The Shakuhachi is a Japanese bamboo end-blown flute, which has a rich culture and history associated with it. One blind New Zealander from the Bay of Plenty has developed his own relationship with bamboo, Shakuhachi, and its music. Kelvin Falconer walks through his bamboo groves, with tall shoots of bamboo towering over him. The bamboo littered with beautiful hand made terracotta tags that Kelvin has made for knowing how long each culm has been growing for. Once he finds a suitable shoot he proceeds to patiently craft the bamboo using only his senses of touch and hearing. At a glance Shakuhachi appear to be simple instruments but the understanding and skill in shaping even a basic flute is something which requires Kelvin to have an acute knowledge of the physics of sound and a finesse to fine tune each unique culm of bamboo. Through playing the Shakuhachi Kelvin is able to develop a calmness which he describes as ‘Meditation through Sound and Breath’. Through watching him craft a flute from beginning to end we are witness also to a craftsman putting his all into every detail. Kelvin shows us that the Shakuhachi is a tool that can bring calm and focus to distracted and stressed Minds. His flute becomes a metaphor for what we ‘make’ in our own lives and through his craft he transcends his perceived disability and the limitations of Blindness. Type: Documentary Country: New Zealand Year: 2012 Filmmaker: Michael Hobbs Format: Digital 1080 Language: English Subtitles: N/A Colour: Colour Film Ratio: 16:9 Sound Type: Stereo Running Time: 11m38s
Produced and Directed by Michael Hobbs Director of Photography - Matt Henley Costume Design and Styling - Greta Menzies Art Director - Sven Godfrey Wiig 1st AD - Hayley Dingwall 1st AC / Focus Puller - Andreas Mahn 2nd AC - Mark Redmond Grip - Tristan Maxwell Lighting Assistant - Amy Vandewiel Lighting - Roger Wallen Edited by - Michael Hobbs Grading - Pete Wellington Hair and Makeup - Natalee Fisher Rachel's Hair - Bex Brent from Willis York Runners - Mel Read, Tim Cederwell Myele Manzanza on Drums Rachel Fraser on Vocals Crete Haami on Bass Miles Crayford on Keys White Dancer - Emma Coppersmith Black Dancers - Isabelle Nelson, Emma Dellabarca Filmed at Avalon Studios and the School of Philosophy Wellington Band dressed by MisteR Clothing http://www.mister.co.nz/ Rachel Fraser dressed by The Carpenter's Daughter http://www.tcd.co.nz/ Shoes by Nude Accessories - Emporium Vintage Boutique Wellington Black Dancers dressed by Kowtow Clothing http://www.kowtowclothing.com/ Thanks to: MisteR Clothing The Carpenter's Daugter Ciel PR Emporium Vintage Boutique Kowtow Clothing Peoples Coffee Scopa Flowers Manuela Rocket Rentals The New Zealand School Of Music Organik Muzik Workz Special Thanks to: NZ On Air
To watch the full series, click here: http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/diggin Hidden Levels is a collection of bonus interview footage from Diggin' In The Carts a series from Red Bull Music Academy about video game music. In this level, Just Blaze talks about Yuzo Koshiro's funky soundtrack to Shinobi.