"boom" star shares tips for surviving the end of the world

The most-produced contemporary play in the country is being staged by San Diego REPertory Theatre at the Lyceum Space in Horton Plaza through January 31st. “boom” tells the story of marine biologist who is convinced that a comet is due to hit Earth at any minute.  He has a plan to repopulate the human race, but as is often the case, things don’t always go according to plan.

I recently hit the set of “boom” to interview actor Steven Lone.  But the interview took an unexpected turn, when he began questioning me!

[Via http://audrastafford.wordpress.com]

Findings From the ASMP Motion/Video Study

ASMP recently formed a Motion/Video Study Group to explore how members have embraced video. Video has become much more prevalent in visual communications as electronic publishing continues to replace traditional print media. The increased availability and low cost of broadband has enabled and created a huge demand for video. At the same time, there is a convergence of our tools as “hybrid” cameras are capable of shooting both stills and video.

As head of the Motion/Video Study Group, I spoke at length with fourteen ASMP members who have integrated video into their businesses.

Some General Observations:

As expected, there was a wide range in responses as well as in the markets that each participant works in.

• Participants are working all across the spectrum in the video/motion sector – from simple multimedia projects (still images with sound/music) to big budget broadcast spots for ad agencies.
• Most people have either been asked by their clients if they also shoot video or they have presented video as an up sell to their existing clients.
• Participants are positioning themselves as producers, directors, camera operators or all of the above. Many have set up production companies.
• Almost all participants have created partnerships or work in collaboration with others – sound people, editors and camera operators to name a few. Video production is based on collaboration because of it’s many facets.
• The learning curve can be steep – especially for editing and motion graphics applications.
• There is a lot of confusion and chaos in terms of file and codec standardization.
• Ownership and copyright are handled in a variety of ways depending on the production, the market and how one has positioned themselves. Traditionally in video, the camera operator is a hired gun and does not maintain ownership of the content. Depending on the market – the ownership and copyright is maintained by the end client or the production company.
• Most shooters invoice their still images and video as separate line items when shooting both mediums on a job.
• All see opportunities in the video medium in almost all markets.

To see the full report please go to http://asmp.org/tutorials/getting-started.html

I would love to hear from others who have added video to their businesses.

[Via http://kellymooneyminutes.wordpress.com]

Ilmari Haapanen of Almysto

what is your name?
Ilmari Haapanen
how would you describe what you do?
I’m all about sound. When I’m not busy being an industrial musician, I study sound designing for movies & television at the School of Art and Media of Tampere University of Applied Sciences, and in the spare time I craft sound art for radio and do some freelance composing for games and what not. I’m also co-founder of Älymystö with Mr. Vuorensola and the main driving force behind the band.
what are you currently working on?
Skithund Records releases the 12″ vinyl version of the 19:38:00 split album on April the 1st 2010, but my work there is pretty much done now. At the moment I’m involved in three different short movies which all are in post-production. This week I’ll be doing foleys for “Pieniä Ihmeitä”, next week it’ll be dialogue edit for “Esso” and so forth. Although the rest of the band is eager to work on the next full-length album, I think that’ll be on slow motion until I get these babies out for the film festivals of the spring.
what has had the greatest influence on your work?
Amiga 500 & OctaMED and all those great trackers like Jesper Kyd and Carebear.
what is the greatest misconception about you or your work?
That I hate Star Wreck / Iron Sky / what ever Mr. Vuorensola & co. are up to. No I don’t, I have huge respect for them for what they’ve done and hopefully someday I’ll be able to work with them.
what do you see as the main strengths and weaknesses of the medium you work in?
My main strength is my ability to create strong visual soundscapes that deliver different moods efficiently. Sound is all about the feeling. My main weakness is definitely my lack of skill in playing different instruments, I’m all too focused on electronic sounds.
how has technology impacted upon the work you do?
Without electricity I would be just a shaman with a drum.
what’s the greatest piece of advice you would like to pass on?
There’s nothing against you out there. Except the reptilians, of course.
where can we find you online?
I’m a bit against living online, so you can’t really find me on FB/Twitter or any of that shit.
But feel free to listen our music online:
http://www.alymysto.com/

http://www.last.fm/music/Älymystö

what are you reading at the moment?
Nothing, I find it difficult to find time for reading books.
what are you listening to at the moment?
Sounds of a decades old wooden house in a Finnish winter weather combined to sounds of a new ventilation system. It’s a strange mix, I tell you. Musicwise I’ve been into dubstep lately.
anything else we should know?
The inner space is boundless.

[Via http://intoviews.wordpress.com]

Talk to me so I can talk to them

Ain’t Baroque has been in existence for a good few months now, and while I’d hardly classify it as World’s Most Popular Lunchtime Reading, I think it’s starting to hit its stride. As such, I’m looking into some possibilities for expansion, both in terms of readership and what the blog covers.

One of the new features I’m working on is regular interviews with BSO musicians and guest soloists. Benevolent Dictator Jamie is sending out feelers regarding who might be available/willing. In the meantime, I’d like to take a moment to solicit some questions you might like to ask. Once I know who I’m interviewing I can post that for more specific queries, but is there anything overarching you would want to ask every musician ever? Maybe something about favorite composers, touring as a classical musician (as opposed to a rock star, I suppose), hopes, dreams, fears, nightmares, what they would want you to buy them at the bar, etc.?

Also, would you be more interested in a video or written format?

Respond in the comments or email me!

[Via http://aintbaroque.wordpress.com]

Interview: Carlo Vergara

Carlo's sketch of Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah

For the second installment in my interview series, I am fortunate to have Visconde Carlo Vergara, one of the country’s most talented writer/ illustrators and author of One Night in Purgatory and Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, the latter one of my favorite graphic novels. Just just Filipino graphic novels, graphic novels, period.

Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah is about a gay man who comes a cross a mysterious stone that, when swallowed, turns him into a female superhero of Amazonian proportions.  She then sets out to rid her town of various monsters, which include, among other things, a giant frog, an alien queen and zombies. I particularly liked how Carlo married Philippine gay culture and the annihilation of the undead. The graphic novel has been turned into a successful musical and a not so successful movie. And Carlo, if you’re reading this, I can’t wait for the sequel.

Here are his answers:

Do you believe in ghosts/ elementals? If yes, have you seen one (or more)? Can you tell us about it?

Allow me to share two.
1) It happened the night before the funeral of my first cousin, who passed away because of a brain tumor. (I was in elementary school then.) I woke up in the middle of the night and saw a veiled shadow standing beside my bed. The room was dark, and the shadowy figure was backlit by a faint light streaming through the window. But I knew it was my cousin. Then Murphy’s Law kicked in: The moment you need a blanket to cover yourself is the same moment no blanket can be found. So I closed my eyes instead, hoping I was just imagining things. But no, she was still there. I repeated this process about twice or thrice, only to confirm that there was, indeed, someone beside my bed. Later, while my eyes were closed, I heard the door open and the light click on. It was my mom, telling me to get up and get ready for the funeral.

2) Another elementary school encounter, though this is the audio kind. I woke up in the middle of the night, dark room and all. I heard music being played right outside the bedroom window, and it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. It had a tinkly, flutey quality, and even at a young age, I knew that it was the kind of music that only duwendes (dwarves – ed.) could play. I wasn’t afraid–the music was so soothing that I couldn’t find it in me to be afraid. But I was prudent enough not to look outside the window. A couple of minutes later, the music stopped. I went back to sleep after trying to remember how it sounded. I couldn’t–it was as if it never happened. Until now, I wish I could hear it again.

What’s the scariest place you’ve been to? Why was it scary? Did you end up experiencing anything supernatural there? Do you plan to go back?

I generally feel anxious in places that have a “heavy” vibe, especially when I get the feeling that someone’s watching and not just passing by. Usually large, old houses. When I was working for Real Living magazine, I’ve had a share of goosebumps in a few of the houses we’ve shot.

What’s the scariest ghost story you’ve heard?

I forgot the details of the story, but it involved “something shaking the front gate, as if trying to get in.”

How has your supernatural experiences (even if they come in the form of secondhand stories) influenced your work?

If anything, supernatural experiences influence the way I explore possibilities in storycrafting. There are simply some things that happen, coming in from left field, that may or may not figure prominently in the plot, but happen nonetheless. But whether or not they affect the plot, they affect the story experience. Also, the supernatural experiences I’ve had opened me up more to the interconnectedness of things, or the causality that runs between the past and the present.

What advice would you give someone who comes face to face with a ghost/elemental?

Hmmm… welcome the fear. But be fascinated by the experience. Unless, well, said ghost/elemental is one nasty bugger, in which case you’re more than welcome to shriek and run.

[Via http://yvettetan.com]

David Stubbs interviews The Butthole Surfers, 2nd April 1988

David Stubbs interviews The Butthole Surfers, 2nd April 1988. Photos by Andy Catlin.

You can either read this for the outrageous Stubbsianisms that pepper this interview, cf. “Plunging in at the anus and excavating, tunnelling a giant point of exit at the sockets, they are one part giant surge of flesh, one part holy revelation.” or for Gibby’s quotes, which ironically, sound a lot like Stubbs alter-ego to be - “Hue and what? Fuck me…Humourless and Cry [more like!]“

Either way it’s worth reading.  And if you’ve never heard of the Butthole Surfers then why not track down Locust Abortion Technician or Hairway to Steven

[Via http://archivedmusicpress.wordpress.com]

Twitter Ride with Lance Armstrong

The power of twitter! Almost as soon as Armstrong arrived in Adelaide for the Tour Down Under, he made an announcemnet on Twitter of a community ride with him.

Estimates suggest around 5,000 cyclists joined in the ride from Glenelg to Semaphore and back.

Peter was in the pack and spoke to some of the cyclists before and after the ride…

DOWNLOAD INTERVIEW

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS  OF THE DAY

[Via http://radioadelaidebreakfast.wordpress.com]