The Final Hoff down

This is the final outcome to the re-enactment project. We wanted to highlight the idea of celebrity delusions of altruism. Hasslehoff sings ''I've been looking for freedom" in the delusion that he has brought down the Berlin Wall, and set the East Germans free! It also relates back to other celebrities and their delusions of altruism. LiveAid, Obama '08, MP's making appearances at events they have no interest in. It's about them not being able to see the reality of the situation, as they are either too wrapped up in themselves, or they have somehow become convinced that they are some sort of saviour!

The Hoff

So we are almost at the end of our re-enactment project, which i have really enjoyed. Maybe it was because my group was amazing, or it was because we are using this

I say a little prayer

Sound Projects and Group work are a difficult thing to combine, but having got passed the first few decisions, we have now settled on looking at Churches as our location. This idea then consisted of me going to a morning prayer service at 9.30 am, only to be greeted by 1 woman, the priest and Mary from across the road. I confessed to having never been to a service before, then took my seat between the priest and Mary and began to repeat the bold text in the prayer book. I must say, in a way I feel like a phoney, as I don't really have much intention on going back, but, I will say that it was an interesting experience that was nice to take half an hour out to take time to think about other people and send them your thoughts. When I got home I took all the sounds and tried to compose them into a narrative, which soon started to sound like some strange mystical chanting from a cult rather than a church service. When we showed it on Friday to Kieron and Ben, We got really positive feedback so I feel a lot like we are moving forward.

And then they make soup

Cage

So after talking to my group, we decided to focus on the kitchen, as our sound location. I want to use this as a starting place to explore what we use our kitchens for apart from just cooking, and what noises we are unaware of in this space. After looking at Alvin Lucier i want to focus on how we can abstract the sounds into something unfamiliar, and unrelated to the kitchen.

Racket

Biographies Crit

Get Messy

Don't be so precious

Be Ambitious

Thats how you grow

It just dawned on me

I should be recording traces of human life, via the imprints that we leave on the surface of the earth...Why didn't I think of this before, Like Albert Kahn, Like Lee Miller, Like I should be!

Berlin Wall

I can't get my head around this, and the more photos I look at the more I realise, Just how insane it was. When we were talking about re-enacting the Berlin Wall event, our interest lay in the space between the two sides. Sarah described it as a sort of 'no man's land' where they later, they discovered new species of wildlife, which nobody had come across before.

I found a small section of an article at good old Wikipedia

' The Sperrgebiet has a diverse range of flora and fauna, due to little human intervention in the area for 100 years. Forty percent of the landscape is desert, thirty percent is grassland, and twenty-eight percent is rocky. The highest point of the Sperrgebiet is 1488m. There are around 776 types of plants in the Sperrgebiet with 234 being endemic to south-west Namibia, despite the Orange River being the only permanent water supply in the area. A study has shown that climate change will affect the plant-life in the area, specifically the Succulent Karoo. Drier winters may lead to the extinction of these plants, as they are endemic to the Sperrgebiet. According to Morgan Hauptfleisch, a scientist who works at theSouthern African Institute for Environmental Assessment, the Sperrgebiet "is the only arid biodiversity hotspot and this makes it a very special area." Animals such as the gemsbok, springbok and brown hyena can be found in the area, and the Sperrgebiet has more biodiversity than anywhere else in Namibia. Bird species resident in the Sperrgebiet include the African Oystercatcher, the Black-headed Canary and the Dune Lark. '

I like the idea of looking at boundaries, reclaiming and territory...as starting points at least.

Archive

After chatting with Kieron about my project, we came to two conclusions

1. I always seem to get stuck in the same place, which is usually after I've got all my research and a great idea, I struggle to use the right 'vehicle' to carry on the communication. Although I have always known this, I think it is something I tend to sidestep.....But I will sidestep no more!

2. My idea needed a personal narrative and to be more specific and focused down

I have now decided to focus on one aspect of my daily life, my laptop. As obvious as it is, when i looked at all the items i had, most of them were something that i would connect to my computer, and retain, images, music, files etc from these devices and on to my Mac. The idea, as it stands, at the moment, is to archive the selective content of my Laptop, but using the external Items as a starting point for this.

I will be looking at the music, history, bookmarks and photos that I have stored, as I feel that these are probably the most personal and less boring features.

Kahn Continued

After looking further into Kahn's philosophy of his work, I wanted to focus my project towards the idea of archiving our possessions of everyday life, as this was an aspect that he recorded photographically. With that in mind I headed for the photography studios with a bag full of items that I use everyday or carry with me. Here are the results.......

However, we later had a crit about what we wanted to do, and Kieron had said that i need to develop a personal narrative and go all out on using that to the power of 10 video to refine my idea down, which i understood and have been trying to do ever since.

Just when you thought you could relax....

So with Biographies almost done and dusted, or should I say, filed away. I was liking the prospect of having a bit of free time....and then, this happened

1. Re-enactment - In groups of 5/6 we must re create in some form a past event that people are familiar with. It does not have to be a direct copy of an event, but perhaps through a new view point, or the idea of 'if' a camera had been there when it happened type scenario. My group consists of Dave, Sarah B, Daniel and Steph. After the brief handout, and brainstorming sessions, which seeing as there was 1 free computer in the whole uni, we all sat down together and tried to think of memorable events, that we would be interested in re-enacting. We started with myths and legends, cases of dead dogs in suitcases....finally falling on The Berlin Wall, as the day we were given the brief, was the same day as the Berlin Wall anniversary. Watch this space, as of yet, we don't quite know what we are going to do.

2. We also have been given a sound project, to explore an area through this medium. I still can't find the brief on Blackboard, so If your reading this GDC2 team, could you please post it up there, or direct me to where it may already be...thanks

3. Finally - Belonging and Belongings - STBY A study of technology/socio-technological trends through a range of ages/ethnicities and areas. It has the potential to get published along with your chosen format, so all good things really......basically - http://www.stby.eu/category/publications/

Farewell Peckham, well almost

This is our film, mostly done and dusted! Just a few small tweeks to make and then its all done!

Inspiration

http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc48.2006/KahnAtlas/index.html

Looking closer...

After the presentation about Kahn, i realised that the outcome to this project could perhaps end up being extremely derivative of Kahn's previous works. So, i tried to sum up Kahn's main points within his practise, and was left with

1. cultural traditions/ trends (fashions)

2. Different items of value - varying from each country

3. Depictions of general life

Kahn's principal point of this photographic 'atlas' was as Teresa Castro put it, to document

the "surface of the globe as inhabited and developed by Man,"

and Kahn's desire...

“to put into effect a sort of photographic inventory of the surface of the globe as inhabited and developed by Man at the beginning of the twentieth century.”

I though this was a really interesting point, as it looks at the imprint man has made on the planet, and the evidence of human beings around the world.

In order to make this a personal reflection on the Bio of Albert Kahn, I have decided to look at the possessions that i own, and for each, find out their origin. I will be able to build an archive of human existence and relationships between each country between material items, which reflect my everyday life, with links to many countries.

The wonderful world of Albert Kahn

Tonight I watched the BBC series 'The wonderful world of Albert Kahn'. It touches of Kahn's philosophy and reasons for sending the Photographers around the world. But also gives a more in depth insight to the changes that were happening, in particular, in the Balkands at the times of Kahn's Photographic records.

Biographies - Albert Kahn

So I was given Albert Kahn to research and it turns out, he is amazing! Kahn was a wealthy French Banker and Philantropist who wanted to create an archive of the planet, and the different Countries customs and traditions. Armed with an Autochrome camera (the first colour camera), Albert sent photographers all over the world and, in some cases created the first colour depictions of countries such as Mongolia. Often the Images, that now form some of the 72,000 photographs in the Albert Kahn archive in Paris, have recorded customs and traditions which no longer exist. They are historical references to the past and allow us to gain a better understanding of the world as it once was. Kahn wanted to 'promote cross cultural peace and understanding', and many of the photos that were taken were during a turning point in the individual countries. For example, the fall of the Austro-hungarian and Ottoman empires.

Peckham revisited

So we showed our 3 min edit, which had terrible sound, so we have decided to go back and shoot it again with a better mic and get more shots of all the bits and bobs inside the shop as this was something that they felt our film lacked. We also need to focus on the narrative of the film to make sure that we can communicate the idea of the regeneration and changes that are happening in Peckham. In a way, Julie's shop is a metaphor for what is happening in this area, as there is talk of regeneration and gentrification in the nearby streets (bellenden road).

Peckham...from the top

After walking around Peckham, we stumbled across a small shop, with no name brimming with books, pictures, ceramics and other bits and bobs. It was an emporium of nick nacks from peoples houses and unwanted furniture. We went inside and spoke to the owner Julie, who told us about her shop, Peckham as an area and where all of her stuff came from. The more we spoke to her, the more we learnt about the business side of Peckham, from which Julie told us that her shop was due to be turned into and Art Gallery, towards the end of the year. This was in conjunction with a local gallery called MOCA, owned by the same person. While it seemed like a good idea, Julie worries that if it becomes a 'invite only' space, it will cut the rest of the community off from using and or benefitting from this new venture.

Some things I have found..

While looking over my old laptop, I cam across a few nice photos from my travels this summer

starting from the bottom up...

1. a clock in berlin, we arrived at 5.15 am!

2. The best library in Amsterdam, with pianos, a cafe and all free internet!

3.The amazing reichstag

4. A section of the Berlin wall, and a man who placed himself there

5. just because, i don't understand what or why this exists

6. truth

7. waiting for a train to Vienna

8, 9 and 10 Spying in Vienna in a park

11. Leaving the Park

12 Budapest, St Steven's Day and 25 mins fireworks!

14. stairs

15. more stairs

16. Because Spa gave an old lady a ballon!

17. tram stop

18. hours later we reached the top!

The end has no end....

We presented our final pieces on Friday, in what i thought was a really good way of getting valuable feedback from both the tutor and our peers. It was also a really good way of getting other people, who maybe don't usually speak up, get involved! I now know that I need to keep working with my idea, but it just needs to be presented in a different 'vehicle', and perhaps a new order. Anyway here it is, done and by no means dusted!

Final stage....but it's not what's going in the portfolio!

I decided to use the idea of language within communication, as a starting point. I focused on how we tend to abbreviate our text messages, and wanted to explore if the same type of language could be used and be understood if it were spoken or reiterated through another medium.

I took a text that I had that was written in abbreviations and played it through the speaking feature of my computer. The result, incomprehensible! It sounded like a totally different language. This made me start to think about other ways of translating the same information, but using a different format.

Experimenting with the abbreviated words to translate into braille, morse code, the written sound of morse code and the actual sounds recored. I find out if abbreviated words can only be understood if they are written visually. While braille and morse code are both 'visual' languages, they are interpreted using touch and hearing.

Crit and Development

After possibly the most unhelpful feedback session, where the general advice was, "yeah, let's see ehat happens on friday", I went home feeling like the whole day had been a waste of time and i was destined to fail! However, I wasn't about to give up! So the next day I went to the library, took out sooo many books , that i gained the nickname, "booky" and spent Tues evening reading about semiotics., which I'm now really interested in learning more about!

From all this research, I learnt that to think about Mapping, in a totally different way and I was able to expand on my idea of communication, but push it further towards looking at how we communicate and the language we use. Above are some bits and pieces from my research....Again, if anyone knows why some of my images are not going the right way, can you let me know!

Mapping....so far

So far I've been doing bits of research and have settled on the idea of communication, and the ways that we talk to each other. Phone calls, emails, social networking and text messages, all allow us to communicate with one another, but I want to show which we use more of and how often. Also....the image wont turn round the right way, sorry

The Fruits of my Level 2 GDC...

TED talks are amazing, and were a starting point for a short project we were recently given. Looking back, I feel that is was more about how you present, not what you present. Anyway, I watched this video with Stefan Sagmeister which made me think about Happiness and the small things that keep us smiling. I asked a load of people what kept them happy and made it into a video. I was received reasonably well, but i think in order for it to have been more successful, I would have liked it to be filmed in a different way, perhaps involving the people that gave me the info. I had a fair amount of research, which wasn't fully present in the final video.

High Definition at the British Institute..

I got to Film A lecture at The British Institute as part of the crew, It was really good to be able to be given the freedom to be left alone with the camera for the whole thing! It was for Christopher Lloyd, who's book, 'What An Earth Evolved' explores the 100 species that changed the world. A great lecture and a lovely guy! For more info see ....http://whatonearthevolved.com/

Summer Time and the livings easy

So Summer happened and I got distracted for a while. A few things of productivity that happened were...

1. I helped the lovely guys at www.itsnicethat.com pack up and ship out their second

magazine

2. I did alot of Work experience...mostly at Newspapers (The Mail on Sunday and The Sunday Times, Style Magazine). Not only did I learn that Newspaper Layout is possibly the most mundane line of work known to man, I know also know that this is a not a future career option that i will be taking up! But on the plus side, at least I found this out sooner rather than later!