| Speechless... CadetStuff.org
is literally speechless about Scott Matthews' new CAP recruiting video. It is beyond
amazing. It's... It's... Well, you can see it for yourself by choosing a bandwidth
appropriate version and downloading it to your machine. This is an absolute must-see!
And, while it's downloading, be sure to read through our
interview with the creator:
First off, the music rocks. Who is it and how did you
discover/select it?
The music is Blink182 - Adam’s Song. I chose it for it’s drum beat and
instrumental solo section, along with the fact that the lyrics in the closing section
speak of someone who could’ve benefited greatly from CAP.
"Consider this the coming attractions for your life."
is an excellent slogan. Is that yours?
Yes, as far as I know I invented that slogan. My original
intent was for this spot or something similar to it to be shown before movie previews
where there are local ads and such.
I'm struck, just as I was with the encampment video, by how well
you match the action to the music. For instance, the cadet crossing the river on the
Tyrolean Traverse hits the water exactly on the downbeat. There are other examples as
well. How difficult is it to put these 'beats' together?
As with the Encampment (and all others) I visualize shots to
the music usually before I film them, in this case I had that shot, and was thinking of
the “perfect” shot for that moment, and that cadet made a huge splash, so I
slowed it down and zoomed in to each individual frame of footage, and matched the decisive
moment he hits the water with the right moment in the music as well. The process of
matching and blending Audio to Video is one of the things I love most about editing.
The shot of the Cadets walking away from the B-25 on static (I
assume that's COS) looks like a staged shot. Was it?
Basically yes, I was interviewing some of the cadets in the
group, and we were by a row of planes displayed on base so I had them walk towards the
camera as seen. What’s interesting is that if you were to see the whole shot, I was
just behind and underneath a mockup of the (what I believe was) the Wright Flyer.
I'm also struck by your use of sun flares to punctuate shots.
This happens a couple of times, most notably on one of the Hawk shots and one of the
formation shots. Do you set up for those or are they happy accidents?
Those shots were random, yet coordinated. I picked the angle
I wanted and then waited for the right time to begin filming it. The interviews, and the
scene mentioned above, are the only times I directed the cadets what to do, the rest is
all “real”.
From my understanding, there are only about a dozen people
who've seen this video prior to now; you've effectively granted CadetStuff.org a 'world
premiere'. Is this true even of the people who are in the video? Is this their first
opportunity to see themselves on camera?
Yes, only a few people have seen it, there is a lot to be
done with the footage, and it’s gone through many changes. We wanted to have the best
version available to show off, and to get people excited about what was to come. The
opportunities to use this and the rest that will follow as recruiting tools, as well as to
promote Special Activities inside units, is a glorious one. Even this version is a draft
to be further “tinkered” with.
I'd really love to see this run at movie theaters right before
the 'visit the snack bar' video. Is this feasible considering the quality of the video you
shot?
The true quality of the video is at DVD resolution, and the
camera has been used in movies before so it is definitely of quality to show in theaters.
I outlined this ad just for that purpose actually.
I don't see any Seniors! Was this on purpose? Do you think you
have enough footage that you could make a recruiting spot aimed at Seniors?
I did my best to film and interview as much of the seniors I
could along side the cadets. This first spot is generally aimed at the cadets, I will be
working on a senior targeted spot soon.
So, what's the problem? Why isn't this running at movie theaters
all over the country in front of 'Harry Potter', 'Behind Enemy Lines' and 'Black Hawk
Down'? Why isn't a 30 second version running during 'Enterprise' or on Discovery Wings?
When will it be available for order from NHQ?
The full spot (including an unfinished beginning portion)
took roughly 15 hours to make. Though time is spent on the “creative” process, a
lot of time is spent “rendering” the final product. And to see each change
you’ve made, you usually have to re-render that spot over and over again, and it is a
very time consuming process. I’m still doing the work on my home system late at
night, as I go to school in the day, and work evenings. We are exploring all avenues to of
funding, and are in the process of putting together a dedicated editing system.
Hence the time and limited “release” of the videos
so far. We see these and future spots as an amazing opportunity to get the word out about
all that CAP has to offer.
We will be launching a new web-based ordering method after
the first of next year. (2002) The “Cadet Exchange” will offer the
“G3” videos of the past and future. (“G3”, of course, which is the
name that Brian and I work under) We will be implementing Visa, MasterCard,and Paypal when
cadetexchange.com goes on line. Until then questions may be directed to email:
g3prod@aol.com.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank some of the
individuals that assisted in the completion of this project:
John Desmarais, Maj CAP - NESA Contact
Tim Cheslock, Lt. Col CAP - Hawk Mountain Contact
John Davidson, Maj CAP & Tony DeSantis, Capt CAP - AETCFC Contacts
Lori Brand, Maj CAP - NFA Glider Contact
Mark Bailey, Maj USAFR - NFA Powered Contact
Jeff Stuart, Maj USAFR - PJOC Contact
Steve Depalo, Maj USAFR - AFSCFC Contact
Tim Hansen, Col CAP - NBB Contact
Shawn Stanford & Darin Ninness
of cadetstuff.org for getting the word out about this and past video projects, as well as
saving me another night at an airport!
And of course my beautiful wife, for letting me go! |
Capt. Shawn Stanford started out as a Cadet in Connecticut Wing's
Stratford Eagles Composite Squadron (1977-'81), where he competed in the National Cadet
Competition in 1980 and '81. After eight years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps,
he rejoined CAP as a senior member at Richards-Gebaur Composite Squadron in Missouri Wing.
He is the commander of the Wyoming Valley Composite Squadron 209 in Pennsylvania Wing. He
is also a recipient of the Brig. Gen. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager Aerospace
Education Achievement Award.