Movie Palaces: The Centre Theater

KUED7, Utah’s PBS television station, has asked me to produce an hour long documentary on old movie theaters in Utah. It will cover some of the large movie palaces in Ogden and Salt Lake City, plus a few of the small town theaters and drive ins in Central and Southern Utah.

A long time favorite in downtown Salt Lake City was the Centre Theater, located at the corner of State Street and 300 South. The Centre was the first theater built in Salt Lake City after the Great Depression. In addition to its large auditorium that seated 1623 patrons on two levels, the developers, Herbert and Fred Auerbach also built 21 shops with large glass display cases. The wrap-around marquee at the front theater entrance was 90 feet tall.

Completed in 1937, the Centre ran first run movies for fifty years until closed in 1987. A year long attempt was made to save and restore the theater. However the theater’s large size and valuable downtown real estate, made that effort fail. It was razed in 1989.

Here are a few photos of the Centre. The white haired man entering the theater lobby is Henry Blood, Governor of Utah. That photo appears to have been taken at the theater’s grand opening. Thank you to the Utah State Historical Society who recently completed a massive digitization project of the Salt Lake Tribune negative collection where most of these images were housed.

Images Courtesy Utah State Historical Society.

Kuwait

Last week I went to Kuwait to record and edit a story for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Newsroom. It was very, very hot there, but the trip was definitely a neat place!

A few months ago The Church of Jesus Christ was recognized as an official religion in Kuwait. It was the first time in almost forty years that a religion had been given recognition. Quentin L. Cook, a senior leader in the the Church, and his wife Mary, made a trip to Kuwait to meet with and thank government and religious leaders in Kuwait.

Here is the story I was able to help create for newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org and a few images, most of which were taken with my drone.

Kuwait has many mosques. We were able to tour the Grand Mosque in downtown Kuwait City. It was very ornate inside and quite beautiful.

Kuwait is not a large country. In a little over an hour you can drive from one end to the other. This ridge in this photo is near the Iraq boarder. It has the highest elevation in Kuwait. (Images and video courtesy newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org)

Dance Study

The Weber State University Dance Program asked me to create this short video introducing their program offerings to prospective students. Dance, like other art degrees, is sometimes difficult to “sell” at the University because many students are interested in the financial outcomes of their degree. I thought the professors and students did a good job articulating how their Dance degree has helped them professionally outside of just choreography and dance.

A unique element the Dance Program has introduced is collaboration with other departments at Weber State University. Dance students have teamed up with history students to choreograph performances about their interpretation of historical events and declarations. Other dance students have choreographed unique performances using percussionists from Performing Arts or the 3D artwork from Visual Arts students.

Staring early in their study, dance students are able to choreograph and direct their own performances.

Exceeding Customer Expectations

Spring Mobile, recently asked me to create a film that documented the history and impacts of their company culture. Spring is the nation’s largest wireless retailer and started in 2001 with only six mall carts in Utah and Colorado.

An early Spring Kiosk. (Image courtesy Brett Bradshaw)

At first, the company culture was a fun, relaxed place to work, but overtime grew to become something else. Brett Bradshaw, Spring’s co-founder drafted a list of five values, later called “S-Factors” that outlined basic principles the company believed in. They included “Sincere Integrity: We always act with honest intentions” and “Simplicity: We are easy to do business with.”

Spring asked me to show examples of how these values have been demonstrated. During production, one value I was impressed with was “Solidarity: We create a feeling of team unity based on common goals, interests and empathy.” There were several stories of Spring employees who were helped by their co-workers because they cared about their success and well being.

Below is a short clip from the film that talks about the Spring mindset of caring for their employees.

Rome, Italy

I was able to spend the last few days in Rome documenting the Rome Italy Temple Dedication for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Newsroom.

On Saturday, Russell M. Nelson, the president of the Church, met with Pope Francis at the Vatican. We created a short news release afterwards with comments from President Nelson and M. Russell Ballard, the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Sunday was the Temple Dedication. The Temple and grounds were quite amazing to visit. In addition to the Temple there is a chapel, visitors center, housing for those traveling to the Temple and a good amount of green space to walk on. Monday was a unique event in which all 15 of the Church’s senior leaders had a photo taken in the visitors center. It was the first time in the Church’s history that all 15 senior leaders had gathered in location outside the United States. The backdrop was statues of Jesus Christ and his original apostles.

Here are a few photographs and some of the videos I was able to help produce.

President Russell M. Nelson, and Elder M. Russell Ballard did an interview outside the Vatican after meeting with Pope Francis.

Image courtesy Sam Penrod.

Images and video courtesy Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Saints Newsroom.

20 Years Ago...

20 years ago I purchased my first digital video camera. An early film I did was about my High School Calculus teacher. Mr. Van had one rule in his classroom: don’t say the words “stupid” or “dumb.” Those who broke the rule got a chalk filled eraser thrown at them! 

Despite having a new digital camera to record the film, I had no computer to edit. To put the film together and add sound effects, my cousin Patrick Newey and I created a pretty remarkable editing system composed of VCRs, Walkman CD players and random Radio Shack audio and video cables. Here is a shortened cut of the film. ... oh and in case you are wondering, Mr. Van really did laugh like that... especially if you complained about too much homework.

A few months later, Brent Moser and Jed Black, both students at my High School, asked me if I’d help them make a short film called “The Disco Janitors.” The film had three short scenes where 1. The Disco Janitors (played by Brent and Jed) use plungers and mops to fight off evil ninjas 2. Are attacked by free moving garbage bins and 3. Eat apples with potential girlfriends at a local diner.

What was interesting about Brent and Jed is that the costumes you see them wear in the film are actually what they wore to school nearly everyday. Wigs and sunglasses included!

The Disco Janitors was a lot of fun to film. If you listen closely, you can hear me laugh in every scene. This is a short segment from the film’s third scene at the diner.

Century 21 Everest

The last few months I helped create a new recruitment for Century 21 Everest. One part of this production I really enjoyed was learning about the beginnings of the Salt Lake City based company that has recently expanded its offices into California.

George Morris, John Ciet and Rob Ockey opened Everest in 2009 at the bottom of the recession. John Ciet told me in his interview that had he not been a friend to George Morris, he would have thought George was crazy for starting a real estate business at the time. Both John and George, were emotional at times during their interviews as they told me about the first few years of the company and their struggles to hold things together and help their agents be successful.

The Navajo Reservation

I just got back from New Mexico and Arizona where I filmed a ministry visit of Reyna I. Aburto. Sister Aburto is a counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was asked by the church’s Public Affairs department to document her trip to parts of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico and Arizona. The trip included several devotionals, home visits and trainings. Here is a short video we created, plus a few photos.

Sister Aburto made a number of home visits to women living on Navajo Reservation.

The Navajo Nation stretches across several states. Each location was unique in terms of its geography and development. Our filming permit let us get a few neat drone shots.

(Images courtesy Intellectual Reserve Inc.)

South America

The last two weeks I was able to travel to Peru, Paraguay and Chile to document the visit of Russell M. Nelson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nelson spoke at devotionals in Peru and Paraguay, which were attended by several thousand people. In Chile, he dedicated the new Concepción Temple. I helped produced video stories in each country for the church’s Public Affairs Department. Here are a few photos of the trip and videos from Lima, Peru and Concepción, Chile.

In Lima, Peru, several thousand people gathered at a sports stadium to hear President Nelson speak. He gave most of his remarks in Spanish.

Audience members clapped when President Nelson announced he would speak to them in Spanish.

In Concepción, President Nelson dedicated the Concepción Temple. The day began with a public cornerstone ceremony. (Images courtesy Intellectual Reserve Inc.)

Ogden: Junction City of the West

This coming year will mark the 150th anniversary of the completion of the United States’ first transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah. At the time, Promontory was a remote location, far from a large city. Because the junction site would need to serve as a major railroad hub where passengers would disembark one company’s railcars and board another’s, the transfer point between the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads was moved to Ogden, Utah. Over the next few decades no traveling passenger would cross the country by rail without stopping there.

This evolution in transportation ushered in a period of remarkable growth, and the cultural diversity and commerce that endlessly streamed through Ogden’s Union Station and legendary 25th street forever changed its place in history.

Ogden had a total of three train stations over the years. This one was it’s second and quite beautiful. The architect also built the Union Station in Portland, Oregon. If you look at both, you’ll see some similarities. Tragically, the Ogden station burned down in a fire in the early 1920s. (Images courtesy Union Station Archives)

In 2005 I became interested in Ogden’s railroad history after visiting with volunteers at the Union Station Museum. Retired railroad workers served as patrons at the Museum and shared great stories. One individual in particular, Grant Gibson, managed a dining car and told me about a time he accompanied Eleanor Roosevelt up Ogden’s notorious 25th Street.

For the next two years I produced a documentary on Ogden's railroad story and it premiered on April 25th 2007 at Peery’s Egyptian Theater.

With the Promontory celebration approaching, I thought now would be a good time to make the film available online. Hope you enjoy it!

At its peak, 100 trains a day would pass through the Ogden yards. Managing this constant stream of coming and going required a large workforce.

25th Street’s proximity to the train station made made it a busy destination for waiting travelers.

Of all the photos I found while doing research for the documentary, this was my favorite. My friend Josh Roberts colored the original black and white image of the Union Station lobby.

One of the highlights of production was interviewing Joe McQueen, a jazz musician who played for years at 25th Street’s Porters and Waiters Club. (Images courtesy Union Station Archives)

The Cathedral of the Madeleine

In September I produced a short documentary for the Cathedral of the Madeleine’s Bishop’s Dinner. This was the fifteenth consecutive year the Cathedral has asked me to produce a film for their annual fundraiser. I have enjoyed this special opportunity each year. In this year’s film we chose to honor two individuals, Jon Huntsman Sr. and Ian Cumming, who played roles in raising funds for the Cathedral’s major restoration that took place in the early 1990s.

Prior to Cathedral restoration, Salt Lake business owners were approached and asked to help raise over $10 million in funds. (Image courtesy Diocese of Salt Lake City Archives)

Jon Huntsman Sr. contributed to the restoration campaign and was key player in getting others to participate. (Image courtesy Deseret News)

Face to Face Asia

The last two weeks I was able to travel to Manilla, Philippines and Osaka, Japan to create stories about the visit of Elder Gary E. Stevenson and Sister Lesa Stevenson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The stories are posted online by the Church’s Public Affairs department. 

The Stevensons participated in two question and answer sessions that were broadcasted live to youth ages 12-18 in Asia. Youth were able to submit questions online, that were asked to the Stevenson during the broadcast. The Japan broadcast was unique in that is was conducted in Japanese, which Elder Stevenson speaks. 

Here are the two stories I helped produce from Manilla and Osaka, plus a few photos from the events.

The Osaka, Japan Face to Face event.

An old Japanese castle located in Osaka, near the chapel where the Face to Face broadcast was held.

Osaka, Japan.

The Manilla, Philippines Face to Face.

The two teenage hosts take photos with the Stevenson after the Philippines Face to Face. Images and videos courtesy Intellectual Reserve Inc.