The Pedal Powered Talk Show (2011 - present) Creator, Producer, Host It was born at an early morning brainstorming session with Phillip Ross of Metrofiets Cargo Bikes. That's where we first came up with idea of building a talk show desk into a bicycle. Thanks to generous support from Keen Footwear we built the one-of-a-kind bike/desk and a few months later we were riding around Portland and interviewing Daniel Baldwin on the roof of a downtown hotel. Airing online and on local television The Pedal Powered Talk Show is a quirky fast-paced interview show appealing to Portland's bike-centric culture. Check out PedalTalkShow.com for more information. Un-Road Trip (2008 - present)Creator/Producer I was feeling a little antsy so I decided to take a road trip... except without the car part. Armed with a camcorder and supported by some generous sponsors, (Keen Footwear, Clif Bar, Columbia Sportswear, Crystal Deodorant, and others), I set off on a 12,000 mile journey using 101 modes of transportation- everything I could think of except the gas-powered car. I've always enjoyed discovering alternative vehicles, and I was excited about exploring sustainable transportation on a cross-country trip. I documented the trip in real-time at UnRoadTrip.com as I traveled by canoe, camel, paraglider, motorized cooler, pneumatic pogo and dozens of other modes of transportation. The website received thousands of visitors and attracted coverage from TreeHugger.com, NBC's Today Show, CBC Canadian News, and many others. After the trip, I worked with the folks at Halogen TV to turn my footage into a 10-episode series. I served as co-producer and head writer of the series which can now be seen online at HalogenTV.com/UnRoadTrip. Watch footage from the trip here or check out UnRoadTrip.com for more information.
Every once in a while an idea will pop into my head and I just can't stop thinking about it. That's what happened when I heard about the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle, one of rarest insects in the world that only lives within the city limits of Lincoln, NE. I flew out to Lincoln during the few week period that the beetle emerges to mate and filmed interviews with entomologists, Fish & Wildlife employees, developers, and concerned citizens. And did I mention it's a musical too? After a successful Kickstarter campaign I finished the film which is now starting to screen at film festivals across America. Check out the trailer or visit BeetleMovie.com for more information.
Earth Day 2010 (2010) US Project Manager The Un-Road Trip led me to a gig as US Project Manager at Earth Day Network (the organization founded by the creators of the original Earth Day). In addition to coordinating Earth Day events around the nation I also produced and edited over a dozen videos and PSAs that streamed across the globe and aired on the Jumbotrons at our event on DC's National Mall to around 200,000 folks. Here are a few of the pieces I produced:
The management at Groupee.com became fans of some of my past online projects and they recruited me to help launch a new online music/entertainment portal. I moved out to Seattle and developed a lineup of original web shows for the site. I helped train a small team in video production and editing and we got to work producing segments with local and national bands and covering music festivals from Bumbershoot to SXSW.
I contributed entertainment reports to Al Gore's cable channel including pieces with Donald Trump, Sarah Silverman, and the cast of FOX's Family Guy. And not only did I get to meet Al Gore, but I also hugged him once. Check out my segment with the cast of Family Guy here:
Spurred by the lack of programming on college TV stations, I co-created Clips & Quips, an offbeat entertainment talk show that aired on university stations nationwide for three years. We traveled the country going behind the scenes of shows like The Office, covering the Sundance Film Festival, and interviewing hundreds of actors, directors, musicians, and authors. Over the run of the show I flossed with Samuel L. Jackson, taught Sarah Silverman the rules of dreidel, played kazoo with Jack Black, discussed nun-chucks with Keira Knightley, and even made an appearance on ABC's One Life to Live. Check out some highlights from Clips & Quips here:
Clips & Quips from Boaz Frankel on Vimeo.
Not exactly video related, but while in Seattle I also opened the only kazoo museum west of the Mississippi. With a collection comprised of nearly a hundred diverse kazoos- some over a hundred years old- The Kazoo Museum quickly became renowned as a source for kazoos and kazoo-related information across the Pacific Northwest. The museum recently reopened at a kazoo factory in Beaufort, SC. The Kazoo Museum welcomes visitors Monday - Thursday, 9AM - 5PM and admission is free! Visit KazooMuseum.org for more information.
What can you do with three weeks and two hundred kids? Produce an epic musical! At least that's what I did for two summers in a row as the filmmaking specialist at Willowbrook Summer Arts Program. Working with campers aged 8-18, we wrote, composed, filmed and edited two fifteen minute long musicals about - what else - a day at camp. Watch the epic musical here:
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