you have to watch the demo reel to get any of the food... now that's marketing.

We are so happy to finally be moved into our new space.  We’ve painted everything nailed down and added some cool finishes.  Thank you to all who helped throughout the process and thanks to all who came to our open house!  We are now (officially) open for business.  Come visit us!  We hope to open our doors again soon for another party… don’t miss it!

Now, some more photos from the shindig after the jump.

purveyor of art glass windows.

reading material available upon request.

children welcome (especially cute ones).

-Chad

P.S.  Thank you Ron for the photos!

Just wanted to update the blog and showcase our brand new windows!  These beautiful additions to the studio were created by my cousin (Kara).  We are so happy to have them in… they look spectacular!

The windows were envisioned when Kara and I were staring at the gaping openings above the doorways to the conference room.  I mentioned that I would like to put some glass up there and had a design in mind; Kara reminded me that she can make stained glass windows.  Serendipitous.  We sketched out a design and headed to the glass store, there we found two boxes filled with clear, textured glass scraps (exactly what we were looking for).  They were marked $10 for each box, we considered ourselves very lucky.  After much labor on Kara’s part, the windows are in and really complete the studio.  In all, there are over 30 different textures of glass.  Kara has dubbed them “Precious” and “Sparkle.”  I think that’s pretty appropriate.

-Chad

Well, it has been a while since we last posted, and for good reason.  We have been working to update quite a few things over here at Delinea the biggest of which is our new space!  We are now located in the Old Market Passageway building on the top floor (1074 Howard St.).  If you have not visited the Passageway building, it is quite a beautiful space with plants everywhere and that Old Market charm.  I am already enjoying a bit of indoor nature with the snow falling outside (in October!).

Of course, while working on the space, we have been working on a few design and video projects as well.  More updates soon on those.  Good thing the coffee maker works (actually, we have two.  One for a large pot of coffee and the other for an on-demand single cup – both ready to go on a moment’s notice).  Feel free to stop on over and see us sometime – we like visitors!  If you happen to stop in and we are not around, we are probably at a meeting or on a shoot.  You can always give us a call on our studio line 402.547.7941 to check before you head over.

More updates soon.

-Matt

Continued from previous post…

Our day of shooting footage at Paulyn’s would be the first day of a Diavolo workshop for middle school students.  At 4:00 a group of young women gathered at the front desk and were directed to a classroom at the end of the hall.  Here, they were met with warm greetings from the three teaching artists, who had all been stretching impressively while waiting for them.  The teaching artists instructed their shy young pupils to warm up a bit, and within minutes they were all gathered in a circle for introductions.
The classroom was actually rather warm.  In order for the boom mike to pick up the conversation, I was instructed to turn off the one electric fan in the room.  Here are the teaching artists with their new class, introducing themselves and explaining the basics of the Diavolo methods they are about to explore together.

I snapped this photograph of Matt (with camera) and Chad (holding the boom mike steady) and wondered if any of these young ladies had anticipated a dance class with this much commotion.  This was certainly nothing like a normal ballet class; aside from the camera crew and photographer in attendance, the students did not lay one finger on the barre.
Here is part of their warm-up.

The students were asked to start with some simple walking exercises to get used to moving while sharing the dance space.  All work was done barefoot.  Gradually, the intensity of the work increased as students were asked to move quickly, stop on a dime, or sink to the floor as slowly as possible.  The teaching artists demonstrated different ways of expressing emotions or ideas through movement, and emphasized the importance of teamwork in accomplishing this.  Before too long, the students’ shyness came away and it was clear that they were enjoying themselves.
Matt stayed, shooting footage for the entire class.  My camera and I bowed out soon after the warm-up, hoping to clear some space for the dancers.  Chad had set up most of the equipment in a neighboring classroom, so I joined him.  There we fussed over the viability of photographs, consorted over the documentary’s organizational minutiae, and just talked shop in general.  With a perfectly suitable barre right in front of me, I gave in to my desire to stretch a little bit.  Having schlepped heavy video equipment and bending this way and that to capture photographs, my muscles thanked me.
At 6:00, class was dismissed.  By 7:00, we needed to have our equipment set up at the Norfolk Arts Center, which you saw earlier, for an adult class.  By the time we arrived, several class members were already there, and so we took the opportunity to meet them and have them sign their waver forms for being filmed.  This class took place in the Gallery of the Arts Center, a well-lit and spacious room that seemed like a perfect place to practice modern dancing.
Here you can see the teaching artists doing the same introduction as before

From that point, however, the adult class took a different turn from that of the youngsters.  The exercises for this class also focused on sharing space and exploring movement, but the teaching artists incorporated more visualization techniques with the adult students.  One that I found particularly interesting involved the teachers instructing students to pretend that they were aliens who had landed in human bodies, and so never having human legs before meant that they must explore all the ways their legs could move.  They made their way from one end of the room to the other, trying out as many ways as they could think of to use their legs in order to get them there.
The class ended with a trust falling exercise.  In a trust fall, one person must surrender herself to the laws of gravity and the hand-eye coordination of their peers.  This class used a ladder as a “jumping off point”.  Here’s Kara taking the Nestea Plunge.

Of course everyone looked nervously at each other when the teaching artists explained what they wanted their students to do, but after the first one was pulled off successfully, you could hear the class laughing, exhilarated, all the way down the hall.  Here is another brave soul.

When the class ended, the students all came out smiling into the hallway where we were waiting for them with our equipment (mostly) packed up.  I heard a lot of “That was great!” and “Same time tomorrow?”  We had a nice farewell chat with Kara, got our documents in order, loaded the last of the equipment into the car, and were back on the road.  It was a day well spent, and there were still snacks left over to boot.  As we made our way home, the sun was setting in the glorious way it does in Nebraska.  I didn’t take a photograph of it because I was too busy selfishly taking it in with both eyes.

-Jillian

My Day on The Road with Delinea Design (part 1)

Hello!  My name is Jillian.  I am the newest addition to the Delinea Design team, the person Matt and Chad refer to as their Studio Manager.  On Monday, July 13, I rode along with them to help gather some footage of Diavolo teaching artists working with their students in Norfolk, NE, for the documentary that we are working on – The Diavolo Project: Nebraska.  Watch the preview of the documentary HERE.  While getting behind a camera is always appealing (give me any excuse), the fact that we would be filming dancers gave me an extra touch of excitement.

In my rapidly-fleeing youth, I trained as a ballet dancer.  This is me in an impromptu performance with some clover, hamming for the camera during an en-route scenery stop.  And here is Matt with his camera set up on the edge of a huge cornfield taking in the view.

Am I barging into your shot, Matt?

Our morning began with the three of us awake, organized and progressively caffeinated.  We loaded all of our equipment into the car, making sure not to forget the snacks, and we were off on our journey.  The rustic scenery en route from Omaha to Norfolk, not to mention the mild summer weather, really was a treat.

As you can see, the landscape in Nebraska is comprised of gently rolling hills, colorful vegetation and family farms tucked away among trees.  All of this resides under an enormous sky.

With my camera practically glued to my face, I snapped photographs from the back seat as we drove, such as this one of the open road and Chad’s sunglasses in the rearview.

Up front, Matt filmed the scenery whizzing past.  We car-danced to the catchy tunes of the late Michael Jackson floating from the cd player, and enjoyed the pretty landscape during our 3-hour drive.  Dotting the landscape were barns, farmhouses, fields of corn, grain silos and livestock.  I even spotted this crop duster.

We made it to Norfolk around lunch time.  I had never been to Norfolk before.  Though I was expecting to arrive at a small town, I was not expecting the charm of the place.  As we drove around and explored a bit in search of the Norfolk Arts Center and a cup of coffee, we discovered that Norfolk is an impeccably clean and arty little Midwestern town.  Along the well-kept downtown strip are store fronts, murals and blooming flowers.  We spotted a little coffee place right away, its courtyard festooned with Christmas lights in July.  Perfect!

Refreshed, we made our way to the Norfolk Arts Center to meet with the facility staff and teaching artists.  Here it is from the road.

When we arrived, the teaching artists Daniel, Sarah and Megan were already in the gallery planning their lessons for the day.  We also met Norfolk Arts Center’s Executive Director, Kara Weander-Gaster.  Their first teaching assignment would take place at Paulyn’s Dance Studio.  This is Paulyn’s.

Isn’t it lovely?  The studio is nestled into the corner of a red-brick building downtown.  My feet were itching to take a class, and I even browsed the merchandise for a pair of warm-ups.  Chad had to remind me that we were there to set up our video equipment, not stage Coppelia.

Of course, in order to maintain one’s stamina while covertly snapping photographs, holding a 40-lb. camera or a boom mike, one needs sustenance.  The weather was so unseasonably comfortable that we sat outside and enjoyed the shade and the little town’s quietness while we noshed.  Here’s a photo I snapped en route from lunch back to the dance studio.

Post continues on The Camera is My Third Eye (Part 2).

-Jillian

We are deep in the process of editing a documentary that we have just finished shooting.  The documentary is part of the Diavolo Project: Nebraska, involving the Lied Center for Performing Arts, Omaha Performing Arts and the Diavolo Dance Theatre in L.A.  THIS previous post gives you a bit more information and some photos that we took during the process.  Above is a preview of the documentary that we pulled together when Diavolo performed in Omaha and Lincoln, last April.  Hope you enjoy and keep your eyes open for the completed documentary!

-Chad

We’ve been busy!  Our old (temporary) website was decidedly lacking in pizazz, so we’ve redesigned the site and added more content, as well as examples of our work.  You want to know what we can design for you?  We’ve got a list of our services.  You want to see what we’ve done?  We have a new portfolio and demo reel.  Check it out at www.delineadesign.com and tell us what you think!

-Chad

On Monday, the Omaha Community Playhouse Anthem video premiered at the annual Volunteer Awards Night.  Great crowd – many people who had participated in the video were in attendance.  Congrats to all of the award recipients and to the Playhouse for turning 85!  So, here is the first version of the video (other cuts coming soon).  

-Matt

Music by Jim Boggess, Lyrics by Susan Baer Collins
Performed by Omaha Community Playhouse Performers
Vocals recorded at Ware House Productions on June 13, 2009
Video recorded at the Omaha Community Playhouse by Delinea Design on June 29, 2009

Our new demo reel, including some of our recent video, print and web projects.

-Chad

Today is a busy day editing comedian, Juli Burney’s (Comedy Goddess), stand-up routine (hilarious), so I think we’ll provide you with some more photos from our shoot on Monday at the Omaha Community Playhouse.  These are in addition to our previous post.

-Chad

Matt tests dolly

Getting ready for big finish

Matt filming group

Everyone in harmony

Group close

Big finish group