Creative Vs Techy
My brain feels split between the techy, computer elements of what I need to do and getting on with the creative stuff. Every other day I am learning my script and getting a little bit quicker, in time with Penny Arcade’s speech. After the speech there is another, final section to the performance that will involve dancing and standing back putting my full figure within the screen. I have a video cam in my computer so I can practice and see how my performance is progressing. I was able to have both the Ustream screen on and my computer cam on at the same time, which allowed me to compare the quality. This really showed up how the stream is choppy and loosing frames in contrast to my computer cam, which is much smoother. The performance on my computer cam is so much stronger which is making me re-think about broadcasting through a live stream. Can this performance simply be captured through my computer and then played back giving the appearance of a live streamed performance? I remember an artist talk were Tim Etchells had pre-recorded his speech and then it was simply played on a DVD displayed as a large-scale projection. However the frame was close up to his face and it really felt like he was talking directly to me even though he wasn’t there.
Alongside thinking about the techy and creative stuff I have to consider were I will show this work? When I show this piece I do not want to be in the same room, which rules out showing it at my artist talk at the University of Salford in April. I feel this video would work well as a large projection, programmed alongside other performances. Last week I went to Gallery Girls at the LDP (http://lioneldobieproject.com/) were they are screening a scripted/reality, American, TV show. Funnily enough a female visitor to one of the galleries in the show was an ex-resident from the Warhol Factory, like Penny Arcade. My short video could be curated pre or post preview. At Paper we met with the Sluice Art Fair team who visited us at the gallery. Sluice will have a performance programme at the event were this piece could also be screened. I feel the content of the piece is really flexible and could be seen as making a comment on reality, persona, performance, aesthetics, commerce, connectivity, and the gaze. For now I have to keep plugging away at the script, figure out how to video the performance at the highest quality whilst maintaining a DIY aesthetic.
-
-
Where is the value?
I was invited by Susan Jones to attend the debate Dangerous Ground: Reframing Cultural Value at Castlefield Gallery. This was a genuine surprise as I assumed I was asked based on being involved with PAPER gallery, however it was through my artist blog on a-n. The aim of the day was to have discussions based on a number of questions based around ‘cultural value’. The artists could pick what question they wanted to tackle and I felt I wanted to start unpicking the term itself. These discussions always make me feel a bit stressed as I feel a sense of justifying what I do in my arts practice. People within the group spoke about government influencing the direction of value, commerce, the definition of culture and value somewhere between research and entertainment. All the artists felt that with arts projects the artists actually get paid the least although contribute the most to what is actually seen or experienced. In relation to my own practice I feel performance/live art is undervalued even though it can make a high impact on the audience. However I feel my skills are enhanced as an arts educator and in retail from my artistic practice, which I get paid the least for. Although I am rewarded in the way I can change and interchange between these roles. If you would like to find out more about this debate please follow this link: http://culturalvalueinitiative.org/dangerous-ground-project/
‘Value’ is playing on my mind especially in relation to this performance I want to realise. Is the strength in my performances in the live act rather than through a computer screen? The attraction to the live stream is the potential to reach a wider audience and to allow people to view it through the screen of their choosing. From a conceptual point of view I like the assumptions people will make of a provocative women performing in front of a camera from home. If this piece was a live performance in a white cube or blacked out space I worry that it will look too performancey. I am worrying about the technicalities of streaming, and controlling the overall aesthetic of the piece. At the event at Castlefield Gallery I got to chat with Paul Sermon, Professor of Creative Technology and Associate Head of School for Research and Innovation at the University of Salford. I thought it was a good opportunity to ask him about streaming due to his experience within this field. He suggested doing a live test to check the quality by watching the live stream through another device. I need to continue this conversation with him. I streamed live on ustream for the first time last night, running my fingers through my hair. I deliberately lowered the quality which created a pixilated image of myself. I found the pixilation of my face and hands mesmerizing. I am still not sure how the social network feeds link promoting my channel prior and during the performance, I need to keep playing…
-
-
Famous for silence
I have been having fun performing in front of my camera working in my spare room. I seem to be able to let go of my inhibitions when I’m working in the comfort of my own home. Putting on my make up and Penny Arcade wig really adds colour and strength to my perceived character. Although to make the Penny speech/rant more effective I need to move myself around within the frame and use the foreground and background. When I am practicing I like to use the ustream link to see what the performance will actually look like. I was a little bit concerned though as the frames seemed to be slower today, this may vary depending on unforeseeable factors. This is another thing I need to research, as even though I like the aesthetic of being out of synch, for the performance to work there has to be moments when I am perfectly in synch with the sound. As I was practicing I could speed up and mime ahead of the audio, which made the stream appear like it is in synch.
It’s almost impossible to be in synch all the time as the stream drops frames and the capture is always very slightly behind my actions. However I over compensated with my actions to cover up the slippages. I recently watched a documentary about famous female silent movie stars and I was particularly interested in Clara Bow. She was an American actress and was a child star making over forty movies. It’s just funny to think how people were famous for simply moving around and not actually verbally speaking any dialogue. This has got me thinking that I must watch the movie The Artist that is a contemporary interpretation of the silent movie. At the time I really didn’t want to see the film when it was originally released as I thought it was too performancy. However I want to see it for the use of facial expressions and the use of body language. I will also take another look at Clara Bow’s 1920’s movies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Bow. I seem to be attracted to troublesome stars such as Penny Arcade, and Clara Bow who are a bit ignored and overlooked.
Directing you to the stream
I have been troubleshooting problems that might arise during the live stream of my performance. I have read that ustream.TV make there money by intermittently broadcasting advertising during the streamed event. It is really important that this doesn’t happen within my performance, which means that I will have to pay for a package. This is the only way I can ensure that advertising doesn’t interfere with my live stream. How much information do the audience need to understand the context around the work? Is it important? I can send out a press release prior to the event, however I have to consider that the audience may just watch with no knowledge at all of the work. At university I can imagine that the students would appreciate hearing about how I made the piece. However I do prefer not to overly explain, allowing people to make up their own minds about the performance.
During the live stream I can also write comments, a bit like twitter and viewers can comment on what they are viewing in real time. Using the comments section could be a nice way to informally talk about the work. However if people want to join in commenting on the event they need to already be logged into ustream to be able to participate fully. I envisage a large projection in the lecture theatre with my live performance streamed. Should the work be an independent piece or part of a series of talks/performances in the lecture theatre? The live link would have to be tested well in advance and I think I need to do more research on how to advertise/promote a live feed. I watched a live, streamed lecture at Lancaster University that also had a live twitter feed. I have emailed the University of Salford today to enquire if they have streamed live talks online to see if I can get advice and support with my event.
Nicola Smith Presents…
This week I have been researching streaming live events online and the different host sites that provide this service. I do not want to pay for streaming and I was pleased to see that there are some websites that offer a free basic package. I really like the layout of www.ustream.tv and it is easy to set-up through facebook and links across other social media platforms. The video frame that pops up is like the skype video frame although I was a bit concerned about the visual quality of the video. However after closer inspection it is possible to up the quality, which created a much smoother capture. Although I do like how the streaming isn’t perfect, which lets little slippages go unnoticed. Although I am artist in resident at the University of Salford I haven’t been physically there much on site. Due to work commitments my initial plan has had to change and I feel with this new piece I want to explore presenting it in a different way to reach a wider audience. Last week I presented two artist talks at Oldham College and Staffordshire University, which I intend to deliver at Salford. I have now created my own channel and now need to think of a marketing strategy to let people know when the live stream is on. I will need a lo-tech title to hold up for the name of the show at the start, which will allow people a few minutes to login. Alongside the live stream I can add comments to what I’m doing and the public can also write what they think about the performance. I could promote the date of the live stream at the end of my artist talk at Salford uni. I think I will also need to design a poster and create an e-advert to send out to my e-mailing list. I recently went to a show and they sent out a personalised email to each person which I thought was a nice touch.
-
-
