When Music by Prudence won the Oscar for Documentary Short Film, a woman “pulled a Kanye” – rushing onstage, grabbing the microphone from Director Roger Ross Williams and launching into a speech of her own.

I was horrified. This was the only Oscar award I actually cared about. I had heard Prudence sing last January when DMA helped bring the band Liyana to Stanford University. In 2009, through its partnership with The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, the Digital Media Academy hosted and sponsored a Liyana concert at the Stanford Bookstore.  I found both their music and their story uplifting. I hoped this Oscar nomination would draw attention to Liyana and the plight of the disabled in developing countries. Instead, Liyana’s 45 seconds in the spotlight was hijacked by an unidentified woman in purple.

Liyana is a musical group from Zimbabwe that started as a class project. Each member of the band faces extreme physical challenges. They met at the King George VI School & Center for Children with Disabilities in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. King George is a haven for disabled youth in a country where disability is misunderstood and despised. The school’s life-changing work is funded largely by donations from abroad.

The HBO documentary chose to focus on lead singer, Prudence, the only female band member. But each member of the band – Marvelous, Tapiwa, Farai, Energy, Honest, Vusani, and Goodwell – has an inspiring story. Each has overcome discrimination. Each testifies to the beauty of the human spirit. Each proves that giftedness defies disability.

Liyana means “it’s raining.” According to Williams, in Zimbabwe, rain is considered a gift from God. When the band is on stage, they’re “raining,” sharing that gift with the world.

By now, much has been written about the woman who stormed the stage. No doubt there are two sides to every story, and this story is a colorful one. Elinor Burkett is the film’s co-producer. She says she came across Liyana in Zimbabwe and introduced Director Roger Williams to the project. They later had a falling out over creative direction of the film.

She takes umbrage at the reference to Kanye West, saying her name was called as an Oscar recipient, and she felt entitled to speak. She claimed the director’s mother tried to impede her progress to the stage with her cane. Burkett has adamantly defended her actions, explaining that she only stepped in when the director failed to properly acknowledge the subjects of the film.

Ironically, it was her rudeness, rather than her speech, that has drawn attention to the band. This unfortunate producer-squabble-gone-public has become a blessing in disguise.

Roger Ross Williams was given a chance to repeat his acceptance speech on Larry King Live. Exposure for the film has increased exponentially. Many more people will now tune in to the May 12 debut of Music by Prudence debut on HBO2.

So here’s to Academy Awards show drama. Bring on the cane-blocking and microphone-grabbing antics. May the hubbub draw greater attention to Liyana and bring an outpouring of support for the King George VI School in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

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My name is Seamus Harte and I am an instructor for Digital Media Academy. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and get you excited for some summer camp courses I will be teaching this summer with Digital Media Academy.

Though it is my first summer as an instructor with Digital Media Academy summer camps,  I am excited to bring my experience of working with students across the nation while on board The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus. I have worked for the Lennon Bus for over 2 years and currently hold the position of Senior Producer with the Lennon Bus. Digital Media Academy is one of the many sponsors of The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and it is Digital Media Academy that actually trains all of the crewmembers on board. It was through DMA and the Lennon Bus that I was able to so quickly acquire many software certifications in the programs I use everyday. It is with great pleasure that I am now able to give back to students that are hungry for knowledge in music and video production.

In the classes I will be teaching this summer students will be learning to write songs and direct videos while producing their own music videos (Come Together: Music & Video Production). They will learn how to use Garagebands big brother Logic Pro to develop a professional workflow in the production of audio and music (Digital Audio & Music Production). And they will also learn how to recreate engaging visual effects to increase their production value of their videos (Hollywood Visual Effects).

In the weeks to come as we wait for summer I hope to be utilizing this blog to share with you some of the cool tips and tricks I will be teaching this summer in these courses. 

Can you join us this summer at music video summer camp?  Looking for a film camp teaching music video creation? Check out the best music and video summer camp in the US and Canada!

Here’s the info for 2010, and if you’re reading this after the summer of 2010 check back for future camps!

Click here:  Music and Video Digital Media Academy Summer Camp

Here are the 2010 Music and Video Summer Camp locations and dates: 

*  Drexel University Music and Video Summer Camp 2010 June 21 – June 25

*  Harvard University Music and Video Summer Camp 2010 June 28 – July 2

*  Stanford University Music and Video Summer Camp 2010 July 5 – July 9, July 26 – July 30, August 8 – 16

*  University of Texas at Austin Music and Video Summer Camp 2010 July 12 – 16

*  Swarthmore University Music and Video Summer Camp 2010 July 19 – 23

*  University of British Columbia UBC Music and Video Summer Camp 2010 July 26 – 30

*  George Washington University Music and Video Summer Camp 2010 August 2 – August 6

*  University of California UCLA Music and Video Summer Camp 2010 August 12 – 16

Here is a link to the Lennon Bus.

www.lennonbus.org

Check it out and be sure to check back here for more entries on Music and Video production!

Register for Summer Camp with Digital Media Academy now!  Click here:  Summer Camp

View all Teen Summer Classes

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I recently sat down with students taking Music Video Production at DMA’s UCLA location. Several of these students came from outside of California to participate in this very unique course. When asked what they enjoyed most about this course, I got a variety of enthusiastic responses. Christian Cox, from Monroe, Georgia, commented, “Teachers are young and can relate to any music style.” He explained that their class had divided into two groups, one writing a reggae song about nature and another writing a hip-hop song about having attention deficit disorder. Whatever genre of music they wanted, their instructors were talented enough to adapt!

Many of these students had never done anything like this before and were amazed at how much they were learning in a short amount of time. As Stephen Herandez from La Canada, CA explained, “You can go into this course without any knowledge and by the end of the week, you’ll think you can anything with Logic and Final Cut Pro!” Another student explained to me that she didn’t have any prior experience playing a musical instrument, but had learned a few simple guitar chords that week – enough to make a song! In addition to working with industry standard software and several musical instruments, students worked with high end Sony cameras to capture video footage around campus.

It was obvious as I talked with these kids that they had learned to work closely together. Many were also staying together in DMA’s residential UCLA program. “We have fun meeting new people and working together as a team to make videos and share memories, “ said Ron Magana from Canoga Park, CA.

To see an example video produced by the UCLA Music and Video Production class, click below:

DMA at UCLA: Trees and Leaves

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The Digital Media Academy (DMA) is a nationally-recognized organization offering hands-on learning experiences in a broad range of digital media technologies. DMA offers summer camps for kids and teens and “Pro-Series” courses for adult-learners. Founded in 2001 by a group from Stanford University, DMA is best known for its premier summer programs hosted at 18 prestigious destination campuses, such as Stanford University, Harvard University and the University of Chicago – just to name a few. In addition to its summer programs, DMA provides on-site training to schools and companies and offers workshops throughout the year at its training facility in Campbell, CA.

I had a great learning experience with DMA!

I had the pleasure of taking some DMA courses last winter and can honestly say that it was an amazing and valuable experience. I learned so much so quickly and was able to immediately apply my knowledge in the classroom and in the field with the John Lennon Bus. For more information you can visit digitalmediaacademy.org

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Come take film courses this summer at DMA! Be sure you are learning from the best! DMA has also teamed up with The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus to offer a Music Video Production course! You will learn the skills you need to make the perfect music video. As I always say… the only limit is your creativity! Here are a few famous music videos to get your creativity flowing….

….Ever heard of Ok Go?

How can anyone forget this famous music video from the band Ok Go -- “Here We Go Again”? This music video went viral and took the internet by storm. The band didn’t include the normal drums, guitar and bass you’d expect. Instead, the rock band turned in their instruments for treadmills. With over 45,321,935 views on YouTube, you know this music video made this band famous. 

….The White Stripes get creative in their music videos!

The White Stripes always seem to stretch the creative boundaries in their music videos. This is such a creative example of combining technical filming and editing skills with a truly original idea. The video becomes more complex and interesting with each beat!
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Here is another amazing White Stripes music video made with Legos! This is crazy creative. How much time do you think this could possibly take? Find out this summer!  

http://www.digitalmediaacademy.org

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