Music lyrics from any genre usually tell a story, whether it comes from personal experiences of the artist or is completely fictitious and used for entertainment purposes.
That concept is something that a Morgan Hill-based production company has bottled and is hoping to launch in a new web series, entitled “Backline.”
“They come and play their music and tell about their stories from the road, what was their inspiration for a song and just the back story to the song,” said Matthew Altamirano, Director of Media at Arts Related Technical Training for Entertainment Careers, or ARTTEC. A 2008 Sobrato alumnus, Altamirano was recruited by ARTTEC founder Gary Harmon.
Harmon, a former advanced multimedia broadcast communications instructor at Sobrato, started ARTTEC in 2005 in Los Angeles and brought it to Morgan Hill in 2008. Any individual investor or business looking to help make the production possible should head to www.backlinetv.com/kickstarter to make a donation, which can range from $10 to $10,000.
The 20-episode series – produced by a crew of high school students who get on-the-job training for a career in the entertainment industry – is set at different high schools throughout Northern California. Some episodes were shot at Ann Sobrato High School and Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose. A few examples of bands that have been featured in the series so far include Blues Traveler, Pablo Cruz, Christopher Cross and some founding members of Third Eye Blind.
“The one thing that’s different about it from any other show – our entire production is done by high school aged students,” said Altamirano, 22. “Our students aren’t just sitting on the sidelines. They are running the production.”
Altamirano said ARTTEC students – who pay a minimal $25 registration fee by visiting www.arttecusa.com – can work on anything from lighting design to camera operations. Students then identify which ARTTEC projects they’d like to work on and join the crew.
“It’s based on that student’s availability,” said Altamirano, whose main focus is getting the “finishing funds” for the “Backline” series that he began producing back in 2008. “We have a lot of other projects like music videos and concert productions that are ongoing, but this is the one we’re trying to push and release right now.”
Each episode, which is about 30 minutes to an hour in duration, highlights a musician who gives a performance and also offers insight into his or her musical influences.
“It seems to be moving towards a web-based show,” said Altamirano.
He’s not ruling out television, either, although it depends on the amount of sponsorships and funding received. Once the final steps are completed, the one-of-a-kind series will be available on www.backlinetv.com.
“We’re trying to create our own streaming network,” Altamirano explained.
