GREAT WORLD OF SOUND.COM
Great World of Sound follows Martin(Pat Healy), as he applies for a job at a company training prospective music producers. During training, he teams up with another new employee, Clarence(Kene Holliday), a middle-aged man trying to change his career path. As they travel from town to town, the two "Record Producers" audition new talent found by ads placed in local newspapers by their employers, The Great World of Sound Recording Company. They're seeking new talent for their record label, giving artists a chance to let their music be heard... for a small fee. It's going great at first, but soon Martin and Clarence begin to question whether the company is as virtuous as it seemed to be in its' promise to deliver people their dreams.
The film evokes the image of the travelling salesman- a talent salesman- to address the increasing trend of people looking for a shortcut to fame, as well as examining the people who promise such an easy path-commenting that a scam artist rarely believes they are one, and that often the scam artist is being scammed himself.
Song-sharking is a pervasive music industry scam. A fly-by-night company places ads in newspapers luring aspiring musicians to an audition. At the audition, the song shark tries to sign the musician, whether they are good or bad. He then skips town with their money, leaving them with little or nothing in return.
To illustrate the tactics of this scam, the film was broken down into two parts: a conventional narrative and a more reality-style approach. Instead of casting actors to play auditioning musicians, the filmmakers placed ads in local newspapers, enticing real musical acts to audition, just like the shady company in the story.
The result: real people performed in the audition scenes without knowing it was a film shoot. With hidden cameras, the actual interaction between the lead actors and the musicians was recorded. This documentary-style process was integrated into the final product, creating a unique blend of fact and fiction that will expose audiences to the dubious nature of all undiscovered talent schemes.
Opening9/14/2007New York, NY: Lincoln PlazaNew York, NY: Angelika Film Center9/28/2007Irvine, CA: University Town Center 6 CinemasLos Angeles, CA: The Landmark10/5/2007Seattle, WA: Varsity Theatre10/12/2007San Diego, CA: Hillcrest CinemasSan Francisco, CA: Embarcadero Center CinemaMinneapolis, MN: Lagoon CinemaDurham, NC: Carolina Theatre - DurhamRaleigh, NC: Colony TwinOmaha, NE: Film Streams at the Ruth Sokolof Theater10/19/2007Washington, DC: E Street CinemaPhiladelphia, PA: Ritz 5 MoviesNashville, TN: Belcourt Theatre10/26/2007Rochester, NY: Dryden Theatre
