VOYAGER to premiere at LA Shorts Fest's Opening Program July 21 @ 1pm

Very exciting news regarding the Sci-Fi short film VOYAGER that Brian scored as part of the University of Arizona film scoring workshop back in April.  VOYAGER has been accepted into the largest short film festival in the world for its world premiere.  The prestigious Los Angeles International Short Film Festival later this month. 

Voyager will open the festival in program number 1 at 1pm on Thursday July 21, 2011 at the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theaters in Hollywood. (8000 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood CA 90046).  Tickets (which go on sale beginning July 14th) are $12 per person for each short film "program"...which will buy you a screening to about 60-90 minutes of the best short films from around the world.  

Brian will be in attendance supporting the film as will director Jared Potter who will be traveling down from Seattle that week.  So...for anyone who can come out on a Thursday afternoon to support the film and see it...please do come by. 

One of the challenges with opening the festival in program #1 is that you have to get the word out to everyone to come see the screening before the festival begins via the internet and other marketing tools, rather than inviting everyone attending the festival at the various social events that take place all week long.  So please help spread the word. 

More information on the film can be found at the film's new official website: www.voyagerfilm.com (This website should go live any day now).

Below is a short trailer director Jared Potter put together for the festival.  The film is already generating some preliminary buzz by the few industry folks who have privately seen it thus far.  And Jared's incredible CGI work in Voyager has certainly impressed some important industry folks.  A glimpse of some of that work can be seen in the trailer below.  The film will also premiere in the LA Short fest with a new surround sound mix by sound designer Lisa Fowle at Dragonfly Sound.  This film is going to look and sound amazing. 

Brian is extremely excited to have contributed the score to this impressive project.  The last film Brian scored that premiered at the LA Shorts fest was The Rece!pt in 2005 which went on to win Best Comedy at that festival, qualifying it for Academy consideration in 2005. 

Click the play button below to see the trailer stream from Vimeo:

Voyager Trailer from Jared Potter on Vimeo.

Trailer for the short film Voyager. Directed by Jared Potter.

Official Selection LA Shorts Fest 2011

Voyager One Sheet Poster

Jared Potter's sci-fi film Voyager has a new "one sheet" poster.  Take a look.  Exciting festival premiere news coming soon!

Teaser video from VOYAGER scoring session

Brian's recent trip to Arizona to conduct the film scoring workshop and live scoring session was a complete success.  Director Jared Potter's film VOYAGER will premiere at the Fox Theater in downtown Tucson on Saturday, May 14th at 7pm.  Below is a little teaser of Brian's score edited together with live footage from one of the sessions in AZ. 

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Brian to guest speak at the University of Arizona.

Brian has been invited to speak next week, April 15th at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.  The University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television, the Hanson Film Institute an Xerox presents a film scoring seminar/workshop and recording session to be headlined by Brian on April 15th, 2011.  The presentation will take place in the Harvell Bldg, Room 104 at 10:30am - 12:00 noon and is open to all students.  Followed by a pizza lunch.  At 1:30pm - 5:00pm, a live demonstration film scoring recording session will take place in the School of Music recording studio, music room 57 (basement).  NOTE:  Due to limited space in the recording studio, to attend the recording session, you must have signed up for a 30-minute slot during the previous session. The lecture portion of the event will be focused on the process of scoring music for film and television.  Topics will be discussed from both a music viewpoint and a filmmaking viewpoint.  So both film students and music composition or performance students interested in film scoring are encouraged to attend.  Brian will also answer any questions students might have about the process and provide some audio/video examples and demonstrations of the process of scoring a scene. 

For the recording session in the afternoon, the event will not only serve the purpose of recording music for Jarrod Potter's thesis film VOYAGER...but it will also serve as a live demonstration of the recording process of cues with live musicians. 

Many thanks to Dan Brock who has put a lot of time and effort in organizing this event, to the U of Az School of Theater, Film & Television, professor Jeff Haskell and the School of Music and Wiley Ross from the U of Arizona recording studio. 

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DON'T FADE AWAY Australia DVD release set for April 6th

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The film Don't Fade Away which stars Ryan Kwanten, Beau Bridges and Mischa Barton and features a score by Brian is set to have its DVD release in Australia on April 6, 2011 through Ovation Entertainment.  The film is directed by Luke Kasdan.  The film's star Ryan Kwanten, known to many from his role as Jason Stackhouse in HBO's True Blood is a native of Australia.  This is the first English-speaking territory where the DVD has been officially announced.  The film will have a U.S. release on DVD this summer, though the date has yet to be announced. 

Cinefantastique Online Interview with Brian on scoring Battle of LA

Author and writer Randall Larson interviewed Brian and co-composer Kays Alatrakchi about their work on scoring the SyFy original movie Battle of Los Angeles which premiered on the channel March 12, 2011.  The article is called, "Music for a Mockbuster: Scoring the Other Battle of L.A."  Larson contributed “The Score” column to Cinefantastique magazine from 1983 to 1999.  He is the author of Musique Fantastique, A Survey of Film Music in the Fantastic Cinema (1984) and Music from the House of Hammer (1996), Larson also published CinemaScore: The Film Music Journal during the 1980s. He currently writes a bi-weekly film music column for buysoundtrax.com, reviews horror soundtrack CDs for Cemetery Dance magazine, writes for Music from the Movies and Film Music magazines, and writes soundtrack CD liner note books.  His well crafted column/interview with Brian and Kays discussed the process they went through in scoring the almost wall-to-wall musical score which started back in November 2010.  Larson is also including part of this interview in his upcoming 4 volume book on Science fiction film music.

The SyFy ratings are in and like the Asylum's B-Sci-Fi flicks or not, nearly 2.2 million viewers were tracked for the Battle of LA premiere.  This marks the third Syfy Saturday Original Movie to shatter the two million viewers mark so far in 2011, joining Mega Python Vs Gatoroid (2.35 million) and Behemoth (2.16 million).

Brian scores new SyFy Original Movie - Premieres March 12

Brian recently scored a SyFy Original Movie that will premiere on the SyFy channel March 12. Of course, they had to call it Battle OF Los Angeles.  Wink, wink.  See the difference there?  The "OF" makes a big difference.  SyFy has to have their fun alien invasion film too.  Brian co-composed the fun, bombastic score with a talented composer colleague Kays Alatrakchi.  With almost 90 minutes of music scored nearly wall to wall in the film...there was a lot to be done in a short amount of time. 

A little promo/trailer has been put out by SyFy and can be seen below.  Be sure to check it out when it premieres Saturday evening March 12 on the SyFy channel.

SCOREcast No. 29: Christopher Lennertz

www.scorecastonline.com

Original Air Date: February 25, 2011

This Episode: Episode No 29: Christopher Lennertz

Co-hosts: Deane Ogden and Brian Ralston

SCOREcast theme composed by: Jeroen “Kejero” Rogier

SCOREcast announcer: Jeff Rechner

iTunes RSS Link

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Chipmunks, Spartans, and bunny rabbits——Oh my!! In our 29th episode, Emmy-nominated composer Christopher Lennertz (Alvin and the Chipmunks, Marmaduke, Hop!) stops in to hang out with Deane and Brian and talk about everything from scoring features, games, and television to didgeridoos and chocolate bunny rabbits! The boys also discuss a new film music financing model that is gaining traction in industry circles, and they continue the ongoing discussion of the proposed composers union in order to highlight a few very interesting recent developments. If this episode sounds like it is packed to the gills, that’s because IT IS! Hunker down and take it all in!

http://www.scorecastonline.com/2011/02/scorecast-no-29.html

SCOREcast Session:2011 NAMM Wrap-Up Episode

www.scorecastonline.com

Original Air Date: January 31, 2011

This Episode: 2011 NAMM Wrap-Up Episode

Co-hosts: Deane Ogden and Brian Ralston

SCOREcast theme composed by: Jeroen “Kejero” Rogier SCOREcast announcer: Jeff Rechner

iTunes RSS Link

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: In our very first SCOREcast Session episode, Deane and Brian go in-depth with their impressions from this year’s NAMM Show. Utilizing a different format in this episode, the boys walk you through the hits and misses from the convention floor and also answer a few listener emails from last months regular episode. If you were at NAMM this year, you’ll appreciate the more detailed descriptions of some of the items that were highlighted during our 2011 NAMM Video Series. If you weren’t in Anaheim, get your notepad ready… You won’t want to miss some of these killer products coming out in 2011!

SCOREcast No. 28 - "2011 Pre-NAMM Episode"

www.scorecastonline.com

Original Air Date: January 11, 2011

This Episode: “2011 Pre-NAMM Episode”

Co-hosts: Deane Ogden and Brian Ralston

Guest Host: Richard Bellis 

SCOREcast theme composed by: Jeroen “Kejero” Rogier

iTunes RSS Link

We’re ringing in the New Year with our 28th episode, and we’re mixing up the format… yet again! In this edition of SCOREcast Podcast, Deane and Brian welcome Emmy-winning composer Richard Bellis along for the ride to talk about the state of the industry, how the Academy decides eligibility for the Best Score Oscar®, and what emerging technologies are will carry forth into 2011 for media composers. Also, pay special attention for an “Easter Egg” in the final 1/3 of the show: A special shout-out to those of you attending the NAMM Show this week in Anaheim, California. We are just full of surprises today on this show, so sit back, relax, smoke a cigar, and enjoy. (Okay, don’t really smoke a cigar!)

TOPICAL LIST 1. The Re-Sophistication of the Craft 2. The Rise of “Celebrity Scores” 3. The Academy Award Nomination Process 4. Trending Technologies for Composers 5. “The Composer Census”

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DISCUSSION LINKS

00:45:25—The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

(The Oscars®)

00:47:09—Rules of Eligibility: Music

(The Oscars®)

00:52:55—CineOrch

(CineSamples)

00:56:42—Sibelius

(notation software)

00:57:49—DP Control™

(Digital Performer iPad app)

00:58:05—AC-7 Pro

(Saitara Software Universal DAW Controller for iPad)

00:59:44—Boxwave Capacitive iPad Stylus

(Boxwave)

01:01:12—Kontakt

(Native Instruments)

01:01:11—Spectrasonics

(64-bit virtual instruments)

01:01:20—EastWest Play 2

(EastWest sample libraries)

01:03:24—Ray Colcord

(award-winning composer/orchestrator)

01:06:16—2011 Film & Television Composer Census

(The Composer Census Group)

01:10:42—AMPTP

(Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers)

01:12:43—NLRB

(National Labor Relations Board)

01:13:30—Teamsters Local 399

(The Teamsters Union)

01:34:26—Blue Icicle

(XLR-USB adapter)

“TOP PICKS” LINKS Brian Ralston’s Top Picks

01:18:43—PogoPlug

(personal streaming studio server device)

01:23:33—Jam Kat

(guitar pick switcher)

Richard Bellis’ Top Picks

01:25:47—Backblaze

(unlimited off-site backup solution)

Deane Ogden’s Top Picks

01:28:46—Orchestral String Runs

(Kontakt-based string run sample library)

SCOREcast No. 27 – "The Long Winter"

www.scorecastonline.com

Original Air Date: December 12, 2010

This Episode: “The Long Winter”

Co-hosts: Deane Ogden and Brian Ralston

SCOREcast theme composed by: Jeroen “Kejero” Rogier

 iTunes RSS Link

The new dynamic duo of Deane Ogden and Brian Ralston will catch you up on all of the things that have taken place lately, including the winner of our SCOREcast Theme Contest from February 2010, the latest in film music news and events, an update on the proposed Composers Union, and a preview of the upcoming NAMM Show next month in Anaheim, CA. Get ready for an episode chock-full of goodies as we close an extremely busy 2010 and look forward to a full docket of SCOREcast episodes in 2011!

http://www.scorecastonline.com/2010/12/12/scorecast-no-27-the-long-winter/

EPISODE LINKS:

• 00:11:23—TonehammerSample Libraries
• 00:15:57—The Association of Media Composers and Lyricists [AMCL]
• 00:17:34—National Labor Relations Board
• 00:18:08—Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP)
• 00:22:09—The Teamsters Local 399
• 00:28:32—ProTools 9 digital audio workstation software
• 00:32:47—National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM)
• 00:35:45—Spectrasonics
• 00:35:51—Ilio
• 00:35:58—MOTU

Brian is the new co-host on the SCOREcast Podcast!

www.scorecastonline.com

It was recently announced that Brian will be joining

DEANE OGDEN (IMDb) as co-host for the successful and steadily growing SCOREcast Podcast.  Brian has already been contributing articles to the scorecastonline.com website.

SCOREcastonline.com

is a working community of film and television professionals dedicated to providing relevant news, opinion, commentary, and editorial about our business to the professional film production community. It's core aim is to inform and educate the film community on the re-sophistication of the business and craft of making music for film and television.  Its team of contributing editors consists of working professional television and film composers, orchestrators, music editors, re-recording mixers, film music recordists, and composer assistants.

In addition to the website articles and information, DEANE OGDEN started a monthly podcast show in 2007.  Ogden had enlisted the help of veteran film and television composer LEE SANDERS (IMDb) to co-host the SCOREcast podcast, and expand the SCOREcast reach to other forms of digital communication.  After early integration into the iTunes family of podcasts, SCOREcast rapidly became one of the most listened-to film music-centric podcasts on the Internet. In August of 2007, after back-to-back turns on iTunes’ Featured Top 20 list, two of America’s top universities incorporated the SCOREcast podcast into the “recommended resources” for their film music certification program curricula. By January 2008, the SCOREcast listener base on iTunes reached upwards of 6,000 people worldwide.  They have completed 26 podcast shows to date.  Due to a busy and hectic schedule, Lee Sanders has stepped aside from his co-hosting responsibilities and Brian is thrilled and excited to be stepping in as the new co-host of the show with Deane.  

Today, the SCORECAST podcast broadcasts regularly from iTunes, and is heard by tens of thousands of people worldwide. SCORECASTONLINE.COM serves as the main companion to the podcast, and has become the Internet’s leading hub of interactive discussion for the professional film and television music communities, with over 40,000 unique visits per day by people all around the globe.

New Daily Trojan column on Brian.

Brian's story was featured today in a USC Daily Trojan column on Dreammaking.  The article talks about Brian's past with being an EMT and working toward a medical career before deciding to follow his passion in music.  Check it out.

http://dailytrojan.com/2010/08/30/leaving-behind-medicine-for-music/

Brian Ralston: 10 Lessons On "Breaking In"

Brian recently wrote an article for SCOREcastonline.com.  It is the first in a series of articles that will be written by Brian. SCOREcast is an interactive news website that serves as a centralized hub of discussion and debate for all professional working members of the film music industry. It currently receives over 37,000 hits per day.  The site is recognized as an official “film music news provider” by the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and is a part of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) press core in 2010. 

Check it out!

http://www.scorecastonline.com/2010/04/brian-ralston-10-lessons-on-breaking-in.html