The official release in Spain of Antonio de la Malena´s double CD took place on Feb. 23, 2013, as an official part of the annual Flamenco Festival of Jerez de la Frontera. The festival presented it in the city´s second to largest theater, Sala la Compañía.
Antonio de la Malena decided to make the event a form of thanking all those who participated in creating his flamenco album (most especially, in the bulerias fin de fiesta in which over eight people, including of course de la Malena, took turns singing). In addition, he wanted to recognize his brother-in-law, singer Mateo Solea, who helped de la Malena´s career at a critical juncture when de la Malena was a child.
So he gave all these people a public role in his presentation, inviting them to sing a little, or give rhythm (palmas, or nudos, or jaleo).
And he wanted to include the dancer María del Mar Moreno, in recognition of all the years he has worked with her, so she danced near the end of the presentation.
Palomino Productions and yours truly were the official producers of this event, so of course I was there. In the excitement, I forgot to bring my camera. SORRY!!!
But not to worry. The local press and TV caught it all, and here is one of the reviews with a video at the bottom taken from the presentation. If you don´t read Spanish, just skip to the bottom and watch the trailer.
The old man you see sitting next to de la Malena at the beginning, and dancing a little at the end, is his father, who can hardly walk (and so his dance isn´t really a dance). It was a very emotional moment for him, especially since one thing de la Malena sang about was his mother, who died not too long ago...and his father still misses her tremendously.
So click on the link below, and enjoy.
LINK
If you are interested in learning more about the double CD, or in purchasing it, if you live in Europe go HERE, and if you live in America, go HERE.
OUR NEXT POST will be about--small businesses in the economic crisis.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Why is "Domino" relevant?
I'm going to make this short...perhaps not sweet, but short.
In 2008, the United States led the world in entering the financial crisis, due to vastly over-valued real estate (read "homes, etc."), extremely risky financial dealings, and corruption. Thousands and thousands of people lost their homes, thousands and thousands of people lost their jobs.
In 2012, having only partly recovered from the economic crisis of 2008, the United States passed through two moments of brinkmanship when we were on the "fiscal cliff." Each time, at the last possible moment, Congress and the President managed to find a solution that avoided our falling over it.
As of this writing, the United States is less than 24 hours away from "sequestration," which is something that could well produce another and perhaps more serious financial crisis.
Is Domino: Caught in the Crisis relevant to the United States? You bet it is.
I could pepper this short article with photos of closed businesses and homes in foreclosure, but I've already posted those, you've seen those for yourselves, and I think it unnecessary to repeat them.
OUR NEXT BLOG POST will be about the CD release in the flamenco festival
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Antonio de la Malena´s double CD is out: flamenco por derecho
Palomino Productions has had the privilege of producing a double CD of the flamenco cante (singing) of Antonio de la Malena. I say "privilege" because he is a very fine singer, and the double CD is excellent. It includes a full two hours of singing, with 16 tracks, 8 per CD.
(Antonio, as you will surely remember, is the star of Domino: Caught in the Crisis.)
It will be formally presented to the world in the famous annual flamenco festival in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013...just a few weeks from now.
The presentation, as organized by Antonio, will be really fine. In the fin de fiesta of the double CD, lots of family and friends joined him and they will all be in the discs' presentation. From what I understand, there will be 14 people in all.
Of course, Antonio himself will sing. I asked him what he was planning to sing, and he answered "Whatever I feel like at the time."
In addition, at least some and perhaps all of the others will sing at the very beginning, and in the fin de fiesta, so it´s going to be really lively.
And Maria del Mar Moreno, the dancer with whom Antonio has collaborated most closely these past few years, will dance one number accompanied, of course, by Antonio.
The guitarists will be Malena Hijo and Santiago Moreno. Other well-known performers who will participate include Luis de la Tota and el Bob.
If you are planning to attend the festival, you'll certainly not want to miss this performance. It'll be in Sala la Compañía. I believe it starts at 8pm but am not absolutely positive, so check the festival program. Here´s a LINK to Flamencomania´s announcement of the event.
In the meantime, to enjoy a sample of Antonio de la Malena´s singing, go here: www.AntonioMalenaCD-ENG.com.
OUR NEXT POST will be about why Domino is relevant to people in the US.
(Antonio, as you will surely remember, is the star of Domino: Caught in the Crisis.)
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| Cover of the double CD: Antonio with his father. |
It will be formally presented to the world in the famous annual flamenco festival in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013...just a few weeks from now.
The presentation, as organized by Antonio, will be really fine. In the fin de fiesta of the double CD, lots of family and friends joined him and they will all be in the discs' presentation. From what I understand, there will be 14 people in all.
Of course, Antonio himself will sing. I asked him what he was planning to sing, and he answered "Whatever I feel like at the time."
In addition, at least some and perhaps all of the others will sing at the very beginning, and in the fin de fiesta, so it´s going to be really lively.
 |
| Antonio de la Malena singing. |
And Maria del Mar Moreno, the dancer with whom Antonio has collaborated most closely these past few years, will dance one number accompanied, of course, by Antonio.
The guitarists will be Malena Hijo and Santiago Moreno. Other well-known performers who will participate include Luis de la Tota and el Bob.
If you are planning to attend the festival, you'll certainly not want to miss this performance. It'll be in Sala la Compañía. I believe it starts at 8pm but am not absolutely positive, so check the festival program. Here´s a LINK to Flamencomania´s announcement of the event.
In the meantime, to enjoy a sample of Antonio de la Malena´s singing, go here: www.AntonioMalenaCD-ENG.com.
OUR NEXT POST will be about why Domino is relevant to people in the US.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
And more post-production: Sound sweetening and adding sound
FYI: If you´re interested in the situation about which Domino is based, you should check out my blog on PalominoPro.blogspot.com, in which I spill the beans about the recent, shocking (shocking to me) garbage strike in Jerez. You can also go to this LINK to read a summary of the situation.
Now, back to Domino: Caught in the Crisis:
We have very little left to go on Domino before it´s officially presentable, and I´m able to start submitting it to festivals.
Most of that work is sound work. On the one hand, in the private screening I held in California a few weeks back, it was clear that I needed to add a few more words of dialogue to make it clear that our hero, Luis, is a very sympathetic character. That has been done even though we didn´t shoot any more film, and the actor is in one country while I, the director and editor, am in another one.
Ah, the magic of film.
The rest of the sound work is tedious and technical. It´s a question of making the sound come out of the left speaker if the character is on the left hand side of the screen, and on the right if s/he is on the right, etc. PLUS perfecting the sound levels, making telephone conversations sound like they are coming over a telephone wire, etc., etc., etc.
A very nice sound person, Jeff Kimmich, is working on all this for me. He expects to be done in a week or so. I´ve never used him before but am hopeful that he will do a great job.
Assuming he does a brilliant job and it´s done in the time frame he expects, the last thing will be to ask an image correction person to make a change in one 6 second segment, in which (SIGH) a microphone is visible on screen. I have a person who I think can do the job, and so, well,
...WE ARE MOVING FORWARD.
When all the work is done and I´m ready to submit to festivals, I´m going to stop posting here and instead, ask people to check out the main Palomino Productions blog, where I´ll consolidate all my posts about all my projects.
OUR NEXT POST will be to confirm that the final, technical work on Domino is completed.
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| photo of garbage spilling out from a news story |
We have very little left to go on Domino before it´s officially presentable, and I´m able to start submitting it to festivals.
Most of that work is sound work. On the one hand, in the private screening I held in California a few weeks back, it was clear that I needed to add a few more words of dialogue to make it clear that our hero, Luis, is a very sympathetic character. That has been done even though we didn´t shoot any more film, and the actor is in one country while I, the director and editor, am in another one.
Ah, the magic of film.
The rest of the sound work is tedious and technical. It´s a question of making the sound come out of the left speaker if the character is on the left hand side of the screen, and on the right if s/he is on the right, etc. PLUS perfecting the sound levels, making telephone conversations sound like they are coming over a telephone wire, etc., etc., etc.
A very nice sound person, Jeff Kimmich, is working on all this for me. He expects to be done in a week or so. I´ve never used him before but am hopeful that he will do a great job.
Assuming he does a brilliant job and it´s done in the time frame he expects, the last thing will be to ask an image correction person to make a change in one 6 second segment, in which (SIGH) a microphone is visible on screen. I have a person who I think can do the job, and so, well,
...WE ARE MOVING FORWARD.
When all the work is done and I´m ready to submit to festivals, I´m going to stop posting here and instead, ask people to check out the main Palomino Productions blog, where I´ll consolidate all my posts about all my projects.
OUR NEXT POST will be to confirm that the final, technical work on Domino is completed.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Getting the post-production done: jumping through hoops
Domino: Caught in the Crisis is shot and the rough cut editing is done. So why isn´t it out yet?
Well, it needs something referred to as more "post-production." This consists mostly of "sound sweetening" and "image correction." Both of those cost a lot of money, and right now, well, I don´t have that money. That´s kind of par for the course when you´re an independent filmmaker, especially since funding for independent film has gotten really, really hard to come by.
At one point, we thought a television station in Spain was going to do the work for us, but that didn´t pan out. SIGH.
So here I am with a work I poured my heart and soul into, a work which a number of other people ALSO poured their hearts and souls into, and it´s sitting in my computer.
This is the setting where all the errors occurred. We just didn´t have enough space to work in.
Not to worry. Ok, so "image correction" costs a lot of money. A whole lot of money. It partly consists of making things disappear...like the microphone you can see in that scene in which we were filming in a small room, and with the crew and actors it was really crowded, and the crew member in charge of being sure the microphones were not visible to the camera did not do a proper job.
So there you have it: a microphone sitting right there, next to the actors. Clearly visible. And this isn´t the only little problem. All in all, there are four places where little accidents like this occurred, all of them in the same very small set.
Since I don´t have the money to pay someone to fix the problems, I have signed up for a class in which we are being taught a program (AfterEffects) which will take care of most of them, especially when used in conjunction with PhotoShop. And the place where I´m taking the class has AfterEffects on its computers. Since I´m a member, I´ll be able to use it free of change after the class is over.
This means I´ll have a lot of work to do plus the new program to learn, but I will be able to take care of the "image correction."
And what is this wonderful place, offering this great class and letting members (for a very modest annual fee) use their equipment? Berkeley Community Media (BCM). Good people. Great people, in fact. You have to live in Berkeley or have a business in Berkeley in order to be a member, but anyone who fits that criteria can join.
OUR NEXT POST will be a few more details about finishing up Domino.
Well, it needs something referred to as more "post-production." This consists mostly of "sound sweetening" and "image correction." Both of those cost a lot of money, and right now, well, I don´t have that money. That´s kind of par for the course when you´re an independent filmmaker, especially since funding for independent film has gotten really, really hard to come by.
At one point, we thought a television station in Spain was going to do the work for us, but that didn´t pan out. SIGH.
So here I am with a work I poured my heart and soul into, a work which a number of other people ALSO poured their hearts and souls into, and it´s sitting in my computer.
This is the setting where all the errors occurred. We just didn´t have enough space to work in.
Not to worry. Ok, so "image correction" costs a lot of money. A whole lot of money. It partly consists of making things disappear...like the microphone you can see in that scene in which we were filming in a small room, and with the crew and actors it was really crowded, and the crew member in charge of being sure the microphones were not visible to the camera did not do a proper job.
So there you have it: a microphone sitting right there, next to the actors. Clearly visible. And this isn´t the only little problem. All in all, there are four places where little accidents like this occurred, all of them in the same very small set.
Since I don´t have the money to pay someone to fix the problems, I have signed up for a class in which we are being taught a program (AfterEffects) which will take care of most of them, especially when used in conjunction with PhotoShop. And the place where I´m taking the class has AfterEffects on its computers. Since I´m a member, I´ll be able to use it free of change after the class is over.
This means I´ll have a lot of work to do plus the new program to learn, but I will be able to take care of the "image correction."
And what is this wonderful place, offering this great class and letting members (for a very modest annual fee) use their equipment? Berkeley Community Media (BCM). Good people. Great people, in fact. You have to live in Berkeley or have a business in Berkeley in order to be a member, but anyone who fits that criteria can join.
OUR NEXT POST will be a few more details about finishing up Domino.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Flamenco & flamenco fusion for background music
Background music adds a great deal to a film. It connects scenes, it strengthens the emotion of scenes (or sometimes, actually tells the audience what emotion they should be feeling), it helps keep the audience from losing interest in slow sequences, and it simply adds another layer of beauty and art.
In Domino: Caught in the Crisis, we used two kinds of background music: instrumental, and voice supported by instrumental. And as you will see, we kept the musical part all in the family, relying on a very, very musical family.
The voice supported by instrumental music is flamenco, sung by Antonio de la Malena (who is also Luis, the lead character, although we don't see Luis singing). Malena has a beautiful voice, and a strong and pure flamenco sense of interpretation. He wrote the lyrics for some of what he sings, and in other parts, he interprets traditional verses. The verses, whether his own or traditional, are directly related to the action we are seeing, something that Spanish speakers will be aware of and appreciate.
We chose him because our director (yours truly) admires his voice and interpretation. In addition, he has three solo CDs to his name, in addition to being one of several singers on many CDs that are collections of flamenco singing. (His most recent solo CD came out in Spain this past summer.)
In Domino, we hear his original lyrics in the final scenes, where he sings about the Indignados (Movimiento 15-M--similar to our Occupy Wall Street) and about recent problems in Spain.
The instrumental background music is in some cases traditional flamenco, and in others, flamenco fusion composed by Malena Hijo. Malena Hijo is a very fine, young guitarist who is the eldest son of Antonio de la Malena.
Whether for purely musical numbers or as accompaniment to Antonio de la Malena's singing, all of the guitar in Domino is performed by Malena Hijo. All of the singing is Antonio de la Malena, although in one of the instrumental pieces, there is also a voice that works as an instrument, going "le, le, le, le...." That voice is Antonio de la Malena's second son, Diego de Malena.
Some of the music also includes percussion instruments, played by Alejandro de Mateo (nephew of Antonio de la Malena), electric base played by Malena Hijo, and palmas (hand clapping) performed by Luis de la Tota, Ali de la Tota, and Diego de Malena.
All in all, the music is great. It does just what it is supposed to do, beautifully complementing the visuals and the narrative line.
OUR NEXT POST will be about getting that post-production work done.
In Domino: Caught in the Crisis, we used two kinds of background music: instrumental, and voice supported by instrumental. And as you will see, we kept the musical part all in the family, relying on a very, very musical family.
The voice supported by instrumental music is flamenco, sung by Antonio de la Malena (who is also Luis, the lead character, although we don't see Luis singing). Malena has a beautiful voice, and a strong and pure flamenco sense of interpretation. He wrote the lyrics for some of what he sings, and in other parts, he interprets traditional verses. The verses, whether his own or traditional, are directly related to the action we are seeing, something that Spanish speakers will be aware of and appreciate.
|
| Antonio de la Malena (photo: Miguel Angel Gonzales) |
In Domino, we hear his original lyrics in the final scenes, where he sings about the Indignados (Movimiento 15-M--similar to our Occupy Wall Street) and about recent problems in Spain.
The instrumental background music is in some cases traditional flamenco, and in others, flamenco fusion composed by Malena Hijo. Malena Hijo is a very fine, young guitarist who is the eldest son of Antonio de la Malena.
 |
| Malena Hijo |
Some of the music also includes percussion instruments, played by Alejandro de Mateo (nephew of Antonio de la Malena), electric base played by Malena Hijo, and palmas (hand clapping) performed by Luis de la Tota, Ali de la Tota, and Diego de Malena.
All in all, the music is great. It does just what it is supposed to do, beautifully complementing the visuals and the narrative line.
OUR NEXT POST will be about getting that post-production work done.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Where is Spain headed? part 2 of 2
Even city governments have had the national taxing agency (Hacienda) remove money from their bank account. In one incident
this past summer, a large government agency (the government of the Junta
de Andalucía) sent a large payment to the city of Jerez so that the
city could pay city workers to whom it owed several months´ back pay.
Before the city could use the money, Hacienda found it and removed it -- and used it to pay off some of the
taxes that the city owed the central government.
One response to the continuing crisis has been increasingly large demonstrations, such as one last week in which between 5,000 (say the police) and 60,000 (say the unions who organized it) took to the streets to protest job cuts, wage freezes, tax rises and the like. In addition to Madrid, there were significant demonstrations in 50 other cities in Spain. There may also be another general strike on November 14.
Here are links to a couple of those stories: LINK #1 and LINK #2.
There´s a lot of dis-function in Spain. Lots of looking at the relatively few big guys and ignoring the needs of the many small guys. (Kind of like here in the United States....)
So when push comes to shove, why should you be interested in a middle-aged family man in Spain, like our hero in Domino, who has financial problems?
Well, he´s an awful lot like your next-door neighbor, or your cousin, or that kid who graduated from college with lots of student loan debt who can´t get a job no matter how hard s/he tries.
NOTE: you might also be interested in the documentary film that recently aired over PBS, As Goes Janesville, about the devastating effects of the financial crisis there, and how it is connected to us all.
OUR NEXT POST will be about the background music created for us by young composer-guitarist Malena Hijo.
One response to the continuing crisis has been increasingly large demonstrations, such as one last week in which between 5,000 (say the police) and 60,000 (say the unions who organized it) took to the streets to protest job cuts, wage freezes, tax rises and the like. In addition to Madrid, there were significant demonstrations in 50 other cities in Spain. There may also be another general strike on November 14.
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| "No more unemployment." |
Here are links to a couple of those stories: LINK #1 and LINK #2.
There´s a lot of dis-function in Spain. Lots of looking at the relatively few big guys and ignoring the needs of the many small guys. (Kind of like here in the United States....)
So when push comes to shove, why should you be interested in a middle-aged family man in Spain, like our hero in Domino, who has financial problems?
Well, he´s an awful lot like your next-door neighbor, or your cousin, or that kid who graduated from college with lots of student loan debt who can´t get a job no matter how hard s/he tries.
NOTE: you might also be interested in the documentary film that recently aired over PBS, As Goes Janesville, about the devastating effects of the financial crisis there, and how it is connected to us all.
OUR NEXT POST will be about the background music created for us by young composer-guitarist Malena Hijo.
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