Report from Volume 1

I don't think any of us expected the success of the screening this weekend. We had a packed house and a lot of great people showed up to keep us laughing all night.

And of course, we had some exceptional videos to showcase. Thanks to everyone who came out and kept the place warm. More importantly, thanks to everyone who shared their work with us.

It is a difficult task to put in extra hours to work on a volunteer project. I am very proud and happy with all the work that came from our experiment and I'm looking forward to working with everyone for Round 2.

For more photos and videos from the screening, Go below the fold...

The screening program was made of 5 original videos, and 4 contributions from friends, old and new.
My favorite for the night was Daniel & Jeff's profile of James Spencer. The video has the distinct feeling of an Ode to James Brown. I was especially impressed by the limited use of music. When the soundtrack finally came up in the end, the video turned a classic funk ballad into a moving requiem.

The second clip also followed a soulful man, Daddy Bruce. The rib master sang his old song from the corner of a small shack in Boulder, Colorado. Fittingly, his customers are wacky troubadors and slightly dazed college kids. This video was the only one produced by a professional VJ, our very own Graham Meriwether, and shows how rewarding it is to find a strong, unique character and let them speak in their own voice.

In between two videos about meat, we were treated to the unusual genius of Vit, a Czech Marionette maestro, and the producer of an opera called, Once There Was a Village. Created by Mark Bernal, this video was being cut up until the very last minute. It seems puppeteers are a hard bunch to nail down, and it took a little extra time to find a group who was performing. The music comes from my favorite punk marching band, the HMB.

Another hit came in the form of a bleeting goat. "Fresh Meat" was produced by Kieran O'Hare and was the first video he has created. Be happy they weren't killing goats the day he went shooting. Be happy that you can see it right here.

And because blood and guts and old men are generally depressing, we finished our main program with Mayen Ma's "Waltz Cafe Comedy Hour." Showcasing the talents of one of Astoria's exhuberant artists, Mayen's video made me miss the souvlaki and many great little Astorian Cafes. As you may have read, Mayen had more than a few setbacks in making her piece. Happily, her clip got the place laughing after a few gruesome minutes in the butchery.

Once again, thanks to everyone who showed up and everyone who showed something. If you want to contribute to future Grab Bag's let us know. Also, thanks to Connie Sun for hosting us and for taking the photos.

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is called a beautiful evening.