Moviestorm gets recognition at TEDx talk by Libertaria creator Sabrina Pena Young

Readers of this blog may remember an exclusive guest post in September 2013 from Sabrina Pena Young telling of the story of Libertaria: her virtual opera, created entirely online using Moviestorm.

Award-winning composer and published author Sabrina Pena Young composes works heard in Asia, North America, Australia, and Europe.

Production for Libertaria was entirely online. The cast auditioned virtually through Music Xray and other sites, the animators worked together using Moviestorm, communication continued through e-mail and facebook.

Libertaria has been growing in popularity ever since the world premiere screening in October 2013.

Recently, Sabrina shared her story at a TED talk, answering the question of how you stage an opera without an opera company, or singers, or a stage, or anything except your own ideas.

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives.

Since 2011, TEDxBuffalo has taken place each October at Canisius College’s Montante Cultural Center. 

See Sabrina's talk at TEDx below:

    

Sabrina told Moviestorm: "I spoke about Moviestorm in the live presentation, and I am working on a new "rock concert" project that will be shown in music concerts this spring, also using Moviestorm.

"I will be giving an upcoming online presentation on machinima and music this April. It will be for an online music festival."

Sabrina added that she chose Moviestorm for the TED Talk because without the 'easy-to-use animation software' she wouldn't have been able to create her work Libertaria: The Virtual Opera. 

She said: "I have been using Moviestorm for several years now and have found it an excellent program for multimedia and music works, as well as presentations like the TED Talk.  

"For example, I am currently finishing up the commission Destiny: Eondwyr that incorporates live music performance with fantasy comic book panels created using Moviestorm.  

"I am also using Moviestorm for my upcoming virtual online performance Urban Night: Sounds, which is a musical performance of animated characters in a virtual outdoor concert venue, to be presenting online and in New York this spring. 

"Moviestorm has truly taken my artistic expression to the next level."

Sabrina said one of the reasons she recommends Moviestorm to musicians is because it is very affordable and easy-to-use, not to mention fun and easily customizable. 

She said that right now another Moviestorm animator, Matt Pittsinger, inspired by Libertaria: The Virtual Opera, is using Moviestorm to create a truly cinematic Baroque opera Aetius. 

Sabrina concluded: "My hope is that other musicians use machinima to explore innovative ways to share their original music with the world without any of the financial and societal boundaries of the past. Technology is truly the great democratizer of our age."

WATCH LIBERTARIA HERE:

Further links

Artist Website: http://sabrinapenayoung.blogspot.com/
Official Film Website: http://virtualopera.wordpress.com/

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQqnHt3a-Oo
Soundtrack : http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/sabrinapenayoung4

Libertaria: The story behind the virtual opera, by composer Sabrina Pena Young

Award-winning composer and published author Sabrina Pena Young composes works heard in Asia, North America, Australia, and Europe.

In this exclusive guest blog post, Sabrina tells the tale of the story behind the virtual opera and why she chose Moviestorm.

"I've been wanting to create a film for a long time, and Moviestorm had the perfect tools that I need to make my dream of a sci-fi animated opera a reality.

Sabrina's work has been performed at venues like the Beijing Conservatory, the International Computer Music Conference, Miramax's Project Greenlight, the Athena Festival, the New York International Independent Film Festival, Art Basil Miami, Turkey's Cinema for Peace, and Pulsefield International Exhibition of Sound Art.
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The story behind Libertaria

In 2011 I started writing a story about a young geneticist that worked in a cutting edge facility that absorbed the energy from the ill and dying to make a new serum that rejuvenated the younger, healthy populace. In the short story, the scientist, orphaned at a young age, discovered that one of her test subjects was actually her mother.

The short story evolved over time and instead o ffocusing on the scientists, the young girl was placed in the genetics factory herself, escaping it to discover her addict father runs the resistance against the factory. With a hundred twists and turns, Libertaria tells the story with true operatic drama and sci-fi energy.

Libertaria is an opera for the Digital Age. Created with virtual characters in a computer-generated environment, Libertaria is easily disseminated through the internet and simple DVDs. An animated opera offers a lower cost than a full live production, although there has been acoustic versions of songs like Lonely Mother’s Cry.

In the end Libertaria is a groundbreaking opera experiment. Creating an opera for a fraction of a budget, an opera that requires no rehearsals to enjoy, appeals to the masses, and has a diverse cast of characters reflecting the global nature of our culture.

Libertaria questions our current sociopolitical reality and the actions of the government, it questions war and even family.

Libertaria challenges musically and ideologically and will change our time.

Production for Libertaria was entirely online. The cast auditioned virtually through Music Xray and other sites, the animators worked together using Moviestorm, communication continued through e-mail and facebook." 

Why Moviestorm?

"I enjoy using Moviestorm because it is very intuitive, affordable, and easy-to-use. As someone with a film and music background, it was easy to jump into animation head-first using Moviestorm's excellent tools and simple platform. 

For my film Libertaria: The Virtual Opera I needed to use a program that could quickly lip sync over an hour of original vocal music, and Moviestorm was up to the task with the help of talented Moviestorm animators like Kera Hildebrandt. 

The easy integration of Moviestorm footage with third-party software like Final Cut and the use of settings like Cel Shading helped Libertaria: The Virtual Opera have a distinct graphic novel with epic visual effects for a micro-fraction of the cost. 

The Moviestorm community is invaluable and incredibly supportive, even volunteering time and talents towards production. Moviestorm made my dream a reality. I look forward to using Moviestorm for many years to come."

More information

What:  World Premiere Screening of LIBERTARIA: THE VIRTUAL OPERA, by Sabrina Peña Young

Where: Calvary United Methodist Church, 301 1

When: 3:00 P.M., Saturday, October 5th

Cost: $10 Donation. FREE admission for students (w/ID).

Contact: Call the church office at 561-585-1786 or email shoreclare@aol.com

Further links

Artist Website: http://sabrinapenayoung.blogspot.com/

Official Film Website: http://virtualopera.wordpress.com/

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQqnHt3a-Oo
Soundtrack : http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/sabrinapenayoung4

Baby Machine from Libertaria (Rough Cut) Youtube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8x4ZUw-_oo

Opening Credits (Rough Cut) Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWdNH5rxpsQ