It’s real simple. If you haven’t heard the single, stream or purchase it or check it out on our youtube Page. Then, download the zip file containing all the individual stems of the tune. So pull out your weapons of mass deconstruction and give us the best remix you got. The top five will be chosen by the band and featured on our EP, which will be available in iTunes, Amazon, etc. Your name, company, website, etc will be credited in our liner notes and other web properties. It’s fantastic exposure for you or your company.

So where’s the fine print? There’s not much, but it’s located in a text file inside the .zip archive which you must read before proceeding. Contest will close on Tuesday, October 25 at 11-49 P.M. Eastern.

Well, That’s about it. Download the stems, and get to manglin’.

Well, as is the usual way, it’s been far too long Since an official update. Things are slowly but steadily moving forward. In June, I graduated from the Louisiana Center for the BLind. I spent the balance of this summer living in Ruston, where I decompressed from an intense 9 months, as well as flying to Orlando for this year’s NFB convention, as well as participating as a camp councilor for blind students in a science, engineering, and math program called Youth Slam. As of August 1st, I flew back to Michigan, where I set up shop back in Traverse City to relaunch my career. Everything’s been on hold for about a year, so it’s good to get it all rolling again.
This whole process has been about rebooting everything for me. In result, expect to see tons of output, both musical and otherwise before year’s end.
My album “Headspace” is officially moving forward. Ian Baird is working on editing the drums that we tracked just under 2 years ago. Geoff Smith has thumped down some awesome bass. In 2 weeks or so, I move to hiring some guitar players. Ian has recommended some great guys, and combined with the guys I already had in mind, I think we’re gonna have an amazing wall of guitars. In the meantime, I am working to secure funding to finish this project. I’m currently drafting up a proposal on Kickstarter, which will be a platform for the project to get funded. I wanted to throw this out to you guys before everything goes live on the kickstarter service so that you all were aware and decide if you were able to help. In short, I am reaching out to you, my friends, to see if you would be willing and interested in helping me fund the remainder of the project. I’ll be putting the project up for roughly $10,000. This will cover drum editing, guitarists, mixing, mastering, artwork, pressing, and a completely new web theme for the kevinreeves.net site, whose rollout will coincide with the release. I will post another message in a few weeks to keep everyone updated on when the project will go live and how you can help. I will be offering incentive programs for different donation amounts, so you can own more than just the album itself. WHen the time comes, any help that any of you will be able to provide will be greatly appreciated.

Now, on to the part of this update that I’m sure has your curiosity peaked. Yes folks, I have indeed gone metal, at least for the side project I’m about to reveal to you.
About 5 years ago, I was commissioned by Damon Fibraio to write a theme song for “No Holds Barred,” the flagship show on the No Holds Barred Radio Network. So, I set to work writing him this really brutal metal tune, playing all the instruments and laying down the vocals. I had Clarence Griffindo a quick mix and master so we could get it ready for air. The success of the song was so overwhelming by the community, that I knew I just might have a minor hit on my hands if I could get some real players to rerecord it. I filed it in the back of my mind as a project to tackle in the future. Also in that mental file was the idea to put a whole album out of heavy tunes like that under the name Crater Maker. But alas, the cards never aligned for that project to get off the ground.
Flash forward to 2 weeks ago. I was once again approached by Damon about rerecording the theme for the relaunch of his show. At the same time, he had peaked the interest of Ian Baird to be involved in the tracking and mixing of thi Project. The last 10 days were spent retracking everything from the ground up: Ian tracking drums, bass, and guitar, Damon tracking the keyboards and some vocals, and yours truly handling the lead vocals. Ian then mixed and mastered the tune and gave it the sheen and shine I was looking for.
In this process, the desire to revisit the concept of Crater Maker came to the forefront of my mind. A week ago, I approached the guys about writing more tunes and putting them out as an official Crater Maker album. They agreed, and the concept began to take shape.
So today, at this very moment, to coincide with the actual airing of the all new No Holds Barred Radio show, we bring you our first official Crater Maker single “No Holds Barred,” Available now for streaming and purchase. You can stream the tune in full quality and purchase it for 99 cents right from the bandcamp site. It’s fast and easy. Also, we’ve rolled out other Crater Maker pages for you to check us out on.
Along with the bandcamp site where you can Listen & Buy, We also have Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube pages where you can interact with us and keep up to date with everything that’s going on. We even have a video featuring the No Holds Barred single with lyrics on the above youtube page. Mad props to Ian for making that happen in such a short time. We hope to have an EP drop before the Christmas holidays. Watch those pages for more updates.

Well, there you have it. Lots of stuff happening around these parts. Stay tuned to this space as more things unfold. Yes. I’ve even got more stuff up my sleeve I haven’t yet posted about. All the more reason to stay subscribed to the blog or email list.

Thanks again for opening your email In Box and taking the time to read this. I really look forward to hearing from all of you. Have a great night.

Kevin Reeves

I understand that if you are zoomed out when shooting, you are getting more objects in your field, but they are smaller and less detailed. As you zoom in, you can pinpoint one object. The more you zoom in, the bigger it gets and more detailed it becomes. With the introduction of HD, you can even capture the stubble on a man’s face.
I understand the purpose of multi camera setups. One camera always takes all-encompassing shots of the subjects, while 1 or more cameras are moving around zooming in on specific objects, people, etc.
I understand the concepts of B Roll, in that it is related video content, possibly shot at a different time and place. It is interspersed with the main content to provide perspective, or to give the production a sense of ebb and flow.
I think I understand the idea of a Lower Third, as it gives textual information, such as a person’s name, website, or other information. This has been widely used in the Twit video podcasts.
I think I know what a green screen is. You can put that behind someone to give them a background. Also, you can put objects or landscapes on the screen to give the elusion that someone is on a beach, in a city, etc. Now that’s a stretch, but I’m guessing here.

Ok. Now that I have outlined what I think I know, now come the questions.

1. Is a wide angle shot simply a zoomed out shot? Is it really at an angle at all? If so, then what is a zoomed out shot that is dead straight on?

2. What does the iMac and Macbook camera’s capture best? When I launch photo booth or some other video capture app on my mac, what is it defaulted to and what is it capturing?
On that same line, at what height should the Macbook be to shoot adequately in a room? I know this is relative, but give me just a ballpark.
When I was shooting some content for the making of my soon to be released album, Ian Baird placed the macbook high up on some boxes so that it was shooting down at and Joel Gragg and I while we were in the control room. However, when I’m doing video chat? The laptop is on my lap and shooting up at my face.
Is it better to be looking down on someone than looking up? What happens to the visual field as the macbook lid is tilted? I think I understand that if it were straight up and down, it would be shooting at my chest, so angling it shoots it up at my face. Is that correct?
Is it also true that the higher up you put the laptop, you want to angle the screen down so that you are not shooting at the ceiling?

3. On one of the episodes of Mac Break Weekly, Andy Ihnatko really spoke highly of this camera. He and the other guests on the show really loved it as it allowed them to literally set it and forget it. He said that people loved to be able to strap it on their chest and go about their business without needing to pay attention to what was being captured. Would this work for me if I was just wanting to film what was around me, such as a walk through a city, my nephew opening birthday presents, etc.
Also, Andy spoke of a fisheye lens on the camera, and how he was able to put it on his dash and film a scenic drive. What is a fisheye lens? What does it capture? He made it sound as though this lens would capture at a great distance.
When you place a camera, are you lining the center of the visual field up in your viewfinder? In other words, why put it on your chest? Wouldn’t that only show from the chest down, or is the central point of the visual field chest level and the area of the field encapsulates a wide spectrum of hight and width?
Lastly on the topic of this camera? Am I somewhat correct in saying that if I preset a moderate zoom level, is it safe to say that as long as I’m facing the sound of whatever it is I’m filming, it will be good enough for the viewer to get an idea of what’s going on?

4. What’s a better situation: mounting a camera like the one mentioned above on a tripod, or using the macbook camera to capture a basic video of me playing. If on a tripod, what should the height be on average? How far away should I be from it?
I had the thought of putting a camera on a tripod and and also using the macbook camera for other shots, starting them rolling, and have an editor cut them together later. What should the tripod camera be used for, and what should I have the macbook capture? When it comes to cameras, I’m speaking of either the camera mentioned above or an iPhone as a tripod mounted camera. Maybe both if I’m feeling up to it. Combined with the Macbook, I could easily have a 3 camera shoot.

5. What about lighting? Now I know that we could go for days on concepts like white balance and such, but give me the basic idea. What must be present in a room as far as light goes for objects to be clearly seen. What about outside? I know that the glare from the sun can blow out an image, rendering it completely unviewable. Is that correct?

Ok. Well, there they are. All the questions I’ve wanted to ask in one huge post. If you can answer any or all of these, please leave them in the comments area below. I really look forward to gaining a whole new understanding and sense of perspective through the help of your comments. My goal here is not to learn how to become a world class videographer. I just want to get the basics so I can shoot some video for you guys and further share my world with you. Thanks again for any help you can provide.

Click Here to download

Click Here To Download

Geek notes

At that time, I had the mac and Pro Tools for about 8 months, but due to the riggers of my senior year in college, I had trouble finding the time to really sit down and learn how to use it. By the time I recorded this, I knew how to create a session, create and arm a track, set the inputs, record, rewind and fast forward, and punch. This song wasn’t recorded to click because I didn’t know how to set it up. Also, I did no sequencing. . I recorded the raw audio from the keyboard as I played because I had no idea how to configure midi. In result, you’ll definitely hear some tempo issues. Once the tracks were recorded, I enlisted fellow student Rod Kim to come in and mix it, because I had no idea how to add effects yet and even create a workable bounce. Needless to say, I was an infant in my Pro TOols knowledge. Rod got me a nice mix and we were off and running. Even if my recording attempts at that time were juvenile at best, It made a fantastic memory for me that I’ll never forget.

Thanks Mr. Gold for making such great music. I’m sorry I never took the time to dig further into your catalog and unearth the other treasures I know are there. Well,. I guess there’s no time like the present. While I’m doing that, I invite you to download this song in tribute.

The Basics

The 24 tracks are divided into the 4 major choral parts, Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass. The session is further broken down into 6 voices per part: s1-s6, a1-a6, and so on. I chose the letter/number method for easy reading along a control surface scribble strip and to reduce text clutter in the track lists. The first 12 tracks, s1-b3, are panned 100 left, and the remaining tracks, s4-b6, are panned 100 right.

The Groups

P T’s implementation of groups makes tracking, mixing, and editing multiple tracks an absolute breeze. In this case, I have created several groups, which will allow you to single out tracks by part, quartet, and even pan position.

Parts

Each part has it’s own group. When active, you’ll be able to mute, solo, and edit the sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses separately. What’s brilliant about pro tools is that you can assign any letter to the group name. So, I have assigned group S to the Sopranos, A to the Altos, etc. You can turn each group on and off by pressing the period on the numpad, followed by it’s respective letter, followed by the period again. So, by hitting “numpad period A numpad period,” you can activate the alto group. Pressing the above key combo again will deactivate it.

Quartets

I have created 6 quartets. s1-b1, s2-b2, etc. This allows you to single out 1 voice per part. This will help you quickly locate any pitchy vocals that you might be hearing. By auditioning each one, you can quickly pinpoint a flat track. The groups are named Quartet 1-6. Since Pro Tools allows you to have 4 groups of 26 letter assignments, I have assigned Q to quartet 1, 2Q to quartet 2, 3Q to quartet 3, etc. For Quartets 5 and 6, I have given the pneumonic f and x respectively. I couldn’t use S, due to the use of S for the soprano group.

Panning

There are 2 groups with single out the left and right sides of the stereo field. They are called “Left” and “Right,” and have the letters L and R assigned to them. This allows you to gain further perspective on your vocal tracks. Sometimes you may need to hear one side or another and compare.

BGV’s

Lastly, I have created an all encompassing “BGV’s” group, which is assigned to the letter V. This will help you solo, mute, and edit the bgv’s as a whole.

The BGV Aux Track

All track outputs are assigned to Bus 7/8 and fed to an aux track named “BGV’s. It has been included in all groups for convenience. I picked an arbitrary bus like 7/8 in an attempt to avoid interfering with most common bus assignments. You can change the bus assignments to fit your routing needs.

The Compressor

On each vocal track, I have instantiated the standard compressor and selected the “Vocal Leveler” preset. This brings the track up to an optimal level, and helps level it out a bit. I chose not to put the compressor on the aux bus, as all of those vocals tend to cause it to breathe, so I opted to make it an insert effect. Don’t worry, 24 compressors don’t really tax a system.

Package Contents

Within the zip file, you’ll find 2 items. The vocal template .ppt file, which will allow you to create a new session using the template, and a demo session folder. The demo is the chorus from a tune called “Euphoria,” which uses all 24 tracks for stacked BGV’s. This will give you an idea of how to make use of the tracks and groups.

Terms

This file is yours to do with as you please, whether it be putting it on multiple Pro Tools rigs, emailing it to a friend, etc. However, I kindly ask that if you are wanting to post this on twitter, facebook, another blog, etc, please post a link to this post as apposed to deep linking to the file or putting the package somewhere else and linking to it.

Donate

If this template and accompanying pro tools session was helpful for speeding up your workflow and inspiring you, please consider leaving a tip. Time went into putting all of this together for you, so donations of any amount is greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out this file. If you have any modifications and enhancements that would greatly improve the template, feel free to email it to me, and I’ll incorporate it into the next release. I’d love to hear your feedback. Please feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks again, and now go record some awesome bgv’s.

Just a few disclaimers.
1. Due to the lack of some equipment while I’m here at school, the podcast was crudely recorded using the macbook internal microphone, which sounds quite good. As these tutorials progress, they will get better in quality. I’m not going for a pristine production here. I have lots to teach and little time to do it in. I need to get this con tent out to you guys as fast as possible to keep up with the demand of people wanting to learn. I apologize for the recording quality at spots. Please forgive.
2. I am not teaching how to use voiceover in these tutorials. While I do give you some very basic ideas on how voiceover reads the screen, this is not attempt to teach voiceover and Pro Tools. If you are planning on getting a mac, I advise you to begin learning about the voiceover interface and it’s commands. You can learn all you need to know by checking out the Voiceover Getting Started Guide provides the best way to get rolling with learning voiceover.
3. We didn’t get a chance to put any contact info into the tutorial, so feel free to hit me up on Twitter with any questions.

Now that we got that out of the way, I invite you to download the podcast, kick back, and enjoy.

Float Another Year: Down the Line

Here’s a great song from some friends of mine. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing the guitarist, Levi Britton since High School. This tune opens their newest EP entitled Open The Door, and is definitely a great reflection of things past and things to come.

Amazon

iTunes

New Year: Ben Shive

A great song from a brilliant pianist/writer/arranger. His album, “The Ill-tempered Klavier,” came highly recommended. It’s a brilliant record if you like Beatlesque tack piano mixed with fantastic pop sensibility. If you’re in a relationship, this is a great song to start a new year together with.

Amazon

iTunes

Trip Around The Son: MollyJack

During my time in Nashville, I did several gigs with these girls as an opening act. Every gig, they would play this song, and I never could get it out of my head. This song could have either been written for someone’s birthday, or as a tribute to the new year. Take a listen and tell me what you think.

Amazon

iTunes

I hope you enjoyed these tunes, and I look forward to your comments. Here’s to an awesome 2011. Cheers.

Hey Everyone:

Well, it’s been quite a while since my last update. And, as in past updates, I usually follow with an apology for not updating as much as I should and a promise to do better. But alas, it never seems to happen the way I plan, so let’s just say that I will promise to be more receptive to when the spirit moves and inspiration strikes. A great deal has happened in the past year and a half that has permanently altered the course of my life in very positive ways. If you indulge me a few moments of your time and allow me to peal back some layers and communicate some thoughts, I’ll be greatly appreciative.

If you got last years , email update, you may realize that 2010 did not see the release of my second album. Truth be told, 2010 did not at all turn out the way I planned. I thought this year would be spent working to get my music career in order. What I didn’t realize is that it would be spent getting my internal house in order instead.
In early february, I began a relation ship with someone I had met about 9 months earlier in Nashville.. In result, I began to look deep and hard at my internal well-being and self-worth. One of the reasons I left Nashville was due to the fact that I was falling into a deep depression about myself, my music, and everything else around me. I had thought that moving back to Michigan would help change that. It did, to an extent, but I still wasn’t happy. February rolls around and I begin cultivating this relationship with someone very incredible. But still, I am not happy. This threw me into an even deeper tailspin. Long story short, I sought help and got it. Secondly, my girlfriend and I decided to enroll at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. This is a school that helps blind folks become more independent and confident. We’ve been there since August, and this has been an incredible life change for me. I thought I was pretty confident and independent before, but I enrolled knowing that I could do much better for myself. With the help of the staff, my friends, and especially my girlfriend, I have been well on my way to rediscovering the person I used to be back about 10 years ago. Thirdly, after years of running away, I’ve rekindled my faith in Christ. I had left the church and abandoned my faith altogether several years ago in disillusionment and anger. However, I’ve realized that my life was completely incomplete, and most of my depressive attitudes was on account of the emptiness that resulted from being apart from god. Does this mean that I am now abandoning my musical journey as it stands and begin preaching and touring with Sandi Patty? Absolutely not. My faith, like everything else in life, is a journey. This journey will definitely become a part of my journey as a songwriter, but I’m not throwing everything out in favor of writing gospel tunes. It’s not who I am. The only reason I say this is because many folks get the idea that the minute someone mentions faith in Christ, all reality flies out the window. All I know is that I will always try and be real with those who listen to my music. I will always write what I know and what I feel, which will include songs about my faith: or about my girl: or about my dog.
You’re probably reading this wondering “what’s with this sudden display of emotion, openness, and vulnerability?” The truth is that I firmly believe that the longstanding idea of artists hiding behind a PR persona is truly over. How can I expect folks to really engage and dive into my music if they don’t know me. How can I properly communicate with my fans if I don’t know you. By the way, I hate the term fans. Because you’ve taken the time to listen to my music, tell your friends, sign up to my mailing list, and communicate with me, that makes you my friend. I’ve been able to build this small community of folks who have really taken an interest in my music, but then further taking an interest in me as a person. The word “fan” just sounds so 1 way. So let’s all be friends shall we? I want my music, my content, my online presence to be avenues of open dialog. Email me. Hit me up on twitter. Tell me about you. I love it. I have met so many great people through this online platform that have enriched my life forever. Let’s keep it going. I want 2011 to really be a year that turns over new leaves and opens new doors.
I’m sure that what I’ve said here so far will get pushback from some folks. That’s ok. Let’s talk about it. Also, I’m certain that this long rambling email has come to your inbox very unexpectedly. All I can do is to profusely thank you for your time in reading this and allowing me to truly open up to you all.

It’s currently 1-41 A.M. on Christmas morning at time of writing. As I sit here reflecting on the year, I really wanted to take the time and truly open up and get it all out to you, my friends. I also wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy New Year. As I rediscover and grow in my faith, as I watch my nephew grow, and as I continue to cultivate this relationship with a girl I love very much, I realize that what’s so important, especially during the season which celebrates Christ’s birth, is surrounding yourself with the ones you love, as they are the most precious gifts of all.

Before I go, allow me to offer you a little Christmas song I worked on with a writer friend of mine in Nashville.
In May/June of 09, I was approached by my friend Terry Andersen: drummer, songwriter, painter, inventor, visual artist, etc. He had a melody and lyrics for a song he was writing entitled “Call It Christmas.” He asked if I would help him co-write it by creating a basic arrangement. We put together something very simple with a piano and vocal track. Almost a year later, upon my temporary return to Nashville before leaving for Louisiana, we decided to expand the demo and add a full band arrangement for the purpose of approaching publishers or anyone else interested in Christmas music. So, I sat in his mother-in-law’s dining room and proceeded to bang out piano, bass, drums, and a vocal track. He then enlisted longtime friend and world class guitarist Phil Keaggy to add guitars, backing vocals, allow Terry to record some background vocals of his own, and run us a basic mix. We’re so appreciative of his willingness to help. What resulted is a great song, that is a real testament to what Christmas is really all about. Remember. This is a demo. There are 9 million things I would change here about my performances. However, the magic of the song really holds true. In the true spirit of this new era of artists giving the public their true essence by releasing demos, warts and all, allow me to offer you this demo, warts and all. Click Here to download. Windows users, right click and choose “Save Target As.” Mac users, Control Click and choose “Download Linked File.”
I hope this song blesses you on this Christmas day and I offer it as my Christmas gift to you. Feel free to play it on your podcasts, link to it on your blogs/facebooks/twitters, email it to your friends, etc. We’d love to get this song out there and allow it to bless others.
Well, that’s it for now. Thanks again for entrusting me with your time and allowing me to open myself up to you, my friends. I truly appreciate the time you’ve taken in reading all of this. I look forward to hearing from you all in the year to come. Again, have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. Make 2011 absolutely awesome. God bless.

Kevin Reeves