Kirk Ashley Smith OakStream Music Productions

Maybe I’ll try a new approach and just post Scriptures. The ones that Christians avoid the most.

Matthew 19:21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

New website up! Huge thanks to Rob Reilly!

Please check it out, and if there's anything that's quirky please let me know. I've been tinkering under the hood and I probably broke something somewhere.😁

Desktop as well as mobile versions. Many more features and content will be added as I get used to working with it.

Also, my email address "[email protected]" may not work for a while. Please use "[email protected]" instead for now, or contact me through FB messenger.

Thanks!

https://www.oakstreammusic.com/home

Here’s my random thought for the day:

As I look out my front window at steep snow banks, and knowing it’s in the -20s out there, I realize that Winnipeggers likely appreciate our hot summers more than residents of Florida appreciate theirs.

This then took me to a vivid summertime memory of learning to ride a bike as a youngen. I clearly recall craning over my white-knuckled grip on the handlebars so that I could see the pavement up to about only 4 inches ahead of my front tire. So, of course, this lead to overreactive steering and wobbling of the front wheel as I heroically dodged every single pebble, crack, and w**d. Which is what most sidewalks were made of where I grew up (literally - I’m not referring to products sold on the street).

It’s when I lifted my head with determination and kept my gaze forward that my hands stabilized and things smoothed out. And then I realized that the pebbles weren’t too much of a threat. Just mostly irritating in your sandel.

Whoever said don’t sweat the small stuff was on to something. I find more and more joy in life when I choose to focus my limited energies on activities towards a bigger vision. I’m learning every day not to waste effort and strength on stupid and insignificant things. Like wondering who’s going to go out there and shovel.

Live and create with intention! Go! 😁

A tune I wrote and produced a while ago that the talented Frank Lehmann in Germany animated. I’m so grateful for technology that allows me to collaborate with cool people so far away! I absolutely love the work he did! Lots of excellent symbolism put into it, greatly enhancing the over-arching story. It’s still racking up wins at film festivals all around the world. More collaborations with Frank to come. Stay tuned! Please watch and enjoy. Keep being awesome!

Odyssey in C A magical visual and musical experience which will take you on an odyssey from antiquity to the unknown. Starting at the Big Bang and the beginning of time, ...

How to Survive Your Death:

Whether or not you believe in an afterlife, all we know for sure is that we are alive in the here and now. Right now.

I’ve always been a “big picture” person. If I don’t “get” how an activity or task fits into a larger concept that I can thoroughly grasp, I often find it difficult to engage with, or to even understand it at all. I’m all about the “Why?” I’m quite sure I drove many administrators a bit nuts over the years. But I also believe it was one of my strengths as a teacher. Once you give students a solid reason to learn, the teaching is rather easy.

So, as I age and grow, especially into my career as a composer and music producer, and more importantly as a human, my big picture has become quite simple and clear - but not always easy. I want to leave this world - the only one we have and know of for sure - a better place than how I found it. That has become my over-arching, “big-picture” filter for everything I do and say.

Once I truly understood the privilege I was born into, I felt a deep sense of responsibility come over me to use that privilege as much as possible to make change for the better - in any small way I can on a daily basis - through my family, friends, colleagues, and new people I get to meet, engage with, and collaborate with. I definitely don’t always get it right, but that won’t stop me from trying. And a large part of that is definitely not assuming that what I “think” someone needs is indeed what they actually need or want. Actively and authentically listening and empathizing is critical.

Whether you like it or not, you will leave a legacy when you are gone - a wake behind you - that will also spread forward through the impact you have had on others during your brief lifetime here. We have all done and said things that either bring healing and joy to others - or pain. It is absolutely crucial that we become aware of this.

So then, if you want to survive your own death - in a good way - then leave a legacy of change for the better. Learn to understand the “Why?” of everything you do or say. Now go, in your own unique way and in your own unique sphere of influence, and make the world a better place. Today. 😁

Here’s an analysis of a film trailer score I recently composed and produced, now available for commercial licensing. If you’re a filmmaker, I would appreciate you taking the time to read this. It’s good, important, and very useful knowledge to have.
I believe the key to a successful trailer is being able to grab your viewers’ attention and keep it - and then meaningfully engage them to leave them wanting more - by watching your film hopefully! And it must be remembered that music and sound are some of your biggest cinematic tools to engage your viewers emotionally and psychologically.
Here’s how I do that.
It’s one minute long (1:12 altogether, but has silences at the beginning and end for you to play with).
A quick but sure swell for the first few seconds allows the ears to orient themselves that something is coming quickly. Then an expected, but still surprising hard hit comes, covering most of the human audio frequency range to fully engage the “viewer.”
That first hit also includes piano, which is combined with unique sounds. A traditional piano grounds the listener into familiar territory, but the other unique sounds create an unfamiliar, ethereal, and “uneasy” landscape.
This opening hit is immediately followed by a simple piano motive that is called a hook. It is then played for a total of eight times (varied, of course, to provide melodic direction and shape) - having the listener recognize it only a few seconds in. They are now “hooked.”
The following ethereal spaces after each of the first four hits leaves plenty of room for some dialogue if wanted - to set up some key elements of your story. Each hit has the same time, or number of beats between each one. If you visually cut your edit to each hit, or subdivide or multiply to your liking, the trailer will now have a visual rhythm to it if you like.
Over top of all this craziness is a single sustained violin note that sneaks in after the first hit. It increases up the scale one step at a time every second bar - giving it sustained growth and direction. This is so important! Music without growth and direction is like a story without growth and direction: blah. This gradually increases intensity on a consistent level for the entire 60 seconds, supplying an essential over-arching unifier. I went a tiny bit higher than the highest functional note on the violin. Sshh. I don’t think anyone will notice or care. Let’s just say the orchestra tuned up a little higher than A440.
The chords in the hits themselves are tonal, but contain plenty of dissonances to increase tension and to pull it in a forward direction harmonically. Static harmonic motion is not good! I use plenty of tritone leaps and intervals. A tritone is considered one of the most dissonant note-pairings to exist. In the Middle Ages it was known as Diabolus in Musica. No need to translate. Its use was forbidden in the early religious catholic canon. Surprise. But it was just a matter of time before composers found a way. Music has always been a phenomenal tool to rebel. Even in a sneaky way. Some things never change. And resolution without some solid tension is pretty meh.
Halfway through, it shifts to double time. But the way I keep consistency is to repeat everything almost exactly the same from the first half - but simply add intense percussion and a pulsing synth underneath at a 16th note subdivision. So it’s now familiar and new at the same time. And the energy is obviously higher. The single high violin note continues to ascend from where it left off, rather than dropping back to the original pitch of the sequence to start again when it repeats. The lower frequency of the rolling toms can be literally felt in the gut by the viewer as they swell up and down in volume, forcing emotion and angst into the listener - surely taking them somewhere.
At around the 50 sec mark, instead of the violin ascending, it sustains itself through the harmony shift- creating even more tension. This is unexpected, as the pattern of regular ascent has been established by now. It will pull the listener in even closer as they are waiting for it, teasing them.
The second half also includes a “response” to the repeating piano hook, but in the opposite direction. This creates conflict. But in a cool “dancy” kind of way.
Then the final chord. Which doesn’t resolve to the tonic, but rather remains on a dominant ninth (diminished seventh over a dominant 7th, or a flat 9 in modern lingo). Used frequently by Bach, it was Beethoven who really went to town with it! Probably one of the first solid jazz chords to be established - just a little “off” with tons of directional pull to it. I use this a lot. Over pedal points - delicious. But I don’t let it resolve. I leave it hanging. That’s the point! You don’t want your viewer/listener to feel resolved at all - you want to leave them wanting more! To add more mystery, a new repeating piano hook noodles away as it fades out, in a group of 5 - throwing the balance off the whole thing off.
And, of course, it’s in C sharp minor. Because.
I write all of this music intuitively. It’s when I go back to analyze it I often say to myself, “Cool, I hear what I did there!” 🙂 And then it’s all mixed and mastered so it sits loud and clear, still having enough headroom for expression, with each element cleanly sitting in its own personal space in the stereo field.
The listener/viewer/feeler doesn’t need to understand any of this. They don’t need to. That’s the whole point. But they will feel its effects intuitively. Their emotions will be manipulated. As a filmmaker you don’t need to understand the technical musical stuff either. But you do indeed need to understand its value, and work with people who do understand that geeky stuff. I know a guy. 🙂
So, let’s take it another step. What if you imagine I apply all this knowledge, but more importantly - wisdom, to your project with a custom trailer score - or better yet - a custom score for your whole film? Make them “feel” your story! Again, I know a guy. Let’s chat. 🙂
Thanks for reading and keep being creatively awesome! 😁

Trailer Fantastique 1 ~ Stock Music Clip #228841304 | Pond5 Royalty free stock music track for video production, commercial, personal use A one minute trailer with all the right elements, carefully and artistically crafted to grab your viewers' (listeners') ...

He Knows A masked killer known as Sammy the Elf punishes the naughty of a small midwestern town during the holidays. He Knows when you've been good or bad, so be good for your own sake.

He Knows Trailer Oct 14 2022

https://youtu.be/vxkQyIkilkg

Haven’t seen this yet? Why not?! Get on with it! Links in the description notes. Go! 😁

He Knows Trailer Oct 14 2022

On Plex now as well! Really, you have no excuses to not watch this. Find a streaming platform of your liking in the YouTube description links. Go! 😁

He Knows Trailer Oct 14 2022