This is a high quality version of the video from Yahoo.
The Elephant's Lullaby
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Elephant's Lullaby Online Now!
The Elephant's Lullaby is now up and running on the web!
The Elephant's Lullaby (Flash Animation Version)
Click on the monkey's face where is says "Watch this Movie!"
I'm hoping it will be on YouTube later today!
- Tom
The Elephant's Lullaby (Flash Animation Version)
Click on the monkey's face where is says "Watch this Movie!"
I'm hoping it will be on YouTube later today!
- Tom
Saturday, November 1, 2008
The Elephant's Lullaby Intro
Here's the intro from the Elephant's Lullaby Cartoon. That's me there on the left, with Marika the monkey. I'm teaching the motions to the song.
Artists - Liz McLelland, Wright Rickman, Chris Davidson.
Artists - Liz McLelland, Wright Rickman, Chris Davidson.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
3rd day of filming
We didn't get all the shots we needed from the exterior film shoot with the Garbage Monster on Oct. 10th, so we needed to come back and shoot a few more things. On Oct. 22nd, we went back to my friend Mihal's house to film the ending of the story.
I was a a bit worried that the yard wouldn't look the same. The temperature had gotten much colder, and leaves had fallen off of trees. Things can change fast this time of year.
Luckily, it didn't look too different, in the dark and with the lights set up.
A few things were different about this shoot. It was much colder - about 35 degrees Fahrenheit. On Oct. 10th, I think it was probably about 60 degrees.
The other thing that was different was that Steve Yale-Loehr was not able to be the Garbage Monster again. After asking around a little bit, we couldn't find a suitable replacement. I decided I would try to fill the Garbage Monster's Ginger Ale Shoes myself!
I'm a little shorter than Steve, but I thought it wouldn't be too noticeable. I knew that the original King Kong movie used models that had very different scales from one scene to the next, so that the Gorilla would appear to be 40 feet tall in one scene, and 25 feet tall in another. A couple inches shouldn't make much difference in this case.
It took about 30 minutes to get the costume on. We weren't sure exactly where all the stuff went, but used our best guess. I think when you watch the video, it will be fun to see how the tomato container is on the right arm in one scene, but on the left arm in the scene. But on the other hand, it's supposed to be a pile of garbage. Cans can shift around in a pile of garbage, right?
Erin arrived, all bundled up, and we began shooting. The first thing we did was a chase scene. I chased Erin. Then we switched, and she chased me. I could only see a little out of one eye, so it was a bit challenging. Also, the mask covered my mouth, so I couldn't breathe very well either.
Later, we needed to shoot a scene of the garbage monster emerging from the trash can. Since Erin was small enough to fit in the can, we asked her to put the mask on. She did great!
The final scene was the garbage monster walking down the driveway. Again, Erin was the Garbage Monster. We put the mask on her, and dressed her in an oversize garbage bag, and filmed her walking away from the camera, down the driveway.
We wrapped at 9:15 PM - an early night compared to last time!
We still have a few more shots to catch, but they are interior shots. Then the editing will begin!
I was a a bit worried that the yard wouldn't look the same. The temperature had gotten much colder, and leaves had fallen off of trees. Things can change fast this time of year.
Luckily, it didn't look too different, in the dark and with the lights set up.
A few things were different about this shoot. It was much colder - about 35 degrees Fahrenheit. On Oct. 10th, I think it was probably about 60 degrees.
The other thing that was different was that Steve Yale-Loehr was not able to be the Garbage Monster again. After asking around a little bit, we couldn't find a suitable replacement. I decided I would try to fill the Garbage Monster's Ginger Ale Shoes myself!
I'm a little shorter than Steve, but I thought it wouldn't be too noticeable. I knew that the original King Kong movie used models that had very different scales from one scene to the next, so that the Gorilla would appear to be 40 feet tall in one scene, and 25 feet tall in another. A couple inches shouldn't make much difference in this case.
It took about 30 minutes to get the costume on. We weren't sure exactly where all the stuff went, but used our best guess. I think when you watch the video, it will be fun to see how the tomato container is on the right arm in one scene, but on the left arm in the scene. But on the other hand, it's supposed to be a pile of garbage. Cans can shift around in a pile of garbage, right?
Erin arrived, all bundled up, and we began shooting. The first thing we did was a chase scene. I chased Erin. Then we switched, and she chased me. I could only see a little out of one eye, so it was a bit challenging. Also, the mask covered my mouth, so I couldn't breathe very well either.
Later, we needed to shoot a scene of the garbage monster emerging from the trash can. Since Erin was small enough to fit in the can, we asked her to put the mask on. She did great!
The final scene was the garbage monster walking down the driveway. Again, Erin was the Garbage Monster. We put the mask on her, and dressed her in an oversize garbage bag, and filmed her walking away from the camera, down the driveway.
We wrapped at 9:15 PM - an early night compared to last time!
We still have a few more shots to catch, but they are interior shots. Then the editing will begin!
2nd day of filming
The Garbage Monster music video has two main parts: "the story," with the recycling kid and the garbage monster filmed outside at night, and "the concert," with me, Tom Knight, playing guitar to an audience who is singing along.
On October 20th, 2008, we filmed the concert part of the video at the Ithaca Sciencenter.
Annie Zygarowicz had created a cool set, which consisted of an arch made entirely of recycled bottles and cans. It was very festive and colorful.
I was wearing my costume made by Amelia Rosenthal - the necktie vest and porkpie hat.
We arrived at the Sciencenter around 9:30 AM so Photosynthesis Productions could get the lights and cameras set up. Then we began shooting a lot of close-ups of me singing the song over and over. I had to make funny faces, wink at the camera, and try to remember the spoken words in the middle of the song. They shot some close-ups of my left hand playing the guitar, my right hand playing the guitar, and my feet tapping. This went on for a couple hours or so. It was actually kind of fun.
After a short lunch break with delivery from Taste of Thai Express, we were ready to bring in the kids. About 25 kids from Ithaca (and surrounding towns) had been invited to be in the video, along with a few parents.
We set everyone up sitting on the floor in front of me, much like a typical concert, and I sang the song about 10 times. Everyone else sang it too. We took a break at one point to dance to the Wiggle Worm song.
The director Meg Doherty did a great job keeping everything fun and engaging for everyone. David and Billy and Garth kept the cameras working, and moved lights when necessary.
Before the film shoot, some kids met with us at the Sciencenter to make "garbage monster puppets," which are monsters made out of garbage and recycled materials. We passed out these puppets and the kids held them up and danced around with them.
We wrapped up around 7 PM. We only needed about 2 minutes of good film, and we had shot about 2.5 hours worth! I knew we had plenty of great shots to choose from. We'll see what happens with the editing!
All photos are by Billy Boyce. Thanks Billy!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Tom's new costume
To go along with the theme of recycling for the Garbage Monster song, Ithaca designer Amelia Rosenthal created the vest and the hat from recycled materials, including neckties, and clothes from the Salvation Army.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Garbage Monster Costume
Here are some snapshots of the costume from the dress rehearsal on October 9th.
Here's the face, without the black fabric that we added to cover up his face. Steve Yale-Loehr has a mouth guard in his teeth to hold the lower half of the monster's mouth.
The shoes made of ginger ale bottles!
Steve Yale-Loehr and Lauren Cowdery, the costume designer.
Here's the face, without the black fabric that we added to cover up his face. Steve Yale-Loehr has a mouth guard in his teeth to hold the lower half of the monster's mouth.
The shoes made of ginger ale bottles!
Steve Yale-Loehr and Lauren Cowdery, the costume designer.
First day of filming
We began filming on Friday October 10th, 2008. I was kind of nervous. A lot of time and energy and money were going into this production. Would everything work out OK?
The director and producer Meg Doherty, and I, got there around 4 PM. The location was my friend's house on Aurora St. in Ithaca. She generously allowed us to use her backyard. We moved some things around to clear some space for the shoot.
Then Lauren Cowdery, our costume designer, and Steve Yale-Loehr, the actor playing the monster, arrived. It took about 40 minutes for Steve to get into costume.
Then the film crew from Photosynthesis arrived - David Kossack (the Director of Photography) and the crew (Garth and Billy Boyce). An Ithaca College Student (Jessie) arrived because she wanted to watch a film in progess. We enlisted her to be script supervisor, which means she took notes on every shot that we made, with descriptions. That will help us later when we start editing.
Then Erin Hilgartner, the Recycling Kid, arrived.
Then we began filming the first shot! Action! Erin walked down the stairs with a flashlight. Cut! She did it again.
I'm learning what filming is like. First, you set up the lights for about 15 minutes. Then you film for 10 minutes to catch a 10 second shot. Then you do it again. It takes a long time, but it's worth it.
The costume was really cool. There were a lot of parts to it. Once Steve was in the costume, he couldn't eat or drink or go to the bathroom without taking it off!
At one point, Steve and Erin started dancing around. I don't know what started it, but it was pretty funny to see them both dancing.
We finally finished around 1:00 AM. We still have a few more shots we need to get, but Erin needed to go home and everyone was really tired.
I'm looking forward to the next day of filming, October 20th!
Photos are by William Boyce, who is on the film crew. Thanks Billy!
- Tom
Erin looks around for the garbage monster.
Tom and Steve as the Garbage Monster
A little costume malfunction.
Come with me and we'll rule the world!
Erin on the screen.
Uh oh!
David gets the right angle.
David, Jessie, Tom and Meg, behind the camera.
OK. Now imagine the monster is in front of you!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
A new song
I wrote in the description of this blog that this is about a musician/puppeteer and filmmaker. I've been writing about puppets and film, but not much about music.
Here's a song I wrote last year about the Autumn.
Autumn Reverie Streaming
In case you are interested, the song is based on a poem I wrote years ago. It was basically a poem about what I hope to achieve in my life. The poem seemed to work fine on it's own, and didn't require music.
Then, seven years later, I decided to make it into a song. I had to rework all the lines so they rhymed and the meter worked.
At first, I wrote a melody using chords from the jazz standard - "Autumn Leaves." It sounded pretty good, but I decided it was too melancholy for the subject matter.
I rejected that melody, and created a new melody from the chord progression of the song "Blue Moon." That seemed to fit the mood better.
I recorded it all on my computer in my room. I used drum and bass samples to create loops, and build tracks, then recorded guitar and vocals on top of those tracks.
I even played a guitar solo myself. I think it took me about 2 hours to get that 30 second solo. I kind of like it, but you can tell I'm not a lead guitar player. Some of the notes are not very solid. Anyway, I like the song, and the imagery.
- Tom
Here's a song I wrote last year about the Autumn.
Autumn Reverie Streaming
In case you are interested, the song is based on a poem I wrote years ago. It was basically a poem about what I hope to achieve in my life. The poem seemed to work fine on it's own, and didn't require music.
Then, seven years later, I decided to make it into a song. I had to rework all the lines so they rhymed and the meter worked.
At first, I wrote a melody using chords from the jazz standard - "Autumn Leaves." It sounded pretty good, but I decided it was too melancholy for the subject matter.
I rejected that melody, and created a new melody from the chord progression of the song "Blue Moon." That seemed to fit the mood better.
I recorded it all on my computer in my room. I used drum and bass samples to create loops, and build tracks, then recorded guitar and vocals on top of those tracks.
I even played a guitar solo myself. I think it took me about 2 hours to get that 30 second solo. I kind of like it, but you can tell I'm not a lead guitar player. Some of the notes are not very solid. Anyway, I like the song, and the imagery.
- Tom
Saturday, September 13, 2008
The Elephant's Lullaby
Meg and I met with Chris Davidson yesterday and managed to get a still from the video. Marika the monkey is on the left, and Ellie the elephant is on the right. Marika is about to teach Ellie the motions to the song.
Artists - Wright Rickman, Liz McLelland and Chris Davidson
Thursday, September 11, 2008
a new garbage monster face
Here's the latest version of the Garbage Monster face that I've been working on. I like it better than the previous one. The eyes are really important. The other eyes didn't look alive. This one is better, I think. I'm going to show it to Lauren, the costume designer, tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Why I'm making videos now
In case anyone is interested, I thought I'd write a little about why I'm making videos now.
Basically, it's because I want to move my career to another level. I like doing small parties for 20 kids, and I've been doing that for 20 years now! I guess I don't want to be doing small parties for another 20 years.
I'd like to be at the State Theater in Ithaca in front of a large audience.
I went to see Dan Zanes when he came to the State, and he was lots of fun. But I was also thinking - I can do that! I have some songs that are more participatory and can be more engaging.
Besides the hair, what's the difference between me and him?
How can I get a large audience in some large city like Philadelphia, for instance? How can I get my music out to a wider audience so that I'm famous in other cities?
In the old days, people would get on the radio and tour a lot. I've been touring a lot, and haven't had much luck with radio.
I think people came to see Dan Zanes because they know his name. And they know his name because they saw him on TV.
So I need to get on TV!
So I'm making music videos. I hope to get on TV, but in the meantime, I'm planning on posting the videos on the internet - Youtube, etc.
That's the short story.
I'm encouraged by a comic that I met recently. Mrs. Hughes. She told me the story of how she got her video on the internet, and her career was transformed overnight. She got a million people to watch it! Wow!
Her act is pretty funny. I'm not sure if there are any kids reading this, but I would rate her act PG.
By the way if you are reading this, and you want to be on the mailing list, to find out when the next video is coming out, go to this page. Join the email list.
- Tom
Basically, it's because I want to move my career to another level. I like doing small parties for 20 kids, and I've been doing that for 20 years now! I guess I don't want to be doing small parties for another 20 years.
I'd like to be at the State Theater in Ithaca in front of a large audience.
I went to see Dan Zanes when he came to the State, and he was lots of fun. But I was also thinking - I can do that! I have some songs that are more participatory and can be more engaging.
Besides the hair, what's the difference between me and him?
How can I get a large audience in some large city like Philadelphia, for instance? How can I get my music out to a wider audience so that I'm famous in other cities?In the old days, people would get on the radio and tour a lot. I've been touring a lot, and haven't had much luck with radio.
I think people came to see Dan Zanes because they know his name. And they know his name because they saw him on TV.
So I need to get on TV!
So I'm making music videos. I hope to get on TV, but in the meantime, I'm planning on posting the videos on the internet - Youtube, etc.
That's the short story.
I'm encouraged by a comic that I met recently. Mrs. Hughes. She told me the story of how she got her video on the internet, and her career was transformed overnight. She got a million people to watch it! Wow!
Her act is pretty funny. I'm not sure if there are any kids reading this, but I would rate her act PG.
By the way if you are reading this, and you want to be on the mailing list, to find out when the next video is coming out, go to this page. Join the email list.
- Tom
the elephant and the monster
I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd do an update.
I'm feeling a bit schizophrenic right now, trying to make two videos at the same time.
As it turned out, my idea to add another motion for the elephant's lullaby got vetoed by the director and the producer. They thought it just made things too complicated.
So, we filmed the green screen stuff of me teaching the motions. Nutmeg (the producer) played Marika the monkey.
I intended to take a photo of the set to show how the green screen thing works, but I couldn't find my camera when I needed it. So no photo.
The idea was to film me teaching the motions as a reference for the animators. Liz McLelland and Wright Rickman will watch the footage of me, and draw me onto an animated background, and use the sound we recorded.
I'm excited to see what they come up with.
I've also been working on the Garbage Monster video. Lauren Cowdery has come up with some great stuff so far, based on David Murk's design.
But I want to do something a little different with the face. Here's my first attempt.
I kind of like it, but it doesn't really work. I think the eyes and the mouth need to be different.
Here's what I've been doing lately:
Figuring out a costume for myself, hopefully involving a pork pie hat.
Scheduling auditions for kids
Talking to my friend about scheduling her house for the location
Talking to an artist about doing the title for the Elephant's Lullaby video.
Talking to designers about how to dress the set for the film shoot at the Sciencenter.
It's been a fun process, but challenging. Every so often, when I start to think that I know what I'm doing, something happens and I realize I don't know what I'm doing!
I'm feeling a bit schizophrenic right now, trying to make two videos at the same time.
As it turned out, my idea to add another motion for the elephant's lullaby got vetoed by the director and the producer. They thought it just made things too complicated.
So, we filmed the green screen stuff of me teaching the motions. Nutmeg (the producer) played Marika the monkey.
I intended to take a photo of the set to show how the green screen thing works, but I couldn't find my camera when I needed it. So no photo.
The idea was to film me teaching the motions as a reference for the animators. Liz McLelland and Wright Rickman will watch the footage of me, and draw me onto an animated background, and use the sound we recorded.
I'm excited to see what they come up with.
I've also been working on the Garbage Monster video. Lauren Cowdery has come up with some great stuff so far, based on David Murk's design.
But I want to do something a little different with the face. Here's my first attempt.
I kind of like it, but it doesn't really work. I think the eyes and the mouth need to be different.Here's what I've been doing lately:
Figuring out a costume for myself, hopefully involving a pork pie hat.
Scheduling auditions for kids
Talking to my friend about scheduling her house for the location
Talking to an artist about doing the title for the Elephant's Lullaby video.
Talking to designers about how to dress the set for the film shoot at the Sciencenter.
It's been a fun process, but challenging. Every so often, when I start to think that I know what I'm doing, something happens and I realize I don't know what I'm doing!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Elephant's Lullaby
(drawing by Liz Mclelland and Wright Rickman.)
As I said in my last post, I'm going to be filming Green Screen stuff for The Elephant's Lullaby video. The main point of the intro is to teach the motions for the chorus.
Little elephants need to get their rest
To grow up big and strong
To make their ears so big and floppy
To make their trunks so long
I've got motions for "rest" "growing up" "strong" "floppy ears" and "trunks so long." I decided today, after performing the song for 6 years, that it would be good to have a motion for "elephant." Since I'm filming today, I'd better figure it out!
I asked my neighbor, who knows sign language, if she knew the sign for "elephant." She did!
You start at your nose and make a graceful swoop down like an elephant's trunk.
So today I plan to film the new motions for posterity!
The animators won't like this because that will mean more animation!
- Tom
Welcome to my blog!
OK. Here I go. I've been thinking about starting a blog, and now I'm finally doing it. So much is going on in my life and career right now, and I'd like to document it. I think other people will be interested in it too.
Today I'm meeting with my producer Meg Doherty and costume designer Lauren Cowdery to begin work on the Garbage Monster costume for the upcoming video. Meg has suggested I bring a bunch of recyclable stuff to work with. I plan to raid the Ecovillage recycling shed as a start. The meeting is at 1 PM.
The contest for creating a garbage monster design just ended a few days ago. I got a lot of great entries. One by David Murk really stood out as a viable costume design. There were a lot of other great ideas that I want to incorporate into the design too.
At 4 PM, Meg and I are going to Moving Box Studios (aka MBS) to film the intro to my video of The Elephant's Lullaby. I will be introducing the motions to the song in front of a green screen. Chris Davidson, Wright Rickman, and Liz Mclelland from MBS will then animate it and put me on a jungle background. Meg Doherty will stand in for the monkey Marika. I'll bring my camera and get a couple photos.
- Tom
Today I'm meeting with my producer Meg Doherty and costume designer Lauren Cowdery to begin work on the Garbage Monster costume for the upcoming video. Meg has suggested I bring a bunch of recyclable stuff to work with. I plan to raid the Ecovillage recycling shed as a start. The meeting is at 1 PM.
The contest for creating a garbage monster design just ended a few days ago. I got a lot of great entries. One by David Murk really stood out as a viable costume design. There were a lot of other great ideas that I want to incorporate into the design too.
At 4 PM, Meg and I are going to Moving Box Studios (aka MBS) to film the intro to my video of The Elephant's Lullaby. I will be introducing the motions to the song in front of a green screen. Chris Davidson, Wright Rickman, and Liz Mclelland from MBS will then animate it and put me on a jungle background. Meg Doherty will stand in for the monkey Marika. I'll bring my camera and get a couple photos.
- Tom
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