Musings on business, life, kids, video, film, editing, movies, futility, optimism, reality, hope, truth and consequences.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Families May Be Losing Their Home Movies and Tapes
Philip Beech Video Producer and Co-owner of Home Video Studio - Portland, OR., advises everyone to “search through your home immediately! Find all of those old 8 mm home movie films and old VHS tapes and get them transferred to DVD as soon as possible.”
Mr. Beech knows what’s he’s talking about. He has been rescuing movies and tapes for Portland, OR. residents in their home-based video studio for years. “Some of the films and tapes we see are already in very poor condition. And it would be a shame to lose those family histories when it’s so easy to move them all onto DVD.”
Mr. Beech’s system not only transfers the movies and videos to DVD, but also it allows you to add titles and even music thereby creating a memorable experience for generations to come. “The DVDs,” Mr. Beech adds, “really are the gifts that keep on giving, generation after generation. Imagine your grandchildren or their grandchildren being able to watch and hear their grandparents or great-great grandparents long after they are gone! Or, just think about being able to relive your own childhood simply by popping in a disk that will preserve those memories into the next century!”
Whether for the holidays or any special occasion, Home Video Studio’s service solves the frequent problem of what gift to give to the “hard to buy for” relative. He explains, “We can transfer any kind of film or video to DVD, but we can also do other creative keepsakes, for example, putting slides and photos on DVD, editing your vacation videos, making sports highlight programs for your son or daughter, and even repairing broken video tapes.” Mr. Beech also mentions that they can also transfer audiotapes and cassettes to CD.
Mr. Beech hopes that folks will contact him soon, especially if they want to create a Christmas gift for this season. “It takes some time to transfer the movies and tapes to DVD,” he adds. “We don’t want anyone to be dissappointed. But whether it’s for the Holidays or after the Holodays, you really do need to preserve and, in some cases, improve those precious memories!”
For more information on transferring and preserving your home movie film, contact Philip Beech at his Home Video Studio – 503 716 8578
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Thursday, October 29, 2009
Landscape legend Lawrence Halprin dies at 93
City Dance - Keller Fountain from Philip Beech Home Video Studio on Vimeo.
With choreographers Linda K. Johnson, Cydney Wilkes, Linda Austin, and Tere Mathern and writer Randy Gragg.
In 1971, Portland christened a new urban park that The New York Times architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable heralded as “the most important urban space since the Renaissance.” Called Forecourt Fountain (later renamed Ira Keller Fountain), it was part of a sequence of Portland plazas that combined water, sculptural form, and public space in ways never before attempted in a city. Yet the plazas were merely one outgrowth of the daring experiments in movement, sound, and space being conducted by landscape architect Lawrence Halprin; his wife, the legendary choreographer Anna Halprin; and radical musical composers such as Terry Riley, Pauline Oliveros, Lamont Young, and Morton Subotnick.
Third Angle New Music Ensemble, the Northwest’s premier presenter of contemporary music, along with some of Portland’s most accomplished choreographers, will celebrate the plazas and the artistic milieu from which they emerged. Third Angle will play some of the Minimalist music pioneered by the composers in the Halprins’ circle as the choreographers explore Anna Halprin’s philosophy and her intense blend of movement with social and personal consciousness often cited as the beginning of postmodernism in dance.
“We were trying to invent new languages of dance, music, and architecture,” Lawrence Halprin recalls of the time. So, too, will City Dance attempt a new kind of celebration of architectural and creative heritage.
City Dance is Oregon’s 2008 American Masterpieces project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Oregon Arts Commission, along with the Portland Development Commission, Regional Arts & Culture Council, TVA Architects and other partners.
Great web site
"About a year ago, a small message board was born out of the idea that despite the unusually large number of food sites here in Portland, there was a kind of conversation that wasn't taking place. Instead of the usual forum babble of "have you gone?" and "how is the?" and "where should I?", the singular driving mantra of pdxplate has been one of blazing your own food and drink trail, jumping without a net, and mixing metaphors. Taking one for the team. It's a simple notion, but a powerful one, and it's what this site is all about. "
Had a great time at Great American Distillers Festival at the Bossanova Ballroom last weekend. Enjoyed some amazing spirits and the company of some of the most dedicated and talented distillers in the Pacific Northwest not to mention the country.
The Festival opened with a keynote address from Bill Owens, president of the American Distilling Institute
and the MixMaster Mixology Competition preliminary rounds ensued.
These guys participated in the Spirits Seminars
Robert Hess: The Man Behind The Curtain: Molecular Mixology’s Little Secret
Blair Reynolds: Tropical Mixology and the PNW Connection
Neyah White: Barrel to Barrel, the magic of wood
Here are the attendees and their products;
Artisan Spirits
Martin Ryan Vodka
Apia Vodka
Elemental Vodka
New Deal
Hot Monkey Vodka
Organic Nation Spirits
Organic Nation Gin
Organic Nation Vodka
Dry Fly
Dry Fly Gin
Dry Fly Vodka
Bend Distillery
Crater Lake Vodka
Cascade Mtn. Gin
Hazelnut Espresso Vodka
Roughstock
Montana Whiskey
Pacific Distilling
Voyager Dry Gin
Pacifique Absinthe
Deco Distilling
Rogue Spirits
Rogue Spruce Gin
Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey
Rogue Hazelnut Spice Rum
Integrity Spirits
12 Bridges Gin
Trillium Absinthe
Lovejoy Vodka
Stranahans
Colorado Whiskey
House Spirits
Aviation Gin
Krogstad Aquavit
Loft Liquors
J Witty
Chamomile Liqueur
Hood River
Cockspur Rum
Yazi Ginger Vodka
Pendleton Whiskey
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Beech Marketing Online
Beech Marketing is a new media marketing company providing keyword-based web development and search engine optimization (SEO) for small to medium businesses. We combine social marketing, video marketing, Word Press blogs and extensive market analysis, along with much, much more, to get businesses noticed and ranked by the top search engines, all at affordable prices. Mission:Our mission is to keep locally owned, small and medium businesses alive and prosperous by developing and maintaining their online presence.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Photo and Video Keepsake Videos - Makes A Great Gift for the Holidays!
Here are more gift ideas:
Create a highlight DVD of your best clips from your VHS or camcorder tape library
Organize, archive, and showcase your family photos, 35mm slides, and/or photo albums on CD or DVD
Create a Lifestory (a mini-documentary) showcasing a family loved one complete with interviews, photos, and video clips from the past
Call us today at (503) 716-8578. Don't let time and the elements damage or destroy your irreplaceable family memories. No job is too small!
Call us today!!! 503-716-8578
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Chauncey
Fourth in a series of videos produced by Home Video Studio for the Oregon Bartenders Guild.
Bartender David Shenaut of Teardrop Lounge and Beaker & Flask in Portland, Oregon, creates The Chauncey right before our eyes. Cheers!
Friday, September 25, 2009
May I buy you a drink?
Third in a series of videos for the Oregon Bartenders Guild.
This one featuring Blair Reynolds of TraderTiki.com preparing the Mai Tai. Enjoy with poi. Cheers!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Sazerac
Second in a series of cocktail recipe videos we produced for the Oregon Bartenders Guild. This one features Jeffery Morgenthaler of Clyde Common Restaurant in Portland, Oregon sharing the classic New Orleans cocktail, the Sazerac. Cheers!
Mago
First in a series of cocktail recipe videos we produced for the Oregon Bartenders Guild. This one features Neil Kopplin, of Clyde Common Restaurant in Portland, Oregon sharing one of his signature cocktails, the Mago. Cheers!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Nick Wilson Charitable Group Video
Help us to help others
The Nick Wilson Charitable Group (NWCG)
A Stem Cell Transplant Support Association for Kids with Cancer and Their Families
Our Mission
To provide support to children and their families in the Children’s Cancer Center’s Pediatric Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant Program at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon.
About Nick Wilson
Nick Wilson was a spirited and compassionate little boy who was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia at age 18 months in May of 1999. He endured hundreds of days in the hospital undergoing high dose chemotherapy, irradiation, stem cell transplantation, and multiple medical procedures. In spite of these unfavorable circumstances, Nick seized every opportunity to play, laugh, and provide a steadfast example of a tenacious zest for life. Nick died in April of 2001 despite modern medicine’s best efforts to cure his disease. It is in memory of Nick’s incredible spirit that his family endeavors to keep his spirit and compassion alive by helping other children and families finding themselves in similar circumstances.
The Nick Wilson Charitable Group is a completely volunteer operated 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. We receive no federal or state funding and rely completely on community support and individual contributions. Please consider The Nick Wilson Charitable Group for your charitable giving; all donations are tax-deductible.
Thank you.
©The Nick Wilson Charitable Group
P.O. Box 80852
Portland, OR 97280
503.890.7220
jillmetz@comcast.net
http://www.nickwilsoncg.org/
Sunday, August 2, 2009
BeechStock Photography
BeechStock is a stock photography company representing the photography of Jack Beech Industrial Photography. For over 35 years, Mr. Beech specialized in industrial and aerial photography in New Orleans, Louisiana. We have his images available for stock photography, newsletters, brochures, trade publications, annual reports, websites or fine art printing for display in your home or office. These images make a great corporate gift as well.
Mr. Beech also has many Louisiana scenes such as plantations, bayous, courtyards, New Orleans French Quarter, historical subjects, Mardi Gras and more.
Mr. Beech is a graduate of the Fred Archer School of Photography in Los Angeles, CA. He originally pursued magazine editorial photography, working through the New York Agency and Black Star Publishing.
Mr. Beech later formed Industrial Photography, Inc. in New Orleans and established a reputation as a corporate photographer, the mainstay of his work being industrial, oil fields, aerials and advertising.
He is now retired and living in Mandeville, Louisiana.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Vimeo Videos
Monday, June 29, 2009
Photo Videos and Photo Montages
A photo video is a simple way to protect and bring to life your family's precious memories. We'll edit your photos to music and create a customized unique keepsake on DVD.Photo Video Keepsakes make wonderful gifts for family members. They are a fantastic and creative way to preserve your family's history for generations to come. Everyone can also now have DVD copies of those priceless family moments.
Gather all of your YES photos together. We suggest you put them in chronological order. Start with the early photos and work your way forward to the present day. You may have some photos or groups of photos that will work better in their own little chronological sequences; such as, career, job or business photos, house photos, lake home photos, vacations, grand-kids, etc. You can even accent these by using a special music theme or select popular songs of the time. for each group and perhaps even giving each group its own title; for instance, you could place the title "Our Babies" before the grandchildren group. Think of your Photo/Video Keepsake as a story with a beginning, middle and an end.
Number your photos on the back with either a pencil or stickers (post-it notes work well). DO NOT USE a pen as the ink may rub off onto the other photos. This is also the time to start thinking about music and titles. You'll at least want a greeting at the beginning and some closing statement at the end of your video. For example, if you are making an anniversary video, you could simply put "Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad" at the beginning and "With Love, From All Of Us" at the end. Or, if you wish, you can be more personal and creative in your titles. Why not use some poetry or a favorite quotation?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Are You Ready
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
On the Verge
A new favorite product has been Keepsake Videos, photos and video put to music for anniversaries, birthdays and the general celebration of life set to music. I have enjoyed the compilation of milestones and signposts of strangers' lives and my unique ability to manipulate and elicit, I hope, some emotion with these short stories. Sorting through stacks of snaps and slides, digging through digital archives of the past. A voyeuristic endeavor that satisfies the entrepreneur and the technician.
The L.E.S.T.A. project has been mired in red tape and bureaucratic. I long for guerrilla film making, stolen locations and signed releases after the fact. I shall overcome but I am still looking for ideas, any suggestions?
What I am watching: Art of Making the Schedule
What I am listening to: Cable Company hold recording...
Monday, March 9, 2009
Fitting

It's only fitting I post now pledging to post more on this blog o' mine. It seems to be the thing, regurgitating excuses for not blogging. I should start a blog about not blogging.
As I begin my 51st year I ponder the things I know, have forgotten, and simply ignored.
We have been efforting to produce a documentary recently. The project hit a bureaucratic roadblock with a local school district when we requested permission to shoot on school property, I blame the reality TV industry for creating this faux market place for a possible "reality" series. Everyone is positioning for some kind of production deal on The Learning Channel. We will get it done and Jon and Kate Plus 8 be darned.
Here is a brief synopsis.
" The L.E.S.T.A. Story" (working title) is the story of L.E.S.T.A. and Cyndi Turtledove. LESTA’s mission is to engender creativity and discipline through Theatre and all the Arts. To develop and implement projects to help different kinds of community organizations share Spanish and English language learning, cultural exchanges, and social interaction by bringing Latinos and Anglos together. This film examines the process, successes and the challenges of bilingual language and arts education.
It's going to be a lot more fun than it sounds.