Washington Post Video

(click through for the interactive project on washingtonpost.com)

What matters in a pro kitchen: instant reaction, mindless repetition and crisp, efficient maneuvers. Restaurants run on the French “kitchen brigade” system, modeled after a military hierarchy more than a century ago. There’s the chef, a couple of lieutenants (the sous-chefs), and a platoon of line cooks —the kitchen infantry — manning stations assigned by menu category: appetizers, fish, meat and so on.

It has to be this way. The restaurant kitchen is a highly physical place, and if the saucier lunging toward the stove collides with the meat cook slinging plated quail toward the waiters, there will be a meltdown. Chefs, like generals, know they have two choices: discipline or chaos.

Watch the cook staff at the height of dinner service — the open-kitchen trend has put them increasingly on view — and you’ll see an intricate ballet. A refined body awareness and familiarity allows these tattooed Baryshnikovs to dance silently around one another between flashing knives and a stove at full flame.

“There’s a kind of wonderful grace that only happens when people are really good at what they do, and they adjust to each other’s motions,” says Ruth Reichl, former editor in chief of Gourmet magazine.

- Sarah Kaufmann / The Washington Post “At CityZen, chefs cook up sweet moves”

This interactive project was a collaboration between videojournalist Ben de la Cruz, Pulitzer prize winning dance critic Sarah Kaufman, and interactive web designer Grace Koerber.

This occasional series looks at the choreography of life, and this first installment, set in CityZen, focuses on the delicate dance of waiters, chefs and patrons in a crowded restaurant.

Sadly, this is videojournalist Ben de la Cruz’s last assignment for The Post, as he left yesterday to work with NPR. Ben had a long and storied career here at The Post, and we’re sad to see him go, but happy to see him start a new chapter in his career. Send him off right by checking out his final, beautiful, thoughtfully shot, compelling and engaging piece, “The Dance of Life: The Kitchen”

-AJ Chavar videojournalist/The Washington Post

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Sisi Wei, Alberto Cuadra and Videojournalist Ben de la Cruz recently collaborated on this wonderful graphic and video presentation that explains how the Hirshhorn Museum and Doug Aitken brought SONG1 to life. The exhibit really needs to be experienced, but if you aren’t in DC, this graphic is the next best thing. Also, don’t miss a great review by our culture critic Philip Kennicott.

Laughs for Islam

Armed with humor and a desire to engage in dialogue about Islam, a troupe of four Muslim comedians performed in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. Billed as ‘The Muslims are Coming!’ comedy tour, they also set up a “Name that Religion” game in Birmingham, Ala. and an “Ask a Muslim” booth in Lawrenceville, Ga. What they found was often surprising.

Ben de la Cruz and Alexandra Garcia recently finished an odyssey of a video everyone here at the office was eagerly anticipating. Laughs for Islam is a funny, sincere look at some aspects of being an American Muslim. I emailed Ben and Alexandra some questions, and you can read the transcript below. I also highly recommend checking out the additional content on our website.

Where did the idea for this project come from?

We were assigned to the Post series about how Americans view the American Muslim community ten years after 9-11. The editors specifically wanted to find out whether American Muslims were viewed with suspicion and why. We both started calling contacts. One of our first calls was to Dean Obeidallah who Ben had met and produced a video story about in 2003. He told us about a plan to perform in the South with other comedians and set up Ask a Muslim booths as a way to engage in dialogue with everyday Americans about Islam. This dialogue seemed like a perfect way to uncover the issues on the minds of ordinary Americans. It was an an idea we had already started to explore with our first contribution to the series, “Under Suspicion: Voices about Muslims in America.”

How long were you on the road, and how long did editing take?

We traveled with the comedians from Columbus, Ga. to Lawrenceville, Ga., Birmingham, Ala., and Murfreesboro, Tenn. All together, we filmed for six days. Editing was done in fits and starts over several months, in between other projects and daily news coverage.

What are some of the challenges working on a video of this scope?

Managing two terabytes of footage was one of the biggest challenges. We used two 5D Mark II cameras to film four full comedy shows as well as all of our interviews. Before we went on our trip, we bought extra hard drives in case of hard drive failure, which is not uncommon. When we returned to edit, we had to purchase more drives when two of our drives failed.

On the road we also contended with the logistics of filming while the comedians were shooting their own documentary. And for a few days, NBC and CNN joined the party. Trying to capture natural action with a gaggle of cameras around was a delicate dance. Luckily we developed a good working relationship with the film and news crews.

Is it difficult to work in tandem on a project like this?

We think it is far better to work in tandem on a project that requires filming live performances onstage or in street actions like “Name That Religion” and “Ask a Muslim.” We had the option of editing between tight and wide shots in the interviews, and between the comedians and the people on the street.

Because filming a tour is in many ways a road movie, it was important to film the journey from place to place. One person can’t safely do this alone. While Alex drove (which she loves doing), Ben shot video out the window. Compared to the size of the film crew and the other network TV news crews, we were a small operation.

Through many collaborations over the years, we’ve come to trust each other’s work. We feel comfortable handing the edit back and forth, knowing that the changes that would come back to us would make the piece better.

View the full project on washingtonpost.com

—AJ Chavar/The Washington Post

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Best of Post Video Week: Uniquely Washington

This week we’re highlighting the best video created by our VJs and producers in 2011. Each day we’ll be posting one video from each and all of our talented staff. Consider it a holiday gift from us to you! We’re kicking it off with stories uniquely Washingtonian—U Street, Arlington Cemetery, Mambo Sauce and even a trip to a Washington outside of the District, watch it all below:

Night lives: Bob Taylor, nighttime photographer (by Evelio Contreras)

Bob Taylor, 81, carries a Polaroid camera near Adams Morgan and U Street bars on weekend nights. He does portrait shots for $5 and tells people why it’s important to “get a picture.”

Chess grandmaster plays 30 games simultaneously (by Ben de la Cruz and Puja Bhalerao)

Thirty students from the District, Maryland and Virginia played against Maurice Ashley, the first African-American chess grandmaster, at the same time. The exhibition was part of a fundraiser for the U.S. Chess Center in D.C.

The city’s sauce (by Whitney Shefte)

Mumbo sauce, also known as mambo sauce, can be found in carryout restaurants throughout Washington. It is a staple for many residents in D.C. and part of a completely unknown subculture to others.

A private car, with a private view (Produced by Kristen Boghosian)

Chuck Jensen is one of only a handful of people that own their own train car. He rents out the nearly century-old heavyweight Pullman observation car for private trips, but mostly uses it to vacation across the country with his family.

A catalog of grieving at Arlington Cemetery (by AJ Chavar)

The U.S. Army Center of Military History collects and catalogs items of interest left at graves in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery where soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. For the past two years, a team of U.S. Military curators visits the section every Wednesday to archive the mementos left on graves.

Shutdown averted (Produced by Jayne Orenstein)

The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein talks about how the GOP and Democrats came to an agreement despite contentious rhetoric on both sides of the debt ceiling debate and how the United States was able to avoid default.

The View from Washington, Ga. (By Alexandra Garcia and Ben de la Cruz)

In Washington, a town of 4,000 in rural Georgia, the 2011 campaign for mayor became a contest rife with tension. (Photos)

From WaPo videojournalist Ben de la Cruz:

The first changes to the Catholic Mass in over 40 years were officially implemented this weekend across the country. We decided to get reaction to the controversial new English translations of the Latin Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in downtown Washington. The Cathedral is a prominent location for area Catholics. It’s the seat of the Archbishop of Washington. Pope John Paul II said Mass there in 1979. In 1963, it was the site of the funeral Mass for John F. Kennedy.

Big words, little dissent for Washington Catholics

Catholics at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle react to the new English translations of prayers, responses and hymns from the original Latin, that were officially implemented into Mass on Sunday. (Ben de la Cruz / The Washington Post)

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Jason Segel unveils ‘The Muppets’ live in D.C.

The star and co-writer of the new Muppet movie talks to the Post’s Jen Chaney about being “Muppety” and introduces the first midnight screening of the film to a packed house of “Rainbow Connection” lovers.

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