Tim Frakes Productions

Visit my new Web Site!

2009-05-26T11:40:00.002-05:00

Tim Frakes Productions has moved to:

www.frakesproductions.com

Come visit!

Friday Night Soccer in Haiti

2008-05-19T16:29:00.004-05:00

(View this story at my new web site location)
High in the Haitian hills, near the border with the Dominican Republic lies the village of Thiotte. That evening, we made our way to the far side of town for a soccer match. The local team versus a nearby village. It seemed like every young person in town was there. The crowd formed a ring round the dusty field as the two teams, wearing used American uniforms, battled for bragging rights. It was a lovely, cool evening. The setting sun cast a golden hue as fans cheered on their team and vendor hawked their wares.

Thiotte emerged victorious, beating the visitors 2-0. The fans erupted in wild cheering. Players joyfully ripped off their jerseys, twirling them in the air.

Celebrating their victory, the team and fans ran off the field and down a narrow jungle path. As we jogged, I imagined we were headed for a large victory celebration. To my surprise, we popped back out on the road in the middle of town. It turned out the crowd was just going home. Since everyone walks in Haiti, I think they were just using the emotion of the victory to propel them on their way.
www.frakesproductions.com

30 Good Minutes and Tim Frakes Productions

2008-05-17T06:53:00.003-05:00

(View this story at my new web site location)

May 17, 2008
CHICAGO Tim Frakes Productions and the Chicago Sunday Evening Club will be working together this summer. The Chicago Sunday Evening Club produces 30 Good Minutes, a television broadcast and web site that features some of the leading voices in religion, as well as the stories of everyday people whose lives reflect the rich tapestry of religious life in America. 30 Good Minutes airs here in Chicago, Sunday evenings on Channel 11, WTTW.

The agreement includes the production of five 3-minute video segments, or feature stories that profile persons who demonstrate a unique or particularly interesting faith testimony.

Production has already begun on a story that profiles writer Anne Bayse. Bayse is the author of Sustaining Simplicity: A Journal. The segment will focus on simple living and faith.

The agreement represents a return to Chicago broadcast television production for Tim Frakes. Mr. Frakes began his career a WCFC-TV 38 where he served as a producer in the 1980's and early 1990's.

www.frakesproductions.com

The Rock Churches of Gokyurt, Turkey

2008-05-13T20:27:00.002-05:00

(View this post at my new web site)

This is footage from a video I did abou the Life of Apostle Paul with Rick Steves.

High on a hilltop in rural Turkey is the ancient village of Gokyurt. It is called Lystra in the Bible. The book of Acts tells us that Paul and Barnabas were hailed as Gods when they healed a lame man here around 64 A.D. Later, the town's folk turned on them and they were stoned.

Dotting the ridge around the village are limestone rock outcroppings. Nested in the rocks are caves once used as dwellings and early Christian churches.

For the next two hours, two locals showed us around. In the years after Paul and Barnabas, a small Christian community developed here. One cave is a carved rock basilica. Archeologists have excavated other caves; their entrances blocked by iron gates. Some are used to store hay for the sheep. We couldn't communicate very well with our hosts, but they gave us a grand tour anyway. At the conclusion, we offered to pay them for their time. They refused, shook our hands, waved good-bye and walked back into the village.

www.frakesproductions.com

Eskimo Sunrise

2008-05-05T13:37:00.001-05:00

We land on a gravel airstrip outside Brevig Mission, Alaska. It is a rainy September afternoon. Brevig is a fishing village located on the Seward Peninsular, 80 miles northwest of Nome. We spend the afternoon getting settled. In the evening, Eskimo friends invite us home for an evening of hymn singing. Around 9p.m. the party wrapped up. Poking my head outside, I notice the clouds have lifted and the sun is setting. Grabbing my camera, I run out to the edge of the village to record some boys fishing with bows and arrows. The light is great, so I am in a hurry to capture the scene before the sun set. After 20 minutes, it dawns on me that the sun is not going to set here on the Arctic Circle!
www.frakesproductions.com

Sadarghat Boat Terminal, Dhaka, Bangladesh

2008-05-02T13:41:00.001-05:00

The Buriganga River runs through Dhaka, Bangladesh. Friends and I visited the Sadarghat Boat Terminal. Bangladesh is a nation of rivers. Much of the country is under water. During the monsoon, nearly all of it is under water. Bangladesh has a lot of boats. Thousands of crafts congregate at the Sadarghat Boat Terminal.

Big ships, little ships and tiny dugout canoes ferrying goods and people across a river as wide as the Mississippi. The entrance to the terminal is a simple opening in the fence. Commuters stream through a gate and down a muddy slope to the water?s edge. Men sitting at an old wooden table collect a fee of 10 Taka (5 cents US).

A marching band dressed in full uniforms with green caps and gold epaulets appeared. They carried their instruments as if ready to strike up a tune. I asked them to play, and for a few Taka play they did! Not good, but they sure could make noise. The scene at the waters edge is a bit like a cabstand. Hundreds of hand-paddled gondola similar to those you might see in Venice crams onto the beach.

We climbed aboard and sat on straw mats thrown on the deck as the oarsmen shoved off. His one oar provides the power. It was like bumper cars. The big ships don't pay much attention to the little ones. Our canoe constantly crashed into other canoes, or dodged the larger ships, which were trying to squeeze in.

It is amazing to see how much stuff they can cram onto their boats. Some vessels were so full of cargo, water nearly came up over the gunwales. Why they don't sink is a mystery. Larger boats with diesel motors can carry passenger or cargo. After several near collisions we returned to shore.
www.frakesproductions.com

Lilacia Park, Lombard, Illinois

2008-05-02T05:58:00.002-05:00

Each spring the lilacs bloom in Lombard Illinois' Lilacia Park. www.frakesproductions.com

Making Gravel in Dhaka, Bangladesh

2008-04-30T18:57:00.002-05:00

Think you have a lousy job? Take a look at these guys making gravel at a construction site in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dhaka is the capitol and principal city of Bangladesh. Many live on less than a dollar a day.
www.frakesproductions.com

Strategic Air & Space Museum

2008-04-29T11:35:00.004-05:00

On my way home from a shoot in Ashland, Nebraska, I stopped by the Strategic Air & Space Museum.

The Strategic Air Command (SAC) was in charge of America's land-based bomber aircraft and land-based ballistic missile strategic nuclear arsenal during the Cold War.

My parent's neighbor and friend, Don Brook was a SAC pilot. Don is a fine guy, full of colorful stories. So, I decided to stop by and take a look. I am neither a militarist nor a pacifist. My views fall somewhere between.

The museum staff emphasizes that no government money went into funding the shinny new facility. However, the government sure spent some bucks on the hardware.
www.frakesproductions.com

Micro Enterprise and Silk Production in Bangladesh

2008-04-19T12:43:00.003-05:00

Have you ever wondered how silk is made? Outside Saidpur, Bangladesh I toured a silk production facility. The small factory is a non-profit operation (RDRS) that provides jobs and economic opportunity for women in this poor nation.

The silkworm is the caterpillar of Bombyx mori, the domesticated silk moth. The silk moth is entirely dependent on humans for its reproduction and no longer occurs naturally in the wild.

At the factory, the women, dressed in colorful saris, collect and sort huge piles of golden silkworm cocoons. Once sorted, the cocoons are immersed large into vats of boiling hot water.

This is bad news for the silkworms inside the cocoons! The hot water sparks a chemical reaction that allows the spun cocoon to unravel. Silkworm cocoons are natural bobbins made of one continuous strand of silk thread. After boiling, the cocoons are cooled and taken to a loom and unraveled.

The raw silk thread is then wound onto a spindle, dried and shipped to a textile factory.

www.frakesproductions.com

Independent videographer shares his calling

2008-04-18T15:38:00.005-05:00

This article appeared in the April 17, 2008 edition of "CHIPS" the Luther College Campus Newspaper.

Former ELCA video producer brings his story to Luther
By: Melanie Wargowski, Staff Writer
“Are you stressed about your future? Are you suffering from anxiety?” Tim Frakes’ opening words at chapel generated groans and nods of agreement from listeners.

Frakes was on campus April 7-9 as a Sense of Vocation visitor. He is an award-winning independent videographer who has produced major video documentaries in over 19 countries.

Along with speaking in chapel, Frakes visited classes, held a video production workshop and hosted an open discussion on campus. He gave students advice about discovering their vocations and talked about the path that led him to his own.

“Anxiety is a great motivator,” he said. “It’s like walking on a tightrope with no net. It’s exciting and energizing. It keeps your attention focused, and if nothing else, it gets you out of bed in the morning.”

In his conversations with students, Frakes discussed his understanding of vocation as a God-driven calling.

“Whatever honorable work you do is a holy calling from God,” he said. “What a blessing it is to fulfill that calling. Once we recognize it, there are two things we have to do: obey it and trust that God will work out the details.”

Frakes also emphasized the important role individuals play in living out their own sense of vocation.

“The moment you realize what you’re called to do, figure out what it will take to make it happen,” he said. “What market are you going to go into? Who do you need to contact?”

Sending e-mails to prospective companies, planning corporate visits and networking are key steps to achieving a career in any field, Frakes explained. Also, individuals looking for a job can benefit by reading trade publications and staying up-to-date on the organization and industry they are interested in.

“It’s never too early to start,” he said.

Frakes got his first job at a Chicago newspaper when he was a junior in high school. He attended Harding University, a small Christian liberal arts school in Arkansas. He first studied journalism, then radio broadcasting and finally settled on television production before graduating with a degree in mass communication.

After college, Frakes got a job at a Chicago television station. Over the following seven years, he worked his way up to a position as a producer. He then moved on to a corporate job with the network, where he spent four years producing videos. In that position, he worked with a wide variety of clients. One client he frequently produced videos for was the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

“I was working with them so often that they hired me to be their chief video producer,” Frakes said. “It turned out to be a blessing in a lot of ways.”

In his position with the ELCA, Frakes had the opportunity to make many interesting videos. His work took him all over the world: Africa, Asia, the South Pacific, the Caribbean and Europe.

“It was a great job,” he explained. “I liked the people I was working with, and I found meaning in what I was doing.”

Last March, after 14 years with the ELCA, Frakes left his position and started his own video production company.

“I could have worked with the ELCA until I was ready to retire, but I felt called to do something more,” he said.

Through his work with his company, Tim Frakes Productions, Frakes still gets to travel the world. He works for a wide variety of both corporate and non-profit clients. His recent projects include video shoots in the Palestinian West Bank and Nairobi, Kenya.

“I’m doing now what God was calling me to do all along,” he said.

2008-04-17T15:26:00.002-05:00

Effigy Mounds National Monument is located in North East Iowa along the banks of the Mississippi River. In the centuries before Columbus arrived from Europe, a mysterious native culture built thousands of dirt mounds across the Upper Midwestern Untied States. Often, these mounds took the shape of animals; birds, bears, etc. Effigy Mounds National Monument features 31 separate mounds.

From the ground, they look like ordinary dirt mounds. From the air, the mounds reveal their true artistry. Very little is known about these mound building cultures. The people who built them left few clues about themselves.
www.frakesproductions.com

2008-04-16T15:22:00.002-05:00

Bukoba, Tanzania is located along the shores of Lake Victoria. In May you can witness the hatching of the Lake Flies... clouds of them. If you've ever seen a Mayfly hatch, you know what I mean. Lake Flies are about the size of a mosquito, but they don't seem to bite. We stayed at a guesthouse along the shore. The flies swarm in clusters over every sidewalk. To get from one building to the next, you have to run the gauntlet.
www.frakesproductions.com

Streetlights Music Video

2008-04-15T21:16:00.003-05:00

In February 2007 I visited Ziway, Ethiopia with Food for the Hungry. We were shooting footage for a music video with the Christian band "Willet". Here are the results.
www.frakesproductions.com

Internally Displaced Persons in Kenya

2008-04-08T07:17:00.003-05:00

Last month I was in Nairobi, Kenya. My friend George Arende took us to an IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camp outside the Madera Slum. Following the national elections in December, ethnic/tribal violence erupted across Kenya.

Typically, it is the poor who suffer the most. The people in this video were forced to flee their slum homes with what they could carry. Now, they make their homes in tents, supplied by ACT International, the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church and others.

www.frakesproductions.com

Tim Frakes At Luther College

2008-03-30T07:52:00.003-05:00

Next week I will be speaking at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. My friend, Dr. Mark Johns asked me to come out and share some of my travel wisdom, or lack there of... Here is a news release from the college.
Videographer Tim Frakes to serve as Sense of Vocation visitor April 7-9
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Public Information, 563-387-1865

Tim Frakes, award winning videographer, will be on the Luther College campus April 7-9 serving as a Sense of Vocation visitor.
During his time on campus, Frakes will hold an open forum discussion on Monday, April 7 at 5 p.m. in the Olin Building, Room 102 and a video production workshop on Tuesday, April 8 at 6 p.m. in the Center for the Arts, Room 118.

In addition, he will meet with students who are interested in video and offer tips on how to shoot and edit.

Frakes will speak at Chapel at 10:30 a.m. and host a brown bag lunch on Wednesday, April 9 at 11:30 a.m. in the Borlaug Room, speaking on “Stories from the Road.”

All events are open to the public with no charge for admission.

Franks holds a degree in mass communication from Harding University. Prior to founding Tim Frakes Production in March 2007, he worked for ELCA in Chicago as the chief video producer for 14 years.

He has produced and directed numerous award winning documentary and image videos across the United States, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean the South Pacific and Europe. Prior to joining the ELCA staff, Frakes spent seven years in broadcast television with WCFC-TV in Chicago and spent four years producing corporate video productions in the Chicago market.

Frakes latest project was a video documentary on genocide in Uganda and aired on the NBC network in December 2007.

John Jacobson for Congress

2008-03-26T08:02:00.003-05:00

My friend, John Jacobson is running for United States Congress in Northern California's second district. Last weekend, we trekked across the district meeting people and recording footage. Northern California is a beautiful place to visit, especially when it is snowing in Chicago! This is one of several 30-second campaign spots we produced.
www.frakesproductions.com

Nairobi Web Video Workshop Complete

2008-03-20T16:03:00.006-05:00

Our web video workshop in Nairobi came to a close Tuesday. Participants, pictured left to right included: (front row) George Arende, Xavier Ravelomanantsoa, Mammy Ranaivoson,Christine Mangale, (back row) Andy Hinderlie, Abraham Data, Len Mason, David Ntidendeza and myself.

Workshop participants learned to shoot, edit and upload video the web. Training also included a digital photography session with freelance journalist Stephen Padre, a web development session with Len Mason, lots of good East African food, fellowship and memories.

For more on the workshop go to: http://nairobivideotrainingworkshop.blogspot.com/

www.frakesproductions.com

Nairobi Web Video Workshop Photo Essay

2008-03-16T22:52:00.002-05:00

As our web video workshop draws to a close here in Nairobi, Kenya, I've put together a random photo essay documenting some of the places we visited, the people we met and images of our participants in action.

The music is a Maasai children's choir we recorded at the Olerum Lutheran Church in Kajiado Parish. Other images include a market in Nairobi, life in a traditional Maasai home, and participants editing video clips at the Methodist Guest House Conference Center in Nairobi. The Maasai are an indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania.

www.frakesproductions.com

The Carnivour Restaurant

2008-03-14T13:35:00.003-05:00

My friends Sarah and Stephen Padre and their infant daughter Alexia took us to dinner tonight at one of Kenya's most famous restaurants. The Carnivore is unique. Every type of meat imaginable, including crocodile, is roasted on traditional Maasai swords (skewers) over a huge, visually spectacular charcoal pit that dominates the entrance of the restaurant. The waiters carry swords around the restaurant, carving unlimited amounts meat onto sizzling, cast iron plates. I'm full!.

Kenya Lutheran Toy Maker

2008-03-13T22:34:00.003-05:00

This woodshop operated by the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church provides jobs for at risk youth.
www.frakesproductions.com

IDP Camp in Nairobi, Kenya

2008-03-13T15:28:00.003-05:00

Today we scouted locations for our web video training workshop here in Nairobi, Kenya. This woman cooks beans over an open fire. She is living in an internally displaced person (IDP) camp on the outskirts of the city. She and her family were forced to flee their homes in a nearby slum following post election ethnic violence in January 2008.

Members of this makeshift community survive in tents provided by ACT International, World Vision and UNICEF.
www.frakesproducitons.com

The Hague Netherlands

2008-03-11T23:24:00.002-05:00

Len Mason and I stopped in The Hague Netherlands on our way to Nairobi, Kenya. I took a few shots and uploaded them. The weather was cold and grey, but the city was beautiful anyway.
www.frakesproductions.com

Roman Ruins, Perge Turkey

2008-02-29T11:51:00.002-06:00

Perge, Turkey is a world class archeological site. An important Roman shipping port during its heyday, it was abandoned centuries ago. Now, the only visitors come on tour busses from Side. It must have been a large city. The ruins include a stadium, a theater, public baths that still hold water and a colossal arched city gate.

New Testament characters Paul and Barnabas passed through here on the way to Antioch in Pisidia around 50 AD. It was also at this point that Barnabas?s nephew, Mark, decided to turn back. Maybe the sight of a major Roman city and its garrison of soldiers gave him second thoughts? Paul and Barnabas pressed on, so did we.

This footage appears in "The Life of Apostle Paul with Rick Steves."
www.frakesproductions.com

Chennai India after the Tsunami

2008-02-27T18:35:00.003-06:00

A month after the December 26, 2004 Tsunami that rocked countries bordering the Indian Ocean, I visited Chennai, India. Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is a city in Tamil Nadu. Chennai was hit by the wave, and was just beginning to recover when we arrived. Judging from this footage, it is hard to tell that anything happened at all. Scenes include a Shiva Temple, street traffic and the beach.

This footage also appears in "Beyond Tsunami"
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