Waaay back in June of '09 I had a whole day to kill in Los Angeles, with no family-wedding happenings til dinnertime.  I'd already spent a glorious free day with Shirley Bovshow in her garden and being escorted by her around the Huntington Garden.  I just knew that come wintertime, I'd get around to writing about my day at Universal Studio-Hollywood, and that day's come, y'all, coz I still have 2 feet of white stuff covering my garden.

Fun Was Definitely Had
I have to say, if Universal doesn't know how to show you a good time, nobody does.  Even at $69 for the day, it was worth it for the rides, the animal shows, even for "Water World", a really bad movie that's enjoying a second life as a fun live show.   (Top photo.) 

My favorite was the studio tour of the back lot where dozens of my favorite movies and TV shows were filmed.  Above you see the original Bates Hotel from "Psycho", with a real-life Norman-impersonator giving us a quick reenactment.  "Desperate Housewives" fans will recognize these landscapes, part of a whole streetful of horticultural fripperies on Wisteria Lane (below).

On a Serious Note

But how's Universal doing on all the issues of the day?  Looks like they're aware of needing to green up their act and they've won some environmental award, the first to a theme park, and so that's good to know.   And the staff are super-friendly and the whole park immaculate (Take that, Disney!) 

So really I have only one nit to pick and it couldn't be more timely, what with the launch of the First Lady's anti-childhood-obesity program.  It's the park's all-you-can-eat deal – touted in the web page below.  I hate to think how much crap people are stuffing into their mouths, trying to make sure they get their money's worth.  And I say that as an occasional junk-food-eater myself – no purist here!

My adventures in video continue!  After all my troubles buying the wrong stuff, it came time to learn to DO something.  My first grown-up move was to admit that when it comes to either hardware OR software, I'm not what you would call an autodidact.  So I ignored the advice of my videographer friends to "Just do it" and signed up at the nearest teaching facility that looked promising.  (After my Photoshop class at the nearest community college ended up teaching me exactly nothing I needed to know, I learned to do some research before payment.)

So voila the film school - Docs in Progress, a nonprofit promoting and teaching the art of documentary-making, and it's right in my 'hood.  I caught one of their free salons – on the subject of point of view – and noticed the atmosphere was welcoming to beginners.  Same thing at the work-in-progress screenings they hold at the Geo. Wash. U. Film Department. (The screening I saw included a rousing 3-camera-crew doc about Obama's inauguration.)

So I signed up for their "Film Production" class – really a workshop because only the first class is classroom-style.  The instructor (Adele Schmidt in the photo right) has created over a dozen films for PBS, so has actual cred as a  filmmaker .  Now, can she teach?

Class One – The Rules

Turns out the workshop is rigidly defined and limited by rules.  With the 3 video teams having only 6 classes and the weeks between to plan, film, edit and show a 3-4 minute video, ya gotta have limits.  I totally support that.  But it's scary to only be allowed to shoot 30 minutes of video.  Oh, we can shoot more if we want, but it won't be downloaded for editing (gotcha!).  Up to 3 still photos can be used, as well as a limited amount of music.   Also, we can only use one location, and we have to use their cameras and editing equipment.  Kinda like those survivor-type reality shows, and may the best team win!

The Hiphop Garden Production Company is Born

I swear I had nothing to do with being paired with Mario Starks, my smart, savvy and personable partner – we were teacher-assigned.  He's a young web designer in the nonprofit world using his off-hours to inspire people his age to acquire the skills they need.  He's also part of Global Soul Power, which showcases the "creative works of musicians, filmmakers, writers, and activists who promote world awareness messages of unity, self-respect and peace."  Good lord, how cool is that?

Asked what our new "film production company" should be called, the class decided quickly – Hiphop Garden.  Okay!

Our Assigned Topic? A Civic Center

At first I thought the other two teams had been given much more promising, artsier topics – a local stage for plays, and an artist (of some sort).  (All subjects were in Downtown Silver Spring.)  Our topic was to interview a government worker about a new government building.  Oh, goody.  Like that's anything new in this government town (DC and 'burbs.)

But we did the research about this new civic center and the guy in charge of getting it ready for its July 1 launch, and learned it's intended as a "tool for social transformation" and that the "government worker" is an experienced community organizer.  So when we met political appointee Reemberto Rodriguez  we were pleasantly surprised by his friendliness and dreams for the project's impact on the town.  Like the image of Latin Americans gathering in the large outdoor theater to watch the World Cup, or seniors hanging out in the media room and picking up skills – cool images of a lively communal space.  But really, you can build a wonderful facility – indoors and out – but it'll only succeed if people use it.  So he knows he has his work cut out for him – and he's super-happy that we're creating a little video to help publicize it.  (We learned that these student projects sometimes end up on websites, like this one for a tap-dance company.)

But can it Compete with Astroturf?

Turns out there's an interesting landscape-related twist on our story.  This this isn't just any government building we're talking about but one replacing an incredibly successful public "garden" called the "Silver Spring Lawn", though the lawn was a fake.  That's right – the entire site was covered with synthetic turf for a couple of years waiting for the project to begin and to everyone's surprise, it became a wildly popular space to hang out.  Reports in the local media included residents' rhapsodizing over its utter fakeness – no grass stains!  No bugs!  Landscape architects despaired at the popularity of something so devoid of actual plants, with several long reports on its popularity in Landscape Architecture Magazine, no less.

Next – the Interview w/B-Roll
More rules come into play the next time we meet with Reemberto because we can use only 40% of our 30-minutes of video interviewing him (only 12 minutes~!) and have to use the rest for B-roll (background shots).  But Mario and I dutifully did our homework – creating a list of shots and questions for Reemberto – and I'll report back after we've nailed those 30 minutes, so stay tuned.  It's not like you're gardening anyway, right?

Astroturf photo by M. V. Jantzen.

Like all sentient communicators hoping to stay current, I'm venturing into video.  And like millions of other video newbies, I started with the dummy-proof Flip.  (At Amy Stewart's suggestion – here she is showing off her Flip.)  From camera to YouTube in under 15 minutes! (All displayed on my very own channel.)  No editing software to install or worry about being incompatible with the camera.  No worries, period.  Unless you care about the sound quality.

Yep, that's the big drawback about Flips.  Not a problem if you're up close in a quiet room but otherwise, a big problem.

And after 4+ years of gardenblogging I'm really ready to try something new, like good enough videos to just maybe attract sponsors.  Kinda like those companies who sponsor public TV, only cheaper.  Think "This video was brought to you by Eco-Friendly Company X".  More on that later, hopefully after I've actually have a sponsor.

The search for a better camcorder
For a technically challenged shopper, choosing a camcorder is surprisingly daunting.  HD sounds good, but do I need it?  And there are so many choices in video-saving media – internal memory, memory chips, or tape – that it was impossible for me to decide.  Then there's the decision about editing software – gotta be compatible – and accessories.  So no simple review of the reviews would do the job.  I even asked some professional videographer friends of mine and frankly, got no help.  (Their preferences have nothing to do with my own needs, and they all want me to switch to a Mac – not gonna happen!)   So after gobs of reading online, I decided what I needed was good, old-fashioned sales help.

Enter B&H Electronics, a mostly mail-order electronics company in operation since the '70s.  I remember shopping at their Manhattan store not long after they opened.  One long phone call with a camcorder specialist resulted in my purchase of this Canon product for about $700, plus more for accessories like tripod, lavelier mike, case, adapters and extra batteries.  (It adds up.) 

The search for compatibility
Soon after it all arrived I discovered that the camera was not, in fact, compatible with Windows Moviemaker, which I'd told the "specialist" I wanted to use – because it's free and reportedly, easy.  A long discussion with the specialist's boss later, I ordered Adobe Premier Elements, an editing program "guaranteed" to work with my Canon.  Which it does, except that the Canon didn't work with my computer.  Yes, even the boss of the camcorder specialist didn't ask what speed my processor is, and sold me a camera that, upon being connected with my computer, promptly and repeatedly caused it to CRASH.  And it wasn't just me causing it to crash – it was my hired computer expert trying to get the camcorder to talk to the computer and watching it crash time after time.  (That's what technologically anxious shoppers do – spend more money just to confirm that something doesn't work and it's not our fault.)

An honest salesman is hard to find
So back to the "expert" at B&H, who naturally, I suppose, offered up a slew of reasons for this failure that had nothing to do with his sales advice.  The fault is Adobe!  So following his orders, I spent the better part of 45 minutes on the phone with a very nice gentleman somewhere in India, who determined without a doubt that the problem was with the camera.  (We had some time to kill waiting for uploads and what-not, during which we chatted genially about his prime minister, in town that night to be feted at the White House at the now-famously gate-crashed state dinner.)

Onward to the support staff at Canon, surprisingly located not far from me in Virginia.  Their patient staffer diagnosed the problem in, oh, about 2 minutes – by simply asking me to read off my computer's processing speed.

Back to B&H and the now shamey-faced (one hopes) sales manager who'd screwed up royally, who still denied any error but did at least facilitate a full refund (despite my shoddy repacking).

The cheaper, simpler alternative
So where to turn for sales advice when the big kahuna of mail-order companies had failed me so miserably?  Canon!  My experience with their support service had been so positive, I decided to call back and ask what camera they'd recommend, and their advice ended up saving me over $700!  (They don't sell anything directly, and their support staff doesn't work on commission.)  They suggested and I now have in my possession the Canon ZR960 miniDV camcorder for only $250.  It records on old-fashioned tape and is compatible with everything – computers, editing software, the works.   

Now to get trained
Have I mentioned that I'm mechanically and technologically challenged?  And that's not changing, so I've set out to get help figuring out how to make and edit videos.  First, a smart teenager who's been making videos for 6 years will be showing me the works.  Then the real fun begins – I've enrolled in a Documentary Video Production course!  Not cheap, but it looks like some serious fun.  First, the teacher has over a dozen PBS documentaries to her credit, and runs this center for documentary film about a mile from my house.  She'll be sending us out to make videos in groups of three to document our little downtown.  We're meeting 6 Saturday mornings starting in late January, the exact time when this obsessed gardener needs a lifeline to sanity.  Reports coming soon!

I’m going off-topic for the happiest 5 minutes I’ve ever watched on screen.  This awesome wedding partay earned a rave in today’s Washington Post.  Turn up your speakers full blast and click Play.  (The embedded version has been disabled, but you can watch it here.)

Totally off-topic, enjoy watching Uncle Jay explain the news below.  It’s the best year-end round-up evah!  I thank my friend Joell for sending it my way.

Speaking of celebrities, architect Frank Gehry is as famous as architects can be.  Long known by his signature work, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, he’s still wowing the critics and public alike.  Witness L.A.’s Disney Concert Hall, completed in 2003.

Washington, sometimes described as the city that hires the world’s best architects to do their worst work, recently lost its chance at a stunning Gehry building – an addition to the Corcoran Gallery of Art.  The funding suddenly went away and we can only imagine the frustration of artists whose works are so difficult to realize.  Gardeners pretty much have it easy on that score.