FILM
Feature
Alexandra the Great
This is Dave Calkins' 2005 feature film "Alexandra the Great". The film is about the adventures of a young girl who lives in a world of imagination. All actors and musicians featured in this film were students of Dave Calkins.
Debut: A Road to Carnegie Hall
This documentary by filmmaker/musician Dave Calkins shows preparation and rehearsals for the debut performance at Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie of flutist Elise Carter. Also featured are sax player Matt Demerit and guitarist Dave Calkins in rehearsal sequences. This film was shot in 2005 and released at a subsequent Carnegie performance by the trio in 2006.
Alexandra the Great - Trailer
This is the original trailer for Dave Calkins' 2005 feature film "Alexandra the Great". The film is about the adventures of a young girl who lives in a world of imagination. All actors and musicians featured in this film were students of Dave Calkins.
Dark Side of the Goose
"Dark Side of the Goose" is a rock opera written by Dave Calkins with libretto/book by Calkins and Joey Taylor. It is a comedy/drama based on characters from the classic Mother Goose stories combined with characters from pop/rock culture. This performance took place on March 7th, 2009 at the Midwest Theater, Scottsbluff Nebraska. Dave Calkins conducts Orchestra 21 in the performance.
Bosnian Spring
In 2004 psychologist Anne Talbot traveled to Sarajevo to film a short documentary that explored the city and the surrounding area ten years after the war. She produced a film essay about tragedy, suffering, and ultimately about the striving for healing and peace. Produced and music by Dave Calkins.
Music/Experimental
The Corridor
The Corridor is a film with music by Dave Calkins Digital images. Music composition Soundtrack engineered by Dave Calkins. Edited by Tim Ostdiek. Music performed on acoustic and electronic instruments by the Ancova International Orchestra Conducted by Dave Calkins. The images in this film were created using an invented process called digital dry printing. The music for this film was composed using a numerical interval system, that when layered, generates layers of numbers in a Fibonacci Sequence.
Music of the Isles
This is musician and filmmaker Dave Calkins’ scenic journey through England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales featuring traditonal Celtic music performed by Orchestra 21. Film directed and orchestra conducted by Dave Calkins.
Journey to the Passage
"Journey to the Passage: An Adventure of the Spirit" is composer/filmmaker Dave Calkins' full album-length music video which was shot partially in mid-winter in Yellowstone Park. It features progressive acoustic rock music inspired by flamenco, jazz and the classical music of India. Originally released in 2003.
Quiet Maelstom
Quiet Maelstom is a digital storyboard created for a feature film that was never completed. It is the story of a young boy who is blessed or cursed with an extremely rare brain disorder called Absolute Insight. The boy has the ability to look into any person’s face and see the truth of who that person is. Superficially ugly people can become beautiful and people with surface beauty can appear to be monstrous. The music and the drawings for the film are by Dave Calkins. The Classic rock band Blue Finnegan recorded the single “Look Away” for the completed feature film, but gave permission for it to be used in this short film.
Into the Next Dimension
This is a live concert filmed in 2003 in Scottsbluff Nebraska. "Into the Next Dimension" was composed by guitarist/composer Dave Calkins and performed on tour with Flutist Elise Carter in 2002. Calkins and Carter subsequently performed together twice at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
Odyssey Sympohny
“Odyssey Symphony” was filmed by Dave Calkins over a ten year period starting in 2006. The symphonic/electronic musical score was completed in 2018 and recorded with the Ancova International Orchestra in 2019. It includes footage shot in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, Texas, British Columbia, Hawaii, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and the Black Hills of South Dakota. The film features a variety of wildlife including orca, black bears, grizzlies, mountain goats, mountain sheep, a variety of birds, deer, and elk. Very rare footage of a cinnamon black bear killing an elk is included. Says Calkins, “My film is reminiscent of Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi, though not inspired by that film. This film continues and expands the tradition of some of my other films including, “Wilderness Journeys”, “Journey to the Passage”, and “Music of the Isles”. The music is adventurous and includes passages inspired by minimalism, twelve-tone composition, Baroque polyphony, traditional western classical music, the classical music of India, and jazz.”