Documenting Another Land Policy Conference Keynote

...Documenting the keynote address at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy's conference taking place this coming Monday in Boston. The speaker will be Kathy Sierra of the Brookings Institution, and her topic is "Sustainable infrastructure for urban growth."

http://atlincolnhouse.typepad.com/weblog/2012/05/land-policy-conference-to-focus-on-infrastructure.html

Have Kayak, Will Travel

Nice article on visionary artist Samuel Rowlett in the Valley Advocate. Can't wait to hop in the water and document part of his trip down the Connecticut in my new production vehicle (aka kayak, see photo on left) on June 9th... I love my job...

Art in Paradise: Ramble On

Welcome to Village Hill!

Produced this promotional video for Village Hill in Northampton... an exceptional neighborhood offering the best of community life. The development offers a variety of housing options which incorporate green design and energy efficiency, whether LEED or Energy Star certified. And residents can commute car-free! While the Mill River, Mount Tom, and the Holyoke range stretch before you, it's just a short walk from downtown Northampton... pretty sweet...

Cross Generations: Hearing from Williamsburg's Oldest and Youngest Residents

Wrapping up production on Williamsburg's "Cross Generation Discussions" video... It was so great to hear and record the stories from our town's oldest & youngest residents, which illustrated the contrasts of life during the "pre-Facebook era"...

The video will premiere at The Williamsburg Historic Society's area on Memorial Day and will then be available for viewing at The Meekins Library, thanks to a grant from the Massachusetts Culture Council and the help of the town's Council on Aging and the Library.

The event, held on February 26, and was attended by about 20 people. "There were people there like Jean Hemenway, who is in her 90s and was the first selectwoman in Williamsburg. She talked about things like how she went to school in a fish cart," said Marie Westburg, director of the Council on Aging, said in an article in the Hampshire Gazette. "We are hoping to continue these conversations and will be applying for the grant again. It is a great way to mix the generations and celebrate and preserve the history of our town."

Reelife recorded audio and video of the event, which will become part of the living archives collection at Meekins this summer.

Monte Gets The Scoop!

Monte Belmonte getting the whole scoop ... on the whole love, from wrsi.com 's "Breakfast with WILCO," June 24, 2011, at The Solid Sound Festival, Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA... as filmed by Reelife Productions...

A Documentary in Progress That Needs Some Love!

A documentary production-in-progress that STILL needs funding... go figure...

It's a modern day tale about reclaiming our past... there is much more to the story...more to be told about the people, the families, the towns and the lives that have been affected by the decline of industry in this once bustling New Hampshire town and towns like it across the Untied States.

"Higher Ground" is the name of the documentary... this larger story that needs to be told. Reelife Documentary Productions has been working with former mill owner Gary O'Neal for a few years to produce this film and to help find a new use for this property and reinvigorate the surrounding economy that is so desperately in need of a new life.

Hey Hey, My My

Posting this video for two reasons... this guy rocks... and (oh yeah) I was the guy behind the lens...

Neil Young. Wang Center. Boston. Twisted Road Tour. April 2011.

Helping The Food Bank Spread the Good Word...

Here's a link to the promotional video I produced last month for The Food Bank of Western Mass...

Voices of New Farmers

Here's a promo that Reelife produced for Storey Publishing for Greenhorns: 50 Dispatches from the New Farmers' Movement by Zoë Bradbury, Severine von Tscharner Fleming, Paula Manalo... looks like very interesting reading!

A community of more than 5000 young farmers and activists, the Greenhorns are committed to producing and advocating for food grown with vision and respect for the earth. This book, edited by three of the group's leading members, comprises 50 original essays by new farmers who write about their experiences in the field from a wide range of angles, both practical and inspirational. Funny and sad, serious and light-hearted, these essays touch on everything from financing and machinery to family, community building, and social change.

Nice Spring Day in the Country...

Driving along in Chesterfield on this beautiful spring day and thought I'd shoot out the window of the car... Short but sweet, and shows what the Luma steadicam iphone app can do...

Unearthed! 1991 Phish Documentary

Got a kick out of this... my old Phish documentary "All My Plastic Melon Dreams" (VHS version 1, 1991) mysteriously showed up on an ole pal's Facebook page... don't even know how he found that early version...

Reelife Proud Sponsor of Wrsi iPhone App

It's very cool to see the happiness that WRSI - 93.9 The River's (free) iphone app brings to all parts of the state, country & world... Reelife Productions is proud to be the official sponsor of the app and is happy to help keep the digital river flowing :) Here's a quote from a WRSI listener who recently downloaded the iphone app:

"After months of living without the River since moving, I am giddy with content in listening to Monte in the mornings once again! It's true my recent iPhone purchase was in large part to get the free River iPhone app!! Well worth it! Otherwise this rainy Tues morning would seem quite dreary."

Download it from the App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/93.9-the-river/id372202190?mt=8