The following is a 3 1/2-minute video called “Arcadia’s Got It All!” aimed at visitors and potential new residents that showcases many of the great things to do and places to go in Arcadia.
Scott Hettrick
The video produced and presented by the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, and a 30-second TV version that was shown on ESPN, TBS, and TNT during local Champion Broadband cable systems during the NCAA “March Madness” college basketball tournament are available for anyone to share and embed on their web sites and other social media. The digital files can also be provided physically upon request by e-mail to Scott@ArcadiaCaChamber.org / 626-593-6276. (Thanks to Rob Werfel at AdGorllia for the TV spots for Chamber. Call Rob at 541-821-8767 to get your ad on Champion Broadband – 541.821.8767 / rwerfel@adgorilla.com; mention Arcadia Chamber and get an additional 20 spots for free!) (The behind-the-scenes story follows the YouTube and Flash versions of each video below.)
“Arcadia’s Got It All!” (YouTube full length)…
. “Arcadia’s Got It All!” (Flash full length)…
Get the Flash Player to see this content. .“Arcadia’s Got It All!” (Flash 30-seconds)…
Get the Flash Player to see this content.It was fun writing, filming and editing the videos above in my “spare time” over the course of several months at the request of 2012-13 Arcadia Chamber of Commerce President Pete Siberell of Santa Anita Park. The only trick was trying to pack most of Arcadia’s virtues into 3 1/2-minutes. Well, another challenge was creating that cool graphic featuring the map of L.A. with photos of all the hot spots popping up around Arcadia, and then getting all four different videos of the actors saying “Arcadia’s Got It All” to divide into four parts on the same screen while their lines were said simultaneously. For that, I thank Andrew Gregson of The Executive Factor in Arcadia, who devoted 12-hours in a single day last week to the task, on top of several hours of prep work prior to that day.
But it started with the script. After the research and writing, I recruited City Clerk and Arcadia Historical Society President Gene Glasco to record his great radio voice for the narration. For a couple hours at the Society office one afternoon, he was very patient with my requests to re-read many sections so I could hear a little different emphasis on certain words.
Then I had to track down about 200 photos and video clips to match all the great places and events he was describing, including many from decades ago.
Meanwhile, I needed the four people to deliver short bits of dialogue for the beginning and end of the video. At Siberell’s request, Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith was gracious enough to hop off his horse after an exciting and dominating victory in a race at Santa Anita Park and walk over by the winners’ circle to give me several quick takes of two brief sound bites. A couple days later Maestro Victor Vener was equally generous with his time in meeting me at the California Philharmonic office at Westfield Santa Anita to let me videotape several versions of his lines.
I have to also thank one of our helpful Chamber staff members Cherry Liu, for being willing to go over to the mall (twice) and deftly handle the challenge of delivering her line while timing her walk to start and stop at just the right spot. My wife Betty literally stepped up when I needed someone to hike 1 1/2-miles into the forest with me to deliver one short line against the backdrop of the Sturtevant Falls. Then it was another 1 1/2-miles back that ended with a very long, steep climb out of the canyon. In both cases, the noise behind Cherry and Betty was so loud and distracting that I had to have them say their lines again as I recorded them in a slightly different and quieter angle. That second recording of their voice was then dubbed over the video of them saying the same line earlier with the preferred visual background.
It was all very time-consuming but great fun, and we plan to produce at least a couple more videos of this ilk in the coming year. Hopefully the videos showcase Arcadia in the best possible light and make you either proud to live here or entice you to visit!
— By Scott Hettrick