Sunday, June 21, 2009

Visual Music a topic for Beer At The Castle

Next weekend there will be a sort of chat show during Beer At The Castle. Not sure how this will work but there should be space for animation. I am still thinking about a future show from DVD with a combination of computer animation from the 70s or similar, some from the demoscene, and music video. "Visual Music" is the best way to describe this.

Sundown will happen again at Budleigh Salterton later in the year. Several people involved went to Breakpoint so there could be more connections. I have found some music from Breakpoint on YouTube.



Also one from John Whitney that was not there the last time I looked


One aim for the week will be to try to interest people in watching both of these. So far mostly people go for one or the other.

Previously, post linking several parts of an intro to the demoscene.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

draft story on Korean Film Week in Exeter

This will be a story for OhmyNews later in the week. Any suggestions welcome.

Korean Film Week launched in Exeter, UK
Sound base for future possibilities

The first Korean Film Week in Exeter was held from 11th to 16th May and featured five movies at the University Cinema Society. the openning reception was attended by the Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Kevin Mitchell, and the free food continued throughout the week. The event was supported by the Korean Students Society and the Korean congregation at the Mint Methodist Church in central Exeter. The Korean Cultural Service in London made a grant of £500 and the Korea National Tourism Organisation supplied books and DVDs. Councillor Mitchell welcomed the awareness of Korean culture that the event made possible and the contribution of the Korean community to local culture.

The university campus is on the edge of Exeter, where I live. Often people in the city centre do not know what is happening there and miss out on specialist film. This event was better publicised than most Cinema Society events though future events may reach a wider audience still. The cinema seemed not to be completely full on the two visits I made, though this is probably a basis to organise another one.

Films included Marathon, A Tale of Two Sisters, and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. The two I saw were Strokes of Fire, an art movie, and The Host about a monster in Seoul.

more about them

also others if

The Host has a convincing monster and is also very funny. i could not follow all the politics or references but some idea of the technology background is evident. The children are trapped where the monster stores other victims, some dead, but they wait for decent mobile device to turn up. You would think that the local authorities would learn from such an experience but apparently the sequel will be set sometime earlier.

Asian Cultural Centre

possibly China and Japan films

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC0Urhfucos

5th Tailo festival


Exeter is the location for a major UK animation festival - Animated Exeter usually in February each year. This has a solid base in classic forms of animation such as stop frame but there has also been discussion of digital technology and CGI in feature films. The Host is an example of how animation can be central to special effects. The sequel is expected to feature several new monsters and may be release in time for news to be available before Animated Exeter in 2010.

The Korean Cultural Centre in London organised an animation event in 2009 so some of these titles may also reach Exeter.

http://london.korean-culture.org/navigator.do?siteCode=null&langCode=null&menuCode=200903170055&promImg=1198673534460.jpg&menuType=BG&subImg=1198673979402.gif&action=VIEW&seq=18990

The printed material available included a guide to Korean Film Festivals. The Jeonju International Film Festival includes a Digital Project that looks interesting as it could connect with the computer activity on the edges of animation.

Since I started writing for OhmyNews I have attended one International Forum but most of the time I only find out about Korea online. The Korean Film Week has taught me that there is
more hapopening locally than I realised. I hope more will come from blending the local and stories from OhmyNews.

http://www.jiff.or.kr/

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Celebration of Failure Last Week

Still not many photos from Spacex except the official ones. I do think there is some continuity of direction from the everyday object to a new boundary for galleries, probably somewhere online.

Found this from another time and place.

By the way, i think the failure being celebrated is other people's failure, not the artist's. OK so the public have laughable taste. The artist is protected from visual comment by the gallery. Is this reasonable? Will it encourage public support for art?

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Video from virtual worlds, story so far

Another sad consequence of the closure of LifeBytes is that I am unable to visit Twinity or Second Life at the moment. My computer at home needs a complete reinstall I think. Trying to get Twinity to work is hopeless. Also I miss the video editing support. Sometime in the future this will sort out.

So I will not enter the Third Wave experiment today.

However here is a selection and update on some video from previously. I had tried to work out a script for a journey from the Phoenix to Trinity in Bristol. Based around the dance from Pipsi and the island of Prados Azules

The Scratch Second Live material has started to appear on YouTube. Sensible move as Second Life is a bit of a closed world.

Viral Duets by Niki McCretton: a Phoenix Scratch commission




more or less from Bristol

LUKE VIBERT LIVE DROID BRISTOL SECOND LIFE !



tigerkissen77 was the winner of the Spirit competition. Quite right too. TIP NUMBER ONE - don't use the Twinity converter from Ogg for your AVI files. QUESTION, HOW TO EDIT IN OGG? By the way he only mentioned this after the competition had closed, I think us film makers should stick together and share any info. What to think? continues in Black Box.....


Twinity "Spirit" Dawn Patrol

tigerkissen77



I have at least discovered something since my last effort. TIP NUMBER TWO Press F2 to turn off the menu graphics cluttering up the screen. You can also switch to a games device instead of a mouse but this just makes for more wobble in my case.

Humboldt in Twinity



script idea is to start in the Sony Centre with a technology vision and then visit Humboldt for some academic critique. Some sort of project around devices would continue to the nearest coffee space. Someone else would try it, please send a link.

Only kidding tigerkissen. Really thanks for your help.

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Maiden and Death tryouts

After a talk at Spacex I am still wondering about image rights and how art is promoted. They are thinking about a blog or other means for more connection with their website but I think the general approach to avoiding mashups and casual photos is a bit of a problem. On the music front there is more acceptance of phone cameras, sampling etc. the net effect seems to help promotion. I am not sure if the artists actually require these limitations. It may be a general gallery policy.

this seems especially relevant for the Laura Kikauka. There is an invitation "to play" and the layout is unusual for a gallery, but the boundaries remain for photography or mixing images with other sources and then making them public. I would like to explore this some more so have done some photos of Fore Street or Bridge Street, not sure which and a couple of combinations.

Background

As long as the art object was conceived as a monument to itself, women shrank before attempting it. Women who modify their environment every hour of every day, whether they are shaping their child's damp hair, or twitching a blind, or choosing wallpaper, or dressing themselves with wit and ingenuity, are unexcited by the self-contained, self-regarding work of art. They are not inspired. The adrenaline doesn't flow. But when art escaped from the frame and descended into the real world, women artists were suddenly in their element. As long as the work was open-ended, as long as life flowed through it, from its conception to its realisation, women could make it as well as anyone. There's hardly any point now in asking if women have to be naked to make it into the Metropolitan Museum (as the Guerrilla Girls did), because the museum is not where it's at
.

Germaine Greer, Guardian 30.3.2009

But getting out of the frame is only a start. Getting out of the gallery and onto the Web could be different again.

Marina Abramovic praguebiennale 3



My pix on Flickr , Creative Commons, reuse as you like or take better photos of street level Exeter.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

MySpace can go off topic

Making new friends to check I havn't loaded too much that maybe should be deleted. Then found this

Snooky Gig 8th March 2008 - Marnie - Wuthering Heights


Marnie was at Sidmouth during folk week a couple of years ago but this is not really folk music. She will be at the Black Horse late in July so this is on the edge. this blog is really just about content. Animation in the winter but live music beckons.

Analogue to Digital - YouTube Links

Please add comments to sort out some info - song titles for example?

weaver

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKixQx6vGLk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUJXAnDK0us

dan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCGFhzNVWdE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7afSnWGeLzc


esteban

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ7MG5ZjS54

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6zzat5rCeA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukeROZ2ofyw

Kat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zBwIQD-1ks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGdmH2LULHQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak3IAcIPeCM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0h3sTSKaTE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQAA2nZK38k

Mansons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpKge-YApmM

Craig

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXIpFeKQGCk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9QzM4bXrDk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3r7xGnRIDI

When "visual music" is understood sometime the link to animation and this blog will be clearer. Meanwhile the Sound Gallery publicity machine is in welcome mode re YouTube so this is a positive dynamic. Yes the lighting is terrible, the camera is not the best available - Fuji FinePix S5700, meant for stills not sound recording - but at least this is an indication of what could be possible next time. There are a couple of tapes with a better camera from during the day but editing will take a while.

Suggested tag for other material - A2D09 - future edit for Exeter TV suggest leave copies at sound Gallery, basement of Phoenix.

Sound not that good for Ellie Williams so here is a link, even though the lighting is still an issue. Somone at the Phoenix should have a think about this.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Analogue to Digital - Music aspect

During Vibraphonic the sound Gallery organised a Music Expo to concentrate on Analohue to Digital, workshops and trade show. The animation issues were present as well with some new idents from LifeBytes for example. I took some photos and video some of which will take time to edit. the Prize Draw is the first group of photos to be posted as this is of interest for the organisers. They managed to persuade several companies to contribute prizes so evidence is useful for the scale on which they were valued. It seemed to me to be an excellent form of ceremony. Many prizes and more or less at random. Photos on Flickr, one sample-,



Also short videos, more to follow. Editing and uploading takes a while. Exeter TV may do an edited version of all the video in one extended piece. Meanwhile clips will appear just as chunks. These three are as recorded-






The tape yet to be edited includes a performance by Robert Brian, acoustic contrast with the digital. So here is another link from TouTube



Unfortunately the lighting is not very good. We complain a lot about the lighting in the Phoenix. Never that good for video even with a decent camera. So here is another video properly recorded from long ago. My idea about video blogging is now that most events take a long while to be reported but eventually there will probably be multiple sources. Meanwhile somewhere else with similar content works just as well.