Lessons in Multimedia Storytelling (part 1)
Throughout this quarter, Flip the Media will be featuring some of the best video projects from the winter Multimedia Storytelling classes.
“Henry: Portrait of a serial muralist” by Ross Reynolds
The subject of the video was Ryan Henry Ward, an artist known for his murals found on automobiles, buildings, retaining walls, coffee houses and schools in Seattle. He was living in his car when he decided to make murals, first by finding blank walls and asking if he could paint something there. Today private collectors commission his work, and he can afford the rent to live in a shared house. He recently painted the wall of Value Village in North Seattle.
The goal of the video was to convey the vivid whimsy of his work while telling the story of his artistic life.
I shot the video with a Panasonic Lumix camera, recorded the audio on a Marantz digital recorder and edited it in Final Cut Express.
One thing I think I learned was what to leave out. I considered narration, music and interviews with other people, but in the end opted for the simpler elements of the murals and Ryan telling his story.
(5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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5 Comments, Comment or Ping
Colleen Carrington
You did a great job telling Henry’s story! I admire his ability to follow his heart and pursue his passion. A couple of things come to mind. His art would be perfect in children’s books. Perhaps @thinkmaya could introduce him to her collaborative digital community. I bet he’d get a lot of takers on Twitter and MySpace backgrounds too. Is there a spot in the UW MCDM program to have a team of students help Henry set up a simple site with e-commerce capabilities? If Henry’s art was searchable online … it could make a world of difference in this talented man’s life.
May 4th, 2010
James Taylor
Ross, great piece! I love Henry’s work – and was dissapointed to find the old Lube Shop on 45th St had his work painted over. My neighbor has a great one too, you should check out – it’s right by Essential Baking on 34th & Woodlawn (on Woodlawn b/t 34th & 35th).
Also, I have to say, I’m one of probably a select few who got the reference to quite possibly one of the worst movies of the 80’s ever to get “two thumbs up” from Siskel & Ebert – “Henry: Portrait of a serial killer” Rented that once with my wife (then girlfriend) in San Francisco solely on the “two thumbs up” designation – and it was awful. “No Otis! She’s you’re sister.”
May 5th, 2010
Terry Short
Great job, Ross. I really liked the pace of the editing and how you managed to cover a broad spectrum of Henry’s work and his thoughts on the Big Picture in under 3 minutes.
May 8th, 2010
Cheryl Lowry
Ross,
I really enjoyed this movie, the editing reflects your well-known storytelling skills. Great work.
May 14th, 2010
Ellia
Nice video, Ross. Murals have been used as a youth and community engagement tool for some years in Philadelphia. The fantastic book “Philadelphia Murals and the Stories They Tell” gives the background and is a visual feast.
May 18th, 2010
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