What you need is a Toggle!

After a tutorial with Dan and a brainstorming session with Gair on Thursday then hours locked in a room in The Arches I've had a breakthrough with Isadora.

It makes sense.

I get it.

I can't quite convey how happy that makes me and how much of a relief it is (I'm sure it's just as much of a relief to my tutors as well who must have been worried I'd change my mind again) to realise that I'll be able to pull off my ideas.

Anne Whitaker's website

I met up with Annie today to discuss her website requirements. Rather than a traditional website we have agreed that she'd be better off with an online blog which she can update with her articles rather than her sending them to me for the rest of her life.

I'm now looking into the capabilities of different blogs to see which is the most suitable for her needs. She's looking for a multi-page blog so she can write to different sections with different subjects.

So far it's looking like wordpress is a winner but I'm still looking.

Isadora Is Trouble.

It was a bit of a disappointing day at the Arches today. I had 3 of the dancers I'll be using at my disposal and just felt like I was wasting their time as I couldn't figure out what I was doing with Isadora.

I want to be able to divide the space into a grid and activate video clips when someone enters a certain square of the grid. I can get the video to start but stopping it and switching to something else isn't happening at the moment.

We ended up doing class and going home early. I can't use the space next Friday so I have 2 weeks to figure out what I'm doing before I see the dancers again.

Project Y

YDance has asked to produce a DVD of their performance project, Project Y, this summer. The DVD is to include an intro section featuring interviews with dancers and clips from rehearsals and classes as well as documentation of the live performance itself.

It's a relief to get some work for the summer as well as the opportunity to make contact with the choreographers working on Project Y and, of course, all that young talent.

Mini Makeover

The FireBox website has had a mini makeover this weekend with slicker page views and online videos. I'm trying to monitor how quickly the videos are streaming on different browsers and connections so please let me know what you think of the waiting time. The videos will open up in a new page so feel free to browse through the rest of the site while you're waiting.

FireBox website

Hey GI!

I've been working on Glasgow International festival's viral video team this week going to exhibition launches and parties to capture the atmosphere in short video clips. They specifically asked us to use basic equipment and make our clips quite candid, guerilla style.

It's been a good way to get around the festival and has meant that I've seen a lot of exhibitions that wouldn't have necessarily interested me otherwise - some of them still don't!

The high profile works, Jim Lambie, Catherine Yass, Wilhelm Sasnal, etc, were the ones which have grabbed all the press attention but I really wasn't convinced by Sasnal's piece. The idea was good and very provocative but it just didn't really seem like an interesting final piece.

Ceryth Wym Evans piece at The Local, however, really got me going. It's a film projected onto 3 mirror balls positioned so that every now and then there's an 'eclipse' and people are suddenly aware of the darkness which then draws them into the piece more. The Local isn't set up like a gallery space, it's a bar with art. The art isn't obvious so when Evans piece draws you in you then start to notice the other works around it and to me that's much more interesting.

No One by Preshur

I finished a first version of the piece last Thursday and in my excitement I burnt off 6 copies and posted it to Right Track without first checking with Rowan that she was happy with it. Of course, there were a few little things that she asked me to alter so I'd wasted 6 DVDs but luckily she was understanding and laughed off my eagerness.

It's a lesson learned for next time though. With the exception of DOG, all my previous work has been for myself so I haven't had to check it with anyone else before finalising the project. I'm glad I made the mistake with Rowan as I've known her for years and not someone else who would maybe see it in a different way.