From Dreams to Digital Reality

BY ALINA MURCAR

While sitting on the side of a decadent multilayer wedding cake may be out of the ordinary for Madam Twirl, for Ryan Tucker, Video Education Specialist at Spokane Public Library, it’s just another Tuesday.

On any given day, Ryan can be seen helping yoga instructors make accessible videos for individuals who can’t make it into studios, helping a seven-year-old make a video tour of the construction of her LEGO® house, preparing skits for our “late night” quarterly talk show, Lilac City Live, or helping create matrimonial magic with his editing skills! As a retired wedding and events planner with more than 800 celebrations and weddings-worth of experience, Madam Twirl wanted to create a fourmodule wedding guide for couples who are doing DIY weddings to help them get the most for their money.

“Celebrations are the fabric that holds society together and I believe that everybody deserves to be wellcelebrated. That’s why I really want to help get this course out there at an affordable price. The people that most appreciate first-class service are the people who don’t always get to sit in first class,” said Madam Twirl.

With this four-module course meant to represent four tiers of a wedding cake - Madam Twirl knew she needed higher-quality videography than just what she could use on her phone. When Madam Twirl found out about the Video Studio at Central Library, she immediately booked a session with Ryan.

Together, Ryan and Madam Twirl produced 8-9 “Weducational” videos ranging from 3-15 minutes long throughout multiple sessions. They also had enough time to shoot some promo videos to market this series!

You may still be wondering how Madam Twirl ended up perfectly perched on the side of a wedding cake. The answer is simple: the Video Studio green screen! Along with a green screen, patrons have access to a black background, plain white walls, special overhead and directional lights, a variety of video cameras, microphones, and an editing bay complete with Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premier, OBS, and Davinci Resolve. Access to all of this cutting-edge equipment is available for free with your library card!

“Without the library and without Ryan’s help, inspiration, and guidance, I would probably have given up by now. I have the creative side and knew what I wanted to do but putting it all together and sorting it all out was too much. I am super grateful for the services that the library offers,” said Madam Twirl.

Whether you have a video idea and simply need the equipment or you need some help along the way, you have access to multiple options at Spokane Public Library. You can book the Video Studio during open hours or you can reserve time with our Video Education Specialist, Ryan, in addition to getting access to the Video Studio. Find both options on our website at spokanelibrary.org/media-studios.