St Mary's Cathedral is an important part of my life. Its beauty and elegance have always inspired me and now that my boys are attending or have graduated from the Cathedral College my appreciation of this special place has multiplied. Over the years an extraordinary set of memories has revolved around the wondrousness of how choral and organ music rise up and fill that great space.
On October 1st and 2nd my son Gian graduated from the Cathedral College and was awarded with a medal for coming first in software design and development. Graduation ceremonies are conducted over two days starting with services in the Cathedral. The next day starts with a Graduation Breakfast followed by the Graduation Dinner during which Academic and Service Awards are made for outstanding achievement. Parents attend the Cathedral service and the Graduation Dinner.
The Cathedral College is located in the heart of Sydney CBD and is attached to St Mary's Cathedral with its graceful spires rising impressively above the piazza below and to the sides are Hyde Park and The Domain. Cathedral College has a remarkable reputation for academic achievement that is second to none. Music of the highest standards possible is its hallmark. The Cathedral Choir was founded in 1818 and is the oldest musical institution in the country. The beauty of the music performed by the boys of the College is evident throughout the video. When the first classes were held here in 1824 those first few students would not have been able to imagine the rich and proud educational history that they pioneered nor the spectacular graduation ceremonies for so many Cathedral boys 185 years later.
I used the iPhone to produce about four hours of raw footage of the events and then cut it down to two nine minute videos for upload to YouTube so Gian has them as an ongoing memory of this important part of his life. There is a particular poignancy about doing the videos for shortly after the graduation I received news that my father is seriously ill. I went to Queensland to see him and did the editing while there so that I could show them to my father and he could share in the pride of his grandson's achievement. He appreciated being able to see how Gian has become a confident young man making the transition to adulthood.
This video is part one and shows highlights from the ceremonies inside the Cathedral. This includes the graduates procession into the Cathedral, presentation of the graduates to the congregation, mass, the presentation of school emblems to the next years class, headmaster's address, the procession out of the Cathedral, and photos from outside.
Mel Freedman has been coming to my sketch club for more than 10 years. He is from Glasgow and his happy Glaswegian accent and his passion for drawing are well known in the studio. This year he did the big tour of Europe and naturally did lots of drawing while there. He was happy to let me video him showing the art class his drawings from the trip and afterwards I asked him a few questions about his artistic adventures and why he draws so much. This is the result.
This video was a lot of fun to make. It may have a practical purpose but I am pleased with it for the way it ended up. It is also amazing to upload and see how quickly it finds an audience. It might not be as large as the big hits on YouTube but the steady stream of viewers is very gratifying. It is part of the deal of being an artist to to interact with an audience and as much as these videos are very humble they are a growing resource for my students and others interested in art. I am reminded daily of the democratization of culture due to the internet and the way it enables an artist to communicate directly with an audience. It is wonderful thing and is fundamentally changing the definition of what being an artist means.
Before my iPhone 3G S I had never owned a video camera, had never made any kind of video. Now I have made 3 and number 4 is in progress as I write this (processing the clips for stabilization which takes quite a long time). With 3 movies on YouTube and viewing numbers going up quickly I am having fun but also experiencing a crash course in editing. The editing process is at least doubled because I spend as much time with my nose in the manual as I do making the edits. Fortunately Apple's iMovie makes it easy for beginners like me. My rapid progress is obvious in the 3 clips (all now on YouTube) however I don't think that the Academy Of Motion Pictures is going to be contacting me any time soon to clear shelf space for an Oscar.
As good as an Oscar (for me), however is going on YouTube. I think YouTube is a huge social change. It removes the artificial barriers of the past between "real artists" and everyone else and gives everyone the opportunity to be a filmmaker and share slices of their life with the world. By uploading videos I had to "sign up" for YouTube which is really easy and has expanded my YouTube usage to more than just looking at videos. I never knew before that YouTube Channels existed. I am loving it.
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