the dotmatrix project

(originally uploaded by CharlesMedia™)

Turn up the volume; the dotmatrix project is about to cross-over into the real world.

Beginning in April we’ll be putting on a monthly show at The Green Burro in downtown Greensboro, building upon the collaborative format of ConvergeSouth Music 2007.

Along those lines, we’re actively working to align with folks representing the diverse creative communities within this region, particularly photographers, filmmakers and musicians, to plan live events where each community can contribute to the promotion of the others by simply performing and creating art.

Here’s the ballpark concept for the project so far:

Pre-Performance

• The film and photo community leads book media creators interested in participating
• The creative team and sound engineer meets with the band(s) to collaborate on ideas and discuss strategy

The Performance

• The musicians play their set and sell enough merchandise to become filthy rich
• The filmmakers shoot songs, green room banter, the audience, etc.
• The photographers shoot the event
• A multi-track recording is made of the show
• The audience contributes by shooting via cell phones, cameras, whatever and uploads their media to specific spots online

Post-Performance

• The filmmakers edit together their videos based on pre-performance conversations, taking audience submitted media into consideration
• The photographers, well, they make each shot look great and tag/post them to flickr
• The sound engineer will mix down the recorded performance to a live CD format

Promoting the Hell out of Everything

• Our new media peeps will post the final videos across numerous online spots and distribute meat space copies of the video to regional public access channels and networks to promote the event, filmmakers, the band and original music in downtown Greensboro. We’re also working on a deal with Carousel Cinemas on Battleground to play the videos prior to each movie shown in the theater.
• Every three months we’re planning on putting on a photo exhibit of the best shots from the previous three shows to promote local photography and original music in… you guessed it, downtown Greensboro (venue TBD)
• We’ll also register each show recording with Creative Commons before uploading the tracks to numerous spots online, including the Internet Archive and Last.fm. The band will get the master for duplication purposes.
• We’re going to use each event as an opportunity to pimp media created at prior events, as well as educate the audience about how each of them can support indie artists by using the web

Aside from sponsor partnerships to help offset production costs and the dollars exchanged at the bar to quench the palette of the audience, the entire event will be run without exchanging cash. This is a barter deal for everyone involved.

Our long-term goal in putting on the dotmatrix project is to contribute to a sustainable, vibrant original music culture in downtown Greensboro. The Green Bean, Solaris, Greene Street, The Rhino, Fishers, The Press; each venue has added a dimension to the mix, but we’re not yet at the point where original acts are wading in a culture amped to listen.

In the short-term, though, I’ll be satisfied with having a blast and pimping each other into perpetuity online.

All that said, we’re looking for bands that want exposure and the rights to crafted media of their performance in exchange for a few hours of jamming for free. With photographers and filmmakers, we’re looking for talented and skilled eyes to cut their teeth on capturing the vibe of a live event and their time in post-production to receive multiple avenues of exposure in return.

If you’re any of the above — including a business or individual interested in sponsoring the event — contact me at sean at dotmatrixproject dot com.