September, 2017
IN THIS ISSUE...
Announcements
Video Club to Offer 14 Classes This Fall-Winter
Stephanie Brasher to Show Clips App on Project Day
“Making Travel Videos” to Be General Meeting Topic September 21
Video Club Is Helping Other Village Clubs – Thanks to Video One
A Challenge for You – As Our New Webmaster!
Smartphone Video Production Group Continues to Meet Weekly
Next Video One Meeting Is Friday, September 8
Lab Supervisors to Hold Round Table October 9
Other Tech Clubs
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
A Membership Bargain – To any non-members receiving this e-newsletter, those joining during the last three months of 2017 (October-December) will receive 2018 membership for free. Fees are $15 for one person, $20 for two at the same address. Click here for a membership form to complete and mail in with your check.
 Biola's Loss (when he retired) Was Our Gain! A tribute to the film school our club's Vice President and Learning Opportunities Director, Dr. Tom Nash, says he “was privileged to start 40 years ago” can be found by clicking here. The headline on the June 23, 2017 Orange County Register article is “Biola University mixes film and faith and finds success for its students in Hollywood.”
 New Look Coming -- The photo at right, taken August 23, shows something missing in front of the Video Lab. The long-unused shuffleboard court has been demolished to make way for a "pocket" park. Much more scenic and a possible setting for video shoots.
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Video Club to Offer 14 Classes This Fall-Winter
Click here to download our
Fall-Winter 2017-18 Class Schedule.
In our largest lineup of classes yet (a total of 14), the Video Club kicks off this fall with introductory video editing for both PC and Mac users. Click to download the course fliers -- Corel VideoStudio for PC and iMovie for Mac. Both classes start in early September, so plan now to enroll! Other classes cover a wide range – from learning to use YouTube to smartphone video-making to multi-camera studio production.
 Make A Winning Contest Video! Of special interest is a new class aimed at helping members craft their entries in our Annual Short Video Contest, which will culminate with selection of winners at the “Academy” Awards Banquet in February. “Making Award-Winning Short Videos” is a 3-session class to be taught by Dr. Tom Nash, starting Saturday, October 7, from 10 am-noon in the Video Lab and Studio. Cost is $15.
Additional new classes deal with multi-track PC video editing in Corel VideoStudio, performing at your best for the camera, using Apple's easy and clever new Clips app to make videos on your iPhone/iPad, the role of the producer in videomaking, making travel videos people will love, and introductory animation techniques.
Tom Nash, who taught video production for many years at Biola University, is our Vice President and Learning Opportunities Director. Assisted by Lucy Parker and Betsy Martin, he set up the new schedule of classes. Extra thanks to Tom for teaching many of them!
All classes are for members only. No pre-registration is required. Cost averages $5 per session. In addition to formal classes, club members may also earn certificates in the use of Video Studio equipment (cameras, audio, and switcher) and/or schedule individual tutoring sessions on specific video topics. For more info on any of our learning opportunities, contact Dr. Tom Nash, tom@tomnash.net, 714 381-0781.
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VIDEO ONE WORK ALSO TO BE SHOWN
Stephanie Brasher to Show Clips App on Project Day
 At our next Project Day, Monday, September 11, Video Club Secretary Stephanie Brasher (left) will show her clever videos made with Apple's new Clips app for iPhone and iPad. The session will be held from 1-3 pm in the Video Lab and is open without charge to all residents and their guests. If you're an iPhone or iPad user, come and see what this appealing app can do and think about taking Stephanie's class in making easy and fun videos with Clips, starting November 8 (see class schedule). Stephanie will also show entertaining short videos and trailers made with iMovie.
 Also presenting will be Lisa Aoki, John Kelly, and Betsy Martin of Video One with the video they recently made for the Garden Centers Club, along with Video One Co-Facilitator Lucy Parker showing two 30-second “get-out-the-vote” videos made for use this fall on Village Television to boost interest in United and Third Mutual elections. One video is a husband-and-wife “breakfast drama,” starring Phil Doran and Ellen Van Houten, shot by John Kelly in Tom Nash's dining room. The other is an animation (above) by Lucy Parker involving voice-overs by five different voice actors, most of them Video One members. An animation demo may also be presented.
Held quarterly, Project Day is when club members share recent work or work-in-progress for discussion and feedback. For more information, or to become a presenter, please contact Project Day Coordinator Betsy Martin, bmartin125@comline.com, 707-540-1955.
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“Making Travel Videos” to Be General Meeting Topic September 21
 Our longtime Friday Lab Supervisor, Wolfgang Kutter (left), whose many European trips with wife Karin have given him lots of travel video clips to edit, will be our September 21 General Meeting speaker. The meeting is open free to members and all residents and their guests. Refreshments and socializing at 6:30 pm, program at 7 in the Video Lab. Click here for flier.
 “I'll explain various editing steps which can be applied to improve your travel videos,” says Wolfgang. “I'll show a 22-minute travel video taken during one of our trips to Southern France (see photo at right) to demonstrate how these steps were used. I use the Corel VideoStudio editing program, but other editing software has very similar capabilities.” Wolfgang has helped many members improve their editing skills through the Corel Forum. An audience Q&A will follow his presentation.
A bonus at the meeting will be the showing of an 8-minute video of Wolfgang and Dr. Tom Nash being interviewed by Village Television on August 1. During the interview, now available on YouTube, the two explain the still photo, video, and music conversion services offered to residents in the Video Lab's Marvin Green Memorial Capture Center.
FUTURE GENERAL MEETINGS: Chapman University film professor Sally Rubin, who has twice addressed the club on her specialty of documentary filmmaking, will be our November 16 General Meeting speaker. Come and learn! Program for the October 19 General Meeting TBA. For more information, contact Club President Steve Carman, steve.carman@mac.com, 424-254-6583.
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Video Club Is Helping Other Village Clubs – Thanks to Video One
 
 
Above, VideoOne team shoots Aquadette performance on August 24. Jim Rohrs, top left, made friends with a clown. Tom Sheng, top right, found a good vantage point. Paul Chiang was the third team member, assisting Aquadettes photographer Charlies Redner, also a Video Club member. Below right is one of the team T-shirts made for the crew by Jim. Photos by Betsy Martin.
Ask any Video Club past-president! One of the most “un-fun” tasks our presidents used to face was turning down the many requests from clubs asking us to make videos for them. Why did we have to say “no” so frequently? Because, even when there was time to publicize the request, volunteers rarely stepped up. Today, that seems to be changing – thanks to our Video One production group.
Last November, at the request of the monthly Voices of Exciting Women Writers & Poets Club, Video One's co-facilitator, Lucy Parker, shot a lecture by local poet and literature professor Robbi Nestor discussing American poet Emily Dickinson. Later, Lucy edited the footage into an hour-long program that ran six times in May on Village Television.
On April 8, a Video One team shot video of Laguna Woods Senior Clown Alley graduation ceremonies in Clubhouse 6. Participants included Andy Cullinana, Bob D'Evelyn, Lisa Aoki, and Gloria D'Simone Shute. Filmmaker David Bukstein, grandson of residents Paul and Selma Bukstein, had requested help collecting footage for a documentary film he's making on our clowns, the largest senior clown organization in the world.
Later this spring, at the request of the Garden Centers Club, Video One member John Kelly shot a video of their facilities, assisted by Betsy Martin, with Lisa Aoki, an avid gardener, producing. John edited the footage for use on Village Television and YouTube. At a Video One meeting in July, John, a professional videographer, turned the shoot into a learning experience through a presentation he gave (complete with multi-page handout) on “pre-production planning.” It took a while, it seems, to find out what the garden folks really wanted – but all were happy with the final product.
In July, resident and Video Club member Gordon Richiusa donated $500 to the club from an outside grant he's administering to produce yoga videos for veterans. Under Gordon's direction, Video One volunteers shot a series of short lessons conducted by professional trainers in the Video Studio, where our switcher was used for the shoot. Gordon is doing final editing and says those involved with the project are “very happy” with our work.
The latest shooting crew to emerge from Video One was Jim Rohrs, Paul Chiang, and Tom Sheng, seen in photos above, all of whom volunteered to provide coverage of the 2017 Aquadettes Show at the end of August. Courtesy of Jim, the three showed up for the shoot in matching black “VCLW” T-shirts.  The appeal for help had come from resident and Video Club member Charlie Redner, who serves as the Aquadettes' photographer. Charlie needed footage from different angles for a video to be edited by Valerie Link (right). Valerie is the artistic director of our community's beloved synchronized swimming group – a Village tradition for over 50 years. And she's also a Video Club member who has taught herself to edit!
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A Challenge for You – As Our New Webmaster!
As of late August, the all-new Laguna Woods Village website is up and running – and it won't be carrying websites for the clubs, just a listing and a link to an independent site of each club's choosing. Suggested site hosts are Wix.com and Wordpress.com, as well as Facebook. All are available free or at low cost. Village Management Services is even providing free website training to help the clubs get started.
 This change directly impacts the Video Club, since our site is hosted by the Village. Our current site is shown at left in all its ugliness with valuable space at top and left always taken up by extraneous material. Our site must be moved soon or all content will be lost. Not much of a loss, you might say -- but actually the site contains useful information and a lot of our club's history -- and using a more flexible hosting service, it can look much, much better!
Thus, we have an excellent opportunity to rebuild and improve our site. If you'd like to learn this valuable skill (website editing) and be of service to the Video Club, help and training are available. To find out more, contact Acting Webmaster Lucy Parker, lvparker@gmail.com, 949-456-4657.
Our site can still be reached (for about 90 days). Unfortunately, our easy-to-remember URL shortcut, “tinyurl.com/govideoclub,” no longer works.
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Smartphone Video Production Group Continues to Meet Weekly
 The SmartphoneVideo Production Group led by resident and professional videographer Scott Marvel (right) meets most Friday mornings from 9:30-11 am in the Video Studio. Emphasis is on developing 30-second public service announcements (PSAs) for use on VillageTelevision, as well as on developing on-camera talent. Open free to club members and to all residents and their guests. For more information, contact Scott, at mrvlman1@aol.com, 626-826-8818. Click here for flier.
As listed in our Fall-Winter Class Schedule, Scott will be teaching two four-session classes this fall and winter – an expanded repeat of “Become a Shreditor: Learn to Capture Your Life with A Smartphone,” on four consecutive Fridays starting October 13, and a new class, “Making Travel Videos That People Love,” on four consecutive Fridays starting January 5. Both will be offered from 9:30 am-noon, in the Video Lab and Studio. The Smartphone Video Production Group will move to another day or not meet during these classes. See Scott for details.
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Next Video One Meeting Is Friday, September 8
Our video production group, Video One, now numbers 35 members – most of whom have taken (or will soon take) Dr. Tom Nash's beginning and advanced “Multi-Camera Studio Production” classes, starting Saturday, November 4 (see class schedule). Members have been teaming up on club-endorsed and Village-related projects (see article in this issue), as well as helping each other with personal video shoots.
Below, Dr. Tom Nash gives a mini-lesson on lighting at the August 18 Video One meeting
At the group's next meeting, Friday, September 8, from 1-3 pm in the Video Studio, the agenda is expected to include a follow-up on the recent Aquadettes shoot and more script analysis for Gloria D'Simone Shute's proposed series of 30-second spots to help seniors avoid scams. One test video has been shot in this series, and Gloria received feedback on three new scripts at the last ( August 18) meeting. In addition, Dr. Tom Nash plans a tech training session.
For information about joining Video One, contact Co-Facilitators Phil Doran, pdoran707@yahoo.com, 949-421-9788, or Lucy Parker, lvparker@gmail.com, 949-456-4657.
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MARSHA BERMAN IS NEW SUPERVISOR
Lab Supervisors to Hold Round Table October 9
 Led by longtime Friday Supervisor Wolfgang Kutter, the Video Club's Lab Supervisors will hold their next Round Table for planning, training, and sharing information on Monday, October 9, from 10 am to noon in the Video Lab. The group welcomes Marsha Berman (right), who joined up in August, serving as a Supervisor with Wolfgang on Fridays
Other Supervisors include Bob Kulpa and Lillian Winkler (Tuesdays), Betsy Martin and Andy Cullinane (Wednesdays), and Lucy Parker and Jim Rohrs (Thursdays). If you'd like to volunteer for this rewarding activity – helping residents with video-related projects – please contact Wolfgang at wkutter@yahoo.com, 949-457-1259. Training is available.
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OTHER TECH CLUBS
Camera Club
The Camera Club offers a Showcase, "Mammoth," to be presented by Pat Wilkinson on Monday, September 11, at 6:30 pm in the Performing Arts Center of Laguna Woods, Dining Room 2. This event is for Laguna Woods Village residents and guests only. All are welcome; a $3 donation for non-members will be collected at the door. Pat's family has been visiting Mammoth since 1965, and her photos will cover many aspects of the scenic mountain community. “There are probably few places in the world that can top Mammoth for its awesome ski terrain and natural beauty,” she says.
On Monday, September 25, at 6:30 pm, join the Camera Club in Dining Room 2 of the Performing Arts Center to view projected images submitted by members and critiqued by a professional judge. Categories are Pictorial, Monochrome, and Special Subject: Cell Phone Photography. This Digital Projected Image Critique is for Laguna Woods Village residents and guests only. All are welcome; a $3 donation for non-members will be collected at the door.
More information about the Camera Club is available on their website, including access to their quarterly newsletter, Cameraderie which includes many member photos.
PC Club
 Google Earth & Maps” will be explored Tuesday, September 12, at the PC Club's General Meeting, at 7 pm in Clubhouse 7. “Today they really compliment each other,” according to the event flier. Open free to all residents and their guests; door prize drawing for club members. Google Earth is a geo-browser that accesses satellite and aerial imagery, ocean bathymetry, and other geographical data over the internet to represent the Earth as a 3-D globe. Google Maps is a web-based service that provides detailed info about geographic regions and sites around the world, including conventional road maps, plus street-side, aerial, and satellite views of many places worldwide.
For more club info, visit the club's website.
Macintosh Club
A wide variety of classes are held in the Anne & Charles Clark Mac Learning Center on the third floor of the Community Center, with no requirement to sign up for classes in advance. Many classes are offered on iPad use. During Center hours, 9 am-3 pm, Monday-Friday, Supervisors provide all residents with individual help on all Apple devices. See details on the club's website.
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Have News for The Videogram?
The Videogram is written and edited by Lucy Parker. Production by Misako Katayama. If you have information you would like to submit to The Videogram, please send it to Lucy Parker, Publicity Director, lvparker@gmail.com, 949-456-4657.
Want your friends to join the Video Club?
Send them this link: http://eepurl.com/VsW31. They can sign up for the Videogram to see what we do for our members and how much fun we have!
Manage your email preferences by using the links at the bottom of your personalized Videogram. If you have a change of email address, however, please send it to Membership Director Evelyn Chang at evelyn.gc03@gmail.com for our club records. Evelyn will make sure the Videogram gets your new email address.
Visit the Video Club's website: Our site is in transition (as explained in this issue) but is still available at lagunawoodsvillage.com. Click on “View Classic Site” at the top of the home page. Then click on “Clubs.” The Videogram Archive on our website provides links to all past Videograms and Videogram ALERTS.
Visit the Video Club's YouTube channel: youtube.com, search “vcoflw.”
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