That Dreaded Call using iMovie

9 Years Later...

My audio creation

Take a sad song and make it better...

Coming to a cutout bin near you!

My Legendary Debut Album

Long before I began my scholarly pursuits, I loved to hit the skins as often as I could.  While that may not be that unusual, it is when you consider the fact that I was really a sax player in my high school band!  I often dreamed of putting down the shiny keys of my beloved alto and grabbing a pair of sticks and banging out the driving tempos that everyone would march to.  Alas, I went on to march the sound of my own ramshackle beat.  In my head, this is the album I often dreamed of making.  

Sadly, it went out of print long before it was even recorded...

Harvesting the crops...

Three Crops of Me

Here are three images of me as newly composed pbotos using the Rule of Thirds overlay in Photoshop.

Drumming is My Madness!

Here are some examples of classic album covers featuring legendary drummers Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa.

Composing Still Images and Editing the Frame (and meeting a racoon)

1. Symmetrically balanced composition.

2. Asymmetrically balanced composition.

3.  Photo that obeys the rule of closure.

4. Photo that does not obey the rule of closure.

5. Close-up with appropriate headroom.

6. Long shot with appropriate headroom.

7. Balanced image that obeys the rule of thirds, balancing subject with weight of gaze

Get Into the Groove

My documentary would be about the history and evolution (or rather, revolution) of the vinyl record.  I would begin with showing how original records only featured one song per side and were made of plastic shellac.  This original format is what led to the idea of the "album" because of the way in which they were originally sold and packaged.

To best illustrate this early format, I would use the images in Figure 1 and 2.  Both of these photos are available for use without restriction.  The first just shows a group of vintage 78 rpm discs, with the one in the top row showing signs of visible wear caught in the flash of the camera.  The second image shows a more well-preserved example, and the fact that it is on RCA will segue nicely into the video that would follow in the documentary's historical narrative.

Figure1 Just spinning on the couch.

Figure 2 A fine and well preserved piece of the past.

The following public domain video shows how a company like RCA Records advertised their products with very distinct images showing how records are to be played and cared for.

At this point in the documentary, I would then explain how these heavy, shellac discs set the stage for the album that most music fans are familiar with today.  The fact that there was only one song per side of these rather cumbersome discs meant that in order for an artist to express a more complete musical idea, several discs were released in a set. These sets resembled bound books that looked like photo albums because each page was essentially a record sleeve that housed a single disc (Figure 3).  Albums were made up of four to six "pages" meaning that the first albums featured between eight to ten songs.  Popular artists of the day like Frank Sinatra released their music in this format.  Albums gained steady popularity as more and more American families purchased record players.

Figure 3 This is what a typical album looked like from the inside. (image licensed for reuse)

Figure 4  Top of the pops with Frank Sinatra--here is one of his earliest "albums." (image licensed for reuse)

At this point in the documentary, I would focus on how records (both albums and 45 rpm singles) not only became a highly profitable industry, but I would also show how these particular shiny pieces of vinyl became an inextricable part of the emotional experience of listening to music.  While that experience is an intensely personal one, I would showcase images and clips from the movies Diner and High Fidelity (Figures 5 and 6) to underscore this.  (The images and the clips would be utilized through fair use.)

Figure 5 "Don't EVER touch my records!"

Figure 6 "I feel bad taking their money...but I'm, sort of, one of them..."

Finally, if I had the money to use it in my documentary, I would incorporate "Pump Up the Volume" by MARRS, emphasizing the "put the needle on the record" line as much as possible.

Muppet-mercial (Commercial Assignment)

Muppet Marketing Clearly in the Driver's Seat

Jim Henson would be proud (and on his way to the bank) if he was still around to see his creations commandeer the wheel in this thirty second television commercial.  Beaker, Professor Honeydew, Ralph the Dog, Gonzo and of course, Animal all show up for a fun and fuzzy ride in the Toyota Highlander.  To be sure, quite a lot goes on during the half-minute road trip, largely because of the commercial's swift but smart editing.  Obviously, there are two agendas being executed here, and the closer one looks at the way every second is orchestrated, a masterful lesson in multi-purpose marketing (also known as co-branding) can be learned and appreciated.

First, here's a look at the spot itself:

For starters, the commercial's opening shots are right out of a typical car spot (Figure 1).  The lush scenery, the shiny vehicle and the impossibly glamorous couple making their way to a high-priced dinner party or snooty fashion shoot located somewhere in the rolling green hills of Nowhere, USA (Figure 2).  But before the whole endeavor crashes under its own weight of predictability, Animal arises (presumably from under the passenger seat) to announce that this ride (oh, yeah, and the Toyota Highlander) will be anything but predictable.

Figure 1 The product gets introduced in a typical setting.

Figure 2 The vehicle's glamorous attribute is reflected in its equally glamorous owners.

Figure 3 Animal arises!  (Note the Highlander name on the dashboard).

Clearly, the standard formula for an everyday car commercial has been drastically altered by the Highlander's new passengers.  It matters little how they got there, what they are doing there, and how Dr. Teeth managed to get a provisional license.  When Mr. and Ms. GQ exit the vehicle showing that their ride in the hills was actually happening in a television studio, the Muppets take control and hit the road (Figure 4 and 5).

Figure 4 "Hey, where are you guys going?"  Animal succeeds in scaring away the dashing duo.

Figure 5 Escape from the fantasy of the studio to the real outside world, where, ironically, Muppets can actually drive Toyota Highlanders.

Figure 6 Dr. Teeth putting his foot-made-of-felt to the pedal as he manages to stay in his lane.

As if viewers needed to be reminded, this is a commercial that not only touts the attributes of the Highlander, but it puts the Muppets at the forefront of the spot to either reacquaint themselves with old fans or introduce themselves to new ones (Figures 7 and 8).  (This also happens to be the demographic that files their kids into their Highlanders and heads to the movies in search of good, clean family fun.)

Figure 7 Driving along while getting reacquainted with viewers.

Figure 8 Dr. Teeth is far from being a chicken when it comes to exhibiting his cartoonish charisma.

Sure, everything is all good and fine and wonderful, but as every Muppet fan  knows, the fun really starts when Crazy Harry shows up (Figure 9).  Not only does he show up, but he likes to blow up.  That is, he has a thing for his detonator, and when Crazy Harry is around, the explosions are soon to follow.  This does bring a bit of Muppet drama to the proceedings, as the explosion not only hurls a caped Gonzo through the air (Figure 10), but it also shows that the Toyota Highlander is capable of withstanding more than its share of explosions.  What a blast!

Figure 9 "What happens when I push this thing down?"  Crazy Harry ignites the Muppet road trip.

Figure 10  Obviously, capes protect you from explosions if you happen to be a Muppet.

Okay, so now that Gonzo is airborne and Crazy Harry is reloading, the time is right for another fine example of co-branding.  There's the Highlander, aka the Muppet Mobile, making its way to a theater near you.  Ironically, so is The Muppets Most Wanted! (Figures 11 and 12)

Figure 11 Obviously, Dr. Teeth is a better driver than his glassy eyes would lead you to believe.

Figure 12  Let's Go Places...LIKE THE LOCAL MOVIE THEATER!!!