MATRIXSYNTH: Unlocking Dockstader by Justin H Brierley


Friday, October 03, 2014

Unlocking Dockstader by Justin H Brierley



Seeking funding on Kickstarter here.

This one in via Atomic Starter

"Electronic composer, filmmaker, cartoonist, writer, Alzheimer's patient. This film will explore the life and work of Tod Dockstader.

Tod's story: a brief introduction

Tod Dockstader is a multi-talented creator whose work remains largely unrecognized. He is perhaps most well known as a composer of electronic music and as a cartoon sound effects artist. While working at Terrytoons in the early 1960s he provided sounds for Tom & Jerry and other cartoons directed by Gene Deitch. Around the same time he also worked as a sound engineer for a studio in NYC that mostly did commercial work. He used these resources during his off hours to create several albums startling electronic music that influenced artists like Frank Zappa, Pete Townshend, and Aphex Twin. Some of this music was even used by Fellini as part of the Satyricon soundtrack.

Tod's creativity ranges far beyond music and sound effects. He was an avid writer (poetry, short stories, plays, music reviews, etc..) and evidence suggests that he very much desired a writing career long before he started making music. He was also a filmmaker whose company Westport Communications Group produced educational films that were distributed by McGraw Hill as part of their American Heritage series. Tod did most of the creative work on these films: writing, producing, and directing. One of the goals of my film is to show Tod for the true Renaissance man that he is.

Backstory

Like many great documentaries this project has changed and evolved over time. My original idea was simply to do a phone interview with Dockstader for my radio show. Then I learned about Tod's dementia and I set out to film interviews while he could still remember some of his past. At that time, Tod's daughter Tina entrusted me to his old computer which is filled with unreleased music that he was working on during the early stages of his dementia. I tried playing him his own music to see if he could remember anything about how he created it. He couldn't, however I noticed that he very much enjoyed the listening and would sometimes tell other stories about his life. As time went on his physical health deteriorated, including his hearing, and the positive effects of listening to music also lessened.

Now

And then I got an iPad. I started bringing that along and showing Tod different music making apps. The result is amazing. He's particularly fond of the official John Cage Prepared Piano app and the amazing multi-touch synthesizer TC-11, which was generously donated by its developer, Bit Shape Software. Seeing Tod not only light up with delight, but also engaging his creativity has given me a new idea and direction for this film.

Future

The first major change is that I will be enlisting the help of a certified Music Therapist. I want to see if by engaging his creativity I can help him access memories that have been lost to him. Up until now I have been able to visit Tod an average of once or twice per month. I will be increasing those visits to near daily, occasionally accompanied by a professional Music Therapist. These session will form the foundation upon which I tell Tod's amazing life story."

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