The video was produced by Dale Anthony Smith and in 2011 won a Telly Award in two categories: History/Biography and Travel/Tourism. To hear Smith tell of the concept and work that went into the production of the film, click on the image below.
According to Smith, the video was produced for a permanently installed Museum installation, and the film chronicles the history and development of Covington, LA. It was commissioned by the Mayor and City Council to be the centerpiece of the town's new Visitor Center. "As the Producer, I worked for several years to develop the project... making fundraising calls with the Mayor and Downtown Development Director, working with the Architect to design both the theatre and exhibit space... and finally spending over a year in research, writing, shooting, and editing the piece along with designing the exhibits.
"The sound track was critical. The narrator was finally found to match the voice in my head, and the writing was tailored to that voice. The recording session was the first time I had used the technique of having the narrator read to a pre-edited music bed. I supplied the narrator with a mix of me reading the track (with my best imitation of his voice) over the background music. I supplied the studio with separate tracks of music and rough VO. We played both tracks and then dropped out the rough voice over so the narrator could feel where to lay back or punch through depending on the emotional tone of each section. The recording session took over four hours and the subsequent edit was five full days of cutting just the right takes (or parts of takes)... The background music took over a week to complete prior to the voice over.
"I have been doing these types of museum films for decades now, but this one was special... it was for the little old town where I now live and where my wife grew up... our daughter is actually 7th generation here... As the son of a Coast Guard pilot, moving from Hawaii to Alaska, to Texas, and back to Alaska, I have an appreciation for families who have established deep roots. So, I knew that our family and friends and my daughter's schoolmates would be coming to see the installation... it was a chance to combine my love of filmmaking, and my love of history, with my love of this place. I hope you enjoy the piece... pay particular attention to the flow of music, images, and information.
"The original research draft was over 40 pages, I had to cut it down to just 4 typed pages to keep the running time within reason. One saving grace was that I was able to elaborate on items merely alluded to in the filmthe stories in six exhibit panels and two interactive kiosks. The film acts as an introduction to encourage deeper exploration through the exhibit area," Smith concluded.
Another video about the history of Covington, complete with many photographs, is located AT THIS LINK.
