a k.kalla production

Kallas in Togo and Germany

2010-02-03T00:34:00.002-06:00

I edited this video together with old home movie footage my parents had transferred to VHS several years ago.

Kallas in Togo and Germany from Kevin Kalla on Vimeo.

All City 09 Trick Comp Video

2009-09-01T13:25:00.002-05:00

New Bike Jerks video I threw together from the Trick Competition that took place during the All City Championship, a massive Minneapolis Alley Cat that Jeff throws every summer.

All City Trick Comp 2009 from BikeJerks on Vimeo.

Sibley Class

2009-04-06T21:41:00.002-05:00

We just started our first bike class through the Saint Paul Connections Program at Sibley today. One of the activities that we had them do was take a bike frame that had been cut into pieces, duct tape it back together, and put the parts back onto it.

New Digital Divide Video

2008-12-09T19:37:00.000-06:00

Here's a new Digital Divide video I just edited together this evening:

Ivan

2008-12-01T21:54:00.003-06:00

Jeremy, I can't thank you enough for recording this song for me. Rox, thanks for your help and input. This was played at a memorial at SPNN earlier today.

Carnitas

2008-11-20T16:52:00.004-06:00

I've been working on perfecting a good carnitas recipe.

Carnitas
Start with a nice pork shoulder or other large cut and tie with kitchen twine. Cut slits in the meat and stuff with sliced garlic cloves. Combine adobo seasoning, salt, pepper, and olive oil into a paste and rub this over the entire surface of the pork. Sear the meat in a skillet (I've had good luck with cast iron). Throw it in a crockpot along with onion, cilantro, a jalapeño and stock. Cook on low for 8 hours, then remove from the crockpot and broil the meat to crisp up the outside. Drizzle the meat with juice from the crockpot.

I like serving this with warm tortillas, fresh guacamole, queso fresco, and roasted corn.

New, short bike jerks video

2008-11-18T01:08:00.001-06:00

I threw this together for Jeff earlier this evening. Check it out.

Bike Jerks Weekend from BikeJerks on Vimeo.

About the Sibley Bike Depot

2008-11-07T23:33:00.002-06:00

Celebration

2008-11-06T16:35:00.003-06:00

Oh man, Know what's good?

2008-09-09T17:16:00.002-05:00

Bike Camping.

This past weekend, Rox, Season, and I biked out to Carver Park.

Me carrying firewood.

Rox proves that she's an herbivore.

The friendly hobo that stayed in our tent.

The sweet lean-to Rox and I built when it started to storm.

All-City Championship - New Video

2008-05-17T01:41:00.002-05:00

2008-04-12T00:16:00.000-05:00

So, my Dad wrote a book. Check it out.

A shorter cut

2008-02-05T15:56:00.001-06:00

I've created a version of the Digital Divide Initiative documentary that's about a minute and a half shorter than the previous one. This is what will likely play on the website, while the longer cut will be reserved for DVD distribution.

I can't believe this project is almost over!

Patchwork Quilt Video

2008-02-01T10:31:00.000-06:00

Behold - the (hopefully) final draft of a documentary video I put together for the Patchwork Quilt Digital Divide Initiative.

Click To Play

Update 2/05/08 - Audio glitch should be fixed.

2007-12-25T22:43:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas, everybody

2007-12-11T17:18:00.000-06:00

Google Maps has just introduced Street View in the Twin Cities. Here's my apartment building:

View Larger Map

You can totally see my car on the south end of the street.

2007-12-06T14:46:00.000-06:00

One of the projects I've been working on of late has been a short documentary about the Patchwork Quilt Digital Divide Initiative. Much of it has been shot indoors without the use of a lighting kit - I've been experimenting with different ways of sweetening the images. I've also been working on the lower third graphic that will be used throughout the video.

2007-12-04T11:17:00.000-06:00

Snowbiking!

2007-11-14T16:28:00.000-06:00

Here's a little something I threw together while I was messing with some of the Bike Jerks footage. Thanks to Roxanne for being my associate producer and to Jeff for organizing this whole thing. We're going to be shooting some more this weekend - I'll keep you posted.

Update - Click here to watch the high res version

2007-11-06T09:39:00.000-06:00

I'm shooting a short video for Bike Jerks (with Choice's help). I'll post it up here when it's finished - hopefully by the end of the month.

2007-11-06T09:15:00.000-06:00

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."
-George Eliot

George Eliot was a female writer in Victorian England who used a male pen name to be taken seriously. Which is to say - she lived a lie and her writing is not to be trusted. However, in the spirit of optimism I'm attempting to adopt towards the change in seasons, I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Here's to you, autumn.

~ all taken on my block in minneapolis ~

2007-11-06T08:39:00.000-06:00

These past couple of weeks, I've been helping out John Forde of Mental Engineering with the new set he has been building. He's designed a portable set that folds out of a box the size of a refrigerator, complete with its own lighting grid. I've been working on the portable control room element - the four camera switcher setup that records the show and reminds me of the Bad News Bears. This ragtag collection of equipment includes broken e-bay cameras and cables from Ax Man, and is currently held together with gaff tape and prayer.

Kevin's Tater Tot Hotdish

2007-10-10T12:51:00.001-05:00

While I still haven't adopted all of the habits and customs of a true midwesterner, I have learned to make a pretty solid Tater Tot Hotdish. It's getting cold out, and comfort food is on the menu. Here's my own personal recipe for Tater Tot Hotdish.

Ingredients
1.5 pounds ground beef (or vegetarian equivalent)
2 cans of cream soup (I like cream of mushroom)
1 soup can of milk
1 onion, chopped
1 can of peas
1 can of corn
1 package of tots
Grated cheese to top

Preheat your oven to 350°. Brown the ground beef and onions. Then add in the soup, milk, peas, and corn. While that's heating up, grab a baking pan and line the bottom with some tots. Pour the soup mixture over the tots, top with another layer of tots, and then sprinkle cheese over it all. Bake for 45 minutes. Enjoy.

Edit 1/18/2009: A couple of tips. Bake the tater tots before adding them to the dish. Throw some sliced carrots in with the peas and corn. And elk makes an excellent substitute for ground beef!

2007-10-10T12:46:00.001-05:00

Right now, I'm watching my good friend Tom playing live at the final table of the European Poker Tour in Baden. So far, his strategy seems to be to dominate while looking as bored as possible.

2007-10-10T12:33:00.000-05:00

My modeling career is really starting to take off.

2007-09-11T23:13:00.001-05:00

new bike

2007-08-14T00:02:00.000-05:00

Lollapalooza - Day Three

We started out with breakfast at Schuba's - the last time I had been there was when Jeremy and I saw Okkervil River on consecutive nights. The forecast warned of rain, so we brought along a couple of ponchos just in case. Erin tested them to make sure they worked.

The first act I saw on Sunday was Lupe Fiasco. The highlight was hearing him rap over Thom Yorke's The Eraser.

Jeremy and I caught the end of Iggy Pop while trying to get a good spot for Modest Mouse.

And then we waited for an hour, in the mud and heat - no room to even sit. The ground was littered with remnants from the Iggy Pop show - broken sunglasses, t-shirts, several orphaned shoes. This was the calm before the storm.

Modest Mouse was insane. The crowd lost it. At some point, I turned around to look at the sea of people behind me and saw a tide of crowd surfers coming in.

In the words of Jeremy: "The crowd was a pretty fascinating mix of out of control douche bags and good hardcore fans which really upped the electric atmosphere." Both can be seen in the above picture, along with Modest Mouse in the background.

The epic three day outdoor concert that was Lollapalooza ended with my original favorite band. This is the band that made me grow my hair long and wear flannel in fifth grade. In honor of the occasion, Jeremy and I wrote on our arms in Sharpie.

Pearl Jam was a party. I knew just about every single word to every single song.

The song they ended on was a cover of Keep on Rocking in the Free World. At some point, Eddie invited people from backstage to join him. Eddie climbs up on someone's shoulders, still singing. I look up at the jumbotron, and realize it's Dennis Rodman that Eddie has just mounted.

Lollapalooza was awesome.

2007-08-11T18:10:00.000-05:00

Lollapalooza - Day Two

Another Lollapalesson: Pack on the calories early in the day. You will need them later. On day two, we hit up McGees - Jeremy wanted us to experience their build-your-own-bloody-mary bar. Here's a shot of me with "the hog," a dish highly recommended by our server, which includes: bacon, hash browns, ham, three eggs, pancakes, sausage, and french toast.

Oh my god, I'm From Barcelona may be my new favorite band. Adopting the more-is-more technique employed by The Polyphonic Spree, I think I counted at least 16 Swedes on stage. Including a guy dressed as a bear. I don't think he had an instrument. He may have had a microphone. Mostly he clapped along.

This was the band's first US performance. Here are a couple shots of lead singer Emanuel Lundgren and his uncontainable enthusiasm:

Tapes n' Tapes was next up. It was an odd experience - I think because I had seen them play at Grand Old Day a month prior with a much smaller crowd. Also the lead singer was wearing the same t-shirt. This was followed by Silverchair. Oh, Silverchair. I guess Erin thought it was hot when Daniel Johns took his shirt off. I left early to get a good spot at...

Rhymefest! This was a fun show. Rhymefest makes you wish you were from Chicago...

... and the Hold Steady make you proud to live in the Twin Cities. I truly love this band. No, Craig Finn - here's to you.

The day was capped off with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Muse. The picture above is a pretty good representation of what Muse's stage show looks like. After a healthy dose of sensory overload, we went home, ate Chicago deep dish pizza, and fell asleep.

2007-08-09T21:55:00.000-05:00

Lollapalooza - Day One

The set up: Josh, Erin, one-armed Emily, and I will drive up to Chicago - meeting up with Matt and Jeremy for Lollapalooza. The six of us will sleep in Jeremy's studio apartment, located on the outskirts of Boystown, and ride the El each day to the festival. And there will be music, merrymaking, and dancing. And mud and sunburns and the stifling sweaty heat from 100,000 bodies pressed against yours. And hard decisions: Do I miss Clap Your Hands Say Yeah to get a good spot at the Hold Steady? If I drink this entire Camelbak full of water in order to avoid dying, will I have to pee in the middle of Daft Punk?

So we start the first day with six people sharing one shower, followed by bagels and a ride on the most terrifying form of public transportation in the world (barring perhaps India's Red Line busses): the El. After cheating death, I caught my first glimpse of Lollapalooza:

The first band I saw was Illinois. This was followed by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Ted fell midset and cut his hand open, but kept on playing. Here's Josh, awestruck:

After Ted Leo, we headed over to see the Polyphonic Spree. This is where I learned my first lesson of Lollapalooza: there is often a direct correlation between the number of people on stage and how awesome the show is. Jeremy and I managed to snake our way through the crowd for a good spot.

My expectations for this show were not that high. But the Spree brought it. They came out in paramilitary garb - black uniforms with red heart-shaped patches - an odd mix of symbolism.

The experience was euphoric. It felt as though there was something bigger than the music, this feeling of possibility. The concert really exploded when they covered Nirvana's Lithium. Here's Jeremy singing along:

Next on the list was MIA - and the earth shaking bass felt good.

Matt and I then checked out the Black Keys. Matt had been told in the past that he bears a striking resemblance to the lead singer. You be the judge:

The day was capped off with a performance by Daft Punk. I was unable to meet up with Josh, who had staked out a good spot several hours in advance. I could literally see him 20 feet away, but I had run into an unbending human wall. As the sun set on Chicago, the curtains opened to reveal a massive pyramid. Atop it stood two robots - sporting metallic helmets and designer leather suits. The crowd was ravenous, and there were times when I worried I might be crushed. The show was surreal - two robots sitting atop a pyramid playing French house.

Contentment mingled with exhaustion after ten hours of being outdoors, and we trekked it back to Jeremy's apartment to rest up for day two.

2007-08-07T16:39:00.000-05:00

ACM Recap

This year, the Alliance for Community Media Conference was held in Minneapolis, the fair city I currently call home. Last year I attended the conference in Boston (with two teenage girls in tow). This year, my entourage expanded, and we had five youth from SPNN attend all three days. Have I told you how awesome these guys are? With only three weeks left until my AmeriCorps term is up at SPNN, I can't tell you how I often I am blown away by them. There is so much joy in being a part of this.

A few highlights:

The ACM Youth Media Screening at the Walker Art Center! I put a good deal of work into coordinating elements of this, but the credit really goes to SPNN's Youth Advisory Committee, who really put in the work to make the event a success. The thing I loved about this was the youth involvement - all of the videos were created by youth, the event was emceed by youth. Too often we talk about youth rather than asking them to talk about themselves.
I spoke on a panel on Friday. This was a bit nerve-wracking, but I had Bekka and Nicola there to help me out. We spoke about the role of youth in Community Media Centers. I placed a great deal of emphasis on our Youth Advisory Committee, which I believe is the best example of how we approach youth involvement at SPNN. In short: create and foster community, ensure representation/voice/power, and encourage investment and ownership in the organization.

Meeting incredibly smart and creative people. And then seeing some of them dance along to the World's Most Dangerous Polka Band at Nye's Polonaise. And then biking around the 14th floor of the Marriot on Rox's bike at 3 in the morning.
The six hour Hands-On Youth Media Workshop we ran on Saturday. We worked with youth from around the country to create some really amazing videos about the ACM conference. These videos were shown during the closing ceremony, although not without nightmarish technical difficulties.
Realizing that I am damn good at what I do.

2007-07-08T16:22:00.000-05:00

Baby's first webcam
While stranded in a coffee shop during today's severe thunderstorm, we managed to get my sister's webcam up and running. Here's my first "live" view of Reidar. He was a sleepy pants.

2007-07-08T15:07:00.001-05:00

So it's official.I'm an uncle! I'm proud to introduce Reidar James. Reidar (pronounced rider) is Nordic and means winged warrior. I'm guessing they chose it because of its unique ability to fit into popular songs. I can just imagine Karen and Charles singing him to sleep with a rendition of "Reidar's on the Storm," DMX's "Ruff Reidar Anthem," or Tupac Shakur's "My Ambitionz as a Reidar."

2007-06-27T17:43:00.000-05:00

Big news, everyone. I'm officially...

not an uncle yet! But if Karen were to have a child, I like to think that it would look something like the picture above. Even though the blessed event has yet to transpire, Washington has been a lot of fun. What have I been up to?

Spending a lot of QT with the fam.
Playing with Bella, pretty much the coolest dog ever.(Usually she has much more energy than in this picture)
Trying to get my dad into the Arcade Fire. And my mom into the Pipettes.
Reading - I've gotten through The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists (thanks rox!), Fight Club (thanks jana!), and The Invention of Hugo Cabret (thanks mom!).
Buying these banging shoes:
Sampling some of the finest hand-crafted gin the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Hand-numbered and made with wild juniper berries in Bend, Oregon, Cascade Mountain Gin is fantastic. It was fun to hear my mom exclaim, "95 proof? Oh my!"

2007-06-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

Gone fishin

Yet another reason to like Minnesota during the summer - going up north to cabins. Last weekend we went up to Josh's cabin - 3 hours west, 1 hour north, and take a left at the cluster of pro-life billboards. You know what I like? Highlights!

Fishing was awesome. I grew up fishing with my dad and his dad - both Finns. Pretty sure fishing is in my blood. And look, girls can fish too!
Ok, so my camera ran out of batteries during fishing - that's the end of the pictures. Sorry. Try to imagine a picture of a delicious, overstuffed juicy lucy, because that's our next highlight.
According to Wikipedia, "A jucy lucy (or juicy lucy) is a cheeseburger having the cheese inside the meat patty rather than on top. A piece of cheese is surrounded by raw meat and cooked until it melts, resulting in a molten core of cheese within the patty." Mmmm... molten core. This was my first experience making one, but not my last.
What is it about road trips that makes me feel the need to buy ridiculous crap from gas stations? Emily, thank you for the chromed out necklace. You're welcome for the novelty air freshener.
We took a trip down memory lane, stopping by the Dairy Queen where, once up a time, Jeremy and I let a cute girl know that she could do better. In ketchup. Speaking of Jeremy, he's going on a date tonight with a girl he met on craigslist. Awesome.

I'm heading to Washington state tomorrow, where I will become an uncle. It's a lot of responsibility, this uncle business, but I think I can handle it. Now - to bike home and pack.

2007-06-12T16:48:00.000-05:00

The end of an era.

Those are a few of the words that Andrea chose to describe yesterday. It was the last day of Set It Up for the season - and my last day of Set It Up ever. It hit me, at some point this morning, biking to work - my last day.

Set It Up is the reason why I tell people I love my job. For a good part of my day, I sit at my desk and play work. I answer phones and respond to e-mails and coordinate programs and work in an office. At the end of my day, I get to stand up, walk away from my desk, and hang out with young people. And they're wonderful. And there's energy - creating things, making messes, making inappropriate comments, making fun of each other, talking about school and life and parents and last night and New York and LA and maybe college. And for whatever reason they respect me, and that's awesome. And the one thing I keep coming back to is how much they inspire me.

To end on a less sappy note - one of my favorite parts of yesterday was giving end-of-the-year gifts. For our incredible volunteers, Andrea and I decided on two pounds of Swedish Fish and framed photos of us. Awesome.

2007-05-29T23:25:00.001-05:00

It has been a long weekend.

Mr. Barr graced us with his presence from Thursday night until about half an hour ago. Highlights:

Making Jeremy lie in wait behind a couch in Rox's garage to surprise Josh on his 25th birthday.
Making lamburgers. Seriously, this might be my new favorite thing-to-grill. Ground lamb, roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, baby spinach, pesto safflower mayo, toasted bun, sweet christ.
Josh's birthday party. Followed by: Biking home at 4 in the morning, watching Veronica Mars 6 hours later, waking up my friends and making them go to the triple rock with me for brunch, arguing about season 4 of the oc, learning to love bloody marys, napping in the afternoon and feeling amazing, driving lazy people home.
Finding a video game that Jeremy will actually play. No one can resist the allure of wii bowling. It also appears that erin/magnum's reign of terror may have drawn to a close.
Spending most of a day sitting/reading/napping/biking at Lake of the Isles, taking the occasional pull from Nalgene bottles filled with floating limes.
Making two pans (one vegetarian, one awesome) of tator tot hotdish. I seldom feel so Minnesotan or domestic.
Having several shoulders to cry on while watching the last episode of Veronica Mars ever.
Getting everyone together for beer lunch at Lyle's and using laundry quarters to buy novelty items "imported from the orient!" from the bathroom vending machine.
The impromptu deck party at Josh, Erin, and Emily's. Sometimes spontaneous, unplanned parties are the best. I wasn't planned, and look how I turned out!
Convincing Jeremy to stay an extra day.
Emily coining the phrase "death pants" to describe how she felt in the morning.
Making top 3 lists with Jeremy over breakfast at the CC Club. Top 3 breakfasts in the Twin Cities: Country Benedict from the CC Club, Crab Cake Benedict from the Highland Grill, and of course the Mother Trucker from Triple Rock (with tator tots substituted for home fries).
Receiving a several paragraph long e-mail from Matt about the Golden Girls - "no woman should be that tall - she's a giantess."
Biking. This has become one of the most rewarding elements of my life right now. I somehow even enjoyed getting caught in a torrential downpour with Jeremy and Rox on the ride back from downtown Saint Paul.
Finally getting around to updating my blog.

2007-05-15T09:39:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest one hour video project that Jeremy and I did together. As usual, Jeremy's song is awesome. For me, this video was an exercise in letting go. It isn't perfect, but perfection isn't the point. I'm not sure what the point is, but I think it originally had something to do with having fun, experimenting, and avoiding getting addicted to brain crack.

I have to give a special thanks to Emily for being the best photographer ever.

2007-04-23T14:00:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, the media committee held a Corps Day at SPNN. We split into groups, created four different videos, and then learned how to upload them using blip.tv. If you get a chance, you can check them out on the new media committee blog. I'm also reposting a part of the tutorial I wrote up, entitled "Why online video?"

All right, class. Today we’re going to talk about posting the videos we’ve created onto the internet.

But Kevin, why would we want to do that?

Because all the cool kids are doing it. It’s actually a question I don’t think about very often. As someone who works in video, the internet seems like a natural extension, an easy way to get more people to view what I’ve made. Video is a medium and the internet is a distribution mechanism. And apart from making your organization appear “hip,” internet video can be a really effective way to convey information.

But Kevin, what kind of information can be conveyed?

Well, here are a few examples of how some people are using internet video.

Vlogs: We’ve all heard about vlogs, or video blogs. The show with zefrank is a popular one. The Set It Up blog is a big hit overseas.

To promote an idea / spread an agenda: There have been a number of recent news stories about political campaigns utilizing online video. The Hillary Clinton / Apple ad mash up has been getting a lot of press of late (I just watched it for the first time as I was writing this post). One example that I think is particularly good in terms of conveying information in video form in order to promote an idea is Big Brother State, which deals with issues of privacy and surveillance.

Instructional Videos: This is an area that may very well be applicable to the work that you do at your site. Video can be used as a teaching tool. The other day, I had to wear a tie. I learned how to tie a tie when I was in Cub Scouts, but it was information that my brain seems unable to retain. I never remember how to tie them. So I did a quick search, and found this video. Problem solved. About once a month, SPNN posts a “tech tip” video online. This month’s tip is on using a light meter.

Outreach Tool: Online video can be used as an outreach tool for your organization or its programs. DoGooder.tv is a great example of this, as it allows people to watch videos created by non-profit organizations. “Once site visitors see the compelling stories of nonprofits, DoGooderTV gives them a direct way to donate to the organization, join, volunteer or simply find out more information.” Here’s one example: North Texas Food Bank. TechSoup has a great write up on promoting your non profit organization through video using free online tools.

And much more! Have you used online video in the past, either in your personal life or at your work site? Tell us about it in the comments!

2007-04-17T15:14:00.000-05:00

This image is a photo of my Dad being displayed on the wall of the Musée de l'Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland. I took the photo this past December and subsequently submitted it to the We Are All Photographers Now! project. The installation is meant to explore the digital revolution and the blurring line between professional and amateur photographer. People from around the world are encouraged to submit their photography for display. The exhibit lasts until April 20th, so if you're interested in participating there's still time to submit. Oh, and my dad doesn't like the picture of him that I sent in, so I'm posting one that he does like to make up for it. Here he is in Copenhagen standing by his MG.

2007-03-31T22:18:00.000-05:00

On Friday night, I got together with some friends and we made t-shirt stencils! The whole process was surprisingly fun, easy, and cheap. We drew from a couple of different tutorials and went with the freezer paper method. This involves drawing or tracing an image onto the freezer paper and then cutting it out to create a stencil. You can then iron the freezer paper onto your fabric and paint over it using acrylic paint. Once the paint dries, you peel the freezer paper off and admire your handiwork. I took a couple of pictures of the sweatshirts I printed on along with Erin's awesome Magnum PI shirt that Emily painstakingly crafted for her.

2007-03-19T13:54:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest episode of Set It Up. It's about entertainment, and segments include MySpace, the local music scene, and snowball fights. Oh yeah.

2007-03-18T02:03:00.000-05:00

So here's the video that came out of the idea that Jeremy and I had. The concept was that I would create a video and Jeremy would write a song. In an hour. We hope to attempt the same sort of thing every month. If you dig it, hold us to it. The footage was taken on a road trip last winter. Any comments are truly appreciated.

2007-03-14T11:22:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest Youth Update from SPNN. This was shot by the Youth Advisory Committee, and if you like sock puppets then you'll like this video.

2007-03-12T22:46:00.000-05:00

The idea for this post came from an e-mail exchange that started this morning. Really condensed, it would read something like this.

Kevin: It was really wet out on the way to work, and I started thinking about how it would be cool to make a video with people jumping in puddles.

Jeremy: I'm in.

So I didn't make a video about splashing in puddles. But we did decide to spend an hour - just an hour - putting together a video and writing a song to go along with it. Both of us are so busy with our lives/jobs/school/whatever that we don't find the time to do the things we love to do and that we're good at. So we're hoping that once a month, we'll take just one hour out of our days to make a video and write a song. And then we'll post them. And we'll be better people for it.

2007-03-10T14:06:00.000-06:00

The Return to Vegas, Part 3

I've been waiting a while to write this next blog entry about my experience at the WSOP. The whole event still has yet to fully sink in.

The day of the final table of the Main Event of the 2006 World Series of Poker was exciting. There was this great sense of anticipation, a buzzing in the halls of the Wynn. Seating at the World Series is extremely limited, so people were lining up early on. I used my press pass to push through to the media bleachers, where I would spend the first few hours of the World Series chatting with an Englishman representing 888.com. He talked about the stresses of the World Series, having to travel to the United States and deal with Customs when the very legality of your business is in question. Like much of Vegas, he seemed to be a contradiction - loving the game but hating what it's become. It was one of the more sane, honest, and enjoyable conversations I had in Vegas.

Much was made of Paul's cheering section, and it truly was the loudest and rowdiest. There were times when it felt like the outcome of a hand depended only upon how loudly we shouted. I won't try to go into detail about the hands. I honestly don't remember them, and you can find coverage of them online or in the constant reruns on ESPN. But Paul kept hanging in there. And then finally it came down to two. And at some point it felt like reality had swung away and that there was nothing else going on in the world. Paul came in second. Second place in the main event of the 2006 World Series of Poker. For six point one million dollars.

2007-03-09T22:50:00.000-06:00

Slight redesign. Hope you all like it. I've also added some new blogs to the sidebar, so check those out if you get a chance.

2007-03-09T19:48:00.000-06:00

I encourage everyone to check out this really awesome short video about surveillance and privacy: Big Brother State.

2007-03-06T23:21:00.000-06:00

Another Minnesota winter.

2007-02-01T10:30:00.000-06:00

On December 15th, the Media Committee did a day-long video training for CTEP. The response was overwhelmingly positive! As part of the training, the groups created 5 PSAs.

2007-01-26T20:27:00.000-06:00

Here's the latest one hour video project from the Youth Advisory Committee. It's a short introduction to what YAC is and what we do. Check it out!

2007-01-12T10:28:00.001-06:00

What? The latest episode of Set It Up is now available online? Awesome!

2006-11-22T12:07:00.000-06:00

The Return to Vegas - Part 2

I arrived around 11pm (Vegas time) the night before the final table of the main event. Paul was getting pep talks from all sides. I managed to get some shots of the discussions - inside the Rio double that had become the pre-game war room. Paul's father was proud, you could see it in his soft eyes. Mike Odeh spoke exclusively in hyperbole and waved his arms around like Mussolini. Tom sat quietly off to the side, seemingly unshaken by all of the surrounding hoopla. Paul, in bed, at the center of all of this. His look of focus would occasionally lift into a smile as newly arrived friends and family dropped by.
The next morning I did an interview with Paul. He was relaxed, smiling. If he was nervous, I couldn't see it. He talked a bit about strategy - how he would play extremely tight until it got down to a few players, then pull a 180 and start bludgeoning.

2006-11-15T19:41:00.000-06:00

A few people have asked me what I was for Halloween. Here it is, in all of its it-took-me-5-minutes-to-put-this-costume-together glory.

Click here to see the original movie poster.

2006-11-12T17:18:00.000-06:00

This story ran in the Pioneer Press this past week. Thanks to everyone who attended the screening on Saturday!

Teens tell their own 'West Side Story'
Neighborhood film will show at Walker
BY TIFFANY CLEMENTS
Pioneer Press

At a film camp last summer, five young St. Paul residents pondered one question: What makes the West Side neighborhood special?

The answers they found are presented in the short documentary "My West Side Story," which will be shown Saturday at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. The film is one of 17 included in a Twin Cities Youth Media Network screening.

The five teens — Camila Davila Alvarez, Natalya Fromm, Julian Garcia-Delaney, Shampayne McKee and Bryant Slack — produced the five-minute film in less than a week.

"They came up with the idea, shot and edited it in five days," said Kevin Kalla, who worked with these students during the St. Paul Neighborhood Network's camp.

The boys and girls spliced images of the area's colorful murals and other community art together with video clips of adults and young people discussing what they think makes the West Side unique.

Film locations included neighborhood playgrounds and the new Wellstone Center for Community Building, which houses the community institution Neighborhood House. To reflect the area's strong Hispanic culture, the group visited a Mexican restaurant and included an interview conducted in Spanish in the film's final cut.

St. Paul Neighborhood Network, a nonprofit that produces programming for five St. Paul television channels, offered young people in four areas of the city — Dayton's Bluff, Frogtown, the North End and the West Side — the chance to produce films during weeklong day camps last summer.

Kalla said the West Side group's work was submitted for screening because it stood out with its positive message of diversity.

Julian Garcia-Delaney, who did most of the filming, said he is looking forward to seeing the movie on the big screen.

"I didn't think much of it" at the time, he said. "But now I'm excited."

Saturday's event will be the second time this year that Walker Art Center has collaborated with area organizations to encourage teen filmmakers to share their work with an audience.

"We want to make it apparent to youth filmmakers that you shouldn't keep films in the closet," said Witt Siasoco, teen programs manager at the center.

Siasoco said many of the youths have shown their films only to friends.

"A lot of the filmmakers are really surprised that there is an audience," he said. "It's encouraging for them."

A core of eight local youth and film organizations, including the St. Paul Neighborhood Network, make up the Twin Cities Youth Media Network.

Siasoco said the network is not formally organized but is working to add some structure. He said he hopes to make the film screenings regular events.

2006-10-05T13:16:00.000-05:00

The return of the blog.

It's been a long time coming. I've survived summer video camps, two trips to Las Vegas, a move to Minneapolis, the death of my fish, and the beginning of a new AmeriCorps year. I will do my best to encapsulate the past couple of months into this blog post.

The Return to Vegas - Part 1
I spent 8 days in Vegas in the middle of July. Less than a month later, I found myself there again. Paul Wasicka was one of the guys who I had been living with in the House of Pain. One of Tom's best friends, I had met Paul a few years agowhen he had visited Saint Paul to see Tom.

The Main Event of the World Series of Poker is kind of a big deal. Over 8,700 players bought into the tournament, each forking over $10,000 for a seat. Paul managed to make a pretty deep run. At 4 in the morning on Wednesday, August 9th, I received a voicemail from Tom: "Yo Kevin... he made it. You've got to come out here. Call me when you get your ticket." Paul had made it to the final table of the Main Event of the World Series of Poker. Out of 8,773 players, only the final nine remained. Everyone at that table was walking away a millionaire, with first place receiving $12 million.

I had to scramble when I woke up in the morning and listened to my voicemail. I didn't have tapes. Or a video camera. I didn't have a plane ticket. Or money to buy one. I went to work for the day, and that night I was on a plane bound for Vegas.

2006-08-21T00:14:00.000-05:00

2006-07-24T11:47:00.002-05:00

Though the ACM conference ended a couple of weeks ago, there's still one thing about it I haven't been able to shake. It's this red thing. We got it when we registered for the conference. And I don't know what it is. Anybody?

2006-07-18T15:05:00.000-05:00

Tom woke me up at 11:30 this morning, 5 minutes before we had to leave so we could get to the Rio for his noon tournament (the $1.5k No Limit Hold 'Em event). So here I am in the press room - unshowered, unshaven, helping myself to the pastry platter since I missed breakfast, the only person with a 5 year old laptop, the only person having trouble typing the letter 'n,' and trying to look respectable doing it. I'm cultivating the eccentric journalist look, hoping that they buy it. Occasionally I'll stand up, stretch, and start doing Tai Chi. People fear what they don't understand. If anyone asks who I am, I'll pretend to be shocked they don't know. If you want an update on the poker action, be sure to check out Tom's blog (the link is on the sidebar).

2006-07-17T22:46:00.000-05:00

Another day in Vegas. Blogging from this laptop is harder than you might imagine. The 'n' key is sketchy at best. Today's highlights: using my recently acquired press pass to hang out in the media room (complete with refreshments and pastries) and getting a shot of Hollywood icon James Woods eating popcorn while playing in the $2k No Limit Hold 'Em event, a few tables down from Tom.

2006-07-17T16:20:00.000-05:00

I'm having so much fun in Vegas I forgot that I'm supposed to be making a movie.

2006-07-13T15:14:00.000-05:00

Where to start? I began writing this blog post from the Imperial Ballroom in the Park Plaza in Boston. I’m finishing it from a rental house in Las Vegas. To recap:

This is what happened to my car on July 3rd, less than 24 hours before I was to leave for Boston. I’m not as concerned about the stuff that was stolen as I am about the damage done to the car. Unfortunately, I only have liability coverage on my car insurance, so no help there. I’m really not sure how I’m going to be able to afford to fix it. Maybe I’ll play the nickel slots -- daddy needs a new rear windshield.

Rewind to Boston. I attended the Alliance for Community Media national conference as a representative of SPNN. The conference was held at the Park Plaza Hotel in downtown Boston, and I arrived with two teenage girls in tow. RayLynn and Mai Cha were the two youth chosen from the Set It Up crew to attend the conference. In recent years, there has been a drop off in the youth presence at the ACM conference. In the end, the total registration for youth at this year’s conference was two: Mai Cha and RayLynn. While the number is certainly disheartening, their impact was felt. By the end of the conference, the two had reached quasi-celebrity status. They not only attended but participated in the conference workshops, asking questions and bringing their unique perspectives to the table.

When thinking back on the conference, the word that keeps popping up is “exhausting.” Being the sole adult chaperone, chasing after two teenage girls for sixteen hours a day wore me out. However, it was also unbelievably fun. I had never been to Boston before, and (save for the East Coast attitude and criminally bad driving) the city is fantastic. Our first night, we walked to the river and listened to a live performance by the Boston Pops with special guests Aerosmith, emceed by Dr. Phil (!). This was followed by the most spectacular fireworks display that I have ever witnessed (did you know there are fireworks that explode into wireframe cubes?!).

We walked the Freedom Trail, a red line that twists around downtown Boston (and eventually across the river to Cambridge) and stops at different historical landmarks. We saw the site of the Boston Massacre, the Old South Meeting House where people congregated before the Boston Tea Party, and the graveyard where John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Samuel Adams are buried. We walked around Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, saw the boats along the Long Wharf, and strolled around Boston Commons. We had fresh octopus in Chinatown, clam chowder at the keynote luncheon, and on our last night in Boston, Mike (the executive director of SPNN) took us out to Legal Seafoods. One of the highlights was the dinner boat cruise aboard the Spirit of Boston, where we spent three hours of a gorgeous day out around the harbor.

Fast forward to today. Current temperature: 102. I arrived yesterday evening, was picked up by Thomas Fuller and whisked away to the Rio. Tom’s friend and housemate Pi-master (so named for his interest in mathematics and his affection of pi-themed clothing) was playing in a final table. After a well-fought run, Pi-master was knocked out in third place, netting him $85,904. Needless to say, the experience has been surreal. In the first few hours, I saw Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Howard Lederer, Scotty Nguyen, Joseph Hachem, Gus Hansen, and Phil Hellmuth. I even ran into Simpsons co-creator and Mental Engineering panelist Sam Simon.

More to come…

2006-06-19T14:52:00.000-05:00

Set It Up is over. The 2005-2006 season has drawn to a close. The end of an era. As I struggle with the idea of the next three months without my daily Set It Up fix, I'm comforted by all of the exciting things that are going on this summer. The Youth Advisory Committee will begin meeting every other Friday, and their amazing video promo should be edited by Thursday. I've been busy coordinating the neighborhood video classes that will run throughout the month of August. Arrangements have been made for the ACM Conference - RayLynn, Mai Cha, and I will be in Boston From July 4th-9th. The media committee refuses to lose momentum as we continue our work on various projects. Long story short, there will be plenty to keep me busy this summer.

I'd also like to point out the renaissance that my small blogging community seems to be undergoing. If you click on any of the links to other blogs in the sidebar, you'll find some really fantastic content. From Riley's slideshow of youth-produced artwork to Jeremy's rant about Tires Plus; from Roxanne's dissertation on BBQs, Apples to Apples, and race to Tom's existential observations about life, poker, and the pursuit of happiness -- it makes me believe in the internet again. I have always been fascinated with the internet as a communication device, a social networking tool. Rather than an anomie-inducing threat, I prefer to see its potential for community building. There's something beautiful and dangerous about its decentralized power, one of the last refuges in mass media where the radical, the independent producer, and everyone else get a chance to speak. Maybe this is what drew me to public access television, and why I'm sticking around for another year.

2006-06-19T13:16:00.000-05:00

The season finale of Set It Up is now available! Click the link on the sidebar to view it.

2006-06-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

Check it out, there's a picture of me in the CTEP Annual Report! And look, there's Ivan and Mai Cha too!

2006-06-02T20:47:00.000-05:00

The new episode of Set It Up is now available online! There's a link to it on the sidebar, be sure to check it out.

2006-06-01T10:28:00.000-05:00

The one thing that has been keeping me from updating this blog has been Google Video. In attempting to upload the latest episode of Set It Up, it has given me nothing but grief. I think that our last episode was just fantastic, and I really want everyone to see it, so I'll keep working on the problem. In the meantime, here are a few more photos from the Set It Up Photo Project to appease your unquenchable thirst for youth media.

What else have I been up to, you ask? We've been working on the last episode of Set It Up, which is a "producer showcase," meaning that the youth can choose any topic or style of video that they wish. Just as in the last episode, we are going to do an outdoor shoot where the hosts introduce the segments. The twist? We'll be bbqing in a park for the shoot. It's going to be awesome/delicious. I've also been working on coordinating four summer video classes that we will be running. We'll be working with middle-school aged kids in four distinct neighborhoods around Saint Paul. And the most exciting thing I have to report? The Set It Up t-shirts just arrived about five minutes ago!

2006-05-24T14:54:00.000-05:00

Busy as always. One of the coolest things I've been involved with lately is the Set It Up photo project. A while ago, I came up with the idea of having the Set It Up crew take home digital cameras and take pictures of their surroundings. We would then use the pictures a) as an introduction to Photoshop, b) as the raw material for a video segment, and c) as youth-created art to decorate our walls! I collaborated with Roxanne to run the program, and here are some of the pictures we ended up with!

2006-05-08T12:14:00.000-05:00

These past few days have been pretty exciting. On Friday, the Youth Advisory Committee met to begin pre-production on the promo they will be creating for SPNN's Youth Education department.

There are three main ideas we want them to convey in the video: people should watch our shows, join our programs, and come to our events. The idea the YAC finally decided on is to follow someone around who is putting up flyers. As soon as a flyer is posted, they'll use chroma key to have it "come to life" and start talking about how awesome SPNN is. The magic of television.

Our current episode of Set It Up is almost finished. We had an open day on Sunday for people to work on their pieces. After watching most of the segments, Mejid remarked that our current episode is going to be the best yet. Get excited.

SPNN was abuzz on Saturday. Mental Engineering, the television show I help out on, had some fantastic guests. Writer, radio host, and SNL alum Al Franken was there. He was joined by Sam Simon (the co-creator of the Simpson), Margaret Werry (an historian from the University of Minnesota), and Leola Johnson (my former advisor from Macalester). Macalester College President Brian Rosenberg and Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman were both in attendance as well.

As if this weren't enough, professional poker player Tom Fuller has been staying with us for the past week. Highlights have included seeing the Joggers, Giant Drag, and Pretty Girls Make Graves at Triple Rock, getting him hooked on The Office and having him declare it the best show on television, and going to see Sigur Ros (that last one doesn't happen until tonight, but when it does, it will definitely be a highlight).

2006-05-06T00:14:00.000-05:00

Two new videos. The first one is on the the CTEP Media Committee Vlog, which you can always access using the link in the sidebar on your right. The other is a short video that I produced using footage I shot when we were at the Western Sculpture Park for Set It Up. I call it A Day in the Park.

2006-04-26T15:26:00.000-05:00

Here's the second draft of our design for the new mousepads in the media lab. Bekka did the pencil sketch of the SPNN logo, and then I put it into an etch-a-sketch. I'm having a hard time getting the "Building Community Through Television" to look right. What do you guys think?

2006-04-26T10:21:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update to let you know that I've posted the Youth Advisory Committee one hour video projects on google video. You can access them using the sidebar on the right. Check them out and let me know what you think! Our next YAC meeting is this Friday, and I'm still ironing out all of the details. If you have a chance, check out the Set It Up blog (also accessible using the sidebar on your right). The youth have posted a couple updates, and I also gave the look of the blog a little facelift.

2006-04-21T00:36:00.000-05:00

If you haven't checked out the CTEP Media Committee Vlog, you should. Now featuring the legendary media committee ghost movie. I ain't afraid of no ghost.

2006-04-19T15:00:00.000-05:00

One story from the CTEP office party I forgot to share - I was talking to Jeff about music. He talked about listening to anarcho-punk and hanging out with Profane Existence when he was younger. I said I'd never heard of them. As we drove home, Jeremy played "Stevie Nix" by The Hold Steady, so that I could hear this line: "When we hit the Twin Cities, I didn't know that much about it; I knew Mary Tyler Moore and I knew Profane Existence."

2006-04-19T11:16:00.000-05:00

So the Set It Up videos are now on Google Video. They're listed in the sidebar on the right. Try it out!

2006-04-18T10:21:00.000-05:00

As Thomas Fuller once wrote, "I can't estimate how important the weather/ climate/ seasons are to me. When I get out and feel the sun on my skin, I feel great. It's as simple as that." Yesterday was gorgeous, a perfect 70 degree day in downtown Saint Paul. So, of course Bekka and Ivan wanted to shoot outside. And of course they wanted their location to be the park. And of course I volunteered to help them out. The pictures on the right were taken with the SPNN Youth Education Department's new camera, a Canon Powershot A610, that I picked out. I think it's been working really well so far, and I've been really impressed with the image quality.

On a different note, I'll be attending the Macalester Internship Reception today to represent SPNN. One of our interns, Zoe Holmes, is a mentor for the Set It Up show. Being a Mac grad myself, I thought this would be a fun opportunity to check out the old stomping grounds.

Yesterday I uploaded the Set It Up episodes to Google Video. They're awaiting verification, but once that process is over with, I'm hoping that this will solve some of the issues that people have been running into with archive.org.

On a more life altering note, I've reached the point in my service year where I have to start thinking about what's next. I've been thinking about applying to do another year with CTEP. I've also been considering moving back to Washington state. I do love my job, probably as much or more than anyone I know. However, I don't relish the thought of living on the stipend and food stamps for another year. Ah, the life of an AmeriCorps.

2006-04-16T11:15:00.000-05:00

Last night I attended an office party at CTEP HQ. The party was a joint effort by the people who share the sixth floor of that office building - an interesting assortment of artists, writers, and independent media producers. I brought Jeremy, Josh, and Erin along for the ride. There was a solid CTEP presence at the party, including Roxanne, Linda, Lindsey, Ken, Catherine, Jeff and his awesome girlfriend Olivia, and Rich with his lovely wife Barb. I stuck around to watch All the Pretty Horses play a set. The picture on the right was taken with my cameraphone (hence the graininess) during the opening song. I've also posted a picture of my awesome new shoes that I got yesterday in order to a) show off how awesome my new shoes are and b) pay homage to Linda's fantastic blog post about getting a pair of clogs.

2006-04-14T20:09:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,

So today we had our super awesome committee meeting/bbq. And it was super awesome. Much was accomplished, as can be seen by these pictures that I'm posting. If productivity is what your committee is after, then I suggest a bbq.

2006-04-13T14:43:00.000-05:00

It has been a fun week at SPNN. Spring break is over and the Set It Up crew has returned. I've posted the mock ups I've made for the Set It Up shirt, which has gone through a number of revisions. What do you guys think? Bekka designed the logo (originally pencil on notebook paper).

I've also asked her to design the new mousepads for the media lab. I'm going to be posting the one-hour-video-project videos that the Youth Advisory Committee made pretty soon, so watch out for those.

I applied for a scholarship on Tuesday for the Netsquared conference in California this May, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that one. In other conference news, I'm hoping to go to the Alliance for Community Media Conference this July in Boston, possibly even bringing a couple of youth with me. I'll keep you posted on how things shape up.

2006-04-10T14:48:00.000-05:00

All right boys and girls, it's the moment you've all been waiting for. I've finally posted this season's third episode of Set It Up for your viewing pleasure. As you probably know, the current episode deals with teen health. The screenshot on your right is a talking cheeseburger. Click it to view the episode. Once again, you'll need the latest version of Quicktime. Enjoy!

2006-04-09T13:48:00.000-05:00

Over spring break, David was kind enough to host a couple of workshops on the animation and special effects program Adobe After Effects. It took me over an hour to come up with this short video.

2006-04-05T23:21:00.000-05:00

For all of my rabid fans anxious for their Kevin fix, you can catch me on SPNN's channel 15 next Monday at 6:30pm. I hosted the latest episode of the All Things Access show. Don't miss it.

2006-04-04T10:48:00.000-05:00

This week is spring break for Saint Paul public schools, and I've been helping out on a class SPNN is hosting called Real Reality TV. It's a documentary video production class run by Niknaz. The class is run through the Connections program, meaning that the youth involved get high school credit for attending. The class teaches them basic camera and iMovie skills, and it culminates in the creation of an actual documentary. Some of you may have seen the Homophobia video, which screened at the Girls in the Director's Chair Film Festival and was recently accepted into the Flaming Film Festival. That video was made as part of last year's Real Reality TV class.

In other exciting news, I'm getting a new work computer! I'm pretty sure I have by far the slowest computer at SPNN, and trying to do things like "multitasking" has been difficult on a 500MHz Pentium III. I put flame decals on the monitor, which seemed to give me a slight boost, but it was probably more placebo effect than anything else. Let me tell you, I'm pretty excited for this new computer.

2006-03-30T11:28:00.000-06:00

So the Open House was a huge success. We had a good turnout, good food, and everyone I talked to said that they had a great time. To demonstrate just how good of a time everyone had, here's a video of the Open House.

Roxanne of CTEP fame, who is a mentor for Set It Up and comes in every Tuesday, was in attendance. Thanks to Jeremy, Josh, Erin, and Emily for coming out and seeing what I do and the people I work with.

I posted some pictures for everyone's enjoyment. The photo cake was both tacky and delicious. The headshot of me is from the "pin the goatee on Kevin" game that was set up. In the words of Nicola, "if you ever needed a reason to not shave your goatee off..."

Bekka and Ivan put on a fantastic tour that included editing and studio demos. Awards were handed out honoring everyone's individual contributions to the show. Xavier even received a lifetime achievement award. All in all, it was a pretty awesome night.

This morning I hosted the All Things Access show, which is a show put on by the SPNN Access staff. When I say I hosted the show I mean that I read a script off of a teleprompter. On the bright side, I pretty much did it in one take. Not too shabby for not having read the whole script before doing it. I'll be famous one day, you'll see.

2006-03-27T12:23:00.000-06:00

As promised, I've posted a couple of pictures from our third studio shoot. As you can see, our set was a bit more "newsy" this time. Our hosts are sitting at a large desk with the Set It Up logo displayed on an LCD screen. We got a bit of a late start that day, having to deal with a number of technical difficulties, but we got through the entire script in less than an hour. Our hosts performed admirably. This was our first shoot without a dress rehearsal (which was cancelled due to excessive snowfall), and everyone worked well together to pull it off.

Last Friday was the first meeting of the Youth Advisory Committee. The YAC is a group of talented youth who have been involved in a number of different SPNN programs. YAC provides an open forum for them to share their opinions and have a voice in the future of SPNN and the Youth Education Department. For our first meeting, I decided that we should spend the first hour getting to know each other, talking about general issues, and eating delicious pizza. The second hour was spent doing a one hour video project. The teens split into two groups and were given 15 minutes of pre-production, 25 minutes of production, and 20 minutes of post in order to complete a short video. The topic was classes or events that you would like SPNN to have in the future. The group that I worked with did a news report about a new class being offered at SPNN where the end product is a feature length movie. The other group did an advertisement-style piece for a music-video class. I'll try to post those videos online in the next few weeks.

FYI - The Set It Up website has been updated (by me). I'm now doing all of the design in Frontpage, so if you have any suggestions for things that could be changed, please post a comment. I'd love feedback.

Well, that's all for now. I have to start setting up for the Open House. It's going to be awesome!

2006-03-21T11:24:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone, check out this sweet invitation Bekka created yesterday! And come to our Open House if you live in Saint Paul, it's going to be awesome! Stay tuned, I'll be posting pictures from our last studio shoot in the next few days.

2006-02-27T11:50:00.000-06:00

Wifi is coming...

The CTEP Wifi Video Project is now available for your viewing pleasure! Click here to watch the clip.

We spent a lot of time and energy putting together about 2 minutes of video. Let us know what you think.

2006-02-20T18:27:00.000-06:00

Chicago was a blast. The Wrens were spectacular, as was The Casket Lottery. Jeremy's family was an absolute pleasure.

We drove to St. Cloud last Friday to see Kevin Smith. He spoke for four and a half hours before they had to close the place down. It was awesome.

The Alliance for Community Media Conference took place this past Friday and Saturday. There were a number of fantastic presentations, including one on youth media in which two Set It Up members, Donald and Xavier, participated. They did a really fantastic job representing SPNN and discussing their work on the show.

The second episode of Set It Up for the season is now available for download! Click here to watch it. Alternatively, you can right click on the link and choose "Save Link As" to download the file to your hard drive. As with the last file, Quicktime is required to view the clip. Please post comments!

2006-02-09T11:33:00.000-06:00

SPNN pics 253
Originally uploaded by kevinkalla.

We recently went out and shot the new ending to the wifi video. It was very, very cold out during our shoot. That's why Roxanne looks angry. I'm in post-production right now, and I've run into a few snags with some clips having gone missing. Fortunately, we still have all of the raw footage on tape, so I can always re-capture that if all else fails. Tomorrow morning I'm getting up extra-early to drive to the windy city with my roommate Jeremy. And then we'll see The Wrens. And it will be awesome.

2006-02-02T11:14:00.000-06:00

I'm definitely overdue for a post, but it has been a bit hectic lately.
Here's a quick recap of what's been going on. We had the studio shoot for our second episode of the season yesterday. It went fairly well, although it took longer than we anticipated. Andrea's back was hurting, so it was up to me to set up the studio.
Fortunately, Donald came in early to help out and saved the day. As you'll notice in the picture I've posted, we projected the intro to Set It Up as the backdrop of the set. It was an experiment (and hopefully it doesn't come across as too distracting).

The media committee has been meeting about future projects - we're going to reshoot the end of the WiFi video tomorrow. Upon completion of that project, we have a couple of other ideas in the works. We're planning on creating another presentation involving a film screening and a more in depth discussion of the power of media to create change. We've also been talking with other CTEP members about possible video projects, including a short documentary piece on the WiFi initiative.

At SPNN, I've written an article for the latest issue of the SPNN newsletter about our four youth films that were accepted into the Walker Art Center's 2006 Girls in the Director's Chair program. For those who are interested in checking the event out, it takes place at the Walker on Saturday, March 4th starting at 10:00 am. There are screenings throughout the day, lasting until 5:00 pm. The films from SPNN will be showing at 2:00 pm and 3:30 pm. I'll be bringing youth to the festival, and I highly encourage everyone to attend.

In other news, I've started helping out on Mental Engineering once again, which has been a lot of fun. Al Franken is going to be on the show April 1st, so I'm definitely not going to miss that taping. That's all for now.

2006-01-23T15:12:00.000-06:00

SPNN pics 227
Originally uploaded by kevinkalla.

As I'm still not feeling well, I left work early today to do some work at home. Tomorrow's my birthday, so I'm hoping to feel slightly less out of sorts come tomorrow morning. As for a progress report, things are going fairly smoothly at SPNN. We're still working on our fashion and clothing episode of Set It Up, and I've been very busy doing all sorts of small tasks (computer maintenance and the like). Also, I was involved in two presentations last week for CTEP. I use the word involved loosely. The first was a presentation that Roxanne did on teaching media literacy. Riley and I talked about the tools and techniques that companies employ in the creation of advertisements, but all of the credit for the presentation goes to Roxanne. Then on Friday, our committee did a presentation on media representations and the power of media to create change. This presentation was Dave's baby, but we helped position his discussion of representations of American Indians and the film In Whose Honor within a greater context of the power of the media. For having little time to prepare, I think our presentation went relatively smoothly. And while the film was exceptionally difficult to obtain, I think people responded favorably to it. All right, that's all for now. I've included a photo taken last month at the studio taping of our first episode. Enjoy!

2006-01-17T10:46:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone! A real post is coming soon, but here's something to tide you over until then. I've been very excited that our current episode of Set It Up is going to include an animated piece. In the spirit of this, please check out the video for Okkervil River's "For Real." Click here to view the video!

2006-01-10T10:57:00.000-06:00

The season premiere of Set It Up is now streaming on the web! This episode was a learning experience, and the technical difficulties are apparent. However, there are flashes of brilliance. In particular, look out for the show opening (even the music was done in-house) and for a spoken word piece entitled "Racism: Then and Now." Click here to watch the first episode! (If you have any problems playing the video, try installing the newest version of Quicktime).

2006-01-04T11:51:00.000-06:00

Postcard for enewsletter
Originally uploaded by kevinkalla.

So I've been working on a postcard to send out to youth that have been involved with SPNN in the past. We're trying to get people signed up for our e-newsletter and to update their contact information (to keep our database current). It's the first postcard I've ever designed, and here's what I came up with. Thoughts?

2006-01-02T10:39:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! It's my first day back at work after my two wonderful weeks in Washington. The season premiere of Set It Up will air tonight at 7pm on channel 16 (if you live in Saint Paul). If you happen to live anywhere else, you'll have to wait until I compress a copy that will stream on SPNN's website. Also, I encourage everyone to check out this article. The beginning of the article gives a really good overview of what public access television is, who uses it, and how it is funded. It then goes on to examine some of the proposed bills in congress that may affect the future of public television.

2005-12-15T11:12:00.000-06:00

So I really should be editing video right now, but I wanted to post one last blog entry before heading home, and I'm not sure when else I'll have time to do this. I'll start in the present and work my way backwards. See those posters on the right? Those are the two framed posters I have hanging up in my bedroom representing two of my favorites bands: The Wrens and Okkervil River.

This Saturday, December 17th, I'm heading back home to Washington. I'm flying in to SeaTac and staying in Seattle with my lovely sister Karen and her husband Charles. This just happens to coincide with KEXP's Yule Benefit Concert. Guess who's headlining? The Wrens and Okkervil River. My head may explode. I'm going to do everything in my power to make it to that concert.

On to other, more work-related things. We shot our footage for the WiFi video project over the past two weeks. It was a difficult process, and it turned into a logistical nightmare. We ended up rewriting the ending. On a positive note, I think it turned out really well, thanks to the dedication and general awesomeness of the media committee (who I promise to go sledding with when I come back in January).

Our last shoot was on Tuesday, and I've been capturing and editing footage since then. I have a rough cut put together, but it definitely needs a lot of polish. All in all, it was a great learning experience. Thanks to Catherine for trusting us with her amazing video camera, lighting kits, and the like. I've posted a few pics from the experience. The first one is of Roxanne frozen in carbonite. The second is of Riley, Dave, Roxanne, and Huy filming in the playground at Skyline.
The last two were taken during our shoot at the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis. It was absolutely beautiful and absolutely freezing.

As if there wasn't enough going on this week, today is our studio shoot for Set It Up. I'm definitely excited. We did a practice shoot in the small studio on Tuesday, and it went fairly smoothly. Leon is our host for his episode, and he's a born entertainer. As voted on by Set It Up members, our set is going to consist of a low-to-the-ground coffee table and floor pillows and a backdrop of blue and red lighting. Since it's the last day of Set It Up before the winter break, we're going to have about half an hour at the end where we'll have delicious snacks from Bread and Chocolate and we'll hand out a couple of awards for perfect attendance. That's all for now, I have to get back to some sweet, sweet editing.

2005-12-07T12:48:00.000-06:00

So we didn't have everyone here on Tuesday, but I went ahead and took a couple of group shots anyway. From left: Donald, Majid, Xavier, Bekka, Karesa, Leon, and Vanessa. We have a really great group, and I'm just hoping that we manage to pull off the first episode by the end of next week. The real challenge is going to be finishing up some of our segments with what little time we have left. As I've mentioned before, our first episode deals with stereotypes. I've found that skits have been the most difficult segments to produce, as they require the highest level of coordination in terms of actors and locations.

But we will prevail. The first episode will air January 2nd at 7pm on Channel 16. I've taken on a project to stream episodes of Set It Up on the SPNN website, so if you don't live in St. Paul or you do but you don't have cable, you should be able to check it out there. Hopefully I'll be able to work on that a little before I head home to see my awesome family in Bellingham, Washington (I'll be gone the 17th-30th, getting back just in time for Josh, Erin, Emily, and Ryan's Semi-Formal Dance-Rock-Themed New Years Blowout Extravaganza).

In other exciting news, the media committee is going to start (and hopefully finish) shooting our WiFi video project tomorrow. We will be doing much of the filming at Skyline in Saint Paul. Roxanne, our excitable committee advisor, cut through MetroTransit red tape and secured us a shoot at the 46th Street Station bus stop with our very own bus (we don't get to keep it or anything, but we're still excited). The structure of our piece is going to make coordinating with actors and locations a logistical nightmare, but you know what they say about AmeriCorps members: we get things done.

2005-12-04T15:20:00.000-06:00

A real work-related blog update is coming soon. To fill the void, I encourage you to check out a video clip of Bob Dylan giving his Grammy acceptance speech in 1991 after receiving the lifetime achievement award. Go to this website, scroll down to 1990s, and click on Grammy Awards '91. You'll need Realplayer or Real Alternative to play it.

2005-11-20T20:24:00.000-06:00

Roxanne with action figures
Originally uploaded by kevinkalla.

On a final note, the media committee (of which I am the figurehead) has been offered a most awesome project. Currently there are plans to implement city-wide wireless internet access in Minneapolis and, eventually, Saint Paul. The contract with whatever vendor the city of Minneapolis decides on will include a community benefits agreement, which essentially lays out what the vendor will do to ensure that this new technology benefits as much of the community as possible. This is where CTEP comes in. Several members of CTEP are involved in this process, and the media committee has begun work on a project to create a short (60-90 second) video that will be shown at the beginning of town hall meetings and other meetings with different communities in Minneapolis. The video will act as a catalyst, a conversation starter.

As awesome as this sounds, we're working on a pretty short timeline. We are supposed to complete this project by the middle of December, and we're still in the pre-production process. Fortunately, we have some really fantastic people on the media committee with a lot of creativity and talent. The picture you see here was taken at our first brainstorming session. Roxanne brought action figures to help us plan our shots. At some point The Rock started calling the shots.

I love this state so much

2005-11-20T20:06:00.000-06:00

First snow
Originally uploaded by kevinkalla.

In other news, it began snowing this past week. This is a shot I took on the first day. I think the bleakness of the photo accurately reflects the way I feel about winter. As someone who spent most of his childhood fairly close to the equator, the first snowflake that hits the ground sounds more like a death knell to me. Tom, if you're reading this, I know you would agree.

It's been a long time coming

2005-11-20T20:02:00.000-06:00

Set It Up Logo
Originally uploaded by kevinkalla.

It has been pretty hectic lately, and I know that all you fans out there who religiously check my blog (read: roxanne, bigflimsy, josh, and my parents) have been waiting with baited breath. So here it is, my latest blog entry, 11 days in the making. Check out this sweet logo! Bekka of Set It Up fame drew it, and a shot of her drawing it (in fast motion) will be used in the opening for the show.

Pre-production for episode one has commenced, and the theme chosen was Stereotypes. Segments include an examination of stereotypes in the media and a parody of Diddy's Making Da Band. Stay tuned, I have a couple more posts.