Why vinca? The vinca blossom, like so many others, has five petals. Five is alive—five fingers play, five toes dance. Five creates.
At vinca productions, we turn ideas into moving images, or musical sounds or words on a page. We follow our musical instincts in the creation, growth and transformation of our work because film, music and writing all share the same dynamic—rhythm. Rhythm rules. That’s the way we like it.
Our films grow out of a desire to transform our own experience into something useful, something viewers will make part of their experience. We think a movie should move so we begin not with words, but by combining images and sounds to produce a certain rhythmic feeling. Although we’re always seeking new ways to marry image, sound and idea, our work aspires to the standards set by masters such as Kurosawa, Fellini, Bergman, Godard.
vinca productions: Peter Greenwood, Jubal Greenwood
Forty minutes with Joe: in his shop shaping wood and bone into sacral offerings, in the garden picking peas, in the kitchen cooking them, all the while speaking on art, life, and pasta piselle. Rarely has an artist on film revealed his creative process with such eloquence, insight and humor. It’s all here—sun, moon, phallus, womb, stones and bones, the primordial stuff of life. . . roots dangling, dancing. . . speaking with a thousand tongues.
At 40 minutes, Speaking With A Thousand Tongues is a long short movie. Here are some of our short shorts, none more than 12 minutes. Most of them present performers of the Bay Area (San Francisco/Oakland).
From wonder into wonder the powerful rhythms of Bali, Japan and Africa take you on a journey into worlds of splendor never seen before. As the sensual rhythms of drum and bamboo flow through your chest, belly and feet, you slide round and round in a spiral seashell, bounce on an enormous Japanese drum, dance inside the giant bamboo tubes of a Balinese xylophone, jump into the center of a flower blossom, a place where only honeybees have been.
Two children from a far-off planet, devoid of sound and color, arrive on Earth in search of music. By chance they land in ancient India and from there they travel to Bali, Japan, Africa and fifteenth century Italy. Throughout their journey they encounter the deep, powerful rhythms of drum and bamboo and discover many intriguing natural forms—starfish, sunflower, snowflake.
When those objects morph—precisely synchronized to the rhythms of the music—into spirals, spheres and other forms, the kids (and their audience) jump, swing and dive into a glorious jungle gym of geometry. Playing inside those forms we see, hear and feel the surprising connection that binds nature, geometry and musical rhythm.
But the journey is not all play; the children must overcome dark forces, negotiate close calls and narrow escapes. They are abducted by the flying shadow monkeys in Bali, terrified by a tough old samurai warrior in Japan and pursued by that African trickster, Ananse the spider. Finally, landing in Italy, they meet geometer Luca Pacioli (1445–1517), author of a treatise entitled “Divine Proportion.” He conjures up a geomagical spectacle of transformation wherein the nature, geometry and music the children encountered reappear to reveal a deeper message, that nothing is separate—everything is connected.
The Way Home is a full-length film of animated figures (lead characters and geometric forms) and live action (musicians, dancers, natural phenomena). There is a story line, humor, tension, and character development: the children (a 12 year-old girl and her younger brother) serve as guides, leading viewers into an exploration of their own sensory perceptions of sound. The film poses provocative questions meant to generate further inquiry which will be supported by interactive media, books, recordings, constructive play objects, and simple musical instruments based on those played in the film.
The Way Home is a new telling of an old story—the wonders of harmonious proportion that we find in natural forms and the wonderful ways we express that beauty and order through geometry and music. Working together, the music, images, and story of The Way Home convey an elemental force that goes directly to the deepest part of our being. This is real magic—creation, growth and transformation, the force that sprouts a seed, spins a spiral, sounds a drum.
Moon and sphere, starfish and pentagram, sunflower and spiral set to the music of ancient traditions—timeless elements for an ageless tale, one that is forever re-imagining itself, forever spiraling outward, leading us to new places, forever spiraling inward, showing us the way home.
More than a decade in development, The Way Home has a screenplay, several animatics (animated storyboards), a complete presentation (graphics, natural objects, concept & technical descriptions, soundtrack samples, etc.) and is ready for production.
Personal presentation arranged for potential participants.
A young boy, chased relentlessly through the underbelly of San Francisco by dark digital forces, desperately tries to find a way back to his mom and dad.
The premise of Z***Z*** is embodiment vs. disembodiment, that digital technology is destroying our physical and mental rhythm, disconnecting us from each other, from the visceral, intuitive and spontaneous responses that align us with the natural rhythms of existence.
Now several years in development, Z***Z*** has a synopsis, screenplay, demo sequences, written descriptions, etc., and is ready for production.
A 25 minute live-action demo for Z*** Z*** (a movie that will never be made—it’s too late, we’ve crossed the Rubicon) is available upon request.
Born in New York City where he studied, taught, and performed the classical guitar, Peter has played the standard repertoire—Bach, Sor, Tarrega, Albeniz, Granados, Ponce, Villa-Lobos, etc.—at concert venues in New York, Atlanta, Maine, Los Angeles and northern California. He has appeared on radio and TV, in concert with flutist Paul Horn and with chamber ensembles and symphony orchestra. His published works include Pieces for Classical Guitar, an anthology of music from the 18th to the 20th century transcribed for solo guitar, and The Rosewood Book an anthology for flute & guitar (see Author/Editor page).
Peter’s study of various pedagogical disciplines (Orff Schulwerk, TaKeTiNa, etc.) and traditional music of the world has taken him far beyond the confines of western classical music. His years in percussion groups playing African, Cuban, and Brazilian music, classes with master drummers (Babatunde Olatunji, C. K. Ladzekpo et al) his study of various instruments (e.g., tingklik, a bamboo xylophone of Bali), have brought a deeper understanding of the common musical ground throughout the world and, more importantly, a deeper understanding of the meaning of music in our life.
Around the turn of the century, Peter was sitting in a meditation retreat, trying to empty his mind, when a most wonderful idea for a movie came to him. It became The Way Home, a work still in progress. That project gave birth to vinca productions which has now completed a number of other film projects such as Speaking With A Thousand Tongues. (see Film page).
During his years in Maine, Peter built his own home, raised vegetables, his son Jubal and Strawberry Fields, an alternative school for which he was music director. Looking back, Peter says, “Everything I’ve done—music, film, teaching, family, writing, meditation—has taught me about growth and transformation. My journey continues—I’m sure this is the way home.”
Peter’s CD, Sola, presents pieces from the classical guitar repertoire—Bach, Ponce, Satie, Debussy, Lauro et al—and his own music played through electronic effects to create multiple rhythms, layered voicings and kaleidoscopic textures.
Pieces for Classical Guitar and The Rosewood Book (duets for flute & guitar) introduce classical guitar students to the master composers of the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries—Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin, Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky and others. Both anthologies are comprised entirely of transcriptions from keyboard works and both contain brief essays that introduce the cultural, artistic and musical spirit of the baroque, classical, romantic and modern periods.
The Clave Matrix
Afro-Cuban Rhythm: Its Principles and African Origins
David Peñalosa
I co-authored (and edited) The Clave Matrix; here is an excerpt from my note to the reader
The Clave Matrix As Rhythmic Study For All Musicians
In the early years of the 20th century, Igor Stravinsky, in The Rite of Spring, shocked his audience with jagged, asymmetrical rhythms meant to convey primitive ritual. Purely a theatrical conceit, it couldn’t have been further removed from the real thing. ‘Primitive’ music has always and everywhere been bound to the rhythms of nature, that is to say cycles—the rising and setting of the sun, the seasons, the tides of the sea, the tides of breathing, the beat of the heart. The function of cyclical rhythm in traditional music and dance is to align the community, each to each, each to all, all to the forces of nature. And so, while Stravinsky’s dancers in Paris were desperately trying to stay in step (with him in the wings, frantically counting), dancers, singers and drummers on a small island in the Caribbean were playing, singing and stepping rumba, perfectly locked into their symmetrical, four-beat cycle.
Art music would follow Stravinsky’s lead for the next 50 years or so until the appearance of composers who, less concerned with reflecting the rhythmic and psychic turbulence of modern life, were enjoying the more grounded, life affirming qualities of non-western music. One of those, Steve Reich, applied his study of West African drumming to his compositions and created music of a wholly new order; his Music for 18 Musicians is an outstanding example.
The purpose of this brief, biased background is to persuade/inspire you to explore the untapped potential of cyclical rhythm in general and the Afro-Cuban clave system in particular. You have in your hands a brilliant exposition of a highly sophisticated system of rhythmic organization—The Clave Matrix. Here, for the first time in print, is an in-depth analysis that shows, in a logical, step-by-step manner, precisely how all the rhythmic elements of this music relate. It does for rhythm what classic works, such as Gradus ad Parnassum by Johann Fux did for 18th century counterpoint or Harmony by Walter Piston does for that discipline. And, in its rigorous thought process, The Clave Matrix stands shoulder to shoulder with the pedagogical work of Paul Hindemith, one of the greatest thinkers the art and science of music has ever known.
Eros, Love & Sexuality
The Forces That Unify Man And Woman
I ghost wrote Eros, Love & Sexuality from recorded lectures and interviews with psychologist, John Pierrakos, a collegue of Wilhelm Reich.
Good writing depends on clarity, continuity and integrity. The guiding precepts of ProEdit are that clarity produces good style, continuity creates natural form, and integrity generates meaningful content.
As editor, my primary objective is to ensure that the author has said precisely what he or she has intended to say and that the style, form and content of the work all serve that intent. Whether it’s a book or website text I can help with all phases of the writing process, from bringing the vision into focus right down to dotting i’s and crossing t’s.
I entered publishing many years ago when Music Sales accepted my anthology Pieces for Classical Guitar and asked if I knew anything about drum music. I did, they handed me an unruly stack of pages on rock & pop drumming and so began my other life as an editor. Since then I’ve edited books and articles on psychology, alternative medicine, yoga, nutrition, dance, bodywork and music (instruction, aesthetics, rhythm). My work has been published by Grosset & Dunlap, Music Sales, LifeRhythm, Carl Fischer, Station Hill Press, Ellipsis Arts, Warner Bros., Bembé Books, Pentatonic Press et al.
Writing, like the guitar, sounds better when it’s in tune. Whatever you’re writing—a book, website text, manual, dissertation—Proedit can help you tune it up.
Project development • Consultation • Collaboration
Line editing • Proofreading
Peter Greenwood’s natural capacity for clarifying substantive material is the gift of a fine editor – Siegmar Gerken, publisher, LifeRhythm
Working with you was not only rewarding in outcome, but the process itself was a great pleasure. Your insights were deep; they considered the poetic nature of the work. – Stan Rushworth, author: Sam Woods/American Healing
Artifice y pieza esencial en la construccion de esta belleza . . . Thank you very much for your help, support, encouragement, enthusiasm and more. – Sofia Lòpez-Ibor, author: Blue is the Sea
The lion’s share of thanks goes to Peter Greenwood who stayed with me through the thick and thin of the past 12 years. Where the writing sings, I have him to thank. – Doug Goodkin, author: Now’s the Time
I express my deep appreciation to editor Peter Greenwood for his dedicated help in developing and writing the text for this book. His clear vision brought clarity and focus to the material; his interest, care and love were an invaluable encouragement. – John Pierrakos, M.D., author: Eros, Love & Sexuality
Peter’s belief in the project never wavered for the decade and a half we worked on it. His provocative questions urged me to dig ever deeper: without him the work in its present form would not exist. He raised the level of my writing . . . I’m grateful for his priceless work. – David Penalosa, author: The Clave Matrix.