Local Film Maker Completing State Project

The film is entitled "Keepers of the Flame."
 
Reid:  The project is something that's close to my heart and that is history, and then of course. in particular, that being a native Virginian, we were weaned on the history of the Commonwealth and so, that being said, when we heard that the project was being bid upon we, we jumped in and did everything we could to make sure that, at least, that it would be a Virginian production company and crew, and who better to tell the story of the history of Virginia but Virginians who love their state and love history.

Tim Reid was born and raised in Norfolk.  He graduated from Norfolk State.

Reid:  We got the job and it has been a joyful pleasure working with Virginians from all over the state and various fields, behind the camera, of course, in front of the camera.  The writer was an old friend of mine, Hugh Wilson, who has written for television and movies.  It is not an easy thing to do, to cram the history of democracy and this state in about 18 to 20 minutes, but we are attempting to do that.

Reid’s Obsidian Productions is working with Dreams Factory and In Your Ear Music in Richmond. The so-called V Lens technology they’re using is unique; it was developed by Vision 3 Imaging from Northern Virginia.

Reid:  What they have been able to do is sort of give a 3-D effect without glasses, I mean, it's not 3-D, but it gives you a sense of panorama that you can't get with a normal lens.

Technically speaking, he explained:

Reid:  They actually have three lenses spinning simultaneously so that as the camera moves and pans across the, you know, the landscape, it gives you a really a sort of effect of being there and being engulfed in the shot.

This film will be the first thing visitors to the capitol will encounter.

Reid:  There's gonna be one center screen that will be always on, and then we have two side screens that will have different, you know, we're gonna have stills and graphics and actual prints from certain periods of history on the side screens and then at times it'll all be all one visual so that you'll get, you know, the big panoramic view, but it'll be a very visually interactive experience.

Reid and his crew filmed in Richmond, at the Capitol and St. John’s Church. They worked in Petersburg, Appomattox, Jamestown and Williamsburg. In fact, Bill Barker, who portrays Thomas Jefferson in Colonial Williamsburg, is featured.

Reid:  He channels Thomas Jefferson.

Accompanying Jefferson on his journey through our history are two young people. They begin with a visit to Virginia Indians.

Reid:  As it should begin, with them.  They're the first form of government, when the English got here, there was group of people who had tribal council and carried on their community business.

He concluded, this film is important beyond the value of its purpose.

Reid:   The main reason that I really want to be involved in it, was the fact I love history, but also to showcase some of the incredible talent that we have in this state and behind the cameras.  You know the governor's iniative to increase the activity of film companies coming to Virginia, he's done something that no one has done before him, and that is, he got a tax credit fund established, it's not a lot, but it's the beginning.  Those of us in the film business want to show and prove that it is worth the effort of the legislator to, legislation to make this possible.

"Keepers of the Flame" will have its premiere early next year.

John Ogle, WCVE News