A little tap will do you

I made this video in November of 2012 and set it aside. After the tragic events that took place in Boston, MA this month I decided to post it so it could bring some cheer back into our lives.

Enjoy the moment,

Leo
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Music: Oscar Woods – Don’t Sell It Don’t Give It Away – In the Public Domain
Video and Film Clips:
Gregory Hines – Let the man dance
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson – Cafe Metropole, Deleted Scenes
Savion Glover – Live Performance, at ABC show
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson – Stormy Weather

Audio MIx & Special Effects: Leo Bar
Digital Art – Photography: Leo Bar

Tango Euro Klez

Music: Tango Bar & Kiev Swing by Garry B :: https://vimeo.com/garryb; listen to his music :: http://soundcloud.com/garry-b
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– The migration of tango from Argentina and Uruguay to Western and Eastern Europe -
1900 – 1920 : Tangos were mainly sung and played by small instrumental bands (fundamentally trios and quartets), until “La Orquesta Tipica” arrives on the scene, with the incorporation of the bandoneo’n. In 1907, one of the very first genuine Argentine Tangueros to visit Paris (France) was composer Angel Villoldo, who wanted to do some recording. (At the time, Paris had the best recording facilities and techniques.) In 1918, writing lyrics for the tango became all the rage with singers such as the tragic Carlos Gardel and celebrated salon orchestras like Francisco Canaro‘s giving the music a new legitimacy and acceptance. Carlos Gardel is still revered today, many decades after his death.
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By 1912, dancers and musicians from Buenos Aires, traveled to Europe and the first European tango craze took place in Paris, soon followed by London, Berlin, and other capitals. Towards the end of 1913 it hit New York in the USA, and Finland.
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One of the most popular ballroom dances in Europe during the 1920′s and 30′s was unquestionably the tango. This explains why this music appeared later in ghettos and concentration camps. Following a boom in Western Europe, the tango reached the east by the late 1910′s. However, as opposed to countries like France and Germany, frequently visited by Argentine Orquestas Típicas, most Eastern European countries became acquainted with the tango only through records, the radio and journals. This indirect connection may explain the character that this music developed in such regions. With increasing popularity and a new stream of local tangos, the style’s re-embodiment gradually drifted away from the South American model. Poland, which had regained its independence after the Warsaw treaty of 1919, quickly became one of the capitals of European tango at a time when most of its musicians, both in the classical and the popular scenes, were Jewish.
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Enjoy the show,
Leo

Ponkapoag Native Dreams

A tribute to the Neponset and Ponkapoag nation, native Amerindians of Massachusetts.

In this production I concentrated on creating a multilayered look that was achieved by using textures and compositing. In addition, a heavy dose of color grading and antique-like look was used to give the feel of a bygone idyllic era. The scenes were created using recent, as well as antique photographs and artifacts of native tribes of Southeastern Massachusetts. What captivated my imagination were the twisted branches of ancient maples and oak trees growing in the lands where the natives of Ponkapoag Pond once walked.
Nowadays, the original Ponkapoag Plantation is contained partly within the boundaries of the Blue Hills Reservation and further into the town of Canton, MA.

I hope you enjoy a serene dreamlike presentation,
Leo
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Filmed at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA and Ponkapoag Pond at Blue Hills Reservation near Boston, MA.
Music: The enchanted valley – Ah Nee Mah
Textures courtesy of: Pink Sherbert and Skeletal Mess @ http://www.Flickr.com

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The Massachusetts Indians who had settled near the mouth of the Neponset River were known as the Neponset Indians; and Chicataubut, their sachem, was styled the “Sagamore of the Neponsetts.” It was here in a grove now known as Vose’s Grove that John Eliot, on the 14th of September, 1646 , first preached the gospel to the Indians in the wigwam of Kitchamakin, the successor of Chicataubut. Eliot continued to take a deep interest in their welfare; and it was owing to his advice that when for a trifling considera­tion they sold their lands at Neponset, they decided to move to Ponkapoag.

The aboriginal name of the territory lying beyond the Blue Hills, known to the inhabitants as the “New Grant,” was Ponkapoag. The territory derived its name from the pond, which formed one of the principal features in the landscape; and the name in the middle of the seventeenth century applied to a more extended territory than that which subsequently was included in the Ponkapoag Reservation. While the Indians sojourned at Neponset, they were known as the Neponset tribe; and when they removed to Ponkapoag, they received the name of the place of their new location. It is an error to suppose that the place took its name from the residence of the tribe within its borders-; the reverse is true. Excerpt from THE PONKAPOAG PLANTATION – Daniel Thomas Vose Huntoon (Cambridge, Mass., J. Wilson & Son, 1893)

For more information see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponkapoag
 .
Also see
http://www.stoughtonhistory.com/huntoon-punkapoag.htm

New York Faces 1950 – 60′s

This is one more chapter in the New York City vintage collection. It concentrates on capturing the faces and expressions of the average and not so average New Yorker. Several celebrities are caught in the act while posing for the camera. Also captured in their amazement are brand new immigrants from places around the globe.

The construction of this production started with the concept of pinning the Statue of Liberty as the centerpiece and “most recognized face” of NYC. From then on I used old films and a fair amount of Vivian Maier’s candid photographs that capture the human condition so well. Some images may be slightly distorted since they had to be reformatted to comply with the 16:9 wide format.

A look at some peculiar "faces" of New York in the 1950's decade.

This short piece contains street photographs taken by Vivian Maier, an American of French and Austro-Hungarian extraction, amateur photo-bug and nanny. The photographs were discovered in a thrift auction house on Chicago’s Northwest Side in 2007. She actually appears in one sequence, taking a self portrait against a mirror or window. Many of the scenes revolve around the Statue of Liberty, presenting very unusual angles and takes. There are also famous celebrities faces caught as they were doing "their thing".
Enjoy the ride,
Leo

Music: Cool – Dave Grusin Band
Leonard Bernstein, composer. Dave Grusin, arranger.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dave-grusin-presents-west/id17768891

Photographs: Vivian Maier, Leo Bar
Paintings – Poster: Gil Elvgren
Vintage Film: New York Public Library, Library of Congress, Archive.org (all in the public domain)

New York Faces 1940 – ’50s

Fascinated by the candid photographs taken by Vivian Maier during the ’50s that were discovered in Chicago lately, I decided to make a go on a new (oldie) NYC video. As with other of my New York City oldies, I used public domain footage from Archive.org featuring the Third Avenue Elevated, torn down in the mid 50′s.

The initial concept was to make it be a ride through the city from Lower East Side to the end of the elevated railway in the Bronx, while showing people and their ethnic backgrounds as we moved on. A concept is great, but in reality it was hard to pull it off, since I lacked certain type of photographs to “paint” the story. Regardless, I thought that in the end, it represented accurately the time and space of those neighborhoods and their people. (Your comments are welcome)

Because jazz in my opinion is the music that best suits NYC in the 50′s I used “Hey Now” performed by Red Garland released on “Red Garland Revisited!” (Prestige Records, 1957).
Red Garland – Piano; Paul Chambers – Bass; Art Taylor – Drums; Kenny Burrell – Guitar.

Mixing small format film with all format stills and some digital paintings of mine was a real challenge in the making of this production. After many missteps and redoes, I finally found the combination to make it work best. (Note to myself – Do not try this type of mix and match formats too often, it takes gobs of time to assemble, render properly and sync)

Enjoy the railway ride as we travel through the neighborhoods of NYC,

Leo

Art Illusions

This brief work was inspired by news of the world and global developments. I thought of using classic art paintings and superimposing themes, to depict the modern issues assailing us today.
Rather than to explain each of the images and themes, I would like to hint at one and let your brain do the rest. As an example, in the first sequence – Vermeer – Lady standing by a virginal – the idea was to express the great impact of technology when introduced into agrarian societies. Causing a sudden acceleration of change, by skipping through the intermediate evolutionary steps. The virginal is replaced and the woman appears to key into a keyboard, while in the background we can a see a fishing village. If it looks a bit stretched, it was intended to be so

Masking, 3D, animation, multiple tracks and layers are used to stress the combined new superimposition. I ask forgiveness for mucking with some precious old material, but at least I show the works intact, before any modifications.

Hope to hear more from you about your ideas and opinions,
Leo

Mi Uruguay

This video is dedicated to a great little country – Uruguay.
Throughout most of its history, it’s been a progressive, democratic and fair society. During the 1970′s and for a span of 11 years it went through a period of military dictatorship and the suppression of civil rights while fighting an urban guerrilla movement “Tupamaros” ; returning in 1984 to a full democracy
Despite being one of the smallest countries in South America, it has carved its name in the soccer world forever. Twice World Soccer champion, most recently America’s Cup champion for the 15th time.
I hope you enjoy this retro journey,
Leo

Elements used in this production

Photography: all @ http://www.flickr.com – Eduardo Amorin; Ivan Bustamante; Leo Bar
Film Clips: Young Uruguay, Julien Bryan :: http://www.archive.org
Music: Mi Padre, El Compañero. Album: Yo Nací En Montevideo, Quintin Cabrera
Special thanks: LIFE Magazine

For more information see ::
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Uruguay

Heliographs – A history of photography

It was a lot of fun and learning to produce this short history of photography. Since childhood I was fascinated with the magic of photography and how cameras work. As years go by the fascination continues and the pace of innovation accelerates, making this topic a current source of evolution and revolution.

Enhancing some very old photographs with all kinds of editing tools to make them appear clear was a challenge. Although in the end they came out 100 times better than when I found them.

Enjoy the show,
Leo

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History and Background

Heliograph (Greek: helios, meaning “sun”, and graphein, meaning “write”)

In 1816, Nicephore Niepce invented usable photography. Although he wasn’t the first man in the world to capture images, he was the first to capture a permanent photographic image that actually seemed to last.

In 1826, Frenchman Joseph-Nicephore Niepce took a picture (heliograph, as he called it) of a barn. The image, the result of an eight-hour exposure, was the world’s first photograph. Little more than ten years later, his associate Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre devised a way to permanently reproduce an image, and his picture—a daguerreotype—needed just twenty minutes’ exposure. A practical process of photography was born.

Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre was born near Paris, France in 1787. The illusionistic painter Pierre Prevost asked him to join his team of panorama-painting artists when he was just twenty years old. He was a gifted illusionist in terms of his ability to design sets that dazzled his audiences. An artist who wanted his work to be as real as possible, Daguerre created amazingly life-like scenes right in the theater. These designs, which were able to simulate the passage of day into night, changes in weather, and even give viewers the feel of motion, Daguerre later coined as “dioramas,” or “dramas of light.” By 1825, Daguerre was a successful creator, proprietor, and promoter of a successful illusionistic theater in Paris that specialized in these dioramas.

Daguerre’s illusions depended heavily on the accurate representation of detail and perspective on a large-scale. So, like many others of his day, he used the camera obscura* as a tool to help him trace two dimensionally what his eyes saw in three. Daguerre explained that the magic of his dioramas resulted from his use of light in the scenes. He claimed to have discovered a system of painting that could transform the appearance of an object by switching between reflected and refracted light, as well as by changing the color of the light that fell upon it.

Eadweard Muybridge was born Edward James Muggeridge in Kingston-upon-Thames in 1830. He traveled to the United States in 1852 with the notion of someday changing his name to use the Saxon spelling (he eventually did by 1867). In June of 1878, Muybridge made his first successful serial photographs of fast motion at Stanford’s California stock farm. The photographs were of a horse running and another horse trotting; they were developed on the spot so as not to be accused of doctoring the images.

The Kodak “Brownie” camera made its debut at the turn of the twentieth century and sold for one dollar. One hundred thousand of them were purchased during the first year alone. The Brownie helped to put photography into the hands of amateurs and allowed the middle class to take their own “snapshots” as well.

Source: The Franklin Institute

Hunger nightmares

This topic was on my agenda for more than a year. I wanted to communicate the gravity of why so many people go hungry or undernourished everyday. Lack of food is mostly due to man-made causes that can be addressed and corrected.
In this production I try to clarify the causes only. There are more intelligent and capable sources to correct the problem, so I didn’t cover the solution phase, nor do I feel capable of doing it.
The purpose of this video is to call attention and raise awareness to some of the foolish things we are doing as nations that create hunger for a lot of a our fellow humans.

I hope you support this message by redistributing it and posting it wherever it will be seen.
Thank you for watching,
Leo
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Some Astonishing Facts:

.: 925 MILLION people go hungry every day!
.: The world produces enough food to feed everybody with 2,720 calories/day!
.: Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion metric tons — gets lost or wasted :: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/74192/icode/
.: Women produce about half of the world’s food but they own only about two percent of all land!
.: Children are the most visible victims of under-nutrition. 5 MILLION children die each year due to hunger/malnutririon! :: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_percentage_of_population_suffering_from_undernourishment

Sources of data: U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization; BBC; NASA, Wikipedia

Tango neoclasico

Just some great modern classical music by the master of new tango, Libertango by Astor Piazzolla.
I just had to do it! Been thinking for more than a year, and finally did it!
Enjoy,
Leo