Loyal FBvian David Burrows sends word of a cool development involving the famous filmmaker, Ross Perot Jr., and Booker T. Washington, after the jump:
I thought I’d share some good news (since we all need that in the world from time to time).
A few months ago, Christopher Coppola (of the famed film family) and I met via FOX’s film show, “On The Lot”. We found out we actually had a lot in common (one item of note: he has a cat named ‘Harley’ and a son named ‘Bailey’). Â So anyway, after some discussions, we ended up working together last month in LA along Mulholland Hwy on his Ducati Motorbike commercial (which Apple also used the footage in their new software lanch at NAB last week). Â That was an awesome experience of helping out on a high-end HD shoot with fast camera cars, helicopters and professional racers… I shot “behind the scenes’ footage and I promise to upload at some point soon..
And after that venture, Christopher and I decided to bring a new project – his PAH Digital Festival – to Dallas. Â Specifically, I wanted to bring it to the Booker T. Washington school as well as the urban, and less-advantaged students of various DISD schools. [See Coppola’s video tour of Booker T. here, scroll down to “Office Buffa Opus 27.”] The idea is to have students create everything from 1-minute films on their cell phones to working as teams with high-end HD cameras and create short film projects which they could showcase for the schools as well as Dallas in general. The admin at the Art’s school was very excited to even be considered as a part of this idea, but to make it happen, we needed some backers and sponsors.
So, as life would have it, I serendipitously ran into Ross Perot Jr. at the Victory Media launch/AFI party and asked him if he would consider discussion as a sponsor for Coppola’s festival, he immediately liked the idea and we were on our way to setting the ground-work for a digital festival for the DISD.  We had a terrific meeting with Perot’s group last week and now Victory Media wants to showcase the student ‘films’ on their big HD screens outside the AA center as well as new kiosks their deploying around town.  We have targeted next January ’08 as the festival month – that’s also when the new Art’s school is scheduled to re-open downtown.
Yikes, now there’s so much to do in between now and then… and if any of you would like to help voluteer, have corporate sponsorship ideas or anything to add to this exciting opportunity, please contact me.
It’s funny, in the midst of everything going on in our lives right now, I have to say I’m most happy… most happy to be part of something like this for students in Dallas and to be able to give back a little something to the city I love.
thanks for reading,
-David
