Make The Rock Hall Weird!

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minnick27
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Post by minnick27 »

Ill catch you in Baltimore tomorrow. I got to AC just as they were letting folks in.
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Post by CatraDhtem »

jbracciante @ Jul 10 2008, 01:09 PM wrote: Ok! First taping impressions. (I am also taping more tomorrow at Baltimore, then vacation for a week, so it will be a bit before you get the video Greg).
That's quite all right...take as much time as you need. I'm in no rush right now.

It sounds like you definitely had better luck than I had at the Toledo show, and eleven fans is way more than I expected, so excellent job! And yeah, I understand the anxiety of dealing with a general admission concert: everyone's lining up and clamoring for a choice seat. And on top of that, you're outside giving up a good seat that you could have taken, so thank you so much for your selfless act.

Good luck tonight in Baltimore!

And also, everyone else, there is still plenty of time to participate in this project, even if you just want to videotape yourself speaking directly to the Rock Hall nominating committee.
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CatraDhtem
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Post by CatraDhtem »

I also posted this in the thread for Sunday's show in Columbus, but this is just a reminder that I'll have my video camera with me outside before that show to tape fan interviews for the video documentary.

Assuming the doors do in fact open at 7:00, I'll be arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 at one of the nearby public parking lots at that intersection, and it will be pretty hard to miss me considering I'll be lugging a camera with me and generally be campaigning.

If anyone is planning on going and would definitely like to appear on camera to answer a few questions and make a personal plea to the Rock Hall Foundation, if you'd like you can PM me through here and request a specific time to find me and be interviewed. If not, just look for me when you arrive (but do note that if not enough people are participating, I might just pack everything up early).

And don't worry, I will NOT tape anyone who does not want to appear on camera (you'd have to sign a release anyway in order to be interviewed), so even if you just want to come by and say hi or maybe help pass out a couple of fliers with the Rock Hall address on it, that would be cool, too. I'm hoping we can get a sort of "tailgating" atmosphere going.

If anyone has any questions about the video, please PM me or post here.

See ya there! :)
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Accordion Mom
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Post by Accordion Mom »

I take it no one is doing anything at Cincinnati Monday....I asked a friend of mine if he had any interest, but he's on another project. My Fuji FinePix will take 30 sec. of video at a time....would that help? If so, I can try to get a few fans on camera. My memory card is only 256mb but I can go with it empty.

If that would work for you, what questions do you want asked and what kind of release needs to be signed?

I still have some business cards I printed with the websites for HOF and ALStar and WOWAY on it. I'd be happy to pass those out in any case.

Good luck and let me know if I have the hardware!

Just some thoughts that came to me while typing.... If I had questions written on index cards, I could ask people to choose a question, compose their answer then just have them respond on camera. If that type of thing would work, could I have people sign one sheet with the release verbiage repeated before every signature, with them labeled 1, 2, 3, etc. so any graphics added during editing would match the names up with the fans? I mean, you want to know who everyone is, right? I don't know how else I could keep it organized.

OK, I'll quit rambling now and await instructions, if I'm needed.
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Uh.... I just found the Release, Fliers, and soon will find the sample questions. Dopey me
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Post by CatraDhtem »

Linda, I am so sorry that I didn't read your post until well after the concert started. I was away from the computer for most of the day.

Thank you for offering to help in any way that you could. I do greatly appreciate it. :)

I know the concert already came and went, but for the benefit of anyone else who is wondering some of the same things that Linda had asked....
Accordion Mom @ Jul 20 2008, 01:43 PM wrote: My Fuji FinePix will take 30 sec. of video at a time....would that help?  If so, I can try to get a few fans on camera.  My memory card is only 256mb but I can go with it empty.
Pretty much any camera is fine just as long as it outputs video files in either AVI format (the file itself would end in .avi) or MPG-2 format (.mp2 or .mpg--but the latter isn't always a guarantee that it is in fact MPG-2).

As for recording time, if one can only do thirty seconds or however long at a time, that's fine, because after all, answers will most likely be placed throughout the whole video, so it's not like someone will be watching it and say, "Boy, this fan didn't talk very long as opposed to that last person." The best thing to do in the cases of limited recording time might be to forego an actual interview and instead have the person state their name, where they're from, and more or less just explain why Al should be in the Rock Hall.

If that would work for you, what questions do you want asked and what kind of release needs to be signed?
The release can be found on a web page set up just for volunteers (and of course Linda knows this now). Everyone kinda knows this next part already, but I will not accept any video footage of people unless they have signed a release...this is essential in case the video gets distributed anywhere.

As for questions, they don't really need to be too deep, and of course you want to allow for some wiggle room in case someone says something that just begs for a follow-up question (like if they said they're from England and you're talking to them in central Ohio...just for example). So far this has been the general progression of questions that seems to work best:

What's your name?
Where are you from?
Is this your first Al concert?
How long have you been a fan?
What was the first thing of his that you heard?
Do you tend to like the parodies more or the originals? (I've needed to simplify the wording of this question for really younger fans, so be ready)
Do you think Al has a place in rock and roll? (if they just say yes, I then ask them why)
Do you think he should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
But what if someone said, "He just does comedy music, not rock and roll!"?
If the Rock Hall's nominating committee were watching this right now, what would be your direct on-camera plea to them?
Finally, if Al was watching this right now, what would you say to him?

I still have some business cards I printed with the  websites for HOF and ALStar and WOWAY on it.  I'd be happy to pass those out in any case.
Thank you so much for offering that. :)

Yes, if anyone has any leftover non-petition items from last year that you printed out (such as business cards, etc.) that you want to pass out, even if you're not going to do any taping, that's perfectly fine. In fact, the volunteer page even has small fliers at the ready to be downloaded and printed out.

If I had questions written on index cards, I could ask people to choose a question, compose their answer then just have them respond on camera.  If that type of thing would work, could I have people sign one sheet with the release verbiage repeated  before every signature, with them labeled 1, 2, 3, etc. so any graphics added during editing would match the names up with the fans? I mean, you want to know who everyone is, right? I don't know how else I could keep it organized.
Really, whatever system works best for the person conducting interviews is fine with me, even if they just shout "NUMBER ONE" before the interview in order to have it correspond to the order on the release sheet. :)

Granted if you're short on recording time it might be a little tough to do, but it always helps to have the person give their first name on-camera.

I'll post more about Columbus later tonight, but in regard to the question of release-sheet organization and matching names up, Sunday night ran like clockwork, helped in large part by the fact that Nancy and Rebecca had people form a line to me after they signed the release sheet. It was lightyears better than my random wandering before the Toledo show, so as I've said for a while now, it definitely helps to have more than one person covering a concert.
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Post by WAYFan »

Hey, Greg. About how much tiome should we spend taping before the show? (an hour? More?) Thanks for the questions that I no doubt will ask. Wish me and Nancy luck in Scranton tomorrow!!! (God, I can't believe it's TOMORROW!!!!!)
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Accordion Mom
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Post by Accordion Mom »

Thanks, Greg.

I was not sure my camera would hold out since I forgot my back-up batteries, and since I met up with a couple of gals and we had other business to attend to, that kind of killed the "outside the venue" activity. I had printed a release form, but forgot it. I forgot or lost a few things last night. I wasn't very "together".

I did, however, pass out a few business cards and without having to focus on a "mission", I had a good time. I hope my questions with your kind responses help someone else step up and get involved as it really is a simple task when there's a couple involved.

Rock-Hall on!
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Post by CatraDhtem »

WAYFan @ Jul 22 2008, 12:35 PM wrote: About how much tiome should we spend taping before the show? (an hour? More?)
Ideally one should find out what time the doors to the venue will open and arrive an hour before that time. This way at this point there will probably be a small line of die-hard fans forming.

As far as how to best approach the line en masse, there's really nothing I could suggest, as you're kinda jumping into the deep end right then and there. Something like announcing "Excuse me, folks, but we're just letting everyone know that we're doing a video to get Weird Al into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and we need fans to appear on camera. So if anyone wants to be interviewed, please come this way to get signed up." should work, and also assure everyone that you will not film anyone who does not want to appear on camera (in other words, when you tape them, find a spot where there would be nobody wandering around behind them). Don't be discouraged if you only get a lukewarm response at first; you can always try again when the line grows.

And also, I don't know how the venue is laid out, but try to stay on whatever public sidewalk that is there. Hopefully nobody in authority will bother you there.

In Columbus, like I said, we were literally getting a line, so when the venue doors opened at 7:00 I had to tell everyone helping out that we needed to make a final sweep of the concert line and then finish up with our own line, just so nobody was rushed.

Of course, don't turn anyone away, but keep an eye on how your own timing is going and use your best judgment to have a sort of cut-off time when to stop. After all, you'll need time to get all your equipment locked up in your trunk and head back to the venue.

Good luck!
Accordion Mom @ Jul 22 2008, 12:38 PM wrote: I was not sure my camera would hold out since I forgot my back-up batteries, and since I met up with a couple of gals and we had other business to attend to, that kind of killed the "outside the venue" activity.  I had printed a release form, but forgot it.  I forgot or lost a few things last night. I wasn't very "together".
Hey, that's all right, stuff happens. Thank you nevertheless for trying to put something together at such a last minute. :)
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Post by albinodwarf27 »

A heads up regarding Scranton - it's raining, and severe thunderstorms are in the forecast for this evening. Not sure if we'll be able to do much tonight unless we stand in a parking garage.
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Post by like_im_27again »

This guy (blog) thinks Al should be in the Rock Hall:
http://brocknroll.wordpress.com/2008/08 ... l-of-fame/

I'd love to smack the person who commented, though, and said Al is a novelty. How can you be a novelty with such a successful career spanning almost 30 years? Idiot.
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