Dennis Spielman

Library Bar and Grill – Norman, OK

On August 25, 2015

With the students back at OU, I’m going to write about the Library–not the one with the books, the one with the booze. The Library Bar and Grill (807 W Boyd St in Norman, OK) is a beloved destination for dinner and drinks on the patio.

I am a personal fan of their pizzas. Ranging around $10, the personal size pizzas are delicious and filling. The crust is hand-tossed, rubbed with olive oil, and sprinkled with a mixture of herbs and cornmeal. Pizza choices include Four Cheese, Pepperoni, Veggie Pie, BBQ Chicken, and more.

The Library’s signature dish on their menu is The Library Burrito Supreme ($9.95). It starts with chips and salsa and then comes this huge post roast burrito with beans, chili, cheese, and pico, all covered in even more melted cheese. It’s one of my good-to-favorites if our group is wanting a meal to go with our drinks.

If you are wanting something lighter for dinner, keep in mind that even their salad portions are generous. The Library Salad ($5.95), is a basic (but filling) large bowl of fresh greens, cheese, tomatoes, and mushrooms. For $3 more, chicken or turkey can be added.

The Library has a wide selection of house, bottled, and draft beers from around the world, including a $6 Made in Oklahoma Beer Flight of four local beers.

So while customers won’t find any books here (or even drinks named after authors), the Library Bar and Grill has an excellent selection of good food and drinks, and is a perfect place to catch up with your friends.

The Escape OKC

By Dennis

On August 6, 2015

In Real

If being locked in a room with your friends for an hour while finding clues to solves puzzles and ultimately getting the code to escape sounds like fun, then I recommend visiting The Escape. In my latest Uncovering Oklahoma video, I interviewed Bridget Trowbridge, James Gibbons, and Shey Ramsey about the live action escape the room game in Oklahoma City. The Escape also has locations in Tulsa and Omaha, with the OKC location being the flag-ship store. This video has been approved to contain no spoilers!

For some history, real life escape rooms are based off computer games of the same theme, but brought into real life. It’s all hands on, but also there’s no cheat sheet as it’s all up to you and whoever you bring. Also just so I’m clear: you’re not going to get murdered in these rooms. There’s nothing that can injury or hurt anyone. No one other than your team will actually be in the room, unlike some other escape places.

This is was my first video shot in 4K with my Panasonic GH4! There was no difference in my workflow. Rendering on my MacBook Pro didn’t take long either. While filming, I did encounter an issue I’ve never faced before with the florescent lighting creating bars on my video. It drove me nuts because at the time I had no idea how to fix it, so I worked around it or with it. The best way to learn things is to do things.

Overall, I’m happy with this video. I especially loved the introduction for it. I don’t care to use my voice, but with that modulation it worked so well. This was actually a happy accident. I had recorded audio to act as a place holder and have Leslie do the lines, but I was playing about with the audio effects and ended up with what you hear. I did consider doing the whole project in the style of the intro, but decided against it for timing, annoyance, and how other Uncovering Oklahoma interviews flowed.

For the first time, Uncovering Oklahoma’s The Escape OKC video featured music by a local band, Larry Chin. (I usually used a royalty free track.) I had told Jennifer Maynord of Cellar Door Music Group I was planning to do a video on The Escape and asked for recommendation for a song to use with it. She sent me a pre-release version of a song Larry Chin were working on and got me in touch with the band. I look forward to our continued partnership and working with more local bands in the future!

“Crop Circles”

By Dennis

On July 26, 2015

In Real

Leslie and I took a bike ride Friday morning and she noticed these “crop circles” near the OU campus.

MOB Grill Interview

By Dennis

On July 24, 2015

In Real

For Uncovering Oklahoma, I did a mafia inspired interview from inside my car truck with food truck owner, Seth Barker, of MOB Grill. The whole thing started off as a silly joke on Twitter when I tweeted:

Who wants to see me interview @MOBGrill inside a car trunk for @h_n_8th video? Perhaps @FowlerToyota can provide a car. Retweet for support!

— Uncovering Oklahoma (@uncoveringok) June 27, 2015

MOB Grill replied saying it sounded like a fun idea and after an email exchange to make sure they were seriously interested, we actually filmed the interview in my car trunk. We of course took safety precautions. Leslie stood outside the car, the trunk was never completely closed, the car was equipped with a handle inside the trunk, and the back seats to the trunk were down as well. We both got hot and sweaty rather fast, but it was quick interview and it was worth it to do something unique.

After the video was released, Seth sent me an email saying, “That is AWESOME!!! The video is fantastic, you did a phenomenal job! My phone is blowing up with people talking about. WOW! Thanks a million times over!” His response made my day.

This was my first time using my new Panasonic GH4 camera for an interview. Still learning everything about it. I’m happy as to how well this whole video turned out!

Road Trip: Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Turner Falls

By Dennis

On June 7, 2015

In Real

An adventurous path in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area

Today I took a road trip to doing some hiking at the Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur, Oklahoma. I was there last fall and wanted to go back to see the area filled with water since the drought ended last month.

During the trip, I also stopped at Bedré Fine Chocolates for some chocolates of course and the scenic lookout for Turner Falls in Davis, Oklahoma. Above are my favorite pictures from the trip.