O Tannenbaum: Toni Dolce

[Toni Dolce]

It was three days before Christmas and we still didn't have a tree, or a video for the competition. We have furiously been working on completing my debut album, which I had just finished the day before (I am primarily a singer!) We decided to tackle both at the same time around 12:30/1am on the night of the 22nd. Near where I live there are a lot of tree vendors that set-camp for the entire month. In the beginning of the video, we show that this one particular vendor still had many remaining trees. However, compared to his initial set-up, this was barebones of a selection! Unfortunately, his prices were rather high and the trees were too big for our apartment.

Then, on our way home, we saw that the corner deli had only one tree remaining- and it seemed to be calling my name! Including the tree stand, the whole thing only cost $20- in comparison to a typical $15-$20 per foot (without a stand) price. What a deal!

On the technical side, we shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, tried a different lens we just acquired - a vintage Nikkor 28mm f2.8 Ai-S, and incorporated an early Christmas present we bought for our business- a slider! My favorite shot is the one where Andy pulls focus on me as I select the little tree. He was laying on the ground, flat on his back to get the shot.

Andy and I are musicians (he is a professional Tuba player) and so the next night we laid down the instrumentals (he played Euphonium and I played Clarinet) as well as the vocals (we both laid down a full chorus of harmonies).

Andy mixed the vocals and instrumentals while I edited, and now we send this little video Christmas Card to you with love! We hope you like it!

O Tannenbaum - YouTube

[Kevin Railsback]

Reminded me of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" Toni.
Sliders certainly add another dimension to camera movement.

Your film certainly brought back some nostalgia of when I was a kid picking out the Christmas tree with the family.
Well shot and scored!

[Lorinda Norton]

Originally Posted by Kevin Railsback

Reminded me of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" Toni.

Ha ha. A little bit, yes! But I'm glad Lucy didn't show up to ruin the mood. :)

This was a very nice story you told without a word, Toni. Excellent camera work that is all motivated--with just the right amount of new slider shots. And your music is quite beautiful! Wishing you all the best on your debut album.

It's always such a pleasure to view yours and Andrew's work. Thank you, and we'll all be looking forward to seeing you again!

[Trond Saetre]

Hi Toni,

I like how you filmed in the dark, and still made such a great result. Very nice!
A good story too. Very similar to my original "plan A", (which did not happen)

As been said already, your music is really good!
Good luck with your album.

Stay with us, and I look forward to see your future films.

[LeRoy Gunderson]

Your film reminded me of days past when we would actually go out and buy a "real" tree for Christmas. It brought back a bunch of good memories.

I enjoyed it very much.

[Paul Wood]

Hi Toni,

I liked your film, and especially liked the camera work - made the story flow.

Best of luck with your album, and keep up the filming - I always enjoy your work!

[Marj Atkins]

This is the best Christmas card ever - a little gem!

Despite the minimal amount of time in which to do this you both accomplished a huge amount and did a superb job of it. You have a simple concept and pulled it off with a variety of beautiful shots and lovely music.

You are both very talented. Best wishes for your debut album.

BTW - I am totally astounded by the price of Christmas trees in New York!

(We don’t get Christmas trees here in that form. They are either plastic trees or mainly young pine saplings potted for the occasion. Most are generally planted out into the garden afterwards – with major problems twenty years down the line for those who don’t know what they are doing because they grow so big! They usually become good lightning conductors. My neighbor had two trees. One was planted outside the front window so they cut off the lower branches so they could see out. When the lightning struck it, it literally blew up where those branches were removed sending bits to the top of our street. Their house protected ours. The tree fell very neatly sideways between their house and the front wall – in the opposite direction of our boundary wall! The second tree in the back garden was struck several years later and this time the top half fell over - once again missing our wall and their house – they were very fortunate because the consequences could have been very costly!)

[Bill Thesken]

Toni, it is awesome, quick and to the point, brought a little tear to my eye I admit. I just took our tree to the re-cycle center after a nice Christmas season. Your film captures perfectly the feeling leading up to those happy days.