May 2012
2 posts
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Rafael Feat. Sir - "I'M GOOD" (The MEAN ONES...
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March 2012
8 posts
Under Construction…
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Upcoming Spoken Word show - March 15th, Cal State...
Quick show here in LA for the folks at Cal State Long Beach, come through if you are in the area!
#getback
“”Money won’t make you happy.” Yeah, well having a skateboard...”
– a thought from today after hearing a rich man, who has always been a rich man, speak about happiness.
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Rafael Casal feat. Daveed Diggs - SKITZO (FREE...
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MEAN ONES MIXTAPE - DREAMER
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RECENT PRESS - THE RUMPUS, 38THNOTES.COM, AND...
Very flattered this week that 3 amazing Art & culture sites showed love and discussed my new project MEAN ONES. Up top, the article with The Rumpus was an interview with author Matt Werner about my mixtape, the Bay Area, my thoughts on the Occupy movement, music and poetry. The always supportive Crayonbeats.com gave me a track-by-track review for the entire project (I love them because...
February 2012
19 posts
THEATER: The ORIGINAL 3D film, son.
There is a stigma in LA about “theater people.” As I get deeper into the film world I am mentioning less and less frequently my background in the performing arts. If I was an aspiring actor, this background would be essential to conversation, along with appropriate screen credits to display my ability to deliver on camera. But for those who direct theater, it seems that the...
“One thing is certain, and must be emphasized from the outset: namely, that if...”
– William Archer, Play-making, A Manual Of Craftsmanship (via keithcalder)
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"FALL BACK" - MEAN ONES MIXTAPE
Take a listen to this track FALL BACK from The MEAN ONES mixtape. click the image to listen, of HERE. The whole MEAN ONES project is FREE @ getrafael.com
“Storytelling is the knack of swiftly seizing the imagination of the audience and...”
– Alexander Mackendrick in On Film-Making (via keithcalder)
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BALL SO HARD
In rap nowadays, there tends to be 2 main approaches to songwriting. There are rappers who talk about how hard it is, and rappers who talk about how hard it isn’t (Pause?). On the mainstream level, that winds up as rich people talking about the struggle, and rich people talking about the rich life. On the underground level, that means poor people rappin about being poor, and poor people...
MATCH UP: EX GIRLFRIEND x MEAN ONES
Sometimes when I make a beat, I hear a few different songs over it. It evokes 2 different emotions, and 2 different ways of expressing that. With this beat, I decided to actually release both versions about a year apart - one about an x-girlfriend who seemed to enjoy that recurring role more than anything, and the second about the circumstances of stagnant young folks in the Bay Area, and my...
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ON SET: "OCCUPY" PSA
Got called in last-minute to help on another shoot today, this time for a PSA for the Occupy protesters. We shot a collection of soundbites and testimonials from 99 percenters and their opinions on educational funding, healthcare, business start-ups, and the American dream. A room of well-intentioned folks trying to create a piece of media that would inspire participation and growth of an idea. I...
“I will not live life in fear of death. I will not let a looming death force me...”
– Today
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UCLA PANEL DISCUSSION: THE DIGITALIZATION OF HIP...
The other day I was invited to be on a panel about the digitalization of Hip Hop at UCLA. Among the Panelists where Domino from renowned music collective Hieroglyphics, 106 KMEL’s DJ Amen, the creators of music blog CSNoWheaties.com, an A&R from Columbia records, and myself. This question is one of my most popular among music folks -Producers, artists, promoters, etc. - “what ...
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VIDEO DEBUT - DEAN RISKO "TROUBLE" DIR. by Rafael...
This is the newest video I directed, and had a BLAST doing. S/O to the great team listed below that helped me make it happen. If you go back a few posts you will see the production stills, and if you are interested in Dean Risko, check his EP out on his BANDCAMP
Video Directed/Edited by Rafael Casal (www.getrafael.com)
Song written by Dean Risko & produced by Wes Thompson and Cooper...
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60 is the new 20
Growing up, I was always comparing myself to the youngest artist I could think of, and what they were doing at my age. “By 19, I want to have a major record out like Outkast” I would say naively to myself at 15, not fully understanding the complexity of such a goal. I knew little about the quickly changing terrain of the music industry, the compromise of musical integrity, the gap...
RUNWAY
Click Image to listen
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DIRECTING "TROUBLE" FOR RECORDING ARTIST DEAN...
For those who follow me on twitter, you know I was on set directing again the other day. This time it was for Utah-turned-LA recording artist Dean Risko, gearing up to drop his first few singles this week. We decided to rent out Los Angeles nightclub BOULEVARD 3 and do a day shoot with a small group of folks - Lighting, hair & makeup, a few PA’s, a leading lady and of course starring...
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“When you say… a movie, for example, is bad, and then someone goes to see...”
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FREE DOWNLOAD - The MEAN ONES LP
I’m just gonna keep making artwork for this thing…
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THE MEAN ONES LP
Yes, the project formally known as WHOVILLE is here. The reasons for the name change are complicated, let’s just say it had to go down. Mean ones, also a Suess reference, to keep you in the same headspace. I’ll write more on this after I sleep a bit, and put up the real artwork, but for the die hards, here you are.
Be sure to tell me what you think!!! Click the IMAGE to download,...
January 2012
24 posts
“No” said I to the one who asked me to do for free what I do for food and...”
– Today
Please help us by REBLOGGING and TWEETING this video! Thank you! - GETBACK
keith calder: The Big Filmmaking Book List →
keithcalder:
I write this blog for a specific audience. It’s all written to be appealing to the “me” of ten years ago. By that, I mean the young eager person who loves film and is avidly trying to absorb as much knowledge and experience as possible. I hope I can help share some insight, and help people realize…
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“If only she knew how phenomenally gorgeous she was, she would never have to...”
– Today.
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NEW MUSIC VIDEO - "WHOVILLE" FROM RAFAEL CASAL
UPPER PLAYGROUND did a great first response to the new video. S/O to @nerve1212 for the write-up!
“I’ve had the chance to chop it up in depth on different topics with this guy, Rafael Casal. I’m not gonna front, I was thoroughly impressed at his knowledge of music and the business itself. He has a fucked up sense of humor like myself and his confidence is contagious. At first glance, I...
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I don't even have to do them...
Saw these two videos today of a high school poetry duo reciting my work at a reading in their school. This always trips me out, and is the most amazing compliment. Glad to see when my work materializes somewhere else, it’s a very out-of-body experience.
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CLOSER LOOK - GOAPELE VIDEO SHOOT
Last week I PA’d on the Goapele shoot for the second vid off her new album. This video also directed by John Mazyck, who directed her PLAY video. His concept for this visual was similarly abstract, centered around a slow tracking shot that gives the video the eerie intimacy necessary to capture the song.
Goap went for a few new looks this time around, far from the days of her dreads at...
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MUST WATCH - MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
For those who don’t know, I am a huge Woody Allen fan. No, not because of the part where he marries his step daughter, the other stuff - writing, directing, being a profoundly talented storyteller. The way he has romanticized Paris and New York is what I hope to one day to with the Bay Area. He does everything in his writing that I strive for - gives us brilliantly witty dialogue, tells a...
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PRODUCTION ASSISTANT DAY - MATT POKORA
Yesterday I PA’d (Production Assistant) on my first bigger budget music video out here. Worked and even directed more than a few smaller videos, but this was $50,000 and up -whole other ballgame. The music video was for an artist named Matt Pokora, a european pop cat who’s shoot proved to be a great first time working on set in this town since my move. Got to do it all - everything...
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The year of the Facebook LIKE, and the Twitter...
Our first big release of 2012 dropped on Jan 2nd. Getbacker Daveed Diggs might be one of the best rappers that I’ve ever heard, and he proves it on his debut album SMALL THINGS TO A GIANT. Now look, I am not one to hand out compliments to rappers. Most are truly awful, have very little to say on or off the mic, can’t be themselves, and spend more time talkin about how they rap than...
bollockstoyourassmar asked: So when I was in ninth grade, I found out about you and all of your poetry. Barbie and Ken 101 was straight up my life. Couple weeks after that, our English teacher had this "open mic" poetry thing (mandatory, I might add) and every kid went up and did the same shit they found in the textbook. I walked up and, memorized, read Barbie and Ken, profanities and all, because it meant so much...
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2012 has begun. GETBACK LA.
I told myself that this year, I would try to journal more about my life as a 20-something in Los Angeles. In a time when we are all trying to figure our adult selves out, pick a career, not be starving and broke, a few of my friends and I decided to drop everything, leave our comfort zones and move to LA. For those who don’t know, a lot of the folks in the Getback want to be filmmakers....