Rick Reifenstein

Even though I'm on a mini vacation this week; it occurred to me that the XBox one is another example of Microsoft being ahead of the rest again. How? As I was thinking about my own home technology I was reminded of the many Media Center PC's that we made that looked like home theater components, ran Windows Media Center, and managed online and broadcast TV. Unfortunately at the time online content was very limited. You could record and playback recorded tv. Remember the commercials? "Yeaaah cloud". But at the time no one wanted a PC in their living room and connected to there tv. You could however link your XBox 360 to your computer running Windows Media Center and see Netflix, recorded tv, pictures, etc. XBox 1 is what you get when you combine a media center PC and the XBox 360. The difference now is there is a lot more online content. 

I had some good sessions in the studio this weekend. I didn't have much of a plan. I fired up drum machine and just jammed. One piece took shape on Saturday evening that started out as a retro-computer game sounding piece. But after writing the main melody riff on keyboard using a distorted analogue synth sound; I decided to find out what it sounded like played with an electric guitar. The piece suddenly took a turn into the realm of an anime soundtrack or something from a Power Rangers show. The riff was catchy and I ended up wanting to play it through several different amps and in different harmonies which ended up creating a huge wall of guitars. I may still go back and lay in some of the original analogue synth playing the melody. I brought in my 6 year old son to see what he thought of the song since it was the type of music and TV shows he watches. He loved it! Guess I'll need to download it to his music player. I don't like to pound away to much on one composition ...

Whew! Closing 2012 and opening 2013 was filled with lot's going on. In December I was contacted by Gary Streiner asking me if I was available to score a short film, "Dayplanner of the Dead", which just lost the original composer. Even though I was about to move into an new studio, I agreed to contact the director. The director sent me a rough cut of the film and some temp tracks. At first I wasn't sure I was the right composer for the job after listening to some temp tracks sent by the director; but I liked the film and I wanted to do a horror/comedy so I sent some samples of my usual stuff. After hearing my work he assured me that if I just went ahead and composed it my way it would sound great! So I accepted the gig and got to work. I wanted to stay with the flavor of the temp tracks. These tracks would remind one of a quirky haunted Appalachian  or haunting circus music. So I locked on to some key instruments like a dulcimer, snare drum, brass, piano and violin; ...

This new year came in with a bit of a bang for my family this year. After 8 years of renting in Central Virginia we finally purchased a house. We closed shortly after Christmas and almost immediately started moving our stuff to the new house so we could spend New Years in our new home. I am very fortunate that this house comes with a spare space in the lower level that can be easily converted into a studio. During this period of buying a home and moving, I've also been composing and recording a score for a short Zom Com (Zombie Comedy)film. Thanks to Gary Streiner, the Director and I met and arranged for me to write the score after the former composer providing the score left the project. This project, like some, has pushed me into genre’s and instrumentation outside my normal style. Although the Director has been great in letting me write the score with the "Reifenstein" sound; I wanted to stay close to the original sound idea the Director stated earlier. I'm in the ...

Rainy day in Central Virginia. It's days like these I'd rather be locked in a studio all day, kept warm and cozy by coffee and studio equipment. But instead I made the trek through the rain to my office at Newcomb Hall and proceeded to start my day. I met with my team this morning getting updates and planning for projects. One of the big projects this month is completing the install of the 35mm cinema projector and sound system in our newly renovated theater at Newcomb Hall. We have the Virginia Film Festival screening next month so the pressure is on to get the installation complete and start training projectionists. We are all very excited to have the 35mm film projector back. We are also getting ready to replace a large portion of our computer inventory. New staff computers will arrive next month so planning for deployment has started. No big surprises there, except that this year our OS builds will include our new KACE agent so we can remote manage our computer assets. ...

This week I started testing Windows 8 Developer release. It is a bold step for Microsoft. They have really bet that the tablet is the future of computing. While I am a huge fan of new user interfaces for computers, Windows8 will be  a challenge for computer users that are using a desktop or traditional laptop. Yes Microsoft does include the normal desktop to run applications like Word, Outlook, and other non-touch oriented applications, but the Start menu has been replaced with the Start Page. This might throw people, and may be a steep learning curve. For a tablet user however, Win8 begs you to touch it. It's big colorful blocks of "live" information make it so easy to use your hands and stylist to interact with it, you can't help but want to use it. What I'm looking forward to is seeing how Windows 8 can be used in non-traditional computer situations like, kiosks, way finding, touch aware surfaces etc. I want to see Windows go further than just "cool" ...

I wanted to share a great site on a subject I found my self interested in when I started designing applications for Microsoft Surface a few years ago. In 2007 I was asked to find an interactive multimedia solution for the Special Collections Library's Delcaring Independance Exhibit. I found what was then called "Vienna" at Microsoft Research. Vienna became "Surface". I convinced the Library to spend the money to purchase the unit. They agreed but on one condition; due to lack of funds or desire for in house programmers to learn C# and .NET, I had to program it! I agreed and started down a path into unknown territory. I NEVER programmed anything in my life! Besides learning to write applications I also learned how to design and application that would be used in a 360 degree interface, multiple touch point, multiple "click events" and take into consideration how people interact with digital version of real world objects. At some point it all became very...