Situation:
Ric Reitz, writer and winner of the 2000 Independent Publisher Book award for "The Journey of Sir Douglas Fir" decided to produce a children's Broadway-style musical of his story. This "reader's musical" included The Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, an adult Grammy chorus, a children's chorus, and a troupe of Atlanta actors.

Objective: Make all footage shot from rehearsals and live performances look like it was from one live show.

Solution: Five cameras shot the 2 performances, as well as 2 rehearsals. Cat's Eye edited 20 hours of footage to cull down to a 45 minute show that aired on GPTV, in celebration of Earth Day 2001. Most of the rehearsals were shot using close-ups of the actors, while the live performances were shot mostly medium and wide, and included more of the orchestra and chorus.

Outcome:
Intercutting the various orchestra members playing their beautiful instruments, the stage actors performing the story, the delighted children's faces in the audience, and using the book's text and illustrations really made this a unique program. The program, "The Journey of Sir Douglas Fir" won a bronze Telly award in the Children's Programming category. The Telly's are one of the most highly respected award competitions open to video producers. The Journey of Sir Douglas Fir was also nominated for a Southern Regional Emmy award.

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