Videos | Pines

the Great Swamp, part one

part of Pines: a cinematic exploration of the New Jersey Pine Barrens
by David S. Kessler
featuring Allen Crawford
score by John Pettit, Gretchen Lohse and Ben Warfield

Nature Center

shot by David S. Kessler
and Stephen Gardner
at Estell Manor Nature Center

edited by David S. Kessler
music by Mike Dur

Video: winter in the pygmy plains

by David S. Kessler
shot at Warren Grove
featuring Allen Crawford
score by John Pettit and Gretchen Lohse

Trumpet at the Ruins of Friendship

trumpet: John Pettit

The second vignette featuring words by Allen Crawford read by Jared Martin. The music is by Ben Warfield. You may recognize some of the footage from an earlier video. As the project grows and changes I will often decide that I want to expand on what I put together so far. The videos are meant to stand on their own as short sketches. They are ideas and documents but those ideas are likely to shift and grow so nothing at this point is locked in place.

Harmonies of the Living World

shot and edited by David S. Kessler written by Allen Crawford read by Jared Martin score by Gretchen Lohse, Jesse Moore, Ben Warfield and David S. Kessler

Video Sketch: Mid-November on the Batsto River

Video Sketch: day five, Ruins of Harrisville by David S Kessler

I didn’t have a lot of new content from the last couple of days out in the pines. I was able to some good b-roll but not what I need to flesh out the parts of Allen’s voiceover that I would like to use. My camera shoots in 60p at 1920 x 1080 which means that I am able to overcrank the footage getting slow motion without losing any quality. I’ve been experimenting with shooting a bunch of tracking shots on a small dolly in slow motion which has a really nice effect. This is little more than a few more recent shots set to some music that I made for an older film. Half of it was shot in Harrisville, which was a paper mill at one time and is now one of the only surviving ruins of the Industry that once existed in the Pines. On a side note, the mosquitoes in Harrisville are vicious and out of control.

Video Sketch: day three. A Bog at Night by David S Kessler

Our intrepid guide, Allen Crawford took us out to a bog off of a winding dirt road. Most of were not properly equipped to do any real hiking or immerse ourselves in any swamps. Fortunately, this bog was located on a stream that doesn’t get too deep until you venture pretty far out. We took our shoes off and wandered in as deep as we could. There was a mixture of soft sand and smooth rocks. The water was crystal clear and ice cold.

Ben Warfield made the soundtrack for this piece. I’m liking these deep tones with just a hint of song structure.

Video Sketch: day two. Night Falls on Atsion Lake by David S Kessler

about an hour at the lake at dusk. Music by Ben Warfield

Video Sketch: day one. Allen’s tour of Pine Barren Plants by David S Kessler

Here is the first of many short edits of the video content shot in the Pines. This episode features Allen Crawford pointing out several unique and wonderful species of plant life in the Pines. One exceptional find was the Curly Grass Fern (Schizaea Pusilla). click on post title for notes and comments.