Robert Penn Productions

Video Art

admin — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:48:49 +0000

I love taking old footage and remixing it with other ephemera and/or with original footage, photos, drawings, music and narration. It’s a great form of expression for a romantic, such as I am.

Old black and whites suggest how my parents might have been in their youth are a particular inspiration for me.

One of my fondest childhood memories was discovering the love letters my parents exchanged while my future father was overseas in World War II and my future mothers was back in the States teaching English and Music. It was storybook reading, and forbidden, too, which made it so much more enjoyable.

I’m currently preparing a lecture presentation for Monday. I have so many 1890s – 1970s public domain clips and a fair amount of 1998 to 2011 original footage. I hope to zero in on the topics and images that will inspire my teenage audience.

DeVos Institute for Arts Management

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 01:36:07 +0000

We HD recorded two great sessions today on external and internal analysis for non-profit organizations. Great presentation. Great participation. Great crew and staff. Great venue, too.

Full service video production and post

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:56:20 +0000

Great video includes compelling action, crisp sound, clear graphics and committed editing.

Digital Video Delivered is: visual and sound content directed to appeal on multiple viewing platforms plus dynamic production and post are Robert Penn productions.

Our mission is to produce great video that meets our client’s needs. We take nothing for granted. “Lights! Camera! Action!” is not enough. Script, shoot list, outline of talking points or questions must be prepared before arriving at the shoot location. Sound is critical to every project – whether it’s corporate, archival or event documentation. A Sense of the “feel” or how the edited film will “look” helps direct your photographers and narrows in on the best footage that will stand out from the massive amounts of video content people see everyday!

Our slogan “More Media for Your Message” means that our camera, sound, editing and computer graphics team will provide you distinctive content while respecting your budget.

DeVos Institute for Arts Management at Kennedy Center

admin — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:34:31 +0000

Robert Penn productions completed three New York City corporate shoots for DeVos Institute for Arts Management in September 2011. Our crews documented a training of trainers, a training and an all star social media event. In addition, we edited the training footage, replacing all of the participant questions from the floor with on-screen text.

Actor’s Reel

admin — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:33:48 +0000

Let’s meet and review any five television or film clips of your work. I will edit them into your professional three- to five-minute reel. Provide clips of your work on VHS or mini-DV tape and/or DVD. I will transform your scenes into a reel that could get you auditions and gigs! Call Robert at 917 733-6642.

Ultimate sources

admin — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:21:35 +0000

I spend a lot of time reviewing source material: hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of images. Much of the time, I’m looking for low or no cost stock footage and images, for use in a documentary, Internet short or video design. Images communicate wealths of information – place, people, emotion, event and evolution (or progress, if you prefer).

Business took me to Miami Beach a few days ago. From a seventh floor balcony in the historic Art Deco section of South Beach, I was reminded of life’s most important sources: sun, air and water.

Revival

admin — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:18:28 +0000

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.

Art from Adversity – a short documentary

admin — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:15:27 +0000

One of the many New York City community organizations that formed in response to the AIDS epidemic is a writers group for Black Gay Men. In honor of James Baldwin’s signature work, Another Country, the group selected the name Other Countries. It held its first writers workshop on June 14, 1986. Over the next year, it developed a three pronged program of peer critique, performance and publishing. In its 25 years, Other Countries has published three volumes of work by Black gay men and women. The most recent VOICES RISING came out in January 2007. The workshop continues each 2nd and 4th Saturday at NYC’s LGBT Community Center from 6 to 9 p.m. Many past and current members have gone on to publish work that “went through” the workshop. Several who developed their craft in the workshop went on to work in publishing, television and academia. Though many of its founding members died twenty years ago, their affinity group continues to nurture and foster creativity and appreciation of the life we have, here and now.

Pocket HD video

admin — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:13:41 +0000

Four of the video productions I’ve completed recently include footage that was shot with a FLIP UltraHD pocket-sized video camcorder! Yes, I said pocket HD.

Properly shot and re-encoded 720p HD footage from a pocket camcorder is virtually indistinguishable from 720p HD footage shot on a professional HD camera. The “First Dance” clip below was shot in low-light conditions. Evenso, the pocket HD camcorder performed well.

Pocket HD increases my crew’s ability to capture events from unusual angles or in close quarters and reduces equipment costs. Robert Penn productions passes the savings along to our clients.

Though Cisco stopped production the FLIP line last year, there are of other pocket HD camcorders available. In addition to HD quality, sound remains this filmmaker’s concern. In two-camera shoots, I can pick the audio from the pro camera and synch it up with the pocket HD video in post. In an all pocket HD camcorder shoot, it will be best to record audio separately or feed high quality audio from a great mic into the pocket camcorder. Two manufacturers currently produce units that have an audio input jack. My guess is that the audio that most pockets capture will be adequate for the human voice, such as, in wedding ceremonies, promotional and instructional videos, media campaigns, Internet shorts or editorial broadcasts.