The Song Fight Bulletin Board

http://tinydeskcontest.npr.org/

Winner does a Tiny Desk concert and a gig at the Lagunitas "Couchtrippin' to Austin" show in March (wtf that is). Judges are Bob Boilen, John Congleton, Valerie June, Reggie Watts, Robin Hilton, and Thao Nguyen. Only unsigned acts can enter, you have to provide a YouTube video, less than 10 minutes long, of you playing one song at a desk.

Do you have to be sitting down at the desk, or...?

From TFA:

Record one original song (no covers) the way you'd perform a Tiny Desk Concert – at a desk (any desk!), perhaps in an office, maybe in front of an audience. Post your video to YouTube and fill out the form below. Check our Official Rules for all the requirements.

We'll choose a winner to be flown to Washington, D.C., to perform behind Bob Boilen’s desk as part of the Tiny Desk Concert series for NPR Music. Winner will also play the Lagunitas "CouchTrippin' to Austin" showcase in March. Enter by January 19, 2015, to be considered to win.

Official rules here:

http://tinydeskcontest.npr.org/rules

That doesn't define what they mean by "at a desk." If you're standing in front of a desk (from the camera's vantage point) does that mean you are at a desk? Or do you have to be sitting behind it?

They do have some exemplar videos from the judges which imply that standing behind the desk is fine, as is putting a bunch of gear on the desk (in the case of Reggie Watts).

I'm tempted to just record something standing in front of my Ikea DAVE laptop desk. Maybe I can find a used schoolhouse desk and put that next to it.

pretty sure they don't give a shit how you position yourself vis-a-vis the desk, fluffy...

i wanna win for that sweet trip to D.C.

But what if they do, JB? WHAT THEN?

So I did this as a quick practice (with a terrible performance) to learn more about how to put together a video like this:

Mostly I learned just how bad Final Cut X is compared to the old Final Cut Pro. But I also learned a bit about setting up shots so the next attempt will be a lot better. (And I'll probably try Premiere.)

What camera are you using?

That's my Sony Nex-5. (The audio was from my Firestudio.)

Not to get off topic, but, do you like that camera? I am looking at this deal of the day on Amazon, wondering if this would be a good buy?

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-NEX-5TL-Comp ... PDKIKX0DER

That's pretty off-topic!

I like it a lot, but the a6000 is a much better camera and doesn't cost much more. I actually just ordered an a6000 today because I saw that gold box deal and then got into a discussion with someone who's used both of them. But for that price the NEX-5TL is a really good deal, and a lot better than the a5100 that replaced it in the lineup.

Okay, I redid it tonight. I ended up using Final Cut again because I've gotten the hang of it enough for this.

Aight I got tired of thinking about this so I made a new song and video'd myself with my iphone.



There's my entry. It's short, so I hope the NPR intern manages to listen the whole way through.

JB

That was nice. I hope they like it.

The rules said nothing about multiple entries but I don't think I'll be submitting this one all the same.

The Tiny Desk Concerts Contest RETURNS!

http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/20 ... ntent=2041

Here's how you enter:

Make a video of yourself performing an original song behind a desk of your choosing. Gather your friends and grab a smartphone (if you think like last year's winner, Gaelynn Lea) or an iPad (if you're like our inaugural winner, the now-Grammy-nominated Fantastic Negrito) or a full-on camera rig (if you're, oh, say, Cactus Tractor). Shoot it however you like. What matters is the music, and that you have as much fun as possible bringing this together.

We'll take submissions between Jan. 13 and Jan. 29, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. ET! We're giving you a whole month to get started on your entry video. You can use the time however you like — make an elaborate set for your video, write a new song, start a new band, learn a new instrument or learn how to play several instruments all at once.

Here is a link to the winning entry for the current year (2018):

https://youtu.be/nk8HEO_60ms