Fashion Show at Block Party OKC rocks Film Row
Mobile friendly video version available by clicking on this link.
Film Row in downtown Oklahoma City hosted the BlockParty OKC event on Friday night, highlighted by a fashion show. Funds raised from tickets sales and other means went to Oklahoma City Educare. Among the designers were Johnathan Kayne, Desmond Mason and Nicole Moan. Models included Lacey Lett and Liz Dueweke among others.
Thanks to PR ace Rob Crissinger for the prime time seats next to the runway, overall access leading up to this event and help throughout the event.
And thanks to fellow PR pro Sam Sims for the save of the night. I had stepped away from my camera to say hello to some friends. As I glanced back, Sims was fielding my camera as it headed for the hardwood floor, a door had opened nearby tipping over the tripod. Big appreciation to Sims for saving me!
Speaking of cameras, I can’t say enough about the Canon 7D. Friday’s event had pretty low light, but this camera’s sensor adapts to amazing low light shooting. It’s not the easiest one-man-band set up, especially with the separate audio requirements, but the resulting video is worth the effort.
Back to the event, it was awesome. To those who staged this event, I hope you stage more and congrats on the success of the event. To the designers and models, the above video does not do you justice, but it’s a quick 3 minute recap of the night.
By the way, Jonathan Fowler – whose Fowler VW is 6 months old and one of the presenting sponsors – mentioned he will have an announcement this next week on next year’s Norman Music Festival.
Terror on 10th Street: the uncut tour of an OKC haunted house
With October rolling around, Oklahoma gets better weather – usually mild, enjoyable days with little drama. It also means I get fatter due to higher consumption of Halloween candy.
To accompany The Oklahoman’s coverage of haunted houses for people to enjoy during October’s weekends, I shot a tour of the haunted house near NW 10 and Penn Ave in Oklahoma City.
The people at the house, I counted 4-5, stayed in character the 45 minutes I was there. Honestly, I thought it was fun and a little more enjoyable than the typical cattle herd process of stumbling through a dark warehouse maze. But both have their upside.
I debated using a Canon 7D to shoot this, but figured I was better off using something that required less skill. Also, it was very dark in there and I didn’t want to destroy a lens by bumping into a Freddy Krueger. Or plastic skull.
About 5 seconds into this house, I’m fumbling for the nightshot on the Sony A1U HVR, which is near the lens. One thing I quickly realized, the lens cover on this camera eats into the nightshot’s range. So to compensate, the video is actually resized larger in post production. The result is a little less annoying than wondering why the top third is completely black the entire time.
Retro Metro OKC: What’s in your attic?
Steve Lackmeyer emailed me last week, inviting me to the Retro Metro OKC preview party at the Sieber Hotel in MidTown.
I interviewed Lackmeyer and Justin Tyler Moore about the project and its site RetroMetroOKC.org. Seems like a daunting process to me: organizing a local group of history enthusiasts and collecting people’s memories and tokens of the past.
It’s a great idea. The web site is cool. I admire these guys for their passion and expertise. Impressive.
First National Center
Olympic Day at the OKC Boathouse District
Mike Knopp, Executive Director of the Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation, and his talented crew invited some of us from OPUBCO down to the Chesapeake Boathouse earlier this week for a tour. He explained the history and outlined the future of the Boathouse District and then gave us hardhats for a tour. More boathouses are in our future on the Oklahoma River.
On Wednesday, I caught up with Knopp again for a quick interview about Friday’s Olympic Day at the Boathouse. Damon Fontenot will be covering that event, 11 am Friday.
After the above inteview, my Jeep overheated and broke down. A lady did stop. To ask for directions.
Kim Kardashian in OKC
OPUBCO publication Look at OKC has partnered with CityWalk in Bricktown for a series of celebrity appearances. Lil Jon visited the “7 Clubs in One” destination earlier this year (yeah, that’s right!).
Kim Kardashian had the club fired up Friday night. Big thanks to the CityWalk owners, managers, bouncers and others working that night for being great to work with.
Videographer Kyle Roberts shot the above interview, I merely held the mic and asked questions. She arrived around midnight in a black Escalade to the White Party – dressed in black. After a few party pics with the club brass, I asked her a few questions from outside the side entrance on the sidewalk while the managers huddled around.
Kyle and I weren’t sure whether we’d get a few minutes or just a quick/worthless “Hey, Kim say hi to OKC.”
But she stepped up to the mic, or Zoom in this case (actually had a guy look at me and say “don’t Taze me bro!”), and answered about 4-5 questions. Came across as genuine. Wasn’t in a hurry to get clubbin’. Was willing to give a quick interview. Stands about 5’2″.
And then the madness began. We spoke with the managers and bouncers beforehand about being able to follow her up to the VIP area. Kyle followed the bouncer escort and captured the above video. A sea of craziness, is the best I can describe it.
Fun night. Got to meet someone a lot of people on Earth have heard of. And got a pretty cool video out of it.
