Bones - Morning One

Here's a music video I directed, shot and animated for a friend. His music as always been amazing, and is constantly getting more mature and intricate. I had a great time making this video as I used a mix of animation, feedback, programming, and set-design to make it all come together.

Applescript: OverwriteSlicer

My work as an intern for George Blood L.P. is all over te place. I came on thinking I would be working with the digitization process, observing transfers of analog media and learning the nitty gritty. Instead, I've been working mostly the preservation and organization of their in-house documents and database. It's been incredibly interesting, and I've been given the chance to work as an information professional for a company that is incredibly well known in the cultural heritage industry.

I've been able to make a good impression on the other employees by giving them the tools they need to do their work faster and more efficiently. The Applescript droplet I wrote, OverwriteSlicer, is one example of this. One major problem that comes up working with digital audio is that one single file cannot be larger than 2 Gigabytes. So, a digital audio file samples at 94k/sec with a bitdepth of 24 bits cannot exceed one hour. While it's not often that a single Intellectual Unit will exceed an hour, it does happen, and when it does it causes problems for the engineers. Before, the engineers would have to make sure to stop the tape before it reached an hour, then rewind it ten seconds, and start a new transfer. This would give them two files, with a bit of overlap, that they could eventually put together in an access copy.

OverwriteSlicer does this automatically. It takes advantage of the fact that an audio file larger than 2 GB can exist, but cannot be opened. First, the engineer drops a folder containing audio files into the droplet. The droplet then determines if the file needs to be sliced by using the MediaInfo command line app to determine its size. If the file is too big to be opened, the droplet again uses MediaInfo to determine where the slice should happen. This is done by examining the bitrate of the file, which means that files of varying bitrates are compatible with OverwriteSlicer. The droplet makes sure to leave an overlap of 10 seconds on each now sound file, and puts them in a new folder within the original folder. The new files are saved as Broadcast WAV files, which is what the original files it gets are as well. The droplet makes sure to keep all embedded metadata intact across the new files, which is extremely important for George Blood L.P..

Directing Soap Operas

When I heard that the Television studio course's final project was directing a scene from a soap opera I knew I had to get on board. While my ambitions and goals change every day, one dream of mine always stays the same: I want to direct South American Soap Operas. SAC 302 was likely the most fun I had taking classes at U of M, along with being the hardest get into. Here is a clip of the soap opera scene I directed. I've included the clip that has control room audio, but the clip with only the dialogue can be found in the related videos. DREAM ON!

Soft Sculpture

These are all examples of soft sculptures I made while taking a class with Andrew Thompson. The class was titled "Recycling," though the class was more concerned with an ideological and aesthetic stance than a political one. Andy stressed that, if we could get away with it, we should not pay for our art supplies (or at least not pay a lot).

The first photograph was created from the remains of a dog stuffed animal that I took apart. I completely disassembled the dog before starting any work on the sculpture. I found the entire process extremely meditative, though at times surprisingly difficult. The end result did not use all of the materials the dog gave me, but did use only those materials.

The next three are from a series in which I used second-hand children's clothing as the materials. Again, I took apart the clothing completely before beginning the recreation process. The message here is slightly more political, as the actual objects are charged. At the time, a ban had been proposed on the sale of second-hand children's clothing. I decided to use what was becoming contraband to make pieces that are NOT FOR CHILDREN, but appear at first glance as if they could be. They're a little cute, but the messages are a bit too queasy for kids.

WCBN Radio Show

Here's a clip of me guest DJing on my friend Dustin K's show.

Noon to 1:00
1:00 to 2:00

Enjoy!

Elmer Wright

This is a cassette tape that a friend of mine found at a local salvation army. The used cassette section is often the first spot we go to when at second-hand stores. This is the perfect example of what we're looking for. Everything about the tape is home-made. The recordings are scratchy and worn, the playing is imperfect, and the songs give a profound insight the man who sang them's life.

These are Christmas songs, and while the melodies are familiar the words are not. Mr. Wright does not appreciate the sorry state of Christmas in our modern age. His deep love for the solemn holiday of the birth Christ is the root of his intense disdain for all things "Santa." We've really made a mess out of Christmas.

I scanned and digitized the artwork and music so as to create a musical archive that might otherwise be lost forever in a sea of magnetic ephemera.


Elmer Wright - The Man That Sing The Gospel On The Pier

Before & After the Dream

Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman is a an independent filmmaker from Detroit. We've worked on a few projects together, and I have a blast every time. This video was shot on in a speakeasy bad in Detroit called Cafe D'Mongo's, which is one of the funnest places to be in the city. The soundscapes and ambient noises came to me as I coped with the meaning of the movie. When I asked Jacob questions about what the movie meant, he simply told me that I should do whatever I wanted with the sound. Thus, the soundtrack became my own interpretation of the events.

Before & After the Dream from jacob Hurwitz-Goodman on Vimeo.