A Film: “Creative Spirit” – Keith Medley’s 27-String Guitar

First we told you about The Loog Guitar on Kickstarter, and now we’ve got another exciting and interesting project for you to check out. It’s called “Creative Spirit,” and it’s a film about an inspiring journey with Keith Medley as he creates his 27-string “Harp” guitar (a la Stephen Bennett). The project is up on Kickstarter because Keith needs financial support in order to make the film a reality. We’ve already donated, and we thought we’d help Keith out a little bit by spreading the word a bit. Read on for more about the project or click here to go right to the donation page where you can also learn more.

The film will follow Keith’s creative process with detailed documentary of the guitar building process, 3 performance music videos conveying the sights and sounds that result, as well as an ongoing narrative and conversations with Keith. Viewers will understand how Keith’s creativity manifests itself, his philosophy and his optimistic attitude to achieve these goals as he literally invents new instruments and playing techniques. Questions of what motivates his creativity, who and what inspires him, how limits and parameters must be imposed in order to reach completion, what are his most difficult challenges, are all topics that will be covered in depth. And most importantly, how does this all translate to viewers in ways that can help them learn and achieve in their lives?

Keith Medley is a creative spirit in numerous ways and a master of several artistic disciplines. But he remains a modest and humble, yet charismatic person who possesses a drive and determination to fulfill his dreams regardless of the obstacles and challenges he encounters. He is a master craftsman and woodworker, a skilled luthier who designs acoustic and electric instruments, a talented guitarist on any variation of stringed instruments, as well as an accomplished composer and performer. Many artists possess only one of these skill-sets. Keith is indeed a rare individual.

But this film is not intended to be another music bio-pic, although music is the core and foundation of this project. This is a film primarily about the creative process and how Keith’s examples and accomplishments can translate to anyone and everyone; even those who think they are not at all artistically inclined. Keith is an inspiring and articulate force and his lifelong journey to master numerous artistic disciplines are only a means to realize his dreams. His journey offers much for the viewer to learn from as he constantly designs and creates original art as tangible objects and pieces of music, with the process and journey towards completion equally fulfilling creatively as the end result.

Specifically, this film will document Keith’s performance’s on his existing, original Medley 27-string acoustic guitar as well as follow the building of his next creation; an electric 27-string Medley guitar. It will follow the intricate steps from design throughout assembly, and observe how Keith solves problems as he hand-crafts this work of art. The form of his instruments are about function and visual esthetics equally. All of this takes place at the custom work bench (itself a work of art) that he built years ago, early in his self-guided apprenticeship to be the master craftsman he has become. You will learn that the music Keith already hears in his head drives the design of these instruments, the new techniques he ultimately will need to learn to play them, in addition to the physical implications of mastering an instrument that does not yet exist.

Support of this project on Kickstarter will help cover production costs planned to take place in several locations in Tennessee, Kentucky and elsewhere, as well as the post-production and editing phases that will follow. Certain material costs used in Keith’s electric Medley 27-string will be covered with a portion of this funding. Additional costs to create artwork and packaging will also come from this budget. The final result is intended to be a 60 minutes or more, broadcast-ready HD deliverable as well as DVD and Blu-ray final release.