CHARLOTTE, NC. (2/14/09)

Heidi Dove, Creative Producer and co-owner at Emulsion Arts, has created a new video for The Levine Museum of the New South’s most recent interactive exhibit, Changing Places: From Black and White to Technicolor®. The exhibit opens today at the downtown Charlotte museum and will be open throughout 2009, and scheduled to run until February 28, 2010.

Working closely with Levine’s Assistant Curator Dr. Tom Hanchett, Ms. Dove and a local production crew filmed Charlotte area residents and organizations over the course of several months in 2008. The project explores how Charlotte is dealing with the cultural diversity and change created by the influx of newcomers from across the U.S and around the globe.

“The resulting video offers a fascinating look at the cultural changes in our community,” offers Dove in summary. Ms. Dove and crew initially interviewed individuals in several immigrant families and also members of a multi-cultural Charlotte church. The video explores the unique experiences in all of the “Coming to America” stories. What emerges in Ms. Dove’s thought-provoking work provides an illuminating perspective on the unexpected difficulties in adapting to a traditional society in a new country and region.

The Changing Places video is an integral part of Levine’s newest exhibit in which museum visitors will also experience an exciting new technology know as “video-talkback”. Visitors can record their reactions to the exhibits themes and those responses will become an actual part of the exhibit.

Changing Places is the second video Ms. Dove has created for Levine. In 2005, Dove produced a video for a museum exhibit, Purses, Platforms & Power: Women Changing Charlotte in the 70s. The exhibit ran at Levine museum from March 11, 2005 until January 16, 2006.

CHARLOTTE, NC. (2/3/09)

During the summer and early fall of 2008, Emulsion Arts was deeply immersed in the production of four short films for the Crossroads Charlotte initiative. Now completed, the films will premiere tonight from 6-8PM on multiple screens throughout the Charlotte community, including auditoriums at UNC Charlotte, Johnson C. Smith University and Davidson College.

A production team headed by Emulsion Owner/Director and Cinematographer Joanne Hock and Emulsion CEO/Executive Producer Robin Grey, began pre-production in June 2008 and filmed for eight days in and around Charlotte during the first two weeks of August. Multiple intercity locales, businesses and neighborhood locations helped to shape four potential scenarios of where the Charlotte community MIGHT be in 2015.

Crossroads Charlotte was launched by the Foundation for the Carolinas and the John S. and James Knight Foundation. The goal of the special initiative is to create a more equitable
community that will be better equipped to tackle the future’s challenges by choosing and pursuing opportunities for Charlotte that are based on intentional choices and creative foresight.

With the support of veteran Emulsion Producer Kay Thompson and a large and talented cast and crew of local filmmakers, Ms. Hock directed scenarios that included scenes of gang violence, homelessness, faith-based ministries, community shelters and unemployment. Director Hock, also co-wrote the scripts and supervised the post-production process to create the vignettes that depict four possible realities for Charlotte.

The premieres tonight will include audience discussion following each scenario that is intended to engage local citizens and encourage involvement and the contribution of ideas and action that will create the best possible future for the community.