Keith Medley & his 27 String Guitar

Keith Medley & his 27 String Guitar - Canon7D · September 20th, 2010, 03:06 PM

I shot this on my Canon EOS 7D with Leica-R series lenses from the late 70's & Lensbaby. Also shot GoPro HERO HD on headstock for a couple inset shots.

Keith is an amazing talent as a musician, guitarist and master luthier. He designed and built his Medley 27-string guitar in order to play the music in his head.

(Special thanks to Stacey David of Gearz TV for letting us use his garage/studio to shoot in.)

Steve Boutin · September 22nd, 2010, 12:21 AM

All I can say is WOW!! I was mezmorized. Great song / sound. The video was, in my opinion, done perfectly. Great job.

Bob Hart · September 22nd, 2010, 06:34 AM

Second that. Thanks for the share, a real delight.

Jon Grimson · September 22nd, 2010, 06:56 AM

Thanks very much guys. My goal was to create a simple, elegant video that highlighted Keith's hands and instrument to really convey how he plays this guitar. You can see that he's all over the place. His instrument is totally unique and the fact that he is a master luthier and designed and built this is pretty incredible. We plan to do more videos later on that will probably be very different conceptually, but the goal with this 1st one was to really focus on how he plays it.

Roger Shealy · September 23rd, 2010, 05:49 PM

Jon,

First of all, I really enjoyed that piece on many levels. Loved the monochromatic look, the harsh lighting and angles, the picture-in-picture, and certainly the great music. Thanks for making and sharing this, it's the most enjoyable thing I've viewed in a while!

Xin Jin · November 7th, 2010, 12:11 PM

Wow. This is great.
I really enjoyed this elegantly simple video. Especially liked how the headlight gave his head this nice glow, the black and white also intensified the whole gloriole look. Concept fits perfectly to the music.

Could you please describe how you set up the lights.

Thanks very much =)

Cheers

Jon Grimson · November 7th, 2010, 12:22 PM

Thanks! Pretty basic lighting actually. As I remember a small backlight from up and above; maybe a 150 or 300w; can't remember. Key lights from front were a mix of 300 and 650's; in most of the front shots I was trying to make sure I lit Keith and the guitar pretty equally; on the lensbaby shots, I used back light and side fill only and turned his position to camera. Once again the goal of this video was to put Keith's hands and guitar on display. I really like the dramatic, artsier vibe to the Lensbaby shots but that would not have worked for our needs throughout.

Planning right now with Keith to do another; different and more abstract concept.

Glad you like it!

Colin McDonald · November 7th, 2010, 01:56 PM

Fantastic stuff! Hard to believe it's a real instrument, reminded me of Animusic | Previews | Resonant Chamber

Kevin Myhre · December 21st, 2010, 11:31 PM

all I can say is wow. I could watch this video over and over again... and I have lol

Jon Grimson · December 22nd, 2010, 08:51 AM

To those of you who liked Keith's video, I'm producing a simple webcast from the Frist Center Museum of Visual Art. Tune in to see and hear Keith play!

Keith Medley performs live from The Frist Center Museum in Nashville, TN at 6PM CST on Thursday, December 23. 2010. Keith designed, built and plays his one-of-a-kind 27-string Medley guitar. He will perform original compositions and special arrangements of holiday favorites.

Keith Medley with his 27-string Medley guitar on USTREAM: Keith Medley performs live from The Frist Center Museum in Nashville, TN at 6PM CST on Thursday, ...

Jon Grimson · March 12th, 2011, 08:51 PM

Please visit KICKSTARTER.com at this link to learn more about my new full-length film:
"Creative Spirit" - Keith Medley & his 27-string guitar

"Creative Spirit" - a film: a 27-string masterpiece

This film, “Creative Spirit”, will follow Keith's creative process with detailed documentary of the guitar building process, 3 performance music videos conveying the sights and sounds that result, as well as an ongoing narrative and conversations with Keith. Viewers will understand how Keith's creativity manifests itself, his philosophy and his optimistic attitude to achieve these goals as he literally invents new instruments and playing techniques. Questions of what motivates his creativity, who and what inspires him, how limits and parameters must be imposed in order to reach completion, what are his most difficult challenges, are all topics that will be covered in depth. And most importantly, how does this all translate to viewers in ways that can help them learn and achieve in their lives?

September 22nd, 2010, 12:21 AM	#2
Steve Boutin Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sarasota,Florida Posts: 36	Great!! All I can say is WOW!! I was mezmorized. Great song / sound. The video was, in my opinion, done perfectly. Great job.

September 22nd, 2010, 06:56 AM	#4
Jon Grimson Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 30	Thanks very much guys. My goal was to create a simple, elegant video that highlighted Keith's hands and instrument to really convey how he plays this guitar. You can see that he's all over the place. His instrument is totally unique and the fact that he is a master luthier and designed and built this is pretty incredible. We plan to do more videos later on that will probably be very different conceptually, but the goal with this 1st one was to really focus on how he plays it. __________________ Jon Grimson E jongrimson@gmail.com

November 7th, 2010, 12:22 PM	#7
Jon Grimson Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 30	Thanks! Pretty basic lighting actually. As I remember a small backlight from up and above; maybe a 150 or 300w; can't remember. Key lights from front were a mix of 300 and 650's; in most of the front shots I was trying to make sure I lit Keith and the guitar pretty equally; on the lensbaby shots, I used back light and side fill only and turned his position to camera. Once again the goal of this video was to put Keith's hands and guitar on display. I really like the dramatic, artsier vibe to the Lensbaby shots but that would not have worked for our needs throughout. Planning right now with Keith to do another; different and more abstract concept. Glad you like it! __________________ Jon Grimson E jongrimson@gmail.com

December 22nd, 2010, 08:51 AM	#10
Jon Grimson Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 30	Keith Medley live on Ustream 11/23/10 at 6PM CST To those of you who liked Keith's video, I'm producing a simple webcast from the Frist Center Museum of Visual Art. Tune in to see and hear Keith play! Keith Medley performs live from The Frist Center Museum in Nashville, TN at 6PM CST on Thursday, December 23. 2010. Keith designed, built and plays his one-of-a-kind 27-string Medley guitar. He will perform original compositions and special arrangements of holiday favorites. Keith Medley with his 27-string Medley guitar on USTREAM: Keith Medley performs live from The Frist Center Museum in Nashville, TN at 6PM CST on Thursday, ... __________________ Jon Grimson E jongrimson@gmail.com

March 12th, 2011, 08:51 PM	#11
Jon Grimson Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 30	Re: Keith Medley & his 27 String Guitar - Canon7D Please visit KICKSTARTER.com at this link to learn more about my new full-length film: "Creative Spirit" - Keith Medley & his 27-string guitar "Creative Spirit" - a film: a 27-string masterpiece This film, “Creative Spirit”, will follow Keith's creative process with detailed documentary of the guitar building process, 3 performance music videos conveying the sights and sounds that result, as well as an ongoing narrative and conversations with Keith. Viewers will understand how Keith's creativity manifests itself, his philosophy and his optimistic attitude to achieve these goals as he literally invents new instruments and playing techniques. Questions of what motivates his creativity, who and what inspires him, how limits and parameters must be imposed in order to reach completion, what are his most difficult challenges, are all topics that will be covered in depth. And most importantly, how does this all translate to viewers in ways that can help them learn and achieve in their lives? __________________ Jon Grimson E jongrimson@gmail.com

September 22nd, 2010, 06:34 AM	#3
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,476	Second that. Thanks for the share, a real delight.

September 23rd, 2010, 05:49 PM	#5
Roger Shealy Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fayetteville, GA Posts: 772	Jon, First of all, I really enjoyed that piece on many levels. Loved the monochromatic look, the harsh lighting and angles, the picture-in-picture, and certainly the great music. Thanks for making and sharing this, it's the most enjoyable thing I've viewed in a while!

November 7th, 2010, 12:11 PM	#6
Xin Jin New Boot Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Austria Posts: 19	Wow. This is great. I really enjoyed this elegantly simple video. Especially liked how the headlight gave his head this nice glow, the black and white also intensified the whole gloriole look. Concept fits perfectly to the music. Could you please describe how you set up the lights. Thanks very much =) Cheers

November 7th, 2010, 01:56 PM	#8
Colin McDonald Trustee Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 1,546	Fantastic stuff! Hard to believe it's a real instrument, reminded me of Animusic \| Previews \| Resonant Chamber

December 21st, 2010, 11:31 PM	#9
Kevin Myhre Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Rochester MN Posts: 68	all I can say is wow. I could watch this video over and over again... and I have lol