Please join Marsha Casper Cook on
Tuesday Nov 6 4EST 3 CST 2 MT 1 PST when she welcomes her guest Randall Dark,
Writer, Director, Producer and Cinematographer.
Randall is the creative and marketing force
behind Randall Dark Productions, Inc. He received one of the International
Electronic Cinema Festival's top honors: The Pioneer Award, bestowed in
recognition of extraordinary contributions to the success of High Definition.
He is a member of the Television Arts and Sciences Academy and is one of a
select few members of the Consumer Electronics Association's Academy of Digital
Pioneers, a group recognized for their efforts implementing Digital Television
in the United States. Dark and his companies have been involved in over 2000 HD
projects including feature films, documentaries, commercials, music videos,
corporate presentations, product launches and live events.
The Maxell Corporation presented Dark its Independent Filmmaker Award for
Achievement made during the making of "Closing Escrow". HD Programs
directed by Dark have also received awards from CEA, Telly, IECF, Communicator,
Aurora, Axiem, WorldFest Houston International Film Festival, Videographer, The
American Corporate Video Awards and Cinema Chicago.
Marsha is an author, screenwriter, host and producer
of all Michigan Avenue Media and World Of Ink Podcasts. For more about the shows - http://www.michiganavenuemedia.com
January 17, 2018 /
canada, china, film, film production, hd, hd video, video
Spotlight: Randall P. Dark
If you’re old enough to have used
a cassette tape, I’d be surprised if that photo isn’t imprinted on the
back of your brain as it was one of the iconic images of the 1980’s.
That anonymous man in the chair, who he was and what we were
experiencing in that poster – music, speakers, print, early MusicTech –
in many ways exemplifies, by inspiring, what you might think of as a
MediaTech professional.
I sat in a local coffee shop in Austin, TX, months ago, and shared
passions and possibilities with a now clean(er) cut and gray Randall
Dark.
In meeting for the first time, I had no idea that the poster from my
youth, a poster that got me excited about music and audio, had Dark so
early in my life as to influence my path toward media innovation. He’s
an exciting personality, visionary, passionate, and just what you’d
expect from a Canadian: a person you just enjoy spending time with.
Writer, Director and Producer
Today, Dark is a director, producer, writer, cinematographer, and
media consultant who has not only embraced new camera technology, he is
considered by the television industry to be one of the guiding thought
leaders and adopters of the HD medium. Since seeing HD first in 1986,
if you can believe, he has gone on to capture on the screen Julie
Andrews, Bill Clinton, Willie Nelson, Harry Connick Jr., Leonard Nimoy,
Lyle Lovett, Sting, and Stephen Hawking.
“Because high definition was so real and so vivid — the
coluors were perfect, you could see the tiniest detail — I believed that
if you had a 65-inch TV in your home and you watched a documentary
about starving children, it would touch your heart in a way that you
would have to react,” says Dark. “I believed it was a technology that
would have an impact on people and change their hearts. I honestly
believed it would change humanity.”
Evidence of our vision that media cross pollinates throughout music,
video, and other formats, Dark, found himself from Canada (he’s a native
of Saskatchewan) to New York City, working out of the Ed Sullivan
Theatre, where he worked with bands like Aerosmith and Crosby, Stills
and Nash. He helped build one of the first multi-camera,
high-definition production trucks and shot Victor-Victoria on
Broadway with Julie Andrews. We all know the significance of the media
in sports and Dark was behind the camera for Super Bowl XXX and NBA
All-Star games as well as the first to broadcast in high definition a
live sporting event to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. as
the American Public looked to Congress and the FCC to determine if high
definition was a viable new TV standard for the United States.
In 2013, he found himself collaborating with Willie Nelson, Kris
Kristofferson, Harry Connick Jr., Connie Britten and Lyle Lovett as one
of the executive producers of Angels Sing
and of watching Nelson and Connick Jr. create a new song, he noted, “I
got to watch these two geniuses at work. My life is so amazing. I have
never been star-struck working with celebrities because people are just
people. I think what happens is so many big name stars get worshipped
and people go ‘I’m a big fan’ and it gets tiring after a while. I think,
because I am an expert in my field I can sit down and say, ‘Hey, I know
nothing about what you do but do you want to know about high
definition?'”
I could relate. I had a poster on my wall for years when I was growing up. Yeah, I’m that much of a media geek that I had a Maxell cassette tape poster
on my wall. Dark had the opportunity to work with Maxell to recreate
it years later. What a brilliantly fun coincidence; and in a moment I
was a little star-struck, here I was having coffee with an inspiration
of mine, even though it wasn’t actually, originally Dark in the chair on
the poster. The idea behind media and technology suddenly started
gelling in my brain. Dark, pointedly, wasn’t in that original chair; his
influence is such that Maxell recreated it with him.
Dark is a media personality that we want to spotlight not just
because of my personal connection with him. He is known for taking the
experimental approach that we want to challenge everyone to embrace.
He’s long been digital technologies and as we all wonder at HOW we can
afford quality media production, whether we’re advertising, producing a
film, or in need of a music video, he just does it. For his
documentary Fast From The Past, he he used many different types of cameras, everything from an Apple iPhone to a 4K camera. Whatever it takes.
Truly, embracing all forms of media. If you’re as inspired to write
as am I, you can appreciate that bubbling in the back of such a brain
are stories to be told, and not always through video. Dark wrote a
children’s play some 25 years ago, Tale of Sasquatch, and found it later published by the Playwrights Guild of Canada. Today, it’s an animated mobile app, available now [android | apple].
What brought us together to share chairs in a coffee shop was our
alignment on so many ideas for the future of media and it’s therein that
I’d like to encourage you to get to know Randall Dark. Thinking
globally and in the sense of how networking and education will drive
forward our media economy, he co-founded the Macao China International Digital Camera Festival and serves today as its artistic director. He, as do we, works with companies and
non-profit organizations on how to use technology to grow their
businesses and and To see articles written about Randall and the
projects he has been involved in, check out – http://randalldarknews.blogspot.com/. Curious about listening to more of his story? Join him on Marsha Casper Cook’s podcast World Of Ink Network as they explore even writing books beyond producing movies.
Long
time Silicon Valley technology and startup veteran, Paul O'Brien is
affectionately known as SEO'Brien for an extensive past in the search
industry.
Now Texan, O'Brien works in Venture Capital Economic
Development, serving the investment and venture capital economies
directly, through thought leadership, consulting, and startup
development.He's the founder of MediaTech Ventures, a founder and
managing director of the Texas Technology Council, and partner in 1839
Ventures.
Please join Marsha Casper Cook on January 3 at 830 EST 730CST 630MT
530PST when she welcomes Randall Dark and Samuel French for an open
discussion about writing books, plays and movies. It's going to be a lot of
fun!
Please join Marsha Casper Cook on October 17 at 4 EST 3 CST 2 MT 1 PST when Marsha opens the World Of Ink
show for a great discussion with two very successful men in the
entertainment world, Mikey Brooks and Randall Dark. Each of them has
accomplished so many wonderful projects it's going to be an interesting
and learning experience.
Randall Dark is a Canadian Director, Producer, Author, Cinematographer and Playwright and Mikey Brooks is an Author, Illustrator and Cover Designer.
Marsha Casper Cook is and Author, Screenwriter, Marketing Consultant and Radio Show Host
Please feel free to call in if you have any questions. 714-242-5259
Please join Marsha Casper
Cook on December 13 at 4 PM EST 3 PM CST 2 PMMT 1PM PST when her special
guest will be Randall Dark. Randall is a writer, director, and producer
and a pioneer within the digital media industry.
Randall will be discussing his Children APP "Tale of Sasquatch" A
hilarious adventure, originally written for the theatre. The story is
about feeling like there’s something “wrong” with you — and discovering
that it’s okay to be different. During their quest, they wrestle with
good vs. bad and ultimately stumble upon the origin of Sasquatch!
Marsha is an optioned award winning screenwriter, author and radio show host on her network The World of Ink for over six years.
