Robert Penn productions

Revival

Social satirist, Brian Freeman, a founding member of the performance trio Pomo Afro Homos (1991-94), will remount their landmark performance piece, Fierce Love, in 2011. Brian hired Robert to develop three video elements for the revival. Brian mounted a showcase of the new production on December 10, 2010, complete with video.

This montage accompanies an excerpt from Just Above My Head by James Baldwin.

London International Awards honors creativity and new ideas in Advertising, Design and Digital media. Judging began last Thursday and continues through Sunday, the 19th, at the Wynn/Encore in Las Vegas.

Robert Penn productions' Status Is Everything Public Service Announcement Campaign spots are competing in three categories: Television/Cinema/Online Film Public Service/Social Welfare Campaign; Technique in Direction; and Technique in Cinematography. The Status is Everything playlist on http://www.youtube.com/RobertPennproduction includes all six 60-second PSAs that are up for the three 2010 London International Awards. 

Robert Penn productions developed the Status Is Everything Public Service Announcements in 2009 for African-American Office of Gay Concerns (AAOGC), Newark, New Jersey. They are part of AAOGC's multi-pronged environmental and social marketing public health campaign designed to reach and encourage young Black gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men to take the HIV-test for prevention and treatment purposes.

If you have not already visited www.statusiseverything.org please do so now! Though the contact number that appears is only for New Jersey, the message is creating waves around the world. Pass the link onto your young family members and their friends.

 
Assignments that involve movement, such as, dance or theater documentation challenge the production crew, especially in high contrast and/or low light settings.  Supplemental lighting is not permitted during most live performances and video cameras do not "see" as well as the human eye. In addition, medium and close-up footage will sometimes exhibit visible differences that must be matched in post-production to the compulsory wing-to-wing lock-down wide angle shot.

For the production or research archive, the director's or choreographer's vision must be accurately documented, including the darkness.  This record informs students, researchers and historians and will continue to do so for years to come.

A lot must be done in post-production to prepare the record for the casual viewer - and it must be achieved without sabotaging the artist's vision.  Since I love to edit in response to and in synch with movement, I finalize the edit first. Correcting lighting is the last thing I do before making the master tapes.

You can learn about my services at http://www.robertpenn.net 

There are many ways to videotape a wedding. And many types of edits. I use the documentary approach to tell the story of the happy day.

Two cameras at the actual ceremony are essential. One starts near the entrance and the other waits on the altar just like the groom. This allows the edit to cut between the excited well-wishers and the anxious bride. The same applies to reception lines, speeches, dancing and goodbyes.

Though the happy couple may someday want to relive their most wonderful day by watching hours of footage from stepping into her gown to unfastening his tie after the first dance, most family members and friends will be happy to receive a 30-minute edit of the day's events. Thanks to DVD autoring it is possible to supplement the short wedding film with a slideshow of stills extracted from the footage and/or taken by a still photographer.

I ran into a friend at the local post office. He asked me to speak with him about making a training video. Of course, I agreed. We met the next morning for coffee and he told me his idea. He is a first timer at this and my five-part opportunity quickly became apparent.

First, get a clear idea of his objective: make video recordings that will expand his existing mental health care practice. Second, outline ways his real-life success can be replicated in media for distribution. Third, tell him what the ideal crew and budget would be to achieve his objective, using familiar successes in the self-help industry. Fourth, answer his questions in clear and concise language.

We had a great conversation. My friend has a lot of charisma, experience and a wonderful manner. I can easily see how he gains the trust of his clients and facilitates their progress. Like most people, he had limited knowledge about effectively translating his face-to-face experience into a recording. My input assured him that much of that process can actually be conveyed via recording.

Fifth, now I wait to see if he hires me to help him achieve his objective.

You can see some of my work at http://www.robertpenn.net - here is a sampling:

Digital video is a general term for a group of cost-effective recording devices. Most popular are the mini-DV cameras that are widely available today. These are great for moving snap shots of everyday events, such as, vacations, baby's first walk and to record the damage your car sufferred in a fender bender.

There are other digital video formats for professional applications. I work in DVCAM because genlock eliminates sync slippage between audio and video tracks. This is important for corporate training, event video and performance documentation, especially multi-camera shoots.

2010 London International Awards

London International Awards honors creativity and new ideas in Advertising, Design and Digital media. Judging began last Thursday and continues through Sunday, the 19th, at the Wynn/Encore in Las Vegas.

Robert Penn productions' Status Is Everything Public Service Announcement Campaign spots are competing in three categories: Television/Cinema/Online Film Public Service/Social Welfare Campaign; Technique in Direction; and Technique in Cinematography. The Status is Everything playlist on http://www.youtube.com/RobertPennproduction includes all six 60-second PSAs that are up for the three 2010 London International Awards. 

Robert Penn productions developed the Status Is Everything Public Service Announcements in 2009 for African-American Office of Gay Concerns (AAOGC), Newark, New Jersey. They are part of AAOGC's multi-pronged environmental and social marketing public health campaign designed to reach and encourage young Black gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men to take the HIV-test for prevention and treatment purposes.

If you have not already visited www.statusiseverything.org please do so now! Though the contact number that appears is only for New Jersey, the message is creating waves around the world. Pass the link onto your young family members and their friends.

Movement

 
Assignments that involve movement, such as, dance or theater documentation challenge the production crew, especially in high contrast and/or low light settings.  Supplemental lighting is not permitted during most live performances and video cameras do not "see" as well as the human eye. In addition, medium and close-up footage will sometimes exhibit visible differences that must be matched in post-production to the compulsory wing-to-wing lock-down wide angle shot.

For the production or research archive, the director's or choreographer's vision must be accurately documented, including the darkness.  This record informs students, researchers and historians and will continue to do so for years to come.

A lot must be done in post-production to prepare the record for the casual viewer - and it must be achieved without sabotaging the artist's vision.  Since I love to edit in response to and in synch with movement, I finalize the edit first. Correcting lighting is the last thing I do before making the master tapes.

Plan Shoot Edit Burn

You can learn about my services at http://www.robertpenn.net 

Weddings and other Ceremonies

There are many ways to videotape a wedding. And many types of edits. I use the documentary approach to tell the story of the happy day.

Two cameras at the actual ceremony are essential. One starts near the entrance and the other waits on the altar just like the groom. This allows the edit to cut between the excited well-wishers and the anxious bride. The same applies to reception lines, speeches, dancing and goodbyes.

Though the happy couple may someday want to relive their most wonderful day by watching hours of footage from stepping into her gown to unfastening his tie after the first dance, most family members and friends will be happy to receive a 30-minute edit of the day's events. Thanks to DVD autoring it is possible to supplement the short wedding film with a slideshow of stills extracted from the footage and/or taken by a still photographer.

The process

I ran into a friend at the local post office. He asked me to speak with him about making a training video. Of course, I agreed. We met the next morning for coffee and he told me his idea. He is a first timer at this and my five-part opportunity quickly became apparent.

First, get a clear idea of his objective: make video recordings that will expand his existing mental health care practice. Second, outline ways his real-life success can be replicated in media for distribution. Third, tell him what the ideal crew and budget would be to achieve his objective, using familiar successes in the self-help industry. Fourth, answer his questions in clear and concise language.

We had a great conversation. My friend has a lot of charisma, experience and a wonderful manner. I can easily see how he gains the trust of his clients and facilitates their progress. Like most people, he had limited knowledge about effectively translating his face-to-face experience into a recording. My input assured him that much of that process can actually be conveyed via recording.

Fifth, now I wait to see if he hires me to help him achieve his objective.

The work

You can see some of my work at http://www.robertpenn.net - here is a sampling:

What is digital video?

Digital video is a general term for a group of cost-effective recording devices. Most popular are the mini-DV cameras that are widely available today. These are great for moving snap shots of everyday events, such as, vacations, baby's first walk and to record the damage your car sufferred in a fender bender.

There are other digital video formats for professional applications. I work in DVCAM because genlock eliminates sync slippage between audio and video tracks. This is important for corporate training, event video and performance documentation, especially multi-camera shoots.