Glass Eyes lock-down video

Like so many other groups we decided to make a video while we cant play together and this is the result: more than 100 members and their friends filmed themselves playing their parts to Radiohead’s Glass Eyes and I put them all together using Adobe Premiere Pro and Reaper software:

Several people have asked how it was done so here’s a quick explanation.

Everyone recorded their part to a click track demo version i prepared – actually a few versions appropriate for different instruments to play along to eg pianists didnt need to hear piano, lead vocalists didn’t need to hear lead vocals but most other people preferred to play along with both those things and a click.

There were too many videos to deal with all at once so I edited in sections using the audio to line up the vids to the click track and cutting out instruments when they weren’t playing then rendering to a new MP4 video file:

The audio was mixed in premier too in sections then i mixed the sections with lead vocals in Reaper. You can drag video into that software and process the audio. The final audio mix was imported into a master video session of Premier and the different video bounces were blended using a chroma-key plugin. I also faded the opacity of the different layers relevant to what was hopefully most important in the audio mix.

 

When i do it again, i’ll be a bit more careful to make sure i’m using uniform video properties and perhaps make a bit more of a plan as to what will happen where.

Hope that makes sense!

Jesse

Tote bags!

Fantasy Orchestra tote bags are now available, in celebration of our debut album The Bear and Other Stories, created – as was the album art – by Melanie Wickham. These fabulous and extremely versatile bags can be bought from Etsy here

 

These bags are made from 100% genuine tote and have a surprisingly large variety of uses:

 

Buy one (or many!) from here, now!

Fantasy Orchestra Glass Eyes Video Project

This is an open-to-all idea to create a video for one song involving as many musicians and singers as we can find… before sunday 22nd march. Maybe we’ll do another one afterwards.

interested? read on….

The idea is everyone to film themselves playing their part of the Radiohead song Glass Eyes, send it to our team of editors and we’ll make a song out of it… and a dance if you move around a bit.

Please send by the end of the weekend sunday 22nd march

What you’ll need

– something to film yourself which connects to the internet and can send a (possibly fairly large) video file; Easiest is a phone or a computer
– something else to listen to a special version of the track i’ve prepared to play along to

Online Folder

For us to synchronize the video we’ll all need to play at the same tempo so i’ve prepared the following:
piano with lead vocal – probably easiest for most people to use this one
bass with lead vocal – mostly of use to pianists or harp players
piano without lead vocal, mostly of use to lead singers. do feel free to sing the lead it doesn’t need to be just one person. probably nicer if its a small group.

Here it is:
http://music.fantasyorchestra.org/Glass-Eyes-Project/

This is an open-to-all folder with no password so feel free to share with anyone alt all. it also contains all the music and MP3s.

Things to bear in mind

– you’ll need to do the whole thing in one take
– you’ll need to wear headphones, we don’t want to hear the click
– if you come in near end of song no need to film from beginning, we’ll figure it out
– try and be fairly well lit
– it would be good if we can see a bit of your confinement area in the shot
– dress up as much as you like (in pyjamas if you’ve got covid19)
– if you’re mouth is available near the end of the song, please sing along with the last couple of lines for maximum emotional impact and healing vibes

sending the video (again, please send by this coming sunday 22march)

when you’ve made the clip please send by wetransfer.com to jesse@fantasyorchestra.org
– please just send one clip. hopefully there’ll be too many clips for us to edit more than one clip per person
– let me know if there’s anything i’ve forgotten
-please include your name and instrument in the file eg jesse-violin.mov

Do feel free to pass this on to anyone who might be interested, young or old. But be quick, i’d like all the clips in by sunday. we’ll do another soon!

Stay strong!

Jesse

 

 

Mini album-launch at Rough Trade

What: Playing in a record shop

When: Monday 2nd March, 7.30pm

Where: Rough Trade, Nelson Street, Bristol

Tickets: Free / info here

In celebration of our recently released debut album, The Bear and Other Stories, the orchestra will be playing a short gig at Rough Trade, a record shop in Bristol. Entry is free but you are enthusiastically encouraged to buy the album while you’re there! See the Rough Trade website or the Facebook event for more information.

Bicycle Tour in Normandy

What: A tour around France with instruments on bikes

When: 7-16 August

Where: Various locations around Normandy

Tickets:

This event is happening in a reduced form, but may not be accessible to the public.

The orchestra’s annual bike tour will this year take in the sights of Normandy/Brittany. There will be lots of small gigs along the way.

A Moon Shaped Paris

What: Radiohead’s Moon Shaped Pool in Paris!

When:  Please note this is postponed until further notice (Was Saturday 18th April)

Where: La Marberie, Paris

Tickets: TBC

It’s the Paris orchestra’s turn to play Radiohead! Possibly featuring musicians from Bristol too.

 

 

A Moon Shaped Fantasy Orchestra at Union Chapel (London)

What: Another chance to see Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool in full!

When:  Saturday 18th June 2022, 7pm (Rescheduled!)

Where: Union Chapel, London (N1 2UN)

Tickets:  £15.60 – £18

Note: this even was originally scheduled for 2020 but has been postponed by two years, for obvious reasons (so the date on the poster is slightly wrong).

For more information see the Union Chapel website

After the orchestra’s  sold out concert at St George’s in 2019, here is another chance to see a performance of Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool in full; plus the “Exotica, Electronica and the Retro Futurists” set featuring the likes of Tortoise, Prokofiev, Aphex Twin and Duke Ellington.

See also the Facebook event.

Album Launch – Paris

What: Gig for the FO album release, in Paris

When: Saturday 8th February, 7pm

Where: La Marbrerie, 21 rue Alexis Lepère, 93100 Montreuil, Ile-De-France, France

Tickets: 8.49€ Early Bird / £12.49€ Other birds

As well as the London launch, the Fantasy Orchestra’s first album, ‘The Bear’, is being launched near-simultaneously in Paris, by the Paris Fantasy Orchestra – in collaboration with guests from the Bristol orchestra.

Tickets for this special event are avilable  here

Here is the music video for the album’s first single, Empty Boat:

From the Bristol album launch:

Album Launch – London

What: Gig for the FO album release, in London

When: Saturday 15th February, 8pm

Where: The Old Baths, Hackney, 80 Eastway, E95JH London

Tickets: £8 Early Bird / £10 Late Bird / £15 Door Birds

Following on from last year’s successful album launch at St George’s in Bristol, the orchestra will be playing at the Hackney Old Baths in London ahead of the album’s release.


The album ‘The Bear’ features an eclectic mix of music by diverse artists such as Sun Ra and Caetano Veloso, folk musician Richard Dawson, Brooklyn-based post punk duo Buke and Gase and electronic composer Disasterpeace, as well as local composers. Tickets are available from Fatsoma

Here is the music video for the album’s first single, Empty Boat:

From the Bristol album launch: