A process shaped by leaders elected to the highest offices and entrusted to a select few with guarding its basic principles.
It's where debates unfold, decisions are made, and the nation's course is charted.
Democracy in real time.
This is your government at work.
This is C-SPAN, giving you your democracy unfiltered.
It was on New Year's Eve, the start of New Year's Eve, that the Washington Monument became a large-scale movie screen, and it's part of efforts by Freedom 250.
That's the organization behind the 250th celebration of America's birthday.
And for every night since New Year's Eve, a new demonstration, a new video that depicts an aspect of America's history.
One of the people behind that effort, Kyle Barrett, joining us with DCE Productions.
He's the director of video production.
Mr. Barrett, thanks for giving us your time.
Absolutely.
Thank you for having me.
What was the goal ultimately in portraying these images on the Washington Monument?
I think it was just to inspire pride and everyone and to show that regardless of what's going on and what side of the aisle you're on, we should all be proud about our country, about its history, and it's worth celebrating.
So, you know, bring your friends, bring your family, come learn about our history.
And I think you'll take away something that'll inspire you to move forward on the next 250 years.
It started on New Year's Eve.
It continues through January 5th.
Will there be a new theme every night?
And if so, give us a sample of some of those themes.
So each night, you're going to see the same primary act that runs for about 18 minutes.
And that's a four-act structure where we walk you through the history of the country from its founding through the Industrial Revolution and into modern advancements like our space accomplishments and flight.
And then what you're going to see in between that, that's what's going to change and evolve over the next couple of days.
We call those screensavers.
And they're things like historical paintings that you would see in the Capitol Rotunda that we've brought to life and animated.
There are going to be Fun America 250 graphics.
So we wanted to give people an opportunity as they walked around the National Mall to take photos and come home with an experience that very few people will get because this is the only second time that this has ever been allowed to happen on the Washington Monument.
When you go into a project like this, what are the technical hurdles to make this happen?
Well, with something like this, time is the biggest thing.
We had about two and a half weeks to put roughly two hours of custom animated content together.
And in a perfect scenario, you might have three or four months.
So trying to find a team that was willing to dedicate their time and their holiday to bring this together was the biggest challenge.
Beyond that, it's creating content for such a unique shape and ratio.
You know, we're used to watching content on our phones and our TVs.
So trying to get creative and find ways to take advantage of an obelisk was quite the challenge, but also very, very fun and rewarding.
The technical challenges, can you explain in layman's term how that works and how you're able to do that?
Well, you know, if you're watching your TV, we've got a nice landscape.
So we have lots of real estate to show you what we want to show you.
But when you take and you turn that into a tall, thin structure, it really limits how much you can actually show people.
So finding ways to take large rectangle paintings and find the most intimate moments in those and then make sure that those are what's visible can be a challenge.
And then beyond that, trying to find ways through narration and sound design to really make you feel something.
I think that's the glue that really brought this all together.
Who worked on this from the federal government from America 250?
I imagine this is a collaborative effort.
What are some of those forces that brought this together?
Yeah, this was a very, very large gathering of people.
And it basically took an act of Congress to get approval and permitting with the National Park Service to actually allow this to happen.
So from the top down, we're talking every federal agency had to be involved and had to be in agreement.
And then all the technical and logistical folks on the ground to get the experience built.
You know, I'm on the content side.
I have such an appreciation for the people that had to sit out in the cold for a week building projectors and running power and generators and command tents for the team on the ground to actually bring these visuals to folks.
We're showing folks the images.
Did these images exist before they were projected or was everything that we're seeing created specifically for this?
Everything was custom built with the exception of, for example, some of those screensavers, which are based on historical paintings.
Those are obviously, we sourced those original high-res images and then animated those.
But in terms of the program itself, about 95% of what you're seeing is completely custom-built 3D.
Ultimately, now you're seeing the fruits of your labor.
What do you want people to take away from this?
I'll go back to it.
I just want people to be proud and feel what it is to be American again.
I got to bring my wife and son up here, and that was extremely emotional.
It was an opportunity for me to show my son what is possible.
And, you know, I hope it inspired him to think big for his future.
And will we see something else like this as part of America's 250 celebration?
I think we're going to see quite a lot similar to this.
I'm not allowed to disclose very much, but yes, there's a lot of very amazing things planned for the next year.
This is Kyle Barrett of DCE Productions.
He's the director of video productions.
He's part of this project that we've been showing you that you can see if you're in Washington, D.C. through January the 5th.
Mr. Barrett, thanks for your time.
Absolutely.
Thank you for having me.
C-SPAN's Washington Journal, our live forum inviting you to discuss the latest issues in government, politics, and public policy from Washington and across the country.
Coming up Saturday morning, former Congressional Management Foundation CEO Brad Fitch talks about the second edition of his Citizens Handbook for influencing elected officials.
Then journalist, podcast host, and founder of Meet the Future, Kevin Cirilli, will talk about the future of AI and tech trends to watch in the year ahead.
C-SPAN's Washington Journal.
Join in the conversation live at 7 Eastern Saturday morning on C-SPAN.
C-SPAN Now, our free mobile app or online at c-span.org.
America marks 250 years, and C-SPAN is there to commemorate every moment.
From the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the voices shaping our nation's future, we bring you unprecedented all-platform coverage, exploring the stories, sights, and spirit that make up America.
Join us for remarkable coast-to-coast coverage, celebrating our nation's journey like no other network can.
America 250, over a year of historic moments.
C-SPAN, official media partner of America 250.
Next, law enforcement officials announcing that they thwarted a planned terror attack on New Year's Eve.