I am grateful to know many interesting people but have not yet discovered a way to keep up with everyone, so this year I am posting New Year’s greetings via a quick update on a smattering of WTP projects and highlighting some of the partnerships that I was fortunate to experience this past year.

This Place documentary
This Place evolved from a longstanding curiosity about beauty in the grieving process as expressed by roadside memorial crosses; I am happy to see if fully (and finally) birthed.
         The filmexplores three families that each tragically lost a child on the verge of adulthood. Two of the young people were victims of traffic fatalities. The third victim, a young woman, died during a homicide related to dating violence; her mother and friends maintain a garden at the site of her passing.
         The film sounds sad and it is. But, it is also uniquely beautiful and not at all what you might expect. A unexpected connection to the double bass evolved during filming; this was a gift for the process as that instrument carries the gravitas in appearance and tone that perfectly complements the subject matter. Music for the film is an ethereal trilogy of short solo compositions for the double bass by Austin's own über-talented Graham Reynolds, beautifully performed by professional bassist Jessica Gilliam-Valls. Jessica has an international background and extensive education; she brings humor, intuition and the patience of Job to my study of the cello, which began last summer. Of course, she also teaches bass lessons; we have her on the family plan as we are fortunate that she is also my son Zac’s private teacher.
        Worth Kilcrease, LPC FT’s calling is bereavement counseling and he not only facilitated the interviews but also provided the filmmaker with a sympathetic ear to decompress the subject matter! Thisplacemovie.com will be up in February. Sarah Golliher’s organic design touch brings much needed warmth to cyberspace and I am thrilled to bring her sensitivity to the project. Lastly, I’d like to send a HUGE shout out to Donnie Knutson and Hoa Mai at 501 Post for their above and beyond helpful attitude in final mastering and screener duplication.
         Public screenings are pending. If you are interested let me know and I'll send you a copy and /or notify you about upcoming screenings. I also recently had the idea of adapting the film for a play so perhaps the material is not done with me yet after all!

Citysearch
On the completely other end of the spectrum, I've been shooting and editing 60 second spots for Austin.citysearch.com merchant clients. These are really fun and get to the heart of what WTP commerce side is about – stories about entrepreneurs, passion and community. Check out a couple of my favorites – Austin’s own Kenichi downtown and the guys from Clearview Window Cleaning; both shorts show that integrity and passion for your work are applicable to any business model, be it sushi or clean windows.

Community Partnership for the Homeless
Consulting on a messaging project with Frank Fernandez, Caitlin Uzzell and the smart, committed folks at the CPH has been a veritable immersion study course about Travis County and Austin social service issues. The project is in preproduction; we are cooking up some interesting ideas, stay tuned! I'll be producing and the talented guys at The Bear media will be doing the shooting on this one.
         Because homelessness is a nexus for most social issues, the CPH project has got me thinking about messaging issues around social services in Texas, clarity of information about funding (or lack thereof), effective ways to visualize data, and other interesting segues for next gen web video and potential partnerships for Walkie Talkie as a streaming content producer in 2008 and beyond.

 
Barb Steinberg, LMSW
Early in 2007 I finished work on Barb’s The Wisdom of Girls: Teens, Sex and Truth, an educational video about teenage sexuality and pregnancy prevention. Barb is the most intuitive person I know and she facilitated peer-to-peer discussions among a diverse range of teenage girls resulting in authentic content that literally “speaks” to teenage girls. She is promoting the video as part of an educational curriculum offered through her consultancy Barb Steinberg Presents. Her company focuses on empowering girls to make healthy and informed choices during the teenage years.

Other interesting work in ‘07 included creating a short for McCallum High School Fine Arts Academy staff to use in a (successful) pitch to AISD Superintendent Pat Forgione to acquire funding for new programs at the MacFAA. I enjoyed hanging out with some amazingly talented kids during the filming. I also taped some fascinating participants at The Indus Entrepreneur’s (TiE) conference in September and created promotional short for Larry Schooler earlier in the year. Larry is hard to describe in a sound bite but the word “integrity” easily comes to mind – he is an author, former KUT and NPR correspondent, SafePlace ER volunteer, voice professional, and currently serves as policy director for Austin City Council Member Lee Leffingwell.

Thank you so much for allowing me share a selection of what I’ve been up to and introduce some of the great people that have enabled much of WTP’s work; isn’t Austin amazing? Thank you, also, for being a part of my “movie”.  I would really love to hear about your adventures, so please keep in touch and call me for coffee or wine soon! Vino Vino on Guadalupe in Hyde Park is my new hangout for both!

Take care and best wishes for a new year of growth and frequent moments of contentment.

All the best,

Kala