Animation and Opera - Why Low Budget Composers choose Machinima Animation With the global depression, art budget cuts, and innovations in technology, contemporary composers have embraced new ways of presenting opera using digital media in the last twenty years. Digital art projects like The Creator’s Project ( http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/ ) encourage and promote modern projects like virtual operas, digital art, gaming‐inspired art, and multimedia design projects. From the Chicago Opera Cabal ensemble to William Antoniou’s Turing Opera and Alice Shield’s Apocalypse , composers have combined the theatrical spectacle of opera with the unlimited innovation of technology. Choosing to create an animated opera over a traditional live opera has several advantages, including working with a diverse range of artists worldwide, low production cost, unlimited stage possibilities, and easy distribution. An animated opera allows the composer to collaborate w...

5 Tips When Making Your First Music Video   A Band's Guide to Music Videos. Making a music video is a fun and exciting experience for your band . Avoid some common pitfalls by following these simple tips.  1. Decide on a song that represents your band as a whole. Maybe the sweet lullaby with the dulcimer twinkling in the background is your favorite song, but if your band's fare is usually severely punk, then spending all that time on that one song may mislead fans who are looking for a mellower sound. Find your signature tune (usually the most popular tune you have), and work with that. Make sure everyone is familiar with the tune, inside and out, even the new drummer who replaced the old drummer who only lasted three gigs. 2. Decide on a budget. How much can you afford, really afford, to spend? At the least, even with borrowed equipment, a free location, and your brother doing post production , you will probably blow at the least a few hundred making this video. Hi...

In the perfect universe, musicians and artists would be paid a regular salary, just like an engineer or a teacher or the guy at Walmart that always smiles and says "Hello, welcome to Walmart". There are various methods of funding your creative passions: Sales of work Music gigs and gallery shows Winning contests Rich parents A day job Commercializing your work Grants Etc. Working at a non-profit the last three years has given me some insight into grant writing. Here are some simple tips to help you fund your passion through grants. 10 Tips for Applying to a Grant 1) MAKE A LIST OF WHO YOU ARE Don't limit yourself to music and art grants. Was your mom Italian? Were you in a college sorority or fraternity? What schools did you graduate from? Do you work with under-served populations? Do you write polkas, salsas, or ballet? Do you have a good story to tell? Make a list of every category you can possibly fit in. 2) SEARCH EVERYWHERE Armed with your list, look for grants that ...