MotionMasters, Inc. - About MotionMasters Video Production in West Virginia

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MotionMasters crew heads to Africa.

Friday May 16, 2008

Film officials will go to Africa

by Cory Jackson

Daily Mail Staff

A local film production company will attend a summit in Africa promoting economic development and business communication between the continent's more than 50 countries and the United States.

MotionMasters, a Charleston based company, will depart for its fourth trip to Africa on May 29 and return on June 7, according to a press release issued by the company.

During their stay in the countries of Tanzania, Ethiopia and Zanzibar, they will capture footage of such diverse scenes as safaris, dignitary lunches and daily life in local villages.

The 2008 summit, titled "The Summit of a Lifetime," is the eighth of its kind, organized by the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation. The foundation is named in honor of another Charleston native, Leon H. Sullivan, who organized the initial summit in 1991, according to the foundation's Web site.

"We're very much committed to the cause and keeping the focus on a great humanitarian who happened to be from a back alley in Charleston, W.Va.," said Diana Sole, president of MotionMasters.

While the guest list is kept close to the vest for security reasons, in the past the summit has played host to U.S. Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, U.S, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young, Sole said.

"There are always secretaries of education and commerce, as well as other cabinet level delegates present," Sole said.

MotionMasters will interview delegates and dignitaries, film tours and delve into the lives of African citizens, Sole said.

The films produced by the production company will be used to promote future summits, communicate the developing relationship between the United States and Africa and be posted on the foundation's Web site to familiarize others with the work being done, Sole said.

To accomplish this, MotionMasters will travel on a chartered flight, necessary to transport the hundreds of pounds of equipment needed to film in high quality and edit the footage on site, according to the press release.

Much of the resulting product will be shown in a highlight video to over 1,000 people convened at the final banquet dinner of the summit, Sole said.

The presidents of at least 30 African nations will attend the dinner and view the film.

"We work really hard while we're there," Sole said. "We're always up before breakfast planning the day, and that night we're usually editing what was shot. The days usually average out to about 18 hours each."

Four MotionMasters employees will make the trip, including Sole, Doug Morris, videographer and editor, Brian Peterson, executive producer and Lukas deGruyl, producer, Sole said.

They will be joined by a freelance videographer.

The summit has workshops scheduled on investment, infrastructure, tourism, education and environmental sustainability, according to the press release.

However, the primary focus is on tourism, Sole said. The summit is expected to increase business for local hotels and other tourism-related industries.

"I'm absolutely fascinated and thrilled to be part of bringing leaders of the U.S. and Africa together," Sole said. "All of them are passionate about advancing Africa and developing a synergy between the countries."

MotionMasters has a history with the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation, Sole said. Not only has the firm attended and produced films for four of the summits, but it also produced a documentary about Sullivan, which aired nationwide on PBS.

The Rev. Leon H. Sullivan died in 2001. Sullivan was a Baptist minister and an advocate of reforming the South African apartheid.

He also worked to end racial discrimination in the workplace.

Contact writer Cory Jackson at c...@dailymail.com or 348-487

Documentary about West Virginia Capitol completed.

Click to view Promo

Click to read feature article from West Virginia Sunday Gazette-Mail

Visit www.movingmonument.org

Imagine if the West Virginia State Capitol were a giant time capsule and you could lift its magnificent golden dome and reveal the buried secrets about the Capitol’s past.

Sound intriguing?

“A Moving Monument: The West Virginia State Capitol” does the sleuthing for you. The 60-minute video produced by MotionMasters tells the story of the six statehouses that have served as West Virginia’s Capitol — a historical journey steeped with beauty, controversy and mystery.

The documentary shows the present day Capitol is more than amazing architecture. It’s a historical backdrop. Presidents and politicians have used it as a stage. Teachers and miners have protested there. Festivals, weddings and other special events have been celebrated on its grounds. The Capitol is a moving monument cherished by the people it represents.

The documentary begins with the early struggles of a state that was born in the bloody conflict of the Civil War. It explains how some leaders fought against West Virginia’s founding because they believed it violated the new nation’s constitution.

Controversy over the location of the state’s seat of government is detailed as the video describes the political tug of war that shuttled the Capitol back and forth from Wheeling to Charleston. The Capitol made the journey so many times by steamboat that it was dubbed “The Floating Capitol.”

A remarkable period in West Virginia’s past is captured in the video — the building of the present day Capitol in Charleston’s East End. Viewers learn how architect Cass Gilbert — in the throes of the Great Depression —molded tons of steel, limestone and marble into an architectural and engineering marvel.

Now that the project is completed, the rich history of West Virginia’s Capitols is being shared. First, MotionMasters and The University of Charleston hosted a screening at the West Virginia Cultural Center at 6 p.m. March 6. The premiere will air at 8 p.m. March 13 on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.   The documentary will have repeated showings on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. For a programming schedule go to: http://www.wvpubcast.org/tvschedule.html.

Free copies of the video are being provided to the state’s public schools and libraries.

MotionMasters celebrates with a storybook

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEB. 1, 2007

Charleston, WV -- For people who tell stories for a living, the decision on how to showcase the firm’s 20th anniversary took a bit longer than you might expect.

“For a couple of months, we’d have meetings and talk about how to celebrate our milestone,” said Diana Sole, president of the firm. “We bounced around a lot of ideas before the obvious became evident. Since we are professional storytellers, we decided to produce a storybook – about us.”

Founded on Groundhog Day 1987, the company has made it a tradition to celebrate the anniversary by sending out greeting cards and e-cards to herald its anniversary. A few toy groundhogs and even a cast iron one can be found inside the premises of One Creative Place, the company’s headquarters.

“When we decided to write and illustrate a storybook, we took our cues from the wonderful Golden Books we all grew up with,” said Sole. “There are some treasured childhood stories in those books, and many of them center around animals. So we decided to create a groundhog character named Mo (short, of course, for MotionMasters) who could tell our story.”

Sole said her reading list included such classics as The Shy Little Kitten and Scuffy the Tugboat. “My daughter saw the pile of Golden Books in my satchel and wanted to know why I was reading them. I told her I had a writing assignment and was doing some homework.”

Richly illustrated by MotionMasters’ Tony Campbell, the sketches were first done in pencil as outlines and then traced onto marker paper with colored pencils for all the details and shadow work. To mimic the look of a children’s storybook, most of the final composite drawings were done as separate pieces so they could be moved around to fit each layout. Finally, each illustration was scanned into the computer and then sized with the text to create each page.

As proponents of integrated media, the firm’s creative team opted to end the book with an invitation to go to the company’s website, and log on to its blog, where recipients are invited to “write the next chapter of Mo’s adventures.”

The company printed 1500 copies of the storybook, most of which were mailed to clients and prospective clients.

“The book was a lot of fun to do and gave us a chance to showcase our creativity,” said Sole. “We’ve gotten such wonderful responses, not only to the book, but congratulatory remarks in regards to our anniversary.

“It’s amazing to me to think about what all we’ve done in those 20 years. Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s really been that long.   There are times I’m talking about a project we did years ago, and when I actually count up how long ago, it takes my breath away,” Sole said.

For more information contact:
Diana Sole, 345-8800

MotionMasters has been spending a lot of time with movie stars lately.

The entertainment television program Extra asked MotionMasters to shoot a story on the movie "We are...Marshall!" Matthew McConaughey was in town for the kick-off party to begin filming and our crew asked him about his role. View the package as it aired on Extra.

Matthew returned to Huntington in October and Warner Brothers again called on MotionMasters to cover the events of the day. McConaughey was greeted when he got off the bus and enjoyed the crowd in the street and in the stadium. View a short clip of the day's activities.
Diana Sole, president of MotionMasters, has announced a very exciting project. 2007 marks 75 years since the completion of the current West Virginia capitol. MotionMasters will produce a 60 minute documentary detailing the saga of the capitol's seesaw between Wheeling and Charleston - and the construction of the fifth, and final, location in Charleston's East End. For more information about this production e-mail Diana at dsole@motionmasters.com.
The Sunday Gazette-Mail and the State Journal have published articles about the documentary on the West Virginia State Capitol building. View a .pdf file of the State Journal article. View a .pdf file of the Gazette-Mail article.

Other MotionMasters productions include "A Principled Man: Rev. Leon H. Sullivan", "John Marshall: Citizen, Statesman, Jurist", and "The Soul of the Senate: A Documentary of U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd".

When the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation announced that Summit 7 was being held in Nigeria they once again asked MotionMasters to document the proceedings. This was the second trip to Abuja and the fourth summit covered by MotionMasters. A crew of five covered every speech, workshop and event held during the week-long conference. View the highlight video.

MotionMasters not only shot for its own video, but provided footage to other news outlets. Voice of America reporter Carolyn Weaver covered the Summit and incorporated our video into her package.

Take a look at some of the still pictures we took while covering the Summit.

MotionMasters has been spending a lot of time lately with movie stars.

The entertainment television program Extra asked MotionMasters to shoot a story on the movie "We are...Marshall!" Matthew McConaughey was in town for the kick-off party to begin filming and our crew asked him about his role. View the package as it aired on Extra.

Matthew returned to Huntington in October Warner Brothers again called on MotionMasters to cover the events of the day. McConaughey was greeted when he got off the bus and enjoyed the crowd in the street and in the stadium. View a short clip of the day's activities.

MotionMasters has been reveling in awards lately!

WV Executive magazine again called on MotionMasters to produce five biographical videos for its annual Honors Gala. Because of the caliber of recipients, it was a challenge to keep each of the pieces under 2 and a half minutes in length! You can watch the videos at: www.wvexecutive.com .

A short couple of weeks later, a video we produced for the WV Land Trust showcased the organization and this year’s winners, Holmes and Antoinette Morrision. The piece featured stunning footage of West Virginia woodlands and wildlife - all from the archives of MotionMasters. “The video MADE the event,” said our client. View the video.

The elegant Maier Performance Hall at the Clay Center was the theatre in which the Charleston Area Alliance debuted its “Bridge Builders” video - a tribute to all those visionary leaders who have contributed to the progress of the Capitol City. The video was designed to be poetry in motion -- a blend of Charleston’s cityscapes mixed with children reciting the famous poem by Will Allen Dromgoole. The video opened the Annual Celebration, an event that drew more than 800 business leaders, elected officials and guests. A true product of collaborative creativity, the video sports a unique stylistic look generated through special effects filtering and selective colorization. View the video.

The audience was also treated to four “Expect the Best” awards videos. These 2-minute videos highlighted the achievements and contributions of those select companies who were honored with the award. One we are proud to say we’ve won ourselves, nearly 10 years ago!
MotionMasters is always looking for talented people. If you would like to audition for any upcoming video projects, send an e-mail or give us a call at 304-345-8800. You may also download our casting application, fill it out, and e-mail it to us.