May 9, 2006

Movies, Music, Mrrrrnnnnghh

What the heck? I guess it's a good thing I don't speak Wookie.

***

It's always a bit of a toss-up over what I'm allowed to talk about with regard to work. We're now officially working on Eragon, I believe -- at least, people on our payroll are listed in the IMDB. Same thing with The Waterhorse. And there are other things that I know I can't talk about; but there's plenty of stuff floating in a grey area.

I had an extended analogy about internet rumours and throwing up Mrs Macs pies on the Interislander, but decided that it wasn't an avenue that I really wanted to explore. :)

***

I've been a buying-things fiend -- I managed to find a good deal on a light and tiny (12") laptop for Erik, so he won't be completely bereft of computers when he goes galivanting off wherever his medical career takes him, and last week I bought my Mum a laptop. (Before anyone gets any ideas, I owed Mum the money I used to buy her the laptop from back when I got the mortgage (because I suddenly realized that I hadn't included the lawyer's fees in the amount I asked to borrow from the bank); and Erik is going to pay me back for the one I got him. No, I cannot buy you a laptop.)

Also, I went ahead and bought Band in a Box. (The version that Dad had actually the first version of the program, from back in 1994; it's come a fairly long way since then.) The learning curve isn't too bad, I just wish I knew a bit more about composition, chords and stuff. The automatic music generation thing is okay, though I'm still having a bit of trouble getting anything funky out of it; but given I've only played with it for about three or four hours (including listening to some intro tutorials), that's not too bad. You can import midi files into the program, and mess about with the style, which will extend the number of things we might be able to do with it. ("Three Little Maids" doesn't sound particularly good as a Kenny G-style groove, by the way.) I have great hopes for being able to whip something up relatively quickly on the day of filming, but I'll be doing my best beforehand to build up a store of music we can use.

I might put some samples of music I've made (or mutilated) up sometime soon.

Oh, and if anyone can play an instrument and/or sing, and would be willing to either let us use stuff you've already recorded, record you now, or be available to record you on the day -- that would be awesome.

Posted by svend at May 9, 2006 1:10 PM
Comments

Cool, the lead in The Waterhorse is the wee boy from Millions :-).

Also, Band in a Box sounds like awesome fun, and I was thinking about how neat it would be to just play about with something like that while I was slogging up the hill this morning. Is it terribly expensive? And enormous?

Posted by: Rachel at May 9, 2006 1:42 PM

Unfortunately, Band in a Box is fairly pricy -- $88 US for the basic program without any of the extras, unless you've got an old copy. (Not that they appear to check whether you've actually got an old copy.)

Of course, I'd assume that it's quite widely available through other channels; I wanted a legitimate copy if we might use it in the competition. There's a free 30-day trial, though it doesn't have the "generate a random song from scratch" functionality.

I put it on my laptop, so you'd be welcome to play with it... and given that you're going to be at Indigo City on the day, knowing how to noodle with it might be useful. :)

Posted by: Svend at May 9, 2006 3:46 PM

Erik is getting a laptop??? I am *sooo* allowed to go to Japan.

Posted by: giffy at May 9, 2006 5:11 PM

A legitimate copy is I think a must for the competition. But presumably I can learn on whatever I can find... If I can find something, that is :-).

Oo, it would be interesting to actually be able to contribute, rather than being an Indigo Peon :-D.

I'll see what I can do. And will let you know if it's all too hard wah.

Posted by: Rachel at May 9, 2006 5:31 PM

Speaking of throwing up on the interislander, that trip with you was the only time I've ever been sick on the interislander out of dozens of trips.

I blame it on the dodgy mushroom soup we were served before going on.

Cheers

Posted by: Grant at May 10, 2006 9:23 AM