Hi all,
A couple months back I posted a link to the "pilot" of a music showcase program I was producing. I've been updating progress in the Blog Thread, but now it's reached the point for a real announcement and its own thread so I don't derail that one.
(Some of this is repeat info for those who read the blog or previous thread, but for anybody new, they don't have to track those down.)
On Tuesday, June 9th, at 10pm PDT, my music showcase program, _Songwriter Sacramento_, debuts on local cable channel 17. While it's "only" a cable access show, I think we managed to make a program that's far above the standard access fare, both in content and production values. It will also stream online at that time, link down below for that.
It's a one-hour show featuring a musical performances and an interview focused on one local artist. This episode is Autumn Sky, a young singer/songwriter who has an amazingly powerful voice and a depth to her writing that means she could hit with a major label at any time.
I really wanted something that a viewer could come away really knowing both the music and the artist as a person, and I think the format I came up with works to do that.
We tape the music in the station's studio with a full 3-camera broadcast quality set of equipment, then I tape the interview separately. I then edit the interview in between the songs, using the answers to questions about each song as the lead-in, plus other general questions about the artist's process and background.
This means I can arrange everything in post-edit to build something of a story about the artist. This is where my prose writing and editing experience has really come in handy. This "discovery" and showcasing of new talent also scratches the same itch as when I editing my fantasy webzine.
I have to give a lot of credit to my director, Dan Lorenzo, and the camera crew, they really gave me a lot of pro-quality shots and transitions that really highlight the performance nicely.
I have three more really great local songwriters lined up for future shows, but for now the schedule will be erratic until I establish enough consistency to obtain a regular timeslot from the station.
Anyway, for more info:
http://www.myspace.com/Songwriter_Sacramento My page that will have updates and other information, and eventually the full episodes.
http://www.AccessSacramento.org/ Home page of the station. The online streams are accessed from the front page, the "Channel 17" button in the case of my show. The 3 airings:
June 9th, 10pm PDT
June 10th, 2pm PDT
June 11th, 6am PDT
The artists lined up so far:
http://www.myspace.com/AutumnSkyMySpacehttp://www.myspace.com/AllOnSevenhttp://www.myspace.com/RickyBergerhttp://www.myspace.com/JustinFarrenUntil then, if you want to see the half-hour "pilot" I shot with Autumn on my camcorder to test my format concept.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=55047063Anyway, I hope some of you get a chance to tune in when these air and let me know what you think.
If anybody has questions about how they might be able to go about this where you live, I'll see if I can help point you in the right direction. I also have a few tips on how you can make shoots with your own camcorder look and sound better than the average YouTube clip.
