Filming to Enhance the Music

--- for immediate release

Filming to Enhance the Music<= o:p>

Orchestra of Southern Utah and Video Ideas

by<= /b> Sara Penn= y, OSU Historian

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&nb= sp;        Stunning time-lapse video of storms unfolding, moon rises, sunsets and re-creations = of trail scenes will enhance the music of the Spanish Trail Suite on April 10, 2008 with the Orchestra of Southern Utah. Video Ideas Productions from Chattanooga, Tennessee spent several days last spring and again this fall shooting high-definition scenes to create an interactive visual presentation cued to a live performance of the music, adding a visual dimension to the concert. Historical recreations with Native Americans, HispanicTraders, and Pioneers added to the spectacular scenery of southern Utah from the gro= und and from the air will offer a unique concert experience.

&nb= sp;        After experiencing the success of Video Ideas Real-time 3D Planets program projec= ted with the orchestra’s performance of Holst’= s popular music, the Orchestra of Southern Utah partnered with Video Ideas fo= r a video enhancement of the Spanish Trail Suite.

&nb= sp;           The Spanish Trail Suite was commissioned by the Orchestra of Southern Utah with help from the National Endowment of the Arts and local foundations in 2005. Composers Marshall McDonald and Steven Sharp Nelson cre= ated a piece celebrating the three cultures which settled the West along the rou= te of trails stretching from Santa Fe to Los Angeles. The Old Spanish Trail is 1120 miles and took two and a half months to travel one way with pack horse= and mule caravans. The interactive product being produced by Video Ideas will focus on more than 100 miles of = the Trail in southwest Utah. The Spanish Trail Suite consists of 4 movements, <= i>Sunrise, Lament, Marcha and Celebration.

&nb= sp;           The Sunrise movement celebrates the Native Americans of the West, who created the original trails. It includes an extended drum caden= za which literally shakes the house and a c= all to the sun, first performed by Brent Tom.&nbs= p; The caller creates an electric moment in the music. The movement begins and ends with = a flute in honor of the native flutes used in traditional music. Video Ideas recreated a number of = scenes including campfire dancing, daily activities using authentic tools such as a grinding stone, and scenes rising from an individual Paiute to a wide vista. These re-creations will make the music even more visually exciting.

   &n= bsp;        The Paiute tribes in the West were hunters and had irrigation systems for small farms providing them with dependable sustenance. At the premiere performance of the Spanish Trail Suite Paiute dancers, drummers, and singers performed as a prelude to the orchestral music. It was an exciting and visually vibrant experience. Travis Parashonts led the = drum circle and arranged for the dancers.

&nb= sp;           Rainstorm recognizes the hardships= of the trail. When the composers= were researching the project they were asked how they could bring any beauty to a trail that is often remembered as a place of massacres, slavery, and desolation. This movement was= a response by the composers to the tragedies= of the history. The release of t= he rainstorm is cathartic. Video= Ideas creative producers wanted the visuals to illustrate the power of these stor= ms and the resulting “welcome rain” and were able to record fabulo= us time lapse footage of the black clouds rolling into the Cedar Valley with t= he craggy cliffs of Three Peaks in the background.

&nb= sp;           Marcha symbolizes the long trek by= foot on the Trail. The plodding character of the music is enhanced visually by a lone Hispanic leading a pa= ck horse past the remnants of earlier travelers. Close-ups of the dusty, unforgiving trail illustrate the difficulty and harshness of the trail. The Spanish started settling Mexico in 1519 and had settlements in California by 1769.   They needed a lin= king route to get horses, furs, wool, and other goods between Santa Fe and Los Angeles. They also wanted to establish ownership of this vast area.&nbs= p; The Trail was particularly active from 1829 to 1848. One of the most horrifying chapter= s of the Trail’s history was that the Spanish and Mexicans captured many Paiutes and other Native Americans to sell for slaves in California and New Mexico. This ended when the Mexicans lost the war with the United States and any claim to the land of the American Southwest. When the Mormon Battalion brought = the first wagon on the Trail on 1848 from California back to Utah they were abl= e to follow it from the sun-bleached bones alon= g the route. Soon wagon trains were bringing settlers through Parowan and Cedar C= ity on the way to San Bernadino, California as the Gold Rush commenced.

&nb= sp;           Celebration heralds the arrival of= the Pioneers. Scenes were re-created around the campfire to depict the days end= ing activities and their indomitable pioneer will and spirit. The wind was a little stronger tha= n we had hoped for during the filming and the high definition cameras capture ev= ery glisten and spark from the fire. One of our orchestra families had spent the month of July performing= in Nauvoo; as a result Kirsten Hofeling was thus able to teach the pioneers an authentic pioneer dance. Video Ideas focused on small details to make the scenes artistically pleasing and= the close-ups of boots and skirts circling the fire with the excitement of a new life for the travelers captures the few moments of relaxation, celebration = and hope of the pioneers on the trail.

&nb= sp;           Prod= ucing this video was definitely outside of my comfort zone. As a music teacher my life is sche= duled in increments so the "hurry up and wait" that filming requires wa= s a new experience. The patience involved in placing an eagle against just the right scenic spot or holding = the scene of the prayer around the campfire portion of Celebration until every possible angle had been filmed takes patience and skills which are unique to film makers.

&nb= sp;           Gath= ering Navajo rugs, Paiute baskets, pioneer fringed jackets, Native American jewel= ry, and all the other props took two weeks in advance of the filmmakers’ arrival, but they added to the visual impact of the footage. Daniel Griffith storyboarded the s= cenes so we knew what locations we needed to scout and the people and props needed. A phone call asking f= or an authentic grinding stone, horses, and even a storm was incredible, as I rea= lly didn’t know how to accomplish those tasks. Fortunately our cello section lead= er, Nina Hansen, has a farm and horses near to a desolate area known as Three Peaks. She also had wagon whe= els and many of the other props we needed.&nbs= p; A local museum curator provided a fabulous authentic grinding stone – and even the storm was provided at the right time by the forces of nature, which love music.

   &n= bsp;        The filming days were long and intense, but the crew led by Jerry Waddell maintained a sense of humor and professionalism, which was commendable. The crew had their share of “unplanned” adventures trying to find their remote mountain cab= in where they were housed in the dark, heading across the desert and missing t= he road with other cars behind them, and coping with the strong winds and constantly changing lighting conditions.

&nb= sp;           Al and Barb Matheson of the Old Spanish Trail Association assisted with housin= g, transportation and the air flights to capture aerial shots of the Trail. The Old Spanish Trail was recogniz= ed as a National Trail in 2002 and the National Parks Service is in the process of promoting awareness of the Trail. Through the use of this music and the interactive video presentation symphony orchestras have an opportunity to bring the real West to the audie= nce in an unforgettable way. The premiere performance with the video enhancement will be in April 2008 and t= he program will be available for rental immediately after that. Audiences will find themselves transported back into time when life was harsh and unforgiving. For more informa= tion on the music and video visit the News link on the www.videoideas.com website or www.orchestraofsouthernuta= h.org. For rental information contact Jerry Waddell at jerryw@videoideas.com or call 423-894-2677.

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Old Spanish Trail Timeline:

10,000 or more years of use by area tribes. Trail near areas such as Mesa Verde.=

1519: Span= ish conquest of Mexico

1769: Span= ish establish San Diego in California

1776: Fath= ers Escalante and Dominguez explore Utah and comes t= hrough Cedar City

1829: Span= ish Trail used to transport horses, furs, wool, and slaves from Santa Fe to Los Angeles, 1120 miles with pack horses and mules taking 2 ½ months each way.

1848: Amer= ica defeats Mexico and ends the period of the Old Spanish Trail

1848: Morm= on Battalion in California brings first wagon on Trail. Brigham Young asked for bulbs, cut= tings, horses, grain, corn, and garden seeds “to feed the people and beautify Zion.”

Present: M= odern highways use much of the route of the Trail. Interstate -15 from Parowan to Ced= ar City is on the route as is Las Vegas to Barstow and on to San Bernadino.

Dec. 3, 2002   Recognized by President Bush and the Congress as a National Trail, perhaps the oldest trail of the American West. Over 100 miles of the trail lie wi= thin Iron and Washington counties.

2005: Orch= estra of Southern Utah commissions “Spanish Trail Suite” by Marshall McDonald and Steven S. Nelson

2006: Prem= iere performance of the Suite with performance by local Paiute drum circle and dancers as prelude

2007: Film= ing enhancement video by Video Ideas of Chattanooga, Tennessee

2008: Apri= l 10, premiere of video accompanying the music of the Spanish Trail Suite