October - December 2011

MVP enjoyed a strong finish in the last quarter of 2011.  George Montiel was tapped to provide long-lens cameraman support for the annual "Arby's National Franchise Conference" held in Atlanta October 9-11.

Also in October, we recorded two Venous Ablation procedures with Dr. Sendhil K. Subramanian at the Georgia Vascular Institute in Jonesboro for patient education.

In November, George wrapped the 5-hour-plus eLearning narration begun earlier this year for Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts and The Venza Group.

Later in the month, MVP crews originated two same-day interactive surgical telecasts via satellite for the 21st Annual RLO: Real Life Orthopaedics conference in Atlanta.  One crew joined Dr. Charles A. Hope, II for a Direct Anterior Approach hip replacement from Optim Medical Center/Tattnall in Reidsville, GA.  A second crew traveled to Charleston to reprise a knee replacement procedure with Dr. H. Del Schutte, Jr. at the Medical University of South Carolina.  A/V presentation services were again provided by MVP at the Capital City Club.

Interspersed during the period were numerous and varied assignments for Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young, LLP, Atlanta Reporters, Inc. the Gwinnett County Communications Division, Libraries and the Partnership Gwinnett Technology Forums of the Gwinnett Chamber.

Thanks to all for a most successful year!

May - September 2011

It has been a busy Summer for MVP personnel.  We were pleased to provide complete Audio-Visual Coordination for the mid-season RLO Conference held in Charleston, SC.

MVP was also subcontracted to provide production services for the 2011 Salvation Army Commissioning Conference in Atlanta, as well as sales training support for Kimberly-Clark Professional.

Regular projects continued for the "Meet the Author" series for the Gwinnett County Public Library, and monthly coverage of the Technology Forums presented by the Gwinnett Chamber and Partnership Gwinnett.

George Montiel also narrated additional eLearning modules for Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts on behalf of The Venza Group.

January - April 2011

Despite an unusual week-long slowdown in early January caused by a major Atlanta Snow Event, the year's first months were pleasantly strong.  An interesting variety of projects including; three convention-camera gigs in Atlanta & Amelia Island, FL (one of them celebrating the 90th Birthday of Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy), several VO scripts for Voice Factory - Canada and nearly two dozen shoot/edit assignments for Gwinnett County, GA kept us well occupied.

MVP is pleased to add the Medical University of South Carolina - Charleston to our list of surgical venues.  In April, we recorded a state-of-the-art Cementless & Tourniquetless Knee Replacement with Dr. H. Del Schutte, Jr. on behalf of Crosslink Orthopaedics - Atlanta.

October - November 2010

Major anniversaries filled the calendar for MVP crews these two months.  October saw the 10th Anniversary of “Stories From The Well” at the Social Circle Theater.  Two “Best of” performances reprising popular scenes from previous seasons were recorded in early October, directed by Sue Lee & produced by Beth Wells.

On November 19th we originated two joint replacement procedures via satellite for the 20th Anniversary RLO: Real Life Orthopaedics 2010 at the Capital City Club in Atlanta.  This continuing medical education (CME) conference was co-chaired by Dr. Stephen W. Smith, who presented a Primary Knee Replacement, Live from Piedmont Hospital - Atlanta.

Later that afternoon, a second MVP surgical crew telecast a Direct Anterior Hip Replacement with Dr. Charles A. Hope, from St. Joseph’s/Candler in Savannah, GA.  Nearly 250 participants viewed the interactive presentations with MVP providing complete A/V services at the conference, sponsored again by Pfiedler Enterprises.

George Montiel was pleased to donate video recording of the 7th Annual "Lend Me an Ear" fundraiser benefiting the Atlanta Community Food Bank.  George also continued voiceover projects for InterContinental Hotels Group and Morgan Stanley.

All were quite welcome to fill out our 20th Anniversary year.

24-25 September 2010

The MVP surgical video team was proud to be asked by Stryker Orthopaedics to travel to Ohio to originate a Primary THA with Dr. Kenneth A. Greene at the Cleveland Clinic - Medina.  The interactive telecast was featured as part of the Hip and Knee Live Surgery Symposium held at the Napa Valley Marriott in California.

June - August 2010

The Summer calendar for MVP was peppered with numerous support assignments for the Gwinnett County Communications Division.  George Montiel also hit the voice booth again for Chick-fil-A Anywhere, as well as several scripts for the Voice Factory - Canada.

July & August found George in convention mode as camera operator at major meetings for sanofi-aventis pharmaceuticals, Microsoft's annual MGX (Microsoft Global eXchange) event, and Scientific Games.

May 2010

Continuing MVP's association with Fine Productions - Atlanta, this month began a series of strategic planning retreats presented by Rick Houcek.  Jib and camera op services will be provided at several Southeast venues through early 2011.

April 2010

George Montiel continued voiceover projects for Chick-fil-A and Scientific Games.

MVP was also called upon to document the re-dedication ceremony of the historic Fine Arts Auditorium on the University of Georgia campus in Athens for the UGA Office of Special Events.

October 2009 - March 2010

George Montiel completed a six month production & editing assignment for "Engage Gwinnett: Citizens Committee on the Future of Gwinnett County" on behalf of the Gwinnett County Communications Division.

20 November 2009

MVP is pleased to add Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia, SC to the list of facilities where we have originated detailed surgical telecasts for the annual Stryker RLO Conference in Atlanta sponsored by Pfiedler Enterprises.  The Revision TKR procedure was performed Live from Columbia by Dr. Kim J. Chillag.  Complete A/V presentation services were again provided for the surgeons in attendance at the Capital City Club.

23 October 2009

George Montiel was back in the voiceover booth on behalf of InterContinental Hotels Group for their Priority Club Rewards Family of Brands.  The one-hour eLearning module provides Sales & Marketing tools and training to participating hotel properties.

July – September 2009

Despite continuing economic uncertainty, flexibility kept us occupied with various interesting assignments this summer. 

Theatrical – George Montiel provided camera support for the First Baptist/Atlanta production of “Beauty and the Beast” on behalf of Masterpiece Video.  George also shot and edited Show Demos for actress Kathy Halenda in her role as “Sophie Tucker: Last of the Red Hot Mamas” during her recent run at Art Station. 

Other freelance assignments took George to Ft. Rucker, AL to document developments in helmet safety design, as Spanish script consultant for projects at Berry Creative, Flood Damage Assessment coverage for the Gwinnett County Communications Division, and as relief cameraman for Wheeler Television during the rain-shortened 12th Annual Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

George also provided the voice on the rollout video for “Lottery InPlay”, a new retail system developed by Scientific Games.

March - April 2009

George Montiel recently completed eLearning projects for both Solvay Pharmaceuticals and Chick-fil-A, Inc.  Solvay required narration for an internal communication module for Product Managers.  George also provided signature voice talent on the "Chick-fil-A Anywhere" training program for outside sales.

29 January 2009

Furthering state-of-the-art services to our Legal clients, MVP is proud to announce the conversion to Digital Audio soundtrack back-ups for all video depositions.  Deliverable to a reporter's computer immediately after the conclusion of a proceeding, or via email attachment, the sound quality and convenience far surpasses older technology.  No more fumbling with multiple cassettes, no lost testimony during tape changes, no more excess plastic to dispose of and no additional cost.  Only a tidy mp3 file for review or archiving.  Please call for more information.

23 October 2008 - Atlanta

MVP was pleased to provide detailed visualization during a 4-hour scoliosis correction procedure using real-time, image-based navigation technology at Children's Healthcare at Scottish Rite for Stryker Spine.  Recorded for educational purposes, edited portions will be presented by Dr. Michael Schmitz at a surgical symposium later this year.

16 October 2008 - Stone Mountain, GA

Quick turnaround CD duplication and packaging was provided to Audio Craft for the distribution of "Now that's my story..." as told by Master Storyteller David Hirt.  MVP is delighted to expand our collaborative relationship with Henry Howard for this project.

25 September 2008 - Social Circle, Georgia

9th in the series "Stories From The Well", this year's original cast video of "Startin' All Over Again" was recorded Live at the Social Circle Theater in late September.  The stories, centered around the defunct Social Circle Cotton Mill - originally founded in 1901, were written & directed by Sue Lee and produced by Beth Wells.  Movingly portrayed with song, dance and humor, it celebrates life's unexpected changes in course that make you Start Over.  The videos of this and past shows produced by MVP are available on DVD from the theater.

19 September 2008 - Atlanta

MVP is proud to have contributed to another successful Stryker RLO Surgical Conference held at the Capital City Club in downtown Atlanta.  The interactive teleconference to over 100 surgeons in attendance included another live procedure presented by Dr. Stephen W. Smith originating from Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta.  MVP once again provided complete A/V presentation services at the conference.

5 September 2008 - Atlanta

Jib shoots continue to increase in popularity for smaller budget productions.  George Montiel recently provided stunning angles and moves to Innova One Productions for their client InsiDesign at their exquisite showroom in Perimeter Place.

Contact us for affordable, value-added shots to enhance your next project!

20 February 2008  -  "And the Winner is..."

It crumbled quickly.  About a week ago we published the article that follows, "The Envelope, please."  It was intended to be just a progress report.  Within 2 days, Wal-Mart announced its exclusive support for Blu-ray.  Yesterday afternoon, Toshiba surrendered and withdrew the format.  Within hours, Universal Studios jumped onboard the Blu-ray train.  Guess you could say it's over.  Wish I had taken long odds.

So now you know the story.  Click any of the links if you'd like more information.  While I wait for prices to ease down to reasonable, I will return to more mundane matters.

Toshiba Gives Up On HD DVD

14 February 2008  -  "The Envelope, Please."

At the beginning of 2008, Warner Bros, and their sister company New Line Cinema, announced that they will become Blu-ray exclusive by mid year.  That gives the High Definition format nearly an 80% share of Hollywood content for the US home video market.

Nearly overnight, HD DVD equipment prices began to plummet.  Major studio holdouts to that format are Universal and Paramount/DreamWorks.  Oddly, in mid 2007, Paramount/DreamWorks had pulled their support of Blu-ray in favor of HD DVD.  When contract renewals are due later in 2008, it is likely that these studios will rejoin the Blu-ray camp.

In 2007, Blu-ray titles outsold HD DVD by 2:1.  Target Corporation sells only Blu-ray players in-store.  Home Theater Specialists of America has endorsed Blu-ray as their format of choice, and Best Buy is recommending Blu-ray to its customer base.

In the rental industry, Blu-ray is now the exclusive format with Blockbuster and Netflix.

We have favored Blu-ray from the start, due mainly to its greater data capacity (50 GB vs. 30 GB), 1080p capability and higher transfer rate (54Mbit/sec vs. 30Mbit/sec).

Is the war over?  Not quite yet.  Prices for Blu-ray and a handful of Combo players are still relatively expensive.  Once they fall through the $200 price point, however, watch for the victory flag to fly for consumers.

29 October 2007  –  NEW!  High-Speed DVD and CD Duplication

Added primarily as a service to existing clients, we now offer Short-Run (<300) duplication of non-copyrighted, non-protected discs at competitive rates.

Supported formats: DVD -/+ R, DVD -/+ RW, DVD + R DL and CD – R/RW.  On-disc printing and packaging options available.  Please call with your requirements.

27 Sep 2007  -  Social Circle, Georgia

Since 2003, MVP has been producing award-winning show videos for the "Stories From The Well" series at the Social Circle Theater.  This year's production "We Gotta Get There" was written & directed by Sue Lee and produced by Beth Wells.  The cast consists mainly of volunteer residents who perform folk-life dramas about the history of their town with a good dose of "down-home" humor.  A soundtrack CD of current & past musical numbers is in the works!  Visit their website for details.  We are proud of our continuing and rewarding association with this wonderful community theater about 40 miles East of Atlanta.

22 Sep 2007  -  Marietta, Georgia

MVP was honored to be chosen to document the inaugural Georgia Radio Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony held at the Marietta Conference Center.  Celebrating Georgia Radio Legends past & present, this 4-camera Commemorative Video is available from the GRHoF website.  22 Legacy and 12 Career Achievement honorees were inducted that evening.  For the nearly 200 guests present, the star-studded reunion was pure magic!

** March 2009 - Correction **

In the interest of historical preservation, and contrary to what is stated on the GRHoF website, the Inaugural Commemorative DVD is, in fact, still available from the producer.  Contact us for details.

21 Sep 2007  -  Atlanta

For the 3rd consecutive year, MVP produced the live surgical telecast for the Stryker RLO Conference at the Capital City Club in Atlanta.  Originating from Piedmont Hospital with Dr. Stephen W. Smith, the innovative Hip Resurfacing procedure was sent to 100+ surgeons in attendance via the Stryker Satellite Network.  The surgery was available to over 40 downlink sites as well as streamed on the Web.  MVP also provided complete A/V presentation services at Capital City.

20 Sep 2007  -  Atlanta

MVP was pleased to provide live video support for the "2007 Four Pillar Tribute" honoring John A. Williams on behalf of Production Arts Film & Video.  The annual recognition is presented by the Council for Quality Growth and this year took place at the new Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.  George Montiel also lensed the video tribute presented during the ceremony.