Screening of "Walter"

Oberlin College student, Ariane Walder ('14), and Art+Practice graphic designer, Kaori Mitsushima, work together to print silkscreen posters for a local screening of Walter, episode 12 of The Amerikans, at the Palace Theater of Lorain on Saturday, August 24, 2013. The episode's star, Walter A. Frey, Jr., and the filmmakers will be present at the 2PM show to discuss the making of Walter. The films, however, will play continuously until 8PM. This screening is part of Follow the Fish: a public art campaign celebrating Lorain County’s local artists, communities, business, and natural environment. The Palace Theater of Lorain is a glorious Movie Palace dating from the 1920’s, and hosted the first “talkie” shown in the state of Ohio.

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Music for "Who Lives There"

Episode #14 of The Amerikans, titled "Who Lives There," will feature music by Alexander Overington: a composer and producer specializing in a genre-bending approach to recorded music. A native of New York City, currently living in Brooklyn, Alex holds dual degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and is faculty of Composition and Music Technology at California State Summer School for the Arts at CalArts. He is the co-founder of the new record label Rest Assured. 

"Who Lives There" is a portrait of Dawn Reese, owner of Dolls and Minis: a full service dollhouse and miniature store with an inventory of over 18,000 miniatures. Describing the music, Overington says he "wanted the music to embrace the architecture of Dawn's dollhouses and the miniature landscapes within them; to do this I used the sound of the solo acoustic guitar and the bell-like ring of a Celesta, weaving these melodies together with a repeating piano ostinato along with very low bass notes from an organ and high pitches from a synth." Episode #14 of The Amerikans will premier at the Apollo Theater, in Oberlin, Ohio, on Sunday, August 25th. To hear more music by Alexander Overington, go to alexanderoverington.com

Photo from "Describe the Fauna"

News Shooter

Check out new article in News Shooter, where Art+Practice's Director of Photography, Micha Hilliard, discusses the history behind shooting The Amerikans: a process that began in November 2010, on the pilot episode "Cowboy Action." In photo below, courtesy of Dale Rothenberg, Art+Practice members pose for a shot with Walter A. Frey, Jr. (episode #12).

Micha Hilliard, Mika Johnson, Walter A. Frey, Jr., Jeffrey Pence

Global Exchange

On Tuesday, May 14th, Art+Practice Producer Jeffrey Pence and Creative Director Mika Johnson screened seven episodes of The Amerikans, in translation, to students at J. F. Obirin University, in Tokyo, as part of a global partnership exchange program. The screening included a film made by students from the College of Performing and Visual Arts’ Film Studies Program and several discussion periods. Art+Practice would especially like to thank the following people who made this exchange possible: Yukiko Ebara, Professor Hiroaki Hatayama, Professor Kunihiko Nikaido, Mr. Takafumi Kageyama, Mr. Tsugutaka Ozawa, and Oberlin based artist Mari Kuroda, who helped with translations. 

The Music of the Bees

On Monday, April 15^th, Art+Practice released Love & Venom, episode 13 of “The Amerikans,” with an original score by Ryan Lester and sound design by Charles Glanders. Glanders, a junior at Oberlin College’s Conservatory of Music, discusses his role as recording engineer and sound designer on “Love & Venom.” “While editing,” Glanders recalls, “the bees were an ever present force that were always in the background; and as a sound designer, I couldn’t ignore that; so while mixing I decided to draw a parallel between the buzzing of the bees and the buzzing of Don’s community. I wanted it to sound like one hive was taking care of the other and vice versa. Then when I added in Lester’s score, these layers became the music of the bees.” To hear more music and sound design by Charles Glanders please go to charlesglanders.com. To hear more music by Ryan Lester please go to ryanlestermusic.com

Sound Designer Charles Glanders mixing "Love & Venom"

Love & Venom World Premier

Tomorrow evening, on April 2nd, at 7 PM, Art+Practice will premier Love & Venom, episode 13 of The Amerikans, at Pittsfield Town Hall, which is located on the corner of Routes 58 and 303, in Pittsfield, Ohio. Love & Venom is a portrait of local apitherapist - Don Downs - and his community in Wellington, Ohio. This production was made possible by The Community Foundation of Lorain County, students of Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, and the generosity of Don Downs, his family, and all those who gather at his home in hope and healing. This screening is approximately one hour. Love & Venom includes an original score by composer Ryan Lester ('11). 

I'm an Amerikan

Watch Walter A. Frey, Jr., star of episode #12 of The Amerikans, make his video go live on 3.13.13 in the historic Peter's Hall, located on the campus of Oberlin College. The following Art+Practice collaborators were there to toast the occasion: Kaori Mitsushima (graphics & titles), Micha Hilliard (cinematographer), Mika Johnson (director), Walter A. Frey, Jr. (subject), Gabe Freed (sound & production assistant), Jeffrey Pence (producer), and Jackson Bierfeldt (second camera). Watch the complete episode, with an original score by composer and bassist Matt Adomeit, at theamerikans.org

Music for Walter

During the last week of January, three jazz musicians at Oberlin College's Conservatory of Music recorded an original score, by Matt Adomeit, for "Walter": episode 12 of The Amerikans. "Walter" stars Walter Frey, a funeral director, psychologist, cosmetician, and organist from Lorain, Ohio. The score, says Adomeit, "was inspired by a bluesy piece by Bill Frisell, called "Outlaws," which appears on the album "With Dave Holland and Elvin Jones." To achieve this sound, Adomeit recruited drummer Nate Friedman and guitarist Matt Gold. The session was recorded by Sound Designer Eli Stine, who has does the sound design on over 10 episodes of The Amerikans. "Walter" will premier this March in Lorain, Ohio.

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Music for Love and Venom

During January, students at Oberlin College's Conservatory of Music recorded an original score, by composer Ryan Lester ('11), for "Love and Venom": an upcoming episode of The Amerikans featuring Don Downs, an apitherapist from Wellington, Ohio. The musicians include: cellist Jennifer Carpenter, violist Rosalind Soltow, violinist Rachel Iba, and clarinetist Jarret Hoffman. The session was conducted by Oscar Thorp and recorded by Charles Glanders, who will also be doing sound design for the episode. "Love and Venom" is one of three episodes funded by a grant from the Lorain County Community Foundation.

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Walter

On location for an upcoming episode of The Amerikans, assistant director Jackson Bierfeldt sits with Walter Frey, owner of the Walter A. Frey Funeral Home, in Lorain, Ohio. Walter is a licensed funeral director, psychologist, cosmetician, and owner of over a thousand neckties. He is also the subject of episode #12 of The Amerikans, which will premier early this year. Aside from assistant directing, Jackson shoots video, records sound, and provides web engineering and PR for Art+Practice. At seventeen, he is an essential team member, as well as the youngest collaborator. Watch for the premier of Walter's episode, simply titled Walter.