Random Conversations

McCombs Mill McCormick County

As a painter, I often sought picturesque landscapes and interesting buildings to paint. One Sunday in the fall of 1972 I was working on a painting of Long Cane A.R.P. Church in McCormick County just about a quarter of a mile from the ruins of McCombs Mill. McCombs Mill had long been one of my "to do" paintings. The problem was the mill was in ruins and had no roof.(I wanted to paint the mill the way it was before falling into ruin.) But on this particular day I was creating another painting of Long Cane Church. I was alone and a soft breeze was rustling the newly fallen leaves. Yellow butterflies flew spastically seeking the nectar of autumn flowers. I was indeed enjoying my creative experience in solitude. The building is in Greek Revival style and very picturesque. The silence was broken by onlookers. As a plein air painter I long ago reconciled myself with the fact that onlookers were an occupational hazard. It normally doesn’t bother me except when they begin to tell me how to paint. This man and woman did not. Only an occasional “O-o-h !” and “A-h-h!”. They kept their conversation low and unobtrusive. I finally engaged them in conversation. They were from Lexington, South Carolina, and searching for relatives in the old church cemetery. I told them a bit of the history of the church and how my family had attended services there since the 1700s. I had almost asked them about their hometown of Lexington when they told me their surname was Cuttino. Remembering the grisly murder of thirteen-year-old “Peg” Cuttino, I thought I would steer the conversation clear of such subjects.  During our conversation Mr. Cuttino (I don’t remember his first name.) said that his grandmother was a watercolorist. As a painter you get used to someone always telling you that they

sketch by Tony Young

have a grandmother, aunt or some other relative that is an artist. However, Mr. Cuttino  said his grandmother had painted a picture of the mill, McComb’s Mill.  I could barely contain my excitement when I asked about the roof.  “Oh, it had  hip roof,”  he said.That made my day! I would finally be able to do that painting of McCombs Mill I had always wanted to paint!

Lower Long Cane Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church

Making a Documentary Video

I have made over one hundred YouTube videos in the past few years. However, I've never considered any of them that great. Perhaps it was because my methodology was backwards. Or maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist. Probably 90% of my videos are about travel. I would shoot photographs or video on vacation and upon returning home make my YouTube video from these. 

Ken Burns

In my most recent video, the SO Young Story, I had began collecting data, still photos, documents, and video clips pre-production. That's moviemaking speak for: "getting your stuff together".  My normal process. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, and that was to tell the story of my great grandfather. As a part of my ongoing educational process, I watched a video about film editing featuring Richard Speziale. Then I realized I had no definite plan. I wrote a script, something I had never done before. Previously I added commentary after I completed the

Casey Neistat

video part of the project. Now I set to work using photos, video, etc. to illustrate that script. I found that one of the secrets is to get more material than you can possibly use. Part of the difficulty in making this video was that I had only three photos of the subject of the video. I had to come up with new and interesting methods to present information. In any work of art whether painting, film or book you must create interest and entertain the viewer/reader. For example, when I told of my ancestor buying property I showed the bill of sale of the property with money laid bill by bill on top of the bill of sale. The documentary filmmaker Ken Burns shows considerable creativity in his films. A procedure for filming still photographs is called the Ken burns Effect. On perhaps the opposite end of the spectrum Casey Neistat uses creative yet different techniques than Burns. I borrow from both.

The most important part of the process is to never forget that the purpose of the video is to tell a story.

This is my most recent video.  This was the first video I wrote a script for before beginning. The S O Young Story video is special and personal.

This video I made, which has no narration (it isn't necessary), was made after I found interest in paper engineering. The video is quite short  I had learned the importance of brevity.  Television commercials tell a complete story in 30 seconds. But it is hurts to discard footage ( to use film nomenclature). One must CUT, CUT, CUT and cut some more.

Good Luck?

How many times have you wished someone "Good Luck"? What did you mean exactly? If they were a competitor did you really wish that they have good good luck?  Wishing them good luck would actually be verbalizing your desire to lose. And that would be rather unlikely, wouldn't you say? This leads me to another thought. (Is that creating a "thread" in computer telecommunication speak?) But that would be digressing. Back to good luck.  Aside from someone wishing good luck are there other methods by which one can obtain this somewhat elusive state? (state?) We are extremely fortunate to live in world in which those items or actions exist that can produce this good luck. And from whence did said objects and actions receive such powers. The origins of such are somewhat blurred by the passage of time. But does it really matter what the origin was? Me? I'm only interested in the end result.  Let  the academicians determine origins.  I am not a superstition person. However, I'm not opposed to a bit of good luck.  Maybe... more than a bit.

When I was younger I always carried a rabbit's foot. Usually on a keychain with one lonely, solitary key.  Probably one I had found somewhere.  I don't recall if the rabbit's foot ever brought me

good luck or not but I did clutch it in my hand when I was around Linda Sue McAdams in the lunchroom.  I had a strong desire for her to smile at me.  But in the back of my mind was always the image of a three-footed rabbit hopping around.  Did that spoil the effect? I don't know, but smiles from Linda Sue were very rare.

I have always wanted to wish on a falling star for good luck. But I have never seen one.  'Though often I have gazed at the night sky with someone who was close to my heart I have never seen one. They would say, "Tony, did you see that one?" I would look but never see it. And four leaf clovers

have eluded me too.  I did throw salt over my shoulder once while scrambling some eggs for my Mom for Saturday breakfast once. I don't think a scolding qualifies for good luck. As a southerner I always have field peas and collards for a meal on New Years Day.  The peas for good luck and the collards for plenty of greenbacks. In Nuremberg I rubbed the magic ring for good luck. And I rubbed the nose of a dog statue in the Moscow Metro for the same reason.  Perhaps one of the most interesting attempts to achieve good luck was spinning around clockwise with my heel on the testicles of an mosiac bull on the floor of a shopping galleria in Milan. Thus far, I have no documented results of any of my actions or behaviors achieving good luck.


But good luck does find some people. My wife did in fact kiss the Blarney Stone in Cork, Ireland. before she found me.

How to...maybe...

I haven't blogged lately because I've been involved in other projects.  Primarily videos.  Some of the ones I've made are: the Wild Turkey Federation Museum, Healing Waters, Chip Clip. Yaroslavl, Russian Tourist Trap, and others.  Now I'm busy making a video about my great grandfather. Why? I don't know...maybe because I think he was an interesting character. But there is a lot of problems telling a story about a man you never met and about whom there little visual information about. Video is a visual medium.  Therein lies the problem.  So, I must use period video from archival sources to tell the story along with still images. It's a challenge.

I have been doing some storytelling as well. See my facebook fan page Tony Young Storyteller.  (http://www.facebook.com/TonyYoungStoryteller)  A told at a couple of extend car facilities, the North Charleston Harvest Festival and goose Creek City Hall. As a member of the Backporch Storytellers of Charleston I produced an audio CD and a video of the production of that CD.