PROJECT:The Music Mondays concert series is an annual showcase put on by The Center For the Arts Foundation, to build a strong community via music. This series continues the commitment of the Foundation to bring a diverse, exciting line-up of musicians to the community for FREE family-friendly events. The Bayou Boyz started in the Hollywood District in Portland, at a place called Blackwells, and they play a mix of Louisiana blues, swamp pop, cajun and funk. Local legend Curtis Salgado once described Blackwell’s as close to New Orleans as you could get in the city.
APPROACH:Bayou Boyz were part of the Music Mondays series of live concerts performed at the SALT Academy in downtown Gresham, put on by the Gresham Center for the Arts, while we provided the technical aspects of the productions. Music Mondays was originally an outdoor concert at the Center for the Arts Plaza in downtown Gresham, but had to be moved indoors after the events of this past year. Since there was still a hunger for live music, it was decided to move to a live streaming model so people could watch from the safety and comfort of their homes. To that end, a stage was set up at the SALT Academy, and on the first Monday of each month we would stream the concerts to both YouTube and FaceBook. To capture the music, we used up to six cameras. Two were located towards the back of the venue. One provided an overall wide-shot, a second nearby manned camera was utilized to get close ups of the musicians on the front of the stage, another two were located on stage right and left for alternate angles, one was next to the drummer (where appropriate), and finally another one was mounted high up on the lighting truss. This last one (a DSLR), provided a unique “birds-eye” view of the performers and looked really cool!RESULTS: The response from viewers was fantastic! It was commonplace to read comments online such as “Great show!” “Sitting here catching it live!” and “This is so cool!” While in-person live musical events are always the best way to experience a concert, all things considered, this was a hit with viewers and a way for us to help people get their live music fix in a safe manner. Based on the responses, feedback and number of viewers, it was hugely successful!