Making Fire
by Paul Battersby

A short cartoon animation showing a poor hapless caveman discovering the hazards of making fire.

I liked this piano piece by Beethoven, decided to record the piano part and add my own orchestral accompaniment then I was able to fit an animation idea to the music.

It took me a while to come up with a unique design for the caveman. Having done that, I then had to figure out how the caveman should look when viewed from the side.

Beethovenoriginal piano composition (Tempest)
Paul Battersbypiano, orchestra, mixing, video
YouTube video

 

Seasons of Life
by Paul Battersby

A slideshow style music video depicting the stages of life as changing seasons. This features A.I. images and my arrangement of the horn solo from Tchaikovsky’s 5th symphony. I used to hear my dad practice this and I thought it was odd he was playing Annie’s Song by John Denver, which it turns out was accidentally similar to this solo.

Tchaikovsky composition of horn solo from Tchaikovsky’s 5th symphony
Paul Battersby arrangement, music, (all instruments from Virtual Playing Orchestra sample library), video
YouTube video
Audio only

Images via A.I. from http://playgroundai.com

Evolution
by Paul Battersby

This is a cartoony story of evolution from the cooling of the earth to modern times that is loosely based on the science but skips MANY details. This is not meant to be particularly serious.

This was originally supposed to be a video to accompany some already existing music of mine, but the music really wasn’t going to fit so instead I composed some new music as required by each individual scene.

YouTube video

 

Images used that require attribution:

Stars
https://esahubble.org/news/heic1909/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Acheloma
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acheloma_12DB.jpg
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

Barylambda
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barylambda_BW.jpg
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

Cave
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shelter_below_the_Thief%27s_Cave_-_geograph.org.uk_-_170687.jpg
license: https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/licensing-considerations/compatible-licenses

Herpetotherium
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herpetotherium_NT.jpg
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

Taeniolabis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Taeniolabis_NT_small.jpg
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

Purgatorius
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Purgatorius_BW.jpg
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

Branchiosaurus
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Branchiosaurus_BW.jpg
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

Eryops
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eryops1DB.jpg
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

Mouse Chases Tail
by Paul Battersby

This is about a mouse I saw while biking. I noticed from a distance that it was running in circles. I went back to capture some video for YouTube. It occurred to me that I should compose some original music to go with it so I did.

As I was watching, a couple approached me and said they had tried to help the mouse (they called it a vole and were probably correct) back into the nearby bushes but it ended up on the road again. Another woman walking her dog gave me a peanut to put in the path of the mouse (vole) and although it’s circular path eventually brought it to the peanut, the mouse (vole) seemed uninterested in eating it. I watched for about 20 minutes before I left. I have no idea what happened to it.

YouTube video

Pirate Chase
by Paul Battersby

A short digital cutout style animation of two pirate ships chasing each other around the world featuring an original composition made specifically for the video.

Sea shanties are apparently popular at the moment so that gave me the idea to make a pirate inspired video, although the music is more along the lines of Pirates of the Caribbean than a sea shanty.

This is the first time I started with the video. Usually I make the music first. This time, the entire video was complete before there was any music. I wanted to try to “score to picture” as would be done with a T.V show, cartoon or movie. I wanted to treat the video as if it were locked – unable to be changed, and the music was forced to adapt as needed. It was challenging but I was eventually able to make it work.

YouTube video

Knights Fight
by Paul Battersby

I wanted to try something with an epic sound, using taiko drums. I originally planned to use the music for a sports themed video or a pirate or viking fight, but upon completion it felt more like music for knights fighting so I made a cutout animation of 2 knights fighting who learn that in the end, sometimes the way to win is to recognize the futility of the fight.

YouTube video
Audio only

All By Myself
by Tom Tognaci, Paul Battersby

A sad, heartfelt song about being alone after a breakup. I liked this song so much that I took a chance and completed my tracks, before Tom even knew I was working on it. Fortunately he liked what I did and granted permission for this new version to be shared.

show / hide lyrics
All By Myself
Lyrics by: Tom Tognaci

(Verse 1)
I deal with the loneliness
Like combing fresh cut hair
I convince myself that I’m alright
I can deal with the solitude
And the echo from upstairs
Now that the ghost is gone, I’m alright

(Chorus)
I’d rather be alone and by myself
Than to be alone, while being with someone else
All by myself
Stowed way up high on some dusty shelf
All by myself
Just me, an island, unto itself

(Verse 2)
Some nights I reminisce
Back and forth in this old chair
Is it worth the lament? Is it really fair?
Black and blue is the emptiness
With a woman who can’t care
One thing that stands out, now, completely clear

(Repeat Chorus)

(Solo)

(Verse 3)
Some nights I reminisce
Back and forth in this old chair
Is it worth the lament? Is it really fair?
All I need is my poetry
And the music that I play
To stretch these untamed wings and fly away

(Repeat Chorus)

Tom Tognaci original composition, lyrics, vocals, guitars
Paul Battersby 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello, string bass, percussion (all from Virtual Playing Orchestra sample library), bass
Visit Tom Tognaci at SoundClick