“The B” in Boston

Boston Screening. Superimposed Kimmy. Photo by Kristen Lauth Shaeffer.

August finally arrived, and for Isaac/Rullo that meant a screening of our film, “Zircus des Zelbst” in Boston, Massachusetts. The film was selected to be screened as part of the UFVA (University Film & Video Association) Conference.

What is the UFVA Conference? It is a series of panels and screenings featuring work from those of us working in academia at the university and graduate level. It has been an interesting mix of film programming, ranging from the exquisite to the… “oh my”. A few of my favorite sessions included discussing the role of the AD, the pro’s and con’s of Apple’s recently introduced Final Cut Pro X, and editing insight with Chris Nelson, editor on such shows as Mad Men and Lost.

The flight was short, sometimes bumpy, but in my window seat near the wing, I enjoyed taking photos and short videos of some really fun clouds. Music for the flight was provided by a U2 playlist from my friend Katie, who suggested that I’m missing out by not exploring more of their music. The combination of U2′s chord structures combined with the imagery of passing through multiple levels of clouds was really a pleasurable experience. (Thank you iPhone for providing literally all of my activities; camera, iPod… Angry Birds…) The cab ride to Emerson College was almost as turbulent as the flight. I’m still about 7 showers away from washing that cab off of me.

Took a lot of photos and video of clouds. iPhone Photo by Brent Isaac.

Emerson College is a fine facility adjacent to Boston Common, where I spent a lot of time walking, watching outdoor plays at night, and enjoying some moments of peace in an otherwise busy couple of days.

With an hour to kill before registration check-in, I decided to go on “an explore”, walking around to see what I can see. In addition to the Common, I found the Public Gardens where I watched people on Swan Boats, listened to music, and enjoyed the shade. On the far side of the Gardens, I emerged to find Cheers, the actual bar used in the filming of one of my favorite shows as a kid. Naturally I “geeked out”, and joined the throngs of folks taking photos of the famous sign. I did, however, spare myself and everyone around me the obligatory and awkward “take my picture while I make a forced grin and thumbs-up gesture” experience. Come to think of it, maybe I’ll go back and do that later… Might be good fodder for this piece…

Was fun to discover Cheers on my little "explore" before I checked in to the conference. iPhone Photo by Brent Isaac.

Check in was smooth and easy. Got three comments on my Bluth’s Frozen Banana t-shirt from fellow Arrested Development fans, and one comment from a guy asking for money out on the street. “Hey man, where can I get a good frozen banana?”, he shouted to my head as I slunk by. The rest of the evening was spent taking long walks around Boston, often times in pouring rain (I didn’t mind) before heading over to a pub to meet friends and colleagues Kristen Lauth Shaeffer, Tony Buba, and new friend Jeremy Braverman. Tony, I’ve known forever. He’s a celebrated filmmaker, and was my editing teacher back at Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Tony knows EVERYBODY at this conference, and is stopped constantly to chat with people. One of my favorite people around, Tony was also responsible for connecting me with my job at Edinboro University. Kristen was one of my instructors at Chatham, and we’ve since become friends and have collaborated on multiple short films, using the RED camera. Jeremy is a great guy from Point Park University. He directed “Regent Square”, one of my favorite films from the Pittsburgh Neighborhood Narratives project. Not a bad crew to be hanging around with.

Home of the UFVA Conference, Emerson College. iPhone Photo by Brent Isaac.

Faneuil Hall. iPhone Photo by Brent Isaac.

Thursday morning I was the respondent for Mary Horan‘s short doc called “Storywoods”. Mary is a documentary filmmaker with lots of promise, and patience as she dealt with the conference know-it-all, who had the nerve to accuse her of not respecting herself or her work because he didn’t like the aspect ratio of her film. Nice guy. Thursday afternoon was the screening of our film. Despite a scheduling issue on behalf of the conference, the film was well received and people had some thoughtful questions that I managed to answer, without looking too uncomfortable without Kimmy there to offer logic.

Boston was lovely. I walked everywhere, either alone, or with the throng of filmmaking educators that collected around the Wednesday-night reception. A walk to the North End to find Italian food was a delight, and ended up at Mike’s pastries, where most people got custom cannoli creations, and I naturally ended up with a peanut butter cookie. (Thanks to Tony for buying!)

The moon at dusk over the Public Gardens. iPhone Photo by Brent Isaac.

Friday was screening day for Kristen. Her “Mercury In Tuna” was a delight as always. I had a great time working as a crew member on that film, so it is always fun to see it again. Even the jerky conference know-it-all seemed to enjoy it. Go Kristen!

Long exploratory walks, fascinating educational sessions, great screenings, a brush with the Blue Man Group, and good company made up for a great conference. The cab ride to the airport at 5am was made smoother thanks to a shared fare with new colleague James Joyce. And the incredibly random meeting with Tracey Ryan at 6am in Boston’s Logan Airport was a delightful surprise. (How often do you sit, bleary-eyed at an airport in a strange city in the wee hours, and look to see your friend is sitting right next to you at the gate?!) Flight home was bumpy but quick (thanks again to Katie for the U2), and several showers later I feel like a human again…

—Brent

There were musicians tucked away all over the Public Gardens. This guy had a cool vibe to him. iPhone Photo by Brent Isaac.

Boston By Brent Isaac · 8 of 14 Tag This PhotoShareDownloadReport This Photo Another fun discovery. While walking through Boston Common, just happened to discover a play going on. At 11pm. Cool. iPhone Photo by Brent Isaac.