Brian, Lisa and Mikel visit Wolf Trap to film a video distributed to schools and learning centers.

A couple months ago, Amy Russell, the Manager of Children’s Theatre in the Woods and Grants for Wolf Trap, contacted me and asked if Milkshake would be interested in filming a video for the Wolf Trap Field Trip Fridays Series. I wasn’t familiar with the video series, and asked her to tell me more. She said that the Field Trip Fridays began last year and was well received, so they were doing it again this year. This year, the series features six “Chapters,” with the Milkshake Trio launching the Field Trips. The theme of this year’s series is travel. I thought it would be fun, so I said yes.

I immediately thought of two perfect songs we’ve written – “Travel Far,” off the Grammy-nominated Great Day album, and “Book of Dreams,” a classic from Bottle of Sunshine. Both of these songs are ambitious recordings and personal favorites of mine. I told Amy about them and sent along lyrics and MP3’s.

Over the next few weeks, we planned the filming and worked on information and images for an accompanying handout for classrooms. Amy wondered if I could also send instrumentals for them to use here and there throughout the series, and if I would do some voiceovers for them to set up the other videos. Of course! There isn’t much I wouldn’t do for Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, since I have worked with them for years as a teaching artist, and trained at the institute.

Brian, Mikel and I headed down to Wolf Trap on March 3rd and spent the afternoon filming the two songs. It was a two-camera affair, with a few takes for each song. Brian loved playing the baby grand piano they provided and we so enjoyed everyone’s professionalism. It was low-tech but captured the moment beautifully, and I loved playing those songs again.

Check out the finished version below, and download the handout if you’d like to view the video and try some of the prompts in a classroom or at home with your child. You can see all seven Field Trip Fridays on Wolf Trap’s Youtube Channel, featuring some wonderful artists from around the country.

Enjoy,

Lisa