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MAY-JUNE, 2023
The Videogram is published every other month, linking you to the latest information on the club website. When news can't wait, Videogram ALERTS keep you informed. Videogram REMINDERS make sure you don't miss important events.
Past Videograms are archived on the club website.
CONTENTS
Announcements
Wolfgang Kutter to Teach Tips for PC Video Editing in May 6 Class|
“Seeking Online Adventures” by Mary Zolly Wins Annual Short Dramatic Script Contest
Video One Announces Upcoming TV Programs, Plans 3-Camera Shoot on May 16
Ward Cushman's Ambitious Goal: “Visit Every Village Manor – on A Bicycle”
Carmen Pacella Unpacks “iPhone-ography” at April General Meeting
Join Us for the Next Short Film Showcase Monday, June 5
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
THIS SATURDAY – Class on “Tips to Facilitate PC Video Editing” – See below.
POSTPONED – Dr. Tom Nash's class, “Corel VideoStudio Editing for the PC,” announced for May 13 and 20, has been postponed.
COREL VIDEOSTUDIO FORUM TOPIC – Facilitator Wolfgang Kutter plans a review of “What's New and Different in the Corel VideoStudio 2000 Series” as part of the Corel VideoStudio Forum's monthly meeting, Monday, May 15 at 10 am via Zoom. This group for Window PC users who edit in VideoStudio will not meet during July and August. Whether to meet in June will be decided at the May 15 meeting. For more information or a meeting link, email Wolfgang at wkutter7@gmail.com.
VIDEO CLUB IN CLUBS EXPO – The Video Club will join scores of other clubs in the Laguna Woods Village Recreation Department's Clubs Expo on Thursday, May 18 from 10 am to 1 pm in Clubhouse 5. We'll share info about our activities with residents via photo and other displays, videos, and handouts. Drop by and say “hello”! Jim Rohrs, our club Equipment Manager and Wednesday Lab Supervisor, is in charge of the Video Club's exhibit. If you'd like to help prepare our exhibit or help greet residents at the Video Club table, email Jim at BoJac31@hotmail.com.
POSTPONED FOR NOW – No Video Shooting Expedition Planned for June. The first Video Shooting Expedition, led by Dr. Tom Nash and Stephanie Brasher on Monday, December 12 was so successful that it was repeated on Saturday, February 11 with plans to hold new Expeditions every other month. However, the Saturday, April 8 Expedition had to be postponed, and none is currently planned for June. This free activity, open to all residents and club members, starts at 1:30 pm in the Video Lab, followed by shooting in the field with a camcorder, smartphone, or camera of your choice, and ending back in the Video Lab for review and discussion. We'll let you know when the Video Shooting Expeditions will be resumed.
NEW SCANNING STATION in Capture Center – Residents who want to convert their 35mm slides, photos, or other documents to modern digital formats in the Video Lab's Marvin Green Capture Center will no longer have to wait if someone is already using the scanner. Equipment Manager and Wednesday Lab Supervisor James Rohrs recently set up a second scanning station – also equipped with a high-resolution HP Scanjet G4050. Thanks a lot, Jim!!
THE GOLDIES ARE COMING! – As in past years, an hour-long program about our Annual Goldies Awards Banquet (held February 9) is being prepared for Village Television. It will include the 10 videos from our Annual Short Video Contest, as shown at the banquet, plus interviews with first-place-winner Stephanie Brasher and second-place-winner Nancy Klann-Moren. We'll keep you posted as to when this program will be aired – hopefully in June.
GENERAL MEETINGS – Carmen Pacella's excellent talk on iPhone videography at our April 20 General Meeting will be our last monthly General Meeting until September.
ANNUAL SUMMER BBQ – Plan to join us on Thursday, August 17, at 5 pm for our Fourth Annual Summer BBQ Buffet, to be held again this year in the 19 Restaurant Village Greens Cafe.
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 Wolfgang Kutter to Teach Tips for PC Video Editing in May 6 Class
Click here to view or download class flyer.
“If you’re new to Windows video editing (and even new to computers), you will find this course useful to help you get organized prior to beginning video editing,” says Wolfgang Kutter, our Friday Lab Supervisor and Facilitator of the Corel VideoStudio Forum, held monthly via Zoom. Wolfgang's one-session class, “Tips to Facilitate Video Editing on the PC,” will be held this Saturday, May 6, from 10-11:30 am in the Video Lab.
Pre-registration is required. Email wkutter7@gmail.com. $5 for members, $20 for non-members (includes club membership).
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"Seeking Online Adventures” by Mary Zolly Wins Annual Short Dramatic Script Contest
 A fast-paced comedy about seniors exploring computer dating will be the Video Club's fifth Short Dramatic Film. “Seeking Online Adventures” by Mary Zolly (right) was selected in April from original scripts submitted by residents to the Annual Short Dramatic Script Contest. It will be produced this year by the Video Club's Video One Productions team.
A Video Club member, Mary has performed in many Village stage productions and participates in a local scriptwriting group. Her entry was originally titled “Never Too Late.”
The author is currently working on her script as part of a Video One “writers room” with members who have produced past Video Club films – Gila Zalon, Lucy Parker, Jack Crawbuck, John Kelly, and Suzanne Savlov. Their scriptwriting focus is on Sophia, a self-proclaimed relationship expert and podcaster, as she tries to involve two septugenarian lady-friends in online dating – while suave and attractive Ted adds a few complications.
Above (from left),Gila Zalon, Mary Zolly, Jack Crawbuck, and Lucy Parker work on script for Video Club's next Short Dramatic Film.
Pre-production is planned later this spring, including casting, and location-planning, Shooting is anticipated this summer, followed by editing and musical scoring in post-production for an autumn premiere.
The Video Club's fourth Short Dramatic Film,“Bowling Ball Debacle,” premiered March 16 in the Video Lab. It was directed by Gila Zalon and edited by Suzanne Savlov with cinematography by John Kelly. Previous films in the series are “Write It Down” (2019), “What? You, Too?” (2020), and “The Hole in One” (2022).
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Video One Announces Upcoming TV Programs, Plans 3-Camera Shoot on May 16
 The Video One Productions team continues a busy schedule of TV productions with three monthly shows “Beyond the Gates,” “Eyes on Books,” and “Laguna Woods Stories.” In addition, in May Jack Crawbuck will lead a group using three cameras to video a one-act play in the Village. Joe Selikov will handle audio on this shoot.
Video One Productions plans to continue meeting throughout the summer on second and fourth Fridays at 1 pm via Zoom. Open to club members, this Special Interest Forum helps participants build video skills while doing team-based projects. For more information or a link to attend a meeting, contact the group's Facilitator, Fred Harshbarger, at f.harshbarger@sbcglobal.net.
WATCH OUR SHOWS ON VILLAGE TV
“Beyond the Gates” – Wednesdays at 11 am and Sundays at 9 am
“Eyes on Books” – Mondays and Thursdays at 9:30 am
“Laguna Woods Stories” – Wednesdays and Sundays at 12 noon
“Video Club Spotlight” – Sundays at 4 pm
“Jazzing Around” – Fridays at 8:30 pm and Sundays at 4:30 pm
“Beyond the Gates”
 “Beyond the Gates” goes surfing in May with a fast-action show produced by Jack Crawbuck. In the first segment, host and resident Bill Hemberger interviews famed surfer and surfboard expert Duke Aipa at his surfboard store in Santa Ana. Next, host Nadia Sturner goes to Dana Point Harbor where she views the Doheny surfing statues (above) and interviews surfing historian Tom Sutherland.
We may see more about the local surfing scene on “Beyond the Gates” this summer, since Jack says he has “enough footage for three shows.”
Tentative plans for “Beyond the Gates” in June will take host and resident Susan Wheeler to restaurants and a chocolate factory in Laguna Niguel. In addition to hosting, Susan will be a segment producer on this show.
“Eyes on Books”
 In May, “Eyes on Books” interviews Susan Elia MacNeal, author of Mother Daughter Traitor Spy, a mystery-thriller-suspense novel described by the South Florida Sun Sentinel as “a first-class combination of espionage, historical and domestic drama.” In the words of bestselling author Kim Fay, MacNeal's book “explores the Nazi party in World War II Los Angeles and the relationship between a mother and daughter as they confront the dangers of being true to themselves while doing the right thing.” Residents Teri and John Kelsall host the show.
In June, “Eyes on Books” will interview the best-selling sister-and-brother novelist team, Allison and Owen Pataki, about their highly-rated historical novel, Where the Light Falls, described by Amazon Books as “a rich and sweeping novel of courage, duty, sacrifice, and love set during the French Revolution.” Hosts will be Elaine Schnitter and resident Steve Savlov.
Other Video Club TV Programs
Tom Nash's long-running show, “Laguna Woods Stories,” featuring interviews with interesting Village residents and produced by Video One Productions, is currently in re-runs, but productions is expected to resume. Video One Productions' Facilitator Fred Harshbarger's two shows, “Video Club Spotlight,” featuring short videos by club members, and “Jazzing Around,” featuring West Coast jazz performances, are both in re-runs.
Help Shoot “Free Radicals”
The shoot below offers a great opportunity to learn more about multi-camera remote techniques. To be a part of Jack's team, contact him at jcrawbuck@gmail.com or 858-205-0950.
The play Jack Crawbuck and his Video One Productions team will be shooting on Tuesday, May 16, is “Free Radicals,” an intense one-act drama, presented in Clubhouse 7 by A Music Lovers Club and One Foot in the Grave Productions – along with a gourmet dinner of seven hearty salads. Doors open at 5:30 pm, dinner at 6, performance at 7:30, followed by questions and answers. Directed by Sandy O'Connor, the play stars Barbara Turino and Jeff Sinclair. For more information or reservations at $25 each, call Steve Metstahn at 714-292-5992.
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VILLAGE BICYCLE TOUR
Ward Cushman's Ambitious Goal: “Visit Every Village Manor – on A Bicycle”
 The Video Club always encourages members to come up with creative ideas for making our own videos. Now Ward Cushman (left), a retired minister, Village resident, and Administrator of our club YouTube Channel, has come up with a real challenge!
An avid bicyclist, Ward is still recovering from a recent accident injury caused by a motorist, but he's wasting no time getting “back in the saddle.” Below he tells you about his video challenge in his own words:
“What would it be like to travel through Laguna Woods Village on a bicycle starting at manor number one and going in numerical order to the very last manor? Is it even possible to do that? What surprising historical tidbits will we discover?
 “Our plan is to ride a bicycle equipped with a GoPro video camera through Laguna Woods Village. We will have an audio track that describes where we are, differences in buildings, dates of buildings, and other pertinent information. At various points we will stop and interview people, hopefully Village officials and/or historians, who will share interesting things about the Village.
“It's likely we will be able to highlight many different aspects of the Village, including architecture, horticulture, and other things. This will be a journey of discovery, and we're not sure what we are going to discover, but expect to have fun in the process.”
Ward has already met with leaders at the History Center regarding his project and plans to reach out widely in the Village for “historical tidbits” as part of his research. Before moving here a few years ago, Ward began producing his own Bible-study videos. At the Video Club, he's jumped in with enthusiasm, taking classes as well as joining Video One Productions and volunteering for camera, audio, and editing assignments on a variety of projects.
If you would like to contact Ward about his Village Bicycle Tour project, email ward.cushman@gmail.com. We'll keep you posted on his progress.
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 Carmen Pacella Unpacks “iPhone-ography” at April General Meeting
Click here to see a video of Carmen's presentation on the club website.
Smartphone users (whether iOS or Android) were offered a storehouse of tips for making successful videos with their devices when Village resident Carmen Pacella addressed our General Meeting on April 20. His focus was “Thinking Outside the Box.”
 Carmen said he began teaching himself “iPhone-ography” five years ago after his wife, Dorothy, was invited to do on-camera interviews and narration for “The Thrive Show,” a monthly half-hour TV series produced for Village Television by the late Scott Marvel. Scott, a Video Club instructor and past-president, was well-known as an iPhone evangelist – and his message impressed Carmen.
 At about the same time – as a musician and band member – Carmen was very unimpressed by the stationary, tripod-bound results when his band hired a professional to make a video for them. He bought a gimbal for his iPhone and captured the band from every angle – with his phone steadied by the small, hand-held, battery-powered stick. Carmen even went outside the box, inviting audience members to hold the rig and find new angles for him.
But more iPhone video adventures were awaiting the Pacellas.
Carmen began producing Chicago Club travel videos, interview videos for the History Center and other Village groups, and more band videos – doing all the shooting and editing himself. “Eventually,” he said, “We had to cut back.”
Carmen turned the mic over to his wife, Dorothy (below), who is also involved with the day-long regional bus tours sponsored by the Village's large, active Chicago Club. When the bus trips were shut down during COVID, she said, she and Carmen made a 90-minute video on the history of the Village (still shown periodically on Village Television). “That's the video we got the most feedback on,” Dorothy recalled. “You can reach 50 people on a bus, but 18,000 on TV.”
Graphics has been a life-long passion for Carmen. In the 1960s, he majored in photography, filmmaking, and commercial art at Pittsburgh’s Ivy School of Art. Later, he worked in global corporate sales and marketing of photographic and printing equipment. He recalled designing complex graphics devices that brought “endless questions” from his clients. Thinking outside the box, he made a VHS “how-to” videotape to help answer the queries. He also recalled shooting black-and-white film on a 16mm, turret-lens, wind-up Bolex and editing in the camera. Remember those days? His work also brought him in contact with famed photographer Ansel Adams as a client and friend.
Discussing the software he uses to create iPhone videos, Carmen says he keeps it “as simple as possible.” An inexpensive monthly subscription to Filmic Pro equips his iPhone with many advanced video controls, including lighting and sound management. He edits in iMovie, stores his files in Dropbox, and uses an external hard drive with his Mac computer. An “off-the-shelf,” $100 Hohem gimbal is an essential tool. He also uses a battery pack and a transmitter with wireless mics connected to the gimbal.
“Hohem's gimbal software does not work with Filmic Pro,” Carmen pointed out. “Had I known that, I might have looked at other gimbal brands.”
Recalling that he was forced to replace a “cheap mic” -- sidelined with a minor problem -- because it was not repairable, Carmen advised, “Now I buy better-quality mics that can be repaired.” A plus factor, of course, is better sound.
“If you's shooting outside with your iPhone in the summer,” Carmen warned, “your phone will overheat. You can't avoid it.” His solution? “I borrow my wife's iPhone and keep shooting.”
Sticking with his “keep it simple” mantra, Carmen uses his gimbal in basic mode, although other modes are available. “One great advantage with the gimbal,” he pointed out, “is that museums will let you in with them. They won't let you in with a tripod.”
He also keeps it simple by using no artificial light. "I call it my 'cinema verite,'" he quipped. Another tip: “Stay in airplane mode when shooting. You won't get calls.”
“Have plenty of battery power,” Carmen also advised, adding that a major benefit of Filmic Pro is its ability to upload files while shooting. “Your phone's memory fills up too fast,” he pointed out. “Using Filmic Pro, I can shoot for hours.”
OK, Video Club members!
With all this good advice, what are you waiting for?
Let's see those smartphone videos you're going to shoot!!
Above are Dorothy Pacella and Chicago Club tour leader Bill Hoffman of Hoffy Tours in a video clip Carmen shared with his presentation.
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Join Us for the Next Short Film Showcase Monday, June 5
 The Short Film Showcase series is presented quarterly in the Video Lab. No reservations are necessary and the showcase is absolutely free. So come on in and enjoy these short films.
Short Film Showcase #25, will be held, Monday, June 5 at 1 pm in the Video Lab, curated by Bob and Diane Matonti, our new SFS Co-Coordinators. This Showcase will be a selection of short films that include dramas, comedies, documentaries, and animations, chosen to entertain, inspire, and motivate you to create your own videos.
Audience discussion will follow each film.
Plan to join us for popcorn while you sit back and enjoy these short videos.
Click here to see a list of past Short Film Showcase videos on the Video Club website.
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