Update on Reunion and Restoration Project
Dear Class Members,
As you know, we are well on our way to a successful Virtual Reunion this spring.
But note that one central part of that event has completely changed: the presentation of our restoration of the Pittman Dioramas. Due to the Covid pandemic, the Dioramas will not be able to be seen or presented in any actual physical manner as our Class Gift. In response, following up on the successful completion of our Restoration fundraising last spring, we – our Class Committee and Harvard who does own the dioramas – have decided that the most memorable thing that we can do now concerning the Dioramas is to make a professional video recording presenting the three works.
With the video, once the historical scenes we remember are restored, they can be dramatically filmed, evocatively lit, and have the added dimensions of sound and music. The three dioramas – dated 1677, with the first Harvard buildings, 1775, on the eve of the Revolution, and 1936, marking the Tercentenary – can be presented together, as originally conceived.
The video, a 10- to 25- minute, magazine-style production, can add historical narrative, period maps, zoom-outs from the models to actual footage of the current Yard and the Square, as well as the expanding campus of today. Supplemental interviews, discussions of both historical and topical relevance, plus perhaps a suggestion for a Quadricentennial Diorama, are possible to add for a well-rounded presentation.
Because the video of all three Dioramas can be distributed to thousands, our gift will have increased value since it will be viewable by many, rather than perhaps only a few hundred in-person viewings each year of the 1677 and 1775, now that the 1936 Diorama is on display at the office of the Harvard Management Company (HMC) in Boston.
The Class Reunion Committee, supported by our full Class Committee, has accepted the Restoration Committee’s offer to produce such a video at the requested budget of $95,000. Because time is short, the video team is already at work under the guidance of our own celebrated cinematographer, John Hancock, as our Class Video Director, planning out the production and developing the overall “treatment.”
On the recommendation of HAA, we have contracted with BCD Productions to do the scripting, research, filming, interviews, editing, and rough and final cuts. They will produce the completed “locked” videos for our Virtual Reunion. BCD plans to be on site February 5th, scouting venues and working with members of the Restoration Committee and with the active participation of the Office of Harvard Alumni Affairs, the Harvard University Office of Campus Services, and the helpful cooperation of HMC.
Since the original Gift project had no video component, the additional cost of producing a suitable “capstone” presentation, is an add-on project. To provide funds for the new element, in both budget and scope, Tom Blodgett has planned a new Campaign, to be announced tomorrow. This will assure that the Restoration Committee will have the necessary funds to complete this additional, unforeseen, project in a timely manner prior to our 60th Reunion in June.
You will be hearing more about this soon.
We are grateful to Todd Lee, Class Video Executive Producer for providing this update.
Best regards,
