www.dougdaulton.com

The folks over at 702FJCrew.net have been asking me to put this video together for quite some time now. Jerry Miller was kind enough to do the color correction a year ago, but my skills at video editing did not match the vision in my head. After my time with the Pixel Corps, my editing skills have gotten much stronger. So, I took this opportunity to play with Quicktime and iMovie to tell the story of the Blackbird.

Blackbird Fly is short (2:18), but I think the visuals speak for themselves. There is a lot I could have done in Final Cut Pro to tighten it up, especially fading the audio effects in & out, but this was really an exercise in seeing what I could throw together quickly in iMovie. For those interested, here is the work flow.

1. The images were shot on a Canon 30D using a Canon 24-70mm “red line” lens.
2. Jerry Miller color corrected all photos in Adobe Photoshop. Because of the relative angle of the sun, the color palette changed as the camera tracked the truck. Jerry did a great job of bringing all of the shots to one common palette.
3. Assemble the stills into movies of varying frame rates using QuickTime 7. It is a good thing I have an older G5 Mac in my studio because the newer Intel Macs all updated to Quicktime X. While QTX is a better player, Apple removed some of the useful pro features like building movies from an image sequence.
4. Bring the movies into iMovie then build titles and audio using the iMovie library. The music is from Midnight Syndicate, purveyors of excellent ambient music for gaming and theme parties.
5. Post to YouTube and wait for it to finish processing.

So, there you have it. I little bit about how this little movie came to life. I hope you enjoy it.

Peace,

Doug

365:008 - Three Masts

In TWiP 143, Alex Lindsay chats with his sister, Jenn Stein about the their growth and history as photographers. During the show, they discussed Project 365, which both Jenn and their brother Joe Lindsay are doing this year. I found the idea really intriguing, but was not sure how to proceed.

Yesterday, as I wrapped up another busy week at the Pixel Corps, I ended up chatting with Joe about his experience with Project 365 and I realized … I’ve already been doing the most important part. I am taking my camera with me everywhere I go. A few weeks ago, I got a BlackRapid RS-7 strap, which allows me to keep the camera close at hand while keeping it secure. Since then, I’ve taken the camera with me to work everyday.

As a result, I discovered that I already had the first twenty-eight days of my own Project 365. So, I spent some today getting caught up and creating the set on Flickr. As busy as I am right now, I doubt I’ll be able to post every day, but I will shoot everyday and add try to post the photos in batches every week or so here, on Flickr and maybe on Facebook as well. I am looking forward to experience, especially the critiques of more seasoned photographers.

Peace,

Doug

PS: Family & Friends – Let this serve as a warning that you are likely to be come a subject in this project. Don’t be bashful!

For the past 25 years, The Fabulous Thunderbirds have been the quintessential American band. The group’s distinctive and powerful sound, influenced by a diversity of musical styles, manifested itself into a unique musical hybrid via such barnburners as “Tuff Enuff” and “Wrap It Up”. Co-founder Kim Wilson, the sole original member; still spearheads the group as it evolves into its newest incarnation.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Last night, Dad and I saw The Fabulous Thunderbirds at Club Tequila here in Vegas. It was an amazing show. I thought the band might miss a beat with Jimmy Vaughn gone, but they didn’t. I mean no disrespect to Vaughn. The T-birds are definitely different without him. Both iterations of the T-Birds are awesome, just subtly different sounds.

In my opinion, it is a sign of genuine musicianship if the audience feels a little let down when the band trots out old hits, in this case “Tuff Enuff” and “Wrap It Up”. I love those songs and was glad to hear them at the end of the show. That said, the newer stuff in the middle of the show is what got my blood pulsing.

Kim Wilson’s vocals only get stronger with time. At his best, he is an old, black blues singer in a white man’s body. He is equally masterful with the harmonica, including what must have been a 4-minute harmonica solo which seemed to be one breath. Gene Taylor was equally amazing on the keyboards. Newcomer Kirk “Eli” Fletcher plays a wicked blues guitar.

One of the things that makes the blues special is the way a good blues band makes the music “talk”. To me, this makes blues a genuine art form and, in the world of music, puts it right up there with jazz and classical. Without any words at all, Wilson, Taylor and Fletcher told rich, heartfelt stories as a group and on individual solos. When Wilson does sing, you believe every word comes from personal experience.

What a tall, cool drink of water in the desert of modern music. I cannot wait to see them again.