Congrats to Ovation Nominee Katrina Lenk!

On behalf of all of us here at Mutiny Universe, I would like to offer heartfelt congratulations to actress Katrina Lenk, who plays the part of Christine in Mutiny Universe's Elan Vital, for her well deserved 2008 Ovation Award nomination!

The prestigious Los Angeles theatre award ceremony will be held on November 17 at the Harriet & Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State Los Angeles. The show will be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. Katrina has been nominated in the category of "Lead Actress in a Musical" for her portrayal of Velma Kelly in the musical Chicago, produced by Jeremy Lucas, Bonnie McMahan, Justin Baldwin, Mindy Rouff, and Mark Espinosa for the Musical Theatre of Los Angeles Alliance.

Eight Mondays of "Élan Vital" Music

We are releasing virtually all of the music I wrote/arranged and produced for Élan Vital via our podcast at mutuni.com - about three songs every Monday until November 10. To prevent the plot of the film from being spoiled, we're releasing the soundtrack in alphabetical order (more or less).

Today, we have the following songs (click on the links to download or right-click to save as):
All's Well That Ed's Well
The Blue Lady
Christine

The entire soundtrack will be released again, in its proper order, around the beginning of next year. Stayed tuned to Mutiny Universe for more information.

I AM ED

I am. Trust me. And if you get a chance to see ELAN VITAl, my new movie, you'll understand. Or, maybe you won't understand, but you'll certainly see that I am, in fact, ED.

It won't be on the world-wide interweb for a little while, as it's off to Festivals right now, but you should definitely check it out. As an actor, I am incredibly insecure about my performance and the fact that I look ugly and overweight in this movie. As an Associate Producer, I love how Ed has a definitive and pivotal role in the grand scheme of things. Plus the fact that Ed is surrounded by some amazing lighting and great scenery, courtesy of the Monsoon Cafe Lounge and some Jason Loya artwork.

What does it mean to be ED? It's an awakening of sorts. It's trying to see everything for what it is, but bring the contradictory parts of this world together into some kind of harmony. It's bringing your wombmates out of their shell and letting them express themselves in a way that is scary to them but ultimately will save them and make them happier in life. It's being the lynchpin... the crux... the guy who never gets more than a sip of whiskey, but is looking less for the alcoholic stupor and more for the Boogie Woogie.

Trust me, ya gotta see this movie.

"Élan Vital" Teaser Trailer

Élan Vital Trailer


Check out myspace.com/elanvitalmovie for exciting news in the coming weeks!

The Picture Has a Voice!

After many months of hard work, Jedediah Jones and Ryan DeRamos are in the final stages of the sound design. I was extraordinarily pleased with the first draft and after making just a few key notes, the guys are polishing the music and sound for what seems to be only a two draft process!

Of course Ryan and Jed each had several drafts as Ryan honed the score and Jed, the sound design and dialog in what many would consider a tedious process in which one must balance one's own sensibilities with the pre-made world that we had created so many months before. As the director, I have been pleased to see Ryan's and Jed's sensibilities craft something unique that took many of my ideas and not only elaborated on them but often re-envisioned completely in order for them to become the perfect auditory compliments to the visual world that we had created.

With color correction finished and the sound scape nearly complete, we have only the credits left to do before we have ourselves a finished film. I look forward to unveiling it to everyone soon!

Ryan's List-Worthy from Last Year List: Non-Podcast Rock Music

Other than spinning the fine music heard at Radio@MU, I haven't consumed much music in 2007. Early in the year, I cut demos to some of the Elan Vital soundtrack. In the middle of the year, my band The Society of Gloves recorded a couple of tracks. At the end of the year, and continuing to this day, I've been tracking music for the Elan Vital score. Instead of listening to new music, I've produced music and grooved to a bunch of classics released in previous years.

Anyhow, here's a sadly brief (but great-sounding!) list of three good songs released last year. They're not necessarily my top favorites from 2007, but each song comes from some of the new albums I spent a great deal of time to listen last year:

1. Radiohead "Reckoner" | Amazon.com MP3
BAD. ASS. You can't get anymore badass in 2007 than Radiohead's In Rainbows and the way it was initially for sale - and Mutiny Universe broke the news (at the same time as virtually everyone else), too! "Bodysnatchers" was initially my favorite track off the album, that is, until "Reckoner" got under my skin! Here's a video of a live performance of "Reckoner," and it is IMPERATIVE that you concur that the song is badass:

2. Eddie Vedder "Hard Sun" |
Into the Wild is a fantastic soundtrack/solo album by Ed. I haven't seen the film, but I've heard great things about it. I'm also partway through the book of the same name, and my brother (who read the book before me) says great things about it. Ed has written great songs, and continues to do so - but this selection is a cover song, which goes to show that Ed can consistently record great cover songs, with or without Pearl Jam: "Love, Reign O'er Me," "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," and "Last Kiss," to name a few. Here's a music video that promotes the film:



3. Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin "United States" | Amazon.com MP3
On paper, they're called the Smashing Pumpkins, but since they recorded the album Zeitgeist and their latest EP American Gothic with neither the two other original or the three new Pumpkins, they might as well stick to calling themselves BC/JC. Anyhow, Zeitgeist was a better-than-average comeback album that has been tainted by typical record company greed: Multiple versions and album colors, as well as Ford commercial airplay. Ironically, the previous Pumpkins album, Machina II, was a loud-and-clear F-YOU to the record industry, as the band gave the music away for free online. On any other list that involves new Pumpkins tracks, I would have written "Bring the Light" instead, but "United States" is a nearly-ten minute heavy rock epic, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin recorded the drum track in ONE TAKE and NO CLICK TRACK. Supposedly, there's one flubbed note in there, but I'll take a Jimmy Chamberlin flubbed note any day to my flubbed notes! Here's a live performance of the song:



So that's my short list. It's definitely missing a lot of good stuff from 2007, so I guess I'll have to catch up in 2008.

Ryan's List-Worthy from Last Year List: Computer Programs

Happy New Year!

Since it's that time of year where virtually everyone writes a list or two about their favorites from the year before, I think I'll join in with my insignificant opinions about random stuff. I've been creating more media than consuming it in 2007, so these lists will be rather short.

Anyhow, here are my Top 5 new computer programs, installed in 2007:

1. Upgrade to Pro Tools 7.3 - I wouldn't be able to properly score Elan Vital without the video function.

2. Digidesign Strike - I loves me my robot. Requires Pro Tools.

3. FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter - RTAS plugins cost money. Lots and lots of money. Several VST plugins can be found on the Net for free, and some of them are pretty darn good. Only really useful to wrap VST plugins for use in Pro Tools.

4. Upgrade to BIAS Soundsoap Pro - Awesome. I tried it a little bit last year, but I'll really put this program to the test when I get back to dialogue editing for Elan Vital. Works in Pro Tools (RTAS), as well as other host programs (VST, etc.).

5. Upgrade to the latest iTunes ("iTunes Plus" with the DRM-free mp3s for sale) - Because I think I've run out of 2007 programs to praise. Anyhow, Amazon.com has a competing high-bitrate, DRM-free mp3 store.

Haiku Current Events

Here's to Stu Nahan!
Radiohead's Greenwood's score.
I need to catch up.

Television, Film, and Web Log Studies

I have nothing interesting to write at the moment, except that you should check out the Elan Vital postproduction (and beyond!) blog for interesting, possibly educational, tidbits concerning Mutiny Universe's largest project so far.

With that said, let's continue our daily dose of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia - that is, as much as Hulu will provide of this series. This first season episode is called "Charlie Has Cancer":

And this is a third season episode called "Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City":

What is Elan Vital?

This is from Wikipedia:

Élan vital, coined by French philosopher Henri Bergson in his 1907 book Creative Evolution, was translated in the English edition as "vital impetus", but is usually translated by his detractors as "vital force". It is a hypothetical explanation for evolution and development of organisms, which Bergson linked closely with consciousness.

It was believed by others that this essence (élan vital) could be harvested and embedded into an inanimate substance and activated with electricity, perhaps taking literally another of Bergson's metaphorical descriptions, the "current of life". The British biologist Julian Huxley remarked that Bergson’s élan vital is no better an explanation of life than is explaining the operation of a railway engine by its élan locomotif (locomotive driving force). However, Huxley himself subscribed to the notion of an élan vital as may be seen from the following excerpt: "When I was just last in New York, I went for a walk, leaving Fifth Avenue and the Business section behind me, into the crowded streets near the Bowery. And while I was there, I had a sudden feeling of relief and confidence. There was Bergson’s élan vital – there was assimilation causing life to exert as much pressure, though embodied here in the shape of men, as it has ever done in the earliest year of evolution: - there was the driving force of progress” (lecture 1, n.p., J. Huxley Papers).

A distant precursor of Bergson can be found in the work of the pre-Christian Stoic philosopher Posidonius, who postulated a "vital force" emanated by the sun to all living creatures on the earth's surface. The concept of élan vital is very similar to Schopenhauer's concept of the will-to-live. Several other ideas throughout Bergson's works are reminiscent of Schopenhauer's thoughts.

The French philosopher Gilles Deleuze attempted to recoup the novelty of Bergson's idea in his book Bergsonism, though the term itself underwent substantial changes by Deleuze. No longer considered a mystical, elusive force acting on brute matter, as it was in the vitalist debates of the late 19th century, élan vital in Deleuze's hands denotes a substance in which the distinction between organic and inorganic matter is indiscernible, and the emergence of life undecidable.

Rob Zabrecky

Some great recent projects featuring our Elan Vital mood master, Rob Zabrecky:

Johnathan Rice Press Conference featuring Winona Ryder and Rob Zabrecky


MTV's Room 401 - The Ice Man


MTV's Room 401 - The Claw


MTV's Room 401 - Pull it Through


These are just a few great episodes of Room 401 and Rob Zabrecky. Be sure to check out some more on youtube or mtv overdrive or check your local listings to watch the show on television. You can see Rob in our upcoming film, Elan Vital as the enigmatic singer/guitarist in the lounge band. Stay tuned! Let us know what you think!