Garman Productions: Oklahoma Video, Audio and Graphic Production

Our New Web Site Is Up! Take A Look!

steve — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:46:37 +0000

This is probably our 4th or 5th web site redesign. Although I can’t remember the exact number, I do think this is the best yet.

It’s done in Word Press which means I can easily maintain it and add new blogs at least monthly. This ties in with my monthly newsletter called Production Notes which you can sign up for on the home page.

You’ll see the names of the months on the home page and clicking one will take you to that month’s blog topics. Plus the current month’s blogs are all teased on the home page as well. Just click the “read more” button to read the articles and see the pictures.

We offer a lot of services here at Garman Productions and the new web site finally gives us a chance to showcase most of them. I think it’s really easy to navigate thanks to our talented partners at Oklahoma Media Group. If you say, “Oh My God” when you see the sight, you’ll know why they are called OMG!

Great Presentation by a Friendly Competitor

steve — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:26:39 +0000

This month we heard an incredible presentation at the OKC Ad Club luncheon. Brent Walker of Soundscapes in Little Rock, Ark. was the speaker for “Tune Your Radio–Making an Old Medium Work in a New Media World.”

It was a particulary interesting presentation for those of us in advertising who write copy for whatever medium it may be. We heard Brent’s five rules for making “new” radio work. I think they apply to all media, really, so here they are:

1. Entertain first, sell second
2. Focus on one big idea
3. Tell a good story
4. Sound different but be consistent
5. Leave the listener with an image

These are axioms of good copy writing and production and will serve you
well whatever advertising you attempt to create. Thanks, Brent, for sharing!

Google TV Coming This Fall

steve — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:50:41 +0000

Although it’s actually here now, there won’t be sets with the new service until Sony begins delivering them this fall.

Most of us love the easy search features to find things on the internet; but when it comes to our entertainment, we also love those big screens in our living rooms. This combination should really satisfy both of those desires.

This will be a complete internet experience on the big screen. Google’s Android mobile operating system and an integrated Chrome web browser will be built into Sony HDTVs and Blu-ray Disc players, first sold at Best Buy this fall. Dish network will include Google TV on subscribers’ DVRs. Logitech, makers of the popular Harmony remote controllers, will offer a companion box at retail which will deliver Google TV to the 60 million HDTVs already in American homes today. Their popular controllers will give users seamless control over how you react with your content.

It sounds to me like you might be able to turn that computer based study or home office back into a bedroom or maybe an exercise room sooner than you think.

For a simple explanation of how this might work for you, watch Google TV

Local Film Maker Scores

steve — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:37:13 +0000

Our congratulations go out to local film maker Adam Oxsen, who has just made an initial sale of his locally made western “Ecstasy of Gold.”

The deal, made during the Cannes Film Festival, will allow domestic DVD release of the film through Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Theatrical rights are being retained by ID Communications with plans for a platform release in select domestic theaters.

We were thrilled to have a small part in Adam’s success. Garmans made the first Blu-rays of the film that Adam took to Cannes last summer, and we just finished the digital betacams in both 4×3 and 16×9 formats for the final release.

If anyone deserves a reward for hard work, it’s Adam. His film is beautifully done and the visuals and audio are excellent. It’s easy to see the quality he’s injected into every frame of his first feature film.

Look for much more to come from this exciting young Oklahoman.

To learn more and see the trailer, click

Ecstasy of Gold.

A Classic Breakup On The Air

steve — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:34:35 +0000

Yeah, it’s been a few years since my days as a radio announcer, but it was a great job to have while I was going to school at O.U. The classic breakup was not my own, although there were a few of those, but rather one I heard and happened to record right off our CBS Radio Network. Yes, there used to be one. And my station, WNAD, was an affiliate. That frequency, 640 AM, now belongs to the Sports Animal, but from 1927 until 1972, it was an oasis for good music and excellent national news. One of the old stalwarts of the network was Lowell Thomas. He was a world traveler and also narrated the newsreels at the movies, even before joining CBS. On this particular October evening newscast, I don’t know what set him off. I was stunned when I heard it and I couldn’t believe it was airing on the network, but there it was and I was recording.

I’ve never heard this on any blooper album or in any other setting and this will probably be your first time to hear it but to me, it’s a classic.

It came just after the first commercial, which I have edited to be very short, but what follows is just as it aired across the nation. Stay with it because it gets even funnier as it goes along.

It was October of 1968.

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About As Green As You Can Get!

steve — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:32:28 +0000

The sign says it all. Oklahoma City has been trying for at least a decade to get a Whole Foods Market to locate here, but to no avail. Until, that is, Aubrey McClendon stepped in. Now, we will have our Whole Foods Market and how handy it will be right on the corner where N. Western and Grand Blvd. intersect with Classen Blvd. See the Map! The bare ground you see in the picture is where Hahn-Cook, Street and Draper Funeral Home used to be. If you look closely on the sign you’ll notice it says “Developed by Chesapeake Energy.”

There’s probably more to that statement than we’ll ever know the details of but that’s fine!

We’re just glad Mr. McClendon got it done when others couldn’t.

So it won’t be long until you’ll be able to come to Garman Productions for all your audio video work and then just pop a couple of blocks over to get an organic smoothie for lunch and some healthy, locally grown vegetables for your “whole” family!

My special thanks go out to Chesapeake for pulling this off. Now I won’t have to listen to both my daughters complaining about not having a Whole Foods here. Not to mention their frequent trips to both Dallas and Tulsa, for any reason they can conjure up, but really just to stock up at Whole Foods Markets in those lucky cities!

Big Eater Visits Garman Productions

steve — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:27:37 +0000

We enjoyed having Man vs. Food host, Adam Richman, working with us this month doing voice overs for recent programs in Phoenix and Boulder. He and his Travel Channel crew were in town shooting segments at Cattleman’s Cafe, Sid’s in El Reno and the Steak and Catfish Barn north of Edmond. If you haven’t caught his show, be sure and see one. It’s a lot of fun mostly because of Adam. He does competitive eating but he puts a lot of humor and excitement into each episode.

The show at Cattlemen’s Cafe, taped on Mothers’ Day, wasn’t really a competition, but rather a tribute to this legendary restaurant in OKC’s famous Stockyards district.

Sid’s in El Reno is also becoming legendary for their famous onion burgers. Steak and Catfish Barn does have an all-you-can-eat catfish entry on the menu and there are posters on the wall with many of the names of those who have set gastronomic records.

My bet is that Adam’s name is now on their wall for his eating accomplishments.

Talk about a sleeper, Steak and Catfish Barn is that! I recently agreed to meet a client there before we shot at the Lazy E Arena. I pulled up in front of this dilapidated looking place at Waterloo Road and I-35. I couldn’t believe what I saw. I even called my client, Brandon Bates, who calls the action for PBR on the Versus channel, from my cell and said, “Surely this can’t be the place you meant.” He assured me that it was and when I went inside it was like walking onto the set of Fonzie’s diner/hangout on Happy Days. There were the fifties dinette sets and waitresses right out of Alice’s Restaurant. It turned out to be very charming and I have to say–the best hamburger I have ever eaten. So, once again, you can’t tell a book by its cover!

Adam’s OKC show is set to air on Wednesday, August 4th so try to watch it or at least set the DVR to record it. Their new season starts June 16th so everything you see after that point will be as they say in a deep rich voice, “All New.” Check the schedule here.

Just When We Thought We’d Arrived, Here Comes 3D

steve — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:00:54 +0000

It seems like we just got high definition under our belts at work and at home and now here comes 3D. The 3D capable sets are rolling off the assembly line for fall delivery and there are even components, like AV receivers, that are coming out in 3D versions. You might ask, “Why would an AV receiver need to be 3D? Is it just hype or what?” Actually, to get the full 1080p high rez 3D from 3D Blu-ray Disc players you’ll need to upgrade to HDMI 1.4.

You probably have HDMI 1.2 or 1.3 so it’s time to upgrade again. Because these receivers often act as the control center for systems routing audio and video, they have to be HDMI 1.4 compliant.

Of course you don’t need TV at all to see 3D. Oops, I forgot to include the special red and blue glasses you’d need to view this picture properly. Oh well, you can just do what I did and swipe a pair out of Spy Kids Game Over or Voyage to the Center of the Earth. Just don’t forget to put them back when you’re through.

Music & Picture Go Together Like PB&J

steve — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:20:29 +0000

If you think music isn’t that important to the success of a motion picture or even just a commercial, try watching either one with the volume turned down. You’ll quickly realize that hearing is believing and it just isn’t real without great audio.

This is why Hollywood spends millions on making sure their product has the full impact that only the right music and sound effects can provide.

Most local projects certainly can’t go to the extreme of hiring an orchestra and creating a custom score, but we can get pretty close with our excellent collections of sound effects and pre-recorded music on CD.

At Garman Productions we have the tools to craft the music and make it work with the picture to create either the right mood or emotion needed to capture the viewer and convey the message we want.

It doesn’t have to be elaborate; it just has to work. And when it works, everyone involved knows it!

Even a spot that is just graphics or moving text on the screen can be more captivating when it is scored successfully. Here’s an example from one of our favorite music providers. Listen to how powerful this is with proper scoring. In this case the video is edited to the music but it can work either way. Oh, and please turn up your computer’s volume just a tad. Thanks!

Watch this example.

Garman Productions has the entire Omnimusic library in house and ready for scoring your next video or commercial.

Gooooood Morning Dubai

steve — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 22:13:05 +0000

It’s usually easy to set a time for an audio recording session, but when the client is in Dubai, UAE, it has to be a compromise.

We had another two hour session with a studio in Dubai recently and it was hard to tell who suffered most in setting the time for the “live” session. We finally agreed on 8 am for us which would be 6 pm for them. Though it was a little tough on everyone, those times worked well.
We had talent in our studio to record a Toshiba presentation to be used in Europe but it was being recorded in Dubai real time over ISDN phone lines.
Other than about a 1 second delay, the audio is crytal clear CD quality and sounds the same as if the talent was there in their booth in Dubai. The producers talk with and coach the talent and do various takes just like they were here only they are thousands of miles away.

It’s an incredible technology that we’ve been using since the early nineties but I think these Dubai sessions are the farthest we’ve ever traveled by phone and the toughest to arrange the schedule for.