Snags in the Hardware September 26, 2008

Here are a list of snags I’ve hit while trying to produce the first of my three-part video series into the Garment Center: 

1.  Mics:  The night before my interview with Arnold Levine, the milliner I am profiling, I rented out a video and a lava mic from the journalism department’s equipment room.  The interview was scheduled the following early morning. The equipment guy tested all the equipment – video and mic – which took a considerable amount of time, and then sent me packing home.  When I got home, I did not have the battery adapter for the video.  And the curious blinking red light issued a “low battery” warning according to the manual.  I also tested the lava mic, but I could not seem to produce any sound.  So I postponed my interview with Arnold until later in the afternoon since I needed to trek back to school to obtain either a new battery or adapter, and a new mic.  Apparently, the mic was not working because it was missing a part.  How was it working when he tested it then??  I was given the missing link to the mic but was told they did not have any batteries that was needed for the mic to function.  But I was running late and did not have time to buy the battery.  I was advised to use an alternative, bigger mic, “which had better sound quality.”  Fortunately, the mic and video worked fine… And I learned an important lesson.  ALWAYS TEST EQUIPMENT YOURSELF AND GIVE YOURSELF AMPLE TIME FOR THINGS TO GO HAYWIRE.

2.  Final Cut Pro:  Final Cut Pro is the software we need to produce and edit the video.  When I called the school computer store, I was read a list price of $499 – a steal at the discounted student price since Apple was selling it for a whopping $899!!  Apparently, Apple discontinued Final Cut Pro as a stand-alone product and incorporated it into Final Cut Studio.  So I opted to buy Final Cut Express, which sold for a more reasonable $79.  I also thought the software could be installed on three separate computers, much like the Microsoft Office.  So I volunteered to buy the software and share it with two other classmates.  But Final Cut Express can only be installed on one desktop and one laptop. 

3.  External Hard Drive:  I haven’t backed up in a while.  So after I dusted the box off and connected the external hard drive to my computer, everything on the hard drive was locked.  I couldn’t move things around or even delete files.  And since I would be directly working off the hard drive for my video project, I panicked.  After wrestling with the external arm for what felt like an eternity (probably 1.5 hrs in real time), I decided to utilize Apple’s Time Machine.  What the Time Machine does is create an exact duplicate of your computer hard drive onto the external hard drive.  Somehow that unlocked my files.  But Time Machine erased everything I had saved and backed up my entire hard drive from start to finish.  That took another hour.  

4.  Using Final Cut Express:  So the first thing we were instructed to do was to log and transfer your video clips onto the computer.  And since you need a video camera to transfer your footage on the computer, I had to rent the camera again.  I captured the clips in large segments because I had to return the equipment before the audio/equipment room closed at 9:30PM.  (I am seriously considering buying a camera.)  But when I went to work on the clips, I could not find them.  The clips I created did not stay in the viewer like I thought they would.  I thought my clips were either lost or unusable.  But fortunately I found them in their viable form.  Only, while I did “capture” them, I did not “log” them.  So all the notes I took with the corresponding time sequences were pointless.  After it took me another 45 minutes to “import” the clips, I was in business.  And I created my very first video “sequence.”

Hats Off to a Milliner for His Kindmanship September 19, 2008

     For the first of my three part investigative video series into New York’s Garment District, I wanted to profile someone who worked in the Garment Center and accessed the Garment Center for his / her line of work.  Savethegarmentcenter.com pointed me to current or evicted garment district tenants who had written letters voicing their concerns and personal stories as it related to the “erosion” of the garment district. I decided to contact a costume designer who indicated in her letter that her location in the garment center afforded her studio the ability to support Broadway production, and vice versa.  I tried not to pin all my hopes on her because she seemed to oblige me only reluctantly.  When I called the following morning, she reneged.  But, she was kind enough to refer me to Arnold Levine, a milliner (person who makes hats) and also the president of The Association of Theatrical Artists and Craftspeople (ATAC).  She didn’t provide his contact info but told me to look him up.  Sounded easy enough. 

     It took me about 45 minutes to find Arnold’s contact info.  Apparently, New York City is brimming with Arnold Levines.  There is Arnold Levine the lawyer, Arnold Levine the Opthalmologist, and even Arnold Levine an NYU professor – all of whose contact information was readily available on the Internet.  But not so for Arnold Levine the milliner.  After a futile search on the Internet, I called 411.  They didn’t have his business listing, but they did have the number to his private residence.  Of course, he was not home when I called because he works for a living.  When his answering machine greeted me, I felt despair.  It felt intrusive calling him at home, but to leave a message on his private machine felt even more so.  Fortunately, at the very end of the message, the answering machine spewed out the number to his shop in the garment center.  ”You can also reach Arnold at…. ,” it said.  When I called his shop, Arnold answered and was more than willing to let me interview and tape him.  Relief!  

     Arnold Levine’s shop is located on the twentieth floor of a high rise building in the garment district on 8^th avenue and 38^th street.  I expected to find Arnold alone but I walked into six people all quietly working on hats. It was sort of a fantastical scene.  The walls of the shop were lined with shelves that had mounds of fabric spilling over.  And all varieties of hats, some festooned with feathers or lace, were strewn about the shop.  Within what seemed like a 30 square foot by 20 square foot space, were six separate workstations with tables and sewing machines. Arnold was situated in the back of the shop behind a table almost as long as the width of the shop.  This made taping challenging at times. 

     Arnold worked standing the whole time I was there, cutting and designing, while the rest of the staff remained sitting. I taped Arnold and his staff at work.  Nobody seemed to mind, even when I stuck my camera close enough to see inside their nose.  Each milliner was working on a specific project.  One was making a hat for T-Pain, the rapper.  And a couple of the milliners were creating reindeer hats for the upcoming Christmas Radio City production.  During my two-hour stay, Arnold’s staff never got up.  Not once.  Not even for a bathroom break.  They worked quietly and diligently, like Santa’s little elves. 

 

“Save the Garment Center” September 18, 2008

     There are few places in the planet where fashion has the vivacity of New York City and even fewer occasions when fashion basks in star-studded glory than during New York’s Fashion Week.  From the runways with models sashaying the latest and most exquisite designs on their wisp bodies to the hard pavement of New York City where everyday passersby strut their own interpretation on the street, fashion in New York is titillating – and oh so glam-or-ous!  

     For my last semester in New York (before I trekked back to sunny Los Angeles), I knew I wanted to write stories about fashion.  But what aspect?  I fantasized about interviewing designers like Marc Jacobs and analyzing the larger social and cultural meaning behind trends and designs.  Or I thought I could perhaps delve into the progression of fashion through technology.  Designer jeans were now being dyed by sophisticated machines.  But the more I dug, it was a grittier part – or rather locale – of fashion that intrigued me most: New York’s Garment District. 

     Most of the time, the Garment District remains hidden behind the curtain, laboring to buttress catwalks and the tents of Bryant Park.  But during New York’s fashion week, the Garment District graced center stage. Anna Sui, Nanette Lepore and Maria Cornejo were among designers who wore “Save The Garment Center” T-shirts.  (A photo of Nanette Lepore was captured by WWD).  The concerns of industry insiders and designers are as such:

     The garment center, a parcel of land in midtown that was preserved for apparel production by zoning laws in 1987, is losing their leases to luxury lofts, hotels and bigger power houses like The New York Times building.  The zoning laws are under review for change and garment workers argue that existing laws aren’t strong enough to prevent gentrification.  So city officials are engaging in talks to find a resolution.  It has been an ongoing process to try and preserve a unique hub that has sustained New York as an independently functioning fashion mecca. New York City is one of the rare places where the complete process from design to manufacturing to showcase can happen within a several-block radius.  

     Much like the housing / mortgage crisis, pulling the wrong thread could unravel a tightly knit tapestry, sending a rippling affect through multiple industries.  Among designers that depend on the garment district are costume designers for Broadway production.  The close vicinity and easy access allows actors to come for quick fittings in between breaks. 

     On the other hand, landlords, who also have financial responsibilities, would prefer to rent to financial institutions – those who would pay and attract higher rent.  Is it necessarily fair for them to suffer the burden of sustaining the fashion industry?  As with any story, there are many facets.  These are just some of the issues I will be exploring on this blog.

Hello world! September 18, 2008

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