Posts Tagged ‘ Video ’

How I Xanadu

July 15, 2007
By

Here’s me playing the song Xanadu on the piano, and starting with the second verse I start messing with the musical style a bunch.

According to the website for the Broadway musical, Xanadu means “to express oneself through the arts with abandon.” Well, this is how I Xanadu!

In the spirit of expressing oneself, if you like me playing this, you might like an original song I wrote, called Come Out.

For the record, I did this because the Broadway show was having a “Share Your Xanadu Contest,” in which you could win two tickets to the show by submitting a video of yourself “showing how you XANADU.” I don’t just go posting videos of myself doing this sort of thing for fun. But maybe I should!

Update, December 10, 2007 – I was informed today that I won the contest and that everyone involved enjoyed my piano Xanadu a lot. Hazzah!

View the YouTube Video

The video was captured and posted by Mark on YouTube on July 15, 2007. You can watch the video right here by just pressing the Play button immediately below. Or, you can visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

The Aristocrats… with New Punchline

September 28, 2005
By

When the film The Aristocrats came out in 2005, the production company sponsored a contest in which people were to submit video recording of their own telling of The Aristocrats, the now-famous joke whose punchline never changed and which got its humor from everything else the teller created, usually the more vulgar the better, before the punchline. The winning submission would be included on the DVD release of the film.

Mark came up with an idea for a version of the joke with a whole new punchline added after the regular one, turning the whole joke on its ear while providing a strong dose of social commentary at the same time. The idea was that the things people usually include in the joke are in important ways not nearly as bad as other things many people do to each other and even think to be good things though their impact is actually harmful. Mark submitted his telling to the contest after recording it on September 28, 2005.

Many people have found this video on YouTube and commented there that it was particular unfunny. For their sake, Mark added a note to the YouTube description of the video: “If you’re not hip to social criticism, then this joke will be unhip to you, and unapologetically so. Take it for what it is, or go find something else to laugh at.”

View the YouTube Video

The digital video was captured by Allan Meritt in October 2006 and posted by Mark on YouTube on October 27, 2006. You can watch the video right here by just pressing the Play button immediately below. Or, you can visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

Lotsa’ Lovin’ — Summer 2005

July 22, 2005
By

Lisa Glick

Vocalist

Accompanied by Mark Meritt

Appearing This Summer

July 22 — 8:00 p.m.

Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center Poughkeepsie, NY — 845.486.4571

August 17 — 8:00 p.m.

The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck Rhinebeck, NY — 845.876.3080

Join us for an evening of Jazz Standards, Broadway Favorites, some sizzle, some soul, and some surprises!

View the YouTube Video of Selections from the Performance

The digital video was captured by Allan Meritt in March 2007 and posted by Mark on YouTube on April 23, 2007. You can watch the entire video right here by just pressing the Play button immediately below — all parts will automatically play in order. Or, you can visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

For more information on Mark S. Meritt and Lisa Glick and their artistic offerings, visit the Potluck Creative Arts website at http://potluckcreativearts.com.

Seriously Gratuitous: The Making of Gratuitous Violence

May 22, 1992
By
Direction and Editing by Paul Matz and Mark S. Meritt; Videography by Paul Matz; Music by Mark S. Meritt; 29 minutes, color, VHS

This documentary short motion picture is a behind the scenes look at the making of Gratuitous Violence. It was shot on a VHS camcorder and edited with the camcorder and VHS VCR. True to its name, it is notable for being longer than the movie that is its own subject.

View the YouTube Video

The digital video was captured by Allan Meritt in January 2007 and posted by Mark on YouTube on January 22, 2007. You can watch the entire video right here by just pressing the Play button immediately below — all parts will automatically play in order. Or, you can visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

The Score

  • You Could’ve Been Something Special (Love Theme from Gratuitous Violence) (Instrumental) — An extended instrumental version created especially for this documentary — Listen to .mp3 sample from Original Soundtrack Recording:

Music © & Circle P - Phonorecord Copyright 2007, 1992 Mark S. Meritt

Gratuitous Violence

May 10, 1992
By
Screenplay, Direction, Production, Cinematography, Editing, Sound and Music by Mark S. Meritt; 17 minutes, b/w, 16m

This narrative short motion picture was produced for a course in filmmaking with filmmaker Marilyn Rivchin at Cornell University during Mark’s undergraduate studies. A spoof of Hollywood spy movies, the story follows an unlucky average Joe into whose hands accidentally falls a canister of top secret microfilm. Effortlessly, the inexperienced protagonist foils each and every enemy spy sent to dispense with him. With similar references and jibes, it echoes Austin Powers – International Man of Mystery and yet preceeded that film by more than five years. Though not as profound as some of his other projects, it remains one of Mark’s personal favorites. A making-of documentary, Seriously Gratuitous: The Making of Gratuitous Violence, was also produced.

The short was produced on 16mm, technically silent but with a crude sound sync created by Mark. The total cost of the film was about $600, virtually all of which was for film stock and developing. Mark is particular proud of having shot at a 2:1 ratio, i.e., he used a full half of the film footage shot in the final edit of the film.

The film had its premiere screening in the Willard Strait Theatre, Willard Strait Hall, Cornell University, May 10, 1992.

View the YouTube Video

The digital video was captured by Allan Meritt in January 2007 and posted by Mark on YouTube on January 22, 2007. You can watch the entire video right here by just pressing the Play button immediately below — all parts will automatically play in order. Or, you can visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

The Score

Music and Lyrics © & Circle P - Phonorecord Copyright 2007, 1992 Mark S. Meritt

Kornell Kinema

March 31, 1992
By
Direction, Production, Cinematography, Editing and Music by Mark S. Meritt

This documentary motion picture short was produced for a course in filmmaking with filmmaker Marilyn Rivchin at Cornell University during Mark””s undergraduate studies. A study in contrast, the piece plays with filming techniques to explore the Cornell University campus through different kinds of motion. The title is also a play on the name of the school’s film exhibition program, Cornell Cinema.

View the YouTube Video

The video was created by projecting the film on a wall and playing the soundtrack on a stereo system while recording with a VHS camcorder. The digital video was captured by Allan Meritt in January 2007 and posted by Mark on YouTube on January 22, 2007. You can watch the video right here by just pressing the Play button immediately below. Or, you can visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

The Score

  • Kornell Kinema – Complete Score — Listen to .mp3 sample:
  • Kornell Kinema – Main Theme — Listen to .mp3 sample of the main theme from the score, with no “slow parts” to break it up:

Music © & Circle P - Phonorecord Copyright 2007, 1992 Mark S. Meritt

Suicide PSA

February 29, 1992
By
Screenplay, Direction, Production, Cinematography, Editing and Sound by Mark S. Meritt

This narrative short motion picture was produced for a course in filmmaking with filmmaker Marilyn Rivchin at Cornell University during Mark’s undergraduate studies. A fake public service annoncement, it comments satirically on the problem of overpopulation, a subject Mark would work a great deal more on in the future. The short was produced on 16mm, silent with separate soundtrack.

Read the Suicide PSA script .pdf.

View the YouTube Video

The video was created by projecting the film on a wall and playing the soundtrack on a stereo system while recording with a VHS camcorder. The digital video was captured by Allan Meritt in January 2007 and posted by Mark on YouTube on January 22, 2007. You can watch the video right here by just pressing the Play button immediately below. Or, you can visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

Bait and Switch

June 13, 1991
By
Screenplay by Mark S. Meritt; Directed by Mark Dashnaw; Produced by the Film Program of the Department of Theatre Arts Cornell University; 29 minutes, color, S-VHS

This narrative short motion picture, in which a dysfunctional couple is made moreso when a television ratings company lures them into what is later revealed to be an Orwellian conspiracy, was produced by a motion picture course given at Cornell University during the summer of 1991. The script was chosen via a departmental screenwriting competition, which Mark won with this piece. The short was produced on Super-VHS video. In the story, a dysfunctional couple is made moreso when a television ratings company lures them into what is later revealed to be an Orwellian conspiracy.

Read the Bait and Switch screenplay .pdf.

View the YouTube Video

The digital video was captured by Allan Meritt in January 2007 and posted by Mark on YouTube on January 22, 2007. You can watch the entire video right here by just pressing the Play button immediately below — all parts will automatically play in order. Or, you can visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

Makin’ Magic

June 9, 1990
By
Developed by Mark S. Meritt and Ed Budd; Assisted by Rob Gianotti, Rich Hack and Adam Hurst

In 1990, the Masque and Mime Society celebrated its 25th anniversary as the drama club of Roy C. Ketcham High School in Wappingers Falls, NY. A gala celebration was held, including dinne and a nearly 4-hour live retrospective of selected scenes from the organization’s past performances. Made for the event and shown at the beginning of the dinner, this documentary motion picture short was produced over several months during the 1989-1990 school year, tracking the entire process of creating the 1990 Spring musical production of 42nd Street. The piece was shot with only a VHS camcorder and edited using two home VCRs and a basic editing deck.

View the YouTube Video

The digital video was captured by Allan Meritt in March 2007 and posted by Mark on YouTube on April 23, 2007. You can watch the entire video right here by just pressing the Play button immediately below — all parts will automatically play in order. Or, you can visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

Cupid’s Arrow

May 27, 1988
By
Book and Lyrics by Mark S. Meritt, Ed Budd and Todd Stern; Music by Mark S. Meritt; Original Production Orchestrations, Direction and Musical Direction by Mark S. Meritt

This original musical, in which a hip immortal helps college students find love, was developed during the authors’ sophomore and junior years at Roy C. Ketcham Senior High School in Wappingers Falls, NY. The Masque and Mime Society, the school’s drama club, presented it as a full production May 27-29, 1988, near the end of the authors’ senior year.

Read the Cupid’s Arrow – Sample stageplay .pdf including lyrics.

Request the full Cupid’s Arrow stageplay.

© 2007 Mark S. Meritt; © 1988 Mark S. Meritt, Ed Budd and Todd Stern

The Score

You can listen to .mp3 samples of each song by following the links below. Except as noted, all are from the original cast recording, of which you can learn more below. The sound quality is low, and the performances are those of earnest high-schoolers, but better some samples than none at all!

© 2007 Mark S. Meritt; © 1988 Mark S. Meritt, Ed Budd and Todd Stern

Original Cast Production and Recording

The original cast production was recorded on videotape, live during the May 28, 1988, performance in the Roy C. Ketcham High School Auditorium.

View the YouTube Video

The digital video was captured by Allan Meritt in March 2007 and posted by Mark on YouTube on April 23-24, 2007. You can watch the entire video right here by just pressing the Play buttons immediately below — all parts will automatically play in order.

Act I

Or, you can visit YouTube to see the Act I video or post a comment.

Act II

Or, you can visit YouTube to see the Act II video or post a comment.

Original Cast Recording

The original cast recording was taken from the original production videotape’s soundtrack. The five songs in which the character of Leslie MacKensie sings a lead part were re-recorded on Friday, June 10, in the chorus room, the custodian’s office, and a classroom of RCK High School with all singers but only piano and saxophone accompaniment. This recording was necessary since Stephanie Velardi, who played Leslie, was ill during the original production. Stephanie did not miss a performance, but Ms. Jodi Becker, the choreographic consultant, dubbed the vocals live each night for most of Leslie’s songs. Stephanie sings all her songs on the original cast recording, while Jodi can be heard on the videotape.

Non-Ensemble Song Performers

Bud, God of Love — Ed Budd
Zachary Yates — John Paul Marr
Leslie MacKensie — Stephanie Velardi
Muffy Sheridan — Cindy Hitchcock
Trudy Ryan — Kristen Lawrence
Harriet Yates — Jennifer McCarthy
George Yates — Christopher Mooney
Susan MacKensie — Maria Licari
Phil MacKensie — Joshua Polenberg
The All-Being — Robert Gianotti
Sobrina, Goddess of Fate — Susan Albright
The Immortal Quartet — Shannon Antonucci, Deedee Hauptfeuhrer, Meghan Murphy, Sharon Zaubi

The Band

Keyboard — Mark S. Meritt
Lead Guitar — Matt Herbst
Bass Guitar — Udaya Patnaik
Saxophone — Gordon Sorlini
Drums — Dev Patnaik
Auxiliary Percussion — Jon Nasser

Circle P - Phonorecord Copyright 2007, 1988 Mark S. Meritt

Additional Recordings

During college, Mark first gained access to a multitrack tape recorder. Among his first experiments were new instrumental versions of two songs from Cupid’s Arrow.

Circle P - Phonorecord Copyright 2007, 1990 Mark S. Meritt

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