Thanks to the Diocese of Dodge City and Father Henry Hildebrandt, the international Catherine of Siena Institute in Colorado Springs will save tens of thousands of dollars in production costs when it produces a video/DVD of its "Called & Gifted Workshop."

Father Hildebrandt, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Spearville, has offered to film a special workshop June 10-12 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Dodge City. The video will enable the institute to allow dioceses or parishes that can’t afford travel, room and board and other costs associated with live speakers to present the workshop through a video format.

"The Catherine of Siena Institute always thought that if they had a workshop tape they could send out to places that can’t afford live speakers, it would extend the ministry so much and so many more people would benefit from it," Father Hildebrandt said.

Three individuals are being sought to help with camera operation, while 25-30 people are needed to attend the workshop. The workshop is free, and lunches will be provided. Camera operators will receive a stipend, and will attend a brief rehearsal session the day before the workshop.

Father Hildebrandt stressed that this will be a "real" Called & Gifted Workshop. The only difference is that at regular workshops, such as the one being held May 21-22, in Great Bend, (see Page 2), nobody will shout, "Cut! Let’s go back and try that again."

"The people who come to this certainly would participate," Father Hildebrandt said. "They can ask questions at the talks as you would in any workshop. People who attend also need to realize that they are participating in the creation of something that would be distributed internationally. By their presence, they are giving permission to have their image given out in that way."

The institute has presented workshops throughout the United States, as well as in countries such as Rome, Australia and Indonesia, and so far has sent audio-tapes and booklets to Japan, Greece and South Africa. They are currently establishing an Australian branch in Sydney.

Father Hildebrandt will set up three professional grade digital cameras at the workshop, which will feed directly into a main control unit. Because the filming is digital, camera operators will not have to worry about film running out; instead, they will receive instruction via audio headsets from Father Hildebrandt as to when to zoom in, pull back, etc.

Father Hildebrandt will monitor a video screen at the main control unit that is divided into four sections, one for each camera and a fourth for PowerPoint slide presentations utilized by the workshop.

"As the tape is recording, I will be choosing input from one camera or another, whichever has the best angle at the moment," he explained. This will allow him to edit the video as the workshop is presented.

Each evening of the workshop, Father Hildebrandt and presenters Sherry Weddell and Father Michael Sweeney, OP, will review the tape and decide if any sections need to be re-shot. A third day was added to what is typically a two-day workshop to allow for that possibility.

According to Father Hildebrandt, hiring a professional company to create a video presentation can cost upwards of $1,000 per minute. Since a typical Called & Gifted Workshop includes approximately 14 half-hour sessions, the cost could have been astronomical.

Thanks to the help of Father Hildebrandt and the diocese, the institute instead is paying only for lunches, stipends for camera operators (pay hasn’t yet been determined, but it may be around $100 per operator), and for the final video and DVD copies to be mass-produced. Father Hildebrandt is volunteering his services, and the Knights of Columbus have donated use of the hall.

The institute has offered the diocese free use of the final video.

For more information, to volunteer to be a camera operator, or to attend, call Father Hildebrandt at (620) 385-2212, or email him at hhildebrandt@dcdiocese.org. For more information on Called & Gifted Workshops, see Page 2 or the article in the last issue of the SKR.