What does Indiana Jones, Captian Picard, and Julius Caesar have in common?

July 13, 2009 - How weird is it that I know when our new baby is going to be born right down to the approximant time of 9:30am. So much for the due date carrying any element of surprise. (Although Rachel could still go into labor before then.) We are so glad that we haven’t found out if it is going to be a boy or girl now.

Right after Rachel told me I googled ‘July 13’ to see if it has any signifigance in history or otherwise. This is some of what I learned:

• July 13th is the 194th day or the year or 195th if it is a leap year
• Julius Caesar was born that day in 100 BC
• In 1985 the Live Aid benefit concert took place
• Patrick Stewart and Harrison Ford were both born that day (Very Cool!!)

I find the last fact the most interesting as I am a Star Trek and Indiana Jones fan. So let the countdown begin: 82 days to go!!

Friend to the Animals

Bridget and I have been planning on making a bird feeder for some time and finally the weather improved enough that we could do so. While she was taking her nap I did all the assembly work. We used a two-liter pop bottle, some twigs that we found around the yard, some string and an eyelet screwed into the bottle cap. We had bought the bird seed earlier in the day from the Bulk Barn. I tied the string around a branch near the back of our yard so it would be ready for us later on. When Bridget woke up she was so excited to go outside into the backyard.

Bridget's job was to scoop the seeds out of the bag and into the funnel. She did pretty good for a while but she was too busy explaining what she was doing that it took forever. You have to love that about her. I finished putting the seeds into the bottle and Bridget was all worried about the seeds that had fallen onto the deck. I insured her that the birds would find them there too.

Once we screwed the bottle back onto the lid it didn't take long for a Chick-a-dee to find it. I was able to walk pretty close to the bird before it got frightened. Bridget and I then took some bird seeds and placed them in the palm out of hands to see if the Chick-a-dee would come to us. Bridget was very patient and stood there a while but the bird perfered the new feeder that we made. One website said that it can take around three weeks before birds in the neighbourhood figure out that the feeder is there. I think we will try to feed the birds out of our hands later at that time. There will hopefully be power in numbers. I'm curious to see how Bridget reacts but I know that she will be very excited and probably talk about it for weeks. I wish I would have had my camera when I was standing right next to the feeder, I bet the picture would have looked amazing. Oh well, Spring has only just arrived and more fun is to be had in our backyard.

Two for the price of one

I’ve started filming my next FeatherStone Production which is currently untitled. The truth is that I was actually filming for two videos that just happen to take place in the same location. The first one which I hope to debut in the month of March is a more comedic video with a hint of conflict, while the second production is meant to compliment future footage of when our baby is born. I wrote on my Facebook page once that “Steve is presently writing his future and drawing parallels to the past.”; well that is what I was alluding to. I’m hoping that I can enhance certain moments by providing a glimpse or two into the past. Yes this is 100% a rip off from Lost – the best show on TV – but only if I am able to pull it off. You’ll have to stay tuned to find out, I expect that video will be ready in August 2009.

Do you like my new “I’m making a video” photograph. That is a Lost poster in the background. And the camera I am using is a Sony HDR-HC3; it records onto Mini DV tapes and does an excellent job.

The March production however needs one more evening for some B-Roll filming and then the next evening I hope to start editing everything together. In the videos I show two books that I have read; one is Watership Down and the other is Fahrenheit 451. Don’t look for any secret meaning behind why I chose these books. I wanted to go down that path and pick something that could relate directly to the scene, but my collection isn’t that immense and my literary knowledge is even smaller for me to pick the appropriate book. So I grabbed two that I read in the past two years.

Well stay tuned for later updates after I have some footage edited. I'll show some exclusive content of the shoot later this month. Thanks for reading and I'll chat with ya later.

The Grocery List

Greetings,

I am pleased to present the latest video from FeatherStone Productions and Side of the Road Films entitled "The Grocery List".

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=sUc0_lzNGJE

This video stars myself Steve Coleman and my wife Rachel and my daughter Bridget. I thank them for their participation and giving me the time and permission to create this video. About this video. It was filmed using my HD camcorder, the Sony HDR-HC3, and was stationed on a tripod for most of the production. I edited it together using Adobe Premiere Elements 3. I used one sound effect at the beginning when the garage door opens as the actual audio was a little weak. Music at the beginning and at the end is "Say it Again" by new artist Marie Digby. Watch out for this one, she is very talented and I recommend picking up her new CD "Unfold" at your local record store or on iTunes.

I won't say much more about the video itself as it deserves a post all to itself which will be coming soon. Expect to see more work from FeatherStone Productions and Side of the Road Films in the near future. Thanks for reading this post and for watching the linked video. I hope you enjoy it.

Steve Coleman