2024 Black Alumni Reunion Weekend
The Penn State Alumni Association invited us to play a large role in the 2024 Black Alumni Reunion, and we were more than happy to take on the challenge.
Every two years, the Penn State Alumni Association hosts the Black Alumni Reunion at the University Park campus. This year the event was held over the October 25-27 weekend, and we were invited to go along for the ride, capturing footage from each event to create a highlight reel to be shown on the Alumni Association’s social channels. In addition, we were asked to create two video packages: a welcome video to be shown at the event kickoff at Hintz Alumni Center, and a thank you video to be shown at the closing brunch at the Penn Stater Conference Center.
While getting to take in the camaraderie, festivities, and incredible history from the weekend was a blast, I truly enjoyed piecing together the bookending videos, since it entailed sitting down to speak to a number of influential black alumni and community members about their thoughts on the event, the role of culture at Penn State, and their place in helping current students find a sense of community here in Happy Valley. These interviews also took me to Old Main and Beaver Stadium, making me really think through what it would take to create the best equipment setups for each situation. While I enjoyed the challenge, I was never more glad to be back in the comfort of our own studio for the final interviews!
From the Client:
I had the pleasure of working with Chris Wahlmark of CW Studios on several key projects for the Penn State Alumni Association’s Black Alumni Reunion, and I can confidently say he exceeded every expectation. He was responsible for the welcome video, thank you video, and recap video — and each one was absolutely outstanding.
From start to finish, his professionalism and commitment to excellence were clear. Chris is always on point, arriving prepared and ready to get the job done. Chris can jump in and make things happen and quickly pivot when asked without missing a beat.
Working with Chris is a truly seamless experience, and I’m grateful for the care and attention he puts into each project. I would highly recommend CW Studios to anyone looking for a video production team that truly goes above and beyond. Chris is the Penn State Alumni Association’s go to for all of our video needs.
About the Project:
-
Sony FX9
Sony FX6
Various Sony GM Lenses
Aputure 200d/Amaran 60x with Light Dome II and Mini Modifiers
Sennheiser MKE 600
Ronin RS-2
-
Sony FX9
Sony FX6
Aputure 300x with Light Dome II Modifier
Amaran F21x Hairlight
Amaran 60d with Lantern Fill
Amaran P60 and T4C RGB for Background
Schoeps CMC414
Videos:
Behind the Scenes:
PASCP Presents: The Nutcracker
Under the leadership of a new artistic director, PASCP’s The Nutcracker once again captivated audiences at Eisenhower Auditorium, and we were lucky enough to be asked to capture the magic.
One of my favorite events to film each year is PASCP/Nittany Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. While many of the main elements remain year over year, it’s still amazing to see the new ways that each scene is dreamed up.
While I normally just film the show for archival purposes, this year I was asked to also provide b-roll footage during the dress rehearsal, to be used for social and publicity for next year. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to get more familiar with our Ronin RS-2. While I’ve usually operated with the FX6 and a prime lens, I decided to run with a Sony FX3 paired with the 24-70 f2.8 GM II. I also had two focus motors, and took the time to 3D print a couple gear rings to operate both zoom and focus from the Ronin handle. The final touch was wireless monitoring with the RavenEye module that broadcast live video to my phone. All in all, a pretty streamlined setup!
I coupled the gimbal footage with some handheld, slo-mo shots on the FX6 and 70-200 f2.8 GM II lens. Although it broke my back a bit, the 4k120 looked amazing, and I loved being able to use the rehearsal as an opportunity to get closer to the stage, to really capture the technical performance aspects that might otherwise be missed from the back of the auditorium.
I captured the show with two Blackmagic Design products: the Pocket Cinema Camera 6k Pro, and the Production Studio 6k Pro. Both have EF mounts, so I paired the pocket with a Sigma 24-70 Art zoom and the studio with the beloved Canon 70-200. Manual focus is a must, so I loved working with the large monitor on the Studio and its focus peaking abilities. I also decided to be professional and make postproduction less taxing by getting the camera timecodes synced with a couple of Tentacle Sync E packs.
Why Blackmagic versus the usual Sony packages I typically film with? Well, I’ve found for these shows that BRAW is just an amazing, invaluable tool when working with ever changing stage lighting, and the increased dynamic range allows me to reign in the spotlights while still having some of the more dimly lit parts of the stage still visible. And since I deliver in 4k, the 6k sensors give me creative flexibility with cropping if needed. The downside? File sizes. Footage and audio from both shows occupy nearly 3TB of space on my array.
From the Client:
“Working with Chris at CW Studios has always been such a pleasure. The quality of work and the attention to detail is unparalleled, and they’re never afraid to try something different. I would highly recommend CW Studios for your next video project.”
About the Project:
-
Ronin RS-2 Gimbal
Sony FX3/FX6
28-70 f2.8 GMII
70-200 f2.8 GMII
-
Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6k Pro
Blackmagic Design Studio Camera 6k
Sigma 24-70 f2.8 DG OS HSM ART
Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS III USM
Behind the Scenes
Archive Screen Shots
2024 Renaissance Fund Reception
We made sure that the footage of this event hosted by Alumni Development was as elegant and dramatic as the setting.
Every year, Penn State Alumni Development holds the Renaissance Fund Reception, an event which celebrates yearly honorees of the Renaissance Fund Scholarship. The scholarship helps support academically talented students with the greatest financial need, and the evening gala plays host to the best of our student, university, and local communities.
For the past two years, we’ve been honored to play a small role in the evening’s AV production, as well as being tasked with creating a video archive of the event to send to donors and friends of the honorees to mark the occasion. In addition to projection control, which mostly consisted of a Powerpoint presentation, hangslides with logos, and lyrics to the alma mater, we were also tasked this year with creating a playlist and providing background music for the pre-show cocktail hour. Luckily, the honorees provided pretty specific requests: ‘well-known foot tappers from the ‘30s and beyond, but without lyrics.
While I have a pretty extensive musical background, I thought maybe this could be a challenge taken on by our future AI overlords, and they produced! A search string of ‘upbeat music from ‘x’ decade, without lyrics,’ turned up quite a few hits, and then I was able to aggregate that list and ask for a two hour playlist of a similar nature. At that point, some time was spent in Apple Music creating the list, weeding out the bad seeds, and adding a few of my own that I thought would work well, and voilà, a dj business was born!
For the video production we pulled out all the stops, utilizing Sony cinema-line cameras (FX6 and two FR7s), all with matching full-frame sensors and set to 4k60. PTZ camera control was supported by the RM-IP500 controller, and our new production cart made sure all those connections were tidy. A huge thank you to the Penn Stater AV staff for making sure ‘The Wahlmark’ build order was in place, which involves a couple dry line feeds to the front of the room for those beautiful podium and crowd shots, along with an audio patch from, and to, house sound, and the projector hookup.
We want to thank Penn State Alumni Development for inviting us back to support this event, and we look forward to doing it all again in 2025!
From the Client:
CW Studios has captured several of my events with incredible success. From start to finish, their professionalism and meticulous attention to detail have been truly outstanding. Their customer service is exceptional—they take the time to listen carefully to your needs and consistently go above and beyond to ensure your satisfaction.
The final results were nothing short of stunning, beautifully capturing every detail of the events and highlighting their exceptional skill and creativity.
I couldn’t be happier with their work and wholeheartedly recommend CW Studios to anyone in search of a professional, reliable, and talented team. Thank you for providing such an outstanding experience and delivering a final product that exceeds expectations!
About the Project
-
Graphics preparation
Background audio playlist creation
Powerpoint finalization
Qlab show file for projection
-
Blackmagic ATEM Live Switching and Record at 4k60fps
ATEM Live Projector Control
Sony FX6 | FR7×2 with GM Lenses
VISCA over IP Camera Control
-
Premiere Pro edit with live archive and final donor list
Final archive to Vimeo
Sent for human captioning (Rev)
