Friday, January 9, 2015
Monday, December 1, 2014
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
A "Video Newsletter"?
If you don't see the video below, please go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24l4GG72Cxc&feature=youtu.be
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Reflections On The Summer
Spirit Blade Productions Newsletter, August 2014
In case of problems viewing content(pictures/video/audio) you may also see this page at our Newsletter Website. If you are a new subscriber, please visit our Welcome Page!
AWOS Progress Report
Scene 10 is a short but fairly heavy scene between Saolos and Merikk. Sean Anthony Roberts, who provides the voice for Saolos in both "Dark Ritual" and "A World Of Shadows", brought his A game to this scene, which makes it a great pleasure to work on, but also a real challenge to edit.
Sean is such a fantastic performer that he usually requires very little direction. He also tends to give me multiple, fantastic versions that are different yet equally appropriate to the moment in the script. As I sat editing scene 10 I thought, "I want people to hear ALL of these takes!"
In the end I choose, as best I can, and then resolve to let the other takes be heard sometime later in a behind the scenes feature.
I've begun praying that Yahweh will allow me to have peace and contentment regarding my pace and productivity, resting in his sovereign control over events and ultimate wisdom regarding what should happen when.
Your prayers in that regard would be greatly valued!
-Paeter Frandsen
Reflecting On The Summer
For a guy who tries to do much of his work at home throughout the day, the thought of summer was something I dreaded. "Prepare to watch your productivity plummet, Paeter. Just assume that you won't make much progress on AWOS ("Spirit Blade: A World Of Shadows") until August."
What I wasn't prepared for was the social dynamic between my boys, and how it actually helped me to get MORE mixing time into my schedule than I had during the school year with only our youngest at home most days.
Our youngest boy is the extrovert of the family. This means that unless he is interacting with someone, he's not happy for long. Which makes being alone with him all day very challenging if I hope to get any work done.
By contrast, our older boy is more like me. Highly imaginative and content to play by himself much of the time. When I only have him to worry about, keeping up with my work day isn't too difficult.
With our oldest home from school, the little guy had someone else he can suck the life from *Ahem!* I mean- PLAY with. And when our oldest prefers to play alone, The Destroyer (as we often call our youngest) is often content with his new favorite hobby... playing in water!
So the water bill from our sprinkler was on the rise, but so was my productivity on AWOS.
-Paeter Frandsen
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Tuesday, May 27, 2014
New Logo, Videos and AWOS Progress!
Spirit Blade Productions Newsletter, May 2014
In case of problems viewing content(pictures/video/audio) you may also see this page at our Newsletter Website. If you are a new subscriber, please visit our Welcome Page!
New CGC Logo Coming Soon!
The new logo will do more than just update our look, though. There are several currently invisible projects related to Christian Geek Central and new web content that will be ready to move forward soon after we have a new logo to brand and unite our efforts. So stay tuned for some fun new content coming soon!
-Paeter Frandsen
AWOS Progress Report #2
Well, that certainly isn't exciting to type. I'd much rather be on scene 38 of 39! But as I've been reminded lately, slow and steady wins the race.
Yesterday and today were a couple of mixing days with little excitement in them. I'm not working on a terribly complex scene. So it doesn't have a load of complicated sound cues. But neither does it have the creative excitement of some of the "bigger scenes" in the project. On the other hand, it's also not just a scene with two people talking. Those kind aren't flashy, but at least they can be put together quickly.
No, Scene 7 is in the middle ground. It's mostly people talking, but it has numerous sound effects cues that have to be carefully and thoughtfully timed in order to tell the story well. They are also sound cues that, if I do my job right, the listener will not pay direct attention to, but that are still vital to the scene.
The chief challenge is Raan Galvaanik. If I were talking about making a movie, I might say that Raan is an "expensive" character, much like Green Lantern was expensive to put on screen, since even when he was just sitting around he wore a costume entirely made of digital effects. Likewise, Raan is a cyborg, and so always has some minor servo sounds whirring and clicking around him as he talks and does even simple tasks in a scene.
Although things seem to be moving slowly with this scene, I know there are others that are shorter, or that will not take as long. I'm currently aiming for a pace of one scene per week. You're welcome to do the math and estimate a release date, but be sure to add on a month or two to polish up the songs and another month or two for the score and final polishing of the whole project. (While you're at it, go ahead and add six months for the weird stupid crap I won't see coming until it hits me in the face. Lol!)
Finishing scene 10 will put me 1/4 of the way done, which will be exciting. And as more of the project is finished I will likely gain more momentum and greater willingness to push myself. Right now, though, I'm still in those early grindy stages that I can't wait to break out of. Hopefully that will be pretty soon!
-Paeter Frandsen
CGC "Uncut" Video Reviews!
I've recently joined the world of Youtube video reviewing and typically post my spoiler-free yet "uncut" reviews the day a movie comes out. So far I've reviewed the controversial Noah, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Transcendence, The Amazing Spider-man 2, Godzilla, and X-Men: Days Of Future Past, (which you should see below depending on how you are viewing this).
In my reviews I discuss and score entertainment based on quality, as most reviewers do, but also include discussion and scoring for "Relevance", or the likelihood that the experience will stimulate meaningful thought or conversation. Although the same audio content for my reviews can be heard on the weekly Spirit Blade Underground Podcast, my "uncut" approach to video reviewing can only be appreciated, in all its "glory", in the intended medium of Youtubery. Enjoy!
-Paeter Frandsen
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We will only use your e-mail address to send you news and updates about Spirit Blade Productions.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Emerging From The Crazy
Spirit Blade Productions Newsletter, April 2014
In case of problems viewing content(pictures/video/audio) you may also see this page at our Newsletter Website. If you are a new subscriber, please visit our Welcome Page!
Where Has He Been?
Two months with no newsletter? A new record! Where has Paeter been?
Out of my mind a bit, honestly. For some reason, Holly and I managed to schedule a number of things into our lives with greater density and frequency than we even experienced during the holiday season. Three weeks straight of consecutive family member visits from out of town, a trip of our own and most other nights filled with miscellaneous social engagements. After that we spent another week or two catching up with all of the normal things in life we had to set aside to accomodate our crazy schedule.
This all took place over the back half of February and the first half of March, and ultimately led to my totally dropping the ball on the newsletter. So my sincere apologies to those who have been interested in updates in the meantime, and my congratulations to those who were starting to feel like a "monthly" newsletter from me was a bit too often.
Holly and I have solemnly and dramatically both vowed... "never again". So I assume that things will be back in their normal groove now. But you never can tell, right?
-Paeter Frandsen
AWOS Progress Report #1
Still in the thick of mixing "Spirit Blade: A World Of Shadows". After some annoying computer problems a couple of months ago I've made some great progress mixing the first few scenes. I've also returned to "Day Of Wrath", the song that will accompany Vincent Craft as he... let's just say as he does some serious damage to Atlantis Incorporated.
The mixing process continues to be possibly the most enjoyable part of production. Especially mixing scenes. When I'm writing I can sometimes do little more than stare at the floor thinking for long stretches of time, and progress seems slow. But while mixing a scene there is almost always something I can do to move things forward, even if I'm not feeling creatively inspired. And since I have a clear vision for what scenes will sound like when I'm finished, I can begin to "hear" the finished product even early in the process, and as each element is added to a scene the story comes more and more alive. Despite scenes being so enjoyable to mix, I've enjoyed returning to "Day Of Wrath", a song which uses a combination of Mozart's "Dies Irae" and an old liturgical setting of the same Latin poem. With the help of some wonderful singers from my college days, I've been able to construct a full choir for Mozart's material, contrasted with a grungy electronic voice singing the dark, minor key, liturgical music. The result is becoming the kind of music I've always wanted to hear from other artists but never quite have, which makes the process very musically fulfilling for me.
-Paeter Frandsen
"Spirit Blade Live" 10th Anniversary!
10 years ago in March, the pastors and elders of Red Mountain Community Church in Mesa, AZ took a chance and not only allowed but encouraged and supported the production of a live, "action/sci-fi/musical/audio drama".
I originally wrote the story of "Spirit Blade" as a novella (of which the free audiobook version may be found here), then adapted the novella into an audio drama script which also included songs in the techno/industrial genre, performed by the characters in the story.
Directed by Michael E. Bryce (The voice of Isaiah Daniels), the live show was performed in much the same way classic oratorio is delivered, with readers standing in a line at the front of the stage, stepping forward to read their dialogue or sing. Custom artwork created for the project was occasionally placed on a large projection screen to further set the tone or provide images of what the scenes and characters looked like. Lighting and fog effects further enhanced the atmosphere, but the booming sound effects, cued live in rapid succession by a sound person, were undoubtedly the driving artistic effect of the experience.
"Spirit Blade" had surprisingly great attendance both nights it was featured. Surprising given the violent, bizarre nature of the project and the fact that it was performed at a church. The response from those who attended was enthusiastic and the leadership of the church encouraged me to do more projects like this one.
As happy as I was at the time with the live version of "Spirit Blade", I knew that the storytelling potential had barely been touched, and that far more could be done if told through an audio recorded format rather than a live format. So just a few months after the live event, I began scheduling actors from the live show to come to my home and record their performances, in many cases reproducing what they had done in the live performance and in some cases taking their performances in significantly different directions.
Over the next two years, while also leading the worship ministry of Red Mountain Community Church, I directed, mixed and produced the original recording of "Spirit Blade" in my spare time, with a few small adjustments to the script to pave the way for at least one sequel, and likely a trilogy.
In 2006 I stepped down from my position as the worship pastor of our church, and launched Spirit Blade Productions, LLC with the release of the original production of "Spirit Blade" (which has since been re-mixed from the ground up as "Spirit Blade: Special Edition").
Now, almost 8 years after the launch of Spirit Blade Productions and 10 years after the premiere of the live version of "Spirit Blade", I am hard at work on post-production for "Spirit Blade: A World Of Shadows", considering myself extremely blessed to have the chance to finish this trilogy and tell the end of this tale.
To "Mickey" and the rest of the original cast of "Spirit Blade", thank you so much for taking a chance on being involved with this strange project. To the leadership of Red Mountain Community Church and all of my supporters there, thank you for partnering with and encouraging me. To my wife, who also lends her voice to Ebony Ravenloft, thank you for your commitment to me and the vision of Spirit Blade Productions. Thank you for the countless hours you invest in work you have no passion for, so that I can pursue the passion I've been given for this ministry. And my greatest thanks to "Yeisou Kreeshtaya", "The Only"... Yahweh God. You frighten and fulfill me. You instruct and inspire. Please help my vision always conform to yours. And equip me for whatever you bring about in the next 10 years.
-Paeter Frandsen
Want more frequent updates and content? Visit or subscribe to Our Official Blog and Paeter's Brain!
And for even more content and community, check out our Podcast and Forums!
We will only use your e-mail address to send you news and updates about Spirit Blade Productions.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Video Tour, Disturbing Trends, and T-Shirt Sale!
Spirit Blade Productions Newsletter, January 2014
In case of problems viewing content(pictures/video/audio) you may also see this page at our Newsletter Website. If you are a new subscriber, please visit our Welcome Page!
AWOS Progress and Video Office Tour
Finally back to my normal schedule after almost a month away from it! Two weeks I took for vacation and the other two were spent doing undistracted "off-grid" work on Spirit Blade: A World Of Shadows. At long last I am thrilled to say that I have begun mixing scenes!
I've spent the last 6 months working on the songs for the project, which are now all at the point where they are either 80% complete or as far as I can take them for now. (For a couple I'm waiting on instrumentalists to record.) For all songs, however, the bulk of the uphill creative work is done, which is a huge relief. This means its time to take a break and work on scenes for a few months before I come back and finish off the songs with fresh ears.
As I continue making progress, I plan to make some videos of my work sessions from time to time that I will share with you on the Spirit Blade Productions Youtube channel. I also plan to present some behind the scenes videos of recording sessions with Michael Tully, Randy Hesson, myself, and even Holly Frandsen, the voice of Ebony Ravenloft (and also my wife), who has successfully dodged interviews and video cameras... until now. ;-) In the meantime, if you haven't checked it out since my brief message earlier this month, I've posted a new video on our channel, featuring Michael Tully (Raan Galvaanik) who helps me present a video tour of my work space. Enjoy!
Disturbing Trends In Christian Geek Media
If you haven't tuned in to the podcast in awhile, you may find a recent episode interesting. (Or maybe controversial.) Not long ago I sat down and recorded a conversation with friend and pastor Nathan James Norman, in which we compared some troubling trends we had recently discovered that we were both encountering with growing frequency. We go into some detail on what is concerning us and why, and also cast some vision for the Christian Geeks of tomorrow.
To download or listen to the episode, go to: http://spiritblade.blogspot.com/2014/01/disturbing-trends-in-christian-geek.html
T-Shirt Sale!
Pair up with that special someone and grab a shirt for each of you in a variety of colors, sizes and fits! Spreadshirt is running a free shipping promo! On the purchase of two or more T-Shirts, your shipping total is zero if you use the promo code: LOVELY14 from January 28-February 14th in our spreadshirt store!
Want more frequent updates and content? Visit or subscribe to Our Official Blog and Paeter's Brain!
And for even more content and community, check out our Podcast and Forums!
We will only use your e-mail address to send you news and updates about Spirit Blade Productions.
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