Part of Aldrich’s ‘Poison Swamp’ Project—

Upcoming Reception A Milestone

For Young Video Artists

By Eliza Hallabeck

For Newtown High School juniors Michaela Beaudry and Tim Ciavara a mentorship with Newtowner Mark Aldrich has lead the students through The Poison Swamp.

Both the students and Mr Aldrich have been working toward a major deadline, Tuesday, March 15, when their video production will be shown as part of an unveiling fundraiser for Mr Aldrich’s work.

The event will take place in the C.H. Booth Library’s meeting room from 7 to 9 pm. The evening will highlight The Poison Swamp, the first book by Mr Aldrich in a series of 15.

The series is called “Remnants Against Ruin,” and follows the adventures of cartoon “architectural preservationists.”

To create a DVD version of The Poison Swamp, Kenneth Lundquist, an actor and friend of Mr Aldrich, provided his voice and rounded up other actors to do the same. Mr Lundquist owns Wulf Lynx Studios, a video production company. Mr Lundquist’s technical assistant Randolph Zaini helped produce the video, according to a press release for the event.

Michaela and Tim have been working on a separate video, a documentary of The Poison Swamp, with Mr Aldrich. Mr Lundquist also supplied his voice for the documentary. Both videos will be shown during the fundraising event on March 15.

As far as the mentorship goes, Michaela said on Thursday, March 3, it has given her a taste for what producing a video is like.

“We have deadlines,” said Michaela. “Talk about evaluating real world work experiences.”

Michaela was the storyboard director for the documentary, and Tim was the producer.

Through the Career Center at Newtown High School both Tim and Michaela were placed with Mr Aldrich earlier in the school year to work on the project.

Michaela has had experience with digital media, drawing, and printmaking from attending a summer workshop at Montserrat College. Tim has had production experience from creating a documentary and two other videos during a course at NHS.

Through the mentorship, Tim and Michaela also met with Lorraine Serra, president of PortfolioPrep, which reviews and critiques student portfolios. Ms Serra also speaks to high school students who are preparing for a career in art and looking for an art school.

On Thursday, the documentary was in its finishing stages.

Mr Aldrich said giving students an experience like producing a documentary prepares them for work in the fields such as advertising, photography, digital imaging, and more.

“I’ve asked the students to consider me a boss or client with specific demands for a project. They have tasks that have to be done in a timely fashion, and they have to be committed to producing a professional piece. In essence, they have to make their boss look good. They have to be a champion of his/her product, and actually, their product will be presented at showings of the DVD,” said Mr Aldrich.

Both Tim and Michaela will appear in the credits for the documentary when it goes on view for the public this coming Tuesday.

Mr Aldrich says he hopes both Tim and Michaela can continue to work with him on the project, as he progresses through the next 14 books in the series.

For more information about Mr Aldrich’s work call him at 203-304-8034 or e-mail maldrich53@gmail.com.