Dutch Rall

2011-12-17T23:58:00.000-08:00

Mela Lee - Los Angeles - December 12, 2011

photo: Dutch Rall

Above, a woman with pipes, chops, and the goods.

Below, a woman with pipes, chops, and the goods.

And thank you Dean for turning me on the the best piece of something I have heard in forever.

2011-11-20T22:30:00.000-08:00

I am beginning to believe that people can change for the better.

Maybe even me.

KA is an amazing spirit and a wonderful artist.

The above is work for a live presentation of Lynch material.

I am in love with this:

2011-10-01T03:52:00.001-07:00

you could say it's been a busy week...

Above is some concept design I'm working with, playing off of key elements by the amazing Todd Gallopo. And here is a video we made for Chrysta Bell's David Lynch project.

"...flirts with love, violence and delusion in equal measure. The devastatingly sexy video (Chrysta gyrating in lingerie forever, please?) is directed by Dutch Rall, who seems to be channeling Inland Empire’s surrealistic, after-hours LA wasteland." - PIERREISM

2011-09-13T14:31:00.000-07:00

2011-08-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

2011-07-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

photo: dutch rall

2011-07-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

Infinity Mirror

photo: dutch rall

For whatever reason, I like the reminder of these reflected clouds that I caught... that they will be here long after these building's facades crumble back into sand (even though this moment and their forms will never happen again).

They seem smugly cheerful about the fact somehow. Good for them.

2011-06-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

Bring me deeper understanding...

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Unbelievable.

Getting better as she goes.

2011-06-22T23:33:00.000-07:00

Optimistic.

2011-06-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

Changing her tune.

photo: Ellen Von Unwerth

2011-06-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

almost there. stay on target.

2011-05-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

merge data with data

There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading in the same direction, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only one wasting time is the one who runs around and around the mountain, telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.

— Hindu teaching (taken from Shane's blog)

2011-05-17T18:01:00.000-07:00

Alexander McQueen.

Ensemble, VOSS, spring/summer 2001

Savage Beauty at the Met. Thru July 31st.

http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen

2011-05-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first real hint of summer in Austin. That moment when one remembers..."oh... yes... I would rather die a slow horrible death than be here in August."

And now (Sunday morning) some very talented musicians down the street are butchering Stevie Wonder... loudly and with enough gusto to try and get everyone to come a-runnin towards the light that shines so brightly in our "Live Music Capital of the World!!!"

So. You know. Maybe one smoke and then time to fly.

Dietrich, Seiff and Scarlett are game.

2011-05-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

3 notes to self. 1st, 5th and 7th in C min.

‎"To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." - Bill S.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

- Kipling

2011-05-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

...trying to get out of the night.

2011-05-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

Sir Puppy McPuppenstien is officially ready to receive your overflowing adoration.

Simple is the complicated pursuit of what’s important. - mono-1.com

2011-05-01T23:37:00.000-07:00

Playing a short set of originals with guitarist and friend John Peacock at the Granada Theatre in Dallas opening for TU (King Crimson's Pat Mastelotto and Trey Gunn) with special guest Chrysta Bell.

2011-04-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

A big birthday needs a big sky.

West Texas shot by Dutch Rall April 22, 2011

2011-04-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

I think someone switched the Armageddon button on the moon over Austin.

Moon orbiting the Frost Bank Tower in Austin, Texas.

2011-04-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

And now... some perspective courtesy photographer Terje Sorgjerd.

(insert sound of boisterous hand clapping)

portraits

2011-03-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

As a teenager, I skipped a lot of school (don't do this kids) and seemed always to end up at The Kimbell... which luckily happened(s) to be one of the most beautiful structures on the planet.

A permanent, free exhibit. A book store and coffee shop before Barnes and Noble became the thing. If anyone was curious as to why I was there at least twice a week, they never bothered to ask or run me off. I'd like to think the security guys figured that I was safe. Leave the lanky loner kid be.

I would stare at this piece by Courbet for literally hours on end. Hours. It is burned into my DNA. I close my eyes and can see it as if it's right in front of me. I'm not certain why exactly it was this particular painting that spoke to lost, adolescent me... or that if I was finally able to figure it out... that it would even posses an agreed-upon word to describe it.

Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) Portrait of H.J. van Wisselingh

Certainly, it's been what I continue to chase visually over and over again, despite the subject, medium, technology or situation.

I like to imagine that it's something light can't contain - or refract thru - or reflect off of.

That it's that thing behind the eyes that tells a whole story without saying a word.

Maybe.

Tiffany Lonsdale and Farah White in 'This is a Love Story' photo by Dutch Rall

Chrysta Bell photo by Dutch Rall

Here is a better director than I working out his portrait process.

It seems he may have had some interesting demons to chase.

2011-03-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

This is a Love Story principle photography is wrapped.

A great experience and a reminder that I love the process of making film.

And the people who make it.

Here's Ryan as he stares into the abyss of unedited footage -

March finds the Black Book Angel's shadow ebbing and flowing...

Organizing old hard drives... a favorite of model Gael Griffin -

I am pretty much in love with this:

2011-03-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

2011-02-18T00:28:00.000-08:00

I'm in Dallas for two weeks working as the cinematographer for my friend Ryan Harper Gray's indie film. Lenses, batteries, monitors, cables, tripods... all dressed up ready to go.

I've got a Pro Tools rig set-up in the hotel so that at night I'll be able to play with Black Book Angel music. Editing the best musicians on the planet in a crappy room on the highway is a good thing.

Here's something I shot and recorded for fun:

Started off in the wrong key and just kept going.

Nettie is a wonderfully cool artist / spirit from New Orleans.

2011-02-06T11:54:00.000-08:00

A little insomnia. Sleep-being. Daydreaming. Prepared and made to wait. Lots to share. Middle Men mind the store while TECHnology teases and taunts. But... all is fine and good and well.
Breathing deep while waiting in the wings.

Miriam Sweeney - Subversion
from Saatchi Online

LaHendrix on the Beach

2011-01-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

Getting Black Book Angel ready to play The Blanton's Gala.... part of which is making films to play in front of Robert Wilson... which is either foolishly insane or just basic, everyday crazy.

People named Jimmy that cover Dylan make it work seems like.

Time My Best Friend

2011-01-02T15:35:00.000-08:00

Goodbye 2010. A year of sea changes in a changing sea.

Professionally, I quit the security of PBS, sold the house, and was able to begin focusing on some things I had been putting off, or had been making excuses for not beginning for a long time.

I've gotten to:
- play live and record with one of the world's best drummers (and nicest people) Pat Mastelotto.
- film David Lynch working in his studio with my friend Chrysta Bell to help promote their project in 2011
- produce an 11 camera shoot with Asleep and the Wheel and Willie Nelson
- produce, direct and edit a full length Ballet Austin broadcast.
- have Tony Levin (my bass hero) play on some Black Book Angel music for release this year!
- make some art for art's sake for a change.

2010 was also the year my grandmother passed away. I spent literally every weekend of my childhood with her at the ranch growing up. I'll always be thankful for her spirit and busy smile as she made sure I had something cool to drink after a Texas summer day of pretending to help my grandfather herd cattle or mend fences. I got to see her just a few days before she died and she was alert and full of stories about family I had never met. And instructions. Got to give her a hug goodbye. And that's about all you could ask for.

Here is something form Aug 6th, 2004. Found it digging thru a box this afternoon. Seems like a good New Year's weekend kinda thing. Fun to hear what I've hopefully gotten much better at and what I should try and remember to keep if I can.

2010-11-25T02:05:00.000-08:00

Finished a rough mix / basic tracks of a new song that I really love with Chrysta Bell to hand to Pat Mastelotto this weekend.

It's for Black Book Angel and will find a life sometime in 2011. Also found an interesting 9 part process of creating patterned projections for the song in a live situation. More on this later.

The song is 6 min long. At 24 frames per second, it will contain 8,640 abstract renders... all dancing in time to the music. Here is one:

Some found light in the night.

2010-11-18T14:05:00.000-08:00

Basically, there is not enough time in the day. I'm at the point where I need to hire someone to help with everything (music, photography, editing), or I need to stop doing something... which feels impossible.

Can I get an extension on this life-thing please and 8 more hours each day? Thanks.

Trigger and friend

2010-11-07T12:24:00.001-08:00

Success.

The crew was great, especially Mike Dow.
Ray Benson, Kevin Patterson and everyone involved with producing the event were very gracious and helpful.
The cameras (all 11 of them) worked without a hitch.
The footage is ingested into Avid and now maybe I can relax.

beside the garden wall when stars are bright

2010-10-22T10:27:00.001-07:00

The cameras have been reserved and the crew have confirmed, so I suppose it's official... I'll be directing the taping of Asleep at the Wheel's 40th Anniversary with Wille Nelson (and special guests) live at the Long Center November 5th.

The evening should end up being a celebration of the history of Austin music in general, and I have to admit, it's a huge responsibility to get it right.

And this one might take a little bit to distance myself from while working. Many a childhood summer afternoon was spent repositioning the needle to play Willie's Stardust on grandfather's old RCA Victor.

"Looking forward to it" doesn't even come close.

tickets here

... casts a shadow up against the sun.

2010-10-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

Wings by Ayers Design

Promo still for Ryan Harper Gray's "This is a Love Story."

Which of us has sought the other?

2010-09-19T22:30:00.000-07:00

an experimental monologue.

starring: D'aria Menichetti
written by: Jeni Rall
music by: Dutch Rall for Black Book Angel
photographed and edited by: Dutch Rall

all content, sounds and images copyright.
all rights reserved.

2010-09-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

Jeni Rall, writer.

Portland, 1994 I think. A broken Pentex K1000 and worklights from Home Depot when a roll of film meant not eating dinner. Glad we skipped a meal.

2010-08-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

Citizen Architect airs tonight on national PBS. I was lucky enough to shoot about half of the finished film and Sam the director/editor did a great job putting it all together.

here is the film's page at PBS or check your local listings.

Citizen Architect on PBS

" ...an immensely inspiring work; the kind that not only gives you faith in humanity, it makes you proud to be a part of our human race.." ratcityfilmsociety, Seattle.

citizenarchitectfilm.com

2010-08-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

Stole some images at the Long Center for Austin's Fashion Week this evening.

Here is a piece I really love by Dawn Younger-Smith / BOUDOIR QUEEN.

Austin. Monday. Cactus. Aug. 2010.

2010-08-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

Me and Dahveed by Toddy.

Toddy by me while he's making a me by him.

2010-07-25T01:35:00.000-07:00

2010-07-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

still the best

2010-07-03T18:06:00.001-07:00

iPhone captures from The Getty. July 03, 2010.

Ned Kelly by The Summer Wardrobe

2010-07-02T01:16:00.000-07:00

Ned Kelly by The Summer Wardrobe

the change at 2:30 is kind of a reason to live.

2010-06-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

I'm headed back out to LA for the third time in three months. I've been helping my friends at Subtractive with a couple of their upcoming projects. I've found myself in the desert shooting rocket scientists, in Santa Monica trying to make LA people look pretty (this is not very difficult) and a few other fun, soon to be announced things.

If you're in Austin on July 14th, Citizen Architect will be screening at the Alamo Ritz. I think this may be the last time to see the full version on the big screen. PBS needed Sam to cut out about 8 min for the broadcast this Aug.

And I've stepped away from my PBS job in Austin. I was there for 5 years and overall, it was a great leaning experience. But, now it's time to take more control of my time and laser-focus on projects on which I don't have to compromise. I'm blessed to have secured some funds which will enable me to do this... so a few months or a year from now, I hope to have some things finished enough to show the world which haven't been watered down by too many opinions. The warts-and-all version of things. Stay tuned.

In the middle of all of this, I've managed to finish a few demo-level songs with Chrysta Bell. Taken some stills for art's sake for the first time in a long time. Am almost finished with Omar's Guggenheim project. Need one shot to complete Jeni's 1st short film/monologue that we shot in Rome. Etc, etc.

There is a lot going on.

2010-04-22T06:42:00.001-07:00

Sifting thru material. Playing with combinations of media. This was shot to test the low-light capabilites of a camera on a very hot Mazatlan afternoon.

Deep Dark Red - abstract 09
director / photographer / editor - Dutch Rall
choreographer - Omar Carrum
music - Sleep and Sadness (inst): Dutch Rall for DDR, Love Back (inst): David Garza, Very: David Garza

Beta gig 1.01

2010-03-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

Dutch Rall, Chrysta Bell (via Lana) and David Garza
Continental Gallery. March 15th, 2010. SXSW. Austin, TX.
photography courtesy and copyright Todd V. Wolfson

SXSW 2010

2010-03-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

It's going to be a busy year.

- CITIZEN ARCHITECT
WORLD PREMIERE AT THE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST (SXSW) FILM FESTIVAL.
Wednesday, March 17th: 7:45 PM at the Alamo Ritz
Saturday, March 20th: 10:00 PM at the Alamo Ritz

and

- Black Book Angel
performing a test gig at the Continental Gallery Monday, March 15th at 10:30pm.
it'll be me, Chrysta Bell and variations of David Garza playing whatever he wishes in what I'm going to call trip-hop, coffeehouse mode.

and
I'm doing freelance camera stuff for Cartoon Network of Christopher Mintz (he of McLovin fame) and Robert Rodriguez.

and
I have to finish editing an hour-long Ballet Austin performance by the 22nd.

and there are number of panels I want to go to at the festival.

Coffee will be my sweet, dear friend.

Citizen Architect in SXSW and on national PBS

2010-02-04T16:54:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Sam and all of the Big Beards.
Citizen Architect will have a world premiere at SXSW 2010 and has been picked up for national, prime time PBS broadcast later this summer. I shot a little over half of this film and am really proud to be a part of it and what it is about.

http://citizenarchitectfilm.com
http://www.sxsw.com

2010-01-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

Working on an hour of jazz music for PBS in Austin. Right now it's Olivier Giraud's new band Continental Graffiti. They're really good.

So are these guys.

2010-01-20T23:12:00.001-08:00

This guy still owes me $50, no matter how cool he is.

Sonia

2010-01-06T20:17:00.000-08:00

Speed Your Love to Me

2009-11-29T09:10:00.000-08:00

Writer / painter / babe Jeni Rall immediately before engaging in mortal combat inside the Colosseum.

When I was 12 or 13 years old and first tried to be in a band with my childhood friends, I wanted us to sound like this. And we got pretty close a couple of times... at least in my imagination. I still like these guys better than that Irish band they get compared to, and this song still makes me feel like I can do anything.

picture show

2009-11-26T02:51:00.000-08:00

Going thru old photos and trying to organize I came across these of Peter Bogdanovich and Ann Richards. Bogdanavich's scene in The Last Picture Show out by the stock pond is still one of my all time favorites . It's got a melancholy homesickness feel that I'm sure only the French have a one word description for.

Gov. Ann had the ability to make everyone in the room feel liked and uniquely important. Even me when chasing her down with a camera. She's one of those people that even if you met her only once, you miss when they're gone. I bet there's a word in French for that too.

Rome

2009-10-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

back from naples

2009-10-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

call to arms

2009-10-06T17:40:00.001-07:00

2 from Sept - Omar Carrum and Zoya Pepel

2009-09-23T17:43:00.001-07:00

Elena

2009-08-20T16:13:00.001-07:00

My friend Elena Ramirez passed away last evening from a sudden illness.

When I started as a free-lance grip at the PBS station, she was a producer I'd get sent out with for local stories. She drove me absolutely crazy with what I perceived as her being so slow with her questions during interviews... sometime going 3 hours with a guest for a 6 min segment. I wanted to pull my hair out. Hers too.

Now, having known her for over 5 years, I know that what she was doing was being very careful, very methodical, very professional and very good. She wanted to get it right, and there is nothing wrong with that, no matter how long things take.

Elena's heart was in the right place... looking out for the less fortunate. The underdogs. And she pushed me to do stories I wouldn't have otherwise.

Thanks for pushing me to do the right thing every once-in-a-while, Elena.
I'll miss you very much.

Incurable soundtrack countdown

2009-08-06T04:35:00.000-07:00

I'm in the studio working out the order of compositions and mastering the soundtrack which should be finished and ready in September.
Trying to blend Michael Culpepper, Chrysta Bell, Kaitlyn ni Donovan, Pat Mastelotto and myself into some sort of alternate-reality, melancholy dream.

2009-08-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

Man oh man oh man.
There have been a few hints and examples of work which should eventually make it obvious to everyone that the film industry based around unions and large production crews is just going to die.
I'd say this is one.

Youtube figures out music rights

2009-07-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

Don't know if this is new news, but it's new to me.

Instead of continuing to take down videos which contain music owned by third parties, UMG has (at least in this case) added an iTunes link to purchase their song I've used on Youtube without forewarning me of their taking this action... which I think is a pretty simple, elegant solution.

KAI is Ballet Austin set to The New Radicals.

This particular vid has been up for a while under an account for a show I produced for the PBS station in Austin, KLRU. The use of this music falls under PBS's umbrella agreement with ASCP/BMI regarding broadcast, but the net has been a dark-grey area.
The video has been live on YTube for over a year and they've just added the iTunes link this past week.

It's easy to see the possibilities regarding concerts, live tapings on NPR, etc... make one-off music videos, post on Youtube and attach the link to your iTunes account after having uploaded the audio content (or eventually the music video itself), and maybe actually make some money. A REALLY amazing opportunity for unsigned bands if nothing else. If you (the band, radio station, etc) own the rights to the underlying performance and recording... you have just cut out every middle-man-delivery-obstacle(except perhaps the Chinese government) between artist and consumer without any up-front cost required from either party interested in the actual product. Neat.

I'm going to experiment with a few other next-steps. Let me know if you're interested in how they go.

Onward

2 different worlds

2009-07-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

2 images from projects I'm working on from 2 opposite sides of the planet, both geographically and economically.

Hale County Alabama June 2009 (Citizen Architect)

Catherine Lee's 'Ice' in Koln Germany (raison tv)

2009-04-28T15:23:00.001-07:00

David Garza on ACL Stage Left

2009-04-09T09:07:00.001-07:00

Like all great artists, David is getting better as the years go by.
I'm really looking forward to editing last night's show.

Holly Miranda

2009-04-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

Say it with me. Holly Miranda. Start with WAVES.

I'm finishing a segment on The Blanton's "Birth of the Cool."
New In Context airs next Thursday. A bunch of good stuff from Portland.

A Brass Band In African Chimes

2009-03-20T15:33:00.001-07:00

It's impossible to say how much I love this Instrumental from Simple Minds. We listened to it at least 6 million times in highschool.

Note: it sounds better when you wear too much eyeliner.

2009-03-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

venetian devil

2009-02-25T06:29:00.000-08:00

I'm finishing up the last episode for broadcast until April. It's a behind-the-scenes of the opera, Daveed's video I made with photographer Todd Wolfson and a profile on architect Steve Badanes of Jersey Devil edited by my buddy Sam Douglas.

March will see me shooting too many different projects to list.
A good thing.

Here is a segment from 07. My wife and I ended up buying 2 just because we liked him so much. He seems like the sweetest guy in the world, but the story about how he moved to Venice in the 70's to be with his lover in a theatre troupe couldn't be aired on PBS.

Worth taking chances

2009-02-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a year since I shot this in Berlin. We had such a great time and were fortunate to meet with friends from the U.S. and make new friends while there.
I miss the cold. The food. The public transportation. The beer. The museums. Getting up to go to the corner grocery to buy fresh bread. Poppyseed marzipan yogurt.
Did I mention the food?

For whatever reason, I really like this piece. Something about the artist not speaking in his 1st (or second) language makes him choose every word and mean it? The art itself? It's got a melancholy thing I really respond to.

Fat Lady now silent.

2009-02-04T16:43:00.001-08:00

Well... the Opera was finished on time and was a success. A giant experiment financially and production-wise that worked out well for the station. It looked great on KLRU-HD and was the first Opera the station has ever produced. Those with engineer's eyes were I'm sure fairly crazed by the lack of 100% compliance between all 5 cameras... but, I can live with it for what we spent.

Other stations have started asking to show it, so it looks like it's going to be a good outreach tool for ALO and the city.
Robert Faires at the Chronicle gave it a nice write-up.

My favorite thing that happened was that the woman who hired me to work at KLRU who has since retired, called me to say she was flipping channels and saw that we were running the local Opera and wanted to know "who produced it? It looked really good?" Ha!

Next up, Ballet Austin's complete Hamlet. We shoot that next week and it will run sometime in May I think.

Also two new episodes of iNCONTEXT.TV for broadcast in Feb. The 19th and 26th. The 19th will be a celebration of Black History Month and will include a long-form discussion with the extraordinary photographer Eli Reed and local-should-be-international favorite Pam Hart doing at least 2 songs. I'm having trouble choosing just one.

we ended as lovers

2009-01-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

And opera editing continues... 1hr, 45min rough-finished.
This is the dvd menu poster for the press screener I've made.

The Prince. Re-mixed time.

2008-12-30T15:19:00.000-08:00

Deep into editing Cinderella. I have to finish 5 min of broadcast ready HD a day between now and Jan 27th. Here is The Prince hiding from the stepsisters.

and here is another dance from Mazatlan's Delfos that choreographer Omar Carrum was kind enough to let me "re-mix." If Johnny's movement at 6:13 doesn't make you want to immediately start stretching and doing leg lifts... you may have a problem.

Cinderella web rez test

2008-12-16T22:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a first test of ALO's Cinderella.
It's a giant two and a half hour puzzle filled with exceptionally talented pieces.
On the actual youtube page, you can watch it in HD.

2 Sinners in the Garden

2008-12-11T00:51:00.000-08:00

I love Todd's first still in the chorus.

Be careful... Garza and Wolfson

2008-12-08T17:59:00.000-08:00

Austin Lyric Opera's Cinderella is in the computer and I'm about 25 min into a 2 and a half hour production. 5 cameras. High def. It's going to be a lot of work, but I think we may have actually pulled off something great. IT will air in Austin in late January.

Tomorrow I shoot a music video for the show with photographer Todd V. Wolfson of David Garza. David wrote my favorite song of this past year called 2 Sinners in the Garden. I don't have any idea what song we're doing or even where exactly we're shooting. I'm just going to follow the leader.

Youtube has improved its video like you wouldn't believe.
Here is a piece on Forklift Danceworks in HD. If you're at a fast connection, click the option on the bottom right that says "watch in HD."

Cinderella at the Opera

2008-11-06T22:56:00.000-08:00

Tonight I and my KLRU compatriots Mike and Jerin went to see / spy / watch Austin Lyric Opera's final dress rehearsal for their 08 season opener of Gioachino Rossini's CINDERELLA.

Because next Wednesday, we're going to shoot it!

It's going to be the first of what I hope are many iNCONTEXT.TV specials of full-length productions.

HD cameras. The symphony. The amazing acoustics of the Long Center. A beautiful mezzo soprano. Wonderful costumes, direction and set design.

They're going to make us look good.

finished Art Bus segment

2008-10-31T17:25:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite stories we've done.

Ian Cion and some great kids at Dell Children's Hospital work together to create a very cool, mobile community art project in Austin, TX.

Olivier Giraud's Paris 49

2008-10-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

This airs in HD in Austin on Nov 6th.
Real musicians playing actual instruments. Bizarre.

Emmys won 08. The Conversation.

2008-10-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

It was a big weekend.

The show won two Emmys this year for:

PHOTOGRAPHER - PROGRAM (NON-NEWS) / SHORT FORM
Venice, Paris... Amarillo: Images In Context.
KLRU
Dutch Rall, Director Of Photography

and

PROMOTION - PROGRAM - SINGLE SPOT
In Context: Art Bus Project
KLRU
Dutch Rall, Producer / Editor
Elena Ramirez, Producer

Hooray for us!

I was in Berkeley at the time at an amazing conference for new media called
The Conversation.
2 full days of leaders in the field talking about their personal experiences... what works and what doesn't. People like the president of Netflix and acquisition folks form Vudu, iTunes and Youtube. Gamers, filmmakers, etc. I learned a lot and re-affirmed even more regarding where iNCONTEXT.TV and other things I'm working on should go.

Now to make it happen...!

2008-10-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

First Episode October 23rd

2008-10-06T21:04:00.001-07:00

Today was productive.

I've started to map out which stories will go where this season. The first airs in Ausin on KLRU-HD on Oct 23rd at 8:30pm and consists of:

1.) Painter Edward B. Gordon - Berlin
2.) Chrysta Bell - live in 6A - Austin
3.) Architect Peter Eisenman - New York
4.) Delfos Danza Contemporánea - Mazatlan

I output them to disc tomorrow.

And I've finished the Deja Donne dans Düsseldorf segment for the 3rd episode (see below). I hope to be able to work with them again on something else soon.

Deja Donne - Düsseldorf. Emmys 08.

2008-09-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Düsseldorf. Jet-lagged with a bazillion emails to face.

Ten, 15hr days with Polish and Italian choreographers, German stagehands and Italian dancers... I've been in some other reality.
A good reality, where everyone is working their hardest to create the best work that they can.

I've put together a short promo (see above) for them to use in Brazil, where they'll be taking the show this Fall after a number of European dates. They hope to bring the performance to Austin and other N. American cities next spring.

Also, Emmy nominations came out last week and KLRU did very well, including 2 InContext.TV-related pieces.
One for a promo of the Dell Artbus Project and one for a my photography within the show.

Dusseldorf. Claudia

2008-09-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

I'm off to Dusseldorf for a few days to shoot stories on some painters and an Italian dance company. I've bought a small 250gb harddrive and am going to try and come home with finished pieces... editing with my laptop instead of watching BBC or Arte (in german, which I don't speak) until 3:am.

Here is a piece I've finished for the fall on Claudia Lavista and Delfos Danza Contemporánea. She and they are pretty wonderful.

Edward B. Gordon in HD on Vimeo

2008-08-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

Another compression test on Vimeo.

I'm really impressed with the quality of their encoding... but you have to go to their site to watch things in HD. When embedded, it's automatically downconverted.

This segment is about Edward B. Gordon, a painter living in Berlin. It's actually one of my favorite stories I've done in regards to the pacing, shots and subject all working together as a whole.

Edward is the real thing, was very nice and made me 2 pots of coffee!
And it was a lot of fun to have Mike Dow and Jeni there to help make things go so smoothly.

Edward B. Gordon - on iNCONTEXT.TV from dutch rall on Vimeo.

video compression tests

2008-08-14T15:17:00.000-07:00

I'm spending some time this week working out possible video players and compression rates for an updated incontext.tv site. Here's something I shot in Mazatlan of Karen de Luna of Delfos danza contemporanea using Vimeo in "standard" def..

Jardín de Piedra (a mi padre) - Delfos danza contemporanea from dutch rall on Vimeo.

shooting update

2008-07-31T09:56:00.000-07:00

I'm back at the computer for a long stretch having shot new segments on Chel White, architect (and nice guy) Steve Badanes and a few other surprises.

Now that I'm in Austin and it's time to edit everything for a local October premiere, I'm excited to see what sort of mix and direction the show will take as a whole this season. What blend of local stories vs. international? What amount of biography vs b-roll love fest?

And I'm considering taking a few different directions such as having a host talk us thru some culinary segments... maybe having dance be the consistent performing arts form from show to show instead of music... taking on some more difficult or issue-driven topics while keeping the production value where it is (would a beautiful image of an ugly subject negate or enhance the impact of what is being said? would it confuse or clarify something in a different way?).

Amy Cook. Coleman Coker

2008-07-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

Tonight I'm editing a performance segment of musician Amy Cook and her band. She has a great voice/ presence and I'm having a hard time deciding which of her songs to use. Shades of Jeff Buckley in that she forgets herself in the music every now and then. A nice thing to witness.

The video I made for Andee Scott did win the Austin Critics Table best video design category. Much of that work will be on this fall.

Last week, I shot a segment with my "Snakebit" friends (more on that later) in New Orleans on architect Coleman Coker - http://www.buildingstudio.net/

And next week it's out to the West Coast for the last In Con shoot outside of Austin until September. I'll have 7 full weeks to put 7 episodes together.

Live music for In Con. Ian Cion, kid's bus.

2008-05-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

We shot Chrysta Bell's performance last Friday... our first in the big studio with multiple cameras live-to-tape. Everything went better than I had hoped. The crew did an amazing job of putting up with me and I can't wait for this to air.

Below is a promo for a segment Elena Ramirez and I are working on for next fall about local artist Ian Cion and his project with some great kids involving a couple of Capital Metro buses.

Austin Critics Table Nominations

2008-05-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

The Austin Critics Table Nominations came out last week and some videos I made for dancer Andee Scott's work were recognized in the Video Design catagory (Dutch Rall, "Woman's Work: Reconstructions of Self"). Most of this video is being edited into the Fall '08 season. The above image is from Umbria where Ms. Scott went to work with choreographers Lenka Flory and Simone Sandroni.

Andee was nominated in both the Dance Concert and Dancer sections.

She's super-duper.

Blonde. Eisenman.

2008-05-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

I shot a few video inserts and backgrounds with Chrysta Bell for her InContext.TV music segment coming up... there seems to be something different about her... something to do with color?

Director Sam Douglas is going to come in this weekend and finish editing a segment on architect Peter Eisenman. Sam is a great editor and it's going to be nice to have a different voice and style within the show.

Chrysta Bell. Happy Berlin crew.

2008-04-12T00:05:00.000-07:00

Seemingly the world's happiest TV crew in Berlin.
We got 5 great stories while there. It looks sunny... but it was cold! cold! cold!

Tonight I'm finishing an edit of one of the dancers in Mazatlan and making backgrounds for a video/lightshow that Chrysta Bell is going to use for both an upcoming gig with Moby and then next month when she will be the first artist we shoot live-to-tape with 3 HD cameras in studio 6A... a new format we're going to try for the music segments.

I think her set list is going to include some David Lynch, Beatles and Jeff Buckley.

Delfos Danza Contemporanea

2008-04-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

I'm off to Mazatlan to film a final performance of Delfos Dance Company's new work: Los Monólogos del Cuerpo.

Above is a still taken from footage I shot of one of their dancers in an early March rehearsal. I can't wait to see the finished work.

Arthouse... Cult of Color... Ballet Austin

2008-03-21T15:56:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a segment for a new work by Ballet Austin that features the art of Trenton Doyle Hancock.
I've taken some of the footage and edited it into 4 "process of Stephen Mills working with the dancers" pieces which are being used as video installations at Arthouse.

It's a really well designed and beautiful exhibition and is fun to see some iNCONTEXT.TViness projected up on the walls.

hours of operation
Monday: CLOSED
Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: 11 am - 7 pm
Thursday: 11 am - 9 pm
Saturday: 10 am - 5 pm
Sunday: 1 - 5 pm

admission is free

location
700 Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78701

Chel White - Smallgantics

2008-03-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

Chel White called on Monday to talk about a future project he's working on.
It involves using Bent Image Lab's Smallgantics process... an example of which can be seen in the video Chel directed for Radiohead frontman Thom York's song Harrowdown Hill.

new site (beta)

2008-03-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a new version of the site today.
Call it iNCONTEXT.TV version 2.2 Beta.

iNCONTEXT.TV

I'm excited about some of the user submissions already in the pipeline.

- d

test 01

2008-03-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

Testing, testing. 1. 2. 3.

This is a test for klru's arts and design show iNCONTEXT.TV.

In the event of an actual audio/ visual emergency, please swallow your remote control.