November/December 2010

We've been working hard the last two months here at Northern Light, on a mix of projects that took us from our backyard of Boston to equatorial Africa. Not a bad way to finish off the year.

In November we began production work on the new Waterworks Museum, just down the road from the NLP office. This place is one of Boston's hidden historical gems: two indoor multistory pumping systems--chrome, steel, wood-paneled, and massive--that used to move millions of gallons of water up hill and into the taps of 19th century Bostonians. To accompany these towering artifacts, we're creating a three-screen show that takes the audience back in time to the grand opening of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir pumping station, as well as other media pieces that explain the mechanics and impact of the waterworks facility. It'll be opening to the public in March 2011.

As for geographically medium range trips, Northern Light was in Washington, DC and New York filming interviews for the Lao Gai Research Foundation. We spoke to some amazing people who had endured horrendous treatment in the Chinese prison system and graciously shared their stories with us. Their fierce perseverance and perspective will make this small museum about China's biggest secret truly remarkable.

We also traveled to Las Vegas to conduct our initial interviews for the Mob Museum, including one with Mayor Oscar Goodman. After only one trip we can tell that, with a little digging, there are some seriously wild stories to unearth from the sand and steel of Sin City... and maybe a few other things too.

To round out our globetrotting, Northern Light sent a team to Guinea with Artcirq, the Inuit circus group from northern Canada. Because of political unrest due to recent elections, a military-enforced curfew, and sporadic protests and gunfire, Artcirq was delayed by several days. But we spent time with Kalabante, an equally stunning African circus group preparing to host Artcirq. And when Artcirq finally did arrive, much circusing commenced. Check out photos and footage from the trip at the Artcirq Facebook page.

To help get ourselves focused on 2011 we landed a new project for the Ford Theatre in DC. The piece will be a multi-screen interactive look at president Lincoln's legacy, housed just across the street from where we was shot. We're looking forward to getting started on that project and everything else 2011 has in store. Happy New Year!