Lesson 5 / Lección 5 / Leçon 5 / Урок 5

Hi, everybody! It's not that I'm lazy, but I've simply had no time to blog something, at least, nothing of interest. Besides, right now I'm pretty busy in the office at Kleine Zeitung as my collegue is on vacation, so there's not really much to say. But now I've just finished my 5th German Lesson and I proudly present you the following links:

English version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cMzhd8bxSE

French version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxN3AMx6Ato

Spanish version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__LUYIx3bks

Russian version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPjnUc3LOm8

So, hope you enjoy it.

I've got to update the website of my sister-in-law, Alexandra Reinprecht, a very talented opera singer. She's got her debut of the operette "Zarewitsch" in Mörbisch. So, there's always something to do for me.

Danube Island Festival 2010

Ready! Just loaded up my "masterpiece", a musical short-cut of the Danube Island Festival that took place last weekend. I'm quiet proud of it as I did it with only one camera and it's been a lot of cutting work on the computer. So, here's the result:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVHaIcBnlZk

Hope, you'll like it. Now I can concentrate on my next German Lesson, which will also be about the Danube Island and the Festival. As I'll have to "shrink" the musical short cuts in favour to my German Lesson, I wanted to give you the possibility to watch the full video that I've produced, anyway!

Donauinselfest - Day 3

Crowds of people as far as the eye can see and guess what? Yeah, I actually made it to the very first row!! I really got a brilliant position for my video recordings. I've been there about four hours earlier, waiting for the main act, our local legend Reinhard Fendrich. Everybody in Vienna knows his songs and the crowd sang along with him. It's really been a great atmosphere. The groups before Fendrich were also pretty good - The Dubliners, Die Seer and lots of other not so well known artists. I enjoyed the whole show, though a few steps behind me a man collapsed and fainted away. The securities had quiet some difficulties to lift the heavy weight guy up and carry him over the metal barrier that separated the crowd from the stage. Don't know what happened to him, but I hope he's well.
So, now my real work starts - post production!!!!

Donauinselfest - Day 2

This is Manuel Ortega, one of the many artists that performed on the Danube Island Festival. I tried to film as many bands and singers as possible and hurried from one stage to another. Though the atmosphere is really great, I'm a bit glad that today is the last day. My feet are really hurting and I'm pretty tired. It'll be a lot of work cutting all the acts in post-production. Guess, I'll enter the Guiness Book of Records as the one who filmed (as a single person with only one camera) as many acts as possible.
Sorry, gotta go now, last day of the festival - last torture!

Donauinselfest - Day 1

Yesterday I've been on the Danube Island Festival to prepare lesson no. 5 of my German course. The weather was very pleasant, not too hot, not too cold. In the beginning there were not too many people and so I could get quiet close to the stages. But towards evening things changed and the path leading from one stage to the other was overcrowded. Yet I managed to push myself through. The picture on the right shows me stuck in the middle of enthusiastic Billy Idol fans. Unfortunately I was a bit too far away from the stage, but I'll have to check it on my video. Maybe I can use at least some video-shots.
Another thing: It was so difficult to determine who was singing on all those stages, as lesser-known artists didn't wear name tags around their neck. I've also had some difficulties to find the right stages. Though there was an orientation map with numbers, there were no numbers in front of the stages, so I only could make a guess. I enjoyed it anyway (despite running up and down for about four hours). Today the madness continues ...

Lesson 4 / Lección 4 / Leçon 4 / Урок 4

Just uploaded my 4th German lesson. You can choose from four languages. This time it's all about the Vienna Zoo in Schönbrunn. It took me about 3 days to get all the animals in front of my camera. Don't ask me how long I had to work on post-production, cutting and inserting texts. (had to solve another computer problem). Anyway, I'm quiet satisfied with the result and hope, you'll like it.
I'm already working on the concept for lesson no. 5, which will be about the Danube Island (and the festival, of course). It is the biggest european open air festival, lasting three (hopefully sunny) days and attracting millions of people from all over the world. I've already been there yesterday to film some preparations. It's been a strange feeling, because it seemed to me as if I were the only spectators on that day. All around me just technicians and stage workers. Well, I'll tell you more about it ....

House building Level IV

Well, it's getting bigger. Despite the heavy rainfalls during the last weeks (or shall I say months?) the construction works went on and the result isn't that bad. By the end of next week they wanna be ready with the first floor, which would be really amazing. The only thing that isn't too good is the water all around the house and in the cellar. As there's no roof yet, it's raining in and frankly, I don't know how they wanna get rid of all the water, but I'm very positive that they will manage it somehow. Thank God, the weather forecast for the next weeks isn't that bad so I'm still hoping for some sunny days. At least, it's summer!!!!