Adventure Italy 2020

I'm going to Italy next year, there's so much antiquity and culture there. I've always been enamored with Pompeii and having the opportunity to fly my drone over the ruins and off the Amalfi Coast is something I just couldn't pass up. Also, I've never been to a Masters 1,000 event and WTH...there were some fabulous seats available for the finals. I can't wait to see who plays on Sunday next year in Rome. so stay tuned, there's more to come.

Blossoms of Light Virtual Tour at Denver Botanic Garden

This year I had the opportunity to shoot a 360 video at Blossoms of Lights in the Denver Botanic Garden. I mounted an Insta 360 1X on a selfie stick and walked the tour. It was hit or miss since I was shooting lots of static photos too; in any case, WTH...I know I could get smoother, higher quality footage mounting the camera on a drone and shooting in cinematic mode, but I would need to coordinate with the Gardens on something like that.

Apple iPhones require a 360° plugin like VLC.

DJI Aerial Photography Academy Training Course Gathering

I couldn't help accepting an invitation to attend the 2019 DJI Aerial Photography Academy training course in Denver this week. It was hosted by two former DJI employees and they did a nice job of delivering the inside scoop on the drone industry (past and present), as well as, insight on the tips and tricks professional photographers are using to get the most out of the technology.

I would recommend this course for anyone interested in Aerial Photography using DJI products. They discussed the in and outs related to; government regulations and guidelines, business opportunities and best practices, as well as, how to get the best results using the plethora of hardware and software tools out there to make it all happen. WTH...it was nice to sit with people from all walks of life and hear the different ways they were using the technology.

Shooting 360° videos and framing in post production

I've been experimenting with 360° videos lately. In an earlier post I showed an interactive 360° video using the Ricoh Theta SC mounted on top of a drone. It's 4K, but I think the overall quality suffers a bit due to capturing the entire sphere. The Insta360 One X camera is 5K, but it has similar quality issues. The Ricoh Theta Z1 has a 1" sensor, so WTH...perhaps I'll see if I can get my hands on it.

In any event, it was pretty easy to capture footage with the Insta360 One X on a selfie stick and frame the results in post using Premiere and the GoPro keyframe plugin. Think of it as 360° video that you can frame from any angle on the sphere in post processing.

Colorado Fall Foliage near Georgetown in 2019

I couldn't resist shooting one more day of Fall foliage around Clear Creek, Georgetown and Quanella Pass. All the leaves drop off this time of year and it's so hard to get around after the first snow storm, but WTH...it's Colorado, it'll be 70° by the weekend!

Mounting a 360 degree camera on a drone

I've been experimenting with shots using a 360 degree camera (Theta SC) mounted on a drone (Mavic 2 Pro). There's some issues, but WTH...it's new functionality and it goes with the territory; in any case, just click and drag your mouse over the video to explore the video. My guess is we'll start seeing more of this sort of thing.

Apple iPhones require a 360° plugin like VLC.

Traveling by rental car around the United Kingdom

I spent a little over a week in the United Kingdom this Summer, WTH...you have to get out and see new places and make new friends every once in a while. I arrived in Edinburgh from Munich for the last weekend of EIF and Fringe and stayed at the University. It was rocking and certainly a must do for all theatre enthusiasts. After three days of taking in the festivities it was off to Derbyshire to visit the area my ancestors came from and then to Liverpool for some Beatle nostalgia.

Next stop was the Isle of Eigg. I've been writing songs about this place for several years now and visiting the island did not disappoint me. I made new friends from Ayr, met Charlie and Maggie, explored Massacre Cave and even took a run on the "Singing Sands" of Laig Bay. It was really a great experience.

EIF and Fringe 2019, That's a wrap!

I traveled across the the pond to experience EIF and Fringe this year. The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) is an annual event of performing arts in Scotland. I saw three shows and took in the night walk too. It was nice meeting some of the creative folks for the festival. The shows here are innovative and WTH...let's figure out how to get WYSIWYG here. 😊

Adventure Deutschland to the old east Germany and beyond

I spent a week in Deutschland this August with old friends. WTH...It's important to get out and actually live life once in a while. My dad had an expression, "live to work?", "work to live?"; in any case, I have a close friend in Augsburg and he is always ready to take on another adventure. After seeing some local sites around Bavaria we traveled north to Leipzig and Dessau in old East Germany. It was great visiting the area and catching up.

Creating an online newsroom using a green screen

Putting together the newsroom for an online TV channel with limited resources can be challenging, but WTH...I've been working with green screens for decades and I'm familiar with the plethora of hardware and software needed to make it happen. Fortunately, my apartment has high ceilings.

I think the question and answer format simplifies the process and allows us to quickly develop a script for each episode. In most cases, our work flow consists of capturing each part separately and bringing it all together in post. Here's our first ReThink Baptist TV episode: The Soul Box Project.

Drone footage from Suhaka Field

Here's some drone footage I shot at Suhaka Field in Cherry Creek State Park on July 17th. So many things came together for this shot, including: tracking, lighting, reflections, shadows, automobiles, birds, sail boats, the wind. WTH! I love it when that happens...

Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019

I'm headed to Scotland for the last few days of EIF and the fringe this August. I was lucky to score a dormitory suite at the University of Edinburgh which is close to just about everything. I really can't wait to experience the creative atmosphere of this thing. WTh...It'll be like I'm a school girl again... or for the first time. 👸

2019 WYSIWYG Update!

Here's several pictures of the PCTF awards ceremony at the Abrons Art Center in New York last year. What a great night! We're just about ready to start some table reads of Eigg so I'm sure that project will start picking up momentum now. As far as the status on WYSIWYG, we've made some tweaks here and there and I've been working with a dramaturg in New York on the script, my guess is we'll see another production somewhere on the Manhattan Island in 2020 so WTH...stay tuned! ;)

For more information go to www.wysiwygthemusical.com

The end of one chapter the beginning of another

Here's a picture of my Baldwin D-9 going back to American Classic Pianos. They're based in Denver, Colorado and I've known Warren and Holly for a long time. They let me change my piano every five years or so and it's always sentimental to see them go. I composed the majority of "The Age of Sisyphus" and "The Isle of Eigg" on the D-9, so it was a productive piano. Can't wait to get my hands on the next one though. Each instrument has it's own personality and it comes out in your music. I think it's important to reinvent your music periodically and changing your piano is a subtle way to help you accomplish that.

Dramatist Guild and The New Play Exchange

Remember the scene in the movie "The Jerk" when Steve Martin gets so excited because he sees his name in the telephone book. So, I sort of felt the same today when I saw my profile page on the Dramatist Guild and New Play Exchange websites. "WTH...I'm somebody"!

View my profile on Dramatists Guild

View my profile on the New Play Exchange

Being part of the Dramatists Guild

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to participate in more music theater groups and organizations. It's so cool to meet and work with new people with similar challenges. Here's the letter I received from The Dramatist Guild in New York. WTH...I'm in and I'm loving it! :)

Click here to visit April Alsup on Dramatist Guild Website