HUDSON MUSIC PRODUCES LIVE SHOOT OF MODERN DRUMMER MAGAZINE FESTIVAL WEEKEND 2003; NEWYORKDVD TO DEVELOP MULTI-DISC DVD OF EVENT
Multi-Camera, Multi-Track Recording Effort Captures Some of the Leading Drummers,
Percussionists for Leading Drum Magazine’s Annual Performance
FOR RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2003
NEW YORK, NY — Hudson Music, a leading music instruction video producer, and NewYorkDVD, one of New York’s leading providers of DVD development services, have recently completed video production of the Modern Drummer Magazine Festival 2003 for an upcoming DVD title.
The two-day festival, held May 17-18 at Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Montclair State University in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, featured some of the music industry’s leading drummers and percussionists — including Saturday Night Live band member Shawn Pelton, world music pioneer Airto, rock/fusion veteran Steve Smith, DreamTheater’s Mike Portnoy and Pat Metheny Group’s Antonio Sanchez — both in solo and ensemble performances, in front of a standing-room crowd of industry professionals and drum enthusiasts.
The festival production, a multi-camera shoot, was produced by Paul Siegel and Rob Wallis, principals of Hudson Music, with line direction from Dave Diometti and audio engineering by Sean McLintock Clark Media provided remote truck services for Hudson Music.
Capturing the event, which involved live production of seven consecutive hours on two successive days, required three onstage cameras, both hand-held and locked-down, focusing on multiple angles, including drummers’ feet. A 40-foot camera jib was used to capture live audience shots as well as overhead sweeps of the drummers in action.
“This production was as fast and as flawless as the performances; shot selections were called in clean, rapid-fire succession, enabling us to produce a live cut that will hopefully translate into an explosive DVD title for drummers around the world,” said Siegel. “The sound on this production was pristine; every beat and hit sounds like it would from the audience.”
In addition to the live production, backstage interviews, conversations, setups were captured by Dan Welch from New York Video Crews, using handheld Ikegami cameras. The event was captured using Sony videotape, while live sound was recorded using Panasonic digital consoles and Tascam DTRS recorders.
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“We are the bible of the drum industry and, as such, we like to bring the drumming faithful together for what we believe is the ultimate annual drum festival,” said Rick van Horn, senior editor of Modern Drummer. “This festival was flawlessly produced, and we anticipate a solid DVD title that will give our readers a visceral reproduction of a quality event.”
Highlights of the festival included a surprise appearance by Mike Portnoy’s popular heavy metal band, Dream Theater, as well as a bravura drum and percussion performance by Airto.
“The Modern Drummer team made this an effortlessly fun event for us to play; the production was virtually transparent to us,” said Shawn Pelton, whose band House of Diablo closed the festival.
The DVD title, a multi-disc package, will be authored and developed by NewYorkDVD’s Brian Brodeur, working in conjunction with Hudson Music, for a projected 4th quarter 2003 release.
Hudson Music products are available from your local music retailer or Hudson Music at 1-888-796-2992, fax 914-246-5282 or e-mail hudsoninfo@aol.com. Visit Hudson online at www.hudsonmusic.com. For dealer information please contact Hal Leonard Publications, 7777 W. Bluemound Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53213, tel: 414-774-3630, fax: 414-774-3259, www.halleonard.com.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: For a color photograph of Hudson Music or NewYorkDVD executives, please contact Chris Pfaff at 201-218-0262 or c.pfaff@att.net