Well, after years of lurking, I'm finally going to post something that isn't a collaboration. As a song writer I don't hold a candle to anyone here. But as a presenter of weird ideas, I may have found my own niche.

This particular "art form" (if I may use the term loosely) requires "reasonable proficiency" in a number of directions, but mastery of none.

I should have taken more time with this but it's a spoof on Merlefest, and I wanted to post it to their web site in a timely manner. It may become an annual spoof of bands that are playing at Merlefest, so I'm referring to it as "episode #1" suggesting there may be more (but not this year)

link to the video: https://youtu.be/OolNxLDHEJA
======================================================
regarding the lyrics, I asked myself "what would a bluegrass playin' squirrel be passionate enough to write songs about?" There are things he loves and things that scare him, but he's determined to frolic in spite of the danger. This is what I came up with:

lyrics:
Well I'm a rodent if you please
the kind that climbs up trees
I love it when it rains and I get wet

I got a fuzzy little @$$
that just loooves to play blue grass
I play it each and every chance I get

My GPS tries to reroute me
and hunters sometimes try an' shoot me
none of that can steal my joy away

as long as festivals recruit me
& bands I'm with don't ever boot me
I'll keep on bein' happy every day
----------------------

My front two teeth are gappy
as squirrels go I'm quite happy
performing here for all y'all's the best

I'm joyful as can be
My spirit's been set free
appearin' on this stage at SkwerleFest

Though friends of mine sometimes upset me
and carnivores may try an' get me
none of that can steal my joy away

If nature doesn't second-guess me
and folks like you show up and let me
I'll keep on playin' music every day
------------------------

Well I'm a happy little squirrel
Not a worry in the world!
except for... maybe cats and hawks and things

but what I fear the most
is when my music turns to toast
cause I played it way too hard and broke a string!

When mixed emotions swell within me
or taxidermists want to skin me
none of that can steal my joy away

If fans are showin' up to hear me
& Folks I love are well and near me
I'll keep on feelin' thankful every day
(and so should you!)

=======================================================================
real tracks are basically the whole _BG_BDMS style, except I omitted the fiddle because Sam Bush plays both fiddle and mandolin, and in this song I had him on mandolin.

Bass=RT427, Mandolin=RT432 and RT436, Banjo = RT426, Guitar = RT 431,
drums = Rock Southern EV^1

Awesome are you going to M fest?

Yep! I'm a volunteer stage hand .. this year I'll be assigned to the Americana stage. Are you going?

Yes, how do you volunteer is it too late?

There is contact info for the volunteer coordinator on this page: http://merlefest.org/volunteer#tab-1

Not sure when the cutoff is, but it's getting close. I think there's still time though if you act immediately

Thanks Done

FLIPPIN' FANTASTIC!!!! Wonderful from start to finish Pat. Always knew you could write a song or two if you tried and I am glad I have been one of the first to see one of the first! I enjoyed it from start to finish and hope that there will be many more

Wow, absolutely sensational entertainment Pat.

This is really, really, really good.

Great tune, fantastic animation, lots of hard work no doubt.

The Mandolin fills - perfect

You nailed it. Fun!

Dear Pat !


You have outdone yourself here !
this is outright absolutely
fantastic ! :))

Take care

Cheers
Dani

*carnivores may try an' get me*
Excellent Pat. All I can say is encore.
Rob

Pat,

This is one of the most thoroughly enjoyable and thoroughly entertaining posts ever on here. Absolutely top notch. The mix is spot on and the bands performance is exactly right for the circumstances.

From announcer to soloists to audience member, you've nailed everything! I take it that the voices are yours.... fantastic!!!

You're talent is extraordinary! I loved everything about this.

Regards,
Noel

Fantastic Pat! That was most entertaining.
Great lyrics. Riveting video. Congratulations.

Excellent video and song Pat. It will be a big hit for Merlefest.

Awesome, Pat.

Everything about this is good. A very clever write. Great video.

Your attention to detail is evident in the addition of feedback and the "mic claps" of the MC...

"Let's play some happy stuff..." HA!

Extraordinary rhyming throughout. And non-stop entertainment.

As Noel said, you are a talented man.

floyd

Hi Pat,

what an entertainment! Must have been a lot
of work.
Great lyrics and video. I enjoyed this so much.

Guenter

Josie, THANK YOU so much for your four-exclamation point review! (in a text-based environment, exclamation points fill in the blanks for all the other subtle communication that falls thru the cracks)


I actually write a lot of songs, but by the time I record them they don't sound like the idea anymore, and I hate them. This song scraped thru with MOST of what I imagined intact. I left some stuff out because I couldn't figure out how to animate it... so in a way, the animation adds constraints, limiting what I can do.



I'm glad you were one of the first too, because you made my day with your kind review! And yes, there will be more now that I've found a niche that doesn't force me to compete directly with all the gurus here on this amazing forum full of talented song writers!

I also want to add that your recent song "THE THINGS HE LEFT BEHIND" was such a creative theme for developing songs in BIAB... it made a real impression on me, and I resolved to try something different too. Thanks for that!

Pat, This is sensational!!! LOL!

Love all the little details - feedback, the mic claps, the crickets.... Great story, great song and cool squirrel voice with a wonderful backing track. This is so impressive and well done - I don't have enough good things to say about it. You've totally nailed this and should be very proud.

Excellent! Two paws up!!

Trevor, You couldn't have described my intent more perfectly... I'm trying to use all the tools at my disposal to entertain people! Thank you for suggesting that it may have worked out as planned! I really appreciate your encouragement!



It really is a lot of work, in spite of having wonderful tools to work with. If I had to use the music and animation tools that Walt Disney worked with, none of this would be possible. The magic is in the software! (Thanks to PGMusic and MUVIZU for creating the greatest software for people who have ideas to actualize!)

But, everybody who uses BIAB knows that there's more to it than pushing a button and getting a finished product. Above and beyond the technology that handles all the heavy lifting, there is still project management, character and set design, song writing considerations etc, all of which are still highly influenced by the creative choices of the person managing the project. So, I appreciate your kind words!


I'm not sure Sam Bush would have played the same passage verbatim 3 times, but for the sake of establishing a theme, I let the squirrel be a little less creative than the real Sam Bush. ;-)


I don't take those words lightly! (Any of them) ... So I'll send them right back at you for your recent song "Baby Don't Make Me Blue". I want you to know that your decision to go out on a limb (squirrel pun intended) and include lyrics in your song was instrumental in encouraging me to risk posting something. Thanks for that!

Dani my friend! Such kind words about a song that depends heavily on software to exist at all... while you are over there writing Beach Boys songs with multiple excellent harmonies and your MANY talents are evident throughout the song! I'm humbled by your kind words (but I sure do appreciate them!)

Thanks! I look forward to hearing your next Brian Wilson spinoff! Hope it isn't a long wait!

LOL, Rob! That's one of my favorite lines too! There was originally a scene in the video that I cut at the last minute that flashed to a hawk and cat in the audience when he sang those words.. I hate that the scene got cut, but it was causing me problems, and I needed to wrap up the video, sooo...

Yeah, there will be more. I have about 20 similar projects in various stages of completion.

Now regarding the word ENCORE: Any song that starts with the line "I saw you leaving in the reflection of my beer..." is a real attention getter! I really like all of your songs, and if you don't perform live, you are missing out on a lot of fun! Your delivery is perfect for live gigs. I'm sure you'd hear that word at the end of each performance: ENCORE!

Noel, I find it hard to hear such glowing words from someone whose body of work I hold in such high regard as yours... but I thank you for saying them! Yes, all of the voices are mine, spoken with different accents, then pitch modified to sound like squirrels. (Nobody has challenged me on the announcer squirrel's Virginia accent yet, but I didn't want to try the Wilkes county NC accent... its out of my pay grade)

Regarding the observation about talent: Charles Schulz (the cartoonist behind the PEANUTS comic strip) was once quoted as saying that cartooning was "a fairly sort of thing" meaning you have to do all of the things required "fairly well", but excellence is not a requirement. It just has to be "good enough" to get the idea across. And that is my new goal. If I make the goal higher than that, I'll freeze up and do nothing (which explains why I've been on the forum for years and this is my first solo post)

But, if you want to talk about extraordinary talent.. let's talk about your most recent song EVERY SINGLE DAY! WOW! I want you to know that I am inspired by everything you do and especially by your amazing analytical perception and your ability to communicate your observations in a way that makes sense to the average person! I fully expect to see your name on the docket of future songwriting seminars! And when that happens I hope you let us know so some of us can come to Oz and sign up for the seminar!

Hi Pat.

Multi-skilled, multi-talented and SO inventive.

Loved every minute of it!

The whole thing was so professional, with such attention to detail, that it's hard to believe you haven't spent your whole life working with animation.

Excellent soundtrack too - the voices matched the characters perfectly.

Looking forward to your next production.

ROG.

I couldn't ask for a more affirming response than for someone to say they were entertained by my video! Thanks for taking time to send a message from halfway around the world! I really, truly appreciate that!

Now, speaking of you: it's been a while since you posted anything... I still think of your TUI song fairly often, oddly enough. Maybe because I had never heard of that kind of bird until you wrote your song about it, so it stuck in my head! I think your songs have always been very creative, and I am inspired partly by your songs to try something different! I look forward to hearing something new from your studio in New Zealand! Its spring here, so you must be heading into fall and winter, which should be a good time to stay inside and write music!

Thanks Charlie! I posted a link on the Merlefest Volunteers Facebook page, but I haven't mustered the courage to post it on Merlefest's main page.

Its a special-interest concept video, so it stands to "strike a chord" (pun intended) with that audience more than with the general population. I'm hoping people there will spread it around by reposting on their FB pages.

What I'd REALLY like is for Sam Bush to make a comment about the video while he's on stage at Merlefest. If he does that, it would not only make my day, but it could send a lot of hits to the video when people go to see what he was referring to.

Any chance I'll see you at Merlefest this year?

Floyd... thanks for that... seriously, thanks. Part of the reason why I haven't posted anything here is because you have set the bar so high, I'm frankly intimidated to put my stuff out there, knowing it doesn't compare in any way shape or form to the amazing, professional quality, "this guy ought to be famous" stuff that you post every single time you press SEND on a new song.


I was thinking of you when I added those two details! I also bumped up the midrange on the announcer's audio track to give it that sound you tend to get in live venues from a Shure dynamic mic


that happened spontaneously... I kind of got caught up in the character and it just popped out. I liked it, and it stayed in the mix. Sam Bush is a very spontaneous artist, and I can see him saying something like that.


regarding the lyrics: I'd bet that every one who participates on this forum studies your observations on lyric writing when they make their own best effort at putting words to their songs. I found myself re-writing phrases over and over to get better flow, asking myself "what would Floyd do here?"

Whether you realize it or not, your presence on this forum has been nothing short of transformational. Before you came it was cool, but it got magical when you started sharing your insights and encouraging people to try new things. I believe that group excellence is often enabled by the presence of a "super conductor" who treats the whole group as a living project, and develops all of its resources in a manner similar to the management of a single song's resources.

You have been encouraging people here for a long time, and I am now happy to find my name among the names of people who have been encouraged by you! You really ought to be famous. In fact... there's still time....

Thank you Guenter! I was looking forward to seeing what you might have to say, knowing that your son is a truly EXCELLENT cartoonist! As I've already said to a few people , I am humbled by your kind words. In my estimation you are a giant among the song writers of this forum! Your willingness to experiment with new technology (vocaloids!) and different genres (as you do in the remix contests) speaks volumes about your creative open-mindedness and your amazing ability to master every single project, even when you are trying something new!

When I try something new I always have a large pile of disasters before I ever get one result that I find satisfying.... but YOU have that magical ability to understand the essence of what makes the new idea work, and so you get it right the first time! I have such respect for that ability of yours... I'm sure not many people share it!

Your latest song LOLLIE is amazing in so many directions I don't even know where to begin to express all the glowing comments it deserves, except to say that I am totally blown away and inspired by the full body of your work!

Josie! Your comment about "two paws up" made me snort coffee out my nose! I'll have to remember NEVER to drink coffee again when I'm about to read one of your reviews! You have that delightfully cute sense of humor that really tickles me, and I frequently laugh out loud at your funny comments! (this is one of those times)

And thanks for noticing and appropriating the significance of the crickets! Since retiring I've started playing music live again, and I recently had a soul-crushing "crickets" gig where nothing I did got a response from the audience. It was nothing but crickets after every song! No more country club gigs for me... those venues treat the performers like the wait staff (or worse)

Its interesting the way you mention the backing track in the sentence alongside the squirrel voice... That's a significant observation! Unlike most submissions to this forum, (which are all about the song itself) in this project the song is just another element, and it ends up being on par with "the squirrel voice" ! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT OBSERVATION! It adds perspective, and I'll always remember now that my songs only have to be as good as my squirrel voice. I think there's liberty in that knowledge. ;-)

You and I have communicated often enough that I hope you already know my respect for your work, but I'll say it again and again so the message doesn't get lost in the shuffle! I also hope you know that you are one of the core people on this forum who has been an inspiration and an encouragement to me, and I want you to know how very much I appreciate that! Thanks not only for your kind comments, but ESPECIALLY for your friendship! I value that most of all!

Wow, interesting choice of words, since they are EXACTLY the words I would use to describe YOU! Different people on this forum inspire me in different ways, but the significant thing about you is the way you have cultivated multiple talents and the way you make them all work together in your productions! I especially appreciate the fact that you have elected to use your talents to help others learn.. I respect that decision more that I can adequately say! You are very unselfish with your talent, and as a result the people around you are all blessed by your efforts. Thanks for that!


another interesting observation... your video/song in which you used line drawings to create the sax player was the catalyst that triggered my decision to get serious about combining my hobbies into one! That video/song of your was so entertaining and just plain FUN TO WATCH that I knew immediately as soon as I saw it that you were onto something big! In summary, I just started toying with the animation shortly after you posted the sax video (however long ago that was... less than 2 years I think)

Thanks for providing the inspiration that pushed me over the edge and got me started down this road.. I'm having a lot of fun with it, and I thank you for that!


Thanks for that.. although, I have to say I put a lot less effort into the song than I put into everything else. Band in a Box is SUCH a good tool for my purposes that I don't really get bogged down in the song. But for me, its a confidence builder... hopefully if I get a few animations under my belt, I'll feel confident enough to try a real song that stands in its own merit. Time will tell. If that ever happens, it will only be because the good forum folks like you and the others who commented took the time from busy lives to offer a word of encouragement and keep the spark alive. It is so easy to let that spark die out. Thanks for helping to fan the flame.

Having said all that, your recent song A LITTLE BIT LONGER is one of my all time favorites! I like the energy in your songs, and I especially like that you play much of it yourself! This one in particular is so CATCHY! I'd love to hear it in a live venue! Thanks for a whole different kind of inspiration!

I got a fuzzy little @$$
that just loooves to play blue grass

This is a gem!! This is really well done. I don't know anything about animation but it is very cool what you've done here. Got a kick out of it! Keep posting your tunes! Take care. Greg

;-) seemed like the obvious rhyme for "bluegrass"... plus it gave me a picture phrase to make the squirrel real... (and it made me laugh)



Thanks Greg... I have a special interest in hearing your thoughts, because we seem to be on the same page on so many things... except in this case you can see the project objectively, whereas I'm too close to it. Thanks for taking time to comment, as I truly value your opinion and analysis!

As I write this, I'm listening once again to your most recent project with Janice, and I find myself loving it all over again! You made such great creative choices throughout that song... from your choice of words in your lyrics to your choice of collaboration partners, you hit a home run every time at bat! I hope to someday achieve the kind of clarity you get in your mixes... but til then, I'll be content to hide the mix in an animation where there are distractions!

Pat
Nice use of Muvizu - and all the additional modelling. Very entertaining all round.

Thanks Peter! And very perceptive... yes, there was quite a bit of 3D modelling involved before anything else was done... that's actually the majority of the work in a project like this.

You speak as an insider.. are you familiar with Muvizu?

Hi Pat,

Very, very, very COOL!!
Man, this video must have taken hours of work!
Funny, tightly arranged.
Apart from your testimonial, this is the second time we heard your voice

Rob and Anne-Marie

Hi Rob and Anne-Marie! Thanks for taking time to listen and comment on my little project! Yes, the whole video, which includes the creation of a song, 3D modelling of props and characters, the crafting of a bunch of rough scenes, and finally the final cut when a lot of what's been created gets abandoned... all takes time. By far, MOST of the time is consumed in the creation of models... the video itself goes pretty quickly once all the props and scenery are built. For example, it probably took two whole days or more to make the mandolin model.



I thank you for saying both of those things, because they are two of my main goals!.. so if you thought it was funny and tightly arranged, then I hit the target! I have a tendency to linger too long on a scene instead of cutting it short to keep things moving. In this video the one scene I left long on purpose was the crickets at the end of the song.. I wanted it to become as uncomfortable for the viewer as it would have been for the band


Although that is my voice, technically speaking, it was processed to the point that it doesn't sound like me. But sooner or later I'll post something that accurately represents my singing voice.

Anyway, I'm boring.... let's talk about you! What's the update on your bedroom song? Did they pick a winner yet? I thought your submission was a real contender for the prize! But whether or not you win the contest, you've already won the affection and admiration from a whole group of us on the PGMusic forum... folks who like you and care about your music!

Pat
Yes I've dabbled in Muvizu - have the latest version but not made anything for some time. I can see the additional work that went into this which was clearly substantial.

Pat. I have been doing ALOT of work lately on Facebook. Joined a special group and am growing my fan base quite nicely. If you want the video to really get going you have to boost the post. This can be done very inexpensively but has to be done from a business page ( not your personal page). Also if you upload the video to Facebook itself it has a better chance. FB is pushing videos uploaded there and holding back videos posted anywhere else (like YouTube). Send me a pm if you need more info.

Hello, Pat

What a fantastic animation.
It reminds me the cartoon movies of Warner Bros that I had often watched in my childhood.
You have the both stuff of music and animation.
Very surprising and wonderful present to us.
Thank you very much for your sharing this video.
Enjoyed it a lot.

Best Regards

Shigeki Adachi

I bow to you in respect for your kind words, Shigeki Adachi! Thank you for taking time to encourage me!

Likewise, I thank YOU for sharing such wonderful compositions! Your work is very beautiful, and it clearly required a great talent to produce it! I am happy that you joined our group of friends here on the PGMusic forum!

Lol Pat!!! Too much fun! You ain't no Sam Bush!!! LOL

Hello Pat.
I think your video is a masterpiece.
I think you should be very passionate in cartoon design for having these results.

Simply very fun.
The way they move their eyes during the presentation, is sensational.

Congratulations and great respect for what you've done; absolutely unthinkable for me!
Naturally nice music too.

Sergio

Heyyy Tommy, my bluegrass buddy! Where are you located, my friend? You need to come to Merlefest and hang out with me!

Lots of good people there this year...
http://merlefest.org/lp-v4

Pat,

The superlatives have all been grabbed but I'll give it a shot Like others
have said one of the first things Janice and I noted was the feedback and
the mic clapping. That put us in the festival mood from the get go. All kinds
of things ran through my head while watching. I couldn't help but immediately
be reminded of the first time I saw Sam at very early festival around 1971-2
playing with Tony Rice in the Bluegrass Alliance band. Then several of the white
furred squirrels from the Brevard NC area came across the stage clogging (I'm sober!).

I finally got the head cleaned out and went back for some more views. As so
many have said the attention to detail really stands out. We noticed something
we'd missed each time we watched it. Anybody interested in the festival
scene, or bluegrass or Merlefest (or all three) is gonna love this. It's been
said but, yes, you NAILED it.

There's a world of things to love here. The thought and hard work paid off -- big time!

And then there's the "gappy and happy" rhyme. You ain't gonna here that very often.
In fact it might be the first time in the known universe!

KUDOS!!

J&B

Wow Sergio! Those are some very kind words! I'm pretty sure my little video doesn't merit that many good adjectives, but I am very thankful and appreciative that you are a kind person who is willing to encourage others in their hobbies!

Your new song MATTERS OF THE HEART is a song I am really enjoying! I'll post a more comprehensive review on the song's page...

thanks again for taking your valuable time to listen and comment on other peoples' songs! It's what makes this forum a community, and not just a repository of songs!

Omigosh Bud and Janice, you just done MADE MY DAY! Thanks for taking time to write such a long an interesting review! I love the part about the Brevard squirrels!




It's interesting that the audio folks zeroed in on the audio details... oddly enough the feedback I got on the animation forum was that they were disappointed by the LACK of details! (They're looking for graphical and special effects details, because that's how they grade one another's videos... and in that arena, this is pretty substandard)

Most of them rip their sound tracks from movies and TV shows, and they completely missed the fact that this video included original music. But what the heck. To them it lacked the details they value in their own videos. Interesting. In summary, I REALLY appreciate the kind words from you and many others in this forum!


your background in Bluegrass positions you to see the video as an insider, and I have to admit that is unabashedly full of insider references that many people may not even notice.


Thanks for commenting on that! Before starting, I picked up a pencil and pad and started writing what Floyd might call "picture words" that I might weave into the lyrics. Picture words for squirrels include such things as "fuzzy" "gappy front teeth" etc, and in retrospect you see how that panned out when I needed a rhyme for "bluegrass" and "happy". LOL

You are not only kind and wonderful friends, but you are also an inspiration to me and I would guess many others here on the forum! Your recent collaboration with Greg is one of my new favorites... I'd pay money for that song! It's been said before but y'all should be famous!

"I'm joyful as can be
My spirit's been set free
appearin' on this stage at SkwerleFest

Though friends of mine sometimes upset me
and carnivores may try an' get me
none of that can steal my joy away

If nature doesn't second-guess me
and folks like you show up and let me
I'll keep on playin' music every day"

Intentional or not those verses really sum up the spirit that I used to so enjoy 40 years ago at festivals. The bus could break down three times on the way, the bottom could fall
out during the set, the sound system could suck but as long as folks showed up those guys and gals just kicked a$$.

Nothing stole the joy away.

Bud

Bud.. there is no review that is appreciated more than the one from the guy and gal who totally understand what you were trying to say! Thank you ! I know you totally get it, and this one review makes the whole project worthwhile!

This is great!! Man I'm heading to Wilkes County for some pickin' man!!

Thanks David! Encouraging others seems to be your avocation!

If by chance you do come to Wilkes county for Merlefest (your student DGA signed up as a volunteer, so maybe y'all could share a ride from Raleigh!) maybe we'll run into each other!

But, I would truly LOVE to meet you and DGA! ... and I think both of you would love Merlefest!

edit: and if you come, see if you can pry Herb away from his new farm for a day and bring him along... as I recall, y'all live in the same neck of the woods...

Wow ! I wonder how I could have been lurking around in this forum for so long and overlooking this one ???? Well, [*****] happens... This was really so awesome.. Both the music and the animation. Went right away to download this software Muvizu... Never heard of it, but now I have ! Thanks for being such a front-runner in creativity, Pat ! I've shared it also om my FB wall....

its not hard to totally miss songs that have been posted for days... the number of songs being posted to the forum has really increased lately, and songs can easily scroll off the front page in less than 24 hours due to the way comments rearrange the order!



Cool! Welcome to the Muvizu club! It's pretty easy to learn.. in fact, I think it's a lot like BIAB due to the fact that both products provide pre-made elements that can be assembled quickly into a high quality output. Put both products together and you have a rapid development platform for audio visual presentations of wide variety!



I'm far from being a front runner! R&AM were among the first to start using video with their songs.... ROG was the first I remember to use animation. Through the past several years more and more people have started adding video to their projects... PeterF also uses Muvizu... and JosieC has posted at least one song with animation... so I'm in catch-up mode! Now that you've downloaded Muvizu, I guess we can bump the number of people using video up by one! ;-)

Thanks for your very kind review, and especially for posting my video to your FB wall! I greatly appreciate the exposure!

You may have done this a while ago, but I just noticed today that you've added LEO as your nickname! Thanks! At least I can pronounce LEO! If it's OK with you, that's what I'll call you from now on!

I live near Dallas

Hey Pat!

I have to apologize my friend! I have been active as I can be on the forums, but have days I have missed. I'm trying to play a bit of catch up here. So that being said...

This is SO cool! I for the life of me, don't know how you do this, but I have seen it done and know it takes T.I.M.E.!

You are truly showing your talents in a multi-faceted way. I'm not sure how many on these forums could even do anything like this. So far, I am looking at the PGMusic population sign for this kind of thing, and it's population 1.

I get I'm late to the party, and there have been many kind comments, that I would simply be repeating.

One thing, for me personally, is it has a nostalgic feeling for me. I've always loved the movie "Emit Otter's Jug Band Christmas." I think it's more than just the furry animals. It's furry animals with clever song writing that must get me every time! If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me know. I'll see if I can dig some up...or maybe others will know as well.

Thanks for sharing this! Keep 'em coming!

What program do you use for animation?

Hi Caaron! Thanks for your kind words! Glad to see your name on a review of the animation and song!

regarding the software, thanks for asking! I use several animation packages, but this one is called MUVIZU (http://www.muvizu.com/)

Muvizu provides an engine for animating elements within a framework. I also used a 3D modelling program named SILO to model a lot of the elements (such as the stage, some of the instruments, the squirrels etc)

Of course I used BIAB/RB to create the song and dialog tracks...

And finally, I used Adobe Premiere Elements to edit all the various takes into one cohesive presentation

So if you had to ballpark how many hours it took for the animation part, what would you say it took? I just really get the feeling it takes A LOT of work!

If anyone has checked this out yet, I encourage you too. It's pretty amazing when you think of all that Pat did on this!

Its hard to narrow it down to "just animation", because in the case of a music video, you need a song to map out the scenes. You already know how long it takes to write and assemble and mix a song in BIAB.

If you just used stock characters and props and scenery in MUVIZU, and you were experienced with the software, you could probably crank out a 3 minute music video in 60-90 minutes (best case scenario with no delays while you thought about what to do next, and assuming your PC has the horsepower to handle it. Animation is hardware intensive.)

But if you create your own 3D modelled props, characters and scenes, that adds time exponentially. If you count up all the time I spend "thinkinabouddit" and accumulating assets (sound effects, 3D models that are available online for free etc) time spent creating my own 3D assets, making the song, and putting it all together... this project probably took me about a month. But then, I'm retired, and projects tend to expand until they fill the available time... (which is abundant, as a retiree) I'm way slower than average, and nobody should base their time expectations on my snail-like performance



Several people on the forum are already using Muvizu... at least 3 that I'm aware of: (Musiclover, Rob & Anne-Marie and PeterF ... there may be more) I bet you'd have fun with it! It's a good fit with your other hobbies and vocations!

update: I just remembered that ROG and Trygve "Leo" Larsen downloaded Muvizu too! I'm looking forward to seeing all the animations that are about to hit the stage!

That was a hoot Pat! Great lyrics,sound track and cool animation.

Pat, I enjoyed the song very much. I love fun lyrics as much as anything and yours brought a smile to my face.

And the video was quite entertaining. I appreciate all the detail that you put in it - the MC (with glasses), the multiple camera shots, the soloist moving around onstage, all the way to the heckler at the end.

I checked out your "Ramblin Man" cover too. You've got a perfect voice for that style and some fine chops covering Mr. Bettes.

I look forward to your next project!