I started making videos of live music performances when I got my vlog on the Huffington Post in 2008. I was shooting world music for that, and using one camcorder and editing in Final Cut Pro. Eventually I started using multiple camcorders, creating travel and interview documentaries and later on, editing in Adobe Premiere Pro. These videos can be seen on my site, at https://worldmusicandculture.com/ and my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/michalshapiro
I started experimenting beyond documentation when my partner Bruce Arnold started making music with singer Judi Silvano. Bruce thought it would be a good idea to shoot the sessions which were also being recorded. My first “art” video was for a composed piece of Judi’s called “My Neighborhood.” There was something about the piece that made me want to express it in a different way. I created a moving collage, and it seemed to work quite well. Both Bruce and Judi started to encourage me in this direction and all the videos you see here are the result of that encouragement. In particular, Bruce bought a green screen, and extra equipment as the project evolved. I think each video in this collection represents a different stage of me trying to make moving images from the music I hear, under varying circumstances, from non-narrative to figurative, from simple to complex.
Because Sonic Twist’s® music is completely composed in the moment, the pieces are named AFTER they are recorded, not before. The name of each piece is based on the kinds of associations the music conjures up, and agreed on by singer Judi Silvano, guitarist Bruce Arnold, and me, after careful listening. This is where my visual reactions are born.
