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Alleghany Memories Special Effects

Our high-tech special effects department has suspended an oil can from the Mitchell’s General Store by a filament (fishing line) in front of an experimental, non-standard, color key background.

Removing the background…

A resulting video showing the removal of the background. (Unfortunately, the stripes on the can were similar in hue to the background we chose.) The result of a colorblind art director- and not really noticeable at this stage of the process.

Our result: A clip suitable for an emmy. If the stripes weren’t invisible, that is.
But plan to watch, anyway!
It’s our latest effort, Alleghany Memories – featuring The Mitchell Family of Sparta, broadcast next week on Alleghany Community TV and, online, at
ahgs.org

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Walking on Holy Ground by Pratt Davis – New from Star Route Books

 

Walking on Holy Ground, the new book by Pratt Davis.New from Pratt Davis: Walking on Holy Ground, Essays on Being Present to the Mystery of Life that Surround Us.

Part Opening page featuring a photo by Pratt Davis.

Walking on Holy Ground is a collection of individual essays, “that invite readers to look at the ordinary surroundings of their lives through a contemplative lens. The essays ask us to a slow read, not a quick read, where we can sit with, think about, and chew on the thoughts shared in them. Each essay gives us a glimpse of the Mystery that surrounds us and the Meaning that runs like a thread through our lives. We are asked to stop, look closely, and appreciate the world around us. We are encouraged to see below the surface of our lives and experience the Mystery and Meaning for ourselves.”

We added images by the author, stock photography and one of our own photos (page 5, New River) and provided cover and interior page design for the project.

112 pages, softcover, 6″ x 9″.

Chapter Opening page.
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Alleghany Memories’ Successful Season

For a few years, the Alleghany Historical – Genealogical Society has produced a television series called Alleghany Memories. The series features interviews that last around an hour each with, “older folks from our area,” and is broadcast over Alleghany Community Television.

Imaging Specialists has always helped with graphics for the series, but this year, we’ve been editing the episodes, as well. We’ve also added photography to help illustrate the stories and we created new title and credit sequences with the help of local broadcast personality, Sonia Joines.

AHGS revived the popular series in 2017 after receiving a grant from the Alleghany Community Fund, a component fund of the North Carolina Community Foundation. Alleghany Community Television has partnered with the Society to photograph and broadcast the series and the Alleghany County Library has hosted two live tapings of interview sessions.

ACTV also hosts the programs at ACTV.ME, a web site that provides live streams of the episodes, anytime, worldwide. To date, the six finished shows from the 2017 season have been accessed 1303 times and have been viewed a total of 115 hours, online.

A group from the Annual Hillbilly Show is interviewed in the Duncan Meeting Room at the Alleghany Public Library.

Shows, this year, have featured Hugh Hash; Lucy Roe and Doris Stoker; Amos Wagoner, Jr. and Mayor John Miller; Sue White, Cordia Truitt and Billie Caudill; and two episodes with Una Lindh. We are currently editing an interview of a group of Blue Ridge Opprtunity Commission “Hillbilly Show” performers that includes Helen Crouse, Agnes Joines, Gary Joines, Jean Osborne, Gary and Bobbie Parlier, and 2017 Possum Queen, Nancy Hall.

Interviews can be taped almost anywhere in the County and subjects can choose their interviewer. For more information about Alleghany Memories, please contact Lucy Roe of the Historical Society at 336-372-4942.

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What Will I See?

Cover image of the new book Grandpa!Grandpa! What Will I See?
©2017 William P. Bahlke

ISI is proud to have helped with layout and prep for the new book, Grandpa! Grandpa! What Will I See? by  William P. Bahlke, illustrated by Lothar Speer.

The somewhat autobiographical book features a fantastical conversation between a little girl and her Grandpa. He tells about events that he’s witnessed in his life and they speculate about what she might see in her own lifetime.

Bill and Meda Bahlke live in Laurel Springs, North Carolina, part of the year and in Key West the rest of the time.

The book is beautifully illustrated from the imagination of Lothar Speer, a friend of the Bahlkes who divides his time between Key West and Chicago.

Originals and our pages (!) are currently on display in the XOJ Gallery at The Studios of Key West  at 533 Eaton Street in Key West, Florida. For more information, call: 305-296-0458 or email: info@tskw.org

A hippo playing hide-and-seek…

The books are available in softcover, hardcover and Kindle edition, now, just in time for Christmas at Amazon.

Little Kimber Rose hugs the Easter Bunny who might someday crash her Birthday Party.