Hard Drive, Beaver and my brother Paul

As I await the arrival of another...hard drive to back up my system before installing Lion and Final Cut  X I have been putting the finishing touches on a short promo I created for the show "Beaver". Another project from the creative mind of Vanessa White as she brings her brand of politics to the stage. www.BostonTeaseParty.com

http://youtu.be/JL4oILvy03g

On a personal note, today is my brother Paul's birthday. He would have been 29. He died in a car accident September 7th 2003. One of the things I love to remember about him is how he loved people; Especially people who were different then he was. He showed patience, compassion and kindness that I can still aspire to.

In todays political climate I believe that we have lost sight of the simple fact that we are all people - We the people of the United States of America. Race, religion, and sexual preference do not change the fact that we are still people. The constitution was written for us, not the banks, corporations and insurance companies which are bleeding our nation dry. Paul's traits of kindness, compassion and intelligence, are some of the tools we will need in these upcoming years. I find it hard to understand the people in the political limelight who are so blatantly crusading against our freedom in the name of liberty and patriotism. So, I continue to remind myself that they are still people.

"My religion is kindness"  - Dalai Lama

Paul Van Daam

Our Bodies Ourselves - 40th Birthday Fundraiser

Last night I filmed the 40th "Birthday Bash" Cabaret & Fundraiser for the non-profit organization Our Bodies Ourselves aka The Boston Women's Health Book Collective. Like many people at last night's event I have memories of this amazing informative book. So, of course I bought a copy of their new 40th anniversary edition while I was there. 
For information about the organization and their books - www.ourbodiesourselves.org


I filmed from the catwalk at Oberon www.cluboberon.com always fun, but a challenge when the performers are somewhere other then the stage. So,  I also brought my Panasonic Lumix to attempt to capture the stairs, bar and walk through the audience shots. I can't adjust the picture manually, which makes me put that Canon T1 higher on my wish list but... it does offer to capture footage at 720p HD and frankly looks pretty good for a hand held snapshot camera. I originally bought it to shoot underwater (33ft!!!) but...I have yet to experiment with that feature. I'm thinking...Mermaids? www.mermagica.com link thanks to sugar dish! www.sugardishfairy.com


Some of the performers of last night's show are also in "Slutcracker Dreams". It's always a treat to see them out in this vibrant Boston scene; That frankly wouldn't be the same without them. Robin Maxfield was the MC, Malice in Wonderland performed with Rogue Burlesque and Lolli Hoops did a glorious number with Little L - an amazing ode to Rosie the Riveter.


Sugar Dish, Mary Widow and Karin Webb together performed "Our Bodies Ourselves" a beautiful, dance, cabaret, burlesque piece that really brought the book to the stage. I felt the piece honored the evening in a most elegant way. My personal Fav!

Lolli Hoops and Julia Van Daam at Oberon 9/22/2011

A full list of the talented performers who donated their skill and time:


Boston Circus Guild - www.bostoncircusguild.com
Boston Tap Company - www.thebostontapcompany.com
Jenny Zigrino
Johnny Blazes - www.johnnyblazes.com
Lady Rose
Lilly Bordeaux
Lolli Hoops & Little L (Boston Hoop Troop) - www.bostonhooptroop.com
Marcy Goldberg Sacks
Marci Diamond & Teresa Kochis
Mary Widow (Black Cat Burlesque) - www.blackcatburlesque.com
Rachel Kahn
Robin Maxfield -
Rogue Burlesque - www.rogueburlesque.com
Sugar Dish (The Slutcracker, Babes in Boinkland) - www.theslutcracker.com
UnAmerika’s Sweetheart Karin Webb (Axe2Ice) - www.axe2ice.com
Vadalna Tribal Dance Company - www.vadalna.org

Slutcracker Dreams is going into "Post"!

This is my first "Post" about my post-production Slutcracker Dreams process. As I write these stories I will also be posting pieces of video and snapshots - interesting tidbits to tantalize the taste buds. So, follow this blog http://slutcrackerdreams.blogspot.com/, our twitter feed http://twitter.com/Alphagirlfilms or "like" AlphaGirlFilms on Facebook and you'll get every notice. We will also eventually have www.alphagirlfilms.com up and operational. Please pass it on to anyone who you think may be interested. 


"Slutcracker Dreams"  - A Documentary on "The Slutcracker",  A Burlesque retelling of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet created for international audiences by the fabulous Vanessa White aka SugarDish. If you haven't seen it yet....It will be playing in Somerville, MA at the Somerville theatre and you can keep up with Slutcracker information on Facebook or at www.theslutcracker.com


So, lets get started! First I want to send some thanks out:


Vanessa White! for creating a spectacular show and bringing together a community of richly talented individuals to realize your vision and giving me the opportunity to film you for Ohhhh  so many days:)
Tarah Alton for the fabulous Alpha Girl Illustrations she is creating for me!!!

Also I want to thank everyone who is in the film and took the time to be interviewed. I am looking forward to a full review of the footage and the opportunity to see all your performances once again.


As some of you know....I have amassed quite a bit of footage in the last 2 years and technology is a fickle mistress. There always seems to be one more terabyte of storage needed or now, the decision to upgrade to Final Cut X. What to do? Editors I have spoken to have all seemed to be going back to the Avid. Daemeon has been working on a way that I could potentially run both FC 7 and X off my one computer. 
The quandary of course is that anything I have done in 7 is not transferable to X. Well, that will be figured out in the next couple days and then we will be off and watching!


Thank you for reading and I look forward to this epic journey of Slutcracker Dreams!


Julia Van Daam - Director and Visionary


PS If you have had any Slutcracker Dreams and want to share please be in touch:)