(MERREL NOTE:  I had a wonderful time speaking with Chris Newman. His candor and intensity for filmmaking was refreshing. This article originally appeared in the most recent issue of Sound & Picture Magazine)

Award Winning Life Lessons with Chris Newman

There are a handful of sound mixers in feature films whose work has ascended to the highest echelon of the industry. These names, even known to the average filmgoer, represent a small and storied pool. One member of this exclusive pool is Chris Newman, a three time Academy Award winning (eight nominations) sound mixer. You’d have to be living under a rock not to have seen one of the films he’s worked on. From The Godfather, Amadeus, The Exorcist, to Fame and The English Patient, Newman has seen 50 years of sound mixing and experienced the sea change of Hollywood first hand in the process. He sat down with me to chat about his life, his career, his teaching and his reflections on the state of filmmaking.

A Career in Sound

Mixing and Production
Newman’s career is anything but typical. At the age of sixteen, he attended M.I.T. “It was overwhelming for me, intellectually, socially, in every way. It was a mistake to go at such a tender age, but I did,”  he said. I couldn’t cut it. I was gone in a year and a half. I was selling soft ice cream in Times Square.” By the time Newman was twenty, he crash landed into the bustle of New York City. Newman boldly announced to the world “I am a sound mixer!”

In the 1960’s, Newman began work on documentaries using his trusty Nagra recorder; “The first Nagra I ever had was in 1961, and when I got it, no one knew how to use it. The employer didn’t know how to use it so we had to figure it out together.” Luckily, by the time Newman landed his first feature, Haskell Wexler’s critical hit Medium Cool, his love for the Nagra was in full swing.

An old school love, the analog Nagra can be a hard thing to shake. Newman loved his Nagra; “The thing I miss about those kinds of recorders is the simplicity of using them. Working on the set is an almost bizarre experience where you are constantly bombarded with decisions, decision making and tension, your tension other people’s tension.” Keeping a simple recorder, he said, makes “life easier.”

As technology progressed in sound mixing and recorders, Newman eventually transitioned to hard drive based digital recorders. The first movie he solely used hard drive recording was Jonathan Demme’s remake of The Manchurian Candidate (2004). “I had problems, problems in the field. But we muddled our way through, and it made things a lot easier for the editors. Tthat was important. Prior to that, all we used was the Nagra D.”

When I asked Newman if there was a change in style of work since he began his career, he paused for a long moment; “Look, all this business about making movies, working on movies, all of it boils down to problem solving. We are constantly problem solving. One of the big differences I notice between movie making now and earlier on is that we had a hell of a lot more fun back then!”

A Set Life
Newman was surprisingly candid, “All I did was make mistakes, get better, make mistakes, get better.” He had a mentor, Jack Jacobsen, known for his sound work on Apocalypse Now and Kramer vs. Kramer. Jacobsen would call from time to time and tell him, “Chris, nice job.” But something Jacobsen said has stuck with Newman all these years later, “Look, all of film recording is about one thing. Signal to noise. It’s always about signal to noise.” Indeed, Newman encourages, “Question how much pull does the microphone have. How much of what you want can you get and how much of what you don’t want, can you eliminate.”

Newman has encountered his fair share of problems with sound on set. That is almost inevitable for all crews, and for him, the importance was always in how one is able to address and troubleshoot problems on set effectively and quickly. On his last film, What Happens in Vegas, he had problems finding enough channels for the wireless radio mics. Unbeknownst to him until production day, they were close to a Navy Yard. Almost all 16 channels were swamped. “I don’t know what happened, but it was probably God telling me time to stop working,” Newman laughs.

I wondered out loud if there was a film that Newman felt he had missed out on. “Plenty, but that’s no one’s business but my own. I turned down a movie that became Taxi Driver to do All the President’s Men and at that time there was no reciprocity between East Coast and West Coast unions. Ultimately, I was not able to do All the President’s Men. So, I lost both movies within a very short period of time. I tried my best not to have a nervous break down!”

Since Newman, couldn’t do All the President’s Men, he recommended Jim Webb. Webb asked if there was anything he could do for him. Newman simply said, “When you win the Oscar, you can thank me.” Webb did win the Oscar, but forgot to thank him. Humbled about it now, Newman reflects “I didn’t talk to him for 10 years. When I finally confronted him, he said, “I was so overwhelmed, I forgot. I apologize.”

Newman ultimately recommended Les Lazarowitz for Taxi Driver. “He did an amazing job and an even better job on Raging Bull. That was worth a lot to me because he was my second boom operator. I was very happy for him.”

Appreciation of his sound crew is important. “Sound mixers become famous because their boom operators were great,” Newman explains. “It’s not all the sound mixer. It’s a bunch of people… When you find great boom operators like Gregg Harris, Marc Jon-Sullivan, Dennis Maitland II, Ken Weston, Pat Suraci and David Sutton, you simply let them do their job.”

FULL DISCLOSURE: In my original interview transcription and conversation with Mr. Newman he stated 2 names; Greg Harris and Marc Jon-Sullivan. The additional names were added to the articles publication after my submission. I must fully disclose that I have not done additional reporting on this article. The paragraph as submitted is below:

“Appreciation of his other crew members is not without merit. “Sound mixers become famous because their boom operators were great.” Newman explains “It’s not all the sound mixer. It’s a bunch of people.” He admits, “I am a control person, I still am. When one finds a great boom operator like a Greg Harris or Marc Jon-Sullivan or some of the other great boom operators I’ve had. (note: over a half a dozen people.) One let’s them do their job, and one doesn’t second guess them, because it serves no purpose.”

School’s in Session
Now an instructor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Newman’s hard learned lessons on set are applied to his teaching syllabus.

In some form or another, Newman has taught throughout his career, starting as early as the 1970’s. At SVA, Newman would bring students to the set, if he was working a job. “When we were working with Sidney Lumet on 100 Centre St., a series that he treated like live TV from the 50’s, Lumet was very generous. He’d let students sit with him when he called shots.”

Dealing with students has its challenges. A much more technically oriented generation has emerged, yet they are sometimes more insular in their risk taking. Newman reflects on this, “The whole idea of bringing discipline to kids 18-22 years old is very elusive. Try to get them to show up to set on-time.” And not just for sound consideration, teaching students how to put their boots down on the battlefield requires a total understanding of the production process, working with people, teaching them how to work on set, work in teams, how to shoot, how to take sound on the set, how to cut and criticize.”

There are many clichés about the sound mixing profession. Jack Solomon once said, “We’re technicians not magicians.” Newman is quick to share wisdom with his pupils. “I tell them, always be thinking. Always be conceptualizing. Trust no one myself included. Assume nothing. Double check the equipment endlessly. Always have fresh batteries as well as fresh underwear.”

Students in Newman’s courses are directed to be meticulous and to check everything again and again. Because in his eyes, something will always go wrong no matter how careful or prepared you are. One must always be thinking about how to deal. “I won’t enable my students. Meaning, I will not show them how to do things very often. I expect them to kind of blunder through things as I did.”

The Ultimate Reflection
As my candid interview with Newman came to a close, I asked him to reflect on his accomplishments, and true to form, he didn’t miss a beat. “I have been extraordinarily lucky and been in the right place at the right time over and over again. I had a lot of discipline. I tried as I got older to be more reasonable, just a little.” He paused one last time, “One learns that doing sound is not about the sound man. It takes a sound man a long time to learn that.”

Hey folks, so much on the horizon this month. My event, Screenwriter Karaoke, has grown so much since I started it back in New York City. I’m happy to announce I’ll be returning to New York City for a special post Thanksgiving appearance. And no worries for LA. we’re still on this Thursday November 18th 2010 at Sardo’s in Burbank.

SCREENWRITER KARAOKE LA
Thursday November 18th @ 8:30 P.M.
Sardo’s Grill and Lounge
259 N. PASS AVE.
Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 846-8127

SCREENWRITER KARAOKE NYC
Monday November 29th @ 8 P.M.
Baby Grand
161 Lafayette Street at Grand
New York, NY 10013
212.219.811

Last year, I spent a good portion of my time doing production work on CIA Confidential for National Geographic. I’ve since moved onto other documentary work for television and film in addition to my screenwriting and development duties elsewhere.

Doc work experience was a great for me. In fact, every screenwriter should work on at least one documentary. Documentary film structure and other requirements for non-fiction are integral to building accurate, succinct, compelling and entertaining stories. And my screenwriting is better for it.

photo credit: leinadsimpson

Screenwriter Karaoke is a monthly filmmaking network event organized by yours truly in two cities (NYC and LA.) It’s been a great vehicle to meet some wonderful, creative people. I encourage you to come out and mingle, sing or drink!

LA:
Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 8:30 PM
Sardo’s Grill and Lounge
259 N. PASS AVE.
BURBANK, CA 91505

Driving directions: Here

NYC:
Since I am now in LA, I’m working with others to help co-organize NYC Screenwriter Karaoke. I anticipate the 3rd week of January for New York Screenwriter Karaoke. Stop by as the date nears for more information.

January TBD 2010 at 8:30 PM
Baby Grand
161 Lafeyette St.
New York, NY 10013

Last month I posted about some unsavory job listings for screenwriters on Craigslist. The article was picked up by a couple of blogs. So it comes as a disappointment, though not a surprise, that the same unprincipled individuals are at it again.

Same M.O. — this ad is directed towards novice screenwriters. It intends to exploit them.

Like the earlier ad this one:

• $1000 to be piecemealed as payment over six weeks. [Never allow anyone to give you payment this way.]
• Must meet with “team members” 90 minutes per week this time in Hudson Valley.
• Work to be done on an existing script. This time it’s Horror instead of a “Dark Comic Thriller”
• You must waive any right to the work you create upfront.
• The ad uses disposable Gmail addresses to conceal identity.

New Twists:

• “Writer must also understand that if we edit the script we will share a writing credit.” [Translation, we will edit the script to the point where we will claim we wrote it, and you will get no credit.]
• “We may be willing to pay a little more to the right person and only upon the delivery of a project that is so good it simply leaves us breathless. So think of it as a generous bonus to an amazing job well done!” [The Gall! They hope to rope and make writers slave with some whimsical idea of a "bonus."]

Remember folks $1000 is way below the rate for a re-write or development of existing material. Never write material for free unless you are spec-ing your own show or feature or have a personal investment in the outcome.  You have no way of knowing who these individuals are or what they intend to do with your work. This is not how real writers and producers do business. Avoid at all costs.

The pictures are in. October’s Screenwriter Karaoke was the largest one yet. Screenwriters and filmmakers filled out the entire bar from end to end. The place was filled creative energy.

Check out the pictures. (Yes, I’m the guy in the hat.)

And be sure to come to November Screenwriter Karaoke. This will be the last Screenwriter Karaoke in New York City for a little bit while I set up shop in LA.

Time: Wednesday, November 4th, 8 p.m.

Location: Baby Grand
161 Lafayette Street at Grand
New York, NY 10013
212.219.8110

It is quite possible that you’ve landed on my blog and you aren’t aware that I also organize a filmmaking network event called Screenwriter Karaoke. Right now the events are NYC based, but I hope soon to have an LA counterpart.

What is Screenwriter Karaoke? Think of it as a way to let your hair down, step up, wail on Super Tramp’s “The Long Way Home,” and then talk about your latest romantic comedy script. Looking for a collaborative writing partner with a knack for 17th Century English? You just might find one at Screenwriter Karaoke.

The event aims to be an informal way to meet your writing and filmmaking peers. Sometimes network events are just awkward, so why not try to loosen up have a couple of drinks and sing?

When: October 15, 2009 8:00 PM
Where:
Baby Grand
161 Lafayette Street at Grand
New York, NY 10013
212.219.8110

Please RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/Screenwriter-Karaoke/

To prove there is nothing to be afraid of, here I am on the right, rocking out to some Build me up Buttercup!

Screenwriter Karaoke aims to be a more informal way to get to know your industry peers and counterparts and hopefully make a connection! I created this event as a labor of love and a way to get and keep the community connected in a fun and informal way.

What: Screenwriter Karaoke September 2009
When: September 17, 2009 8:00 PM
Where:
Baby Grand
161 Lafayette Street at Grand
New York, NY 10013
212.219.8110

After a brief hiatus in August, Screenwriter Karaoke is back with a vengeance this time at BABY GRAND NYC a small and intimate Karaoke Bar at the nexus of Little Italy and Soho.

$1 dollar per song, but you must RSVP! as this is a very small and intimate location.

Think of it as a way to let your hair down. Imagine stepping up, and pitching your latest romantic comedy, then rolling right into Rocket Man. Oh feel the excitement! Looking for a collaborative writing partner with a knack for 17th Century English? Need a no-nonsense DP with a good reel? How about that next lead for your short? Woo them with your manly rendition of Sweet Transvestite.

The event is open to all Filmmakers, Writers, Actors, Producers, DP’s, Editors, Directors, etc. However, you must RSVP as space is limited.

For RSVP and more go to:
http://www.meetup.com/Screenwriter-Karaoke/calendar/11322583/

I’m back from a five day stint at the Southampton Screenwriters Conference, which was held at Stony Brook University, Southampton, Long Island.

What a wonderful experience!  Back in May when I was accepted to the conference I had some very specific goals in mind. I was going to workshop my feature script Through the Broken Glass. By the time of the conference, I had finished my fifth draft and was ready to run it through the ringer.

Surprising to me, was just how many things I learned during the conference both internal and external of my script.

The Workshop

Each morning began with the core workshop. I attended “Mastering Scene Writing” with actor/writer/director Peter Riegert in a small class of about six people. In this intimate environment Riegert proved a sharp guy. He offered a wealth of anecdotal advice based on both his acting experience and his experience writing and directing his Oscar nominated short By Courier and his feature length film King of the Corner.

Merrel Davis (me!) and Peter Riegert

It was refreshing to hear a consummate actor such as Peter Riegert read lines from my script. A lesson emerged from reading, a lesson of cleverness and simplicity and their places. I had written something (in a much earlier draft) that tickled me pink, and I was proud of it. But as Riegert said, “wit runs only so far.” My clever scene with a visual trick with an overly complicated execution didn’t really add to the my story, in fact it detracted.

The rest of the workshop explored simplicity and profundity as a way to “rise to the occasion” in a scene. Many view scriptwriting as severely limiting – Riegert encouraged us to “exploit what is limited.” Part of filmmaking is to embrace the limitations (no internal dialogue, visual storytelling, et. al.)

The Classes

In the afternoon, there were electives available to all screenwriters and playwrights.  I took an elective course “What Lies beneath” about psychology and screenwriting with screenwriter turned psychotherapist Renee Shafransky. [Note: Look for a full post about just this topic in the near future.]

She opened quite compellingly with the statement “Every good screenwriter is a psychologist.” She focused on the concept of “Why Now?” The idea of why are we seeing these characters in a certain state at this moment, what pushed them there? Shafranksy stated: “This will give the urgency to your story.  What’s so urgent today that wasn’t urgent yesterday?”

“Writing for the Camera” with Robert Emmett Ginna focused on how the visual narrative can show so much, without a word of dialogue. He spoke about his time on the set of Lawrence of Arabia and regaled us with tales of old-Hollywood. We watched Kurosawa and talked about how important visual is to the story telling component. A real old-school Hollywood filmmaker.

“Based on a true story” with Carla Singer, whom had done many made-for-tv-movies for lifetime and others, was an interesting exploration of life rights, life story rights, and legal problems associated with basing a script on real events.

Lastly, I attended “Editing and Rewriting” with Carol Dysinger. We spent much of the class deconstructing the script and film version of Barton Fink. Dysinger was on point with no-bullshit advice advice about screenwriting. She convinced me to “kill the leather notebook” — I’d been hanging onto the vestiges of a sub-plot that existed in the first draft(s) that had proved problematic. It involved the protagonist receiving a leather note book as a child. I spent so much time trying to make this component work, when really it just didn’t belong.

Dysinger left two things seared into my mind: “Manifest the movie in the mind’s eye of the reader” and  “Dialogue should be Haiku.” I couldn’t agree more.

The Speakers

Novelist/playwright/screenwriter Peter Hedges, perhaps best known for penning the novel and screenplay of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, spoke at length about his creation process.  I asked Hedges to share the differences he saw in adapting his own work or others. He said that early on he was afraid to betray the voice of the novel, even his own. Hedges later realized it was the story which mattered and began to focus on developing story for screen without rigidly focusing on the novel counterpart.

Screenwriter and AMPAS Nicholl Fellow Will Chandler posted some great notes on Peter Hedge’s Q&A over at the ScriptMag blog.

The following night, Alec Baldwin and Jon Robin Baitz took the stage to discuss writing for film and television. Baitz spoke of how he entered television writing as a way to financially offset his love of playwriting. He cautioned playwrights against going into television writing for the money, as too many never come back into the theatre fray. Baitz said “be responsible for what you write” – he stressed culpability for the work you produce.

Alec Baldwin spoke similarly of the responsibility of an actor. He once turned down a $750,000 gig to read a ‘part of a cop killer’ for the Grand Theft Auto games. Baldwin also said “the time of the writer/director has arrived” – if not for any other reason than, budgets are shrinking and why pay for 2 people when you can pay for one?

The Atmosphere

The lovely setting of Southampton, with its beautiful sprawling land and the beach so close, proved the perfect setting to clear my head. The Stony Brook University campus was accessible and inviting, and the organizers took every step to accommodate conference goers.

Unbeknownst to me until arrival, a playwriting conference was also taking place, and as a result I spent my time mingling between actors, playwrights, and screenwriters (and a couple of poets and novelists for good measure.) There was a sense of camaraderie between the “students” and the “teachers.” But really were all students and all teachers.

As there was a concurrent playwriting conference, I had the oft not indulged luxury of going to see some theatre. I attended a reading of “The First Day of School” by Billy Aronson, directed by Robert Davenport. It was a great experience, and made me wish to go to the theatre more often.

Also, be sure to check out Laura Thompson’s recap of the event. She attended Christina Lazaridi’s workshop on “Understanding Film Structure.”

Was it worth it?

Walking away, I feel invigorated. I’ve met new friends, made new professional contacts, and damnit I enjoyed myself! Something interesting emerged from the conference that I wasn’t expecting; I connected. Not just with my own work, but with fellow creatives. I have new goals to compliment my already riotous and fast paced journey.

As I mentioned last month I’ll be attending the Southampton Screenwriters Conference.

The workshop I’ll be in has changed. I’ll now be attending Mastering Scene Writing with Peter Riegert. From the program sheet: “The main idea is that the screenplay is a living organ that must be constantly fed, i.e. rewriting and editing until opening night.”

Throughout the five days of the conference, in addition to writing and copious note taking I’ll also be tweeting and blogging. If you are attending the conference, please come and say hello!

Good News! I’ve officially been accepted with scholarship to the Southampton Screenwriting Conference 2009. I’ll be taking a drama I have in fourth revision to “Writing is Re-Writing” with Carol Dysinger. I’ve been working on it for six months and it’s solid, I hope to make it shine by September. I’ll post more about it after the next revision.

Any other writers who will  be attending the workshop, please reach out to me!

Keeping in line with the aesthetic of my site, I made up some business cards. Like my splash page, I conjured up my graphic design prowess and hand drew the design.

Purdy, eh? I tested the waters with them over at the IFP Script to Screen conference last week. They were a hit.

So, what’s going on in Merrel-land? Quite a bit actually.

I sent my first draft and revisions of my screenplay to a select few close friends and mentors. The screenplay is still untitled, I’ve jokingly tossed the title Anybody Besides Merrel? But it seems too playful given the darker subject matter. Anyway, the first round of feedback seems to be that Act II isn’t strong. So, I’ll revisit that. I’m waiting for some more feedback before I take it out of the drawer.

My production internship at the documentary company has been great. The people are smart, driven and know how to tell a story. It’s a great environment. I had a reprieve this week as the core crew was overseas for six days shooting re-enactments for an upcoming National Geographic documentary.  They are back this week, so I anticipate to have some super crazy days later in the week. They’ll be transcribing and encoding around 50 DVCPRO tapes of footage.

Work as a script reader has proved fruitful as well.  I read and write coverage for about two to three scripts a week. I’m learning how to critically deconstruct a screenplay. It is interesting to view things from this side of screenwriting. I’m just packing away a wealth of knowledge. I’ll probably touch in greater detail in a separate post about the role of a script reader and its benefits.

I have three “floating” writing projects. One is a romantic comedy which I’m working with a classmate from the NYFA screenwriting workshop. The writing partner has a very specific dialogue driven spark. Which adds a great element to the writing.  I’m also working with a NYFA filmmaking student to re-work his thesis short script. Lastly a couple of other friends from the film academy have gotten together and we are working on a dialogue-heavy yet surreal table scene (ala Reservoir Dogs “Do you tip?”)At this rate there isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not reading or writing a script.

This weekend March 7-8 IFP will be hosting a “Script to Screen” conference at the New York Film Academy Union Square campus.

Aimed at connecting screenwriters and writer/directors to “decision makers of film, television and new media business” the two day conference opens with a Q&A with James Schamus CEO of Focus.

I’ll be there most of the weekend, copiously taking notes and networking. If you see me there, come say “Hi!”
-Merrel

Last night I attended a screening and Q&A at the New York Film Academy for R.W. Goodwin’s upcoming alien comedy Alien Trespass. It was a full house of NYFA students and others and the evening proved rich in film-making discussion.

The evening began with a screening of a featurette followed by the full feature cut of Alien Trespass. The whole film is a campy triumph that doesn’t try hard to be funny. In staying with the true traditions of 1950′s science fiction movies like The Day The Earth Stood Still,  Alien Trespass plays out in a serious manner. Through the visuals and story, a quintessential quirkiness of movies from a simpler time is apparent. The 1950′s are truly a moment in-time unlike any other in cinematic history. Tonight, they’ll be showing the 35mm print at the Dolby Screening Room here in New York.

The Q&A afterward with R.W. Goodwin (also known as Bob Goodwin) proved a wealth of industry wisdom and witty conversation. After years of working on rigid television production schedules, Bob Goodwin has a knack for economizing the production process financially and time-wise. The entire 90 minute feature was shot over the period of only 15 days in Canada and came in $200,000 under budget.

Inevitably, one can’t talk about Goodwin without bringing up The X-Files which he will be inexorably tied to for all eternity. And that’s not such a bad thing, after all he’s married to “Scully’s Mom.” Sheila Larken played Margaret Scully on The X-Files, and made a brief appearance before the screening.

I furiously took down chicken scratch to transcribe some of the questions and answers from the audience. The following is a selection of largely paraphrased Q&A based on my notes and memory, I didn’t have  my audio equipment.

Right out of the gate The X-Files questions were flying:

Q: What is it like to work with David Duchovny?

A: David Duchovny is one of the smartest and funniest people I know. If you can make David laugh you know you’ve done something right.

Q: What was your favorite episode of The X-Files ?

A: It really tough to choose… If I really had to select one I’d say The Erlenmeyer Flask which was the finale of season 1.  It has a special place as the first episode I directed. Chris Carter wrote the best script ever. Fox called me up and gave me 2 more days of production. I didn’t even ask for them. There were many complicated things in the script. One scene that got  a lot of play is when Mulder walks into this wear house to reveal the bodies in tanks that were being cloned. The image served to get people interested in the show over the summer during re-runs.

Q: The episode Demons you wrote is one of my favorites from the earlier seasons. I’m curious if you can talk a little bit about the writing process for the episode and how difficult it is to write for an existing universe and preset characters [Note: I asked this question and I'm sure it wasn't as eloquently worded as I have put it here.]

A: Writing Demons was hell. I ended up locked in a room for four days to write. We went to a ski resort, rented two rooms one for the Wife and Kids and the other for me to sit in and write.  Writing is a lonely job. I much prefer directing to writing. Directing is more fun.

Q:  Which do you prefer more – writing, directing or producing?

A: Directing is more fun. The dirty secret that people don’t want you to know is that you’ll make more money producing, as an executive producer on television. And writing, well I already touched on that.

There were plenty more questions and it was a great evening that proved stimulating and enjoyable. Be sure to check out the website for Alien Trespass and watch the trailer! R.W. Goodwin will  be attending New York Comicon this weekend, there’s a chance I’ll be there too.

Hello. I’m actually very good at keeping up on other blogs I maintain. It’s just this one I can’t seem to update. Oh and pardon the post title – StrangeLove has been running through my head all day.

So what’s going on?

Work:
I’m in the thick of producing a web-tv show – it’s a small operation, but I’m truly enjoying the work right now. We’re getting good bit of traffic on youtube, and the aforementioned blog. It is busy, the studio also has outside clients, so on any given day I’m working on everything from web and video production for nude women to high fashion women’s shoes.

On the art side recently interviewed a fine art photographer friend, Sid Ceaser, for a post and just today I was shooting interviews at a Gallery in SoHo. I still haven’t seen much of the city, but that’s ok right now.

Play:
To address my insatiable need to play something with keys I recently picked up a Yamaha Cs1x synth on the cheap. There are some great sounds in it, but it could be a little bit before I can use them the way I’d like. I’m still learning how to program it. I’m also digging the tactile knobs. It gives the board a great analog feel.

Here’s a quick snapshot – as you can see, I was in a hurry to try it out. [For those wondering, that's an M-audio FastTrack Pro in the background]

With this purchase, I’ve given up on buying a Yamaha DX7. Though the DX7 is a great synth, it is heavy, and notoriously difficult to program. Instead I picked up FM8, a full featured software synthesizer, that supposedly does a good job of emulating the DX7. We’ll see – up until I’ve been mostly using Reason as my primary software synth.

When I do sit down to compose, I find myself creating landscapes that sound like they belong in an episode of The X-Files. Coincidentally, I’ve been watching quite a bit of X-Files lately. Maybe I’ll gush about Mark Snow in a different post…

Somewhere in between:
My script is ongoing. It is slow, but I hope to have a completed draft before January. I’m encouraged by the responses that I’ve received from people so far. When I described the opening shots of the film, one friend said it was “brilliant.” I believe she was drunk and well meaning! I don’t think this is “brilliant” material – at least not yet.

Other projects are not faring so well. One of the casualties of moving to New York is a podcast I’d been producing since 2006.  It was my first foray into podcasting and focused on Japanese Culture, specifically anime and manga. I’m still very much interested in those things – but I just don’t have the time to work on something I essentially started as a lark. I’ve learned lots of great lessons on producing serial audio though.