Architects of Time Production Notes

From concept through deployment, this is how The Architects of Time interactive video tour of Art Deco buildings and their history was created.

FACT:
100% of the travel involved in making this project in Los Angeles was done on public transportation via METRO.

1. Pre Production: Research, Writing, Planning

The concept was to create an interactive documentary series covering some of the beautiful Art Deco Architecture in Los Angeles and demenstrate how the design of that architecture was influenced srongly by the emerging dependence of society on the automobile.

The challenges that confronted the project were few but the biggest challenge, that of no budget to work with, proved difficult to overcome.

The first step was to choose the buildings which would be covered in the Documentary. First the building had to qualify as Art Deco. By using resources on-line including The LA Conservancy and the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles I was able to locate a number of buildings throughout LA.

The next step invoved some footwork, for each of the buildings were visited (this was all done using public transportation) and analyzed as to wether they could be videotaped. Some are now obstructed by Advertising logos, some have been altered drastically from their original design, and in some cases, the buildings have sadly been demolished.

The available buildings were then researched for facts, figures and images. (a wealth of which were found on the Los Angeles Public Libraries Database) A short script was then written highlighting several key aspects of each building in relation to the over-all theme of the project.

The project was now ready for filming to begin.

2. Production: Shooting the Buildings

This part of the production was actually the easiest and quickest part. Again, all of the travel was done on public transportation, which proved difficult at times considering the video equipment. However, most of the buildings are located along or near one of the busiest streets in the world, Wlishire Boulevard, which allowed frequent and relatively quick access by bus as well as subway. At times I was able to film enough footage for two clips in one day.

I ran into a little trouble while filming the exclusive sunset Tower Hotel. After brief unpleasant discussion with the reasonably leary security team, who had mistaken me and the equipment as Papparrazzi, I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff Klein, the Hotel's Owner, who proved helpful and provided some very nice exclusive photos for inclusion in the project. The Sunset tower clip is also one of the favorites of most who watch the series.

3. Post Production: Editing, Designing the Web Site.

The last stage of the production involved the extremely complicated task of editing. Digitized versions of old photographs were incorporated with new video images that were rendered to look like vintage film. I used Sony Vegas editing software and my home computer. Voiceover tracks were recorded in a make-shift booth in my bedroom closet. Music was selected and mixed. Countless hours were spent refining and editing the images and eventually the interactive web presentation was conceived as the most accessible and entertaining way to present this labor of love.

Please visit the site at www.architectsoftime.com and enjoy.