Addictive, in a good way

Psychiatrist develops passion for independent filmmaking using Adobe Video Collection, including Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Audition, Adobe Encore DVD, and Photoshop CS software

When Ken Koenig decided to create an independent film, it was a major departure from his day job. A psychiatrist by profession, Koenig wanted a pastime that he could enjoy during his future retirement, one that would combine his longtime interest in computers, film, photography, and jazz.

What was a casual interest has grown to a serious passion, and Koenig has become as skilled at filmmaking and editing as a professional in the field. Using his home computer and Adobe® Video Collection software, including Adobe Premiere® Pro, Adobe Audition®, Adobe Encore® DVD, and Photoshop® CS software, Koenig is creating “Jazz on the West Coast: The Lighthouse,” a feature documentary film focused on a famous West Coast jazz club. According to Koenig, it wouldn't be possible without Adobe Premiere Pro.

“Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Audition work in such an integrated way with Adobe Premiere Pro that no matter what I drop on the adobe Premiere timeline- Audio or stills- I can edit them smoothly. The Adobe environment feels like one big professional filmmaking package.”

-Ken Koenig,
independent documentary filmmaker

“Until recently, independent filmmakers had to either rent or purchase high-end gear costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Or, we could use cost-effective desktop workflows and tools, but may not be able to achieve the quality and efficiency we wanted,” says Koenig. “Adobe Video Collection, especially Adobe Premiere Pro, changes all that by giving indie filmmakers exceptional quality and an easy workflow, all at a price point we can afford.”

Carving out a place in jazz history

Koenig's documentary focuses on the Howard Rumsey Lighthouse All-Stars, a jazz group that played at the Lighthouse Café nightclub in Hermosa Beach, California, during the 1950s and early 1960s. At the time, the Lighthouse Café was the premier jazz club in the Los Angeles area. It was widely renowned, and many jazz fans made pilgrimages to the Lighthouse from all over the world. Today, the club is not so widely known and, according to Koenig, the Lighthouse has not claimed its rightful place in jazz history.

Howard Rumsey founded and led the Lighthouse All-Stars, whose unique jazz style featured the innovative use of the oboe/flute combination.

Bud Shank is on flute, Bob Cooper is on oboe, and Claude Williamson is on piano.

Workflow integration is key

“Jazz on the West Coast: The Lighthouse” is rich with history and, of course, it features a gorgeous soundtrack. Jazz artists who played at the Lighthouse include big names such as Art Pepper, Miles Davis, Bud Shank, Shorty Rogers, and Charlie Parker. The two men who started the club — owner John Levine and bass player Howard Rumsey — both had struggles to overcome in order to achieve success. The film not only focuses on the outstanding jazz performances but also features the two owners' personal issues, including Levine's gambling issues and Rumsey's arrest for distribution of marijuana. In addition, racial prejudice was rampant in Hermosa Beach at the time, and many in the community were opposed to having a jazz club featuring black jazz musicians who drew mixed African-American and Caucasian crowds. The documentary focuses on the struggles that arose from these conflicts.

To produce the project, Koenig began by gathering a wide array of source materials. He used a Canon GL2 video camera in miniDV format to capture 25 original interviews, including one with Howard Rumsey. Koenig also obtained stills and video from the Los Angeles Jazz Institute and institutions such as the Library of Congress, UCLA, and Deans of West Coast Photography for incorporating into the video.

A psychiatrist by profession, Ken Koenig has become a passionate independent filmmaker. Adobe Premiere Pro software gives him a cost-effective, powerful editing environment.

Audio restoration is also paramount because many of the tracks are decades old and have begun to deteriorate. “Adobe Audition has made it easy to remove clicks, pops, hisses, and other extraneous noises from verbal interviews or other soundtracks and incorporate them into my film,” says Koenig. “I'm not a trained audio engineer, but Adobe Audition is so intuitive yet powerful that I haven't had to open a technical manual.”

Adobe Photoshop software is also vital to this project for the same reason: Many of the source photos are scratched, faded, or otherwise damaged. Koenig is using Photoshop to repair images and also increase their clarity, contrast, or other attributes before incorporating them into the film.

“Adobe Premiere Pro provides everything a professional would want, including real-time editing, so you can see the results of your work immediately, without waiting for sequences to render.”

-Ken Koenig,
independent documentary filmmaker

Professional editing with muscle to spare

Upon combining footage, stills, and music, Koenig began adding transitions and correcting color in Adobe Premiere Pro. “I've heard that Adobe Premiere used to be called the 90-pound weakling of nonlinear editing,” jokes Koenig. “But since Adobe entirely rewrote the software, it is a muscle-bound champion. Adobe Premiere Pro provides everything a professional would want, including real-time editing, so you can see the results of your work immediately, without waiting for sequences to render.”

Koenig will soon be submitting his documentary to film festivals and securing a distributor. He also plans to use Adobe Encore DVD to develop a supplemental DVD including snippets of interviews cut from the film and discographies of the All-Stars.

According to Koenig, “Jazz on the West Coast: The Lighthouse” won't be his last independent film project. “Independent filmmaking is addictive, in a good way,” he says. As a psychiatrist, Koenig would know.