A set of notes or: Rules for Drowned Girl

 I'm trying to cleanup my inbox. So I'm posting these notes from the Marsian Queene here:

Various color-corrections.

One thing about the theater - the first Triad scene around 9:43 is the right color correction. I think there is one after that, that is too dark, around 15:27. If we can't see the surrounding theater we get confused about why she is so tiny and distant.

I think? also maybe we lost the vignette in Popsicle in some later scenes.

Now I make the following rules and we can argue about them.

1. No weirdness inside scenes till after "fur coat" scene.

The weirdness has to build up. Right now I feel like the weirdness is all blended in. (I know this is not literally true but slightly true.)

So in the part before fur-coat, no snow in the junkyard, no water behind her in the Triad. We can use the "weird" takes, like the reflection takes in the junkyard and Triad. (I don't know if you have, but if you have it's ok under This Rule.) We can put lots of weirdness in the transitions between scenes (as you have done) but the scenes themselves should have no additional effects.

Exception: the very first moment "You ask about Jud Suss?" should be as weird as possible. I like what you have right now but it could be more? if you are tempted to do something else, more?

2. No dipping to black, no actual break from the action.

Need to fill in all the interludes with visuals. The last interlude with the redness is nice! We can't sit in blackness because it drops the build and rhythm.

3. No "swapping" the color corrections.

Popsicle needs to stay b/w and junkyard needs to stay color. Weirdness can happen but they can't switch. It could snow in Popsicle. Water could happen in junkyard. Vignetting can happen in Triad.

Exception: In Popsicle when she talks about Jugend and shooting it in color - keep what you have where she talks about how great it was to shoot in color. Then back to black & white as you have.

Other various color-corrections. Actually, two are the same I believe. 

I broke down

 I broke down an ordered a Telecaster. 

It's a cheap Telecaster. I know I won't be happy until I jump up many rungs and get a Fender Custom Shop tele designed just for me, but until that time, this is what I'm doing. 

I have a '51 Nocaster bridge pickup for it, and a Twisted Tele neck pickup. I also have some compensated brass saddles. I am considering an armrest carve and belly carve. I'm also considering putting a D-shaped hole in it. But I'm definitely putting paisleys on it. 

You'll note it is already quite light, so putting a relief hole (where the armrest carve would go) might not be the best thing. And without stripping off the poly, those sorts of cuts might not work at all. But the paislies? Oh those will work. 

PhD'ing

So, theoretically (heh) I have my viva voce for my PhD in March of 2023. Which means I have to finish writing the music (and doing all the audio post) for the Richard Byrne penned, Laura Schlachtmeyer produced, Drowned Girl, starring Annalisa Loeffler. 

I also need to fundamentally re-write the actual thesis, and write a big ol' commentary explaining why I put all the music cues where I did. 

I'm scoring in Dorico. Having to write out the score is 1. vital for any sort of academic work and 2. harder and slower than just playing into a DAW. But then there's also the fact I will likely want real players (alto flute, cello, harp, piano) to play on it so it needs to be laid out in a score anyway. Dorico is mostly pretty good. Sometimes it doesn't play back, sometimes it's a bit frustrating. But it works with my Spitfire BBCSO sample library so it's own output has the capability of sounding surprisingly good even without any real editing of the performances.

A spoon-billed platypus.

Various and Sundry

Now I put D'Addario EXL156 strings on my baritone. Those strings are actually made for the Bass VI. 

24 34 44 56 72 84

Getting the low E (the 84) through the hole in a tuning peg was more of an adventure than I'd signed up for. But it works. 

One of my favorite stills from Brazil.

I still can't figure out the relief adjustment on the Eden neck. There just doesn't seem to be anything to attach a wrench or screwdriver to. I'll call or write to them tomorrow to see if they can help. 

A pair of snuggly mastodons. Don't you try to tell me about biology. I know what mastodons look like.

Remember that Mastodon is the Twitter alternative. 

Taiko Project is an LA-based taiko group. They seem pretty cool.