The Hypsys: "Window of Soul" (Part II) (11/20/2009 live)

Part II Bia.

The Hypsys: "Window of Soul" (Part I) (11/20/2009 live)

CONTACT ME IF YOU WANT YOUR BAND RECORDED!!!!!!

bbaker@avsproductions.com

334.300.1582

The Hypsys: "Hate It Here" (11/20/2009 live)

Davis Nix and the Wranglers: "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" (9.4.2010 live)

TCF444 Final Project

TCF 444 Jason and Brandon Final Project from UA, Telecommunication and Film on Vimeo.


So, I was never 100% sure on what the class was actually going to be about or what we were going to be doing beforehand, all I knew was that Dr. R was teaching it so I was gonna take it. TCF 444 evolved into a class focused on storytelling through the digital age we live in. I would venture to say my technical skills with camera equipment and editing were about the same as they are now, thanks to previous TCF classes that focused on that but my ability to tell stories is what really blossomed. As much as I tried to fight participating in the story circles (only half way serious, of course) it was a valuable learning opportuninty and place where ideas become tangible and the freedback from fellow classmates was extremely valuable. So, I would say my ability to tell stories, as well as the desire to tell stories, has been greatly enhanced through this class and I will be able to move forward into my career with these leasons learned as a powerful tool in my media repetoire.

As far as my own work goes, I am pleased with my projects and their ability to "tell a story". Obviously, knowing what I know now, I would go back and make some changes or apporoach it differently but the experience of actually making it was the best part. I really enjoyed the audio story because it gave me the opportunity to use humor and create a fictional story that was more enjoyable than anything I wanted to do that was serious or non-fiction. My mash-up is my least favorite of my projects only because I dont think I told a story very well and there wasnt much point to the whole thing but I enjoeyed the aspect of rehashing someone elses work into a uniquely original work by myself.

I really think my gift as a storyteller comes from being 'behind-the-camera' as oppose to other areas. I feel as though I have the ability to capture something truly important or meaningful through visual representation and then in turn share it with others in hopes of expressing a story or idea. Media praxis is something that has become more clear as the semester has progressed. It is very important to have a strong grasp of media theory and practice to successful in digital storytelling, which includes media theory and the actual act of producing your product. I have also found that collaboration can be very useful when trying to tell a story because you can bounce ideas off of each other and really help one another with the entire creative process.

New advances in the media age have made it possible for multiple storytelling formats and modes of distribution. New, smaller, inexpennsive gear is available for people to experiment with and blogs and websites like vimeo and youtube are great mediums for the sharing of your story. What I will take from this class is the desire and drive to go out and make stories to share with the world. This class, and Dr. R, have proven that there is a need and want for people to tell and promote stories... all you gotta do is get out and do it. So, my goal with the aid of this class is to go out into my profession as an inspiring young media maker and do things that tell a story and benefit others just by sharing it with them. That is the plan for now atleast, we shall see what the future holds.

Video MashUp REMIX

13akersDozen and DJ Bellizio music video collaboration. Project Pat/Big Gigantic mashup provided by Bellizio and the visual mashup done by myself. Peep it.



MashupREMIX- TCF 444- Brandon Baker from UA, Telecommunication and Film on Vimeo.

The Hangout Music Festival

As graduation steadily approaches the horizon of my line of sight, it also brings with it summer, warm weather, bikini clad babes, and general all around fun in the sun. Well, where can you get all of that in one single location: THE HANGOUT MUSIC FESTIVAL in Gulf Shores, ALABAMA May 14-16.

I mean, seriously-- this is taking place in our state... you have no reason not to be there ready to jam your ass off and soak up the rays while grooving to the likes of TAB and the MotherFucking FUNKY METERS. Yall, I cant be more serious when I say this is going to be an epic weekend.

I already have my 3-day pass in hand and this little blog rant is going to break down atleast 3 acts of whom I plan to see on each day, which will also be useful in you readers planning your weekend too bc I only hit the best shit. So heed my festy breakdown, get your paraphanellia of choice ready, and lets all get down with the get down.

Friday lineup is as follows:
Zac Brown Band
Alison Krauss and Union Station feat. Jerry Douglas
The Black Crowes
Girl Talk
Brett Dennen
North Mississippi Allstars (Duo)
Pnuma Trio
Jeff Austin and Friends
feat. Larry Keel
Orianthi
Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
Kirsten Price
Hightide Blues
Ben Arthur
Rachel Goodrich
El Cantador

For me, I will be seeing Allison Krauss and Union Station because she has an amazing voice and combine that with some ultra talented bluegrass musicians and you have yourself a great time.

Next, I would recommend either the Black Crowes or NMA Duo considering they are similar in style and performace (ol black crowes dude is in NMA now....)

Then, I say you go see Pnuma Trio. Saw these cats in Orlando over spring break and it is one hell of a party. If you like any electronic/dub step music then this is where its going down.

Saturday:
John Legend
The Flaming Lips

Gov't Mule
Jakob Dylan and Three Legs
feat. Neko Case and Kelly Hogan
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Funky Meters
Grace Potter and The Nocturnals
Ozomatli
The Whigs
Toubab Krewe
Jerry Jeff Walker
AA Bondy
Moon Taxi
Wild Sweet Orange
Rustlanders
Jon Black

1. The Flaiming Lips: one of the best live performances ever and they have been around for decades now. i have been waiting on this show for a while.... would love a "her name was yoshimiiiiiiii..."

2. Gov't Mule- easily one of my favorite acts out right now. i love warren haynes on the guitar their sound if just awesome. this gonna be a really fun show on the banks of the deep end...

3. THE FUNKY METERS- one of the greatest and most under appreciate acts of all times. they are covered by anybody whos anybody these days and their number the CISSY STRUT is an all time classic jam no matter the genre. I have always wanted to see them live in NOLA but on the beach of bama is close enough... this one nobody should miss, seriously.

AND Sunday:

Trey Anastasio and TAB

Ben Harper and Relentless7

Ray LaMontagne
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Blind Boys of Alabama
Keller Williams
Matisyahu
Guster
Needtobreathe
OK GO
Black Joe Lewis and
The Honeybears
A.L.O.
Matt Hires
Kristy Lee
Roman Street
Rollin' in the Hay
The Cary Laine Band

For today, the headliner of the whole festival as fas as im concerned is playing, Trey Anastasio and TAB. Ole Trey has been killing it on tour and the reviews from his shows are amazing. I have seen phish live, including this new years, but solo trey band will be a first. So for sunday, do whatever you want but do not miss this one.

If anyone wants to contact me for more information or what I think, you can at bbaker@avsproductions.com
Also, be sure to check out my website http://www.avsproductions.com/ where we specialize in legal videography but are currently expanding to live musical recording (single or multi cam), docs, commercials, short film, still photography, church based media and much much more. Thanks for stopping by guys and I'll see ya at THE HANGOUT.

Remix/Mashup Inspiration

So, for my newest project in the works, I have decided to take on the idea of remixing some pre-existing footage into my own video creation and call it my own... FAIR USE right??

Well, I am going to share some videos that have inspired the direction for my own piece but here is my initial plan. I have gotten a track form local music artist DJ BELLIZIO (hit him up on the twitter/fb/etc)hich is a audio mashup pulled from Big Gigantic and Project Pat tunes... the idea is to make a funky new video track that accentuates the music or propels into a whole 'nother dimension. If successful, it will serve as my TCF 444 class project, my first video mashup, and initial collaboration relationship between me and local artists to help promote both of our dreams and goals.

Video 1:


Video 2:


Video 3:


So, be on the lookout in the following weeks. I will post it as soon as im finished.

Tea Leaf Green

Okay, I first heard of Tea Leaf Green about 5 or 6 years ago and have heard most of their more mainstream album cuts but never had the opportunity to see them live.


...until I was in Orlando, FL over spring break and saw them play with DIOCIOUS at The Social. It was a great show and I had alot of fun. Here are some pics:

I stood directly in front of Trevor and it was a kick ass show. I didnt remember hearing any of the ones I thought but it was an awesome show and a great atmosphere. Also, Josh had on a Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt, and being from Alabama that made my day right there. And.... I could have sworm I heard an "Easy Wind" tease by Josh at some point during the night. I will see TLG again soon and so should you.

And here is the setlist

Set 1:

Germanatin' Seed>

Piss It Away

Connection>

5000 Acres

Dreaming Without Sleeping>

Asphault Funk>

I've Got a Truck>

Ride Together

The Ballad of El Goodo (1)

Looking West>

Criminal Intent>

Honeymooners

Invasion

Don't Curse the Night>

Jezebel>

Devil's Pay

Encore:

Truck Stop Sally>

Red Ribbons

However, the reason for this post is to advertise the TLG show for April 16-17 in San Francisco, CA at the Great American Music Hall... so, if you are in the area, I suggest you go check this out. and get tickets through this link: TICKETS

Lambert's 7 Elements

1. A Point of View

This separates the digital story from the third-person report delivered via PowerPoint which sometimes replaces or supplements the traditional research report. The digital story reveals the writer, as opposed to offering facts about a distanced topic. Script revision often involves an effort to bring the focus of the story back to the writer.

2. A Dramatic Question

A story that holds the attention of the audience has a dramatic question that is resolved by the end of the story. This characteristic distinguishes the digital story from a travelogue. A neighbor’s vacation slides may have an accompanying narrative, sprightly music, and cutting-edge transitional effects. However, it does not hold our attention in the same manner as a well-constructed digital story.

                                3. Emotional Content

The most effective digital stories evoke an emotion from the audience. We often see laughter, tears, and expressions of pleasure from the audience when digital stories are screened. This can be tremendously rewarding to student writers, validating the effort and investment they have made.

4. Economy

Economy is the most difficult element for both novices and experienced writers to attain. Limiting the scope of the digital story has two practical benefits: (1) it makes the construction process manageable in a school setting, and (2) it also makes it practical for an audience to view the stories of an entire class in a single session. From the perspective of the writing process, the discipline involved in achieving this sharpens the focus of the story, requiring the writer to decide what is essential to the story.

5. Pacing

This may require tough decisions about what parts of the story can be omitted. It is important to confront these decisions during the script revision process, in order to allow a natural pace and varied flow when the digital story is constructed

6. The Gift of Your Voice

The pitch, inflection, and timbre of the storyteller’s voice convey meaning and intent in a very personal way. This has proven to be one of the most essential elements that contribute to the effectiveness of a digital story. There is no substitute for using your own voice to tell your story.

7. Soundtrack

Properly employed music can enhance and underscore the accompanying story, adding complexity and depth to the narrative. Also fills in dead space

and silence in your work.

Digital Story 2010

RMFTR - A Digital Story from UA, Telecommunication and Film on Vimeo.

James Cameron and Celine Dion are taking over the world...

This guy is everywhere it seems. Not only did he just put out another mega blockbuster with Avatar, but his one before that, Titanic, is still just as a alive as ever...

Also, Celine Dion gets thrown into these references, so its not just Cameron, but the two together that get so often mentioned, thus inspiring this rant.

I had three classes in a row yesterday, in three different genres of study, and had all three teachers in some way or another mention the film Titanic.

In TCF, Dr. R mentioned how the score of Titanic with Celine Dion belting as the ship sinks would have sucked without that...

Then, in Stress Management, we were practicing mediatation methods and the professor says "just imagine Celine Dion singing the song from Titanic as you monitor your breathing"... I immediately notice this as the second Titanic/Celine reference and think, "what the fuck is up with this?"

THEN, in my next class, AMS 300: the histpry of popular music, I fully expected to hear a celine/titanic reference because we have a book we are reading about this canadian dude trying to figure out the worlds obbsession with Dion and why he hates her.... and sure enough, within the first 5 minutes the teacher is comparing some 1930s broadway lyics by Hammerstein to "my heart will go on" and i knew it had happened:

Celine Dion and James Cameron had officially taken over the world as we know it.

-End Rant-

Stories, of the digital variety.

I have had some trouble finding specfic digital stories that i can personally connect to or find interesting in terms of what i normally enjoy. So, in order to complete the assignment, I have decided to post some ones that I thought were good, although I was underwhelmed (which surprised me, partly due to the fact i couldnt find any about the music/film/sports, etc that i follow almost religiously) by most things I found. But, here goes nothing.

So the first one is from the CDS under the place category, titled Untitled. I thought this was good because she incorporated some moving video along with pictures and also some schnazzy editing to add some more "umph" to the piece. I liked the subtitles obviously, as i do not speak espanol very fluently. But what i liked about the context is that she is able to see where she has been in life and use that as a positive towards her future. I screengrabbed the one scene with the line "its not the road, but the destination that counts" because that is true and all of lifes endeavours. You cant appreciate where you are without knowing from whence you came.

And then, I came across this one titled "First Person Digital Story".

The title didnt catch my attention in any specific way, in fact it was one of the less creative ones I saw but decided to click it anyways. Its the story of a daughter celebrating the death of her father in a most peculiar way. The story is told from the POV of one her co-workers/friends and is an unbridled and unfiltered look at the events that unfolded on this night... I really enjoyed this one, so I hope you do to.

First Person Digital Story from Gavin Atilano on Vimeo.

My Audio Project

Okay folks, here is the long awaited debut audio story from "Monsters in the Closet", home of the newest and most badass ghost stories you have ever heard....

Brandon Baker-- Audio Story-- Monsters in the Closet from UA, Telecommunication and Film on Vimeo.


I am just kidding, but it the premise for my audio story. I will admit I procrastinated a little on this one but I think it turned out pretty good. I wanted to do something humorous but not over the top. I struggled to find a good idea until I just sat down and recorded a good ole mad lib rant... and this is what came of it.

Through this project, I learned that telling a story without video, for me, is a lot more difficult than I thought. With only audio, you have to achieve everything you want with just audible sounds and that made it a unique challenge. I feel like I did an okay job of telling a story and I hope you get a kick out of it. So, enjoy.



...On another note, my good friends The Hypsys won the Wakarusa Classic lastnight in ttown at the Jupiter and have earned a spot at the Wakarusa Festival in Arakansas. Here a music video I did for them last semester, boom. So, go check em out or your gonna cry.

For your listening pleasure...

The Ricky Gervais podcast.

I heard about this one as I watched Conan's farewell tour this past week from the Tonight Show. He had Ricky Gervais, creator of the BBC's "The Office", on the show and he was plugging his new show and the premise caught my attention. So, I decided to add this to my audio blog. The new show is an annimated cartoon called the Ricky Gervais Show debuting on HBO soon. What started this was Gervais and two of his friends would sit in a room and record themselves talking about popular culture and trends and then releasing them as podcasts for your ears to hear. The podcast was such a success that they developed them into a cartoon, so technically its not strictly audio anymore but the video your seeing is created from the topics they dicussed originally and recorded on the audio track.

This next one, The Deadpod, is a podcast/blog that a man called The Professor runs. He goes through and finds great live, and often rare, recordings of The Grateful Dead and shares them with the masses for our enjoyment. I really like this one because as a big Dead fan, I can go here and find music that I have never heard before and get to enjoy them almost as if I was there. It is not the most common podcast format since there isnt much talking but, to me, that is the beauty because its all about the music and it will always set you free!

Thanks for stopping by, come back soon for more class/personal blog posts. Peace!

Media Diet

So, after tracking my media diet over the last few days I have realized I use a good bit of different media's throughout my everyday meandering. What was most striking is the almost habitual routine I followed during the course of a day... it seemed I would listen to my IPOD, go to class, IPOD, class, IPOD, computer, sleep-- or something like that.

This exercise has shown me that in today's age, media usage is done constantly thoughout a day both conciously and subconsciously. We has humans have come to the point that we literally cannot function normally without a phone or computer right next to us at all times. Media is the new frontier of the human lifestlyle and we can either fight it or go with the flow and embrace our advances in the field and use them to our advantage both career-wise and liesually.

Here is an excerpt from one of my days:
10:45-11AM: Walked to class listening to my IPOD (Frank Zappa)
11AM-12:15PM: Sat in class as the teacher used powerpoint to lecture us.
12:15-12:30PM: Walked to class with IPOd (MMW and the White Stripes)
12:30-1:45PM: Sat in class as the teacher used powerpoint, teacher played Celine Dion and Elliot Smith in class for us to break down the song, and I updated my fbook status to promote the film "Moon" which played at the Bama Theater last week.
1:45-2PM: Walked to work listening to IPOD (Radiohead this time)
2-4:45PM: At work, where I am a computer technician so I am constantly using a computer. Also checked email, fbook, and blog. Also read out of different books for class. Enjoyed some youtube time and then I went home.

So, as you can see, media was a constant character in my daily life. Without it, I would be seemingly completely lost in the world. I believe this new media wave is just the beginning and the future is so bright, that well, you better wear some shades.

Assignment: Self Portrait

My Long Portrait

TCF 444

First post for TCF 444.

A link to Kate's blog. She thinks she is cool.

This video, however, is confirmed cool.