with an aspect of my youth that I have sometimes felt embarrassed over the years to admit to enjoying. However, the success this past year of such films as Spider-Man, Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, and especially The Avengers (♥) made it seem slightly less geeky to proclaim my superhero/comic book love... I even proudly represented the Museum's exhibit at the Albany Comic Con in October, and have become a frequent visitor to the area comic book stores... Bazinga! (must-read of the year: Sean Howe's Marvel Comics: The Untold Story). 

1. Our Big Day

Mr. and Mrs. Clowe!
Photo by John Whipple. All rights reserved.

Of course the highlight of the year was finally getting married to my long-time love, Sarah. The first part of the year was great fun, planning all the various details for the ceremony and reception− we both certainly got to use our creativity. It was challenging at times... I admit, it took me longer to find a tux than I would have expected, and it was tricky to figure out some aspects of an interfaith ceremony. However, the sheer joy of planning for our new life together made it an exciting adventure...

The big day arrived fast and was not only emotional, but a little surreal... to have so many of our loved ones surrounding us (and our friend Tom co-officiate the ceremony), and find myself standing at the alter as my new bride walked down to the aisle to The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun"...

At that moment, the skies opened up on our beautiful outdoor ceremony, and it began to rain. I certainly wasn't expecting this, although it came as some relief to the summer's extended dry spell and intense humidity... but on my wedding day? 

Dance away... Photo by John Whipple. All rights reserved.

As a spiritual person, I couldn't help but wonder what the sign was... I struggled even more when one of my close family members had a bit of a health scare following the ceremony. The day could have taken a dark turn, but luckily things recovered, and we had an absolute blast during our reception (never seen so many people out on the dance floor at a wedding!). I should point out that the ceremony was also truly beautiful, filled with friends and family reading, singing, and even bubbles and butterflies... the intermittent rain showers let up towards the end of the ceremony, and we were treated to two magnificent rainbows later in the day. 

We followed the wedding with an absolutely magical week in Montreal and Quebec City, chasing after more waterfalls, and enjoying getting lost in Canada. Married life has been great! It's good on the other side, and I wonder why I waited so long...

***

As with any year, 2012 was filled with many highs and lows... laughter and tears... I sometimes found myself questioning my faith, wondering how a higher power could allow such tragedies to unfold as the summer shooting in Aurora, Colorado; the destruction from Hurricane Sandy; and the recent fatal shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, and Webster, New York (near my own hometown)... I made a point of going to church on Christmas Eve to have some time to reflect on this past year's events, and try to come to terms with some of my own personal anger at events that took place in my own life this year, which I felt I had little control over...

***

So, I literally just opened today's mail (snail not e), and found a late Christmas letter from my friend Tom, the reverend. At the top of his own yearly review, he noted our wedding and how beautiful it was to take part in the service... in describing the previously mentioned downpour, he referenced one of the scriptures Sarah and I had chosen for the ceremony, from Song of Solomon 8:7: "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it..."

"All You Need Is Love."--The Beatles. Photo by John Whipple. All rights reserved.

What a fitting way to end this memorable year: hearing these lines again and truly taking them to heart... because it's the end of another year, yet my love for life still burns bright. Thanks to friends and family who have joined me during this past year's journey, and here's to a happy and prosperous new year ahead...

Updated Soundtrack for 2012:

Port of Morrow, The Shins

Signs & Signifiers, J.D. McPherson

The Lumineers, The Lumineers

England Keep My Bones, Frank Turner

Laura, Diego Garcia

Django, Django, Django, Django

Boys & Girls, Alabama Shakes

Wrecking Ball, Bruce Springsteen

Delta Spirit, Delta Spirit

A Thing Called Divine Fits, Divine Fits

Making Mirrors, Gotye

There's No Leaving Now, The Tallest Man on Earth

Out of My Hands, Morten Harket

Re: Assessment

Has it really been a week since the election? A certain heaviness has been lifted from the air... or make that uncertainty... not just about who would win, but what the majority of the general public was looking for in terms of policy and governing style. I'm happy to say that I seem to be on the right side of that equation this time out. 

Of course, now both sides (especially Republicans) are dissecting what went right and wrong with both candidates' campaigns. Most agree with President Obama's assessment that he might have had "the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics." I have heard several news reports discussing the very smart way that they focused their ground team since the last election. Even if I thought the emails about contributions could have been a little more elegant, I was always reassured by the common sense style of the President's  campaign advisor David Axelrod, during his frequent appearances on the Sunday talk shows. 

Here is a rare moment, captured on video, that the Obama team sent its supporters via email this past week. We see the President visiting his campaign headquarters in Chicago, and getting quite emotional while thanking his team:

On the flip side, it is also fascinating to hear the assessment of how Mitt Romney's team ran his campaign. NPR reporter Ari Shapiro, who followed the campaign for the past year, filed a fascinating postmortem on how the former governor's campaign seemed to get derailed on several occasions, and how his team often made rather poor choices in its attempt to get it back on track. It is not only an interesting analysis, I think it is also stellar reporting/writing... click here to listen.

So, I guess there are still plenty of interesting discussions to be had... will Obama be able to work with Congress to avoid the fiscal cliff? What will happen to the Tea Party? Who will run in 2016? What will be done about the millions that are going into political campaigns? What will be done about ongoing concerns about voter fraud and the long lines some voters had to endure this past election? All questions that will soon be answered... but for the moment, this liberal-minded voter feels relieved...

Related Links:

"'Let Mitt Be Mitt': But Who Was He?," NPR, November 9, 2012 

"Hillary's next move," The New York Times, November 11, 2012

"Stephen Gottlieb: Jajja's Kids," WAMC, November 13, 2012

Freedom?

I'm feeling rather pissed off at the moment. Yesterday I created a post for the Museum's Facebook page using Alex Ross' 2008 superhero image of Barack Obama to congratulate the President. I was excited about my candidate's win and the other good news from the election, and thought it would be fun to post this image to tie in with current events and the upcoming exhibition. 

The image received 118 likes, 39 shares, and 29 comments... unfortunately, several of those comments were extremely negative. I was actually surprised by the reaction... people saying that Rockwell would be rolling over in his grave... that the President was a socialist... that the image was propaganda... that we had a liberal bias... people threatening to never have anything to do with our organization or Rockwell again... 

After a comment was posted saying that they couldn't believe that we would play partisan politics, I felt compelled to post a reply... that the image was not meant to be an endorsement by the Museum, but a tie-in to Alex Ross' work... I apologized for any offense, and explained that just days earlier we had posted photos of both candidates and their relationship to the Museum and Rockwell. Someone wrote not long afterwards that "salt in the wound" didn't help paint a pretty picture. Well, I hadn't thought of that... I understand that there would be plenty of people upset with the outcome of the election, but not sure I considered that this "heroic" image might rub some of our fans the wrong way... especially on the day after.

That being said, this post thread illustrated some of the very ugly discourse that is taking place on social media. The fact is that most of the comments were being made by the same two or three people... frequently irrational and, at times, hinting at racism. I was sad to see the state that politics and civility has degenerated into, although I do remember how shellshocked I felt back in 2004 when George Bush was reelected President after doing what I considered to be a very reckless job during his first four years.

Today on this Obama image thread one of those offended posted links to the inflammatory Obama 2012 movie, some garbage about this President stealing the election, and so on... I deleted those comments, and felt bad for an additional one that voiced how upset they were that this image was connected in any way to Rockwell... of course, it wasn't... apart from the fact that we are a museum dedicated to illustration arts. 

The thing that kills me is that this was never intended to be an insulting image. It was not meant to stir controversy in the way the political cartoons of Mohammad had enraged so many Muslims in the Middle East. During the last election, the Museum had actually exhibited a show on political illustrator Steve Brodner, whose work was a lot more satirical and confrontational in nature... I don't remember hearing such a reaction about any of his imagery. Actually, the Obama illustration was probably created in 2008 out of love... to celebrate the idea that our country was finally in a position to elect the first black president... I didn't ask Ross how he felt about the President's accomplishments after four years... it could be possible that he didn't find Obama's last four years to be super or heroic at all, but I think there was a different, underlying issue at stake here for those who replied to my posting.

Ultimately our curator suggested that we take the image down. In a way, it felt like a defeat. I thought about Rockwell's work... paintings like The Four Freedoms... Saying Grace... The Problem We All Live With... images that depict tolerance and freedom of expression... I think the artist would be saddened to learn how divisive our country has become. 

Alex Ross, Uncle Sam, 1997, courtesy and from
the collection of the artist. Image from the exhibition
Heroes & Villians: The Comic Book Art of Alex Ross.
©DC Comics. Used with permission.

Hope

How wonderful to wake up and feel proud of my country. Not only was President Barack Obama re-elected, but there were significant wins across the nation in regards to equality. 

Same-sex marriage was affirmed in three more states, and Tammy Baldwin was elected as the first openly gay member of the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin. There were other key senate wins, including the impressive Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, and the defeat of four Republican candidates who made ignorant comments about rape and abortion. I was concerned about all this voter intimidation and long lines, but it seems that people came out as strong as ever...

I'm happy that President Obama will have another four years to work towards his promise of change (they gave George Bush eight years to wreck our economy... isn't it only fair?). The idea that affordable health care can become a reality is exciting, and I hope that Obama will now be able to concentrate on immigration reform... I would also support the closing of Guantanamo Bay and re-examining of the use of drones (my only real disappointments with the President over the past four years). 

But how nice to think that things might be moving forward in a more positive direction... I would hope that the GOP might focus less energy on obstructing the President, and  both parties might learn how to make compromises that will benefit us all in the long-run. I hold dear the hope that my nieces and nephews, maybe even my own future children, will grow up in a more tolerant, supportive, inclusive country...

Related Links:

"Obama's Big Night," The Atlantic, November 7, 2012

"Divided U.S. Gives Obama More Time," The New York Times, November 7, 2012

"Obama Wins the 2012 Election: Obama's Complete Presidential Victory Speech," The New York Times/YouTube, November 6

Obamacare

After a very uncertain week, this was a reassuring photo:

AP Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Source: http://news.msn.com/a-look-back-week-in-photos-1

I think the President handled this week's storm in a supportive, calm and reassuring manner. It's one of the many instances over the past four years that reassure me about his leadership. The fact that Republican Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey was able to put politics aside and praise President Obama for the way he handled the crisis seems very telling. So do these endorsements:

"Barack Obama deserves another term," Boston Globe, October 29, 2012

"NY Mayor Bloomberg Endorses Obama in Presidential Race," Bloomberg.com, November 1, 2012

O Positive

Speaking of The New Yorker, they sum things up nicely here:
www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2012/10/29/121029taco_talk_editors#ixzz2A8wsLM7U

Good job on last night's debate, I think.

Artwork by Alex Ross, 2008. ©Alex Ross.
All rights reserved.

Handle With Care

Well, tonight is game two... I mean, round two in the Presidential Debates. I'll definitely be tuning in... been holding my breath since the last one. Tonight's format is a town-hall meeting, so I think it might offer the viewing public the best, most truthful presentation of the candidates and their platforms (although truth seems to be a relative term... eh Mittens?).

The reason that I voted for President Barack Obama back in 2008 was that he genuinely seemed to care about the American people. I even helped out his election campaign, because I felt so strongly that this country needed to change it's course, both nationally and internationally. I don't regret my decision and yes, I AM better off than I was four years ago.... I think the country is too, despite the fact that the economy still needs to be fully straightened out, and more jobs created. I still believe that a continued Obama administration is a look "forward" not backward.

Also starting tonight, my Spoken Word Almanac Project collaborator Darian Dauchan will be presenting his "Obamatry" performance for a limited engagement at New York City's Under St. Marks Theater. According to a press release, "this multi-media one-man feat consists of live looped songs, beat boxing and a collage of satirical poems and presidential sound bites chronicling candidacy to presidency, to present day. A virtual rhetorical conversation on the subject of America between a Poet and our President." The piece will utilize several of my visuals that I have created for Dauchan's Spoken Word Almanac Project poems over the last couple years. The show will be presented every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. from now until election day, November 6... hope it goes well, and hopefully, there will be a chance for a Part II in four years time.

www.debates.org

Flipping The Bird

Related Links:

"President Obama’s bad debate advice," The Washington Post, October 4, 2012

"Romney Goes On Offense, Pays For It In First Wave Of Fact Checks," NPR, October 4, 2012

"Big Bird Memes Go Viral," ABC News, October 4, 2012

The Race

I spent a good part of today getting caught up on politics with Meet The Press and 60 Minutes. The latter had interviews with both President Obama and Mitt Romney, which were interesting. I think I got more facts from Meet The Press though (as always). The first debates start next week, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the two square off against each other... although I'm pretty confident I know who will make (or continue to make) a better leader.

I got back to the gym today--a two hour session, so I'm a little tired at this point in the evening to write about anything with much substance. I was going to try sharing some of my thoughts about this presidential election, but it's something I want to take some time to think about and present in a thoughtful manner.

As for creativity, I spent the rest of the day revisiting a radio program I have been working on. Trying to leap a hurdle with that one to finally get it done... as always, there's a lot to do right now... only so many hours to do it.

Campaign 2012: Obama vs. Romney, "60 Minutes," September 23, 2012

Step Up To Bat, Man...

I'm finally heading out to see the new Batman movie tonight. I'm looking forward to it... but I hear the villain, Bane, is really scary!

Bane Capital.
Photo from The Huffington Post.

Meanwhile, President Obama gives his acceptance speech tonight... hope it goes alright... maybe he should do it slow-jam style:



Links:

www.demconvention.com

First Camera

So tonight is the first night of the Democratic National Convention. I might actually watch this one... sorry Clint. 

I think the fighting between parties gets a little hard to stomach, but I must admit to getting caught up in some of the competitive feeling of an election year. I've been bookmarking tons of articles, but I'm far too tired to pontificate in this blog here tonight.

First Camerman: Documenting the
Obama Presidency in Real Time
by Arun Chaudhary.

Instead, I thought I would share an interesting news story that I heard the other day on NPR. They ran an interview with Arun Chaudhary, who has served the past four years at the first official White House videographer. I am familiar with the idea of presidential photographers (Pete Souza does a great job), but I never really thought about someone to document with video... talk about an intense and possibly over-scrutinized job... but it makes perfect sense in this day of instant web access. Chaudhary tells NPR about his early days with Obama on the campaign trail: "I thought the real job of any smart, young filmmaker working for a campaign has to be to think of that brilliant 30-second ad that's the one that just transforms the election. ... And then [I] quickly realize that all these little clever things I was doing on the side were not getting the hits, the attention that uncut speeches from Sen. Obama were: the victory speech in Iowa or the race speech. These were the ones that were the real 'viral' hits." 

The job must be quite the window into history... Chaudhary tells about the experience in his new book, First Cameraman. I would hope his work captures something authentic, but it must be difficult to capture reality... and surely a pain for the President to constantly be concerned about? Talk about living in a bubble. Anyway, I'm sure that the document will be interesting to look at many years from now.

On the topic of videography, my own recent work for Peace Action New York State has lead to another gig... interesting because the client has family ties to a former child star, whose show I used to enjoy watching as a kid... video sure can connect you with interesting people, as I'm sure Chaudhary would attest to.

Related Links:

"Behind the Lens with Obama's 'First Cameraman," NPR, September 2, 2012

2012 Democratic National Convention