Music for Moving Images & Podcasts
award-winning environmental documentaries.
Click on an image to the left to watch some clips.
Filmmaker Feedback
"Michael is obviously an accomplished and talented musician, but what really made him valuable to us was his ability to listen. Michael skillfully interpreted the themes and abstract concepts we wanted the music to portray. It felt like he 'got' what we were after and was able to mirror that understanding musically. He was an incredibly compatible creative partner in our filmmaking process and a pleasure to work with."
Singeli Agnew, Director, "Pollen Nation"
Click here to read "Making Reel Music", TheShowBuzz.com (CBS News) interview with Michael about scoring Pollen Nation.
We composed and recorded the score for Pollen Nation, an award-winning documentary about bees, trucks and industrial farming which has been showing in film festivals nationwide. Pollen Nation was recently featured at the International Environmental Film Festival in Paris and has won awards across the US including
Audience Award for Best Documentary Short (Oxford International Film Festival)
First Place, Environmental Films (Truth or Fiction Film Festival)
Honorable Mention, Best Promotion of a Critical Issue (Montana Cine Festival)
We're also proud to have our music featured in The Oil Water Project, a documentary about two young river runners who combine "their passion for life on the water with a strong desire to motivate and educate youth to make sustainable lifestyle choices through alternative energy". A project of the Biofuels Education Coalition, Oil Water Project has been awarded
Best Environmental Film (Taos Mountain Film Festival)
Best Picture (Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival)
Daniel Delavergne Spirit Award (Asheville Film Festival)
Best Documentary (Reel Paddling Film Festival)
Peoples' Choice (Patagonia Wild and Scenic Film Festival)
Special Jury Prize (Kendel Mountain Film Festival)
Last spring brought the release of the music video for the song "This Time Around" co-written by Michelle Lewis and Chocolate Strawberry's Michael Shorr. The song is also featured in the movie Islander which was an official selection of the Los Angeles Film Festival and is slated for theatrical release in mid-year 2008.
We also scored a web video supporting Help Mary Save Coral, a Smithsonian Institution scientist's project to help save coral reefs. You can check out "before" and "after" versions on the left.
What cartoons can children watch that are nurturing and non-violent? Not too many. Inspired to fill this gap, artist Darryl Willison (America's Drawing Cowboy) and documentary filmmaker Kip Prestholdt (Discovery Channel) have joined forces to develop The Adventures of Cowboy Rex. Chocolate Strawberry composed the show's theme song and has been working on underscore and sound design for the show.
SmallBizAmerica.com specializes in creating and promoting podcasts for small business experts. When Executive Producer David Wolf wanted fresh theme music for his clients' podcasts, he turned to Chocolate Strawberry. You can hear the theme music we composed for The Jackie Jones Challenge and then listen to Jackie interview Mike Newhouse about using Myspace (a major force in New Media/Web 2.0) for small business marketing.
As one of the tourism capitals of the Southwest, Taos, New Mexico works hard to promote itself to travelers worldwide. Chocolate Strawberry had the honor of composing music for the Taos Tourism DVD which the town distributes globally.
Which cinematographer filmed The Brady Bunch, Bonanza and Beverly Hillbillies?
My uncle, Lester Shorr, was an Emmy Award winning cinematographer whose credits include two of my favorite 70's TV shows - "The Odd Couple" and "The Brady Bunch" - as well as "Bonanza", "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Happy Days". His films include "The Phantom Tollbooth" and "Take the Money and Run". Lester was a renegade, moving to Los Angeles while the rest of the family stayed in Teaneck, New Jersey. I loved visiting him and his wife Rosalind. Both of them were incredibly sweet. On one visit, they took us to visit the set of "The Odd Couple". We hung out a bit with Murray the Cop (who was really friendly). Oscar and Felix were busy acting. - Michael Shorr, Creative Director
