There is a new Klout Perk (klout.com) involving the Fox show "Touch" that premieres March 22. It's a rather odd Perk, as perks go, in that so far we have received a pawn shop address as a clue for the first episode. I guess it hopes to create buzz with discussion of an obscure clue on a premiere episode yet to air.
At any rate I happen to have worked on "24" a few days, so I'm 1 degree from Kiefer Sutherland. I haven't watched the whole season on DVD and a season is one day so a day on set could potentially be spread out over the whole season. Sutherland was not in the scenes I worked, though he was on set at the end of one day and said goodbye to those of us leaving. Sean Astin was in some of the scenes (so 1 degree as well) and he had also been in scenes of the film "Click" which I worked.
Turns out that a micro short film I contributed to be an Executive Producer, Sutherland also contributed to be an executive producer. So I guess that makes another instance where we are 1 degree apart.
The micro short is "The 1 Second Film" The film itself is one second of large paintings. I can't remember the exact framing (as in frames per second, but also paintings I guess), etc. The end credits will be a feature length documentary that is a 'making of' for the film. It has a steep goal of $1M and proceeds will go to the Global Fund for Women charity.
The film has plans to release on International Women's Day (March 8) but the year is not set. Another goal now on the website is to have 1M people involved, which could be FREE adding yourself as crew OR contributing. It is the ultimate microfunding, before Kickstarter's time, minimum $1. They have managed over 1/3 of the goal!!
If you sign up as free crew or by donation, please list me as the referral (or how you heard about it, or however it is listed in the sign-up process now). I don't "need" it for any particular reason but it would be nice to see and keep track of those who joined because they heard about the film from me.
UPDATE: 12:25pm CDT I forgot to mention that Kevin Bacon is also an Associate Producer of the film, making me and possibly you 1 degree from Kevin Bacon. :)
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
To Collaborate or Not to Collaborate
That's a tough question. I've been asking myself that question repeatedly for over 10 years.
I'm a poet and a touch of a musician but it's difficult for me to get the music from my head to paper or instrument or even computer. I do have some apps that I haven't used yet to help with some of that and even help me "pick up" guitar which might help at least get it down to recording (and chords).
I know music theory up to and including rudimentary chords but not so much in chord progression and the more complex of chords beyond Major and Minor and simple inversions. (I also have bought apps for that.)
Collaboration can possibly lead to an even better song, or one that has changed too much and that is less like the original song. Anyone helping could try to take too much credit, especially if they just get done what I have written in my head. Finding the right person would be like the proverbial needle in a haystack.
The only song that I've fully completed thus far, I used Cakewalk software to put the notes on a grand staff using a piano synthesized instrument. I sang a soft version with a poor quality microphone and had it officially copyrighted. That led to a couple of advertisements to make a studio demo. I chose one of those and had a professional demo made, with which I was mostly satisfied with a couple of issues. The demo was produced without any input from me beyond my recording and a few suggestions in a letter might have been considered. The Lead Sheet had at least one glaring error and I'm not sure how much the singer could read music. One of the intentions was likely to feel it. (In acting the idea often arises to own the copy while feeling wording you might have chosen and intent.) I was pleased overall with the demo though.
On my homepage (currently still converted to a blog, so that page shows up as a post) are some more thoughts about the writing process I went through and more about the actual demo, and of course a link to the song (now on YouTube with a slideshow of photos that I took myself, so I own all material in the video). The old website hosting of my own HTML and all of those issues are more stories not that interesting really.
So that brings us to one of the songs I currently have in my head. I transcribe lyrics and even type them up and the music stays in my head. Music stuck in my head doesn't get a song completed and thus the posed question.
I have signed up for at least one social media site in years passed dedicated to music collaborations. I don't know how successful the site ever was. Maybe I needed to work on a better profile to appear more attractive in music terms. That would be an odd task. I posted the one song but no lyrics for songs that I hadn't finished.
I was torn with the issue of copyrighting lyrics only, or using Poor Man's Copyright for the lyrics. (For those who don't know, that would be mailing them to myself using Registered Mail with clear date and sealing of envelope/package which would never be opened unless needed as proof of the date I had the lyrics all completed.) The music from my head couldn't be copyrighted in any manor though. Therein lies the rub.
Copyrighting and publishing of a song are two VERY different and separate issues. Copyright is full protection of content but no structure for actual radio play or performance by another party. The internet gets around some of that but mostly with no residuals. Selling songs is actually possible though, with royalties.
Self-publishing is an option, still allowing registration with a Performance/ing Rights Organization (PRO) which would handle any residuals.
I looked through ads on Craigslist and emailed some who were seeking to collaborate who were on the music/composing side. I gave some a link to the completed song and explained I had other tastes so it wasn't a stone template of my writing. I didn't get even ONE response just saying that their style was different or whatever excuse.
Believing somewhat in Divine Intervention I tried to keep believing that when the time was right I would find the right collaborator and complete at least the one song I feel is most important publicly. Most of the time I'm not looking for that anymore and wonder if I'm "supposed to" finish it myself. I started some Cakewalk notes years ago but haven't gone back to work on it more. It's frustrating and I worry about making a finished product substandard to what I had envisioned.
All of that leads me to a timely issue. I started reading a book last night that I've had a few months. It's very interesting and though I haven't been a huge reader (I didn't read most of my required college readings) I was fighting sleep to keep reading. I got to a point that discussed the beginning part of my song concept. Though this song leaves the beginning ambiguous until the chorus, this was still a little unsettling and depressing. So I stopped reading there. I'll continue reading and hope that it doesn't go too far into my song but know that it will have to do so at a minimum to explain itself.
Insert your "100 monkeys" theory or "the ether" ponderance here. Note also that Divinity would also include that if you sit on your talent(s) they could be taken away and given to someone else. Even more secular concepts would consider (though not so likely for artistic expression) that if you wait around and do nothing, someone else will do it and you'll only have the regret of having done nothing.
So I'll continue with the book, knowing that it is also a sign that I need to act, which also started with writing this blog post. If you knew the whole story it's kind of a meta-sign but that's way too long of a post if this isn't already.
To collaborate or not to collaborate, and add to that only subtle guidance to help me know.
I'm a poet and a touch of a musician but it's difficult for me to get the music from my head to paper or instrument or even computer. I do have some apps that I haven't used yet to help with some of that and even help me "pick up" guitar which might help at least get it down to recording (and chords).
I know music theory up to and including rudimentary chords but not so much in chord progression and the more complex of chords beyond Major and Minor and simple inversions. (I also have bought apps for that.)
Collaboration can possibly lead to an even better song, or one that has changed too much and that is less like the original song. Anyone helping could try to take too much credit, especially if they just get done what I have written in my head. Finding the right person would be like the proverbial needle in a haystack.
The only song that I've fully completed thus far, I used Cakewalk software to put the notes on a grand staff using a piano synthesized instrument. I sang a soft version with a poor quality microphone and had it officially copyrighted. That led to a couple of advertisements to make a studio demo. I chose one of those and had a professional demo made, with which I was mostly satisfied with a couple of issues. The demo was produced without any input from me beyond my recording and a few suggestions in a letter might have been considered. The Lead Sheet had at least one glaring error and I'm not sure how much the singer could read music. One of the intentions was likely to feel it. (In acting the idea often arises to own the copy while feeling wording you might have chosen and intent.) I was pleased overall with the demo though.
On my homepage (currently still converted to a blog, so that page shows up as a post) are some more thoughts about the writing process I went through and more about the actual demo, and of course a link to the song (now on YouTube with a slideshow of photos that I took myself, so I own all material in the video). The old website hosting of my own HTML and all of those issues are more stories not that interesting really.
So that brings us to one of the songs I currently have in my head. I transcribe lyrics and even type them up and the music stays in my head. Music stuck in my head doesn't get a song completed and thus the posed question.
I have signed up for at least one social media site in years passed dedicated to music collaborations. I don't know how successful the site ever was. Maybe I needed to work on a better profile to appear more attractive in music terms. That would be an odd task. I posted the one song but no lyrics for songs that I hadn't finished.
I was torn with the issue of copyrighting lyrics only, or using Poor Man's Copyright for the lyrics. (For those who don't know, that would be mailing them to myself using Registered Mail with clear date and sealing of envelope/package which would never be opened unless needed as proof of the date I had the lyrics all completed.) The music from my head couldn't be copyrighted in any manor though. Therein lies the rub.
Copyrighting and publishing of a song are two VERY different and separate issues. Copyright is full protection of content but no structure for actual radio play or performance by another party. The internet gets around some of that but mostly with no residuals. Selling songs is actually possible though, with royalties.
Self-publishing is an option, still allowing registration with a Performance/ing Rights Organization (PRO) which would handle any residuals.
I looked through ads on Craigslist and emailed some who were seeking to collaborate who were on the music/composing side. I gave some a link to the completed song and explained I had other tastes so it wasn't a stone template of my writing. I didn't get even ONE response just saying that their style was different or whatever excuse.
Believing somewhat in Divine Intervention I tried to keep believing that when the time was right I would find the right collaborator and complete at least the one song I feel is most important publicly. Most of the time I'm not looking for that anymore and wonder if I'm "supposed to" finish it myself. I started some Cakewalk notes years ago but haven't gone back to work on it more. It's frustrating and I worry about making a finished product substandard to what I had envisioned.
All of that leads me to a timely issue. I started reading a book last night that I've had a few months. It's very interesting and though I haven't been a huge reader (I didn't read most of my required college readings) I was fighting sleep to keep reading. I got to a point that discussed the beginning part of my song concept. Though this song leaves the beginning ambiguous until the chorus, this was still a little unsettling and depressing. So I stopped reading there. I'll continue reading and hope that it doesn't go too far into my song but know that it will have to do so at a minimum to explain itself.
Insert your "100 monkeys" theory or "the ether" ponderance here. Note also that Divinity would also include that if you sit on your talent(s) they could be taken away and given to someone else. Even more secular concepts would consider (though not so likely for artistic expression) that if you wait around and do nothing, someone else will do it and you'll only have the regret of having done nothing.
So I'll continue with the book, knowing that it is also a sign that I need to act, which also started with writing this blog post. If you knew the whole story it's kind of a meta-sign but that's way too long of a post if this isn't already.
To collaborate or not to collaborate, and add to that only subtle guidance to help me know.
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