Shaffer's Notebook

Sondheim on Lyric Writing

Todd — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:00:42 +0000

Stephen Sondheim talks about his sensibilities of writing lyrics. These two videos cover some of the same material. The first video is the actual edited News Hour broadcast which interviews Sondheim and mixes in a bit of history. The second video is the raw, unedited video.

The full, unedited video.

Final Cut Pro De-Mystified? Maybe.

Todd — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:40:46 +0000

I’m an old Final Cut Pro user now working on Adobe Premiere primarily because my G5 died and I’m not ready to fork over the big dollars for another Mac. I’ve been watching the reaction to the new FCP X and this is the first video I’ve seen that has shown the power of the new FCP. The speaker is Evan Schechtman of @radical.media and Outpost Digital.

Advertising Drugs for a Better You!

Todd — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 21:44:09 +0000

You have to have a PHD in medicine to believe this stuff. If you didn’t, then you couldn’t prescribe it and make these corporations all their money.

The Tragedy of Suburbia

Todd — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:15:56 +0000

James Howard Kunstler gives a TED Talk about the tragedy of our urban planning and civic places. Very interesting, humorous and sad at the same time.

How to Steal Like an Artist

Todd — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:13:13 +0000

Austin Kleon has written a fabulous post titled “How to Steal Like an Artist (and 9 Other Things Nobody Told Me)“

His main points are:

1. How to Steal Like an Artist
2. Don’t wait until you know who you are to start making things.
3. Write the book you want to read.
4. Use your hands.
5. Side projects and hobbies are important.
6. The secret: do good work and put it where people can see it.
7. Geography is no longer our master.
8. Be nice. The world is a small town.
9. Be boring. It’s the only way to get work done.
10. Creativity is subtraction.

My Blackberry is Not Working

Todd — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:20:08 +0000

The Banishment of Beauty

Todd — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 01:13:51 +0000

Painter Scott Burdick gave a lecture with slideshow regarding the differences between modern and traditional art at a recent American Artist weekend in Laguna Beach, California.

Burdick identifies the primary difference between modern art and traditional art is beauty. By definition modern art does not attempt to show beauty. In fact, the modernists believe modern art has “progressed” beyond the idea of beauty and realism. Burdick even explains how the modern art establishment goes out of it’s way to oppress art that is beautiful. Beauty has been banished from the art world.

The lecture and slideshow can be found on YouTube.

Clyde Aspevig’s Painting Method

Todd — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:03:04 +0000

Clyde Aspevig is one of the greatest American landscape painters alive today. He is “old school” and in a rare video from one of his workshops he describes how he thinks about constructing his paintings, which is related to music.

1000 Frames of Hitchcock

Todd — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:25:21 +0000

117 million frames of Hitchcock. That’s what you’ll find at 1000 frames of Hitchcock, which is an interesting Wiki project that has automated a way to randomly take 1000 frames from Hitch’s films. You have to see it to believe it.

Fly Like a Bird

Todd — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:10:58 +0000

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly like a bird? How about a Peregrin Falcon?