Class I-Movie Project

We are learning I-Movie on MAC for Media Production.  I have been a PC guy until I started this class.  Prof (h) ET, thanks for the introduction to MAC and for the opportunity to stretch my brain a bit.  Below is my cut (edit) of some footage we shot in class.  I dropped in a few V.O.'s (voice over) and foley art (sounds) for fun....Hugo is so method (an acting style)!

The Roots Of Tradition- Episode 1: Excerpts from the book "American Negro Songs and Spirituals".

This post is my Sound Story Project.   It is the application part of the Sound Editing and Podcast Exercise for Dr. ET's class as well.  I have chosen to title this, The Roots Of Tradition-  Episode 1: 

Culture and the arts are two of my deepest passions.  The pursuit of Knowledge, Consciousness, Spirit and Soul are driving forces in my life.  Respect for and understanding of diversity, along with appreciation of what and how we believe as individuals and societies is paramount for the possibility of knowing more of what our own beliefs are and for a lasting peace among ourselves.

The title of this post, The Roots Of Tradition, will be the home of searches and knowledge of traditions that have shaped individuals and cultures of our little planet.  I create it in hopes of learning more myself and sharing this knowledge with someone else along the way.  Enjoy!

On to Episode 1: Excerpts and Audio Examples from the book American Negro Songs and Spirituals. Below is a podcast I have created from an excerpt from the book I mentioned above.  You will hear my voice and some of the original recordings mentioned in the reading.  I found the recordings on Archive.org.  Because of time constraints of the class exercise, this is a shorter version than what an episode will actually be.

Below is the transcript for my podcast...
AUDIO INSERTS
Intro:

Thanks for dialing in to The Roots of Tradition. I am your host, Larry Cashion.  The Roots of Tradition, is a once-a-month podcast of content, dialogue and interviews surrounding the rich and diverse cultural heritages of our world.  

You are listening to Episode1: Excerpts and Audio Examples from the book titled American Negro Songs and Spirituals. There is no author acknowledgment in the book, but is edited by John W. Work of Fisk University. The book is a comprehensive collection of 230 religious and secular folks songs and contains seven chapters that are titled "Origins, The Spiritual, The Blues, Work Songs, Social and Miscellaneous, The Songs and Bibliography". 

I have chosen to read an excerpt starting on page 18 of the book, which explains the three basic types of traditional American Negro spirituals.  Here's that excerpt...

V.O.  - book reading pg. 18

Segue: - "The Songs"

Now we have a base of knowledge regarding the structure of the songs.  I did some digging on "the net" and found sound tracks of some of the songs I mentioned in the excerpt.

The first song is, The Great Camp Meeting and the second you'll hear is, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Both of these are examples of the "Call and Response Chant" category.  Let's listen to some short clip

(Insert SONG: #1 and #2)

The third song is, Nobody Knows the Touble I Seen, and is an example of the "slow, sustained, long phrase melody"
(Insert SONG: #3)

The fourth and final song is titled, Shout All Over God's Heab'n, and represents the "Syncopated Melody".
(Insert SONG: #4)

Outro:

That wraps the show for today.  I hope you enjoyed it and that you'll find your way back around to these parts again...

I'm Larry Cashion and again, thanks for listening to The Roots of Tradition.

Garage Band Pre-Pre X 6/16/15

Below is my first Garage Band experiment.  Pretty cool audio capture / mixing / mastering program.  I created this post as part of an assignment for ET's Media Production class.  It includes a rant expressing an airplane ride I had.  The audio tells a story of my thoughts, observations and perceptions of people as we roam and why.  It is abstract and improvisational in style.
The cover art is a grab from the net and is a visual representation of the title I have given the selection...."Trppy-Airplane-Ride". 

 Trippy-Airplane-Ride

Movement Of A Nomad: A Documentary Film

Below is my first Adobe Photoshop generated project.  It is titled Movement Of A Nomad: A Motion Journey of Tunnels, Streets, Cracks and Holes with Sound.  MOAN is a speculative project for a documentary series created for online release and on my blog.  It will chronicle sights and sounds as seen through my minds lenses and captured via digital still and digital motion devices.  

I created this project for class.  The assignment is to learn Photoshop and to promote me while doing so.  Among other things, I am an actor, a photographer and videographer and a singer.  I am an observer and a lover of people and the world we live in.  Most of the time I would rather give than receive.  Giving means helping where I can and when I can.  Not for recognition, but because I enjoy it.  Observing is how I learn and how I find opportunity to help.  When I am performing, I see it as an opportunity to reveal what I have learned and show an audience a new perspective or something about themselves.  Being a fly on the wall, is another way of observing and popping in and out of moments to contribute along the way.  How I have designed this movie poster for MOAN is a collage of what you have just read.  There are not only literal "layers" within the poster, there are metaphorical layers as well.  Numbers, visual impressions and words and implied movement are intentional and symbolize alone and collectively in many ways.  You can do the math or just soak in the impressions.  Again the assignment is to promote me; all of me, the artist, the observer and the helper.  In this poster, I am a fly on the wall.  I shot three layers of the photos in the NYC subways.  The fourth layer is a photo taken by my friend and fellow classmate, Hugo.  He and I were partnered up by Dr. ET, on another assignment which included taking photos of each other.  As part of this poster project, we were to use one of the photos our partner took of us.  As required, I layered / dissolved / digitally manipulated it into this poster of MOAN.  Hint…A movie called The Fly?  This poster promotes me and parts of me…The Artist, The Observer and The Helper.   Leave a comment and let me know what ya’ think…

Those Photos Hugo Took Of Me In The Garden

Below is a photo taken by Hugo, a fellow partner in creative crime with me.  As per ET, we captured some moments within the confines of a structure that allowed freedom from none.
 

Would you admit to knowing this guy if someone asked if you knew him?
 The following are cropped images of the same photo in Three (3) different aspect:ratios...

Aspect Ratio 3:2

Aspect Ratio 4:3

Aspect Ratio 16:9

The same but different and yet all equally _____________?  Please leave a comment to fill the blank in with your thought...

Album covers and songs that tell stories...

I love music and listen to literally everything.  The band STYX is one of my favorite bands when it comes to lyrics.  The lyrics to their songs have always spoken to me.  Two of their songs The Grand Illusion and Come Sail Away, have always stuck with me.  Below is the album cover for The Grand Illusion.

Below are links to YouTube videos for the band STYX.  I am led to believe the bands name originates from the "mythological" river Styx and all of the adventures of worlds and mirrors a journey on/down/up/through it may reveal. The first link is the self titled track off of the album Grand Illusion.  Note the character of the band and the crowd...AWESOME!  

The second video is a song released from the same album (yes, a vinyl album Jesse). It does not have live coverage or a fancy MTV video, yes Sabrina I am mentioning you as well, as this music was before the time when "video killed the radio star"...This video rolls-scrolls the words as the band sails away through their story...Fly High, Sail Away and Enjoy!

I am moved, motivated and inspired by the art of motion media as well.  Here are a few of my favorites...

    

   

  

   

 

  

Perhaps you may be as well...Enjoy!

Perspectives of Hugo

 1. Symmetrically balanced 

2. Asymmetrically balanced

3. One that obeys the rule of closure

4. One that doesn't obey rule of closure

5. CU with appropriate headroom

6. LS with appropriate headroom

7. Balanced image...

Bonus. 1-Hail Mary

Bonus. 2-the spaces in-between