Writer's Notebook - James Rafferty Blog

An Experiment: Making a DVD for the Holidays

I conducted an experiment today which turned out well. I decided my in-laws and my parents would enjoy a collection of family photos, and music that my son and I had recorded at various times during the year.

I pulled up the Windows DVD Maker under Vista, identified which photos I wanted to arrange in a slide show and then pulled in music that I'd recorded earlier this year for the First Tracks songwriting contest, along with with my recording of Calico Jack, a song written by two of my online friends.  You can listen to these recordings online here.  Then I asked my oldest son to contribute music that he'd recorded with his trio in the last couple of months.

In about two hours, I'd assembled the entire thing, a slide show with background music. The program has a useful preview feature, so I was able to weed out pictures with issues. Next, I burned the DVD. My in-laws were visiting, so I played the DVD for them after dinner. It provided an excellent way to share my travels and family pictures, not to mention the music. I've already burned another copy and printed out a jewel box cover to bring to my parents this weekend.

This technology stuff is pretty cool when it works!

Here's a couple of pictures that I used for the menu:  

Chinaman's Hat on Oahu, Hawaii

 

Carousel in front of Hotel de Ville, Paris, France

Happy holidays to all of my readers.  

Another Song on First Tracks: Without You

As I wrote in my last post, I am entered in the First Tracks contest on Gather.com, where several hundred songwriters are competing for a record deal and $20,000.    I am pleased to report that my first song Irish Man got enough support so that I was named a semi-finalist and am competing in Round 2.  Voting in this round is permitted daily up until March 31.   

My new song for the second round is Without You.   I wrote this about 2 years ago.   It is a jazzy rock piece that also features slide guitar on the choruses.   There are a few lines in this tune which are about blogging, which is one of several aspects that make it unusual.   

In addition, I was inspired to do a radio ad for the piece, which you can find here.  I'm really proud of the radio ad, which came together very nicely.  Among other things, it will tell you more about the song, in a cool disc jockey mode.   Don't miss the 3 part harmony on the call letters at the end!

I'm having fun with the contest.  There is a lot of good musical talent based on what I've listened to so far.   I wrote an article on Gather that highlights a few songs that have caught my attention so far.  If you like music and want to hear some fresh talent, check it out.    

My Song in First Tracks Contest

As many readers may know, last year I entered two novel writing contests on Gather.com last year.   On the whole, it was a great experience, since I got some very useful feedback on my writing.  I also met a peer group of novelists on Gather that care as much about writing as I do.   We've supported and learned a lot from each other.   

In addition to writing, I also am a musician and have been writing songs for many years.   Gather is now running a new contest called First Tracks and I decided to enter one of my songs, Irish Man.   

To listen to the song, link here.   If you visit, please also cast a vote.  The rules for voting are that you can do it every day.  Voting is not too difficult (see the Red Vote box) and there is no need to join the web site to do it.  There is a pretty good story behind the song, which you can read here.   

If you like what you hear, please let me know and tell other people about it.  The contest and daily voting goes on until March 17.