Wow!

What an awesome week. Over 15 tracks recorded, 10 artists and bands, and 80 solid hours of hands on experience for our interns and engineers. I think we all learned a ton about recording, producing and coordinating. Everyone did an exceptional job! Mixes are now in progress and should be ready to review by the end of this month.

We are currently playing with the idea of showcasing the work from the week through an event sometime around October or November. Depending on funding, location availability, and potential partners this could be a big promo opportunity to connect with other artists, engineers, and labels plus a chance to field questions about everyone’s experience and creative process. In the meantime, check out the pics, learn more about the participating artists, and keep on blogging!

Project Renovate
Wisecrack
60 Watt Kid
Christopher Willits
Gabriel Coan
The Blank Slates
Sean Niesen
League 510
The Dervish
Max Paz
Midori/Audioclique

- Adam Shaening-Pokrasso

Today we are recording two tracks with local, up-and-coming Indy rock group, “The Blank Slates.” (Troy Lawton is lead engineering, with Jonathon Wong as assistant engineer.  All of the interns have been helping out this week and rotating responsibilities.) Featuring Andrea Iacopini on guitar and vocals, they produce a high-intensity, earthy nuance with a forward drive. According to Andrea, “The Blank Slates” is a “concept of ever-changing sound, where each song has space to develop into its own without allowing the band itself to be easily categorized.”

Andrea was joined by drummer Cochrane McMillan in January of this year, with bassist Martin Fowler adding to the mix later that month. Not only are they solid musicians, but their tracks are chock full of well-blended harmonies and tight fills.

In “My Only Regret,” Cochrane takes the lead on drums and has been playing solid all day, with Turkish hand-hammered cymbals adding nice texture and shimmer.  Martin has a solid ear in this tune with dead-on rhythm and innovative fills. Andrea is a natural songwriter, and struck gold with his addictive opening guitar and bass lines.

www.myspace.com/theblankslates

The goal of today’s session is to create the majority of a demo for distribution to local radio stations.

Good energy, good times, good clean fun.

-Emily Hendricks

Last week Wendy Levy from the Bay Area Video Coalition put together a multi-platform producer program like no other. The 2008 Producers Institute was a 10 day opportunity to incubate great ideas for social change, within some of San Francisco’s best facilities, and amongst some of the sharpest and most well informed teams of creative professionals. Producers and directors from around the world are paired with mentors and experts in audio, video, web 2.0, social networking, mapping, Second Life, and game design to help manifest multi-platform projects that connect people with political, cultural, environmental, and open-source information and content. Many producers arrived with a rich seed while others were had already created sites or documentaries. In all cases, the result for each team, from the highly productive week, was a 15 min keynote presented at The Museum of the African Diaspora to organizations such as the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Sundance Documentary Institute, and ITVS. Each presentation encapsulated the, largely user driven, web, mobile, and multimedia concepts and proposals that would help to provide users with the tools, networks, and inspiration to use cutting edge technology to create a social, political, and global influence. A truly unbelievable experience!

Want to learn more? Check out these links to other articles and blogs:

http://bavc.org/producersinstitute/panel.htm

http://www.zoom-in.com/blogs/film-video/incomming-the-bavc-producers-institute/

http://www.memoryminer.com/blog/?p=94

http://www.calebbooker.com/blog/2008/06/04/dont-call-it-citizen-journalism

http://bavc.wordpress.com/2008/05/29

http://bavc.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/here-we-go-but-where-are-we-going/

http://bavc.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/producers-institute-day-one/

http://bavc.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/pi-from-the-intern-perspective/

http://bavc.wordpress.com/2008/06/04/producers-institute-plenary-panel/