The DO online - Videos from the 2011 AOA Conference

July/August 2011
Matt Lauterbach (Editor)

AOA House: Day One highlights from TheDO on Vimeo.

On July 15, the opening morning of the AOA House of Delegates’ meeting, the AOA remembered a luminary, celebrated the year in office of 2010-11 AOA President Karen J. Nichols, DO, and recognized the professional accomplishments of three individuals.

Depression from TheDO on Vimeo.

Pressured to excel among other high achievers, overwhelmed by the amount of information to absorb, plagued with self-doubt over their ability to care for patients, many medical students experience burnout and a significant number face clinical depression. On July 16 in Chicago, the AOA House of Delegates approved a resolution to increase awareness of depression among medical students and the availability of treatment options. Click here for the full article.

EHR exemptions from TheDO on Vimeo.

Solo and small group practices should be exempt from financial penalties for failing to meet “meaningful use” requirements for electronic health records (EHRs), according to a resolution passed by the AOA House of Delegates.
In this video, delegates explain their resistance to EHRs, but also describe how the technology can lead to better outcomes for patients.

Reasons to Give

July 2011
Matt Lauterbach (Editor)

United Way advances the common good as Greater Milwaukee’s largest community-based investor in Education, Income and Health – the building blocks for a good quality of life. The three videos highlight the individuals who have been positively affected this year by United Way's programs.

ESTHER: Life as a teenager isn’t always easy. But Esther faces even more challenges than the average teen. Thanks to a United Way program, she boosted her self-confidence and built leadership skills through volunteering.



ISA: Children in foster care and youth shelters often move from one out-of-home placement to another, with nothing to carry their belongings except for garbage bags. Through a collaborative approach, United Way helped them get a new beginning.



PHIL AND GRETCHEN: Gretchen and her husband Phil often deal with the unknown when it comes to battling Gretchen’s multiple sclerosis. But with support from United Way, she is able to remain independent and healthy.

The Blossoming of Wicca

Camera & Interview by Rose Rosenblatt / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Rose Rosenblatt

Phyllis Curott had graduated from Brown University and was studying law at NYU when her call came from a source long forgotten and utterly unexpected - the Goddess. Her first memoir, Book of Shadows, recounts the story of her discovery of the modern revivals of the nearly destroyed indigenous traditions of old Europe and her training to become a Wiccan Priestess. Jane Magazine honored Curott as One of the Ten Gutsiest Women of the Year for her work as one of the first public advocates in the courts and the media for this once hidden and now rapidly growing spiritual movement, and New York Magazine described her as one of the culture's most intellectually cutting-edge thinkers. She founded the Temple of Ara and is the first Wiccan Trustee of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, the world's oldest and largest interfaith organization.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Making something you can hold in your hand

Camera & Interview by Ian Kibbe / Editing by Ian Kibbe & Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Ian Kibbe

Rebecca Neigher is a full time studio artist who focuses primarily on jewelry arts. As she says, "The majority of my adult life has been spent in two cities - Manhattan and Los Angeles. These cities are a visual smorgasbord and often one's energy is directed outward, not wanting to miss anything. In 1996 I moved to North Carolina. I live and work in the woods overlooking forest and meadow. Now my energy is directed inward first and flows through me into the physical, mental, and spiritual acts of making." Rebecca, who was previously an actress, is part of the Orange County Artists Guild.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Go to college, or take over the family farm?

Interview & Camera by Joe Winston / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Joe Winston

Donn Teske is a farmer in Kansas. His story is profiled in What's The Matter With Kansas? , a film by Laura Cohen & Joe Winston. In his What's Your Calling? interview, Donn, who was born in Kansas in a town of 97 people, talks about family, legacy, home - and his decision to take over the family farm instead of going to college.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Increasing Self Worth and Straight A's

Interview by Rachel Pikelny / Camera by Rachel Pikelny & Ian Kibbe / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Rachel Pikelny / Extra Thanks to Adam Davis of the Project on Civic Reflection

Amaka Unaka, originally from Southern California, is a School Administrator at the KIPP Ascend Charter School in Chicago, Illinois. In her What's Your Calling? interview, Amaka talks about building up a sense of self-worth with the young people she works with so that they head to college and believe in themselves and their aspirations. KIPP is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. Among many other things, Amaka enforces KIPP's school behavior expectations, coordinates social and emotional services for students, collaborates with teachers regarding classroom management, and creates partnerships with community organizations.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Families in Global Transition

May 2011
Julie Englander (Producer/Director)
Matt Lauterbach (Editor)

Filmed at the 2011 FIGT annual conference, featuring an interview with co-founder Ruth Van Reken. Produced and directed by Julie Englander.

Families In Global Transition video from Julie Englander on Vimeo.

Home Again - Kickstarter

April 2011
Matt Lauterbach (Co-Editor)

Though their passports say they’re American, missionary kids find upon their return that the U.S. can be the strangest country of all.

The Offbeat Kitchen Is Ready to Start Cooking!

The Offbeat Kitchen is teaching gluten free cooking classes and making gourmet gluten free baked goods.

46% Decrease by 2015: Milwaukee’s Response to the Teen Pregnancy Crisis

April 2011
Lisa Gildehause (Producer/Director)
Matt Lauterbach (Editor)

United Way set an aggressive, public goal to reduce births to 15 to 17 year olds by 46% by 2015. This video highlights the progress made in reaching United Way’s goal, and follows a Milwaukee family who is successfully winning the battle against teen pregnancy.

Client: United Way of Greater Milwaukee, Riveting Pictures

Eddie Bocanegra: Violence Interrupter

What's Your Calling? camera & Interview by Rachel Pikelny / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Rachel Pikelny

When he was 18 years old, Eddie Bocanegra went to jail for the murder of another man in a gang-related shooting. Now, seventeen years later, Eddie is using the experiences from his past to stop gang violence by working with CeaseFire, a Chicago violence prevention program. Eddie is one of CeaseFire's Violence Interrupters, men and women with ties to Chicago's gangs, who "leverage their knowledge of the city to diffuse tensions and, hopefully, maintain peace by meeting with individuals, negotiating truces, and discouraging retaliation when conflicts erupt."

Eddie's story and others can be seen in The Interrupters. From producer/director Steve James and author-turned-producer Alex Kotlowitz, The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising story of three “violence interrupters” in Chicago who with bravado, humility and even humor try to protect their communities from the violence they once employed.

Stills courtesy of CeaseFire and The Interrupters, a new documentary from Kartemquin Films . Watch the trailer for The Interrupters, see where the film is screening, and learn more here.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Todd Bauer: Accountant by day, playwright by night.

Camera & Interview by Erin Williams / Edited by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Erin Williams

Todd Bauer, who holds an M.A. in Liberal Studies from Northwestern University, is a playwright and theater director and also an accountant. Todd is an eight-year member of Victory Gardens’ Access Project Artist Development Workshop and the Professor of Dramatic Literature at the Newberry Library in Chicago. He is also a freelance writer for Beat magazine. Currently Todd is a visiting artist with Visible Theatre in New York, for which an NEA Challenge America Grant was awarded.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

From Rahm Emanuel to Kibbles: Seth Weitberg Finds Humor

Camera & Interview by Erin Williams / Edited by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Erin Williams

Seth Weitberg is a writer and performer living in Los Angeles; he is a regular humor contributor for the Chicago Tribune , writes the blogs The Week In Rebuke and The Week In Dubuque, and has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Mancow's Morning Madhouse. Seth is an alumnus of The Second City Touring Company and a writer for Second City Theatricals. Seth is also a performer at the iO Theater, previously in Chicago and now in Los Angeles, where he can be seen with the cast of The Armando Show. In 2010, Seth played Rahm Emanuel in front of Rahm Emanuel, then White House Chief of Staff in a Second City production of "Barack Stars." Seth also runs Donline Dating, where characters get together.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Prosthetic care & education in the developing world

Interview & Camera by Rachel Pikelny / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Rachel Pikelny / Photos by Marc Altman Photography

Eric Neufeld is an American Board Certified and Illinois Licensed Orthotist and Prosthetist based at Scheck and Siress' Chicago Rush University Medical Center location. In addition to providing services in the Chicagoland area, Eric is a founding member of the Range of Motion Project (ROMP), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing prosthetic care and education throughout the developing world. In 2004, Eric was awarded the Gunther Gehl Scholarship given to the most deserving resident in the Midwest Area.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

The good that Katrina couldn't wash away

Interview & Camera by Danny Alpert / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Rachel Pikelny

Sandra Rhodes Duncan is the owner of the Duplain W. Rhodes Funeral Home, a family business that just marked its 127th anniversary this year, making it one of the oldest mortuaries run by African-Americans in New Orleans. In her What's Your Calling? interview, Mrs. Rhodes Duncan talks about damages that the funeral home suffered during Hurricane Katrina and how the business and the community has come back in the years since.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Aloha from the Midwest!

Interview by Jessica Tevaga / Camera by Ian Kibbe / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Jessica Tevaga

Wendy Takeguchi was born and raised in Aiea, Hawaii and has been dancing hula for over 25 years. In 2009, she relocated to the Chicago area and started the Hana Hou Hula Productions in Naperville, Illinois, which is a company dedicated to sharing authentic Hawaiian culture, education, and the Aloha spirit through classes and performances. Wendy's young hula career includes winning Keiki Hula Competitions, entertaining for hotels and cruise ships in Waikiki, performing for the United Nations and President George Bush, being highlighted as the Pro-Bowl Half Time Show, and traveling around the world to dance the hula and share the Hawaiian culture.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Photographer, Mountaineer, Tugboat Captain!

Interview & Camera by Gail Evenari / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Gail Evenari

2011 marked Jan Tiura's 35th year working aboard tugboats. Born in Berkeley and raised on the San Mateo County coast, she was always fascinated by water. Sailing a small sailboat to the Galapagos Island in 1972 ruined her for conventional life ashore. But until joining the Inland Boatmen's Union, she was unable to find work on any boats. Instead, Tiura free-lanced as a photographer and mountaineer. When she finally broke into the all-male ranks of tugboat crew, Tiura started out as a deckhand, and then quickly rose through the hierarchy to become the first woman tugboat captain on San Francisco Bay. Although Tiura made and sold photographs throughout her maritime career, it was the advent of small, high-quality digital cameras that enabled her to capture the work on the bay while doing it.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Gordon Quinn: Filming truth to power

Interview and Camera by Rachel Pikelny / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Rachel Pikelny / Additional footage thanks to Kartemquin Films

Gordon Quinn is the Artistic Director & founding member of Kartemquin Films. For the past four decades, Gordon has been making cinéma vérité films, documenting the lives of real people. Roger Ebert called Home for Life (1966), Gordon's first film, "an extraordinarily moving documentary." Kartemquin’s best known film, Hoop Dreams (1994), Executive Produced by Gordon, was released theatrically to unprecedented critical acclaim. Gordon hold many additional film credits, including: Stevie and The New Americans. Gordon recently completed Prisoner of Her Past, about a Holocaust survivor suffering from late-onset PTSD, and he's currently working on A Good Man, about Bill T. Jones. At Kartemquin, Gordon creates a home for young filmmakers who want to make social-issue documentaries. A key leader in creating the Documentary Filmmakers Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use, Gordon encourages filmmakers to educate themselves on the tenets of the fair use doctrine, frequently giving public talks about this fundamental right.

See also my article about Gordon Quinn's involvement in the fair use movement in documentary film.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Turning a lens on nonviolence in Israel-Palestine

Camera & Interview by Kasey Kirby / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Rachel Pikelny & Erin Williams

Ronit Avni is an award-winning filmmaker, human rights advocate and media strategist with an expertise in Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution efforts. Ronit is the Founder and Executive Director of Just Vision, a non-profit organization that researches, documents and creates media about Palestinian and Israeli grassroots leaders in nonviolence and peace building.

Included as an extra feature on the Budrus DVD.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Ramona White Plume: Lakota Way of Life

Produced by Prairie Dust Films and Lakota Media Project, South Dakota / Editing by Matt Lauterbach & Rebecca Parrish

In this interview, Ramona White Plume talks about struggle, belief, prayer, kinship, language, and preserving the Lakota way of life with her family. Ramona lives on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

What's Your Calling - More profiles

Ongoing
Matt Lauterbach (Lead Editor)

Through a growing series of interviews, videos and articles, What's Your Calling? pushes the notion of "calling" to explore all of the stuff that makes us human: our values, our passions, our doubts and hopes. Profiling individuals from diverse backgrounds – professional snowboarders, jazz musicians, tug boat captains, academics, improvisers, Muay Thai fighters, religious leaders, social workers, environmental activists, toy inventors – What's Your Calling? shares what people have been called to do with their lives and how they hope to change the world.

Client: The Kindling Group

Greg Epstein talks about what it means to be focused on living a good life.
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/can-there-be-good-without-god

Rabbi Sid Schwarz talks about chutzpah and his calling.
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/does-a-calling-require-some-chutzpah

Martin Marty discusses the meaning of the term "calling."
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/whats-a-calling

Hussein Rashid talks about being Muslim in America
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/muslim-in-america

Hari Sreenivasan talks about having a sense of curiosity, being a bridge between different communities, and the importance of stories.
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/what-stories-bring-you-to-the-fence

Shamil Idriss talks about taboos, fostering cross-cultural understanding and the power of new media.
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/what-makes-it-possible-to-talk-openly-about-differences

Bill Bentley: Record Man

Interview by Danny Alpert / Camera by Jordan Dawes / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Amy Cargill

Bill Bentley is a music industry executive. In his interview, Bill talks about helping artists present their work, giving recognition to music that may otherwise be lost, and the importance of hope. Early in his career, Bill developed typesetting skills and used them to enter a position in 1974 as the music editor at the Austin Sun; he later became the music editor at the L.A. Weekly. In the record industry, he has worked with Slash Records and Warner Bros. Records and musicians such as Green Day, Lou Reed, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M., The Barenaked Ladies and Wilco, among others. Bill is notable for using his skills to assist artists whose careers have been impeded or who are otherwise in distress. Bill is the CEO of Sonic Boomers Inc. and the personal public relations representative of Neil Young. He remains a longtime contributor of music reviews and article to the Austin Chronicle.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

The Theory of Multiple Mentors

Interview & Camera by Erin Williams / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Danny Alpert & Rachel Pikelny

In this What's Your Calling? interview, Howard Gardner talks about his mentors, the privilege of scholarship, and the give and take associated with finding and pursuing one's calling. Howard is a developmental psychologist, the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Harvard, Senior Director of Harvard Project Zero, and co-founder of the GoodWork Project. Howard received a MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1981 and is the author of 25 books translated into 28 languages. He is best known for his theory of multiple intelligences, a critique of the notion that there exists but a single human intelligence that can be adequately assessed by standard psychometric instruments.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Girls for A Change

December 2010
Matt Lauterbach (Co-Editor)

Girls For A Change (GFC) is a national organization that empowers thousands of teen girls to create and lead social change. This video profiles the professional female role models and leadership training that the organization provides, inspiring girls to work together in teams to solve persistent societal problems.

Client: Lisa Gildehaus, Riveting Pictures

Shining a light on invisible people

Interview by Rachel Pikelny / Directed by Susanne Suffredin / Additional footage thanks to invisiblepeople.tv / Camera by Ines Sommer / Editing by Matt Lauterbach

Mark Horvath has been a drug addict, a con artist, a producer for Christian television, and for a time, homeless. Now, he's using social media to raise awareness about homelessness and poverty in America. Armed with a website (invisiblepeople.tv), Twitter account, and a camera, Mark's on a mission to give "a face and a voice to homelessness."

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

The weight of the crown: A Mardi Gras Chief

Interview & Camera by Danny Alpert / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Rachel Pikelny

Clarence Dalcour is Chief of Creole Osceolas, a Mardi Gras Indian tribe. In his What's Your Calling? interview, Clarence talks about what it means to be a Mardi Gras Chief.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Tension between family and mission

Directed by Maggie Bowman / Edited by Matt Lauterbach / Executive Produced by Danny Alpert

When Benjamin Arevalos first came to the United States from Mexico as a young adult, he came primarily to earn money. Over a decade later, he follows a much different calling as he enters his final year of seminary study for the Catholic priesthood in the Archdiocese of Chicago. As he prepares to serve a changing, immigrant Church, he encounters obstacles and weighs personal sacrifices.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

SoulPancake chews on life's big questions

Camera & Interviews by Erin Williams / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Erin Williams

Golriz Lucina & Devon Gundry, two of the people behind the website SoulPancake and co-authors with Rainn Wilson and Shabnam Mogharabi of the New York Times bestselling book, SoulPancake, talk about their recent book launch party, what it means to connect deeply and to think differently about why we're here and what we're doing, and what our best friends think about what it means to be human. Golriz & Devon are newlyweds living in Los Angeles, where they host SoulPancake meetups. Golriz & Devon are also Baha'i. Check out some of their music.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

MC5 guitarist on prison and a sense of worth

Interview by Danny Alpert / Camera by Jordan Dawes / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Amy Cargill & Danny Alpert

Wayne Kramer spent a long time angry about his stint in prison, especially since he didn't think the rehabilitation worked. Now, years after his release from Lexington Federal Prison, he's keeping one foot in the prison system to use music to change lives. Wayne Kramer is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter who came to prominence in the 19060's as the guitarist for the band MC5 (Motor City 5), a group known for their powerful live performances and radical left-wing political stance. Rolling Stone ranked him number ninety-three on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time. Wayne heads the American chapter of Jail Door Guitars, "an independent initiative which aims to provide instruments to those who are using music as a means of achieving the rehabilitation of prison inmates."

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Happiness and monastic life

Interview & Camera by Erin Williams / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Rachel Pikelny

Brother Innocent Smith, O.P. is a Dominican friar at The Priory of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. In this interview, Brother Innocent talks about the life of a Dominican friar, giving up stability, gaining harmony, Gregorian chants, and Irish folk music. (Washington, DC)

Part of the What's Your Calling? project

Finding identity in the Rabbinate

Directed by Yoni Brook / Edited by Matt Lauterbach / Executive Produced by Danny Alpert

Rabbinical student Jill Perlman gives her first sermon and talks about her decision to become a Rabbi after growing up in an interfaith household. As Jill peruses her calling, she struggles with questions about acceptance and identity.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Lakota Indian tattoo artist inks memories

Produced by Prairie Dust Films and Lakota Media Project, South Dakota / Editing by Matt Lauterbach

Lance Martin is a Lakota tattoo artist living in South Dakota. In this interview, Lance talks about being different, finding his role, and using art to put food on the table.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

The life of an action sports legend

Interview by Amy Cargill / Camera by Jordan Dawes / Editing by Matt Lauterbach & Nick Nummerdor / Produced by Ian Kibbe

Donna Vano is a world class professional snowboarder, skateboarder, inline skater, and mentor. In this interview, Donna talks about defying the odds, overcoming obstacles, and keeping positive. Donna has worked with and mentored some of the world's greatest young athletes, like Shaun White, Elena Hight, Lynz Adams and Jamie Anderson. Donna has been involved in action sports since before they were called action sports and holds three Guinness World Records.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Forced from one calling to another

Directed by Alicia Dwyer / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Executive Produced by Danny Alpert

Kathryn Streeter, a theology student at Fuller Seminary, spent six years in China. Living in one of the most polluted cities, she developed severe health problems and was forced to return home, a traumatic experience that led her to reexamine her calling.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

What does it mean to be a voice of conscience?

Interview & Camera by Erin Williams / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Erin Williams

The Rev. Dr. Michael Pfleger, pastor at the Faith Community at Saint Sabina in Chicago, is a tireless advocate for the poor and voiceless. Though a longtime Chicago figure, Fr. Pfleger gained national notoriety during the 2008 Presidential elections for his outspoken style. In this clip, he talks about why it's so important to speak out, what it means to be a voice of conscience, and the role he believes the Church should play in our lives and in society.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Hinduism, the American Dream and all that jazz

Interview & Camera by Danny Alpert / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Erin Williams

Vijay Iyer, a pianist, composer, producer, and writer talks about the American dream, jazz, and defying the odds to become an artist. A polymath whose work has spanned the sciences, arts, and humanities, Iyer holds a B.S. in Mathematics & Physics from Yale and a Masters in Physics and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Technology and the Arts from UC Berkeley. He was chosen as one of nine "Revolutionary Minds" in Seed Magazine , and his research in music cognition has been featured on the radio programs This Week in Science and Studio 360. (New York, New York)

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

A convert's journey into Islam

Directed by Musa Syeed / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Executive Produced by Danny Alpert

Raufa was born in the South of the U.S. and raised Southern Baptist. As an adult, Raufa moved to the West Coast, and became involved in Sufism, eventually converting to Islam. After praying and searching on Google for opportunities to serve people from an Islamic perspective, Raufa decided to enroll at Hartford Seminary and move into a home with other Muslims to further explore her Islamic faith. Coming to Hartford, was the first time Raufa had interacted with people who were born Muslim. Raufa struggles not only with learning Arabic, but also with connecting with the other members of her community across age and cultural divides.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Trained to run, training for priesthood

Directed by Maggie Bowman / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Executive Produced by Danny Alpert

Scott Wallisch, a marathon runner and priest in training, talks about the connections between running marathons, maintaining faith, and finding the will to persevere.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

Elmo, the Wright Brothers, and perfection

Interview by Erin Williams / Camera by Ian Kibbe / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Produced by Ian Kibbe

Toy inventor Bruce Lund of Lund and Company Invention shares his thoughts on work, toys, the importance of play and making marvelous things.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

What is Kosher Slaughter?

Directed by Yoni Brook / Editing by Matt Lauterbach / Executive Produced by Danny Alpert

Andy Kastner and Avi Rosenfeld, travel to upstate New York to learn shechita, the ritual slaughter of animals, also known as Kosher ritual slaughter.

Part of the What's Your Calling? project.

The Alter Group

November 2010
Matt Lauterbach (Co-Editor)

This corporate video for one of the leading commercial real estate firms in the U.S. includes interviews with satisfied clients and partners.

Client: Tom Silva, The Alter Group

What's Your Calling? - Early profiles

Ongoing
Matt Lauterbach (Lead Editor)

Through a growing series of interviews, videos and articles, What's Your Calling? pushes the notion of "calling" to explore all of the stuff that makes us human: our values, our passions, our doubts and hopes. Profiling individuals from diverse backgrounds – professional snowboarders, jazz musicians, tug boat captains, academics, improvisers, Muay Thai fighters, religious leaders, social workers, environmental activists, toy inventors – What's Your Calling? shares what people have been called to do with their lives and how they hope to change the world.

Client: The Kindling Group

Rachel Durchslag
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/how-much-of-ourselves-do-we-give-up-to-help-others

Rachel Barton Pine
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/what-was-the-moment-in-which-you-found-your-calling

Eboo Patel
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/have-experiences-of-failure-helped-to-shape-your-calling

Asad Jafri
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/what-if-everyone-pursued-their-dreams

Kevin Coval
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/where-do-you-come-from-how-does-that-shape-your-story

Aura Brickler
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/how-do-you-know-youre-making-a-difference

Stanley Hauerwas
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/how-do-you-know-your-work-is-done

Kathy Williams
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/tell-us-about-a-recent-interaction-that-changed-you

Demetrio Maguigad
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/how-do-we-find-meaning-in-tragedy

Adam Davis
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/whats-more-important-questions-or-answers

Mark Farr
http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/what-sort-of-god-do-you-imagine

The Calling: DVD Extras

October 2010
Matt Lauterbach (Assistant Editor)

The Calling is a four-hour documentary series that follows seven young, vibrant, thoughtful and vastly different Americans from their first days of religious training, through years of challenges, doubts, triumphs and surprises, and into their early practice as ordained professionals.

Twenty deleted scenes were re-edited and included in the DVD, released 12/21/2010. These scenes can be viewed online at http://whatsyourcalling.org/meet-the-characters

Client: The Kindling Group

Here's my favorite one:

Preaching to Small Fries

Chicago Short Film Brigade

Jury Leader/Show Co-Producer

Visit filmbrigade.com for more information.

Kartemquin Films - Editorial and Research Assistance

A Good Man (2011), 30 for 30 ESPN TV Series – No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson (2010), Prisoner of Her Past (2010), In the Family (2009), Milking the Rhino (2009)

Tony & Janina’s American Wedding

October 2010 (Assistant Editor)

A feature length documentary that gets to the heart of the broken U.S. immigration system. After 18 years in America, Tony and Janina Wasilewski’s family is torn apart when Janina is deported back to Poland, taking their 6 year old son Brian with her. Set on the backdrop of the Chicago political scene, and featuring Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez at the heart of the immigration reform movement, this film follows the Wasilewski’s 3-year struggle to be reunited, as their Senator Barack Obama rises to the Presidency.

A 17 minute version of the film is available for screenings with local organizations and groups.

Client: Ruth Leitman, Ruthless Films

See tonyandjanina.com for more details.

Today is Freedom Day

July 2010
Matt Lauterbach (Editor)

In 1963, Gordon Quinn (founder of Kartemquin Films) was recruited by SNCC to film a public demonstration against crowding and segregation in Chicago Public Schools. On October 22, thousands of parents, students, teachers, and community members marched together to protest the policies of Superintendant Benjamin Willis. This footage can be seen for the first time in over 45 years in a new exhibit called Facing Freedom, which premiered July 4th, 2010 at the Chicago History Museum.

Client: Chicago History Museum

Not available for internet streaming - please visit the Facing Freedom exhibit at the Chicago History Museum.

Noon Design Studio

February 2010
Matt Lauterbach (Editor)

Noon Design Studio is the only natural dye production house in the US. This video was made to raise money to pay off the balance of the company’s industrial washing machine. Noon Design Studio’s $4,500 fund-raising goal was surpassed.

Client: Jane Palmer, Founder of Noon Design Studio

The Voice Box

January 2010
Sarah Michaelson (Producer)
Matt Lauterbach (Editor)

The Voice Box is a 12-minute documentary that features Ellen Frohardt, who had her vocal chords removed as a result of cancer. Ellen gives candid insight into what it was like to lose the voice that she identified as her own. Her husband Mike reflects upon the love and perspective that helped get them to the other side. This documentary addresses issues of identity, stigma, adaptation and healing.

Client: Sarah Michaelson, Anixter Center, Chicago

Not available for public viewing.

Hearing Images

October, 2009
Matt Lauterbach (Co-Producer/Director/Editor)
Dinesh Sabu (Co-Producer/Camera & Sound)
Self Produced

Through brief portraits of three women—an audio describer, a “touch-tour” guide for the blind, and a visually impaired theater goer—Hearing Images illustrates how the performing arts can be made verbal and tactile for those in an audience who cannot see.

Official Selection of “Different From What?” Film Festival 2010, Tempe, AZ
Official Selection of “Talking Pictures” Film Festival 2010, Evanston, IL

Hearing Images from Matt Lauterbach on Vimeo.

Facing Freedom, Lincoln at 200, and GIS for History

2010
Matt Lauterbach (Interpretive Experiences Coordinator)

Facing Freedom spotlights eight moments in our nation’s past when Americans struggled over the meaning of freedom. The exhibition uses images, artifacts, media, and interactivity to explore familiar and not-so-familiar stories from United States history. From the Civil War to women’s suffrage and Japanese Internment to the founding of the United Farmworkers union, the exhibition examines some of the ways Americans have struggled to define the meaning of freedom.



2009
Matt Lauterbach (Research Assistant)

Lincoln at 200 is a collaborative project of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, the Chicago History Museum, and the Newberry Library. The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War is a digital version of a temporary exhibition at Chicago History Museum (October 10, 2009 to April 4, 2010). Abraham Lincoln and the West, 1809–1860 is a Web-only exhibition.



2005
Matt Lauterbach (Research Assistant)

GIS for History gives history students and teachers the power of GIS to investigate critical moments in American history (for example, here's our Great Migration map). Each investigation provides an interactive GIS map for studying patterns in historical census data over a period of time, a collection of historical documents chosen to help put the data into historical context, and lesson plans created by teachers and university instructors.

The Fiery Trial

October 2009
Matt Lauterbach (Script Development)

The Fiery Trial, a 7-minute film that was part of the "Abraham Lincoln Transformed" exhibit at the Chicago History Museum from October 10, 2009 through April 12. 2010, examines how Lincoln grappled with the issue of slavery. It tells the story of Lincoln's profound transformation from his inaugural promise of "leaving slavery untouched" in the South to arriving at the radical decision to free the slaves by executive order via the Emancipation Proclamation.

Honorable Mention, 2010 Muse Awards: Video
Client: Chicago History Museum

Not available for public viewing.

Generation “O” Demo

July, 2009
Maggie Bowman (Producer)
Matt Lauterbach (Editor)

Generation “O” is a feature-length documentary film that will follow a group of Chicago high school freshman over the next four years—tracking them from President Obama’s inauguration day through their senior year of high school, when they become eligible to vote themselves. The film seeks to explore the impact of the Obama presidency on the students’ lives, families, and neighborhoods.

Not available for public viewing.

The Access Project

May, 2009
Matt Lauterbach (Co-Producer/Director/Editor)
Dinesh Sabu (Co-Producer/Camera & Sound)

The Access Project profiles a model outreach effort at Victory Gardens Theater, designed to involve people with disabilities in all aspects of performance, both on and off the stage. This video highlights assistive services such as sign language interpretation, captioning, and audio-described performances.

Client: Mike Ervin, The Access Project, Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago

The Access Project from Matt Lauterbach on Vimeo.

Cabrini Connections

June, 2009
Matt Lauterbach (Director/Editor)
Dinesh Sabu (Camera)

Cabrini Connections profiles a one-on-one tutoring and mentoring program that serves 7th through 12th grade students living in Chicago's Cabrini-Green public housing.

Client: Chris Warren, Cabrini Connections, Chicago

Cabrini Connections from Matt Lauterbach on Vimeo.

Earworms: The Psychoscience of Memorable Melodies

December 2008
Matt Lauterbach (Producer/Director/Editor)
Self Produced

A tongue-in-cheek (but true!) documentary about Earworms, or songs that get stuck in your head.

Earworms: The PsychoScience of Memorable Melodies from Matt Lauterbach on Vimeo.