Final Rich Oxley Wasioja TravelBlog entry
Sunshine! Day three started early with an incredible sense of urgency. We needed to capture dramatization footage at the only standing Civil War recruiting station west of the Mississippi. We needed to get solid interviews from the organizers and we had a great opportunity to capture the rehearsal of the surrender of the Appomattox courthouse. So, we got our teams together -Team Delta which was myself, Ben Lee and Andy Peterson headed out to get encampment footage. Team Alpha which was Clay Ebeling, Dan Past and Phil Ensminger went to the seminary to get ruins footage and interviews. Team Bravo, Todd Randall, Josh Bieker and Tyler Hanus and Team Charlie, Patrick Willson, Ashley Janssen, Caleb Nyabuto and Sam Henderson went to get much needed interviews and encampment cover footage. Sam and I wrangled some civilian period-dress recruits for the shoot at the recruitment station. He was able to use some of his family members and soldiers for the shoot. The footage will help tell a bit more about the boys of Wasioja. We had to be aggressive in order to get to the battlefield for the rehearsal and and the re-enactment of the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. So the challenge was to get the gear, enough media and enough power to do both. The video shooters performed with such grace and style during this trying time that I’m happy to say, it went off without a hitch. The battle re-enactment was incredible. Of course the artillery smoke and “dirty pot” explosions were amazing. The treaty signing with Lee and Grant was a grand spectacle. The photo ops were awesome as I filled several 4GB compact flash cards with stills. A big huge “Thank You” to Andi Johnson who coordinated production and kept us on track and focused at many hectic moments in our off-load tent. We could not have done this project without her dedication. A big “Thank You” to our HTC video students who, had their own battles with weather, sun and a demanding leader (me). A big “Thank You” to the Hennepin Technical College administration (Lisa Larson, Therese Salber and Diane Paulson) for supporting us and giving us the encouragement to do this thing. Their support kept us going though many hours of planning and shooting. A big “Thank You” to Todd Randall and Student Director, Sam Henderson. These guys kept the cameras rolling and the crews moving in what seemed to be constant chaos. And finally, A big “Thank You” to the “Friends of Wasioja” for allowing us to be a part of this amazing event. The student learning that happened during our months of planning and the three-day event is simply-put, “priceless”. Now the task at hand is to log and digitize more footage and begin the arduous task of editing this thing so it makes sense.
Check out cool production picture click here

We Shoot Stuff!

l to r Andy, Tyler and Ashley get the shots on the final day.

The confederates try to blast their way out of trouble before the surrender

Student director Sam Henderson shoots the surrender on the last day

Ashley gets the shot of General Lee going to the surrender

l to r Phil and Caleb on the scaffold during the battle