Short Vignette on John Gallagher

[Blayne Chastain]

Last year, after filming in Virginia for The Keymaster, I spent a few days with friend & flute maker John Gallagher. I had my camera with me so I couldn't resist...

https://vimeo.com/62305325

[eilam]

that was great !!! John is such a great guy and i love his work. thank you so much for sharing this clip !

[plunk111]

Awesome, Blayne!

I'm still playing (and loving) the flute that John made for you! Great flute maker and a great person - John is one of my favorite people... I always go visit when I attend Augusta (which I plan to do again this year).

Pat

[monkeymonk]

That's beautiful Blayne. Is that a maple flute he's working on?

[plunk111]

It looks like the one he made out of dogwood. I think it was the only one he made of that wood.

Pat

[jim stone]

Thanks. Slice of heaven.

[Blayne Chastain]

Thanks all! You're very welcome

It's a Dogwood Bb he made for me.

Glad you're enjoying the flute Pat! I'm really enjoying his large holed Rudall.

[chas]

Nice clip; I especially enjoyed seeing Colin St Martin play after listening to him for so many years. And also putting a face on John, whom I've talked to a few times. Oh, and seeing someone else besides me who's crazy enough to work in dogwood. It really turns beautifully, a lot like box, but it's so moisture-sensitive.

[Blayne Chastain]

I found that to be true on the the Dogwood. I've actually sent it back to John to re-ream after "acclimating" to Colorado

[NicoMoreno]

It's not the only flute, nor the first flat flute, he's done out of dogwood. He's a great guy, and great to talk to. He's also a really lovely old time fiddle player.

Great video!

[plunk111]

Blayne:

I played that Bb of yours (at least I assume it was yours) while he was working on it. Truly a unique instrument! Sounds like boxwood, but feels lighter in the hand to me.

Pat

[O_Gaiteiro_do_Chicago]

I used to own an 8 keyed dogwood Pratten model from John. It was nice but when I was in his shop to have it tuned up I played an old Rudall he was working on. I really wanted a copy of that flute and that his how his large-hole Rudall model began. I was lucky to play the prototype and I'm even luckier to own the first finished one, a lovely 8 keyed honker. There's not a day that goes my where I loose interest in the flute. I occasionally hug it, its just magnificent. I'm now debating ordering an identical model as a backup flute. Just like the short vignette mentions, John really listens to the needs of his customers, in my case he helped me find perfection.

[Cathy Wilde]

Lovely video, Blayne! Gorgeous shooting and really nice job "capturing" John's special kind of ethos, too. He's such a great guy, and a brilliant craftsman.

Are you guys using Mark IIs or Black Magic or what? The picture is beautiful on both this and the Pat Olwell piece.

[Blayne Chastain]

@O_Gaiteiro_do_Chicago I'm so glad you helped to inspire John making that flute!

Thanks Cathy! - I'm now shooting on a mk3 and L glass (had to upgrade my setup with Jem moving out of the country) but most of that was shot with my trusty 60d and a kit lens! I think I also had a sigma 35mm prime at that stage. Black Magics are too fussy for me at this stage.

On the Olwell doc we used Jem's sony cams (fs100 and vg10) and my 60d as a "C" cam...

Edit: Oh, I did shoot a bunch with the mk3 on the Olwell Doc - I bought it mid stream. Shannon & Seamus's interviews were shot on it as well as much of the Ireland footage and interviews (along with Jem's fs100).

[Cathy Wilde]

I'm amazed at the kind of video we're getting on Mk3s and their kin these days. For TV spots it was shoot film or go home, and now ... happiness. For 30 years I've heard all the arguments about how this or that is almost as good, but not to my eye. Anyway, we first shot with Mark IIs about 4 years ago, and for the first time in my life I said "I'll buy that!"

Just shot a spot with a Black Magic and it seemed pretty well behaved ... though I was only the client, so maybe I missed the "DP in crisis" part

But really, gorgeous work. Good on you both, and thanks for making these!