Meet Ken Bennett of Video Adventures Video Productions, his wife Maria didn't attend the interview but is the key production assistant in the business.
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| Filmmaker Ken Bennett. |
Ken and Maria are longtime Wildomar residents (since 1988). Ken has been in film and video production for 35 years. He's seen a lot of changes over the years as the medium has gotten more refined with digital cameras and editing.
The Bennetts are currently working on a special project called Surviving B-17's. It is a documentary series covering the fifty-one remaining B-17 Flying Fortresses that are still in existence.
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| An in-action shot of Ken Bennett on the set of Surviving B-17's. |
They are also interviewing WWII Veterans that served on, or worked on, these planes; preserving their stories along with the stories of the planes for future generations.
He was telling me about two local guys that have been interviewed for the series. Archie Aitcheson is from Temecula and he's 97 years old. Earl Williams lives in Menifee and is going to turn 100 in March of 2019.
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| Taking time out of shooting to pose for a photo. |
The film crew is trying to help Earl get his Purple Heart, he was in the first US plane that was shot down in the war and was wounded... that was at Pearl Harbor. It was at the start of the war and the records were incomplete, so he was never awarded the medal.
They've gotten Gary Sinise on the job, some ranking officers and some electeds too. Hopefully the medal can be awarded before his 100th birthday.
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| Two of the DVDs from the series. |
The Surviving B-17's series is a direct to DVD and Blu Ray. They had been in talks with Discovery and History Channel but they wanted to make too many changes to the pilot episode so they didn't go that route.
(follow the link above for more information and photos)
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| Ken's business card from the series. |
I asked Ken what his favorite type of video work is, and though he's shot music videos, weddings & events, seminars, marketing & promotional videos his answer was family biographies.
"What if you had a video of your great grandfather? You never met him, he's long gone, and here's a video of him talking to you and your family about his life. Preserving people's stories is a passion of mine."
- Ken Bennett
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| Photo montages are another type of video they produce. |
These videos can come in a variety of edits
They can be basic slideshows, live video, a mixture of current video, old family movies and photos. The idea of preserving a family's legacy through video is something that future generations will be thankful to have after their loved ones have passed on.
Drop the Bennetts an email to see about having grandma Sally or uncle Henry tell some stories in front of their camera... while they're still healthy and full of life.
The best way to contact Ken is through his website, but his phone works too (951) 678-3867. ☺
I've enjoyed all the conversations I've had with people that let me blog about their businesses, but getting a chance to talk to an award winning filmmaker was a highlight for me.
Nuggets to remember:
When you want a video done, the first question you need to answer is what's your message, what do you want to say?
To make a quality video (and when you hire a filmmaker that's the aim) you need to have a basic script or an outline. You don't just show up with a camera and hit record.
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| Ken's day to day business card. |
Another thing to keep in mind is that a quality video production costs money. They don't have to break the bank, but they aren't gratis. The more time your production requires (such as special graphics/edits) the more that the final video will cost.
There is a lot of expensive equipment involved, and even more important than that is the know how, the skill, the years of experience necessary to pull it off.
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| The backside of their trifold brochure. |
Ken and Maria Bennett are very personable and easy to talk with. Don't be shy about asking them some questions about the video project you have in mind... that's the first step to a terrific production.
Wildomar Rap confession time
Some of you know that I'm a video guy too, but to give you a comparison between Ken and me, Ken is to Los Reyes as I am to Los Jilbertos (it helps if you've eaten Mexican food in Wildomar to decipher that one).
If that's too far out there, let's go with he's prime rib and I'm hamburger (lol). We both do kind of the same work, but in actuality, it's very different... plus I'm more of an animator/editor and suck at camera work. ☺
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There are no rules in filmmaking. Only sins. And the cardinal sin is dullness.
– Frank Capra
Hey Mr. Capra, you had Wildomar Rap at "there are no rules in filmmaking."
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