Faculty Lecture Series Features Danny Ledonne’s Film

Armando Montano
The Paw Print
Last week, on Feb. 15 ASC welcomed all interested for a showing of Danny Ledonne’s  film, “Adventures in Backpack Filmmaking”
The event was busy, as the majority of the spectators were highly anticipating the film and learning more of the insight in creating compact filmmaking. The audience was not disappointed as the film showcased San Luis Valley native, professional filmmaker, and ASC adjunct professor Danny Ledonne’s more recent work in “backpack films.”
Ledonne’s work showcased the often overwhelmingly successful creation of his “backpack films” which is done with a concentration of the effort in maintaining a small production team overall. From overall hauling the use of massive, weighty equipment and multiple film crew members, to reducing the production to few or one man film crews, use of only a single handheld HD camera, and having focus on natural environments, filming subjects and lighting, the end results can have a wide range of final products.
With the growth in availability in high quality cameras and digital technology allowing for even the most precise technological equipment to be more durable and damage resistant, backpack filmmaking allows for the visions of the remote and distant to be captured and utilized as only filmmakers and visionaries can.
Ledonne’s work showcased his journeys into remote areas of Alaska, Kenya, the Galapagos, and all around the continental US with visually striking and surprisingly emotional footage, with a mass adoration of the audience. This faculty lecture allowed for the audience to further grow in reaction, as the views and discussion concerning his own experience on film and afterwards in reflection were available to the audience through multiple questions got deeper into the experience than what has previously been seen in the lecture series.
While the tone of the evening was very informational and conveyed the same professionalism that other lectures in the past has, this particular event was highly emotional to the audience due to the film as well as the overall spirit of humanism the film inspired.
While the techniques discussed about backpack filmmaking were definitely not for amateurs, or for those developing their interest in filmmaking, the ability to film and formulate ones own set of films in a pragmatic capability is not limited to the venturing out to the remote areas of the world.
Certainly, the audience left with a confident sense of their own ability to create their own life film or the lingering question of what a backpack film of their own direction would look like.
The Adams State College Faculty Lecture Series  will continue on March 7 with Adjunct Professor of Biology and Earth Science Lyle Carbutt’s presentation, “Dinosaurs: Armed and Dangerous, Stegosaurs and Ankylosaurs” at 7 p.m. in Porter Hall room 130. Like all lectures,  the Faculty lecture series is free, light refreshments will be offered and is open to the public to attend. For further information on the Faculty Lecture Series, feel free to contact Dr. Kristi Duran, at klduran@adams.edu  or 719-587- 7767.