Last summer I helped produce a reunion for the West Covina High School Chamber Singers. We had a wonderful time, and [finally] I was able to get the time to do an edit of all the footage that was shot at the event.
Purchasing the DVD via PayPal can be done on the WCHS Chamber Singers site.
This was a fun side project. No money was charged for my time; I hired a videographer to be at the event, so that I could participate in the event myself.
The whole process was a good learning experience, and another chance to bring a project from conception to completion.
So I’m on the board of the Pasadena Musical Theatre program, and we get to do all sorts of fun and cool stuff. In addition to year-round programs, we put on two big musicals every summer — one for 4th-6th graders, and one for 7th-12 graders. So here’s what I get to do:
ADVERTISING DESIGN
All postcards and posters and such are developed by me, in concert with the directors. Here is the keyart for the two shows this summer:
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The Jasper in Deadland keyart was developed with strong direction from the composer/conductor, Ryan Scott Oliver, because this is his baby. I’m very excited to be helping him bring this original musical to life.
PRODUCT & BRAND DESIGN
As part of the story for Jasper in Deadland, the protagonist crosses the river Lethe (get out your mythology books!) and keeps getting offered Lethe™ Brand water, so we decided that we needed to offer Lethe™ Brand products as well.
It’s a clever, simple brand, but people are loving it, and I expect that we’ll see tote bags and water bottles with this logo all around campus in a week or two…
VIDEO
I have found a way to use the Canon 7D for quick, news-gathering-style video: 1) simply accept the limitations of the on-board microphone, and 2) stop the iris down a little so things don’t go out of focus so quickly. And so, every day of the program, we have posted a 2-minute recap, showing warmups, rehearsals, discussions, and antics of the kids in the program. It’s a win-win for the families in the program: parents get to see what’s going on, students get to show their day off to their friends, and PMTP gets added exposure through the hundreds of views we have gotten on Youtube. Here are two of the most popular recaps so far:
Filming these giving me a chance to understand how to choose shots quickly and follow the action. Everything is handheld except for performance video.
IN OTHER NEWS
Tomorrow (I hope) I’m going to roll out a press release announcing one of the newest projects that I have been working on. We’re very proud of the design work that Hearken Creative is doing these days, and I can’t wait to update my portfolio. It’s just a busy time of year for us!
While I can’t say that I have a new job or have turned the economy around single-handedly, this has been a marvelous summer of new experiences.
The first project I want to talk about is the West Covina High School Chamber Singers reunion, which happened two days ago after over a year of preparation. I was a committee member, and developed the website and Facebook presence, as well as designed all printed matter, and finally, managed all the stage tech for the evening, including a 16-foot screen, memorabilia slideshow, music cues, and sound reinforcement for the evening’s program, all provided by Hearken Creative.
The event was an amazing success, where 80+ people re-connected after 25 years with our dedicated teacher/director/conductor, Tom Kessler.
While the event was not specifically a showcase of Hearken Creative’s available services, we nonetheless made the entire evening possible, with HCS’ graphic design, film/video production, and live show production strengths.
In the near future, we will also produce the event “re-cap” video DVD. Can’t wait to show you how much fun everyone had at this event.
Tomorrow: Live theatre sound design for 100+ children and teens this summer…
Well, I’ve done this over the years for friends, but I think I should stop underselling myself. This weekend I mixed sound at the Global Day of Prayer/Love Pasadena event on the steps of the Rose Bowl. 500 people, 5 bands, several hours, and lots of running around and soundchecking. And the event went off without a hitch. I’m really proud of Advantage Productions in Santa Clarita for finding me a sound system on short notice, and the pastors of the churches who helped put the event together.
Running live sound is a lot different than recording in the studio. In the studio, you can move mics around until you get it right, you can punch-in to fix a bad line, you can EQ and compress to your heart’s delight on your own time. But live sound needs to sound great — NOW. So I was really happy that, with no soundcheck for any of the bands, we were able to walk in and make everything sound awesome the first time. Having great equipment can make or break a show, and that’s why I’m s0 pleased with Brett and Ron from Advantage Productions, and how easy it was to work with them.
So, I’m hanging my shingle out for running live sound for events. And next time I’ll wear sunscreen.
Have you ever heard of Maryland Sound International? Well, they just pulled off what they think might be the “largest amplified event ever. Period.”
Pro Sound News covers the requirements for a presidential inauguration: JBL VerTec rigs hung on custom motorized portable poles dotted the National Mall. But the coolest thing (from a scientific perspective) is the time-delay required to make sure everyone hears the same thing:
Given the vast expanses needed to be covered, it took more than nine seconds for audio to travel from Obama’s microphone to the last loudspeaker, requiring that video fed to the many portable screens on hand be delayed to match the audio. Accordingly, MSI spent the last week working onsite, checking wires, listening to mixes and interacting with a government sound architect.
From what I can tell, everything went off without a hitch. Congratulations to MSI and all of their people for making a historic event sound great!
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