Event & Video Production

Documentary

Without Getting Killed or Caught – Produced and Directed by Tamara Saviano and Paul Whitfield

withoutgettingkilledorcaught.com

Without Getting Killed or Caught is the true story of Guy Clark, the dean of Texas songwriters, who struggles to write poetic, yet indelible songs while balancing a complicated marriage with wife Susanna, and a deep friendship with singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt, on whom Susanna forged a passionate dependence.

This 90-minute documentary follows Guy Clark, Susanna Clark, and Townes Van Zandt as they rise from obscurity to reverence: Guy, the Pancho to Van Zandt’s Lefty, struggling to establish himself as the Dylan Thomas of American music, while Susanna pens hit songs and paints album covers for top artists, and Townes spirals in self-destruction after writing some of Americana music’s most enduring and influential ballads. Based on the diaries of Susanna Clark and Saviano’s 2016 book Without Getting Killed or Caught: The Life and Music of Guy Clark, the film tells the saga from Susanna’s point of view, with Academy Award-winner Sissy Spacek voicing Susanna’s narration. Saviano, a longtime figure on the Americana scene as journalist, publicist, artist manager, and Grammy-winning producer, had the complete cooperation of Clark, who sat for interviews on and off camera. Without Getting Killed or Caught (the title comes from Clark’s song, “L.A. Freeway”) also offers poignant reflections from Clark’s closest friends and musical allies, most prominently Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Vince Gill, Verlon Thompson, and Terry and Jo Harvey Allen, as well as record executive Barry Poss. The film, partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign, makes good use of Clark’s songs, family photographs and archives, vintage film footage, and radio talk shows on which Clark appeared solo and in tandem with Van Zandt. The real emotional zing, however, comes from Susanna’s pained remembrances, culled from her private journals and secret audio diaries, as well as taped conversations that Susanna made of the trio and of the “salon” that regularly gathered around them--all serving as witnesses to this seemingly fated intersection of love, art, and tragedy.

Produced and directed by Tamara Saviano, Paul Whitfield

Writers: Tamara Saviano, Bart Knaggs, from Saviano’s book, Without Getting Killed or Caught: The Life and Music of Guy Clark, and the diaries of Susanna Clark

Narrated by: Sissy Spacek as Susanna Clark

Featuring: Jo Harvey Allen, Terry Allen, Guy Clark, Susanna Clark, Travis Clark, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Vince Gill, Barry Poss, Verlon Thompson, Townes Van Zandt

Director of Photography/Film Editor: Paul Whitfield

Story Editor/Film Editor: Sandra Adair, ACE

Executive Producers: Bart Knaggs, Jay Newberg, Barry Poss

Associate Producer: Connie Koepke Nelson

Music by: Guy Clark and Verlon Thompson

Music Supervisor: Andrea von Foerster

Art and Animation Direction: Mel Chin

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We specialize in live music and event production and video pre-production, production and post-production.  

For more than two decades our director and editor Paul Whitfield has made high-profile artists look and sound great. From Bruce Springsteen to Josh Groban, Kenny Chesney to Metallica, Pearl Jam to Destiny’s Child, Whitfield has fine-tuned the close-ups of the stars.

Paul is fluent in Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, Photoshop, Lightroom, and ancillary programs.

Paul has worked for “The Boss” on tour since 2003 building multi-camera high def video switching and recording systems and taking them around the world for Springsteen concerts.  On tour he supervises a crew for load in and set up of the video system and assures proper connection to the large video screens as well as the various video, sync, and time code connections with the sound and lighting systems. He sets up a press feed to interface with media crews that want content from the show and controls that feed so the media pool gets the best shots with quality audio.  As the video engineer he programs and configures the video switcher, builds special effects, and routes video feeds. He maintains several remote control cameras used in the show and for security monitoring. During the show, Paul has his hands full color matching 10 cameras and recording those 10 cameras along with the program feeds and multiple audio channels to numerous video recorders. He is responsible for archiving all the video and editing video clips posted to the Internet.  

Whew. I’m glad it’s his job and not mine.

On other projects he advises, consults and recommends equipment for rental or purchase and consults and advises on how equipment should be used to achieve the desired results efficiently and reliably.

On concert tours, Whitfield has worked as video engineer-in-charge with artists including Pearl Jam, Shania Twain, The Judds, Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Josh Groban, Tim McGraw, Ringo Starr, the Dixie Chicks, Metallica , Destiny’s Child, “Elvis: The Concert,” and the 2007 South American tour of “High School Musical.”

He has also been the video engineer-in-charge at some of the largest music festivals around the world beginning with 1995’s Fan Fair in Nashville and including HSFestival, Virgin Fest, Ultra Fest, Rock Fest, Country Fest and so many other Fests from Los Angeles to Glastonbury.

Paul directed the FUSE Network/Hot 97 Summer Jams show at Giant Stadium, the Americana Honors & Awards at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and many other live concert events. He’s been a video engineer on broadcast shoots including Bruce Springsteen DVD specials, the Sundance Channel’s “Vote For Change” concert, PBS “Great Performances” featuring Josh Groban, the ABC Faith Hill New Year’s Eve Special, CBS’s CMA Awards, on location with NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and many others.

A pioneer in audio and video technology, Whitfield built and installed systems for Nashville’s famed Starstruck Studios, Starwood Amphitheater, Gearhouse/PSL, XL Video Los Angeles, The Orchard Studio Nashville, Performance Video/Pete’s Big TVs, and Middle Tennessee State University.

Paul earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Recording Industry Management and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Middle Tennessee State University in 1993. He minored in Electronics Television Production.  In 1989, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a minor in Technical Theatre Arts.

Here is a a small sample of some of Paul’s event production work: