Travel Adventure Documentary Magazine

Midway, Message From the Gyre

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:00:00 -0700

I received a link from filmmaker Dale Johnson, regarding a trailer, Midway, Message From the Gyre. Being a WWII Navy vet it rang a bell - with The Battle of Midway - and I viewed it. It was not what I expected.

Hal McClure AP Journalist Extraordinaire

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 01:00:00 -0700

LOS ANGELES (AP) � Hal McClure, who covered two Arab-Israeli wars after turning a passion for travel and the written word into a career as a foreign correspondent for The Associated Press, has died in California. He was 92.

Mexico, The Bad, the Great and the Ugly - An Unusual Film

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 01:00:00 -0700

I am often asked why I decided to make "Mexico: The Bad, the Great and the Ugly" from still images, instead of motion picture or video? I suppose this is an especially relevant question since I've spent the last 35 years in the motion picture industry. The answer lies more in accident than intent.

Author, Filmmaker, Travel Adventurer Hal McClure Has Died

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Mon, 27 May 2013 01:00:00 -0700

Why Motion Pictures Still Can't Move

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Tue, 14 May 2013 01:00:00 -0700

By Dale Johnson, Technology Editor In spite of the advancement of our technology today, we have found no way to make pictures move. �Huh?� �Whaaaa?� �What are you talking about?� you may say. �I watch moving pictures every day on TV, at the cinema, and even on my phone.�

Building a Wall Subject Of Unusual Doc Film

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Wed, 08 May 2013 01:00:00 -0700

As hilarious as it is meditative, the Triumph of the Wall film begins as a chronicle about the construction of a 1,000-foot dry-stone wall by a novice stonemason in rural Quebec. The stonemason, Chris Overing, sets out to complete the wall within eight weeks; filmmaker Bill Stone plans to film Chris as a straightforward story, telling of this laborious yet creative task. But when Overing realizes he has woefully underestimated the time and energy required to construct the wall.

Filmmaker Charles Hartman Dead After Long Illness

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 01:00:00 -0700

Longtime travel filmmaker Charles Hartman, is dead at 75. He had retired eight years earlier because of health problems. A native of Warsaw, Indiana, he was in high school when he bought an old movie camera and soon began shooting the high school band�the begining of his second career as filmmaker.

Filmaker's Outrageous Joke Jump-Starts His Next Film Epic

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 01:00:00 -0700

I asked myself how much I knew about Christopher Columbus. I knew five things. I knew he was born in Genoa. I knew the names of the three ships. I knew the date�1492. I knew the name of the island where he made his first landfall. I knew the names of the Catholic sovereigns who helped him�Ferdinand and Isabella. I knew nothing else.

23 Reason Why News Releases Fail

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 01:00:00 -0700

For most of us, the problem is getting newspaper editors to publish our News Releases. Unless filmmakers or the exhibitors have a paid publicist, the chances are the News Releases will go unpublished.

Hawaii Show Nearly Ends His Career

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 01:00:00 -0700

There's no question that we Travel Filmmakers certainly have our adventures while shooting films in foreign lands, and less often, of course, while plying the North American circuit presenting them to our audiences. The following episode is about showing my first brand-new travel film to my second-ever audience.

National Geographic Live! Will Surprise Our Exhibitors, Filmmakers (Part 2)

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 01:00:00 -0700

Our exhibitors and travel adventure filmmakers will be stunned at the prices the traveling National Geographic Live! shows charge for admission and the fees paid to performers.

National Geographic Live Shows On The Road

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 01:00:00 -0700

Remember when the National Geographic staged our travel-adventure films at the NG's Grosvenor Hall in Washington, DC.? Now, the Society has put together a new program of speakers with their films and slides�going on the road this time as National Geographic Live!

The Adventure: Visiting Eskimo Village for Whale Carving and Walrus Snacks

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 01:00:00 -0700

By Dale Johnson A few years ago, hunters in the Eskimo village of Wainwright, Alaska, had taken a whale in the sea near the village. Historically, the people of the Village would carve up the carcass and distribute the meat to everyone in Wainwright, according to ancient Eskimo rituals. The producers at NOVA were working on a new program about the native people of Alaska at that time, and wanted footage of this process. Consequently, I was hired to go to Wainwright to film the activity.

His Travel Film Posters Helped Boost Great Audience Attendance

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:00:00 -0700

Following up on Doug Jones� fascinating story of promoting a declining film series in California, I decided to make my own publicity attempt. I had finished my new film on Alaska about three months ago, and while sitting in an auditorium waiting to show it one evening, I thought to myself that there were probably more people in this town who would be interested in seeing the film�if only they knew about it.

Angry Planet�Volcanoes

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 01:00:00 -0700

Peter Rowe, producer/director of the highly praised Angry Planet television series, will soon release Angry Planet�Volcanoes, a spin-off of his 39-program series seen around the world.

BUILDING AUDIENCES AND FILLING SEATS

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 01:00:00 -0700

Many changes have occurred in the production and equipment values of our Travel Adventure Film business over the years, but what has not improved is the number of travel film series or the size of our audiences. A common refrain is that our audience is older and the sponsor cannot get younger people to attend the shows. I have always felt this is an incorrect analysis of the problem.

Where Are You Burton Holmes?

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 01:00:00 -0700

Travelogue Legend Burton Holmes and theatrical entrepreneur Dick Walter appear to agree that the travel film field has lost its way when it come to ticket pricing and staging. (The latter will be the second part of this two-part series.)

'Switch' Is New Doc Film on Power

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 01:00:00 -0700

'Switch' looks at all energy source being used and developed, and breaks down the efficiency of each of the sources and their per X number of people.

Tiny Projectors Heading Your Way

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 01:00:00 -0700

Bye Bye Film Projector, See You In the Smithsonian Some Day

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 01:00:00 -0700

You knew it would happen. But so soon? By the year 2020, projectors that project film might only be viewed in the Smithsonian or some other museum. You remember film�that �celluloid� sprocket-holed thing?

Hal McClure Leads Travel Film Field Into Digital

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 01:00:00 -0700

Hal McClure retires from the Associated Press and begins a new career as a filmmaker of travel and adventure productions. He is booked in several hundred venues to personally present his films across North America. In the late 1990s he leads the field from film to digital production. Over the years he produces a dozen films , including Dracula�Travels in Transylvania, Story Book England, Magic of Malaysia, Morocco, Echo of Hoofbeats (Pony Express).

Pilot, Foreign Correspondent, Filmmaker

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 01:00:00 -0700

Hal McClure always wanted adventure and his first trip away from home landed him in a Texas jail on suspicion of spying for Nazi Germany. He went on to be an Air Force pilot, foreign correspondent covering wars in the Middle East and then a producer of travel films that took him from hunting Dracula in Transylvania to a former headhunters village in Borneo and riding with the ponies on the modern Pony Express.

Vietnam 50th Anniversary

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 01:00:00 -0700

TAD salutes Vietnam veterans and combat photographers on the 5oth anniversary of the Vietnam War.

What? A New Documentary Shot in 16mm?

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 01:00:00 -0700

I went to see "Beasts of the Southern Wild" for only one reason�it was shot with 16mm film. Its release as a theatrical feature didn�t reveal any negatives assignable to that recording medium, however.

Colorful Exhibitor Karen Shareff Is Dead at 67

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 01:00:00 -0700

Karen Shareff, the popular and spirited director of Southern California�s popular World on Film travel adventure series, died Oct. 28 from the cancer she had been fighting for 10 years.

What Happened to 3D, the Wunderkind Who Would Thrill Travel Adventurers

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 01:00:00 -0700

It wasn�t so long ago that 3D was the technological rage of the new century. Techies said it would re-vitalize the film industry...3D would sell big screen-television sets by the shipload...and even pop your popcorn. Maybe not. This writer, I admit, was an exuberant member of that early 3D cheer-leading gang, filling several columns in this space rooting for the new/old kid on the block.

THE Omaha Story

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 01:00:00 -0700

When an Omaha entrepreneur cancels his travel film series and disappears with his patrons' money, California Travel Film Agent Ralph Franklin volunteers to rescue the series. This is his story.

Elephant in the Living Room

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 01:00:00 -0700

A group of policemen, firefighters and paramedics band together to form an organization to educate people who keep wild animals as pets�pets that can be extremely dangerous. After seeing their videotaped exploits, an Ohio film producer decided to make a documentary of their efforts. He called it: Elephant in the Living Room.

Celebrating the Life of Don Cooper

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 01:00:00 -0700

It was a cold, rainy day in the northwestern Montana town of DeBorgia�whose main claim to fame is that Don Cooper grew up and lived his life there...Don called DeBorgia a very small town, but on this day the small cemetery could barely hold the 100 or so people who came to show their respect for this man. The frontage road became a parking lot.

Digital Revolution Will Change Way We Tell Stories�Director Barry Levinson

webmaster@traveladventurecinema.com — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 01:00:00 -0700

Writes famed Director Barry Levinson: �This digital revolution will change the way we tell stories. It will challenge the convention of today and it will redefine the distribution of film for tomorrow. There will be many who will lament what was, and there will be many more who never knew what was."