COMPOSER SABRINA PENA YOUNG | MUSIC TECHNOLOGY | FILM | CLASSICAL | OPERA

 5 Tips When Making Your First Music Video   A Band's Guide to Music Videos. Making a music video is a fun and exciting experience for your band. Avoid some common pitfalls by following these simple tips.  1. Have a way to playback your song on site. Whether the band brings a boom box, i-pod with speakers, or just blare it from the car, you are going to need the song to play back to make lip syncing as painless as possible. Once you start taping, take multiple takes, even if you like the first take. The first few takes will be the freshest, but you may need the third or fifteenth take to cut in where the bass guitarist was picking his nose. Then...Have a blast taping your video! 2. Dubbing fun. Dubbing is a pain, but most music videos show at least a few sections where the band is actually "singing" to the tune. Watch several of your fave music videos and try to see how often the video is spliced up. Also, frames are often lost during transfer, so don't be su...

Today I am giving a lecture at Buffalo State on Making of a 21st Century Opera: Libertaria . The question about the future of opera amidst budget cuts, economic downturn, and an ever expanding availability of musical choices has led those musicians who write large scale forms of music like symphonies, operas , oratorios, and ballets to find other creative outlets including online media, film music, royalty-free music libraries, jingles, and production.  BELOW Perry R. Cook and Matt Meadows lend their voices for "Metal Ink" from Libertaria: The Virtual Opera. After each soloist recorded their vocals, Patrick Rundbladh and I combined their vocal takes into a single solo where the character sings in duet with himself.  The question is if large scale traditional musical productions are viable today. When I began work on Libertaria: The Virtual Opera a couple of years ago, I wanted to create an opera that not only was feasible but was incredibly portable. T...

Are you ready? After the excitement of the World Premier of Libertaria: The Virtual Opera at Classical Concerts at Calvary, what is next for this cutting edge contemporary opera?  It's time to launch the 2013 Libertaria Virtual Launch Party!  What is a Virtual Launch Party?   If you love sci-fi, if you love animation, movies, music, opera, or just want to be part of the new face of opera - virtual opera created with and for today's technology, then sign up for the Virtual Launch Party ! Anyone can party! SIGN ME UP FOR THE VIRTUAL LAUNCH PARTY! Want to be part of the Opera Launch Party ? Then contact me ( Sabrina Peña Young ) at spenayoung@gmail.com . To be part of the Opera Launch Party you need to commit to at least one public screening of Libertaria: The Virtual Opera .  Send me information about the proposed screening date, the venue, and your organization or bio, and mailing address. Preference will be given to film clubs , student grou...

After nearly three years from conception to realization, two years of music production, one thousand vocal takes, and zero sleep for an entire summer of animation and post production, Libertaria: The Virtual Opera is finished! Yes, FINISHED! The crazy idea of mixing an opera with a film, two nearly impossible feats, while juggling family life, work, and teaching, not to mention things like eating and sleeping, was one that challenged me on a musical and mental level.  Buy the new Libertaria Soundtrack (Special Edition) at CD Baby TODAY! Libertaria challenged my family, who had to sacrifice time so I could stay up endless nights and work on weekends to finish the work, it challenged our amazing cast and crew who volunteered their time and talents for a crazy production. And I have to thank my husband Coach Nate Young for supporting me throughout this summer and Dr. Clare Shore who has always been a mentor and amazing friend for supporting me musically and was my moral suppor...

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 of focusing 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. Drones Destroy the Eastern United States in Libertaria Production for Libertaria was entirely online. The cast auditioned virtually through Music Xray and other sites, the animators worked together using a machinima program called Moviestorm , communication continued through e-mail a...