R|com Creative Blog

R/com Creative has been awarded two 2010 Telly Awards for the recent production of two public service television commercials featuring Lakers Power Forward Star, Pau Gasol. The commercials, focusing on public safety for the Los Angeles Fire Department, feature Pau Gasol in his capacity as spokesperson for the LAFD and MySafe:LA.

Watch the 60 second commercial: click here

Watch the 30 second commercial: click here

As twilight settles over LA, the Swift Water team from 88s swings into action.

It’s difficult to go anywhere these days without hearing about how the Canon 5dMKII and the 7D are changing the indie film world. And while that’s true, it’s also true that the 7D is a remarkably capable still camera as well.

The Canon 7D represents part of a new arsenal of equipment for our team. We’ve spent the past year evaluating various bits of kit, and with the knowledge that we’d need to use the gear for a wide range of projects, the 7D became a leading contender. The remarkable reviews by noted DP Philip Bloom and some of his amazing 7D videos didn’t hurt either.

Just this past week, on December 7th, while on location in Los Angeles, our LAFD radio crackled with a river rescue assignment. This was a wet week in the City of Angels, and the risk of being swept away was higher than normal (normal is no worries, as the LA River is man-made and is concrete and dry!). Even with rush hour traffic, we were able to safely get on scene within a few minutes. A homeless person, perhaps living in the vegetation in the center of the concrete channel was trapped – not in water, but unable to get off his “island.”

Swift Water Experts from LA, Glendale, and Pasadena rescue a stranded person.

Cameron took the trusty HD video camera and I grabbed the Canon 7D. We’d only taken possession of the camera a few weeks earlier, so this was going to be an interesting assignment. The sun was already down and it was twilight. How would the Canon hold up in extremely low light?

Several things happened: The homeless person was rescued successfully, uninjured, and in need of only fresh clothes (regardless of the weather). And, the Canon 7D really came through. I mean – it was a joy. The viewfinder makes it easy to properly frame images quickly, and the information provided helps me, as a photographer, make decisions about each visual setting prior to exposing a frame (on a CF card, too!). And, finally, every other photog or videographer on scene had a comment to add: “Oh, is that the new Canon? Nice!” Even a river rescue firefighter stopped to say, “I love that camera! Have you seen the HD video that comes out of it?” Um… yes! I shoot HD video with it!

As the rescue was executed, the light of day was gone. Yet, the 7D continues to deliver detailed images with limited noise.

In this case, I was most impressed with the image quality in near black conditions. As night fell, only the jumpy circle of light from a hovering LAFD helicopter lit the area. Overall, it was dark enough to want a flashlight. Yet, the 7D really brought the story to life. See the images attached to this story. No light. Really.

During the coming few weeks, we’ll offer up some field review entries, and hopefully share how the 7D is being integrated into our equipment inventory. Consider this entry to be a bit of rah rah over our delight with this new bit of kit. And if you have a Canon 7D, we’d love to hear from you as well.

NOTE: Our team works closely with the Los Angeles Fire Department, and as such, shooting video at incidents such as this are an ongoing and normal part of our activities.

The introduction this week of the new NXCAM format is really great news for anyone producing a wide array of professional video product, and notably for documentary producers. The camera combines capabilities found in other manufacturer’s (often more expensive) products and the result is a flexible, high-performance full HD camera. When I started blathering on about how thrilled I was that Sony had taken this step, peers and staff asked the same question over and over again – “Why?”

The initial model (unnamed as of this date) in the NXCAM series does a number of really important things: It records AVCHD full HD 1920×1080 material (in all variations of resolutions) and as such, is easily compatible with other cameras, including as one example, the Canon 7D hybrid still/video camera. It utilizes a relatively new type of glass, and although fixed to the camera, this lens, called a G-Lens, delivers excellent optics, no doubt a result of Sony’s purchase of Minolta. And, the camera is ideal for the wide variety of production requirements a documentary requires.

In our situation, we’re interested in the best tool for a variety of situations. That means we’ll shoot portrait interviews, mount a camera on a moving vehicle, hang from a helicopter, and so on. And, if we’re doing all of these things, it also means we’re shooting a lot of material (hours vs. minutes). If you’re making a film, you’ll work from a shot list, and the shooting ratio may be 3:1. In our documentary work, we’re going to capture reality as it occurs, and then weed out the footage that isn’t essential to telling the story. The result is often 30:1 or higher. That’s right, we may shoot 30 hours of video to get a one hour show. In fact, for a documentary we did in Australia that covered two weeks of a cross-country race, we shot more than 100 hours of video. The final product was a broadcast-ready 44 minutes.

The AVCHD format is ideal for this type of work. And, being able to record to a flash drive that mounts into the camera is fantastic. There’s no box attached to a shoe that gets in the way of moving the camera about. It snaps into place. You can record literally hours of material, and then, using USB connectors, transfer the files directly to your PC or Mac.

There’s more to like as well. The imagers in the camera are native 1920 x 1080. The imagers in other cameras in this class are typically 720p and upscale to 1080p. This is really important and becomes even more so when you discover that the camera will output a full HD 4:2:2 signal via the built-in HD-SDI port while shooting. That type of flexibility allows us to integrate this camera with other, far more expensive cameras.

It’s difficult to capture a strong, clear image if you can’t see what you’re doing. The NXCAM shown off by Sony offers a 1.2 million pixel 16×9 display using backlit LED technology. The Panasonic HMC-150, by comparison (same compression system, similar price, etc.) has a display with approximately 210,000 pixels in a 4×3 display that is letter-boxed. What? To use the Panny (which has great images), you really need to add an external monitor, or you’re going to be disappointed with the results. Sony avoids that extra complication. Add-on monitors are terrific if you’re on a tripod and locked off. They don’t work if you’re jumping off a fire engine and following firefighters into a smokey building. Sony resolves that problem with not only the flip-up external monitor, but the built-in viewfinder as well. You can learn more by watching the intro video produced by Sony.

So, as we envision some of the production work we’re scheduled to produce this year, the Sony NXCAM fits in really well. We can shoot portrait interviews using prime glass on our Canon 7D. We can match that (remember, same codec) with footage captured “in the field” with the Sony NXCAM. And, we can edit in both PC and Mac NLE solutions without drama. No tape. No fuss. Oh, by the way – there’s more to like as well. Because we shoot on location, as documentary producers, we are careful to log everything we shoot. Now, with the NXCAM, there is GPS data added to the metadata of each file. Whoo hoo! So, the next time we travel 2,000 miles across the Stewart Highway in Australia, we’ll know where each shot was captured. And, if we decide to shoot in a studio, we can lock multiple NXCAMs together, thanks to the new (if proprietary) timecode in and out connectors.

The only bad news is that the camera isn’t available yet. Hey Sony – want some remarkable footage of firefighters saving lives? How about the California coast and wine country? Or, how about some footage of the latest sports cars being testing on windy country roads at speed? If so, get us an NXCAM ASAP. We aren’t asking for a freebie. We’ll own it. Love it. And we’ll tell the world.

Burned Hills in the Station Fire

During the past week, the northern end of Los Angeles County has been burning. The Station Fire, which to-date is the biggest wildfire in the history of LA County, has swept from the hillside communities above Pasadena and Duarte into the Angeles National Forest. Unburned for more than 60 years, the thick, deep brush provided ample fuel for a monster fire.

In addition to spending time at base camp working on several assignments, Cameron Barrett shot quite a bit of HD video, and the images will be remarkable. I took a few photographs of aftermath, and even those (you can see a few here) images are striking.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this was not the drama of billowing smoke and fire, but the stark emptiness of the “morning after,” so to speak. Hillsides and canyons looked like they had been sculpted by a model railroader, then painted black and some flour dusted here and there to represent ash. And the same image goes on and on – we drove up several canyon roads for mile after mile and the only thing we saw besides burned out hills were smoldering tree stumps, and wisps of smoke drifting up from the rubble that wildfire can create.

Cameron Barrett capturing destroyed home footage

And, several miles up Big Tujunga Canyon, we came across several burned out cottages. As the sun set, the only things left standing were chimneys and black tree trunks. Destroyed cars remained parked in driveways, never to wheel along a highway again. At one home, we found nearly a dozen dead cats – and an angry group of people (ourselves and several network photographers) who couldn’t believe these animals were just left behind. Still, Cameron, who is an animal advocate, captured the scene, all in High-Def.

Another interesting aspect of the aftermath is the sound. It’s really quiet. There are no leaves to rustle in the breeze. No squirrels to scamper through the underbrush. Just dead sound. At least until you hear the rumble of a fire engine, or the thump, thump, thump of a helicopter overhead.

Spot fires continue to threaten the containment lines.

And the fires continue to burn as I type this. Although nearly 50% contained, there is ongoing risk and danger. And thankfully, most residents took the advice of law enforcement and fire officials and evacuated when asked. Two LA County firefighters lost their lives in the midst of this arson-generated wildfire. Perhaps the only good news relates to weather: This fire took place in August, with little or no wind. If the same thing had occurred in November, when the Santa Ana winds sweep through the canyons, it’s really unimaginable to think what might have happened.

As this is part of our job, we’ve become familiar with these types of situations in general. Yet this particular incident will remain etched in our memories for quite awhile. We can only hope it will be at least another 60 years before anything like this happens again – and never would be a much better option.

R|com Creative is working with the Los Angeles Fire Department to create a new series of education materials based around an important initiative called Ready, Set, Go! Essentially, there has been some ongoing debate about the value of staying at your residence, as opposed to evacuating. In Southern California, we live in not only earthquake country, but wildfire country as well. And when they strike, people often prefer to stay and protect their property.

The initiative for not leaving, often referred to as “Stay and Defend,” was gaining ground earlier this year with several departments, as there have been some stories of people who have elected to ignore officials and as a result, participated in saving their structures. It’s important to remember that many homes don’t burn as a result of the fire front in a wildfire. They burn because of spot fires that start as the fire moves through, and without resources to suppress those spot fires, the home burns.

Just as this “Stay and Defend” option began to get people’s attention, Australia suffered through a terrible wildfire incident and many lives were lost. Australia has been known for its serious wildfire devastation, including Hobart in 1967 (1400 homes lost, 62 dead); Victoria in 1983 (2400 homes lost, 71 dead), Canberra in 2003 (500 homes lost, 5 dead), and Victoria in 2009 (3000 homes lost, 173 dead). Many of the victims in the Victoria fires this year elected to stay behind, and then attempted to evacuate, but too late. They were caught on the road and died.

Ready, Set, Go! as an initiative is being supported by a wide array of Southern California emergency services agencies. The Los Angeles Fire Department’s position is clear: If there is a wildfire, prepare your home and family, get set to evacuate if required, and when asked, or even before that, leave the area. Your home can be saved. Once you die, coming back is apparently problematic.

Our program will include a series of components – and it will highlight the use of digital technology and Web 2.0 capabilities. A video/DVD will tell the story of why its important to leave and how to prepare. A brochure will be available to schools, senior centers, council district offices, and LA City Fire Stations. Separately, a digital magazine will be created and it will be available to anyone who is interested in the Ready, Set, Go initiative. And finally, information will be available via the MySafe:LA public education website.

We’re enthused about the project, and once complete, are committed to seeing it reach as many people as possible, so the citizens of Los Angeles can be properly prepared.

Canon HV20 handheld HDV camcorder

There is an interesting balance when it comes to gathering material for any project. The time you spend translates into expense. Even if it’s just your time, wear and tear on the gear, and the cost of media, there is a cost. At the same time, it’s important that you give yourself the best chance to be prepared to take advantage of any situation.

In this case, I’ll refer to video/film. Our team is working on developing a documentary about the history of the Los Angeles Fire Department. It is centered in the present, with flashbacks through history. We must cost every hour of production. So, we typically are careful about how and when we’re spending time or money.

At the same time, I always keep a camera with me. This past Friday, I was in Los Angeles, attending several meetings, including one at a fire station. In the car, I had my firefighter protective gear and a small Canon HV-20 HDV consumer camera. The last thing I was planning on was needing to use it. That alone should be a clue.

During my meeting at Fire Station 76 in the Cahuenga Pass, the Captain noted it was starting to look foggy outside, and it was a sunny day. We opened the front door, and across the Hollywood Fwy, the shoulder of the freeway was ablaze. The Captain picked up the mic on the PA and told his crew, “still alarm, guys. We’ve got a grass fire across the freeway!” I grabbed my gear and as I climbed into my seat on the fire engine, I was thinking, “why am I stuck with this little camera?”

I started rolling tape before we rolled out of quarters, and as we made the turn down Cahuenga Blvd., you could see what looked to be a “nothing fire” across the way. 75 seconds later, as we spotted the rig to block the road and protect the firefighters, the wind was whipping the flames up and potentially threatening brush and homes nearby. This spot was less than a mile from the origin of the large and dangerous Hollywood/Barham fire from March of 2007.

David Barrett gets a muddy face, and camera, while shooting on-scene at a small grass fire in Hollywood.

Because I had a small camera, I felt I was going to be limited in what I could capture. While the camera does shoot HD quality material, it uses a single 1/2-inch CMOS sensor, and the camera itself weighs less than two pounds. So, I decided to focus on POV material, getting tight on firefighters as they attacked this small fire that was trying to become a big fire. I even got directly into the spray from a 1.5 inch line and had to stop for a minute to clean the camera, which was completely covered with mud.

The overall results ended up pleasing me very much. I got some great shots of a firefighter using his line to work through thick smoke to get to the base of the fire. And, as the incident unfolded, I began to test the camera’s capabilities – and while movement is something to be careful with, I was consistently surprised by the image quality.

While still not my first choice for a primary camera, the reason our team has kept it was for this exact purpose – when not expecting something, be prepared to get the unexpected. So, at the end of the day, I got some big shots from a small camera. Watch the video clip below:

Even the Canon HV20 can be built-up into a full cinema rig. But Why?

The footage above was imported into Final Cut Pro, and compressed in HD using Compressor. It was not color graded, so what you see is what the camera delivered.

Now, before signing off, note that the Canon HV20 is a highly regarded little camera. We acquired it for use in our production of a cross-country racing documentary in the fall of 2007. We used the camera as an in-vehicle mount, while our larger cameras captured the majority of the action.

As camera technology improves, people are beginning to use these little cameras more and more. In fact, if you want, you can totally lose your mind with these little cameras. The camera rig shown is using a Canon HV20, and includes railing, a matte box, follow focus and even a Marshall monitor for preview and monitoring. The rig costs three times what the camera does, and the 35mm lens conversion device close to double the cost. Imagine that.

One of the more difficult things to do smoothly is to capture rapidly moving aircraft. Our projects with the Los Angeles Fire Department often get us hooked up with the Air Operations Unit at Van Nuys Airport. And, not including air to ground footage, getting the shot of the Bell 412 airships from the ground is not an easy task – not if you want to be smooth and get the right perspective.

These sequences were shot during actual emergency response incidents, or at Van Nuys Airport responding to a call. Sony HD Cameras were used, and all content was edited in Final Cut Pro. This material is not graded, although we may come back and do some color adjustment in the future. These shots should just be considered a montage, as the elements will eventually find their way into our documentary on the history of the department, Smoke Eaters.

The LAFD uses Twitter to broadcast updates on Major Emergencies

There’s been a lot of buzz about Twitter of late. No wonder. With millions of users, and truckloads of new people signing up every day, it’s now easy to follow the antics of your friends, co-workers, or even Darth Vader. Much of the recent buzz has centered around the possible acquisition (assimilation?) of the company by Google. Other news stories and editorial pieces have asked if Twitter is for real, or is just a flash in the pan.

Twitter is for real – and perhaps more so because of mobile devices. The combination of 140 character micro-blog style entries and the broadcast abilities from computer to mobile device make Twitter a powerful technology. but Twitter isn’t just for kids, my sister-in-law, or even Demi Moore. Twitter can be an important business and public outreach technology as well. (See? I buried the lead again!)

Twitter is not limited to social commentary. It can be used for a wide variety of important communications solutions. Imagine setting up your servers to tweet you if they encounter pending failures or issues. Many law enforcement and fire agencies are now using Twitter to broadcast emergency incidents, evacuations, and street closures. Public safety, notably in a large city, can be an excellent environment in which to use Twitter.

Twitter is an ideal tool for a trade show, as it would allow reminders for keynote presentations, special events, prizes, etc. And, the most common device to receive these tweets is a mobile device. Now, combine the analytic results of such activities and any entity using both technologies can improve their communications, outreach, and effectiveness.

When our team works with clients who are interested in developing better relationships with their customers, or who wish to reach a wide audience easily, we are careful to give proper consideration to how the technology might be used. Just having the technology isn’t enough. There is work involved after the technology is installed or configured. The fantastic thing is, these technologies are avaiable to us, and our expertise lies in how to best use these new tools to improve business, communication, and in some cases, life itself.

Each year, the Los Angeles Fire Department throws a benefit gala to raise money for the Historical Society to fund their various programs and projects throughout the year. At each seat is a set of gifts donated by sponsors and printed material designed and produced by R|com Creative. As the designer of the program book, the short timetable and the reliance on multiple sources of information proved the most challenging elements, but the finished product was well worth the effort and time spent.

Concept

The first step to any project is to gather requirements, and the provided instructions were, in this case, extremely minimal, giving me extreme freedom in the direction of design.

Rudimentary outline for the project

Knowing that there was dramatic imagery available, I turned to the task of addressing one of the concerns with the previous years’ programs – the lack of a unifying design for the material. The task was set before me to create a design which would be able to showcase both the history and future educational plans of the Historical Society.

Design Elements

With a historical story, individual articles, and an overall look and feel to the book to create, programming and design experience meshed into one thought: combining inheritance with the necessities of maintaining an interesting presentation. Starting from a blank indesign document on the workstation, a rudimentary design was sketched out on paper and the different elements laid into the nascent document, leaving room for the design of the book around it.

Master page design for the book

Interior page masters

The Waiting Game and Final Press

Depending on government agencies and corporations means that there can be miles of red tape to slog through, but once the deadline looms, work time seems to compress into a perpetual state of overdrive, as letters and advertisements pour in during the final week.

Interior page, with content

Even with all that, though, the program was ready well in advance of the date, thanks to the diligence of the staff at Sir Speedy of South Orange County, with their dedication to perfection and willingness to work with our specific needs.

Final Thoughts

In retrospect, there’s probably a little more that could have been done, but I’m happy that there were no errors or misspellings reported, and there were even a fair amount of people came up to complement us on the book. Not to be overly immmodest, but an overwhelmed and appreciative customer does wonders for the feeling of accomplishment that comes with any project. In the end, the program is only a small part of the entire even that was put together with months of work, but it was felt great to be praised for our collective efforts in putting this together.

‘Til next time,

J

A job well done.

BONUS: Download a pdf copy of the program here to see the final product!

Southern California is overdue for the “Big One!” Scientists have learned that over the course of many centuries, a major earthquake has typially occurred on a major fault such as the San Andreas every 125  to 175 years. The last major (+7.5) earthquake on the southern end of the San Andreas took place in the 1600s – more than 300 years ago. Ouch!

Governor Schwarzenegger talks with a patient, while David Barrett follows along with his camera.

Our team is developing an earthquake safety training program, and as a component of the production, we sent our crews to shoot a drill during the Great Southern California Shakeout, a statewide practice run developed by the USGS in collaboration with a host of partners. The event we covered related to an MCI (Multi-Casulty-Incident) at a school in the San Fernando Valley.

This is a great exercise for our team as well. It has all of the energy of a real emergency, but with the ability to take your time, take (mental) notes on camera settings, positions, lighting, etc. So, when a real event takes place and should we be rolling tape (or taping to memory stick or CF card!), we’ll be ready.

The exercise began at exactly 10:00AM, the time when the “drill earthquake” was to take place. Essentially, a 7.8 earthquake rocks southern California, beginning at the southern end of the quake. To quote the Great Shakeout scenario, “In an earthquake of this size, the shaking will last for nearly two minutes. The strongest shaking will occur near the fault (in the projected earthquake, the Coachella Valley, Inland Empire and Antelope Valley). Pockets of strong shaking will form away from the fault where sediments trap the waves (in the projected earthquake, it would occur in the San Gabriel Valley and in East Los Angeles).”

We had three cameras rolling during the two plus hours of the drill. The Los Angeles Fire Department provided tremendous resources, including helicopters, 23 companies of firefighters, scores of Rescue Ambulances, Command Staff, and others working in collaboration with the USGS and others.

Students began arriving, their faces and bodies showing visible signs of injury due to the excellent moulage efforts of LAFD Captain Gerlich and the artists she was supervising. A triage area was set up and patients were transported either to the nearby hospital or via air to other trauma centers.

I had the unusual task of being assigned to cover Governor Schwarzenegger as he toured the hospital, providing the tape to news outlets at the end of the day. It was interesting to be in such close proximity to the Govinator, as he took his “role” very seriously and was an inspiration to the crews and physicians, not to mention the students, participating in the drill.

For me, the most interesting component to shoot was in the ER. Not only were the physicians and nurses fantastic to watch (and tape) at work, but this drill included a robotic physician – essentially a robot with a mic and television screen that was managed by a surgeon at Children’s Hospital in downtown Los Angeles, 70 miles away. The robot can see everything in the room, can move on its own, including tilting up and down, and can participate in the evaluation and treatment of patients. It was truly remarkable.

Injured students await help following a 7.8 earthquake (drill) in Los Angeles.

As with most of the emergency drills we’ve been involved with, this one was extremely professional in terms of execution. The Command Post likely would be no different in staffing or operation in an actual emergency, and firefighters, EMTs, and Paramedics packaged and transported their patients with the same care and attention to detail you’d expect in a real emergency. The only weakness my crew and I could observe was the process of tracking patients – where were they going? When did they get to their destination? The tracking process is one of the most important tasks to get a handle on in this type of emergency, and there are still lessons to be learned.

For our team, we captured excellent footage for our training program. We gained additional experience working with the LAFD during a simulated emergency, and we worked as a crew, collaborating on getting the “story” – including all of the different types of images, both in the field and in the operating room as well.

You can learn more about our earthquake project by visiting: My Safe LA Dot Org.

The MySafeLA website will eventually host a series of safety and emergency preparedness capabilities.

The debut of MySafeLA, a community information and education website has been carefully monitored by our team during the past six weeks. The just crushed L.A. area wildfires gave the site its first public outing and while playing only a minimal role, the opportunity for continual growth is significant.

The website listed a wide range of resources within an hour of the Sayre fire flaring up. Residents could utilize the site to find evac centers, animal support services, and to get the latest news, even if they were without access to traditional media, such as television. Council Member Huizar did a mailing to his district and traffic to the site spiked within a few hours of that activity.

This is all the more interesting as the site is truely in its promotional stage. Early in 2009, the objective is to roll out online learning tools, that will enable school teachers to deliver fire and life safety courses in their classrooms electronically, and will give them the power to monitor and evaluate the performance of their students. Families can track their loved ones, create supply lists and even purchase products via key distribution (for earthquake safety products, as an example) outlets.

The resources engaged to fight the L.A area and OC wildfires was remarkable, and lives were saved, as well as homes and businesses. We are encouraged that in the future, an online mechanism such as MySafeLA will be there to help homeowners organize and manage the safety and security of their families and possessions.

The new L.A. Fire Video Channel on YouTube

Recently, YouTube has done some really good work relative to the quality of video being streamed from its site. This certainly must be related to the competition (even if small) from upstarts like REVVER. Regardless, it’s very nice to see a choice (that you can set in your preferences) for both standard and high quality video playback. While not yet pristine, it is a big step forward, and it makes using or creating a YouTube channel far more attractive.

We recently created a YouTube channel that focuses on the Los Angeles Fire Department. It will be tied to our documentary website and our history and training video series. Currently, it features a combination of education and historic footage, but there are also many links to other firefighting videos.

You can access the site via our friends at the LAFD Museum and Memorial – or directly at: LA Fire YouTube Channel

For our team, creating appropriate relationships with others interested in fire fighting was been an important element of the process (for exposure). We’ve made good progress, with new subscribers joining fairly frequently and a strong number of viewers for the content in the channel.

The challenge is keeping the channel up-to-date and always new. For the near-term, there is a lot of material to share, but it does underscore that along with quality, a good story is priceless.

For the past seven years, my wife and I have been involved with several organizations that involve public safety, but until the past few years, we were at a distance. For the past two years, we’ve been actively involved in the development of public safety education and fire safety training materials. It is a daunting, but rewarding position to be in.

A series of school children after experiencing a public safety fair in Los Angeles, California

I think the first thing that comes to mind relative to this work is how important it is to reach adults through children. I am amazed at the lack of interest many adults have when presented with issues of personal or home safety, only to show genuine interest when the same issues are brought home by their children. And make no mistake, nearly all of us can benefit from some form of education on fire, earthquake, heart attack and other matters.

Many of our clients are about performance and return on investment. It’s a money thing. Totally understandable – and part of what we all do. When working in public safety, it seems that there is never enough money, and the rewards are related to saving a life, rather than making a profit. For some, that would be a no-win scenario. For both my wife and I, however, it is something that we feel strongly about. And, with every new DVD, online video, or training website, we feel more connected to the community and to the people we live around.

My birthday falls on Christmas Eve. Often, it’s not a great time for a birthday, as everyone is busy with other things. This year, however, it was a day to remember.

My wife decided it would be nice if I spent the afternoon and evening with some good people, which often includes firefighters. So, we packed up a few holiday goodies and trekked up to Hollywood and the embedded ourselves with the C-Platoon at Fire Station 76 in the Cahuenga Pass

Firefighters from Task Force 27 put water on the fire in the early evening of December 24, 2007.

There was lots of laughter and good discussion and the kitchen was filled with the smells of a holiday dinner being prepared. As we sat down to eat, the long ring came in… “Structure Fire…” Typically, these calls, especially on a holiday, involve food on the stove. Still, we pulled on our gear (and in our case, grabbed our cameras, too), climbed aboard the rig and headed out into the early evening, lights flashing and sirens wailing.

The chatter on the radio soon put us in a more focused and alert stance: “OCD from Engine 82, I have a church fully involved. I have fire through the roof.” Fire is never a good thing unless it’s used for cooking or heat, but when you’re working to capture video for a documentary, as we are, there is something to be said about a good incident. People, for whatever reason (not to be discussed here!) love watching things burn.

And, it is a unique feeling to be rolling down Hollywood Blvd. on Christmas Eve with lights blazing, sirens wailing, and the radio chattering as command staff, OCD and incoming companies discuss the in-progress fire. The footage is breath-taking.

And, as we rolled up to the scene, the fire was remarkable. Flames lept perhaps 100 feet into the air. Palm trees were ablaze and the street was lit as if it were late in the afternoon, not the dark of night.

As the firefighters from 76s took up their assignment, Cameron and I went into action. In this case, she acted as the camera operator, while I directed and acted as a spotter – helping to avoid problems, while also getting into the action.

As we moved up the steps in front of the church, the waves of heat began to roll over us – and we were still 80 feet or more from the building. Embers fell on our camera, our helmets flickered as bits of flaming debris rolled over them, and our lungs began to burn from heated smoke. As we have taken the time to train for such an incident, we were properly prepared and the result was (excuse the self-promotion) remarkable footage. We moved into the fire, and we got the shots. 76s saved several exposures to the east and the media proclaimed it as a “happy Christmas” for the residents, none of whom lost their homes. The church, unfortunately, was a total loss.

Back in 76s quarters several hours later, we enjoyed some cake, some hot coffee, and remarked to one another that it was a birthday, and a Christmas, not to be forgotten.

One of the more interesting projects in a long while has come along – our team is developing an exhibit for a museum in Los Angeles. It’s an ambitious project, including a complete rework of an old office into a focused exhibit that must convey the look and feel of a traditional museum.

James Kwok works on design elements for the fire museum exhibit

There were many roadblocks along the way, beginning with some of the board members. The museum is an old Fire Station, and as such, it is not designed for exhibits per se. Some of the Directors have long felt that the “look” of the museum should not be compromised – and that the “fire station” motif was more original. The unfortunate truth is that for much of the building, the result is the appearance of an old fire station, or worse, of a warehouse. And, to create an even more complex situation, the Directors instructed us to “keep the room unchanged,” meaning we could not eliminate any structure components, such as windows or doors.

There were other issues as well, including no power in the room, old windows that allows wind, dust, and dirt into the room, and a small space to boot. The overall dimensions of the room are not unlike a second or guest bedroom. Hardly the place for an exhibit…

Our team began by spending several days taking measurements and creating pencil drawings of the various options for the room. We spent time in other museums (which we do regardless), evaluating materials, fixtures, security, and other matters. Next, Tyler Siegel created a model of the room, complete with standing panels and other elements so we could evaluate what the finished product would look like.

The next step was to have the room repaired relative to leaks, gaps, and power. Our painter found mildew and rot and we ended up replacing plaster, fittings, and other bits to bring the room up to a basic level of acceptability.

Cameron Barrett then designed a museum-style drape, running from floor to ceiling, to eliminate the windows from the room. This was a terrific solution to the “keep the room unchanged” charter from the Directors. Once installed, the room would no longer looked like an office. Should things change in the future, it would be a matter of minutes to revert things to the way they were.

While we went about painting the room and preparing it for our exhibit materials, Tyler Siegel and James Kwok went about creating the story elements. The objective for the room was to present a story of heroic bravery, while also explaining the roles that different firefighting techinques employ. We created a land, sea and air story, in addition to developing displays that listed every firefighter awarded citations or medals for bravery.

The room was painted a deep red, with cream highlights. One of the Directors nearly threw himself off the roof of the building, such was his concern at the non-firestation colors applied to the walls of the 75+ year old building. I gladly spent considerable time with him, and other Directors, calming them and showing them how easy it would be to revert the work in the future, if they so decided.

Tyler Siegel reviews sign elements for the fire museum exhibit

Meanwhile, James and Tyler were creating large, oversize panels that told the stories. I wrote the editorial content, and worked with the Los Angeles Fire Department to check the accuracy of the awards lists. Historic photos were scanned, cleaned up, and imported into the exhibit panel elements. We had each element reviewed multiple times, for accuracy, grammar, and design errors. We created sample output and tested various mounting and placement options.

One of the challenges for the room related to the existence of several metal panel doors on one wall. One contained an electrical panel, and the other a light panel. To ensure compliance with fire regulations, we created a swinging door design that would support one of our art panels and could swing open, revealing the metal panel. We created small signs that signaled the use and access of the items hidden behind our magic doors. A fire inspector reviewed the changes and approved them.

As the finishing touches were coming together, we also edited a version of one of our safety/education DVD products for use in the room. We installed a swinging arm on one wall and mounted a VIZIO HD television to the arm. A DVD player was installed in a former locker and cables run through the wall.

The story elements were printed, mounted on black, museum-quality gatorboard, and covered with a varnish. We then took all of the materials to the museum and after hours, during the course of several evenings, we built frames and mounting brackets and attched the materials to the walls. The full size drape created by Cameron was stretched into position and new lights installed on the ceiling to highlight each story element.

Shortly after my initial tour of the room with the Directors, the same fellow who was at one time ready to toss himself from the room to the plaza below came up to me and said, “I must admit, the room looks really terrific. The color makes the images leap off the walls.” It was a gratifying moment. All in all, this is the ideal type of project for us: obstacles to overcome, creativity to develop, and the opportunity to make a difference. It will be interesting to see how visitors react to the room over time.