Snap back to reality.

Hello Friends,

5 days until we leave for Brazil!! So much has gotten done since this project was concieved. It is a truly humbling experience to fall in love with a project and put everything you have into it. Not just for the feeling of doing something you love coupled with the mountain of work that needs to be done to see the project through, but the people who throw down, and become involved. My favorite thing about making films aside from creating art is that I get to create art WITH people. Amazing people.

Thanks to the people who are making this project their own:
Roberto Bettega, Dan Mclane, Jim Hamilton, Kris Rey-Talley, Benjamin Barnett, Motti Salma, Jeff Curran, The Turnpike Collective,  Media Bureau, Empowerment Group, Paul Johnson, Juliano Telles, Steve Herrick, Angel Rodriguez, Nicole Deluca, Brooke Welsh, Eddie Barber, Harmonica Lewinskis, Lower East Side Blues Collective, Richie Rich and the Poor People, Zoe Shevack, Luke Elliot, Iki Beat, Zeb J Row, Jameson VanHorn Band, Paulo Sampler, friends, family, lovers.

Creating an alternative universe

Hey Peeps,
I can't tell you how powerful the departure into the editing world is for me. It's a place where you are able to examine the begining stages of a project in a different way. One goes into a shoot armed with equipment, harware, images in mind that will help paint the picture of the story they are telling. Then in the editing room it exists in your head. Well of course you have a screen playing back the footage, but the people are no longer there. The physical extension of the project is gone. You relive a moment but in a different location, late at night (usually.) You are living in a slightly altered reality, cutting a pasting these moments creating an alternative reality. Sometimes parallel, other times reverse. I love every part of this process, from the head with the idea, physical with the camera/locations/people, back in the head with editing, now in the physical with a product. Here is the first video for Chega De Saudade. Please have a peek, share, comment, whatever moves you.

This is my first post so, Hello! I wanted to show you something before I wrote on here. More soon. Thank you for visiting.


Best,
Stephen

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Our First Official Day of Shooting

Thursday August 4, 2011

We completed our second day of shooting for the production of “Chega De Saudade”. Today we took a trip to the Media Bureau in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia where we met with percussionist/music producer Jim Hamilton, cinematographer Kris Rey–Talley and director Stephen Tucker. Jim and I had a nice little jam session, going over a few Bossa Nova tunes along with original arrangements by yours truly.

The Introduction

Chega De Saudade is the upcoming feature documentary exploring, capturing and preserving the most important cultural movement in Brazil, Bossa Nova. This project will delve into the foundation of the movement in the early 1950’s, starting in the hometowns of the movement’s founders and moving onto Rio de Janeiro, where Bossa Nova music became the new big thing. Interviewing the surviving members of the movement, this project will take us into the soul of Brazil during the cultural renaissance of the 1950’s through the Brazilian Coup D'état in 1964. While Brazil was struggling with civil war, Bossa Nova, a well-matured movement, quickly rose and captured the attention of the world.

There are several key elements to the production strategy created for this film. Stephen and producing partner, Roberto Bettega, have been studying music for many years, allowing it to slip into their films and contemporary music. Slowly the nostalgic emotions and undercurrent of Bossa Nova music, which began inspiring them individually, drove them to revisit its past by creating this documentary.

As Bossa Nova was heavily influenced by American jazz, Stephen Tucker (Director) was heavily influenced by Bossa Nova. This is key to the understanding of the final product of the film. Beginning with exploration of the core of Brazilian cultural history and sculpted through the eyeglass of American narrative film, “Chega de Saudade” will evoke the same message as the song with the same name, which was the first composition to enter the canon of Bossa Nova music.

The public cultural scope of Bossa Nova will influenced them to move to Brazil, leave everything behind in the United States for a period of time and allow “Chega De Saudade” to bloom.

-HDproductions

The Beginning of Production

Welcome to Harmonic Distortion Productions inaugural submission, beginning the journey through Bossa Nova music.

Pre-production and the first stages of our documentary, "Chega De Saudade" are under way. With our concept, HD Productions and all the amazing folks working with us are proud to say that we are embarking upon a voyage into the heart of Brazilian music. We are excited to be setting our sails and our sights on something that we love (not to say we haven't already been doing that), but here at Harmonic Distortion Productions, we are truly happy to be entering the threshold of creativity with high hopes and great minds.

-HDproductions