Text and images by Gabrielle.
I’m super excited to share this Olive Us episode with you! It’s called The Story of Kish, and we’ve been working on it since last July. We’re so pleased with how it turned out!
Kish is a story written by Grandpa Blair (Ben Blair’s dad), so it has great meaning for all of his children and grandchildren. Grandpa Blair is a linguist and uses this story as an example of how to learn a new language. And the coolest part: he’s the narrator in the video!
What a treasure this is for our family. Grandpa’s words, Grandpa’s voice. And it was filmed near Snow Canyon in Southern Utah, one of the very favorite spots from my childhood. The scenery is magnificent!
We had lots of help on this episode. The wardrobe was sourced from my sister Sara’s legendary costume closet. The amazing music was written and recorded especially for this episode by Ben’s cousin, Geoff Groberg (he also wrote the Olive Us theme song). The illustrations and title graphic were done by the ever-talented Merrilee Liddiard. And of course, Tiger in a Jar brought their epic talents to the table in the filming and editing.
We hope you enjoy the episode! If it’s not showing up for you here, you can view it on Vimeo. And please subscribe to the Olive Us Newsletter so you’ll be the first to know about new episodes and behind-the-scenes sneak peeks.
Ralph Blair as the father, pointing to the night sky.
Matt of Tiger in a Jar, setting up a shot.
Olive Blair as the wise woman.
Oscar Blair as Kish.
Another one of Ralph.
Oscar consulting the sky.
Matt consulting the storyboards.
My brother Josh, coming to help out on set.
Cousin Jonah. He plays one of the visitors near the end of the video.
All the helpers.
Cousin Ike, playing another visitor.
Cousin Ruth, also playing a visitor.
I like this behind-the-scenes shot.
Julie of Tiger in a Jar, tracking the storyboards, making sure we don’t miss any shots.
Oscar drawing in the sand.
Olive showing us the way.
Behold: Snow Canyon!
How fun! You guys shot this one in Utah when you were back in the States, right? The landscape is beautiful and perfectly suited to the story. Great work, everybody! :)
That’s right, Dee. We shot it last July when we were staying in St. George. And I agree, the landscape is beautiful!
BEAUTIFUL !
snow canyon one of the most beautiful places on earth. so fun to see your kiddos.
Loved, loved that video! And I loved Grandpa Blair’s voice–what a narrator!
Thank you, Winter. I love his voice, too!
That is so cool! I love it; such a treasure for your family! Can’t wait to show my kiddos.
What a treasure! I will definitely be referring to this story for my own children. Beautiful, thank you so much for sharing.
Wonderful!
That is a sure treasure!!
I love that earnest little face searching the night sky to make meaning of all the stars. What a treasure this video will be your family.
I noticed from your photos above that it looks like it was filmed during the day. Did you superimpose the night sky on the daytime shots? I was wondering how you got the lovely lighting for the night scenes.
Yes, we filmed during the afternoon and into the evening — but it gets dark quite late in July in St. George. So, Tiger in a Jar darkened the sky manually using a video editing program. I don’t know exactly how — my editing video skills are pretty non-existent. : )
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This was my favorite episode yet. How fantastic! Goodness…did you beg your dad to tell you more stories as a child? His voice is delightful.
Just stunning! The kids look fantastic and I could listen to your father- in -law all day – what a soothing voice.
What a beautiful way to bring generations together!
That’s how I feel, Sandra. I love when my kids get to work on something with their grandparents.
Fantastic! We all should record our grandparents telling their stories.
We LOVE this production. Beautiful in every way. I’m trying to figure out the images I need to organize our home! Maybe the kitchen can be the North Star!
As long as it keeps organized and stays in place, I can deal with the other room.
Oh, dear, I’m sure I’m WAY OFF! I do love the idea of organizing with one constant focus that is always in place! Thanks millions for “KISH!”
What a different desert than the one you see just a few hours drive south of there. We are not as green here, and the dirt is almost blindingly white. (I’m in Las Vegas). Now to show it to the children!
I know Las Vegas well, and I agree, the desert looks different there than it does in St. George. Both are beautiful!
I think we need HERE the 4th reason why you love Ben Blair ;)
I want to know how the language-learning part goes!
I’m casually surfing through my favorite blogs and see this posting and I have to tell you how strange it is because my name is Kish (short, sort of for Ana Christina). People ask me each and every day the origin of my name. There isn’t really a story, my dad just started calling me “Kish.” As a kid, (I’m 47) I NEVER saw my name anywhere! As I got older I’ve run across it from time to time and it always makes me smile. As a kid I just wanted to see my strange name in print (you know…all those things kid’s had with their names). Thanks!
it was so amazing!
This is precious! You will treasure all your films, but I love your father-in-laws voice. It adds a special depth to this piece.
For Christmas my kids took all the old cassettes from an ancient video camera belonging to my dad, and put them on discs. Hearing my late fathers voice on the recording was priceless.
I loved this one. My favorite episode yet!